Fall 2006

Interview with hip-hop musician Kinnie Starr; CD Releases: Peaches, the Wailin' Jennys, Penny Lang. Breast Cancer and the Environment, by Penni Mitchell. PLUS: Maude Barlow on the dangers of U.S.-Canada Integration; A Short History of Cross-dressing and Women; Women Dance Through Depression; Interview with Sarah Waters, Reviews:Feminist Politics, Activism and Vision; Growing Up Degrassi, Life in Downtown Eastside Vancouver

Reach for the Stars by Cindy Filipenko

Reach for the Stars

Fair-skinned girls who want mainstream acceptance aren’t singing about gender politics or First Nations’ issues, either, but that’s exactly what makes Kinnie Starr stand out. Favourably compared in the music press to Lauryn Hill, PJ Harvey and Ani Difranco, Starr has spent her 10-year career on the edge of mainstream success. Her first album came out in 1996 and she has worked steadily—albeit often independently—since then. Now, her debut on the critically acclaimed Canadian label MapleMusic stands to bring Starr and her politics a larger audience.

Impeach My Bush

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Artist:

Peaches

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Review by:

Anna Lazowski

Just because she’s Canadian, electropunker Peaches sees no reason why she shouldn’t wade into Bush-bashing. The first song on Impeach My Bush, “Fuck or Kill,” contains the lyrics from which the album’s title was taken. As she chants them, the “my”drops out, leaving just “Impeach Bush.” But fans who love Peaches for her unapologetic sexuality won’t be disappointed. With song titles like “Tent in Your Pants” and “Slippery Dick,” it’s clear that Peaches isn’t trying to break into the mainstream.

Firecracker

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The Wailin’ Jennys

Label:

Jericho Beach Music

Review by:

Cindy Filipenko

Firecracker, the follow-up to The Wailin’ Jennys 2004 debut album, 40 Days, builds on the group’s strengths and takes them in new, improved directions. Things get to a rollicking start with “The Devil’s Paintbrush Road,” a true twanger by newcomer Annabelle Chvostek (who replaced Cara Luft), enhanced by Ruth Moody’s terrific banjo playing.

STONE + SAND + SEA + SKY

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Artist:

Penny Lang

Label:

Borealis Records

Review by:

Cindy Filipenko

Folk icon Penny Lang’s latest album is as elemental as the title Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky suggests. Spare, clean production creates the perfect backdrop for Lang’s pure vocals and highlights her considerable songwriting skills. And Lang should be skilled: She’s been performing her own compositions since 1964. Now, more than four decades later, she has fully reached her potential as a singer/songwriter with this substantial contribution to contemporary folk. That said, Lang is not limited to the conventions and structures of folk.

Maude Barlow Cautions Canada by Penni Mitchell

Maude Barlow Cautions Canada

Since September 11, 2001, the U.S. administration under George Bush has defined security in the narrowest of possible terms.