VH1 100 GREATEST: THE INDIGO GIRLS

First off, I've been away from the blog for a minute.  Sorry about that.  I have a new job.  More on that later.

Secondly, it's been a while since VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music countdown ended, but my other posts are still doing pretty well, so I'll write a few more.  It's always exciting, and a true honor, to be asked to be on a VH1 show.  The way this one turned out, I didn't get to comment about some of my favorite artists.  Not that I'm complaining!  But I'm taking to my blog to say what I would have said, if I was in those segments.

So: The Indigo Girls. I love them. I saw them open for Neil Young on his solo acoustic tour in the summer of 1989, when he was trying out songs that would later end up on Freedom. I caught the end of their set, and I thought they were great.  At the time, they had a semi-hit single with "Closer To Fine" from their self titled LP from that year (it wasn't their debut, but it was their major label debut).  I picked it up, and loved it. After that - it was album after album after album of great music.  I bonded with some women who used to frequent the bar that I DJed at in college over our shared love of The Girls.  Fans definitely identified with one or the other.  I love Emily Sailers, but I definitely identified with Amy Ray more.  She's much more punk rock.  I love both of their guitar styles, both of their songs (they never really wrote together, I like Amy's more), and their politics. They definitely put their money where their mouths are.  They have never sold out, or even approached selling out. They don't get enough credit for that.  The rock critic types tend to make fun of them, I guess because they are ernest.

Years after becoming a fan, I got to meet them on a number of occasions:  I interviewed them a bunch of times, and even wrote their record label bio (twice!).  If any of their hard core fans are reading this, they should know: Amy and Emily are as cool in real life as you'd think.

What albums would I recommend?  If you had to pick one, you should go with the double live album, 1200 Curfews from 1995. I think it's one of the best live albums ever, it really gives the vibe of what their shows were like.  It's almost like they weren't a part of the music business.  They had nothing to do with anything that was ever going on around them, they were always themselves.  The fans loved them for it, and you really hear it on this album.  As far as studio albums go, wow... start with The Indigo Girls and go forward from there. 1994's Swamp Ophelia is one of their most popular records (it had two hits, "Power Of Two" and "Least Complicated").  I remember the somewhat bizarre experience of seeing them on that tour at a Z100 Christmas concert.  1999's Come On Now Social and 2002's Become You are both really great also.  My favorite might be 1992's Rites Of Passage.

I gotta give VH1 credit for including them in the countdown.  No one would have yelled at them if they didn't.  The Girls really do exist outside the mainstream these days, they aren't with a huge management company or label.  The VH1 folks (and yes I used to work there) included them because they deserved to be there, and that's based on how great their music has been over the past (almost) 25 years.

VH1 100 GREATEST: MACY GRAY

I was stoked to see Macy Gray included on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music countdown. How many artists of either sex, of any genre, are as unique as her? One note in, and you know who's singing. How many other artists can you say that about?

On one hand, her first hit "I Try" could have come from the pre-rock and roll pop era. On the other, she collaborates with hip-hop artists like The Black Eyed Peas, Mos Def and OutKast. (I'd love to see her on the Rock The Bells tour). And she can roll with the rock crowd: she's jammed with Tom Morello and Velvet Revolver and I once saw her open for Bowie.

I though VH1 might forget her: she made such a huge splash when her debut album, On How Life Is, came out in 1999, and has never really matched the commercial performance of that LP. And I think it's her best album, but she's done some great stuff since then.  But if you're just checking her out, I'd definitely recommend On How Life Is, and from there, pick up The Very Best Of Macy Gray. It has an underrated track that is one of her best ever: a song she did with Fatboy Slim, "Demons."  Actually, check out that song no matter what, it's amazing and you'll thank me.

VH1 100 GREATEST: PJ HARVEY

One artist who Larry Flick and I never ever ever EVER agree on is PJ Harvey. She is one of my favorite artists ever, I was glad to see her in VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music special tonight.  She'd be in my top 20 for sure.

Just watching the montage of images of her was pretty cool. She doesn't really remind me of any other artist, but if I had to pick one, it would be Bowie. Someone on the show said this, but every PJ Harvey album has a concept (and I always felt the same was true for Bowie).  As with Bowie, she has a look for each album. And not a look that a stylist is coming up with. I never feel like a "fashion expert" tells Bowie what to wear.  And I doubt any such "expert" would survive telling Polly what outfits she should be rockin'. Certain albums feature her playing certain instruments.  Some albums are guitar albums. One was a harp album. Sometimes, she's only singing. It's almost like she inhabits a different character every time, and each character has a different take on life, a different style, a different talent. She has a vision for every single thing that she does. You never get the sense that she's putting out an album because it's been two years since her last one.  When I think of artists who should get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the next few years, she's on the shortlist.

She's put out so many classic albums.  Her first two, 1992's Dry and 1993's Rid Of Me, are raw as hell, and they're as heavy as Slayer. Then she completely changed things up on her third LP, 1995's To Bring You My Love, produced by Flood. I've never heard anything like that album before or since.

In 2000, she put out Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, which I love (although she's kind of said that she doesn't like that one). It's a cleaner, almost arena ready sound (and in fact, the songs sounded great when she performed them at Madison Square Garden opening for U2). But she never repeated that either. Then, last year's Let England Shake was one of her most challenging and rewarding LPs. It topped critics polls (in the U.K., not as much here in the U.S.) and was my ninth favorite album of 2011.