The Elusive Chanteuse

[The 38 year old virgin]

Worst music taste ever!!!!

To be fair to bamber, he has a great taste in house

[tinners]

Fans of Erykha Badu should check out The Internet. They're fronted by Syd the Kid, one of the very few 'out' women in hip hop. She produced many of the Odd Future albums and tour DJ'd with OFWGKTA before writing all the material on the two Internet albums.

Also with Beyonce having headlined the Pyramid it seems weird to assume that Glastonbury doesn't chase other top female r'n'b performers. Maybe some people don't want to play the festival or at least not for the money that Glastonbury is willing or able to pay.

[king_oxymoron]

A bit of a tenuous link but in terms of big female performers I was really hoping for (and sort of expected) Sara Bareilles on one of the stages this year

[Joshuwarr]

I would love for her whistle register notes to be pumped out across the field at the Pyramid Stage. Love her.

[**claire**]

5 Octaves says you're wrong, A better sound than Mariah in full flow is something I've not experienced.

This is the stuff my nightmares are made of.

[cossie]

If you get a chance check out Chloe Howl on Friday, think she is on one of the minor stages around 8

[SonOfTroyMcClure]

Me. I am Mariah....The Elusive Chanteuse is the worst album name in the history of music. That will be all.

[bamber]

[bamber]

.... Never Toni Braxton....

[Festival Liam]

Was Kelis a highlight for you in the end? I wasn't impressed. I lover her but prefer her Fleshtone sound to her weird Kelis jazz covers album. Also opening with Feeling Good is the laziest set opener thing I've ever seen.

In terms of impressed female artists at Glasto, I saw a lot... Angel Haze was phenomenal though.

[stuartbert two hats]

Was Kelis a highlight for you in the end? I wasn't impressed. I lover her but prefer her Fleshtone sound to her weird Kelis jazz covers album. Also opening with Feeling Good is the laziest set opener thing I've ever seen.

In terms of impressed female artists at Glasto, I saw a lot... Angel Haze was phenomenal though.

I enjoyed her. I've never seen her live, so didn't know what to expect, but was really pleased with the way she gave all her electro songs all old-school soul makeover, and I love my electronic music.

[**claire**]

I really enjoyed Kelis too - take your point about Feeling Good however.

Angel Haze on the other hand... I thought it was a right old racket. I am the wrong side of 30 though.

[bamber]

I've seen many of the headliners at Glastonbury, and missed many more. This in my unique judgement is headline material.

[kalifire]

I thought Kelis was fantastic. Her sound took a bit of getting used to, but after a couple of songs, it was really good. She was much less 'instant fun' than I expected; far less audience banter than I'd been expecting, but the music was really great and different from most I heard all weekend.

I agree that artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mary J and John Legend are woefully neglected at Glastonbury but I wouldn't add Mariah to that list. There's no doubting her legendary status but I think her self-importance and diva-esque attitude just doesn't fit with the festival. Anyone needing an all white dressing room with a parade of swans leading her to a stage full of scented candles and abseiling angels or whatever she has now can fuck right off, frankly.

[midnight]

I totally agree with the sentiment of this post. As a father of a 1 yr old girl, I want her to see women being as successful as men in all walks of life. Not a big fan of Mariah's music though, All I Want For Christmas aside. Now if only we can have more successful women artists who don't have to focus on their sexuality to make it big.

The likes of Bjork, Jo Hamilton and PJ Harvey are good role models of strong, independent female artists who are successful without making their looks the focal point of their acts. PJ in particular has expressed her sexuality in a way that seems to be about self expression, rather than dolling herself up for the sake of men.

Come on the girls! Any other positive role models?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. xxx

Always thought Patti Smith did quite alright in that way.

[stuartbert two hats]

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. xxx

Always thought Patti Smith did quite alright in that way.

I'm glad someone read that post, it meant a lot to me when I wrote it.

And Courtney Barnett too, although beautiful doesn't have to rely on her looks to get admiration and respect.

[michael eavis' beard]

I'm glad someone read that post, it meant a lot to me when I wrote it.

And Courtney Barnett too, although beautiful doesn't have to rely on her looks to get admiration and respect.

Absolutely! She's a quality songwriter but I didn't really know what she looked like until I saw her at the Park. And to be fair, from a personal point of view, her appeal comes from the way she sings and plays as opposed to dolling herself up to the 9s.

[midnight]

I'm glad someone read that post, it meant a lot to me when I wrote it.

And Courtney Barnett too, although beautiful doesn't have to rely on her looks to get admiration and respect.

All men should have at least one daughter, it helps.

But seriously, there's plenty of female singer/songwriters who have had respectable, some even glittering careers without the main focus being being their looks and lots of flesh on display, although some of them are certainly good-looking, and have a had the odd flattering picture on an album cover.

Take Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Joan Armatrading; I quite like to fix on the older ones here as they are a safe bet, they are unlikely to suddenly change their minds about this and resort to implants now, and their status can't easily be denied. Or Tracy Chapman. Or a bit closer to home and on a smaller career scale, women like Heather Small and Beth Gibbons.

Or if you really want a "chanteuse", take Barbra Streisand, I don't really care for that type of music, but certainly a great voice, impressive career; she isn't pretty in the conventional sense, and she seems to have used even that to her advantage somehow.

I remember reading several interviews with Kate Bush over the years, it seems one of the main reasons why she stopped touring was that focus on her looks and sexuality, and she was very uncomfortable with that. And she didn't perform live for 30 odd years, as a result. That's sad.

Edited July 21, 2014 by midnight

[Rumblestripe]

For an intelligent singer/songwriter of the "non-male" type you really should have been in the Acoustic for Thea Gilmore who is (in my humblest of opinion) one of the cleverest songwriters working today of either gender. She has a wonderful voice and produced a set of consummate professionalism and wit. She rather reminds me of the late great Kirsty MacColl.

[bamber]

Got my ticket for 20th September, Brixton. Hope she turns up

This is my number one wish for Glastonbury. The one thing for me that never even came close to happening but simply must happen, must happen. one day

[bamber]

The long rest has paid off for Lauryn. The voice is back and sounding better than it has in a decade.

Edited July 30, 2014 by bamber

[bamber]

[bamber]

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[bamber]