My friend started a record collection and asked me which albums I thought should be in it, so I have compiled a list my favorite albums from the 1950s through the 2010s. The albums in this list are records I like to listen to on the whole. There are lots of “best of” lists online, but those are usually just music industry promotions, so the benefit of this assortment is that I do not have to sell anything: I am just including what I believe to be solid records—records that are actually enjoyable to listen to all the way through.
Read more“Freedom’s Just Another Word for Nothin’ Left to Lose”: Janis Joplin, the Mistaken Icon of the Counterculture
Janis Joplin died fifty years ago, and she is often remembered as the poster child of the counterculture. Yet, her values did not fully mesh with the counterculture ethos. Whether or not Janis deserves to be the icon of the counterculture depends on how the counterculture is remembered.
Read moreRebel Girl: The Riot Grrrl Movement and Generation X Feminism
The Riot Grrrl movement developed in the 1980s and 1990s as a reaction to male-dominated subcultures and the second-wave feminism of the Boomer era. Drawing upon empowered female leaders from the punk and hip hop scenes, the women of Riot Grrrl sought to create their own forms of female empowerment and sexual freedom.
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