Run...to a shelter
Run...to a friend
Run...for my life
Before it comes to an end.
--riff from "Run" sung by Sweet Honey In The Rock
moderator FAVNET: october is domestic violence awareness month. "dv/vaw & music" is the tenth in a series of posts concerning different aspects of dv/vaw.
this list is culled from my own cd collection which keeps me "keepin' on" while i admin FAVNET, ABIGAILS-L, and my other lists. because this list is by no means exhaustive ("what?" you ask, "no rap? country? pop? folk?..."), please send any further suggestions to gagliajn@netcom.com and i will add them to the web page. thanks!
btw after nov 1, all of the posts of this dv/vaw series will be collected &
put on the web @
THE LILITH FAIR--Sarah MacLachlan & Friends raised thousands of dollars for local dv shelters during the 1997 & 1998 Lilith Fair tour. For the "official" 2-cd live Lilith Fair compilation plus other goodies which benefit women's organizations, go to http://www.lilithfair.com; also see www.starbucks.com for the Starbucks Lilith Fair compilation.
Other cds which are definitely worth a listen:
GIRLS TOWN, the 1996 independent film in which three high school girlfriends confont the rapist who compelled their fourth girlfrind to commit suicide, features an EXCELLENT soundtrack (Salt-N-Pepa, Lucious Jackson, Queen Latifah, & more!)
If Lucinda Willams' cd: "CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD" is about leaving a life of pain & suffering, the Indigo Girls' cd: "NOMADS, INDIANS AND SAINTS" is about coming home to start a new life.
The best cure for the blues, bad days, and deep funk is R&B: check out the compilation "GO GIRL! SOUL SISTERS TELLIN' IT LIKE IT IS"--18 of the most empowering songs you will ever hear, including "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "I'm Gonna Make It" by Janice Tyrone, "Women's Love Rights" by Laura Lee, & "The Day I Found Myself".
Honorable Mention:
VOICES AGAINST VIOLENCE--a 1995 pop compilation sponsored by The Body Shop.
REQUIEM FOR A WOMAN'S SOUL (pacific radio archive #E2PZ0244)--an audio dramatization of a woman activist tortured in a south american prison--incredibly powerful. Premium during a KPFA (Pacifica Radio) fund drive.
11,000 VIRGINS (Liturgy of the Martyrdom of St Ursula & the 11,000 Virgins) composed by St Hildegaard von Bingen, & chanted by the Anonymous 4. I saw this liturgy peformed live by the Anonymous Four--gorgeous! (but I definitely have mixed feelings--as a devout roman catholic, i honor our martyrs--but this martyrdom was FEMICIDE! and please, don't get me started about St Maria Goretti!)
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Singles
"Amazing Grace" ANI DEFRANCO: Amazing Grace (compilation)
"Car Wheels On a Gravel Road" LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
"Changed The Locks" LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Lucinda Williams
"Chill Factor" THE PRETENDERS: The Isle of View
"Cornflake Girl" TORI AMOS: Surrender the Pink
"Daw Da Hiya" OFRA HAZA: Kirya
"Flinty Kind Of Woman" DAR WILLIAMS: The Honesty Room
"Greenville" LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Car Wheels On a Gravel Road
"He Never Got Enough Love" LUCINDA WILLIAMS: Sweet Old World
"How Dare You" BASIA: Time and Tide
"I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again" BONNIE RAITT: Nick of Time
"I Hurt You" THE PRETENDERS: The Isle Of View
"I've Been Here Before" KELLY LUTRELL: Things I Know Now
"I Will Survive" DONNA SUMMER
"Joy" LUCINDA WILLAIMS: Car Wheels On a Gravel Road
"Leviticus: Faggot" ME'SHELL NDEGEOCELLO: Peace Beyond Passion
"Listen Up, Ladies" CEDILLA MARLEY-BOOKER: Global Divas (compilation)
"Living Under June" JAN ARDEN: Living Under June
"Love Is a Battlefield" PAT BENETAR
"My Name Is Luca" SUZANNE VEGA
"Nelli Bellie Swellie" LILLIAN ALLEN: Revolutionary Tea Party
"Run" SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK: ...twenty-five...
"No Birds Today" COWBOY JUNKIES: Miles From Our Home
"Nowhere to Stand" K D LANG: Absolute Torch and Twang
"Red Football" SINEAD O'CONNOR: Universal Mother
"Secrets And Lies" JONATHA BROOKE
"Silent All These Years" TORI AMOS: Little Earthquakes
"Silent Legacy" MELISSA ETHERIDGE: Yes I Am
"Think" ARETHA FRANKLIN: The Best of Aretha Franklin
"This Is Not The House That Pain Built" DAR WILLIAMS: The Honesty Room
"You and Me of the 10,000 Wars" INDIGO GIRLS: Nomads, Indians, and Saints
"You Got A Problem" JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS: Pure and Simple
***
Most (if not all) music listed can be purchased via the LADYSLIPPER CATALOG--Music By Women. For a catalog, please call Ladyslipper @ 800-634-6044 or visit their web site http://www.ladyslipper.org.
This post is dedicated to Sweet Honey In the Rock, Tori Amos, & Sarah MacLachlan--YOU GO, GRRRLS!!!!!
