lifeblood: listlogs: 2001v04n005-news

ig-news-digest         monday, january 8 2001         volume 04 : number 005

today's subjects:
-----------------
  [ig-news] ig in san diego union tribune  [renee carson <rcarson@rohan.sdsu]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

date: sun, 7 jan 2001 09:34:27 -0800
from: renee carson <rcarson@rohan.sdsu.edu>
subject: [ig-news] ig in san diego union tribune

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

here's the part regarding ig.  if anyone wants to see the whole article,
here's the url:
http://www.uniontrib.com/news/uniontrib/sun/index.html   you might have
to click on the "arts" section and then on the "more arts news" link at
the bottom.

if anyone is in san diego, the article in print has a picture of them in
it. it's a common picture of them so it's not that big of a deal, except
that it surprised me to see a picture of them in a san diego newspaper...
~renee

~~~~~
the folk-rock duo the indigo girls may best exemplify the thriving side
of activist rock. amy ray and emily saliers have had some chart success
during their decade-long career, but are sustained by a large subculture
rather than general adulation. (their recent career compilation, with
liner notes by the feminist susan faludi, was called "retrospective," not
"greatest hits," because the pair hasn't had enough hits to earn the
latter title.) making music that touches both the mainstream and the
underground is just the first contradiction the duo uses to its
advantage.

recording for epic, a major label, the group maintained independence by
also founding the independent daemon records, a co-op run by artists in
its home base of atlanta. extremely supportive of causes ranging from gay
and lesbian liberation to the rights of indigenous americans, the duo
nonetheless mostly records love songs and uplifting ballads. although the
indigo girls' melodious style and sound directly connect with the women's
music movement spearheaded by such lesbian feminists as holly near in the
1970s, ray, in particular, associates as closely with the rough-edged,
future-looking punk scene; her solo album, to be released this spring,
features members of the raw-sounding bands the butchies and the rocka
teens.

engaging seemingly opposed forces to further their agenda, the indigo
girls have survived as political artists without need for a single
galvanizing cause. unlike their countercultural forebears, ray and
saliers don't see themselves as part of a historic wave; even as they
work within the corporate music industry, they maintain a position of
relative independence.

"i see the underground -- the internet, independent media, community
radio, indie labels -- as being our lifeblood," ray said in her keynote
speech at the rockrgrl conference for women in music, last october in
seattle.
such a statement by a major-label artist plays down ideological
distinctions between the radical edge and the compromising center in
favor of a down-to-earth approach that opens up activism to everyone. it
fits a vision not oriented around an over-arching movement but embracing
an array of interests, including animal rights, environmentalism, prison
reform and the fights against sweatshop labor and police brutality. this
vision holds up neither the fringe radical nor the political insider as a
hero; it asks everyone to not glorify his own role but simply keep
involved.

- -----------------------------------------------------------------
this has been a message from the ig-news list.
please send feedback, questions etc to owner-ig-news@smoe.org.
submissions are welcome - please send these to ig-news@smoe.org.
to unsubscribe send the appropriate command to majordomo@smoe.org:
bounce subscribers:    unsubscribe ig-news
digest subscribers:    unsubscribe ig-news-digest

------------------------------

end of ig-news-digest v4 #5
***************************