My guilty conscience informs me that I'm copping out by listening to a band who I already love. Not dipping my toe in the real classics, so on so forth. But now, I am. I'm trying to convince myself that I don't know I don't like it until I try it. All of it.
So now, I'm listening to Indigo Girls. I'm a fan of folksy guitar, but 90's folksy guitar, not so much. And there are a lot of albums to go through.
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| Am Ray and Emily Saliers in the 1980's. Bad hair, yet still hot. |
A basic overview- Amy Ray and Emily Saliers met as kids and just evolved into being a band. They embrace the bluegrassy feel, especially notable in the harmonies- unique and kinda awesome. Makes me wonder if Tegan and Sara listened to a lot of Indigo Girls. Or maybe there's a requirement that all bands consisting of two lesbians is required to have cool harmonies. Hmm. Anyway, they are pretty much the first band I thought of when I thought "lesbian rockers". It's hard to look anywhere relevant to the girl-loving-girl cause and not see at least a reference to them. Active activists in many causes, and icons for the LGBT movement, Ray and Saliers are impossible to ignore.
Even though I tried because it's a cliche for the baby dyke to sit down and listen to a giant stack of Indigo Girl cds. Well, mp3s, and the stack is just a giant folder.
Album by album, here's my favorites. I can't get every album, however, but I did my best.
For the record- I'm not going to speculate on the deeper meanings of every song because that's not really what I do. I listen, I fall in love with it, and my speculations are saved for the most beloved of songs (and even then, I keep them to myself.)
Indigo Girls, 1989. "Closer Than Fine" (From what I can tell, this is their biggest hit, and I can see why- it is introspective and carefree, saying it's just life, so live it), "Tried to Be True", "Love's Recovery" (This one made me want to cry.. it's nearly a release of a lot of messed up feelings I've always had. Kind of the quintessential coming out to yourself, dealing with the haters song.)
I suffer from being young when listening to this album- all the innovation and cool contemporary rockness of it is completely lost on me. I've been hearing sounds likes this and people trying to sound like this all my life. Still, it's thoroughly enjoyable. I just wish I could feel it the way it was when it was brand new. After a couple of listens, every song on the album has a little heart next to it- I had to really think about it when choosing my very favoritist tracks. I went with the ones that made me dance the most, feel the most, or both.
Strange Fire, 1989. "Strange Fire", "Left Me a Fool", "I Don't Wanna Know"
"Left Me a Fool" is sad, sweet, a little lonesome and is smooth honey for the ears. I love it dearly. As for the rest of the album, it's very similar in tone to Indigo Girls, which makes a lot of sense- it was independently released in 1987 before their self-named album, and re-released with one less song in 1989.
Nomads Indians Saints, 1990. "Hammer and a Nail", "Keeper of My Heart", "Hand Me Downs",
Okay, I'm sorry but this album is pretty dated. It shows its age by being so... New Age Indian-y. Like if Dances With Wolves featured two lesbians instead of Kevin Costner. In touch with nature, glamorizing Native Americans and nomads, excessive pan pipes and shimmering tambourine.
Rites of Passage, 1992. "Three Hits", "Love Will Come to You", "Chickenman"
I really enjoy listening to this album because the sound is soothing- just the right amount of guitar and fiddle, and far less pan pipes. It doesn't date itself hardly at all, and "Three Hits" is probably my favorite Indigo Girl song.
Swamp Ophelia, 1994. "Language or The Kiss", "Power of Two" (Simple and sweet love song), "Touch Me Fall" (listen all the way through, there's a pretty great instrumental break)
I like a few songs on this album, but a lot of them push my limits for guitar and country vocals. I think perhaps I need a break from Indigo Girls before I can power through the last eight albums.
1200 Curfews, 1995. "Least Complicated", "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", "Back Together Again"
This is a live album, from various performances in 1994-95. The songs I liked are songs not on the cds I've heard before. They probably are on the albums that I couldn't get.
Shaming of the Sun, 1997. "Shed Your Skin", "Caramia" (Very cool blending of rock, rich strings, and jangly guitar),"Everything In Its Own Time"
Somehow, I ended up listening to this out of order- after Come On Now Social instead of before. Now I can see that Shaming is kind of a transitional phase between their bluegrass folk sound and their rock-bluegrass sound. As I go through and mark the songs I love, nearly all of them get their own little heart. I think this is one of their better albums.
Come On Now Social, 1999. "Go", "Sister", "Compromise"
The very first thing I noticed was that there is much more of a rock feel going on. This is probably exaggerated since the last album I listened to was live in concert, and so a lot of their earlier songs and thus, earlier sounds. But oh the sweet electric guitar! How I missed you.
Become You, 2002. "Become You", "Yield", "Bitterroot"
Weirdly, I found that some of this album reminded me of soft rock. If there's anything I didn't expect to hear out of the Indigo Girls, it was elevator music. And maybe I'm getting sick, but I'm really liking the more bluegrass/jangly guitar songs, like "Yield" and "Bitterroot".
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| I am envious of their cutting cheekbones. I want to be this hot in twenty years. |
All That We Let In, 2004. "All That We Let In", "Dairy Queen"
All of their albums have something of a "returning home" feel to them, but this one more than the others. Unfortunately, it's also a lot more soft rock, too. Almost unbearably so. If the next album doesn't have more electric guitar, I'm blasting System of a Down until I feel better.
Rarities, 2005. "I'll Give You My Skin", "Walk Your Valley", "It Won't Take Long"
Interesting collection of unheard songs. It's definitely worth checking out. You can tell the songs and recordings span their career together, and that is a very cool touch.The three songs I chose as my favorites all have a haunting echo that makes them perfect for listening to at night.
Despite Our Differences, 2006. "I Believe in Love" (I think this would be a good make-up song after a fight), "Lay My Head Down", "They Won't Have Me"
Something I noticed immediately is the bright tempo and balanced vocals used throughout work very well on this album. This was the same year Indigo Girls featured in Pink's "Dear Mr. President" (reviewed below) and in gratitude, she sings in "Rock and Roll Heaven's Gate". I'm not as taken with it as I am with the above songs, so I didn't list it, but it deserves some kudos.
Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, 2009. "Love of Our Lives", "Driver Education", "Fleet of Hope"
I liked this one a lot, listened to it twice before making any decisions. They have finally hit upon a perfect blend of twang, soul, rock and contemporary. I listened to all of them and not a single one put my teeth on edge. I can't say that about any other album of theirs. This is by far my favorite.
Bonus Holiday Cd! Holly Happy Days, 2010.
No. No. No. I'm sorry but I hate this album and it kills my soul. I couldn't even listen to most of them for more than thirty seconds.
Bonus guest feature- Pink (featuring Indigo Girls) "Dear Mr. President"-2006. I like the song, and it's very touching. It got a lot of points across in a very elegant way.
Fifteen albums, one post, not even counting the albums of concerts and re-releases. Whew. However, I feel an important chapter of Lesbian Knowledge is a little closer to being closed- I can officially say I've listened to Indigo Girls, and I like them, albeit on a limited basis. I'm even keeping a few songs from every album around- excepting the Christmas album because it kills my spirit.
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