With special guest Jessica Keener

(Run time 56:24)

 

It’s a pleasure to have Jessica Keener, author of the recently released, widely acclaimed novel Night Swim, selecting a track for this playlist. Jessica writes:

“The word gender immediately makes me think of the words fender and bender, and how our society has been trying to figure out what gender means for centuries; fending off one definition after another, then bending that definition back and under and around until it becomes another version of gender again. Does gender really mean man or woman or both? Is it sexual? Is it physical? What’s your gender? Or rather agend-er? Well, my musical word agend-er for today is Laura Nyro. I want more people to know who she is and was: a brilliant songwriter/singer/pianist who died in 1997 and is finally getting inducted into this year’s R&R Hall of Fame. Laura loved men and she loved women. She was full of gender and genderless. She was with a woman partner the latter part of her life, but she wrote familiar men/women songs like: Wedding Bell Blues and Eli’s Coming. Laura Nyro combined all genders and gender-benders and embraced all the conflicting information that makes our world spin in the name of this odd word (odd to me, anyway). So, for this theme of gender, my song choice is Laura Nyro’s “Emmie” from her album: Eli and the Thirteenth Confession released 1968, a song that celebrates her love of (you fill in the blank).”

 

Along with Jessica’s pick, we offer twelve other tracks that toss gender up in the air and explore all of the messy re-configurations. We’ve got women wanting sugar, women driving all night long, men in women’s clothes.  So go ahead, take your wig out of the box. Cut those apron strings. Mess around with gender roles. Boys will be girls. I’m not your woman, and this, this is not your father’s mix tape. Enjoy.