Why 2015’s Pop Music Scene Looks a Lot Like 1995’s
Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney shows how a feminist artistic career can transcend trendiness (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) Sleater-Kinney, Bjork and PJ Harvey are back. And they have something to teach the new wave of ‘feminist’ artists. According to just about every reputable source, we live in a golden age of feminist music. TIME magazine declared 2014 “the year of pop feminism” ; Carl Wilson, in Billboard , called 2014 “Pop Music’s ‘End of Men’ Moment” ; VICE, meanwhile, has dubbed 2014 “The Year Feminism Reclaimed Pop.” This is all well-deserved. Beyoncé’s choice to sample a feminist lecture by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie—complete with definition of the term—was a watershed moment even before the pop star stood in front of a gigantic, glaring “FEMINIST” sign at the VMAs. Beyoncé made feminism fashionable. Lorde, Charli XCX, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift have since claimed the term; even the nominally apolitical Meghan Trainor made her name with a son...