FINALLY!! She Bop, the third edition is here. She's looking better than ever, with the wonderful Ari Up (RIP) on the cover. Updating this edition was an emotional journey because many of the women I'd interviewed for the original have passed away - Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, Eartha Kitt, Gracie Cole...and punk heroines Ari and Poly Styrene. Made me realise that she's like an archive, a living document of what women have achieved in popular music. Her Mistress's Voice. Not only that, I've written a new chapter, including everyone from Gaga to Grimes, exploring how the music scene is now polarised between the hyper sexualisation of global pop and the democracy of the internet. The latter has given women freedom to create their careers with much greater autonomy. They're no longer dependent on major labels to get their music out there... so we have some innovative hybrids with artists like Santigold and Grimes. I got the chance to interview some of the 'noughties generation' and will soon post in full the inspiring chat I had with Tahita Bulmer from New Young Pony Club. In the meantime, here's a link to a review on the F Word:
http://www.thefword.org.uk/reviews/2013/01/a_cut_above
