Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Review of A Song for a New Day

So far the books I have reviewed for SoundGirls are all non-fiction.  While I would love to start the year off with escapism in an idyllic setting filled with joyous music, I must share with you a book that will ignite and inspire.  Sarah Pinsker’s debut novel A Song for a New Day is a book written for us, the SoundGirl community.  Fittingly, Pinsker herself is also a singer-songwriter with the band Stalking Horses.  A Song for a New Day however caught attention for being published at the right time, earning a Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2019.  Yes, 2019, the year that the world stood still.

If you look for A Song for a New Day in the bookstore you will find it amongst the Sci-Fi shelves, but that broad genre does it a disservice.  This novel fits squarely in the speculative fiction subgenre of science fiction.  Speculative fiction is the near future where you will find The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and other martian-less stories.  The majority of A Song for a New Day occurs after a pandemic where there are laws against gathering in large groups.  Unlike COVID-19, the disease leaves visible scarring and no longer returns as a seasonal illness.  It also is not spoken of by name, instead the characters refer to “Before” and “After.”  In fact many of the large scale changes and political actors are not the focus, but rather the lives of everyday people.

A Song for a New Day follows 2 women in mismatched timelines as they live during and after a pandemic.  Luce Cannon, the first, is a musician on the brink of becoming a big touring star.  Rosemary Laws, the other, is stuck in a dead-end service job for a mega-corporation in a rural farm in the middle of the country.  It was surreal reading their stories and looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic has played out 5 years in.  Luce and Rosemary’s reality took remote work and social distancing more seriously, implementing strict occupancy limits and self-driving cars that are like individual high speed trains with dedicated roads.  Constant connectivity is aided by the portable “hoodie,” a garment integrated with a display, speakers and a wide-variety of augmented reality features.  Several companies took control of the pandemic-led disruption: Superwally, an amalgamation of Amazon and Walmart making same-day deliveries standard; and StageHoloLive, what Ticketmaster and Spotify wished they could be.  It is not a big leap to see our real future as similar, especially if you are tuned into the news.

Pisker keeps the story engaging by switching the two perspectives.  Their character growths are different, but related and makes the reader ask difficult questions.  What do we do with our knowledge and position?  How do we live with the new normal?  If we resist, how do we resist?  How do we build community when we are isolated?  How do we remember the last event before the world changed?  Even as we are forced to confront these questions, the story gives brevity with music.  The unique background of live music that Pisker brings infuses vibrancy and excitement to each musical performance.  What StageHoloLive attempts with the hoodies, Pisker succeeds with words to immerse the reader in all 5 senses.

If you are looking for a live music experience in book format, A Song for a New Day provides.  However, you will also hit with reality, dialed up to 11.  Fiction is a reflection of our present.  As a mirror it can help us look at ourselves as if we are strangers.  This perspective informs us on what actions to take.  The message from A Song for a New Day is that the show continues.  How do we keep the music going in 2025 and beyond?

33 ⅓ The Raincoats

Finishing off the year with a lighter read is The Raincoats by Jenn Pelly.  This book is part of 33 ⅓, a series that deep dives into beloved albums.  I found this copy while on an annual west coast trip and I took a routine pilgrimage to the SeaTac SubPop store.  Among the collection of cassettes, LP’s, and other merch, there was a collection of bite size books, each boasting classic titles.  I scanned for something I could share with SoundGirls and a magenta spine stood out.

I am a self-declared riot grrrl fan, and therefore Fairytale in the Supermarket and Lola are on regular rotation.  Their sound is rough and full of energy.  Even though their sound matches the 90’s feminist grunge movement, they predate them by over a decade.  I was not aware of that fact before this book.  And, for those not familiar with their self-titled album, it sports a painting from Chinese propaganda of school children singing a song, I was not even aware of what the members even looked like.

Bordered by magenta and black, this petite book sports the The Raincoats self-titled album cover.  Inside is a perfect travel read while listening to the album in question. Author Jenn Pelly writes reviews for Pitchfork and other large publications.  Her hand is deft at demystifying the mythos around the Raincoats.

The Raincoats are a band that, while adjacent to British punk of the 70’s, are not cemented to any time or place.  The members have ties to The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Slits, Patti Smith, and X-Ray Spex.  They hailed from Spain, Portugal, and England, but made their home in the squats of London.  This book introduces us to the band, their background, their ethos.  We are on a journey of song creation.  After the band introductions we are led through the track list, with the starting with the post-release addendum of Fairytale in the Supermarket.  Pelly shows us that this is a band not afraid of changes, of learning, and of discussions.  We get the whole picture through interviews and Polaroids.

Reading about The Raincoats reminded me of the crew of The Maiden, the yacht that made the first all-female crew to place in the Whitbred Round the World Race chronicled in the 2018 documentary Maiden.  Both groups had their own power, and did things their own way.  They also took the initiative to document their journey.  As if they knew their voices would be important to others, but also because it was important to themselves.  This is zine culture, creating a record of your history, because who else is going to tell it?  The boys are all looking away, but you know you are creating something of value.  Jenn Pelly adds to that narrative.  She includes quips from those who were influenced by The Raincoats, lyrics woven through narratives, handmade flyers, and tour diaries.  This is The Raincoats in their own words, and we are The Raincoats.  We can write about ourselves, we won’t get lost in ‘The Void.’

Pistols in St. Paul’s Review

In a previous article I discussed Sonic Tourism, traveling to delight the ears. I highlighted the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City as one building of note. I had been in Salt Lake City at that moment to visit the Acoustical Society of America’s Conference to present a project I had been working on as an undergraduate student. Combining the aural delight reverberating in an architectural beauty with the cutting edge research was something that I thought would be a rare experience for me. However, I received an advance copy of Pistols in St Paul’s: Science, music, and architecture in the twentieth century by Fiona Smyth to review and I was immersed in that convergence once again. This review is my honest reflection on Pistols in St Paul’s.

Fiona Smyth, an Associate Professor School of Art History and Cultural Policy at University College Dublin, is a historian of building science and acoustics. Pistols in St Paul’s is a culmination of years of research including her doctoral thesis. It is obvious from the first page that Smyth loves her subject, as care is taken to take the reader beyond the velvet rope of tour guides and into the drama of the history of Architectural Acoustics.

Architectural Acoustics is the science behind buildings as an instrument. The main methods of controlling the sonic ambience of a building is to either design it with acoustics in mind, and to add treatment once the building is completed. Quoting a theme from Pistols in St Paul’s, Architectural Acoustics is “the space between.” It is art and science, tangible and intangible. As a field it began as a multi-disciplinary collection of experts, and based on my own experience at an ASA convention it still is. A few of the fields that are represented in this book are physiology, SONAR, architecture, mechanical engineering, electronics, and physics.

Smyth begins her history of Architectural Acoustics starting in the late 1800’s and progressing to the titular event in the 1950’s. The sections are arranged chronologically, and grouped by major research experiments. Pistols of St Paul’s focuses on London and the influence of Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA.) While there are excursions to the United States and British occupied India, it makes sense to focus on RIBA and their influence on the development of standards of practice. The narrative coming from one perspective allows the reader to focus on how an architect in England might have incorporated Acoustics into their designs over the years. There are physicists and architects who come together to quantize the field with observations and strategic concerts. There is also the realization of the importance of Acoustics that coincides with leaps in understanding sound as a science. But with every major leap forward there are setbacks that come from inflated egos, slow communication, and even world wars.

Another aspect that Smyth choses to focus on is the social importance of acoustics. Many of the buildings chosen for the experiments are public buildings used as gathering spaces. For these buildings they might be used for orchestral performances, speeches, debates, or a combination of the above. Buildings with infamous acoustics become maligned in the press. Other more fortunate buildings may be the key to boosting Post-War morale by hosting nation-building concerts.

Fiona Smyth draws you into the world with her anecdotes and descriptions, and the historical photos add to the context. While I did notice that RIBA and many of the characters in Pistols in St Paul’s are part of a boy’s club, there was an instance of women supporting women. Smyth calls out Emily Thompson’s contribution to the study of Acoustical History. And just like some of the characters in Pistols in St Paul’s there is across the pond multidisciplinary collaboration, with Thompson focusing more on the history of American Audio Technology. Overall, Pistol’s in St Paul’s is a riveting history of the formation of Acoustics as a serious field of science. I find it essential to the context of contemporary concert hall design. And to a casual tourist to Architectural Acoustics, it is an insightful museum guide.

Women in Vinyl Review

Continuing on my quest to read ALL of the Audiobooks written by women and gender non-conforming individuals, Women in Vinyl: The Art of Making Vinyl written by Jenn D’Eugenio came across my desk.  As a self-proclaimed nerd, I love vinyl, therefore this book would have found its way into my library anyway.  Jenn D’Eugenio founded the Women in Vinyl non-profit to uplift marginalized humans working in vinyl.  After starting as a blog to share individual stories, it has become a resource hub that even has a podcast.  D’Eugenio herself is the Sales and Customer Service Director of Gold Rush Vinyl in Austin Texas.

Each interview has the same formula.  There is a short biography, then 4 questions: motivation for getting into the industry, favorite thing about working in vinyl, advice for folk wanting to work with vinyl, and what they wished more people knew about vinyl.  The interviews are organized based on the vinyl manufacturing process.  Starting from mastering, then lacquer cutting, electroplating, through the distribution and marketing and including DJ-ing.  For many of the women featured in the book, there is a love of listening to music.  While enjoying consuming music is emphasized, music performance is only necessary for the DJ’s.  Working in vinyl allowed them the chance to have a job they loved.  That love translates into the uniqueness of vinyl and prolongs it as a medium for music consumption.

If you follow Soundgirls, some of these names are familiar.  The vinyl industry is only a small branch within the music industry and requires people to work multiple roles.  Also, many of the women interviewed are involved in outreach in vinyl and the music industry.  D’Eugenio addresses why there is an overlap between the Women in Vinyl biographies and the board of Women in Vinyl.  At a panel discussing women in vinyl, and realizing the panel was more about vinyl in general, Jenn D’Eugenio and her fellow panelists realized there was a need to highlight those who work with vinyl that are not just men.  And just like that original panel, the book reads as a collection of experiences of working with vinyl.  Even though vinyl is a billion-dollar industry, through Women in Vinyl it still feels tight-knit.

I found myself pouring through the interviews like a deluxe fanzine.  Women in Vinyl makes for a smaller coffee table book that is sparse on pictures but essential for placing next to your turntable.  Unlike some of my other reviews that collect names and interviews in one volume, this is not a “pioneer” or “history-maker” grab-bag, but instead the names of those who touch and care for your records before they reach your hands.  They are the ‘Mothers of Vinyl,’ standing proud as their children spin on record players in homes worldwide.

Find out more about Women in Vinyl

Loud: Tana Douglas Rocks Hard

 

At first glance Loud: A Life in Rock’n’roll by the world’s first female roadie by Tana Douglas is a scintillating look behind the scenes of some of the biggest rock bands.  There’s sex and drugs to go with the rock’n’roll as Douglas unloads juicy moments with every load out.  From a well-stocked trailer parked on the lawn at Windsor Gardens to a dog getting into a stash at an Australian after-party, there’s something for everyone.  Douglas also rubs shoulders with the likes of Paul McCartney, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, and Neil Diamond.  But behind the star-studded cast is the history of the modern road crew from the 1970s to the 1990s.

After starting out in behind-the-times Australia, Douglas jumps from one mega show to the next where the cutting edge of stage shows dazzle audiences around the world.  The stories chronicle how stage lighting becomes an attraction that threatens to overshadow the bands themselves.  Through the blood and sweat of the road crews, the productions increase in size and complexity.  Sound, lighting, and rigging mature as industries and require teams and trucks.  Douglas includes the grittiness and pain of long nights and safety playing catch up to daring feats.  The drugs, and recklessness take their toll, but still, the show goes on.

How much could be packed in 350 pages?  One might be forgiven for thinking this book glorifies the roadie life from a summary.  However, Tana Douglas never forgets she is a woman in a “man’s world.”  Where Douglas bares her vulnerabilities is where this book really shines.  Her isolation, her difficulties as a child, a partner, and as a parent hits hard.  I found myself wishing happy endings for Douglas, but knowing that her truth is more common.  Loud is the perfect snapshot of the life of the roadie with all the highs and all the lows.  I recommend reading about the rock’n’roll life of Tana Douglas to anyone interested in touring shows.  Bring your earplugs.

More on Tana Douglas

Review of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic

Jessica Hopper wanted me personally to read  The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, and you, too.  In the afterword of the 2021 edition, she notes how essential it is to create and consume media outside the culturally accepted norm.  Female critics like Hopper provide a much-needed perspective on artists that would otherwise go undervalued.  It is empowering to read reviews from a feminist view, and the reader uses their purchasing power to uplift the author.

Hopper puts pieces of herself in the reviews.  We see her growth from fangirl to respected writer and her journey from Midwest suburbia to Chicago to Los Angeles and beyond.  We see the music that shapes her worldview and the music that breaks its boundaries.  Her path is both similar to her peers and uniquely her own.  Hopper’s story could be yours, and that is what makes this collection powerful.  She is a mentor through text.

Not every review is written with a feminist focal point.  However, when her sharpened pen targets the masculine majority opinion, there is no mercy.  No genre is safe: punk, country, rap, and rock.  Hopper champions women forgotten and maligned.  Her piece on Rolling Stone‘s editorial department highlighted those who blazed the path that Hopper would later trek.  There’s enough meat for a Hidden Figures treatment of their story.

In both the afterword and throughout the collection, Hopper reaches out to women in all parts of the music industry.  From fan to artist she says thank you, I hear you, keep being you.  We need each other to build a better industry.  If there’s no space for you in the pit, elbow your way in and stay there, and bring your squad.

Review of Congress Radio

 

1942 was an intense time in World History.  World War II was rampaging across Europe and expanding beyond Asia and the Pacific.  It would be easy to miss an important event trying to summarize 1942.  Congress Radio: Usha Mehta and the Underground Radio Station of 1942 by Usha Thakkar is set in 1942 as well.  However, the story of Congress Radio is not directly related to WWII, and it is one area of history that I had not heard much about India’s Independence from Great Britain.  Mahatma Gandhi began the Quit India Movement in August of 1942 at the All India Congress Committee (AICC), and from it, a series of revolts and conflicts between the ruling British and Indian citizens occurred.  Inspired by Gandhi and the lack of independent news, Usha Mehta, along with Vithalbhai Jhaveri, Vitthaldas Khakar, Chandrakant Jhaveri, and Babubhai Thakkar created the underground radio station they called Congress Radio.

Congress Radio begins with a summary of India’s independence movement.  Thakkar runs through the significant events chronologically and introduces the major players for those who are unfamiliar.  Even though the introduction discusses an emotional connection between the author, the subject, and the setting, everything is presented in a straightforward manner.  In fact, the whole book reads much like a police report.  Unsurprisingly, the appendix is full of police reports and court records.  For those into minimally biased, court proceedings of important history or those who are invested in the history of modern India, this is a perfect read.  For those wanting to be inspired by the bravery of young college students rebelling in the face of the world’s largest empire:  there are pieces that exist in College Radio, but not in the main section of the book.  Look for the inspiration and struggle in the court records, especially Mehta’s, and in Mehta’s recollections.

Usha Mehta (also referred to as Ushaben), was 22 when she helped create Congress Radio on August 14, 1942.  It was often her voice broadcasted at 42.34 m.  Interspersed between her reports of local uprisings were pre-recorded speeches of Gandhi and other leaders.  Despite relocating the broadcasting location almost daily the organizers of Congress Radio were arrested and taken off the air on November 12, 1942.  There was no mistaking Usha Mehta’s involvement, however, she chose to remain silent during the trial, even with solitary confinement and other coercion tactics.  Mehta’s strength and Congress Radio’s dissemination of uncensored news were so vital to India, that it helped earn Mehta the Padma Vibhushan (Lotus Decoration), India’s second highest civilian honor.

Passion in the face of oppression.  Strength in the face of power.  Congress Radio has those moments of inspiration, but this is a book for history buffs and subject matter experts.  However, I am encouraged to find more stories like Usha Mehta’s hiding in the world of audio.

Ancient Acoustics

Have you ever wondered about the sounds our ancestors heard?  Digging deeper into the questions surrounding ancient noises is archaeoacoustics.  Archaeoacoustics is the study of humans’ relationship with sound and music that incorporates ethnomusicology, archeology, and acoustics.  A related field is music archeology, which focuses more on ethnomusicology in ancient and pre-history.

Beyond the natural soundscapes that still exist today, researchers are able to study what our ancestors noticed via rocks.  In the famous painted caves of France, the paintings are concentrated in areas of exciting echos.  Other caves display similar relationships.  Stonehenge and Chichen Itza are civilizations creating monuments that incorporate interesting acoustics on purpose.  For Stonehenge, the circular arrangement of the stones and their spacings add intrigue to the ceremony.  The Mayans built Chichen Itza’s staircases with acoustics in mind using reverberation to mimic a sacred quetzal call when someone clapped.

From the sounds they heard came the music they created.  Anne Kilmer, an Assyriology professor poured over clay tablets with ancient languages written in cuneiform to find some of the earliest written songs.  In 1972 Kilmer and a few colleagues created an interpretation of a written song that is believed to be a cult hymn.  This hymn was preserved in its entirety for over 3,000 years.  What makes this song remarkable is that it uses harmony, a concept thought to be a much newer invention.  The lyrics even match the harmony, with the melody left as an afterthought.  Kilmer and her fellow researchers knew this discovery would fascinate musicians and have published sheet music for the Mesopotamian lyre, as well as recordings for the casual listener.

 

A Walk Through of My Soldering Station

When working on electronics it is important to keep a tidy, and safe workspace.  I thought I would show what my bench looks like as an example for others who are just starting out on their tinkering journey.

Desk & Chair

I recommend a desk that is at a comfortable working height, that is clean and resistant to static & fire/heat.  An adjustable padded chair, such as an office chair, that can keep your knees at 90 degrees and help maintain good posture is key for avoiding long-term injuries.

Soldering Iron

I have both a cheap RadioShack soldering iron and a decent Weller adjustable temperature iron (WLC100 Soldering Station).  It is okay to start with the cheap one until you can upgrade.  The basic requirements are an iron that is at least 25 watts.  Most come with a conical tip (useful for small joints), but wedge tips are better for maintaining heat, which is better for good soldering joints.

Solder & Flux

Even though Leaded solder is toxic and not used in commercial products, it is still the go-to for electronics hobbyists in the United States due to its low melting point and ease of creating good soldering joints.  Lead-free is available and recommended from a safety standpoint.  Solder with 60% tin (often called 60/40) is seen as the best solder, due to its lower melting point.  Flux-core solder, as the name suggests, contains flux, often rosin/resin, which aids in creating good solder joints.

Helping Hands

Circuits and components get hot when soldering, so helping hands are a must.  There are several styles depending on your needs and budget.  I recommend one with alligator clips and a magnifying glass as a bare minimum.  Upgrades include a mirror with a light, a fan attachment, and different style clips.  There is even a silicone connector holder called a Hot Holder that is a must-purchase for anyone creating a variety of custom cables.

Fan & Airflow

A fan is a necessity in order to avoid inhaling fumes from the heated solder.  Airflow must be directed away from the working area, which means there must be at least one open window/door in addition to the fan if you are working indoors.

Light

I recommend an adjustable desk lamp for any soldering project.  I inevitably find myself in rooms with insufficient light and a desk lamp is key for inspecting tiny soldering joints.

Wirecutters & Strippers

Generic wire cutters are so important, that one might even have multiples, like angled wire cutters for circuits in a small housing.  While some use pocket knives for wire strippers (to trim the plastic coating off wires), I prefer having a multi-gauge wire stripper.

Sponges, solder suckers, scrapers, wicks

Over the course of soldering, the solder coating the tip of the soldering pen will discolor and become ineffective.  To clean the old solder one can use a small wet sponge, it often comes with the soldering kit, or a brass wool solder scraper.  I use both.  Solder suckers and solder wicks are useful when one accidentally uses too much solder on a joint and bridges two wires together.  Solder wicks are copper braids that soak the excess solder, while solder suckers are retractable pen that sucks a small chunk of solder.

Other Helpful Tools

With tiny components, fingers are often too clumsy or too large, that is why I have tweezers and needle nose pliers in my kit.  I also keep cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to clean up my finished board.  Multimeters are useful to double-check connections within the circuit.  If there are any accidental shorts or missed joints, the multimeter should find them.

Safety notes

Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying wire fragments and hot solder.  Use a bubble wand to find out if the airflow of your work area is directed away from your face.  If the bubbles are floating towards the open window, you are all set.  When the bubbles just hang in the air, it is time to add another fan or open another window/door.  Take regular breaks from the soldering and take a short walk.  It is not good for your overall health to work in a fume-filled and cramped position (even when trying to maintain good posture).  If you have a drink in your work area, make sure that it is covered (to prevent contamination), and wash your hands before handling any food or drink after soldering.  Overall it is good practice to wash your hands after soldering.

X