Shattering Gleam: A Podcast About Music and Gender
From Prince’s vocal personas to Beyoncé and Britney’s feminist takes on sexy cyborgs, many social revolutions have started in the recording studio. Host Sasha Geffen, music critic and author of ‘Glitter Up the Dark,’ digs beneath the grit and the glamour to reveal how pop stars have re-shaped gender through music, blazing a trail for those who refuse to be categorized. Hear music from the show and more on the Shattering Gleam Official Playlist at https://pandora.app.link/ShatteringGleamPlaylist.
Episodes
What does it really mean when people say "Tina Turner taught Mick Jagger how to dance"? Join Sasha Geffen as they welcome author Maureen Mahon and Nkeki Obi Melekwe, who stars as Tina in the Broadway musical, to break down Tina's strategic navigation of gender and race in the music industry, embodying her on the broadway stage and, of course, those dance moves. From The Ike and Tina Turner Revue of the 1950s and 60s to the present ...
Is the electric guitar really so masculine? Sasha Geffen unravels our misconceptions about how the electric guitar has been gendered since its creation, with a lens on today’s shredders like Willow, Brittany Howard, and St. Vincent -- but starting from the beginning, with the Godmother of Rock 'N Roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Geffen is joined by professor and author Gayle Wald to discuss Tharpe's musical career, style and influence,...
This episode unravels how such an unusual, musically different band like R.E.M. was able to enter the mainstream, and how queer desire was woven covertly throughout their music before lead singer Michael Stipe even came out. Stevie Knipe of the band Adult Mom and of R.E.M. megafandom joins Sasha Geffen to unpack the influence of the band, from mandolins to the indie genre today. Tune in for a conversation about the explosive music ...
LaBelle, the musical trio of Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash, inspired much of the queer, expressive freedom that defined glam rock in the mid-70s, and yet their story and music has essentially been erased from the genre’s history. Our host Sasha Geffen and writer Adele Bertei dive into the self-contained unit of fiery, inspired women: three musicians and one manager, whose influence has stretched from Grace Jones to Li...
Mainstream metal in the 1980s may appear very straight and masculine at first glance, but look a little further with host Sasha Geffen and uncover a history of queer plausible deniability and vocal and visual androgyny. Vic Creature of the doom metal band Vile Creature and writer Micco Caporale offer insight on metal’s anti-authority culture, body modifications, and subtle BDSM visuals.
Men have been singing in typically female vocal ranges for decades, and Sasha Geffen shows us how this “falsetto” technique has broken both vocal and gender norms throughout history. Estelle Caswell from Vox Media joins to share her love for R&B slow jammers like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, as we explore the phenomenon of men singing really high in popular music, from Sam Smith and Justin Timberlake, to the Bee Gees and Sylves...
Robotic imagery, prominent in music since the turn of the millennium, confuses traditional expectations about gender and sexuality. But why? Sasha Geffen breaks it down with author Ann Powers, touching on everything from Beyonce’s cyber glove in “Single Ladies,” to cyborg Britney fan art, and even Janelle Monae in giant vagina pants.
How do our ears gender vocal pitch, and what happens when artists intentionally play with this? Sasha Geffen introduces us to a long, dynamic history of how artists like Kanye West, Parliament Funkadelic and more have experimented with vocal pitch in different ways, but with a focus on the legendary Prince. Professor Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound engineer, gives us the inside scoop on Prince’s fascination with creating personas and ...
Welcome to Shattering Gleam, a podcast hosted by music critic and author Sasha Geffen that highlights the stories of pop stars smashing the gender binary with their music.
You can find Shattering Gleam on Apple Podcasts, the SXM App, Pandora, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And don’t forget to hit ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Follow’ so you never miss an episode.
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