I don’t know if any of you have read Christian John Wikane’s PopMatters piece on Tina Turner and the 25th anniversary of Private Dancer, but it’s great. Upon reflection of this artist and album, I naturally thought of the music video for “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” To borrow from Lisa A. Lewis, it’s a definitive female address clip, particularly for Turner’s interaction with the street, a space which Lewis uses Angela McRobbie to define as an access sign for women and girls. It also reminds people of how kick-ass Ms. Turner was and continues to be.
Given that many of us have been attending holiday parties recently, I thought I’d offer up another traditionally male-gendered cultural space: the bar. What happens when female artists encounter it?
Janet Jackson
“Got Til It’s Gone”
The Velvet Rope
Directed by Mark Romanek
The Gossip
“Listen Up!”
Standing in the Way of Control
Directed by Whitey McConnaughy
Cat Power
“Lived In Bars”
The Greatest
Directed by Robert Gordon
