#hyperstereo

Charlotte Hatherley

Bursting onto the scene in the 90s as the girl with a guitar in Ash, Hatherley was faced with a lot of comments like ‘She’s alright, for a girl’ and ‘She must be Tim’s girlfriend’ – not that this stopped her from shredding out top notch riffs and solos as the Irish band took the world by storm. Going solo after ‘Meltdown’, Hatherley showed what she’s really made of by firstly giving us guitar pop ditties such as ‘Bastardo’ and ‘I Want You To Know’, later exploring a darker, more experimental side under the pseudonym Sylver Tongue. She may have fallen under the radar but the important thing is she has a freedom and independence to create the music she loves.

Florence Welch

Forget the Florence partying with Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris, the Florence I’ll always know and love is the one standing alone on a tiny stage in some leaky basement bar, with just her voice, loop machine and floor tom. Before she went global, I remember eagerly awaiting the release of ‘Lungs’, having recently discovered the likes of ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘Kiss With A Fist’. I was absolutely besotted with her enormous vocal talent and would watch her live performances on YouTube over and over for weeks. So even with her rise to global superstardom, she’ll always have a special place in my heart.

St Vincent

I’ve known about St Vincent for years, since she featured on the track ‘What’s The Use Of Wondrin’?’ from Amanda Palmer’s debut album ‘Who Killed Amanda Palmer?’ but I’d never sat down and listened to her own stuff properly. It wasn’t until last year when I was working whilst her album ‘Actor’ was playing in the background that I realised what I had been missing out on. She has such a uniquely fragile yet powerful voice and, along with the crazy production on her music, from synths to full on brass bands, she always knows how to keep things interesting.

Gwen Stefani

Here’s another girl whose music takes me back to my school days. Songs like ‘Just A Girl’ and ‘Don’t Speak’ were some of the first to make me realise that girls who wanted to make music didn’t have to just sing like a Disney Princess and wear tight dresses – they could wear big boots and scream about how angry they are at society. I think, in her No Doubt glory days, Gwen was a definite icon for young women sick of the status quo and, although her solo stuff was a bit more mainstream, she already had that reputation as a bad ass rock chick who could do whatever the hell she wanted.

Allison Mosshart

This is a lady who just naturally reeks of coolness. She makes me want to don a leopard print, Chelsea boots and a pair of Ray Bans and just go skulking around town. I’ve been a long time fan of The Kills and was overjoyed when The Dead Weather came into existence, presenting Allison’s sultry vocals in a more textured environment and coupled with Jack White’s bluesy vocal approach. And to watch her live is really something else. She swaggers and prowls around the stage, her hair masking her face as hot, sticky voice fills the room.

Patti Smith

Here’s another classic rock chick who has much more to her than just her music. Whilst her iconic rusty vocals stand out as a definite highlight of her rock and roll back catalogue – particularly on favourites like ‘Rock N Roll Nigger’, ‘Because The Night’ and ‘Gloria’ – it’s her stance as a strong minded feminist and support for causes such as the release of Pussy Riot’s jailed members that makes her such an amazing female figure in music and I think a lot of today’s younger female musicians could do with taking a leaf or two from her book.

Fiona Apple

Of course the bewildering and bewitching Miss Fiona Apple had to be included in this list. She’s just too cool to leave out. Pick any song from ‘Tidal’, ‘When The Pawn...’ and ‘Extraordinary Machine’ and you’ll hear a girl pouring her heart out, forcibly pushing herself through an emotional rollercoaster for the good of the music. The excitement felt when she returned with new album ‘The Idler Wheel...’ was pretty immeasurable and it was just what we had been waiting for, that deep, smooth voice over percussion heavy songs with mystifying lyrics – it’s like she never left!

Alanis Morissette

I’ve mentioned a lot about these ladies’ voices but one of the most unique singers on this list has to be the legendary Alanis Morissette. From her little vocal quirks to her unusual pronunciation of certain words is something which has always made her a really fun and interesting singer, not to mention her talent for writing some really powerful, intense, thought-provoking lyrics and super catchy hooks. Yes, the lyrics of ‘Ironic’, as we all now know, may not be cases of irony but simply a series of unfortunate events, but it’s still a bloody good song. Altogether now, "It's like ray-ee-aaayn!"

Régine Chassange

Ah, Régine. To watch her dancing around stage with ribbons, twinkling on her piano or delivering those gloriously cute French vocals just fills me with unrelenting happiness. I don’t think I would love Arcade Fire a fraction of how I do now if it weren’t for Régine. From the moment I heard ‘Power Out’ right up to the release of new album ‘Reflektor’, I have been such a huge fan of the band and it’s Régine’s little feminine touches that have kept me along for the ride all these years.

Kim Deal

Despite having now left The Pixies to concentrate on The Breeders with sister Kelley, it’s hard to ignore the sheer size of contribution she made to the impact The Pixies had on the face of alternative rock music in the 80s and 90s. From her soft backing vocals beneath Frank Black’s insane bellows in ‘Debaser’ to taking lead vocals in the likes of ‘Gigantic’, not to mention her iconic bass riffs and that infectious smile, Kim is someone that everyone should want as their best friend or big sister. Not to mention The Breeders are also pretty damn amazing.

Karen O

It wouldn’t be overly inaccurate to say Karen O is *the* sound of New York. She’s an absolute powerhouse whose bright and hyperactive personality is shown not only in her vocal performance but in her choice of clothing and costumes. Although the music of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs has settled down a bit from the days of ‘Fever To Tell’ but the attitude and the energy is still there and Karen O is a modern day rock heroine who is sure to leave a legacy of screaming and wearing fingerless leather gloves behind her.

Janis Joplin

So here’s the oldest and only deceased girl on the list but part of the reason why she’s no longer with us is precisely because she was such a bad ass rock chick who gave everything she had to her music. With a voice crafted from a healthy diet of cigarettes, bourbon and whiskey, and songs about love, lust, loss and, yes, Mercedes Benz’, Janis sadly got involved with drugs and we lost her to the 27 Club in 1969. For someone who was only active on the music scene for a few years until her untimely death, Janis made an immense impact and her music has gone on to inspire so many women. If ever there was someone to prove the validity of the saying ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history’ then Janis is definitely one of them.

Regina Spektor

One of my favourite lyricists of all time, Regina Spektor’s songs trigger a spectrum of emotion within me. ‘Dance Anthem Of The 80s’ can have me dancing around with a huge smile, ‘How’ can give me such a heavy heart, then there’s certain songs like ‘Genius Next Door’ that confuse me as I can feel, but I can’t quite understand what it is I’m feeling and it’s that aspect of Regina’s music that I love. She can make me feel and cry even when I can’t understand what I’m feeling or why. The important thing is that I am feeling and as long as her music keeps doing that for me, I’ll always love her.

P!nk

Besides the Spice Girls, P!nk was the first pop star I was properly obsessed about. My cousin introduced me to ‘Mizzundaztood’ when I’d just started secondary school and songs like ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ and ‘Lonely Girl’ immediately rung with me as adolescence began to set in. Although I admit to being a bit of a music snob and dismissing the Top 40, I’ll always have an underlying obsession with this women as she’s been my ultimate hero for over decade. I love that she’s always stuck with the rock chick image and it’s something that makes her stand out from the perfectly polished princesses of the pop charts.

Amanda Palmer

Amanda Fucking Palmer. What can I say about this lady that I haven’t already said a million times before? Anyone who knows me even just in passing must know of my rather unhealthy obsession with this girl. I can still pinpoint the exact moment the obsession began: I was in my room with a music video channel on the TV in the background, I heard the twinkling intro of The Dresden Dolls’ ‘Girl Anachronism’, switched my attention to the TV and was glued from start to finish, only realising how wide my mouth was hanging open after the song had finished. Since that moment, around almost ten years ago, I’ve followed Amanda like a bad smell, taking every opportunity I could to meet her, see her live or get involved in any one of her crowd sourcing projects. The more she does, the more I love her. She is such a rock star and one of my favourite people on the entire planet.