'Grossness turned up to 11': Twin Cities rockers spotlight rock's most sexist songs

Some of the music scene's best-known women team up for Sunday's "Do Re #MeToo" benefit concert at the Parkway.

By Chris Riemenschneider Star Tribune

September 5, 2023 — 6:10am

When it comes to changing the long and still-strong tradition of sexism in rock 'n' roll music, some of the Twin Cities' most talented musicians and one well-known comedian have come up with a fun yet poignant way of spotlighting the worst of the worst.

They pick out the most offensive hit songs they can think of, and they quite literally sing them to death in an ultra-snarky benefit concert happening again Sunday at the Parkway Theater.

"I'm hoping it will be an energy-clearing ritual for all of us — like a detox of the misogyny that has been rooted deep within us," said Jenny Case, bassist for the Flamin' Oh's.

Case is serving as bandleader for the show billed as "Do Re MeToo: Sexist Songs Reclaimed by Righteous Feminists," a third almost-annual fundraiser for Twin Cities comedy hero Lizz Winstead's Abortion Access Front. A rotating cast of well-known local singers take turns delivering the arsenal of offensive songs, including Meghan Kreidler (Kiss the Tiger), Janey Winterbauer (the Suburbs), Annie Mack, Aby Wolf, Diane Miller, Christy Costello, Ava Levy, Tricky Miki and punk vet Cindy Lawson.

And yes, if you haven't figured it out already: The concert is an all-female affair. That's a big part of what makes it so devilishly fun yet meaningful.

"The first year this show happened was the first time in my life I'd ever been on a stage with all women," said Winterbauer, recounting previous installments at the Cedar Cultural Center.

"God knows how many times I've been the only woman in the room or on the stage. It was life-giving in a way I hadn't anticipated."

And yet the shows also give a whole new life to the material in question. Some of the songs are not so abstractly about hurting women. Some are about courting women, er, girls way too young to be in the singer's crosshairs. Some are just so horndog-y it's scary.

Basically, half of AC/DC's discography and most of Ted Nugent's canon are eligible for consideration. But you'd be surprised some of the less-obvious candidates that come up, too, like the Beatles or the Police.

"I think highlighting these songs in this way is powerful because we hear them differently through non-male voices," Kreidler said. "We hear just how horrible and ridiculous they are. Having the opportunity to reclaim these songs in a live concert setting creates instant joy and community."

Said Wolf, who's excited to be participating for the first time, "Some of these lyrics are abso-[expletive]-lutely ridiculous. They're like caricatures or parade-size blow-up floats of misogyny, patriarchy, objectification, etc. Grossness turned up to 11."

The Do Re #MeToo performers did not want to reveal the songs on tap for Sunday's concert. To provide some examples of the kind of questionable material they're talking about, they discussed some picks from previous years' shows.

"Run for Your Life," by the Beatles

Sample lyrics: "You better run for your life if you can, little girl / Hide your head in the sand, little girl / Catch you with another man / That's the end, little girl."

Cindy Lawson: "That's the song I remember most [from the Cedar], sung by my buddies Laurie Lindeen and Coleen Elwood from Zuzu's Petals. The Beatles could pass that off for a fun little song back in the '60s and have millions of teenagers singing along with it. It just made me shudder."

"Animals," by Maroon 5

Sample lyrics: "Baby, I'm preying on you tonight / Hunt you down, eat you alive / Maybe you think that you can hide / I can smell your scent for miles / Just like animals."

Meghan Kreidler: "I will never forget Katy Vernon's rendition. The song is horrifying lyrically. Adam Levine sings about preying on a woman like an animal. But Katy went so far as to re-create Levine's shirtless and tattoo-clad performance of it at [2019's] Super Bowl Halftime Show. Her performance pointed at the true audacity of a man to not only sing about predatory behavior, but to do it so unabashedly."

"Young Girl," by Gary Puckett & the Union Gap

Sample lyrics: "Better run girl, you're much too young girl / Go on home to your mama, I'm sure she wonders where you are / Get out of here before I have the time to change my mind, cause I'm afraid we'll go too far."

Janey Winterbauer: "Great stuff, Gary. Not creepy at all. This is the thing: I've always loved that song. It's catchy, fun to sing along to, and the horn section and production is top-notch. That doesn't make it right though, does it? There's no longer an excuse for not calling this stuff out. Why not start with the classics?"