It’s a triumph

It sure feels like there is something in the air.

The past 24 months, there’s been a movement growing, a low rumble building to a roar, as women speak up, in all areas of life, demanding a fair share, a better deal. From the halls of parliament to company boardrooms, high-profile voices like Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins, Christine Holgate and others have brought the “woman” issue to the fore.

So why am I writing this in a column dedicated to the arts and entertainment?

There’s lots of reasons, but the most recent is “Ageing in”, a new campaign aimed at the music industry, that wants to see a new era “where talent triumphs timelines and ageing is celebrated, not condemned”. For women, ageism in music means many are relegated to the sidelines by the end of their 20s, disappearing from TV screens and radio playlists.

Back in the 90s, it was impossible to move without hearing Frente (Accidently Kelly Street, Ordinary Angels, Labour of Love) or seeing the smiling face of a young Angie Hart. This week she added her voice to the campaign, posting on her Instagram page. “I’ve been doing music for over 30 years now," she said. "I’ve been ‘too old’ for more than half of that time. I will continue to be ‘too old’ and I look forward to being ‘way too old’. I continue to hone my craft, improve as an artist and I am always learning new things in my discipline as a songwriter and a performer. Age does not decide my worth as a woman or as a musician.”

Amen to that.

Angie, like so many amazing female artists, continues to make fantastic music despite virtually disappearing from the mainstream music industry … one dominated by middle-aged men, who are the gatekeepers of what is heard and seen.

In the past year or two, many of the records that have carried me through some of the strangest times I’ve ever lived in, have been recorded by women. And most of them are in their 30s or 40s – the decades where old men like to tell young women they are past their prime.

At the ripe old age of 31, Taylor Swift released “Folklore”, a glorious and unexpected collaboration with Aaron Dessner of The National. “Exile” with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver was a sublime introduction to the record, which dropped out of nowhere during lockdown.

On her third album “Batflowers” Megan Washington quietly celebrated survival (a lesson for us all) and the title track is so gently joyful it will get you doing a little shimmy in the lounge room.

A brilliant collaboration between Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten, “Like I Used To” could easily be from a Dusty Springfield album. Lush and layered, featuring two wonderful female voices, hopefully this is the first of many.

Saint Cloud the fifth album by Waxahatchee burrowed into my brain and there’s not a dud track on it. “Lilac” is one of my favourites.

Lana Del Rey is due to release a new album later this year, and last year’s “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” had people swooning. But I’m still stuck in 2019 with “Norman F%#king Rockwell”. Some days when the world seems like an unfriendly place nothing sums up the mood quite like “Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have”.

That short list doesn’t even scratch the surface of the magnificent music that women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond are making now. Talent triumphs timelines.