Venus Zine Crowns the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll! Issue #44

PART 2: INSIDERS' PICKS

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: September 3rd, 2010 | 10:45am

To make sure no rock goddess was missed, we asked the who’s who of the music industry, and our readers, for their all-time inspirations. Drumroll please…

the donnas on STEVIE NICKS

We choose Stevie Nicks for Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Nicks’ voice is beyond unique and her melodies are amazing. What really impresses us is the emotion that she puts into her songs and performances. Never coming across as sappy or clichéd, Nicks expresses anger, fear, joy, and sorrow in some of the most honest records we have ever heard. She has influenced many diverse female (and male) musicians, which shows the power and longevity of her music. Nicks has a mystical quality and she creates a fantasy for the listener, which is so important in rock ‘n’ roll. It gives the listener the ability to simultaneously experience their deepest, most secret emotions and desires, while also giving them the chance to escape their lives—even if just for the three minutes it takes to play a song.

The Donnas are an all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California
The Donnas have more to say in our exclusive video interview at VenusZine.com/donnasvideo

nan warshaw on EXENE CERVENKA

Exene Cervenka began her music career DIY-style in 1977 upon meeting John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake in L.A. and formed the seminal punk band X. Exene continues to show her DIY spirit today by creating cutting-edge music, visual art, and poetry. She stills tours solo, with X, and the Knitters. Exene has also performed and recorded with artist Lydia Lunch while her own drawings, paintings, and collages are exhibited across the country. Exene shares her passion on social and political issues, incorporating them comfortably into her music, poetry, and art. Each new album, tour, and exhibit has paved ground for other artists to follow.

Nan Warshaw is the co-founder of Bloodshot Records

mona dehghan on SIOUXSIE SIOUX

Siouxsie Sioux holds the honor for so many reasons: Her fashion choices have turned heads from day one, and her iconic makeup has made those cat eyes more beautiful over time. Her songwriting can be called anything but stagnant, with a career that went from an impromptu screaming of the Lord’s Prayer at the 100 Club Punk Festival to the ornate sounds of the Banshees and the Creatures. What is most inspiring is her complete control both onstage and off. She remains one of the strongest and most uncompromising women on stage. At the end of her 2004 Royal Festival Hall show, she said, “Nothing lasts forever, especially the good things.” True, but not of Sioux’s legacy.

Mona Dehghan is the Communications Manager for Domino Records

liz riley tollefson on DEBBIE HARRY

At a time when rock was sinking under the weight of arena rock, Debbie Harry gave punk and new wave the surge it needed to influence the trajectory of rock. As a commanding force in the major turn of rock ‘n’ roll in the ‘70s, Harry’s seductive insurgency of the status quo and unapologetic femininity made her a staple among contemporaries. Before the melding of rock star and fashionista roles was commonplace, Harry extended her reach by becoming a noted trendsetter and resident sex symbol for the reinvigorated rock ‘n’ roll movement, making way for future waves of Madonnas to command hearts, minds, and record libraries.

Liz Riley Tollefson is the co-founder of threeimaginarygirls.com

frank hopkinson on MADONNA

In the beginning, rock ‘n’ roll was sex. When Alan Freed first picked up the phrase, rockin’ and rollin’ on a Saturday night didn’t involve watching a fat man in a lame suit and a kiss curl. Madonna is sex. She has breathed sex onto vinyl ever since she sang “Like a Virgin” so unconvincingly. How could she remember? She’s had sex books, sex records, sex films, and sex tours. She’s had as many number ones as the Beatles and is old enough and omnipresent enough to be a deity. Rock ‘n’ roll is more than owning a leather jacket.

Frank Hopkinson is the co-author of The Girl in the Song: The True Stories Behind 50 Rock Classics (Chicago Review Press, October 2010)

Be sure to check out who our Venus Zine Staff and Readers think should be named the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll!

PART 1: Staff Picks
PART 3: Readers' Picks