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Why are there so few decent female songwriters?


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Old 02-08-2014, 12:49
floog
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Carole King, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Bjork (possibly) and then I'm struggling to think of many more; whereas when you think of decent male songwriters the list is virtually endless. Why is this?

Women are supposed to be able to express their emotions better than men which would suggest that they should be better at writing songs. I also don't buy the idea that it's to do with sexism because the very fact that there are some successful female songwriters would suggest thst there are no barriers to women who want to write songs.

Are women just less creative and less imaginative than men in general or is there some other reason for this that I am completely missing?
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Old 02-08-2014, 12:51
Kapellmeister
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Dunno. I suppose men are just more creative and artistic than women.
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Old 02-08-2014, 12:57
spookyLX
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Carole King, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Bjork (possibly) and then I'm struggling to think of many more; whereas when you think of decent male songwriters the list is virtually endless. Why is this?

Women are supposed to be able to express their emotions better than men which would suggest that they should be better at writing songs. I also don't buy the idea that it's to do with sexism because the very fact that there are some successful female songwriters would suggest thst there are no barriers to women who want to write songs.

Are women just less creative and less imaginative than men in general or is there some other reason for this that I am completely missing?
have you not heard of Diane Warren op http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...y_Diane_Warren
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Old 02-08-2014, 12:59
jackol
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Adele
Madonna
Debbie Harry
Ani DiFranco
Patty Griffin
Dolly Parton
Stevie Nicks
Annie Lennox
Chrissy Hind
Joan Baez
Really, the list is endless
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:05
Radiomaniac
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Carole King makes up for everything else!
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:06
Moomin
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...Laura Marling, Annie Lennox, Nina Simone, Beth Orton, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Nicks, Amy Winehouse, Regina Spektor, P J Harvey, Cyndi Lauper...
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:09
Moomin
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...Joan Armatrading, Bonnie Raitt, Tori Amos...
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:09
RebelScum
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We could list 100s but the OP would just dismiss them as not being decent (in his/her opinion).
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:09
Babe Rainbow
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:10
dee123
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Don't know. Perhaps the people in the Music Forum might know...
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:12
Moomin
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Erykah Badu...
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:18
juliancarswell
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It the patriachy innit
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:21
little-monster
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I think there are much stronger female songwriters than men and there has been since forever.
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:22
Y_Me
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Sia, Mozella, Linda Perry and so on.
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Old 02-08-2014, 13:52
barbeler
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Sol Seppy
Kathryn Williams
Siouxsie Sioux
Joni Mitchell
Anna Calvi
Nina Persson
Sinead O'Connor
Rita Lynch
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Old 02-08-2014, 14:01
TheTruth1983
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Dunno. I suppose men are just more creative and artistic than women.
Nope, that is shite
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Old 02-08-2014, 14:10
Under Soul
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I'd say that in the 60s-70s women songwriters with a few exceptions were not taken seriously so yes a bit of sexism. As for today and the small number of successful ones, sadly the most popular music has dumbed down and with the collapse of the album market, not many can make a living. The same applies to male artists too.

But there have been several examples as quoted in this thread.
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Old 02-08-2014, 14:16
floog
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We could list 100s but the OP would just dismiss them as not being decent (in his/her opinion).
Given the other suggestions so far I would agree with you..
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Old 02-08-2014, 14:17
floog
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Nope, that is shite
Thanks for your insightful contribution.
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Old 02-08-2014, 14:52
Makson
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Old 02-08-2014, 15:07
mgvsmith
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Nina Simone,
Mary J Blige,
Janet Jackson,
Chaka Khan,
Missy Elliot,
Lauryn Hill,
Toni Braxton,
Queen Latifah,
Alicia Keys,
Nicki Minaj
Nicola Roberts,
Amy Winehouse,
Sheryl Crow,
Norah Jones,
Sarah McLachlan
Emmylou Harris,
Janis Ian.....


This is easy....
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Old 02-08-2014, 15:17
denial_orstupid
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Edie Brickell is a glorious songwriter and her husband isnt to bad himself (paul simon)
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Old 02-08-2014, 16:04
LandslideBrad
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Why are there so few decent male pop singers?

I guess there's a balance everywhere.
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Old 02-08-2014, 16:08
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Old 02-08-2014, 16:35
Hollie_Louise
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I would say there are. Personally i would say Mariah, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Diane Warren, Miranda Cooper (Xenomania), Pink, Kelly Clarkson are all more than decent songwriters.
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