Rae Spoon
Powerful album reignites the pronoun debate
By Carla Gillis
http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=184903 (http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/story.cfm?content=184903)
You could say that Rae Spoon's year began with a battle.
In reaction to Xtra's refusal to refer to transgendered comic artist Elisha Lim as Lim's preferred "they" in an article and because Xtra editor Danny Glenwright used trans woman Lexi Sanfino's legal name on his Facebook page, Spoon wrote a lengthy, personal, articulate Tumblr post entitled Instead Of An Interview With Xtra.
The Montreal-based transgendered electronic pop maker, who also prefers the plural pronoun, even gave up a cover on Capital Xtra after Xtra refused to issue an apology.
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Spoon CD early 2012 must-have
By Eric Volmers, Postmedia News January 26, 2012 5:18 AM
http://www.windsorstar.com/entertainment/Spoon+early+2012+must+have/6053515/story.html (http://www.windsorstar.com/entertainment/Spoon+early+2012+must+have/6053515/story.html)
CD REVIEW
I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets
As with a much of Rae Spoon's fascinating backstory, news that the Calgary-born singersongwriter's latest release was inspired by the death of a friend may provide a certain context for the shadows of grief and guilt that creep into this stunning 10-song disc. But having this information is hardly essential for appreciating what is basically a brilliant electro-pop record. Now three albums into what has been one of the more intriguing musical transformations in recent Canadian music, the transgender artist appears to be fully committed to the dance-electronic sounds that first began replacing the twang in 2008's Superioryouareinferior. But Spoon always maintains a singer-songwriter sensibility that aims for connection without abandoning personal vision.
I love that Now is more progressive than Xtra!. Something is seriously ->-bleeped-<-ed up with our newspapers when a mainstream entertainment newspaper is willing to use "they" and our queer newspaper isn't. Screw Xtra!. Seriously.
And the pronoun dodging in the Windsor Star is pretty crap, but that is pretty much what everyone else is doing:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Hear+This+Reviews+albums/6043369/story.html (http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Hear+This+Reviews+albums/6043369/story.html)
http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/artists/Rae-Spoon (http://radio3.cbc.ca/#/artists/Rae-Spoon)
http://www.uptownmag.com/music/cd-reviews/I-Cant-Keep-All-Of-Our-Secrets-137307553.html (http://www.uptownmag.com/music/cd-reviews/I-Cant-Keep-All-Of-Our-Secrets-137307553.html)
And the awesome level of fail that is this:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/disc-of-the-week-little-willies-smooth-out-a-rough-country-road/article2292703/page2/ (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/disc-of-the-week-little-willies-smooth-out-a-rough-country-road/article2292703/page2/)
"A woman who identifies as a man." Charming. You fired all your copy editors Globe and Mail. This is why we can't have nice things.