Part one: Rounding off the Edges – Guided by Angels
Part two: Live! Amyl And The Sniffers (Trix)
Part three: Guided by Amyl
When I heard Guided by Angels for the first time, I got into a heated discussion if they might be a Christian band (they’re not). It’s not always that I look up the lyrics immediately, (though it does happen A LOT) but in this case I just fell in love instantly. If I hadn’t already fallen head over heels for that pumping intro riff.
When they (inevitably, obviously) make a movie about my life, this song is going to be on the soundtrack. Right next to The Dresden Dolls’ Girl Anachronism. Both songs just radiate ADHD energy to me.
Energy, good energy and bad energy I’ve got plenty of energy It’s my currency I spend, protect my energy, currency
Guided by Angels
Rounding off the Edges – Guided by Angels pt. 1 – Number 37 in the series.
I had to use these words somehow, in the Rounding off the Edges Series. And I did. And believe me when I say I am not yet done with their words. All this to say: I absolutely love this band.
Another few lyric favourites:
Does my opinion really make you that sick? Every decision, every consequences My choice is my own, my body’s my own Opinion is my own, I own it, I own it
And I would rather figure it out the hard way Even if it takes a little more time I want all the experiences I have To be explicitly exclusively mine
Choices
Does my opinion really make you that sick? Every decision, every consequences My choice is my own, my body’s my own Opinion is my own, I own it, I own it
And I would rather figure it out the hard way Even if it takes a little more time I want all the experiences I have To be explicitly exclusively mine
Freaks to the front
Live! Amyl And The Sniffers (Trix)
Australian invasion of Belgium – Part one! (See The Chats for part 2)
I got to see them at Trix on November 15th 2022 and I seriously almost started crying in the audience. To say it had been a rough few months for me would be an understatement. This gig was quite literally the first fun activity I had planned since the end of August. And I still didn’t really feel like going, even though I had been looking forward to it for over a year.
So I just stood there and let the energy the band emits (the song is not wrong!) wash all over me. I felt the loud basses coursing through my body. I felt the happiness and enthusiasm of the audience I was in (and then I’m not even addressing that same feeling radiating off of the stage). I felt like somewhat of a person again. Music is my home and Amyl And The Sniffers made me feel SO SO welcome.
At the time I wasn’t in a writing state of mind, so I never gave them the review they deserved. But everything felt a little lighter after that day. Got to meet the lovely Amyl (Amy Taylor) & Sniffer Dec Martens post-show, hanging out by their bus. Great and funny people, so down to earth and genuinly nice. You can tell by my crazy joyous smile. Next time they’re around, I will write them that review and then some!
Julie and Dec Martens at Trix november 2023
Guided by Amyl
I search, search For the angels guiding my energy They’re so heavenly I love their energy Angels return my energy heavenly …. From the angels heavenly guided—fuck!
Guided By Angels
It might not surprise you that I have a soft spot for the lady Amy(l) who is everything I want to be when I grow up. (Yes, she is 10 years younger than me, I just never had the right role models growing up. Still learning!) The above lyric rings so true to me. (See: Circle in a Square Puzzle.) It is so hard to find the people who bring the best out in you. And so glorious when you do find them.
It took me way longer than I would have liked, but I have found some of my angels both near me and in a ‘love-you-from-afar-way’. Both are represented in the below picture.
Amy Taylor (Amyl and the Sniffers), Julie and Seriously Hilary at Trix in November 2023
Amyl and the Sniffers ,15th of november 2023, Trix antwerpen
I was never good at asking. I’d rather fall flat on my face several times before asking anyone for help. I still suffer from this affliction to some extent. But I’ve learned asking or receiving it is not something disgraceful. It is helpful. It creates a positive energy that you in turn can pay forward. Without help from our parents, we wouldn’t have a decent car or the house we live in. Should I be ashamed of this? No! I should however be very thankful of the help received.
I’ve only come to this realisation recently, when I started reading The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. I’m only halfway through this already fantastic book, so please don’t expect an elaborate review.
2023 note: I have read this book countless times since then and wormed its way again onto my ever growing to (re)read pile.)
This is my written ode to Amanda Fucking Palmer: musician, singer, writer, artist, poet and all-round voice of so many people that don’t get, or dare to yell out themselves.
Getting The Art of Asking signed after the Amanda Palmer gig at Die Kantine in Cologne in 2016. Receiving a big hug after telling her how much it meant to me.
In the book, she describes beautifully how she felt like a beggar while working as The Bride at first, a living statue she took on the road.
How she tried her hardest to connect with people, all without uttering one word. And how it felt when she broke through the shell of one of the busy commuters.
How she made her eyes speak “I SEE you”. She recalls the thankful looks of recognition. I’ll never look at a living statue the same way again.
2023 note: Having met her, I can tell you this is not a gimmick. She SEES and FEELS her fans, her people. They are both her driving force and safety blanket.
Her music and lyrics inspire me. They break me when I feel fragile, and kick my ass when I need a boost. I keep discovering more and more layers within the songs. In the words and the notes. In the silences in between. I fall in love all over again, with every note and snippet of lyric, every time I put any of her music on.
The beautiful lyrics she writes down represent full honesty and fragility. When she whispers or screams them out on stage, only then do you understand them fully. They are what you want them to be. They can be everything and nothing in between. On a road-rage-fueled morning commute, they can be a release for that anger. On a quiet drive in the fields, it can be a lovely friend who tells you how beautiful the world is.
The beautiful lyrics she writes down represent full honesty and fragility. And then when she screams them out or whispers them on stage, only then do you understand them fully. They are what you want them to be. They can be everything and nothing in between. On a road-rage-fueled morning commute, they can be a release for that anger. On a quiet drive in the fields, it can be a lovely friend who tells you how beautiful the world is.
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra at Botanique BXL -November 2nd 2013 (Potato quality courtesy of crappy iphone)
Her shows, both with The Dresden Dolls, solo or with one of her many side-projects always radiate an energy that every fan takes home and treasures for years. I’m still talking about a Dolls show in 2006 like it was yesterday. She & Brian shook the AB venue in Brussels on its foundations. Just the two of them, an electric piano, a drum set and a set of lungs. Oh and his guitar, which he smashed. I still have to small part of it I managed to get a hold of!
AFPiano: Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – Trix – June 9th 2017
AFPshoes: She commented on my blingy shoes my friend put on the stage after I took them off because they hurt. (Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – Trix – June 9th 2017)
Pre-show selfie with bestie Hilary. We go all out for AFP.
During show picture by bestie Hilary! I was crying because it was so intense. (Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – Trix – June 9th 2017)
Hanson was at Trix too that night. (I was actually supposed to go see them, sorry again sis.) I unfortunately lack the photographic evidence, but there was a little football match going on back-stage between them. It was the mind-fuckiest thing having those two artists existing in that same space at the same time.
Post-show-hug-selfie, with an honorary mention to Merch Queen Alex in the back!
Me, Edward Ka-Spell and the I can Spin a Rainbow merch (Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – Trix – June 9th 2017)
I got this picture courtesy of the only person I ever met at an AFP thing who was weird in a bad way. He let me know he snapped this pic (way better quality than my selfie) so I added him on messenger and then he turned full creep in 2 seconds. At least it brought me this picture. Photo credit,: THAT guy.
Remember the during-show picture by bestie Hilary? Well, she’s an amazing artist and turned that moment in time, that wonderful emotion into a beautiful piece of art.
The love she shows her fans and opening acts is astonishing. The pure brutal force with which she brings her music is borderline maniacal. She lives her stories and music on stage. She leaves behind a breathless, satisfied audience that can forget about using their voice the morning after. If you’re not hoarse as a barmaid the day after a DD or AFP show, you’re doing it wrong.
The fire with which she storms the world head on makes her my most appreciated female artist of all time. She isn’t afraid to give out her opinion, but isn’t afraid to retract if she feels she was wrong. She tackles misogynists and uses wit and art to make her point. She does not back down. She isn’t afraid to ask (for help).
The way she reacted to the Daily Mail article about her Nip-Slip on stage during a festival. No. I’m not quoting the source. I am however quoting Amanda on the matter of this type of journalism:
“Anything that seems to exist just to taunt, denigrate, bully, bemoan or demean others (especially if it is wrapped in a shroud of self-righteousness) is click-bait. Instead? Fuck it! Share something actually useful and wonderful! We need more of that, always. Preferably something deep, profound, mind-blowing and enlightening, but seriously…. sloths n’ kittens are still vastly better than yet another article shit-click-baiting.“
AFP
Here’s the video. Warning NSFW!
Not only is the song pretty fucking hilarious, she dares to fight the misleading media. In this case she refused to be reduced to a nipple. Deceptive journalism is a dangerous and slippery slope. Because of what is not written, a lot of important points aren’t made. In Amanda’s case, it was about her music and how it should speak for her, and not a silly wardrobe malfunction. But it is bigger than that too. It is about some stories being reported on profusely, while others die on the metaphorical editorial floor. And it’s mostly the stories that matter, that don’t make the cut.
Amanda isn’t afraid to speak her fears, as well as her mind. She evens the path for people who have something they fear or are anxious about, to speak their mind about it.
To let them be heard, so they can start to heal. She lends her ear to fans in need in the signing queue. In turn she has a shoulder to cry on when she doesn’t feel her best.
This is how she connects with her fans. Through laying it all bare. Through showing that it’s okay to talk about it, however much it hurts. However much people might reject you. She encourages you to grow from and empower yourself with this rejection. You cannot please everyone. Deal with it.
I feel she brings a healthy and much needed voice to femininity. She posts pictures to instagram & facebook without make up and her signature painted on eyebrows. She tells girls, young and old alike, that it is okay to be yourself. That we’re all flawed. That we all have bags under our eyes on most days. That real women have pores. And taches de beauté. And that that is okay.
Someone should write a book about this woman’s life. Oh wait. That’s right, she already did. It is called “The Art of Asking” and you should read it now. (Also, this post is turning into my version of her biography: ‘My life with Amanda Palmer.’ I’m only slightly kidding. Hyperfixation much?) Then start asking, stop worrying and let people help if you can’t do it alone.
Editors note: Originally posted on February 7th, 2015
So much has happened to Amanda, me and the world (both good and bad) in the 8 years since I originally wrote this post in February 2015. Hence me feeling I have to add this rather long addendum and instead of just reposting the original from the depths of the Way Back Machine. (If it wasn’t for that site by the way, I’d have lost all my content since I started DownSideUp originally.)
Between the original post and now, I have met this beautiful person after shows on several occasions and even got to spend a day with her and her entourage.
Biggest and only regret of the day is not telling Neil Gaiman what a fucking fantastic author he is. Instead I kept gushing about my love for his co-author to Good Omens, the wonderful Terry Pratchett. (Sorry, Neil, I LOVE YOU but I google other authors!)
AFP and Neil Gaiman at Speelgoedmuseum
AFP and Neil Gaiman at Speelgoedmuseum
AFP and Julie + youngest fan (He got his uke signed!)
AFP & Neil Gaiman browsing for a new kitchen. Shortly after we lost Neil who in turn posted a cryptic thread to Twitter you can read below.
Prized possession: my battered copy of Good Omens signed by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (at least in spirit).
Rolemodels we need growing up, Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer as a boxed up Ken & Barbie.
Driving Neil & Amanda back to Borgerhout. Shout out to the lovely person on the right of Amanda whose name escapes me..
Group picture we just had to take because I am still having trouble believing all of this really happened.
Pre-show selfie with bestie Hilary, note the 3 AFP related badges on my coat and the There Will be no Intermission tour poster – 20 september 20
Post-show selfie with the one and only AFP
The only problem with wandering around a bit of a children’s museum that’s closed, on your own, is that suddenly you are in a Brian Clemens scripted 1960s tv episode. It’s only a matter of time before the murders start. pic.twitter.com/kfqCB7ftcp
Attachment to the gallery: We lost Neil Gaiman somewhere around the creepy old dolls and he started a cryptic play by play thread of trying to find us again in the maze full of oddities that is the Toy Museum.
Another sidenote from the gallery above. AFP inspires people to create unabashedly, like how Hilary made her beautiful painting from my picture and I got to go wild in my Dresden Dolls inspired Photoshoot. (Plus countless other fan art I am not mentioning because this article is already TOO DAMN LONG.)
Anyway, since that first The Dresden Dolls gig, I have seen her most every time she’s been in Europe. Every iteration has been completely different, from the loud punk-esque sound with The Grand Theft Orchestra, to the haunting tour with Edward Ka-Spel, and her various (solo) projects.
She released at ton of music in the past decade, fueled by her Patrons. There were the collaborations with with the extremely talented Jason Webley for Evelyn Evelyn and Sketches For the Musical JIB. She brought her family along for the ride with ‘An Evening With Neil Gaiman & Amanda Palmer’ and the album You Got Me Singing she made with her dad Jack Palmer. Her last tour de force was There will be no Intermission with musician Jherek Bischoff on which you already know my opinion. There is just too much to mention everything individually, so just check the full discography on her website. Do note though, that The Dresden Dolls have started hitting the stage again as of this year.
As a 36 year old, I finally understand why my younger self gravitated towards this sentence. Which is why I finally visualised it.
I was so rattled, entranced and inspired by this one line when I first read it, I may have completely forgotten to read the rest of the book. (#adhdproblems)
Then again, it has been with me now for over 20 years, wandering in and out of my consciousness. It acquired new meanings along the way but was always a beacon of recognition.
Anyway. Understanding yourself and your place in the world is so important. Just paying it forward. To whom it may inspire ❤️
I used Canva and Snapseed, but don’t ask me to repeat this proces.
I am a person. But not like the others. I don’t fit the mold. I’m a circle in a square puzzle.
Yes this sounds dramatic. I’m too old to care. It feels like I am not the same shape as other people. I myself am coming to terms with that. A part of me LOVES being neurodivergent. I see SO much so many other people can’t see. But I also FEEL so much other people don’t feel as deeply. Which can be both amazing and awful, even at the same time.
Because everything is too much all at once and the world doesn’t fit my circular mold. I have to mold myself into a square to fit. And I cannot. I can tell the odd fib, though I’m admittedly bad at it.
But it is impossible for me to hide my true self, however much I may want to be the mysterious person at the back people are intrigued about. I just leak out. As soon as I feel I find my people, I stop putting on that mask.
And sometimes it is okay and I find understanding and it’s like magic. Other times, it places me so much outside of things, I forget where I’m supposed to be. And it takes me a while to notice that ‘my people’ are just ‘tolerating my presence’, not so much as actually accepting me. And when my brain does finally come to that realisation, it fucking hurts. Physically as well as mentally.
People see neurodivergents mostly as ‘unfeeling’. Autistic people don’t have emotion or empathy. They’re an AI like ChatGPT that just reasearches and mimics human behaviour. Fuck ALL of that. All the ASD people I have encountered, interacted with and read about were the exact opposite. They FEEL SO MUCH they don’t have the words to articulate just how much goes on inside.
Not necessarily because autistic people are inherently stupid as is often a stereotype. Far from it, more like. We see and feel the world differently. It is why ASD is often misdiagnosed as hypersensitivity. (Hello, my name is Julie and I am one of those misdiagnoses.) Yes, we are hypersensitive to our surroundings (Combine that with ADHD and you might just feel like you just dropped acid and the world is all COLOURS and DISTRACTIONS, but anyway.) which means our brains take a LOT of time and effort to take in a random sequence of events.
A neurotypical brain will ignore all the bits are usually deemed unnecessary/not relevant. An ASD/ADHD brain (Talking from experience, possibly other types of neurodivergence et al as well.) processes everything all at once. It is LOUD. It is messy. It is confusing. We get scared and overwhelmed.
Temple Grandin referred to it best in ‘Animals in Translation: The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow.’ She states that she feels people with autism (or maybe even neurodiversity in general), in her experience, seem to relate well to animals. In the sense that they both get overstimulated by a world that feels unfamiliar and in response react erratically to it, when seen from the vantage point of the people whose world they ‘inhabit’. I understand the woman who thinks like a cow and both adores and understands cows. (See: my Google Photos archives for reference. So. Many. Cows. And you don’t even know how many cow accounts I follow on all the socials. Cows are THE SHIT. They deserve their own post. Anyway.)
So, I feel that I am cattle. Not in the conspiracy theorist ‘You’re all sheep man!’, but in the sense that I am in a world that isn’t familiar to me. And that it doesn’t react the way I anticipate it to react (to me). I sometimes feel like a scared cow, driven from (what I at least assume was) my herd, anxious because someone also left a glaring yellow glove on the fence and I don’t recognise it. You’d have to really read the book to get the full comparison.
In short, cows in one of her facilities reacted frenziedly to some stimulus that in the end turned out to be a yellow glove on a fence, because the yellow makes it look different and scary to their dichromatic eyes. Another story was about the contrast between the bright sunlight versus the perceived darkness in an entryway when trying to get them in for shots for instance. Combined with her recommendation for people with autism (I believe it was in ‘Thinking in Pictures: my life with autism) to try rose tinted glasses for better reading/viewing, it made me draw the comparison. (By the way, I also now wear rose tinted sunglasses and it has seriously been a gamechanger. I kept having the issue that my sunglasses were too dark to see properly in most cases, but if I didn’t wear them I would be blinded, even by limited sunlight. Now I can wear them all the time without being visually impeded. I also no longer have any issue going from the sunny garden into the darker house, huzzah!)
To any other person, it is a stupid yellow glove they ignore because it is not important in the grand scheme of things. But to me it is an eyesore that starts infiltrating my every being. It is out of place, it is wrong. MOO MOO! And the herd manager, or whoever is in charge of the cows, will say, ‘oh that cow is unruly, don’t mind her, she’s the worst of the herd’. Whereas the poor creature is just scared of the unknown. The glove. That bright yellow thing on the fence is moving in the wind and taunting her.
I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last year since my ‘half’diagnosis. For fucks sake, I read a book by Peter Vermeulen on autism that felt like my own instruction manual I had somehow always lost. How are you, with you dumb ASD test still designed for (probably cis, white male) kids, going to tell me that I am not on the fucking spectrum. Mostly because I mask so well my own partner saw me as a different person I truly was inside because I didn’t know just HOW much I was masking. I thought I took it all the way off for the people I felt safe with. Apparently I could not even manage that.
What I learned most is that I can THRIVE. If allowed. If encouraged. If understood. I had a few mentors that subconsciously tapped into that. I could be the best person, employee, friend, whateverthefuck, if they just understood. Or not necessarily understood, but at least understood that that force inside is so great, it only needs nurturing and safety.
I leave you with a quote from Peter Vermeulen. ‘You are not difficult. You are just having a difficult time.’
Small note concerning the image. That line popped into my head while working on my series ‘Rounding off the Edges”. This series and at least on of its subseries will be highlighted on here soon. You can find bits and pieces of it on the clumsy crane studio Instagram account if you’re curious.
Enkele gitaren, een piano en de pure stem van Rosanne Cash, meer was er niet nodig om de AB voor één avond onder te dompelen in authentieke Americana. Cash bracht samen met haar man John Leventhal een intiem en ingetogen optreden dat bleef nazinderen.
Rosanne Cash is de oudste dochter van legende Johnny Cash. Net zoals haar vader is ze een verhalenverteller met een bijzondere stem. Haar laatste plaat heet “She remembers everything” en dat gevoel draagt ze uit in haar nummers en hoe ze die aan elkaar praat. Met een nuchtere zachtheid vertelt ze over haar leven, op de tonen van de muziek en ernaast. Aangrijpend en herkenbaar is het moment waar Cash beschrijft hoe ze opgroeide middenin de vrouwen- en burgerrechtenbeweging in de jaren 60 en 70 en met zoveel hoop naar de toekomst keek. Hoe ze dacht dat vooruitgang maar in één richting kon evolueren en hoe het nu zo anders blijkt te lopen.
De avond kent heel wat hoogtepunten. Van het aangrijpende “Blue Moon With Heartache” (What would I give to be a diamond in your eyes again, What would I give to bring back those old times, What did I say to make your cold heart bleed this way, Maybe I’ll just go away today) over het krachtig en fragiele “She remembers everything” (I didn’t know her then, My enemy, my treasured friend, Outside this waking dream, She remembers everything, I don’t know her now, My bitter pill, my broken vow, This girl, this bird who sings, She remembers everything) naar het melancholische en strijdvaardige “The Undiscovered Country” waar ze uithaalt naar het huidige politieke klimaat en de #metoo beweging (The old men never helped us, They took our every vow, Turned them into money, And look where we are now. Waiting for a savior, But she walks alone to sea, And someone’s going down, She went down for me).
Als bisnummer trakteert ze op Tennessee Flat Top Box, een nummer van Cash Sr. dat ze zich helemaal eigen maakt. Haar stem leent er zich perfect toe en het gitaargeluid van Leventhal knipoogt naar de unieke sound van de gitaar van haar vader.
Noot voor noot en woord voor woord sleept ze het publiek mee. Cash’s hele set ademt haar verhaal. Hoe ze haar stem vond en hoe ze die ook durft gebruiken nu ze ouder is. In haar woorden: “Women my age still have a lot to say. And that urgency and longing and righteous indignation and passion don’t go away. They don’t fade with time unless you let them.”(Billboard) En wees maar zeker: she won’t let them.
John Leventhal balanceert zijn gitaren en de snuifjes piano handig op de achtergrond en laat “zijn” ster schitteren. De liefde schijnt door in hun muziek en de onderlinge conversaties tussen de nummers. Na 24 jaar zijn ze een goed geolied team dat perfect op elkaar inspeelt. Wanneer Cash en Leventhal samen gitaar spelen, lijkt het wel alsof hun instrumenten converseren. Als Rosanne voor enkele nummers haar gitaar neerlegt gebeurt er iets extra bijzonder. Haar stem krijgt nog meer kracht en ze gooit zich nog zoveel harder in de tekst en gaat dieper in haar uithalen. Een overtreffende trap van een stem die sowieso al imponeert.
Cash hypnotiseert met haar stem, tegelijk krachtig en breekbaar. Haarzuiver gaat ze van hoge passages over naar de lagere stukken waar haar stem een extra warme ondertoon krijgt. De bijna eerbiedige stilte van het publiek tijdens de nummers spreekt evenveel boekdelen als de twee staande ovaties die ze na haar optreden krijgt. Een madam met een sound die er staat, de verrassende mix van country, blues, folk en popmuziek die ze samensmelt tot haar hoogsteigen bijzondere klankkarakter dat naar meer smaakt.
Setlist
Modern Blue The Sunken Lands The Undiscovered Country The Only Thing Worth Fighting For Crossing to Jerusalem A Feather’s Not a Bird Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizzell cover) Blue Moon With Heartache Ode to Billie Joe (Bobbie Gentry cover) I’m Movin’ On (Hank Snow cover) Western Wall She Remembers Everything When the Master Calls the Roll Motherless Children Runaway Train (John Stewart cover) Seven Year Ache
Encore: Tennessee Flat Top Box (Johnny Cash cover) 500 Miles(Hedy West cover)
Rosanne Cash & John Leventahl – Zaterdag 14 september 2019 Ancienne Belgique, Brussel
I just recently saw the 2014 documentary Women aren’t funny by Bonnie McFarlane and I’m afraid I have to apologise. I, along with the rest of the world, have been guilty of exclaiming: “Women just aren’t that funny”. It was a long time ago and yet this still shames me.
Women ARE funny. Maybe not all women, much like not all men are cut out to do stand up. The fact is that there are way fewer women in the comedy scene than there are men. And that these small groups in turn get even more marginalised because of their gender. Because who wants to see a female headliner? According to the club owners, no one. McFarlane tackles this injustice in her, as she likes to call it, “cocumentary”. A documentary about comedy, what were you thinking?
We have to do away with horrible generalisations like this. And that’s why we’ve prepared this list of extremely funny females, for you to enjoy. Grab a blanket, a coffee/tea (whatever your poison) and let these lovely lady voices tickle your funny bone.
Is there anyone in the world who is not in love with Tina Fey? I first got to know her on SNL, where she’s probably most known for her impeccable Sarah Palin impression. I read Bossy Pants and wanted more, more, MORE. She passed onto her own show, 30 Rock and won me over for life. It is a wacky series about an SNL-type show, that doesn’t take itself too (at all) seriously, full of meta- and showbiz references and the most insane guest stars. I want to go to there!
Annotation anno 2023: I IDENTIFY A LOT WITH LIZ LEMON. More and more every day. I haven seen this series in forever and still quote it daily. I have however already watched it 5 times or something.
For me, Tina and Amy should be on this list on the same bullet point, but I decided get them each their own. They met way before they played on SNL together, and all the sketches they did together were gold. They were the best Weekend Update-team SNL has ever seen. Together they hosted the Golden Globes twice already. Poehler went on to do Parks & Recreation, a very tongue in cheek political extravaganza. However much you try, you canNOT hate Leslie Knope.
Annotation anno 2023: It cannot come as a shock but I IDENTIFY A LOT WITH LESLIE KNOPE TOO. More and more every day. I haven seen this series in forever and still quote it daily. I have however already watched it 5 times or something. (Yes, exactly like 30 Rock.)
With her lovely high-pitched voice and adorable accent, Sarah Millican is representing the UK. Voted best newcomer at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2008, she went on to be one of the 100 most influential women in the UK in 2014. Last year she was nailed to the cross on Twitter, by people who disapproved of her wardrobe choice for the Baftas. Millican set them straight in an extremely funny, yet eye-opening letter.
Luciously locked Caitlin Moran taught me how to be a woman. Or at least, helped me appreciate being a non-typical part of the female race. She writes herself directly into your heart with her witty and off center views on life. She is entirely self-made and became a rock journalist from age 15 onwards. She is the best kind of feminist, the one who realizes we can still have a sense of humor towards being female.
I know this is cheating, but QI is a wonderfully weird quiz show with crazy facts and figures, presented by the ever-so-lovely Stephen Fry. (NO LONGER: editors addition 2023: now it is Sandi FUCKING Toksvig. Who had the nicest and most wonderful lockdown podcast in the world of all podcasts.) It is at times a pretty male dominated show, if it weren’t for all the strong ladies who brought a smile to my face over the years. Jo Brand, Sue Perkins, Sandi Toksvig, Sarah Millican are but of few of the ever-growing list of funny as hell ladies who quiz. I picked Jo brand as the representative of the ladies, because she’s one of the funniest and most adorable women on tv. Ever.
6. Kirsten Wiig
Kirsten also got her big break on Saturday Night Live. She was always one of my favorite actors on the show and made for some very epically funny Saturday nights. Every time I see her face on TV, be it in a movie or in a recent guest appearance on SNL, I giggle a little. She recently made the extremely dirty and funny Bridesmaids and is on to star in the all female version of Ghostbusters alongside Melissa McCarthy. (Is this the real life? Or is it just fantasy? No! An all female cast for Ghost Busters.)
Editors note 2023: cue all the hate because OH NO WOMEN GOSTBUSTERS, AAAH. But it was a pretty decent film. Not great, but that had nothing to do with the four lovely ladies and more with the actual writing.
That voice. That terrific sound she expels from her vocal chords. The inherent crazy in all the characters she plays. You just got to love Kristen. She’s perfect as the Senior Women’s Issues Correspondent on the Daily Show. She plays a weird but loveable 5 year old on Bobs Burgers. She’s the kinda too close stalker-fan from Flight of the Conchords. She goes in overdrive as a page on 30 Rock. She is the best guest-star any comedy show could ask for. (Editors note 2023: STILL TRUE! Also, much more than that: check out the AMAZING What we do in the Shadows🙂
Bee has been with the Daily Show since 2003 and has made the most cringe-worthy yet epically funny TV I’ve ever seen. Her face alone is comedy gold; her facial expressions say so much more than any word she utters. I cannot help but smile, every time her face appears on my idiot box.
😢<3
10. All of the women I have forgotten
I had a longer short list for this article than the aforementioned amazing women. So here I give a BIG shout out to Aubrey Plaza, Rashida Jones, Jane Krakowski, Vanessa Bayer, Aidy Bryant, Jessica Williams, Rachel Dratch, Chelsea Handler, Chelsea Peretti, Sarah Silverman, Bonnie McFarlane, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss,… And you can just fill in whomever I have mistakenly forgotten in the comment section! (Editors note: some I might not have forgotten, but not yet discovered. I will update this list as long as I live and breathe.)
Or better yet, post a video of your favourite comedienne online with the hashtag: #womenarefunny
And remember: let me NEVER again hear you say, “Women aren’t funny”. Because we are. Now go watch that documentary and tweet about it!
DownSideUp 