Every week, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 40-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Take a song like “Joelle,” which is about a young woman experiencing a domestic scenario that illuminates a gender-based role she intends to avoid. It’s more or less an anti-love song. “No I will not be doing the dishes while you watch TV.” In the late ’80s, I frequently threw a frying pan when we played the song live.
These are the types of songs that women write and use as fuel in the ongoing rejection of patriarchy. Those of us who aren’t white males, fuse creativity and intellectual philosophies to overthrow our oppressors. This activity will of course be diminished and ignored by said oppressors.
“Joelle” from Calico Kills The Cat (K, 1988) (download):
