The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland has a new exhibit open called Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center. Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson is among the artists showcased, and she tells ABC Audio why she feels such an exhibit is important.
“I still feel that women’s contribution to rock n’ roll has been relatively unsung, and still has been forced to operate within the confines of a patriarchal idea of what rock n’ roll is,” Manson says. “That is still frustrating to me, and disappointing.”
Manson does think those attitudes are changing —”Which is wonderful,” she says — and hopes that Revolutionary Women in Music marks a “sign of things to come, to develop, and not just simply a zeitgeist moment.”
“I hope it’s a serious determination to change the percentage of women artists being acknowledged in public spaces,” she says.
Manson’s particular excited about Revolutionary Women in Music because it spotlights female artists from the underground and alternative spaces, not just big stars.
“I think there has to be a whole swath of different sounds and different attitudes and different philosophies that are encouraged to bloom in the mainstream,” she says.
One such artist is White Stripes drummer Meg White, who, of course, was the subject of a social media story in 2023 when a post insulting her musical ability went viral.
“People that didn’t even know about making music were criticizing her for her very simple approach to making sound,” Manson says. “She’s incredible, and the way she plays with Jack White in that band is just really nuanced and brilliant and simple and powerful.”
For more info on Revolutionary Women in Music: Left of Center, visit RockHall.com.
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