Us here at For the Birds HQ have made a decision to be more present in the internet world. At the moment, the majority of us are in grad school, in touring bands, or just busy with other projects, and we decided this would be a good way to remain constantly active. So let’s get this thing going!

First, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Racialicious posted a great collection of his quotes earlier today.

Lots of our work in For the Birds has to do with queering social spaces, specifically, spaces that are assumed to be safe or “queer” in some way already. I am constantly wondering what is going on nationally and internationally with queer and/or girl-made music or movements: where is our riot grrrl? Why does riot grrrl seem to be so ghettoized in punk history? Lately, I’ve been turned on to some really rad blogs documenting riot grrrl and queercore music or movements that have happened in the past but are also happening currently. Here are my recommendations:

Stacy Konkiel a.k.a. “SISSY SOULPONY” from the Bay Area has a virtual How To for queercore & riot grrrl called SOUL PONIES. She covers current news about riot grrrl happenings as well as posting mp3s of both current bands and older bands that may or may not be extinct. Here’s an excerpt from the SOUL PONIES manifesta:

Because independent record labels are dying off and are being sold to megacorporations more and more often;

Because queer independent record labels, by their “niche” nature, are especially susceptible to closing;

Because we often lose the work of amazing LGBTQ artists to the dollar discount bin of the used record store when queer record labels go under;

Because we wish to preserve the legacies of important riot grrrl and queercore musicians for present and future generations to appreciate their work…

Young Creature is a self-proclaimed blog focused on exposing and supporting Queer musicians, artists, filmmakers, writers, troublemakers, and earth shakers.

If you can think of more, please comment here and let us know what’s up!