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Glad She's A Girl

Posted at 8:38 AM on September 7, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis

The reunited Avengers are back on tour, and they stopped through town last weekend. Holly Day, over at Pulse of the Twin Cities, had an interesting conversation with singer/songwriter Penelope Houston, one of our all-time favorite punk-rock heroes. Penelope said,

“It’s so strange how immediate some of these songs feel to me when I play them now. Even more than ever, a lot of the songs I wrote when I was 19 are even more applicable today. It’s really shocking. It feels like I’m going backwards in time or something. But this whole political climate was one of the reasons we felt we should be playing for audiences again, just for the chance to sing ‘The American in Me,’ and know that it means more now than it did when I wrote it.”

Even though the Avengers only played about 100 shows, and released just two EPs while still a band, they made quite a splash. Houston never gave up music, she just parked the punk rock for a couple decades while she fiddled around on the autoharp. (No disrespect: She was a true pioneer of the neo-folk movement that is presently exploding right outside your front door. Check out "Cut You" if you don't believe us.)

Meanwhile, in related ancient-punk-rock news, the Slits have announced a reunion tour this fall. And all we can say is this: Look, Bob Dylan may live forever but punk rock was made to burn out, not fade away. If you get the chance to see punk pioneers like Ari Up and Penelope Houston… well, don't waste it.

September 2006
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