Girl Versions
Encyclopedia
Girl Versions is the sixth full length album by Canadian
singer-songwriter Emm Gryner
, released in 2001 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records
.
Similarly to Tori Amos
' Strange Little Girls
, which was released the same year, Girl Versions presented Gryner's reinterpretations of songs written by men. Unlike Amos' album, however, Gryner did not create characters to present the songs in an ironic or political context; instead, she simply chose some of her own favourite rock
, heavy metal
and punk
songs and interpreted them in her own more pop
-oriented style.
The album was originally recorded live in Sarnia
's Imperial Theatre. Originally it was her and her piano. The recordings were allegedly lost and re-recorded in Toronto
and a bass track was added. The attendees from that original show are credited in the liner notes.
A song that was played at the show that was cut from the album was "I'll Stick Around" by The Foo Fighters. Further the concert included a cameo by Canadian astronaut and Sarnia local Chris Hadfield
. He played guitar and sang a song about Canadian Tire
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
singer-songwriter Emm Gryner
Emm Gryner
Emm Gryner is a Canadian singer-songwriter and occasional actress.-Biography:Gryner's childhood was spent in Forest, Lambton County, Ontario. Her father was of half Irish heritage and her mother was Filipina....
, released in 2001 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records
Dead Daisy Records
Dead Daisy Records is a Canadian independent record label, owned and operated by singer-songwriter Emm Gryner. Artists who have released material on the label include Gryner, In-Flight Safety, Daniel Ledwell, Hot One, Andrew Spice, Royal Wood and Noah's Arkweld....
.
Similarly to Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
Strange Little Girls
Strange Little Girls is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female's point of view. Amos created female personae for each track and was photographed as...
, which was released the same year, Girl Versions presented Gryner's reinterpretations of songs written by men. Unlike Amos' album, however, Gryner did not create characters to present the songs in an ironic or political context; instead, she simply chose some of her own favourite rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
songs and interpreted them in her own more pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-oriented style.
The album was originally recorded live in Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
's Imperial Theatre. Originally it was her and her piano. The recordings were allegedly lost and re-recorded in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and a bass track was added. The attendees from that original show are credited in the liner notes.
A song that was played at the show that was cut from the album was "I'll Stick Around" by The Foo Fighters. Further the concert included a cameo by Canadian astronaut and Sarnia local Chris Hadfield
Chris Hadfield
Chris Austin "Chris" Hadfield, O.Ont, MSC, CD is a Canadian astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency who was the first Canadian to walk in space. Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions, STS-74 in 1995 and STS-100 in 2001. He has served as CAPCOM for both Space Shuttle and International...
. He played guitar and sang a song about Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
.
Track listing
- "Waiting Room13 Songs13 Songs is a compilation of all the songs from the American post-hardcore band Fugazi's first two EPs. It was released in September 1989.-Background:...
" (Fugazi) - "Crazy TrainCrazy Train"Crazy Train" is a song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. It was released as the first single in 1980 on Osbourne's first solo studio album, Blizzard of Ozz. The song was recorded in 1980, a year after leaving Black Sabbath, and later included on the live album Tribute,...
" (Ozzy OsbourneOzzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
) - "Pour Some Sugar On MePour Some Sugar on Me"Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by British hard rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album Hysteria. It reached number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
" (Def LeppardDef LeppardDef Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
) - "For What Reason" (Death Cab for CutieDeath Cab for CutieDeath Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
) - "Straight to HellStraight to Hell (song)"Straight to Hell" is a song by The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was released as a double A-side single with "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on 17 September 1982 in 12" and 7" vinyl format format. A slow, mournful ballad, it is one of the most popular songs in the Clash canon due to its...
" (The ClashThe ClashThe Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
) - "Song 2Song 2"Song 2" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, the second track on and second single released from their fifth album Blur in April 1997...
" (BlurBlur (band)Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
) - "Straight to You" (Nick CaveNick CaveNicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
) - "Big Bang BabyBig Bang Baby"Big Bang Baby" is a song featured on Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, the third album by the band Stone Temple Pilots. It was the first single to be released on the album, followed by "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" and "Lady Picture Show." It reached #28 on the Billboard Hot...
" (Stone Temple PilotsStone Temple PilotsStone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
) - "Sea SongSea songSea song or sea-song may refer to:*sometimes a sea shanty, a type of shipboard working song which flourished from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century...
" (Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...
) - "The Day We Hit the CoastClayton Park (album)Clayton Park is the second full-length album by Canadian rock band Thrush Hermit. It was released on Sonic Unyon in 1999, and is the last recording they released as a band...
" (Thrush HermitThrush Hermit-History:Thrush Hermit was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1992 by Joel Plaskett , Rob Benvie , Ian McGettigan , and Michael Catano...
)