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March 26, 2009
25) Leslie Feist
Oh, the indie kids can't resist Feist's shaggy bangs, voice so smoky it could cure jerky, and the sense that — despite her cutesy-voiced hit "1234," and duets with Sesame Street inhabitants — underneath it all there's a red-hot heart full of dirty secrets from north of the border. This Canadian songstress doesn't need a plunging neckline, soprano-operatics or Britney-style theatrics to bring us to our knees: just a guitar, a mic, and the intense, joyous look she has when performing are enough to rock our world. — N.A.
24) Nina Persson
We remember all too well that day in 1998 when we saw Craig the Indie Kid walking down the street in a Cardigans t-shirt. The Cardigans? Like, "Lovefool" Cardigans? Craig the Indie Kid would never let his cred be tarnished though, and so, guided by the light of his coolness, we listened to First Band on the Moon. It was awesome. While Nina Persson's Swedish accent made the word "love" a grating annoyance, her every other breath felt like a summer breeze nibbling your ear lobe. Persson slid from playful into seductive-cool on Gran Turismo and has stayed that way ever since. "My Favourite Game" is plenty sultry, it's true, but even Craig the Indie Kid would admit Persson was never as desirable as she was in "The Great Divide". — J.C.
23) Miho Hatori
Co-founding New York's premiere gastronomy-themed Shibuya-kei rap duo is one thing, but making it look yummy is a whole 'nother enchilada. With Miho Hatori, we could have our cake and eat it too — with her sing-song insouciance and deliciously baffling lyrics, Cibo Matto wooed many a mid-'90s record-store clerk. Makes sense: the surest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and Hatori is one of pop music's tastiest purveyors of ear candy. — C.L.
22) Ninja (The Go! Team)
Ninjas are still sexy, despite the internet's best efforts over the past decade. The Go! Team's Ninja, however, trumps the average ninja many times over. The U.K. band's trademark blend of sunny guitars, surf rhythms, and pounding beats would be the limp stuff of Old Navy commercials if not for Ninja's yell-chant marches. She has no time for your hipster disinterest. Ninja demands you give chase. Key tracks are "Huddle Formation" and "Keys to the City". — J.C.
21) Kim Gordon
Too often female rock stars get trapped in token-girl routines, relying on outfits and make-up to the point of damaging their cred. Not so Kim Gordon. If she looks good, she's probably wearing her own clothes. Ageless, androgynous and electrifying, she keeps the CBGB's ethos alive, even as the club and much of what it stood for have disappeared into the past. — M.L.
Commentarium (133 Comments)
how are we defining front women? subquestion: how are we defining rock?
It looks like you have Grace Potter's picture at the top, but you don't list her. You should--she's got the pipes, the chops, the cool, the bod, the tunes, and she's sweet as country pie. But all of that doesn't begin to convey the impact she has when she belts it out. I'd put her up against any woman on your list. She's that good--and she wields her sexual artillery with ferocious intensity.
Nomad
I'm with you nomad, Grace Potter rocks!! She's got it all.
This list lacks legitimacy if it leaves out Kim Deal in favor of about 10 of the people in this BS lineup.
I made my journey from 40 to 1 agreeing with some, violently disagreeing with others, hoping the whole time to see Ms. Susanna Hoffs. Imagine my surprise when I get to number 1 without even a mention of her. How can anyone look at her eyes on the "Walk Like An Egyptian" video and not get that certain tingly feeling?
But thanks for an entertaining list, nonetheless. :)
How in the world does Tina Turner beat Debbie Harry??????????????
I saw Tina perform "lovin you too long" in '67 while she gave the microphone some "attenetion". I was leaning on the stage - yeah, looking up her skirt - and I will ABSOLUTELY guarantee she belongs on this list at #1. Still.
YOu guys are lame.
Beauty and sexiness are of course in the eye (and in this case, ear) of the beholder, but you're nuts for overlooking Shirley Mason.
soooo true! I expected her in the top 5, as opposed to not listed at all!
I'll ignore the fact that the majority of your frontwomen do not 'rock,' although I understand that's a loose term these days. However, I can't ignore the fact that you had the audacity to include such non-talents as Bjork and Liz Phair and omit the great Theo from The Lunachicks, Exene from X, and Brody from The Distillers. Those are some sexy, bad-ass frontwomen. As least you got Janis, Joan, Patti, Siouxsie and Tina right.
P.S. Where the hell is Shirley Manson? Her sexy, seething, antagonistic sultriness is far superior to Gwen Stefani's hiccup-singing. As for looks, no contest-hot, alabaster redhead trumps pigeon-toed, bowlegged bleached blonde. Never quite got on the No Doubt/Stefani train. If I want to hear real ska or dance hall, I'll stick to Bad Manners and The Specials, not a pop-faux ska band fronted by Minnie Mouse.
You omitted Grace Slick. You missed Marriane Faithful. How dare you.
You think Bjork is sexy? She's cutesy. You think Patti Smith is sexy? Laurie Anderson has her beat by a mile.
At least you got Liz Phair and Nico right. All the singers I mention above I've seen them all perform live except Bjork - I saw her in an airport - have you?
I'm afraid your development of the intersection of the higher and lower pleasures is yet undeveloped.
Neither of the women from Heart were included because...
eh... you bitch about Bjork's looks and presentation and yet there is no commentary on Ms.Ditto, Peaches or Janis' unconventional looks? COME ON... Peaches, Regina, and Feist aren't even frontwomen or are Tori or Fiona frontin bands?? I think not, but the list is more solid than liquid or gas.
I applaud editors for getting in some talented women of color as we know how Rock n' Roll in the past has been defined by caucasian songstresses (some far less talented than others but noted)...
but shame indeed on no Shirley... or Sheryl.
Where is Grace Slick????
Are you fucking kidding me leaving Ani Difranco off this list?
For serious?
lucinda williams listen to her lyrics, her song scream of lost love and hot sex
Rindy Ross (Quarterflash), Anne Wilson in the mid-70s, Nancy Wilson up to the mid 90s, Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons), Teri Nunn (Berlin).
You missed some good ones.
I agree with you here! Although, I'd say Nancy all the way up until the present! I might add that obviously the person(s) who made up this list have never heard of Storm Large. And if you say she's not a front woman for a band, then check on YouTube for her stints fronting The Balls, Storm, Inc., Flower S.F., and Storm & Her Dirty Mouth. Here, I'll get you started: http://youtu.be/umEKvXyhJmo
And then there's always www.StormDownloads.com
How the hell isn't Courtney Love on your list?!!! Frontwoman with more to front than Kurt Cobain when they met. So Kathleen Hanna's scrawlings on a wall turned into a really famous Nirvana song but we all remember what Kurt Cobain publicly said about Courtney's bedroom abilities I think!
I second complaints about the Kim Deal omission & add my voice to the Shirley Manson supporters.
You left out Grace Potter!
and where is julie miller.. ... she rocks harder than all of these, it's true.
Is there anyone who doesn't hate this list?
Where are the Wilson sisters? Where is Grace Slick? Where is Belinda Carlisle? Where is Ronnie Spector?
What the fuck is Nico doing on this list?
As far as I can tell you just made up a list of skinny white girls - with the exception of Tina Turner.
It seems pretty clear that women who have bodies like normal women (Anne Wilson, Slick, Carlisle, Courtney Love) were excluded.
Do you really want to perpetuate awful female body stereotypes?
grace slick? who cares? the sexiest thing she ever did was "we built this city on rock and roll."
you missed tracey thorn though. not a rocker per se, but silkyyyy smooth.
I guess you've never heard "Somebody to Love" or "White Rabbit."
Ah...Kim Deal? No?
courtney love is way too opportunistic to be sexy. but kim deal should definitely be on here.
Here's the third mention of Grace Potter. I mean seriously, this is a big oversight. You've got a few sexy women with no talent, a few talented women who aren't sexy and only a bare minimum of sexy+talented. If Grace ain't on that list I'm canceling my non-existent subscription.
I have to include Martha Davis of The Motels in this list. Although her chanteuse-y days of "Suddenly Last Summer" qualify, it's the earliest Motels of "Counting", when she slinked around the stage in a leather jacket that really should guarantee her appearance here.
Whither Wendy O Williams of the Plasmatics?
You missed Jennifer Arroyo formerly of Kitty... she's HOTT!!!
Dale Bosio
Exene from X
Sushana Hoffs from the Bangels should be top freaking 5
Kelli Ali from the Sneaker Pimps sexiest lips ever
Shirley Manson from Garbage
Belinda from the GoGos was in Playboy for chrissakes
Dale Bosio
Some good selections on this list and some very appalling omissions.
I join those who have cited the Wilson sisters, Rindy Ross, Grace Slick and Shirley Manson. To this I would also add Annette Strean, who can inject so much personality and effusive delight into any lyric, and Annie Haslam.
For me, a great and powerful voice makes it hot. Attitude, of course, counts for even more.
Shirley Manson - Suzi Quatro - Rindy Ross - Kate Bush.
How does Emily Haines of Metric not make this list?
Grace Potter has to be #1. Have you ever seen her in concert? That was a bizarre oversight, since you had her pic at the top. And I'm with all the people who also mentioned Shirley Manson.
You missed Jason Mraz.
Pretty sure that's Jenny Lewis at the top, not Grace Potter.
Clearly written by a 40-something Nick Hornbey wannabe, or a committee of people who felt the need to pay homage to certain icons who are great singers but the opposit of sexy (Janis Joplin - sweet jesus; and how is janis there and not Rickie Lee Jones??), this list falls tragically short. This is not an undertaking to be trifled with or riffed like an editorial. Fiona Apple at 29? Chan Marshall at 31? No Shirley Manson, Beth Gibbons, Tanya Donnely, Amanda Palmer, Aimee Mann, Hope Sandoval, Jennifer Charles...I'm debating canceling my Nerve membership. Total disaster.
You've never heard of Ronnie Spector or Mary Weis from the Shangri-La's? Or Lorrie Collins of the Collins Kids?
Certainly another example why the Indie bias of music writing is terribly lame. You can't get past the lap fondue critics get over anything Lou Reed touched or women who can hold a tune yet raided Beacon's Closet.
How anyone could compile this list and not put Grace Slick on is mind boggling.
Not bad, but you utterly missed Shirley Manson from Garbage and Christina Amphlett from the Divinyls.
Thank you for ommitting Madonna. She's about as arousing as dipping your genitals into a glass of cold listerine.
Melissa Etheridge? C'mon....
I could bitch about the content of this list, but instead I will only point out one factual error that I spotted.
Nico died in a CYCLING accident. As in pushbike. She fell off her bike while riding and and struck her head, which caused a brain hemmorrhage. Mototcycle crash sounds sexier, but the real details are just sad.
No Grace Slick? You lost me there...
Or what of Wendy James of Transvision Vamp?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ygvg3E54mg&feature=related
Her nice-but-slutty bottle-blonde in a short skirt look was the very epitome of Rock-chick sexy. She was the stuff of many wicked teenage fantasies in the late 80's.
hanna should have been no. 1. As soon as she started screeching that lovely sound it was 1994, i heard bikini kill for the first time and I was in love w/ a girl who would want me for about 7 seconds and then want me no more. Goddam.
This is an exceptionally amazing list....with one HUGE, glaring ommission. Where is Pat Benatar??? Also, Dusty Springfield? Pat Benatar should be in the top 5 (as should Annie Lennox) and she kicks Chrissie Hynde's bony ass in jeans, sorry. Great choice for number one, Tina Turner is immortal!!!
WOW. Beth Fucking Ditto.
No Shirley Manson? No Emily Haines?
Nerve has been irrelevant for a while now, but this really, REALLY seals the deal.
I hope this shit collapses. And to think I once fucked in that office. And only now do I feel dirty having done it.
Where are the rest of the black and woman of color frontwomen (Diana, Aretha, Donna, Betty Davis, Vanity, MeShell, Sheila E., etc.)? This list is so not sexy.
No Christina Martinez from boss hog? .. your logic is flawed
All so true but I can't believe the Indigo Girls aren't on this list!!!
This is the most retarded list I've ever seen. Liz Phair is a hack and not sexy AT ALL (not to mention can't write a song to save her own life) and somehow she's above Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks and into the TOP FIVE? Puhlease.
The people at Nerve need to learn about the history of Rock n' Roll, not kowtow to their lame instincts to enshrine trendy hipsters as rock legends. The vast majority of the women in the list all gained prominence in the last few years and a number of them are completely insignificant. What about Tracey Thorn? What about Sarah McLachlan? Ronnie Spector? Dianna Ross? Grace Slick? FAIL.
Every Aussie male who read this list is crying. You missed THE greatest - Christina Amphlett of the Divinyls.
Not only did the Divinyls pioneer the Australian rock scene Chrissie was the epitomy of SEX.
Thanks for reminding us of Dyvinyl's Chrissie, yum.
Where is Brandi Carlile?!
where the fuck is natalie merchant !!!!!!!!??????????
What about the Wilson sisters..... They where hot
Where is ALANIS MORISSETTE???????????????????????????????
SHAKIRA - LATINA ROCK GODDESS????????????????????????????????
STRANGE, VERY STRANGE LIST....
DOLORES O'RIORDAN OF THE CRANBERRIES?????????????????
Kate Bush??????!!!!!??????? WTF
no Brody Dalle????? and Alison Mosshart deserves to be MUCH higher in the list. most of these aren't even rock n' roll
No Brody Dalle?
Seriously?
You people suck. D:
KATE BUSH
Shirley Manson should be there.
Well, this is Nerve after all, so you have to expect the bias towards punk and indie music. I'm honestly surprised that there were as many mainstream artists on the list as there were. And naturally no Metal frontwomen like say, Maria Brink (In This Moment), Laura Pleasants (Kylesa), or Dominique Persi (Stolen Babies).
Skunk Anansie...Skin?? ring any bells??
SIOUXSIE !
Where the f*ck is Pat Benatar??? She was so damn sexy back in the day...
This list seems so random. And that Nico Video is ghastly-not sexy. And yeah, holy shit, where's Kate Bush?
where is so and soo....dude they are on your personal list, get over it or make your own list and just enjoy the content (or not and go away) I get so sick of reading stuff like this and then seeing a million losers have whinged about what isn't on the list. And yes I know I could *not* read the comments but I like see what people have to say, just stop saying stuff like this and get over it.
Adalita deserves to be on this list. Sure, Magic Dirt aren't too well known, but goddamn can that woman tear a stage apart.
Nerve you have some nerve to leave out the hottest sexiest wild child of the 70's and 80's and her name is Yvette Marie Steves aka Chaka Khan of the group Rufus.
It amazes me that Polly Jean Harvey can sing "Rid of Me" in the bright sunshine in front of several hundred thousand people. I would have to wait for the moon to come up to shout those lyrics into a crowd....damn....
Shenanigans!!!
Where is Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons)?!?
where is hayley williams
what the hell?! now i know this list is b.s. ... how can u make a list of the sexiest frontwomen in rock without mentioning SHIRLEY freakin' MANSON?!?!?!?! theyre synonymous yknow.. might want to look that up.. for shame!
Hello?? Amy Lee anyone? This list is trash, the only recognizable names that deserve their place on it are too old now to really strike me as "hot" and many were not even from "Rock History"
It's not important that many super hot frontwomen were left off this list. That would be the case with even the best possible list. But it kind of seems like someone went through his or her iPod and chose the first frontwomen they came across. Also, this is rock defined very loosely. A lot of it is pop. Oh, and the list is too white. And there's not much history involved because a lot of these names happen to be popular now and are not going to stand the test of time. If this list was funnier its shoddiness would be forgivable. Maybe some of these folks are pissed because it's such a missed opportunity.
How about Susanna Hoffs - lead singer for the Bangles?!?!
And you left out the Queen of Rock Linda Ronstadt? Good grief!
Where the fuck is Ann Wilson? She should be in the top fucking 20 at least. This list is a steaming pile of shit!
No Nena Kerner? What the fuck.
good points and the details are more precise than elsewhere, thanks.
- Joe
I'm with you AAA. Chrissy Amphlett, so freaking hot.
Then again. Patti Smith. She makes me want to get a strap-on and fuck everyone I can find.
What? No Emmylou Harris and no Linda Ronstadt?
Fuck you.
where the hell is Christina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil) i mean WTF? she's hotter than ANY woman on that list! don't believe me? go look her up. she's fine as hell!
Helen Marnie and Mira Aroyo!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pYrhvTDzrdA/Rju-Yj3aT7I/AAAAAAAAAKk/7ORcQpZA5B...
Um...how about Emily Haines?
im also wondering where kate bush is. the sensual world (song) basically is sweaty breathy sex
Total bullshit list with a bunch of recent flash in the pan BS not many chicks of real influence or importance......laughable list
Susanna Hoffs????
Some of the videos have been removed
shirley manson, wendy james, alanis morrisete, nena kerner, susanna hoffs, justine frischmann, ....
not in your list?
go fuck a goat and kill yourself
Umm. brody dalle. Courtney love. shirley manson. Heart. are all missing. I think debbie should be number one, but i respect tinas place as number 1.
i would have protested if joan jett wasn't in the top five, just so you know.
THREE WORDS: COURTNEY. FUCKING. LOVE.
Assholes.
Exene Cervenka... ?
Has anyone heard of Veronica Freeman, she puts these whores to same!!!!!
This list is irrelevant with the ommision of the Plastmatics Wendy O Williams
Missed a very lovely Polish lady and her group (UnSun) Anna "Aya" Stefanowicz & a group from Finland called Nightwish and their lead Tarja Turunen (until 2005)...Otherwise good list!
Missed a very lovely Polish lady and her group (UnSun) Anna "Aya" Stefanowicz & a group from Finland called Nightwish and their lead Tarja Turunen (until 2005)...Otherwise good list!
Missed a very lovely Polish lady and her group (UnSun) Anna "Aya" Stefanowicz & a group from Finland called Nightwish and their lead Tarja Turunen (until 2005)...Otherwise good list!
Missed a very lovely Polish lady and her group (UnSun) Anna "Aya" Stefanowicz & a group from Finland called Nightwish and their lead Tarja Turunen (until 2005)...Otherwise good list!
Why does every Pop star think they are Rock stars. You pop fans keep imagining you are rockers. You haven't a clue about rock music. Fad after Fad of ear wrenching, melody insulting, monotone trash...
no grace slick?!?! how ridiculous
umm...why are we making these women into sexual objects.....isn't it about the music and talent sexist assholes????? BTW, where's Mia Zapata? Never heard of her from The Gits? No, prob not. She was raped and murdered in 1993 by a stranger. See the doc, "The Gits"....inform yourselves. And, not putting Skin from Skunk Anansie or Exene from X is a fucking crime assholes. What group of idiot men wrote this pos list?
Shirley Manson makes me question my sexuality...leaving her out was a massive oversight.
omg CHAKA KHAN!!
remember rufus@@ she was a STONE COLD FOXX!!
i also agree SKIN from SKUNK ANANSIE was a huge oversight! girl can sing, and see simultaneously scares the shit out of me and dares me to keep listening/watching
Yes, it's good that you left off Alanis Morissette.
But NO, it's very bad that you completely omitted the awesome Joan Osborne!
Yes, it's good that you left off Alanis Morissette.
But NO, it's very bad that you completely omitted the awesome Joan Osborne!
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for witring!
No Pat Bentar? This list is a fake.
Why should Pat Bentar be on this list ? Pat Benatar ! Now thats a whole new story ! This list is from Mars & we all know that planet has no atmosphere, despite hearing the transmission of " Live From Earth " !
Something angry and insulting because unbelievably I don't agree with everything in the list.
Strange that a top 40 isn't identical to my list - even though I've not made one.
I'll be angry anyway.
Grow up guys - if you don't agree then politely disagree and courteously remind us of who you think should have been included - without the insults if you can-
I'm going to suggest Martha Wainwright, Julie Tippett, Sam Brown, and errrr.... ummmm..
You put Joan Jet and not Suzi Quatro? Epic fail!
Fail Fail Fail - Annie Lennox !!!!!! and no Pat Benatar nor Wendy James who should have been # 1
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Natalie Merchant?
HOW IN THE FUCKKKK IS MOSSHART NUMBER 40!?!!?!?!?!!?!?!?!
Ugh. what an awful list. So many women left out (why the fuck wasn't Courtney Love on this list? Say what you will about her, but she is guttural sexuality on mile long legs. Especially during the Celebrity Skin era. She was so shiny and healthy, but with none of her raw energy and rage sacrificed) . And so many of the blurbs for the ones I did agree with (Janis Joplin, Patti Smith) tried to describe their sexiness but still called them ugly. wtf?
On the list of sexiest front men, there were mostly all older performers (almost all of them I agreed with. I was super happy to find Tom Waits on that list), but this one seems mostly comprised of modern acts (but Amanda Palmer left out?). Ugh.
I understand why Santigold is here, but why not M.I.A?
The Person who compiled this obviously doesn't know what Sexy means and has obviously has never heard of.. or seen.. The Divynls or Cheetah.....or The Baby Animals..to name just a few..more research needed instead of naming his favourites...
Shirley Manson should be on here. And Amanda Palmer
Good list! We used it as a resource when compiling our own 10 here - http://www.goradio.com/meta/music-entertainment/meta-babes-that-rock-1.7052
WTF?? I mean .... WTF??? Anne and Nancy Wilson didn't make this list?? They were what wet dreams were made of ...... this is totally bogus!!!
This list must have been made by a woman, a straight woman. You wouldn't know sexy if it had its hand on your crotch.
SHAME on you for not including Pat Benatar on this list.
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