Odd Girl Out podcast 4

Hot out of the editing suite comes podcast 4, featuring on-location interviews with Gabriella and Karen at Storytails, Plaided at the Lexington, Debs Henry-Pollard at the WOW Tweetmeet and Pratibha Parmar at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

Band of the Week: She Makes War

A one-woman operation, She Makes War makes lush, moody pop music and is a mistress of multi-tasking, juggling guitar, loop pedal and uke. Her second album, Little Battles, is released on 9 April.

This video comes from her first album, Disarm, and was shot in sunny East London. Not enough vids on bicycles, IMHO.

Band of the Week: Pussy Riot

Some weeks after their performance in a Moscow church led to arrests and detention, Pussy Riot have made it into such unlikely media outlets as the BBC and FT, making them the most visible opposition forces to Vladimir Putin and all he represents.

The group's actions have also led to a revived discussion about the power of punk in modern society, which is to be applauded, though some of us have been having this conversation for more than 20 years. Oh, and Riot Grrrl never actually went away, chaps.

Here is the punk prayer that got alleged members arrested.

Band of the Week: Plaided

So, while we're waiting, here's some groovy music. Plaided are a duo who hail from Vienna. I saw this band on Friday and keenly await their debut in summer. This was the first single.

Repeats suspended

There won't be any more repeats on Optical, as the playout was too erratic. Will look at getting the shows streamed, but for now, do check out the monthly podcasts. And, of course, I hope to be back on air at some point.