Canada

Whether we like it or not, the legacy of colonization has shaped Canadian society and continues to permeate its political practices. Since 2008, the Harper government has made major cuts to aboriginal health and school funding, turned a blind eye to the over 600 missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada, refused to share residential school documents with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, dropped land claim negotiations, stood by as Aboriginal youth suicide rates hit crisis levels, and attempted to erode environmental protection laws enshrined in First Nations treaties.

Earlier this month, Vancouver, BC hosted the first (and fingers crossed, annual) Shout Back! — an all-ages, queer, radical, D.I.Y., anarcha-feminist music festival. Nearly 50 bands played over the hectic span of 2.5 days. From cabaret to punk, twee pop to noise, this BitchTapes is devoted to a few (yes, 15 is a few) of the bands and solo musicians from the Shout Back! 2012 bill.

Shout Back! from BitchTapes on 8tracks Radio

Vancouver, BC-based electroccult female duo MYTHS will enchant cities across the US and Canada on The Mythical Gymnastics Tour w/ Grimes and Elite Gymnastics. Don't miss this!

Sometime between White Lung’s first record, It’s the Evil, and their second, Sorry, the band blew up. Maybe it’s because of the rock writing of singer Mish Way, who proves that not all Vice writers are raging douchebags. Maybe it’s how Way sweats off things like a broken face. But really, it’s probably the fact that Sorry rips like few other punk records this year, and, lucky you, you can stream it right here.

PrOphecy Sun is a multimedia performance artist, mother of four cats, and master of the green Line 6 delay pedal. Beginning her music and sound practice with Vancouver-based anarcha-feminist group, Her Jazz Noise Collective, over the last two years Sun has been diving into new collaborations and looking out from the pages of local arts and culture magazines as a result. In addition to her soundscape-y solo project, prOphecy sun, she plays in six other bands, one of which is the new-wave inspired Tyranahorse, winning second place this month at Shindig, Vancouver’s annual underground music competition. When not in band practice seven nights a week, Sun plays giant games of street hopscotch, contorts her body into tiny cupboards, planks grocery check-out counters and sews feline figurines out of found material.  Catch up if you can, PrOphecy Sun is an artist in a windstorm of ambition and all its accompanying forward motion.

Marlaina Buch, aka Hunter Rapper, is high-kicking her claim to both the male-centric musical genre and outdoor sport: hip hop and hunting.

Stop. Link time. (It had to be said.)

• For RH Reality Check, Jaime Jenett bravely discusses her experiences as a non-biological lesbian parent of an ill child while enduring the daily hurt of Prop 8 stickers... and makes eloquent efforts to communicate with those who don't believe she deserves rights (reposted at AlterNet).
• Mother Jones offers advice on how to wade through media coverage of Osama bin Laden's death.
• Jane Laplain of Questioning Transphobia talks about trans* identity and the one-word-or-two-words question... and why it matters.
• ColorLines shares the Center for Reproductive Rights video "They're Coming for Roe."
• Shakesville provides an open thread on the results of Canada's election.
• Racialicious reports on the release of the book I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim, edited by Maria Ebrahimji and Zahra Suratwala, and featuring writing by Muslimah Media Watch editor Fatemeh Fakhraie.
• More feminist than Mulan? At Bitch Flicks, Whitney Mollenhauer takes notes on the film Tangled. Thoughts?
• Bitch contributor EvMaroon writes a letter to his future child about the United States of America's history and the death of bin Laden.
• At the Huffington Post, Stephanie Green praises the new adaptation of Jane Eyre. Have you seen it? What are your feelings?
• Jos from Feministing presents an anti-war poem from Palestinian and US-American poet and activist, Suheir Hammad.
• Monica at TransGriot reminds readers to make their nominations for the 2011 Black Weblog Awards by Saturday!
• Bitch contributor Jarrah Hodge comments on Twitter culture at Gender Focus.
• Ms. has a few suggestions on how to spend your Mother's Day weekend.
• And speaking of mothers, check out the Mama's Day campaign, celebrating immigrant, queer, poor, and single mothers by the Strong Families initiative. Watch their great video here!

Got comments or other pieces? Please share in the comments section!

First Lady Crew member, JB the First Lady, is a beat-boxer, emcee, performing artist, aboriginal youth educator, single mother, award winning actor, and member of the Nuxalk and Cayuga Nations who is "using [her] words to go upwards/not backwards."  Check out JB the First Lady’s brand new music video Get Ready, Get Steady after the jump!

As much as I adore music videos at dance parties, watching choreographed dance moves on a giant screen in public typically does one of two things to me: infuses my limbs with rhythmic possibilities (rare), or yanks the slippery beat from under my dance shoes (less rare). Sometimes if I’m not in a dancing mood (or able to shake it in my current location) watching someone else dance provides a kind of psychic fulfillment. I hope Austra and CocknBullKid’s new singles give you just that! Directly after sits a sedentary vogue-free video by Planningtorock. Apart from inviting you to a video dance, this B-Sides provides hope for the swarms of PTR fans who, like myself, have been chewing their nails impatiently for five years on the edge of the dance floor waiting for her sophomore release!

If you can tear yourself away from Jhameel this weekend, tune into Bitchtapes, where this week you can listen to all-female bands from the provinces!

Track list after the jump!