If you aren’t listening to Wendy & Lisa, you should be because you’re really missing out. If you thought two of The Revolution’s most visible members disappeared, they didn’t. Other than carving out a career as TV/film scorers (i.e. Heroes, Something New) Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman have recorded five albums:

• Wendy & Lisa (1987)
• Fruit at the Bottom (1989)
• Eroica (1990)
• Girl Bros. (1998)
• White Flags of Winter Chimneys (2008)

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I have spent several months purchasing all of Wendy & Lisa’s albums in my quest to earn my musical Ph.D. in their solo work. The Girl Bros. LP is the last album I needed to complete my thesis and graduate from the University of Wendy & Lisa. Now, allow me to present my thesis defense and obtain my doctorate.

Based on what I heard and read online, I knew that the Girl Bros. LP – originally released in 1998 and re-released (digital only) in 2009 – is a more somber sounding album from Wendy & Lisa than previous releases. I have read that the album was part tribute to Wendy’s late brother, Jonathan Melvoin, (touring keyboardist for The Smashing Pumpkins) and was made during the breakup of Wendy & Lisa’s romantic relationship. As a result, I knew that Girl Bros. would be the opposite of Fruit at the Bottom – a fun, exuberant album that often makes me smile when listening to it. However, the somber sounds and lyrics on Girl Bros. are not something that made me long for previous Wendy & Lisa-sounding albums. In fact, I find Girl Bros. the most interesting because it is a clear turning point in their musical careers. Where Eroica started shifting Wendy & Lisa’s sound from their previous two albums, Girl Bros. took an exit off the freeway into a new yet pleasing direction. (more…)

Update: I moved the White Flags of Winter Chimneys album flash player beneath the post cut so that it wouldn’t auto-start while this particular page loaded. Thanks.

Note: I know I don’t write music reviews, but I’m giving it a shot for an artist that’s near and dear to my heart.

It’s been approximately four months since I reconnected with my love of all things Wendy and Lisa. During that time, Wendy and Lisa released White Flags of Winter Chimneys – their first album since 1998’s Girl Bros – through their website on December 9, 2008. For me, White Flags of Winter Chimneys was an exciting and hotly anticipated music release. I’d just began my musical journey with Wendy and Lisa’s solo work with their first album, Wendy and Lisa, in early November 2008. Although I’d heard some music from different phases of their solo career, I was still missing the full spectrum of Wendy and Lisa’s evolution as artists. After hearing Balloon and Invisible – two tracks from their new album – I was intrigued by their musical direction. As a long time fan taking a crash course in Wendy and Lisa’s music, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect with the new album other than an alternative/rock feel. I’d dropped any preconceived notions that Wendy and Lisa needed to sound like The Revolution era long ago, and I was musically open and receptive to what they were doing now. Even though I was still playing catch up at the time, I had a gut instinct that White Flags of Winter Chimneys would be a musical experience to behold. I was glad my instincts were right. (more…)

I feel this is an important comment to highlight in regards to 5 Things I Love About Wendy & Lisa and how you can find your way back on the path to their music if you got lost.

Finally, how I feel about Wendy and Lisa can be best summed up on how anyone feels about their family. You can still love a person (or people) but may not like everything they do. Just like in real life, you may not understand what some of your family members are doing and why they’re doing it. You may even wander away from your family for years, but it doesn’t mean you don’t still love them. When you finally see/talk to that family member after a long time apart, you realize how much you both have grown and changed over the years. What you didn’t understand about them then, you might finally be at a place in your life when you get them. That’s me when it comes to Wendy and Lisa. I finally get their music and yes, realize how much my own enforced distance made me miss out on what everyone else got.

-@thehivemind-

If you were lost like I was, come home to White Flags of Winter Chimneys.

One of my brothers recently told me, “You know what? I believe you liked Wendy and Lisa more than you did Prince back in the day.” I merely smiled and laughed. I then said, “You’re probably right.”

I have special memories of Wendy and Lisa while growing up, and I have my own reasons why I love the super duo. Here’s a few:

1. Girl Rockers Rule…Especially if You’ve Never Seen Any Before

As I kid growing up the 80s, I wasn’t exposed to many “girl rockers” in the beginning. I didn’t have MTV at the time, so I caught music videos on some generic local channel that played videos sometimes. Other than Joan Jett, I didn’t see any other female rockers playing instruments…until I spotted Lisa in Prince’s “1999″ video playing keyboards. While I was fascinated by all of the members in Prince’s pre-Revolution band, Lisa drew my attention the most. She sung on the record; she played keyboards; she dressed in “cool clothes,” and she rocked! Of course, I didn’t understand why the “blond looking Madonna chick” was dancing up close to Lisa while she played keyboards, but I remember always watching out for Lisa every time that video or “Little Red Corvette” came on.

When I first saw the video for “When Doves Cry,” I was introduced to Wendy for the first time via my TV. I immediately thought two things:

1. Where was the dude with the Karate Kid-looking headband?
2. The new guitarist is a girl…wow! Cool! (more…)