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Nerve’s “40 Sexiest Frontwomen” includes gay and gay-friendly musicians

While I usually tend to scoff at most “best female” whatever lists, I gotta hand it to Nerve for its compilation of the Forty Sexiest Frontwomen in Rock History. Sure, it may seem gratuitous or sexist at first, but Nerve is all about sex, so it works. And even if I don’t agree that The KillsAllison Mosshart should come in last, I can appreciate the list’s inclusion of the gay ladies.

Gossip‘s Beth Ditto comes in at No. 39, with the Nerve editors saying, “what’s perhaps most appealing about her, oddly, is the strong sense that she hates lists like this and generally could not care less about her perceived sexiness.”

So true. It seems Beth Ditto could care less where she falls on any random blog’s list, which makes me love her more and want to make her No. 1. So, she’ll just have to learn to accept that.

At No. 30, is electrosexual extraordinaire, Peaches, though you could argue she’s not exactly a frontwoman, but a solo act — unless you count her backing band, The Herms (short for hermaphrodites, naturally).

“How one makes the career leap from schoolmarm to Moses-bearded electrodiva is beyond us, but we’re not going to look a gift horse in the crotch,” says Nerve. Agreed! Oh, and Peaches’ new album, I Feel Cream, will be released May 5.

Coming in at about half-way down Nerve’s sexy frontwoman scale is Carrie Brownstein. The Sleater-Kinney (I may never get over their breakup, fyi) guitarist is attractive, for sure, but it’s her live performances that make her sexiest, I’ve always thought. And Nerve agrees: “Whether it was her onstage grin or simply the quality (and quantity) of her guitar solos, any bonehead in the audience could tell that Brownstein really liked being in a rock band.”

Seriously, there’s no bigger turn off than a musician who looks completely bored. Brownstein was always into it, which makes people into her, even more.”

Joan Jett gets the closest to the top of this list, at No. 5, “with her porno lips, rockstar proto-mullet and runway body.” Why that alone doesn’t qualify her for No. 1 is beyond me. But I do completely agree with the Nerve editors when they say her “profound historical importance to women in rock belies the fact that at fifty, she’s still doing her thing and looking staggeringly good to boot.”

While that’s it for the queer inclusion (out of 40, it’s not great odds, but they are certainly great choices), the rest of the list includes some truly great musicians, who just so happen to be sexy, including Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, Yeah Yeah YeahsKaren O and Le Tigre’s Kathleen Hanna.

I could go on and on, but you can see for yourself.

Anyone missing you think should be included, or any surprises with Nerve’s choices?

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