The nineties have to be the decade of the woman in rock music. Singer/songwriters such as Alanis Morissette and Melissa Etheredge have flooded the airwaves with their unique brands of angst-filled, man-hating music. And the buying public has responded to their pouting, making Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Etheridge's Your Little Secret into major hits for both artists.

But one female artist who has managed some major success yet escaped confining stereotypes is Joan Osborne. Her song "One of Us" was a major hit, and she recieved several Grammy nominations, largely forgotten in the wake of Morissette's sweep of that year's awards. Her album Relish deserves major attention, not just because of its critical and commercial but for Osborne's rejection of the typical and expected politics of women in rock music.

Osborne has taken Pretenders lead singer Chrissie Hynde's advice to chick rockers seriously: "Don't moan about being a chick, refer to feminism or complain about sexist discrimination. We've all been thrown down stairs and f---ed about, but no one wants to hear a whining female. Write a loosely disguised song about it instead and clean up ($)." The work of Etheridge and Morissette seems obsessed with moaning about being a chick, dealing largely with the power dynamics in male/female relationships as well as the yearning and burning of unrequited love. Osborne's lyrics on Relish convey an immense depth at times while managing to avoid the "chick rocker" cliches of Etheridge and Morissette's recent works.

In fact, there's virtually no trace of angst on the record. Osborne instead chooses to fire a shot in the opposite direction with the song "Right Hand Man," a gritty and upbeat rocker expressing the freedom of a woman who is leaving her first one-night stand. The lyrics express not the bitter anger of a woman who's been used and mistreated, but the liberation of someone who's had a healthy and fun night of sex: "I walk into the street/The air so cool/I'm wired and I'm tired/And I'm grinnin' like a fool." On this track and another fun winner from the album, "Let's Just Get Naked," Osborne circumvents the guise of "whining female" and just has a good time while maintaining her sexuality; she doesn't give an inch, but she's not focused on taking an inch, either. In "Dracula Moon," she sings lyrics that are almost a direct response to the "chick rocker" stereotypes: "Don't feel sorry for me/I hate that look on your face." She's not asking for pity, she's demanding attention; consequently, she ain't here on business, but only here for fun.

As a male, it's refreshing to listen to a CD recorded by a female singer/songwriter without having to cross your legs in fear every few minutes. (Not that the male-dominated music industry hasn't served up plenty of negative sexist stereotypes in its day, but that's another article.) Joan Osborne's album Relish isn't at all intimidating, but it isn't weak either. It's a nice change of pace to hear a confident and assured "chick rocker" cutting a rich and significant album.