there was really a celebration, i think, of female singer song chapman, jewel, joan osborne, victoriailliams. i could go on and on. >> tori amos >>> i had them all on my play list. when you look at that genre today, do you think it is in today? >> i think there are still great singer song writers. laura marling is my greatest artist. she is in her late 20s. great singer and musician, arranger. i think also the internet has given so much independence to artists and although they may not be super stars, i think so many people have been able to capture a real loyal following some she joined the band 10,000 mainians as their-- maniacs as their lead singer when she was only 17 years old. >> welcome to al jazeera america. more reporters, more stories, more perspective. >> from our award-winning news teams across america and beyond. >> we've got global news covered. >>> you're watching jazeera ". i'm stephanie sy >>> you started out as a teenager with 10,000 maniacs. how did that come about? >> we came from a small town in western new york and we had to make our own fun because there was non