This past Wednesday, Martha Wainwright let her Twitter fans know that she and her brother, Rufus Wainwright, were releasing a new song on Friday. That’s today! How amazingly perfect.

We love these two, their antics together are hilarious and endearing, and their music, well, if you haven’t heard any of their prior collaborations, you owe it to yourself to remedy that immediately, or you may be accused of living under a rock. Especially, dear reader, if you are Canadian. There isn’t an excuse in that case. Let us help you out.

Martha and Rufus Wainwright are Canadian music royalty if there was such a thing. Martha is the younger of the siblings born to famed folk singer Kate McGarrigle, of the McGarrigle Sisters, and Grammy-award winning folk singer Loudon Wainwright III.

Having grown up in the public eye, Martha has had her share of dirty laundry aired to anyone listening to her family’s music, and as anyone who has had a difficult relationship knows, reconciling differences can come about in many different ways, and sometimes, not at all.

Martha’s dad wrote and released a song about her teenage years, Hitting You. Not many of us have had to deal with an abusive parent in that way.

Hitting back, she released a song, Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, which, if you haven’t heard the song, is definitely worth a listen. It is an excellent tune that rightfully captures her spirit in the moment. 

Try loudly singing along with Martha the next time you’ve got that particular person in mind. You know the one. We guarantee you’ll feel a lot better afterwards.

If you’re thinking, where have I heard that? Are you a Big Little Lies fan? Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole was featured on the soundtrack from Season One. Considering the subject matter, it seems fitting. Martha has dedicated the song to her father. Hopefully, she won’t mind that we’ve dedicated it instead to our own personal demons.

Martha continues to make music in her home town of Montreal, Quebec, where despite the pandemic, she’s held community sing-a-longs from her balcony, including one from March 23 where she sang So Long, Marianne, by Leonard Cohen. You can hear her warn her neighbours to maintain a safe distance from one another while inviting them to gather around her and join in.

Wolves, the song featuring her brother, Rufus Wainwright, came out today, and it happens to be Martha’s birthday. A fact we haven’t seen mentioned! That’s why she is Femke’s pick for our #FridayFeminist.

Happy birthday, Martha Wainwright!