Bikini Kill

Ever since I started diving into the whole grunge “scene” I’ve stumbled across countless of Riot Grrrl bands that I didn’t like. Bratmobile, Excuse 17 (later would form Sleater-Kinney), Red Aunts from New York, and Jack Off Jill, all these bands did absolutely nothing for me and I really couldn’t get into the music. I think even more so in today’s current music atmosphere the Riot Grrrl scene has gone deeper and deeper down the drain. They are far more serious and far more critical about everything. But when I look at a band like Bikini Kill I see something special and something unique compared to those other bands and compared to the whole Riot Grrrl scene.

Bikini Kill were a bunch of pissed off punk girls who were feminist but did so with humor, rather than serious and bland lyrics you’ll find littered throughout the scene. But on the whole, I enjoy the fact the women were partaking in a male dominated music industry and taking things into their own hands whether it would be making their own music, making their own labels, or even making their own zines. It may not be my cup of tea but you have to respect it.

Now back to Bikini Kill. They formed in Olympia, Washington in 1990 and are often hailed as the “godmothers” of Riot Grrrl, while single handedly inspiring countless of women to play punk. While attending Evergreen State College, Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, and Tobi Vail worked on a fanzine called “Revolution Girl Style Now” but was later changed to the name of their band, “Bikini Kill”. In the fanzine they discussed sexism throughout the punk scene. Once they found Billy Karren (formally of the Go Team) they could finally make a band that personified these ideals.

Kathleen who was a former stripper wrote all the lyrics and encouraged a female centered show where the women were the ones in the front row, and on occasion would hand out their sheet music and lyrics to those lucky ladies in the front.
remember reading in a few places that during a show at some church in Capitol Hill a guy was actually in the front row, enjoy the music and the atmosphere, when a bunch of girls started hitting him and beating on him and eventually threw him out of the venue! I wish I was present for that. They toured a bunch and played with the likes of Nirvana, Some Velvet Sidewalk, Witchypoo and Mudhoney.

After a self releases demo cassette they got signed by local Olympia label Kill Rock Stars where they released their self titled EP, which was produced my the very famous Ian MacKaye of Fugazi. In 1993 they travelled to England to collaborate on a record with the band Huggy Bear and even were featured in a documentary film by Lucy Thane titled “It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The U.K.”. Despite all this happening they were also touring the great island to promote their album and to spread the Riot Grrrl message. Perhaps a year or so later the Riot Grrrl scene took off and they were hailed as leaders of the movement. If Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder were considered the “spokesman of a generation” Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill would be dubbed “spokeswomen for an entire gender” BEAT THAT!

Once they returned to the USA they began working with Joan Jett, who Hanna considered “an early example of riot grrrl aesthetics”. Jett produced the new single they were releasing titled “New Radio/Rebel Girl” that would be released on Kill Rock Stars later that year. In 1994 the band was at it again writing and figuring out the works to what I consider, their best album in their whole career; “Pussy Whipped”.
Their past releases weren’t too shabby, loud, angry and jam packed with gritty yells, and powerful guitar hooks. “Pussy Whipped” went to a completely different level, elevating all of their past work to an even higher altitude.

Their final album was released in 1996, titled “Reject All American” and two years later the band called it quits. However, even though the band broke up another album surfaced titled “The Singles” that collected all of the bands singles from 1995-1998 and put all of them on this album. Pretty much whatever they were working on during that gap between their last album and when they stopped playing was released.

After Bikini Kill Tobi Vail and Billy Karren formed the band The Frumpies and released the album “Frumpie One-Piece”, which I own and doesn’t really do much for me. Maybe one or two good songs out of 20. Hanna went on to be in several different projects and played in the band The Fakes, who released a single LP before she went off to do her solo thing. She now sings in Le Tigre, who I enjoy now and again. Nothing earth shattering though.
Well there you have it. Bikini Kill who started a revolution and did it with vigor and uniqueness. They wrote about feminism and didn’t give a shit about what other people thought about it. They didn’t care about major labels or any of that fancy mumbo jumbo, they wanted to spread a message. They did it with raw emotion, power and humor, something I feel is lost in the Riot Grrrl scene. They really gave punk rock a kick in the ass when they landed on the scene and really didn’t let up as they recorded their music. Personally, punk needed this kick in the ass badly, even though I may not like some of the bands within the Riot Grrrl scene, I respect their cause and enjoy every minute of it. In a male dominated scene a band like this, so pissed off and so emotionally hungry to have their message heard was bound to erupt sooner or later. Bikini Kill are damn great ladies who created damn great tunes, they influenced women to pick up a guitar, grab their girlfriends and just bash it out, they influenced women to run labels and become active in the music scene….Cheers Bikini Kill!