If you’re unfamiliar, in the ’90s through the early 2000s there was an explosion of grunge and punk movements known as Riot Grrrl. Riot Grrrl had everything: zines, protests, girl power, anger, and best of all, some amazing music. I could spend all day talking about the awesome art and writing that came out of Riot Grrrl (I highly recommend The Riot Grrrl Collection for an in-depth review). However, for the sake of brevity, I’ll just be focusing on the music today.
I found Riot Grrrl a few years ago when I was really struggling. I was sad and angry and nothing else spoke to me the way the hard guitar and intense vocals of Riot Grrrl music did. Over the years, I’ve slowly collected more and more Riot Grrrl tracks over multiple playlists. For you, I’ve compiled my favorites and ones I think no person can go without.
I made this playlist with a few things in mind. Firstly, I wanted to make sure I captured both the beginnings and modern iterations of Riot Grrrl. To understand where Riot Grrrl is today, you have to understand where it came from. We all must pay homage to the amazing forebears like Bikini Kill, Hole, and Babes in Toyland. Many people think Riot Grrrl is completely dead. That’s not true. So many great bands are still making music in the great tradition of Riot Grrrl. I’ve included some of my favorites like Destroy Boys, Pom Pom Squad, and illuminati hotties. While these bands might not fit solely into the Riot Grrrl genre, they have the spirit of the movement. I also wanted to make sure I included some more diverse perspectives that weren’t given the credit they deserved in the earlier movement. Included are the amazing black Riot Grrrl X-Ray Spex and queer Riot Grrrl bands Tribe 8 and Childbirth. Finally, there was no way I was forgetting Boston-based band Butch Baby who is still active in the area.
I have undying respect and love for the Riot Grrrl movement, both past and present, and I hope you’ll join me in blasting it as loud as possible.