Queercore

    I mentioned queercore in an earlier post, but only in passing and in association with Beth Ditto and The Gossip. Queercore was originally started in the 1980′s and has a strong connection with punk/DIY culture. It’s connection to the Riot Grrrl movement was undeniable though; many of the people who were involved with the Riot Grrrl movement (as a band member, as a contributor to a zine, or just as a person who identified with the Riot Grrrl scene), were also part of the queercore movement.

The theory behind the homocore scene was unity. Unlike the gay community, in which gay men and lesbian women, are strongly separated from one another, the queercore scene aimed to unite both men and women and destroy the boundaries created by sex and sexuality. Homocore nights/queercore festivals, featuring live bands, were often held to promote this idea and movement.

Musically, the queercore movement was strongly similar to that of the Riot Grrrl. Both queercore and Riot Grrrl bands often had songs which spoke about sexual/gender issues (such as identity and the prejudice which some were subjected to). Riot Grrrl and queercore bands also span many genres; bands influenced by these movements can be found in punk, hardcore, indie, noise, and experimental genres (to name a few).

Riot Grrrl Retrospective Part 4

    So… part 3 was cut off, unfortunately, but here’s part 4 to the series.

    I tried to do some research on the IPU Festival, but I couldn’t really come up with too much… kinda unfortunate, but I guess this video gives an idea of what it was all about.

DIY culture

DIY culture was a large part of the Riot Grrrl/punk scene. The DIY ethic promotes the idea of anticonsumerism. People who believe in a DIY lifestyle do not believe that one has to purchase everything, and they will often boycott purchasing from companies which they view as unethical. Popular DIY activities include

The Riot Grrrl sound

So, to give you a better idea of what some Riot Grrrl bands may sound like, I decided I’d post videos of a few of the main Riot Grrrl bands, alternative/punk bands of the 80′s-90′s, and more modern day bands with Riot Grrrl influences.

Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl”

Riot Grrrl Retrospective Part 2

Beth Ditto

    As per Robyn’s earlier suggestion, I decided to look up a little bit about Beth Ditto. Her band, The Gossip, is fairly amazing. She has an incredibly soulful voice and the backbeats are nice and dancey. Check their myspace out if you feel like it. I enjoyed the few songs sampled on there.
Beth Ditto’s quite the interesting person too; she’s is lesbian, a larger woman, an amazing vocalist, a gay right’s activist, and was nominated for the Sexiest Woman of the Year (2007) by the UK magazine New Musical Express (Kate Moss won it, but who cares). She’s posed nude for On Our Backs magazine (which is a lesbian erotica magazine) and is amazingly proud of her voluptuous body. Recently, she was asked by Vogue to pose for their magazine, which is awesome, considering the typical models/actresses/singers which are featured in that magazine and its shoots on a monthly basis. Some people consider her a controversial figure, but I think it’s great to see how proud she is of who she is. It’s nice to see somebody fully embrace themselves for once. She may be a bit lewd, open, whatever, but that’s part of her charm (check out her pictures from her band’s show at the NYC club Misshapes (which is basically hipster-central) here). She definitely fits in with the post-Riot Grrrl phase and with queercore.

The Boys Wanna be Her…

 

Since I talked a little about Joan Jett last post, I figured I’d follow up with Peaches’ “The Boys Wanna be Her,” seeing as how it was written about Jett.

I first heard Peaches when watching Lost in Translation and have been a fan ever since. She definitely fits in with the Riot Grrrl movement, even though she wasn’t directly involved and has come to be more well known in the recent years. Her songs are overtly sexual and she doesn’t make an attempt to abide by the rules. Peaches likes to toy around with male/female gender barriers, often blurring the line separating the two.

Joan Jett

I was bummin around on the net today and I came across an article about an upcoming performance of Joan Jett. I don’t know how I forgot to write anything about her, especially considering she had such a large impact on the 90′s Riot Grrrl movement.

Now, I’m sure we all know her song “I Love Rock n’ Roll” (and if you’re a bit younger, hey, you might remember seeing Brtiney Spear’s rendition on her Crossroads movie, but I think we’ll skip over that whole shindig for now…). I personally think Joan Jett is amazing. Hell, she toured with Peaches, and Peaches is amongst my favorite (you can’t help but love her… you most likely have heard her too, she had songs on Lost in Translation– you know, the strip clup scene?– and in Mean Girls).

Jett first started performing at the age of 15 with her band The Runaways; her career started with that band in 1975, and she then later branched out in 1979 and began pursuing a solo career in England. She eventually moved to the US (NY & later LA) & was well-known in the music world by the mid 80′s.

POWER UP & “Itty Bitty Titty Comittee”

    The Riot Grrrl movement’s effects can still be seen today, despite its ending in the 90′s. I came across this news article online about a film called “Itty Bitty Titty Comittee.” It was produced by POWER UP, which is a non-profit group that helps promote the visibility of women in the media.
Besides featuring a soundtrack consisting of tunes from bands from the Riot Grrrl era, it was obviously influenced by the Riot Grrrl movement. It’s a film that’s all about female empowerment, is pro-queer, and talked about body image issues, all of these being issues which were also addressed by many Riot Grrrl bands. I definitely am interested in seeing this movie… I’m going to see if it’s showing anywhere I can see it. Maybe there are some clips on youtube. I’ll definitely post them if I can find any.

Another video.

    So, I realized how helpful video hosting sites like youtube will be for this blog. I tried my best to paint a picture of what the RiotGrrrl movement was all about, but it was somewhat general. I found a string of videos on youtube that feature interviews with some of the bands that were vital to this movement.