ARTIST: Bikini Kill 

TITLE:  The CD Version of the First Two Records

YEAR RELEASED: Compilation

CHART ACTION: No

SINGLES: No

OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Double Dare Ya, Suck My Left One and Rebel Girl were the ones everyone wrote about

LINEUP: Kathleen Hanna, Billy Karren, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Compilation of their first EP and their tracks from a split LP with Huggy Bear. 

 SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: If “grunge” wasn’t co-opted by the mainstream, then “Riot Grrrl” certainly was. Bikini Kill and a few other trailblazers set the stage for women-oriented punk rock (like Sleater-Kinney). The first bands were overtly feminist and more about passion and message and musicality. Of course, it became a trendy thing…and it kind of got ruined because of it. These initial bands didn’t last long.

Culling from the 1992 EP and the 1993 split LP, this compilation shows that while Bikini Kill weren’t the best musicians, and like many indie bands wasted time on odd, deranged noise or experiments, the songs that were on point were powerful.

The idea of feminist punk rock was anathema to many punk scensters, and you can hear the belligerence and battle-ready sound in the songs. Again, it’s a rough listen at times, but this is more for documentation and history. Oh, and “Rebel Girl”.  Probably the best song of this movement, and a touchstone 90’s song.

NOTES & MINUTAE: Hanna, Vail and Wilcox all met while attending Evergreen State in Olympia, and Karren had been in several punk bands before he joined.

IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION:  No

GRADE: B-: It’s an A for inspiration and historical relevance, so you should have this even if you don’t listen to most of it.