Record Review: Kathleen Hanna Double Dares Ya!

*The review and analysis of feminist punk rock band Bikini Kill's debut album "Revolution Girl Style Now!"

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Caution: Themes of feminism and strong women ahead. Viewer discretion is advised if such a thing intimidates.

Upon listening to “Revolution Girl Style Now”, my first impulse was believing that this had been the greatest thing to happen to punk rock. I may have believed this as I, for the longest time, have been obsessed with Riot Grrrl. Riot Grrrl, if unfamiliar, was the elegant feminist punk movement of the 90s. To some, Riot Grrrl was worth nothing other than an eye-roll, to others, it was a gleeful reminder that humanity was actually pretty damn cool when women were in charge - especially in the punk scene. A lot of this movement is thanks to the work of Kathleen Hanna, lyricist and lead singer of the band Bikini Kill. Bikini Kill had formed in 1990, and since then have become household names and an essential part of punk history. Bikini kill, specifically Kathleen, had believed it was time for revolution, she believed that if girls started forming hard rock bands it would change the world. Of course, there is no band that goes through the path of revolution unscathed. Ther debut album, “Revolution Girl Style Now!” was very self-explanatory in its message, they wanted revolution (but they wanted girls to do it *wink wink*). Punk had always been about revolution and non-conformity, so combining ideals such as feminism with punk was just a match made in heaven! (it was, at least for the feminists). However, it’s important to remember that this was the 90s, and the 90s were the time when grunge and hardcore bands were entering the mainstream.

The audiences for the bands such as Limp Bizkit along with all the other obnoxiously douchey groups (with horribly asinine band names) could have been described as “pugnacious” to say the least. During the concerts of quite a few of these bands, it almost always resulted in someone getting injured, assaulted, sexually assaulted, and all of Julie Andrews least favourite things. The number of times I have tried to explain to people what a mosh pit is is really just embarrassing at this point, because, as much fun as it likely was to beat your pals up at a concert right near the band, there was one group of people that always had to be pushed to the back in fear of getting severely hurt, the girls. It was as black and white as that. The boys get to be at the front to reap the rewards of the show. The girls? PFFFFT. That was out of the question. Some of these girls had to go home with broken ribs, while the boys just gotta have fun with absolutely zero consequences for their foolish behaviour. This, of course, had inspired the iconic Riot Grrrl phrase “Girls to the front!”, which was something that applied to every single one of Bikini Kills concerts, and when some guys tried to stir something up, they were to be BANISHED to the back with the rest of the male commoners. This, of course, was never intended to discriminate against men, but rather to give those who previously couldn't, a shot to enjoy themselves at a punk concert, without the worry of losing a limb. Bikini Kill had made a safe haven for those people.

"We know the boys wrecked our playground

We built a fort then they came out and smashed it

I sent her a valentine they burnt it into ashes

We won't play with them no more so don't you even ask"

- Playground

Revolution Girl Style had a lot of tracks that revolved around the idea that girls are taught what they are supposed to want. Always taught to be the kind, nurturing and understanding secondaries to any man. They’re supposed to settle for decent and their expectations can never exceed past that. In their opening track “Candy”, it is very explicitly stated with the opening lyrics, “I swallow my pride/ I chewed on your sores/ I ate out my heart”. Candy was very forward and crude with its message, swallow your pride and please your man is essentially just the way that things were, and how they always will be. “Just the way it is/ Just the way it is/ Just the way it is/ Just the way it seems to stay”. "Daddy's L'il Girl", has a similar message, however, is far more disturbing in its delivery. The track brings light to the debauched and sadistic idea, that If they give you love, provide you with shelter, and offer you food, they have every right to do whatever they want with you. "I have no desire/ I can't feel a thing/ Daddy's little girl/ Daddy's little girl/ Daddy's girl don't wanna be/ His whore no more". "Daddy's L'il girl" had likely been one of the darker tracks next to something like "Liar".

When it comes to a track such as “Feels blind” however, it possibly brings most to a point of realisation, a realisation of this fabricated reality, created to put girls under the tutelage of a society that expects complete obedience and compliance. If that sounds like an outdated concept, it is, which is why it is completely ridiculous that as recently as 1991 were people like Kathleen still trying to get such a message across, and it’s why something like Riot Grrrl was such an important movement in third-wave feminism. The song was likely about Kathleen’s realisation of her corrupt world, “All the Doves that fly past my eyes/ Have a stickiness to their wing/ In the doorway of my demise I stand/ Encased in the whisper you taught me/ How does it feel?/ It feels blind”. Lyrically, Feels Blind is one of the most underrated pieces of music to be written. It shows a vertiginous understanding of pain and frustration, even when that pain experienced wasn’t always from direct causes, and rather from things often implied in popular culture.

“As a woman I was taught to always be: hungry

Yeah women are well acquainted with thirst

Well, I could eat just about anything

We might even eat your hate up like love”

- Feels Blind

Punk was all about nonconformity, it was all about being different and authentic. It was a style that allowed many to differentiate themselves in the 60s and 70s. To set themselves apart from the well-groomed, stuck up performers of the era, many punks opted for an alternative look and sound. They spiked their hair, they wore dark clothing, they only played 4 chords on the mandolin - it was quite the intimidating appearance. As with most things in pop culture, you often get those who take things very very seriously. Suddenly, if you didn’t wear your hair a certain way, you weren't punk. If you didn’t listen to Ramones, you weren't punk. If you didn’t actively T.P your conservative neighbour’s house because one time they told your parents about your underground concert in the basement that ultimately resulted in the cops being called, YOU WERE NOT PUNK. All of a sudden, punk wasn’t a state of mind, and it wasn’t something unique or innovative anymore, it was just another anti-mainstream idea that ended up contradicting its entire purpose. This ultimately led to punk's demise, and it’s the reason it’s a dead genre today. It’s ironic that conformity was the very thing that killed such a nonconformist idea. I mention this because Bikini Kill was a punk band (whatever your criteria for a punk band might be). The thing is with punk, is that it certainly isn’t for everyone, as most of the time it was played by musicians who had formed their band before they had even learned to play, eg: The Stooges. This applied to Bikini Kill.

Bikini Kill had gotten A LOT of backlash for being a band that had no idea how to play their instruments (of course not as much as the all-male punk groups), however, one thing I had always admired about them, is that they had no intention to ever actually make poppy-Esque, mainstream music - or even music that would please the punk rock gatekeepers. Their goal was to spread a movement that would empower young girls to speak up, to take back the colour pink, to reclaim sexuality, and they would do all that even if they had to make o’ bunch o’ ugly noise. I could be critical and objectively judge the dynamics and the level of skill in the way that the instruments are played on the record, however, I had a lot of trouble bringing myself to do that. Bikini Kill is not a band that takes themselves very seriously, and so judging their level of maturity and skill would feel very irrelevant in the grand scheme of their message, it would feel as if I would be missing the point entirely. Take a look at a track like “Double Dare Ya”, the absolute epitome of the kind of immature noise that many would expect from young, wild and naive women. The disproportionate, and sloppy playing combined with Kathleen's lyrics may come off as unsophisticated and would chase most away. However, I have no doubt that this immaturity was their very intention - perhaps it was a mockery of the way that many see them, as hysterical young girls in need of guidance. When actually looking at Double Dare Ya, you start to notice the messages of empowerment far more, “Hey girlfriend/ I got a proposition goes something like this/ Dare you to do what you want/ Dare you to be who you will/ Dare you to cry right out loud/You get so emotional baby”. Even when looking at a track like “Carnival” I always just saw it as foolish, nonsensical fun, and a reminder not to take Bikini Kill as a band so seriously all the time, but rather to think about the message that they communicate.

“Gonna lose $20 while I'm there

See the girl with the feathered hair

Wearing plastic, not real leather

Boots go way up to there, yah”

- Carnival

Among Kathleen’s various projects, the themes of staying true to yourself have never once left the music. To me, and to multiple others, she was, and always will be one of the most punk figures to ever enter the scene. Whether or not you liked Kathleen Hanna or Bikini Kill, they had something they had firmly believed in, and beyond all odds, they managed to find a voice. They decided that staying true to their message was far more important than to please the mainstream ideals, and there is nothing more punk than that.

“When she talks, I hear the revolution

In her hips, there's revolution

When she walks, the revolution's coming

In her kiss, I taste the revolution”

- Kathleen Hanna

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Additional sources:

The Punk Singer. Directed by Sini Anderson, IFC Films, 2013.

Bikini Kill, "Revolution Girl Style Now!", Bikini Kill Records, 1991.