Bikini Kill

Reject All American (1996)

Johnathon1069

                Bikini

Kill, and by extension Kathleen Hannah, are the two names that come to most

people’s minds when you mention the word Riot Grrl. When the band released

Reject All American in 1996, the genre was evolving into something very

different than it had been just four years ago and Kathleen Hannah was also

going through a musical metamorphosis of her own, a year later Bikini Kill

would no longer exist and Hannah would release her solo album Julie Ruin. The

band assembled to tour behind Julie Ruin would go on to become Le Tigre just a

few years after that.

                The

biggest change people were likely to have noticed between this album and its predecessor,

Pussy Whipped, is the band stepped up their songwriting to incorporate pop hooks.

And it works, had Hannah not called for a media blackout by Riot Grrl bands it

is very likely this album could have propelled the band into the mainstream of

alternative rock. However, one only need listen to the lyrics of the first song

to realize this band put their ethical and political views first. When Kathleen

Hannah screams, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all? I don’t

really care at all.” She does so with a level of earnestness that wasn’t found

many places in the music business at the point; underground, mainstream, or

otherwise.  Further evidence of the band not

caring about mainstream coverage and the issues that come with can be found in

one line on the song “Tony Randall,” where Kathleen sings, “I see a punk club,

he sees a strip bar.”

                While

the lyrics were as visceral and cathartic as ever the big step up, as

previously mentioned, was the songwriting. While the band shared the same

geographic background as many bands in Seattle, they never had what many called

the “Seattle Sound.” It’s worth noting though, if you compare Alice In Chains

and Soundgarden to Nirvana and Mudhoney that entire concept of a singular sound

was complete bullshit. The steps forward in songwriting and more nuanced guitar

playing brought this band into the same realm as the latter two bands though.

Every song on here is a great song, but it will also kick your ass the whole

time you’re listening to it.

                With

Seattle in mind, it’s worth noting that Kathleen Hannah played a pivotal role

in the grunge rock explosion, if only through sheer luck. The story, which has

been corroborated by numerous parties, is that Kathleen wrote “Kurt smells like

teen spirit” on the wall of his apartment. Thinking the statement had far more

revolutionary connotations than it actually did. It turned out Bikini Kill

drummer and Kurt’s then girlfriend, Tobi Vail, wore Teen Spirit deodorant. Kurt

and Kathleen’s friendship extended beyond mutual friendships though, as she

penned the song “R.I.P” (Rest In Pissed Off-ness) in his memory. While many

bands would write songs about Cobain in the years following his suicide, this

one has always struck me as the most honest. It certainly pays tribute to his

musical and social contributions to the music scene, but it doesn’t spare him

the anger many other songs did. The delivery of the lines, “And I wouldn't be

so fucking mad so fucking pissed off if it wasn't so fucking wrong. It's all

fucking wrong. It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair,” may be the only

time that a Bikini Kill song has ever brought me to tears. I would imagine it

would do the same that lost anyone they cared about to suicide, addiction, or

any other horrific event.

                Every

song on this album burns with passion and emotion. I would dare say that while

Bikini Kill wasn’t one of the best bands of the nineties, they were one of the

most honest. Whether the songs were about gender violence, sexual politics, or

mocking seemingly unconventional mainstream tropes like New Age medicine you

never got the sense the band was putting you on, and maybe we’re lucky the band

never reached a point where that became a struggle they had by continuing after

this album moved them a little closer to mainstream.

                While

there’s nothing on this album that gets your attention like the marching snare

at start of “Rebel Girl” I think this album is a more complete artistic

statement. The band tries out different shades of punk rock here, and even

delves into the alternative rock realm on some songs. Maybe it’s not the

classic, and it certainly doesn’t have any songs that were anthems for a

generation of women in the punk scene. But, as far as swan songs from the

nineties go, I’ll put this right up there with the best of them.