In celebration of our Riot Grrrl theme this month, Sucker Magazine staffers hand-picked their favorite songs from the movement and compiled this playlist. Our only request is that you play this as loud as humanly possible and share it with all of the riot grrrls you know.
Click below to listen:
The Riot Grrrl Movement
By Dylan Conner
Most people aren’t exactly sure what the hell I’m talking about when I go on long tangents about how kick-ass the Riot Grrrl movement really is. So I figured, “hey it’s the theme of the month, why not break it down for our readers before they get halfway through this month and have no idea what’s going on with Sucker and why we keep posting about angry punk girls.”
So what IS the Riot Grrrl movement? First off, it’s awesome, always will be. I mean, what could possibly be more badass than an entire DIY punk subculture of activist women who are just super down with equality and giving a voice to those who don’t have one? The Riot Grrrl movement started in the early 90s in the Pacific North West, notably in Olympia, Washington. Their goal was to combine feminist consciousness and punk style. The Riot Grrrl bands sparked conversation about rape, domestic violence, sexuality, patriarchy, and global/intersectional woman empowerment. All of which is important to modern day feminism. Combining music with art, zines, political action and activism, the Riot Grrrls aimed to use these platforms to speak out about the issues I just mentioned. Often, they would be known to host meetings and be supporters of all women in music. Some notable names in the Riot Grrrl community you might be familiar with are Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, Joan Jett/The Runaways, Courtney Love of Hole, Babes in Toyland, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, Siouxsie Sioux and Sleater-Kinney… just to name a few. I wont even get started on where you should start listening first (that’s why we compiled a sweet playlist for you, coming soon.)
So with all of that said, I hope this next month will make a lot more sense. The Riot Grrrl movement is incredibly important to all of us here at Sucker, and we hope we can share that love with our readers.
Sucker Magazine 