RIOTGRRRLONLINE

This myspace page is set up just like many other Riot Grrrl dedicated pages - it has links to chat, message board and riot grrrl news. As this is a myspace site, it gives insight into the members, as you can click on their photo and view their profiles. Heroes listed on the page include the predictable and more commercially well known Kathleen Hanna, Tobey Torres, Courtney Love, Tobi Vail, Kat Bjelland and Donita Sparks as well as Tairrie B(Manhole / My Ruin), Jessicka Fodera (Jack off Jill), and Kaia Wilson (Team Dresch).

There are 3411 'friends' added to the site from all over the world, including a site from Riot Grrrl New Zealand in the top friends, so it really is worldwide considering that from my previous research I have found that there is the highest concentration of riot grrrls and riot grrrl supporters in North America, which is understandable seeing as it mostly originated there. The Myspace site is a good site for anybody who is on myspace and involved in Riot Grrrl to meet other people, discuss and post their thoughts and ideas and to look at other peoples profiles with the same interests as them.

www.myspace.com/riotgrrrlonline

my essay

ok....i am yet to actually make a start on writing my essay, but I have collected pretty much all the information I think I will need. I havent really been able to find any books which are particularly on riot grrrl or particularly on zines, but am going to have a look at the uni library this week, as I have only checked all of the Gold Coast Council libraries. I have downloaded a number of articles and there is an abundance of websites. Also there are lots of e-zines to get direct information from and to use in research. The receptionist at my work quit last week so Im working 6 days this week, from 9 till 6 each day so lets hope that my eyes still work when I get home.

Riot Grrrl Bands

Here are a couple of bands who were / are associated with riot grrrl

Babes In Toyland- formed in Minneapolis in 1987, and featured riot grrrl icon Kat Bjelland on voocals and guitar. Bjelland often dressed in the 'kinderwhore' type look, a contrast between her raw vocals and agressive lyrics. Babes In Toyland were icons and inspirations to most who were involved in the riot grrrl movement, although they were never direct participants. The band as it was began to disarm around 2000 when members started to leave and be replaced.

Bratmobile- was formed after Alison Wolfe and Molly Neuman created the zine Girl Germs, and first played in the home to riot grrrl Olympia. Their first and classic album Pottymouth was released on the Kill Rock Stars label. The band broke up, on stage, and blamed the media scrutiny and pressures of the riot grrrl movement. They reunited five years later for a few years until in 2004 they disbanded and went their separate ways.

Hole - Probably the most comercially well known riot grrrl band, whether it's because Courtney Love was married to Kurt Cobain, or because they went more commercail with their music, or something in between or totally different, who knows. They formed in 1989 and broke up for good in 2002. During this time there was a succession of bassists and drummers, including Kristen Pfaff who died of a heroin overdose and Melissa Auf der Maur who went on to be with The Smashing Pumpkins for a while. The three of Holes officially released albums are all distinctly different. Pretty on the Inside was punk influenced and raw, Live Through This (which is reviewed in another blog) is similar yet more refined, and Celebrity Skin is a poppy type commercial release.

Huggy Bear- An English riot grrrl band formed in 1991. The band refused to be photographed, interviewed, or give their full names. They released their debut album on indie label Wiiija, and began to work closely with Bikini Kill creating a split album. They disbanded in 1994 just 3 years after forming.

L7 - Formed in 1985, and in 1991 formed Rock For Choice which was, and still is actively today, a pro-choice womens rights group. It was supported by other bands of that era including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Rage Against The Machine. The band is famous for the incident at the 1992 Reading Festival, when vocalist and gutarist Donita Sparks removed her tampon on-stage and threw it into the crowd as a protest against the things being thrown from the audience. Sparks has also pulled her pants down on a UK entertainment program, and the band once offered the prize of sleeping with one of the band members in a raffle. The winner claimed his prize on the tour bus. They played Lollapalooza, and in 2001 did not officially split, but stopped touring and making music.





Lunachicks- Formed in New York City in 1987 this riot grrrl band mixed punk and heavy metal. They released 6 albums, breaking up in 2000 but have played 2 reunion shows since.

Nitocris- I have put this on the list as they are an all female touring band from Sydney. They formed in 1992 when all but one of the band members were under 18. They played the 1994 Big Day Out and then released their debut EP Ten Stories Down, which was followed up by their album Screaming Dolorous and a tour of the East Coast with the Alternative Nation festival. Their fan base never really made it out of Sydney until they toured nationally and created a poppier sounding record which got some airplay and they played the Big Day Out again, in 2001 as well as scoring an ARIA nomination. Not long after, the band split .

Riot Grrrl Online

This is an interactive website, however you must register to use certain features.Registration is free. It has loads of content including news, articles, downloads, chat, message board, an e-zine blog, quotes, a mailing list you can join, a riot grrrl directory and the opportunity to obtain a riotgrrl email address. It is all set out simply but remains informative and is easy to use. The site makes a point that it is not for anybody who is not into the riot grrrl movement, with a direct link to the wikipedia definition available for visitors who aren't exactly sure. An interesting and original feature of the website is the riot grrrl map, which is an interactive map which you can add yourself to, and also view all the other members locations and photos from around the world. Whilst there were a few Australian members on this particular site, the members were mostly from North America or the UK. The riot grrrl directory is so that riot grrrls and boys from their area can meet up, and they can post messages about gigs or anything that is happening in their area. Its a way for riot grrrls to get together, share information, and be heard, which is one of the reasons why riot grrrl exists. Grrrlvox, which is the riot grrrl e-zine online blog that is linked directly to the site, is hosted on blogpot (http://grrrlvox.blogspot.com/). It only started in April this year and is written by between 10 and 20 blog team members who all contribute to the blog weekly, or post up the submissions from riot grrrls who have emailed them in. The topics of this blog are clearly outlined - music, politics, DIY, feminism, riot grrrl, feminist movies and literature, male feminists, and the start and impact of riot grrrl. It all looks and sounds good, however that is the only post at the moment. Riot Grrrl online is a really good introductory website, as it contains a lot of information set out in a simple yet informative way, and it is a really good website also for people involved in the riot grrrl movement as they can continuously use it for information, meeting other riot grrrls, discussion, and getting involved with a movement that is world wide, with riot grrrls all around the world.

http://www.hot-topic.org/riotgrrrl/index.php?page=polls

Riot Grrrl

There are different thoughts and opinions as to when exactly riot grrrl was formed, and what it can acurately be described as. Most agree that riot grrrl was born out of the punk movement. A broad definition would be to say that riot grrrl was a feminist type movement (although they did not see themselves that way), which stamped out equality and created a do-it- yourself type subculture through the organising and supporting of other females, and giving themselves a voice. The aggressive nature which typifies most peoples definitions is responsible for the spelling change in the world girl to make it appear more agressive and demanding. Once the subculture became mainstream, and magazines were featuring stories on bands or females and labelling them with the title of 'riot grrrl', there was a step away from this, and the riot grrrl music scene as it was pretty much faded into oblivion. Riot grrrl as a subculture however, still seems alive an well through the use of the internet. A google search on riot grrrl produces over 600,000 pages, and a lot of these pages all feature message boards, online zines or chats to allow riot grrrls (and riot bois which a few of them welcome also) to converse around the world.

Live Through This - HOLE

Holes 'Live Through This' was released four days after Kurt Cobain was found dead. It is a particulary short album, playing for around 38 minutes in total. Since the bands riot grrrl debut 'Pretty On The Inside' the songwriting has come a long way, pretty much all of the songs still feature lots of yelling and screaming, a trademark of riot grrrl and expression of anger, but in a more structured way than in 'Pretty on the Inside', the songs sound much more refined yet still raw. This could be seen in two different ways, one it could be the advancements and progressments of the band and their writing, or two it could be a move towards being a bit more commercial. The second option at the time seemed out of the question, but it was only four years later that the commercially successful 'Celebrity Skin' was released. The track "I Think That I Would Die" was co-written with Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland, who are often heralded as being leaders in the riot grrrl movement. The albums last track, "Olympia", which is printed as "Rock Star" on album covers but was later changed after the covers were printed due to the fear of legal problems, is about Olympia, Washington, where riot grrrl was born, and criticizing the people there and their narrowminded ways. The album also features the successful tracks 'Violet', which apparently targets Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan, 'Miss World' and 'Doll Parts', released after the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff. 'Live Through This' is short but great and demonstrates the bands progression whilst still being a part, whether they liked it or not, of the riot grrrl culture.

here we go....

ok, so considering I made this blog a month ago trying to get a head start on the blog and the essay (which obviously I also knew at the time would never happen), I thought I'd better write something. I have nothing to report, but i figured something is better than nothing, even if it is a whole load of crap. On a brighter note, I saw Sneaky Sound System the other night, and that was good, although not related to my essay topic whatsoever. So with my essay I plan on (which of course will not happen) starting it tomorrow, so we will see how that goes....