Fans of ’90s indie pop will know Manda Rin as the frontwoman of Glaswegian trio Bis, who broke up in 2003. These days, after weathering a difficult MS diagnosis, Rin has embarked upon a solo career and also makes art. In addition to creating graphics for an iPhone game called All Fridges Are Psychotic, she showed some new work over the weekend at Glasgow Popfest 2011. Titled Cover Versions and Other Hits, the exhibition collects Rin’s remakes of classic album covers, in the signature manga-inspired style that was ubiquitous in Bis’s album art. Check out some of our favorites, from Nirvana to X-Ray Spex to Sleater-Kinney, after the jump. Then visit Rin’s website to see more. Read More »
We’ve been raving of late about the debut record by Wild Flag, the new band that features two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney (namely, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss) along with Mary Timony of Helium and Rebecca Cole of The Minders. The album is great in its own right, and also because it’s the closest thing we’re likely to see for some time (and maybe ever) to a new Sleater-Kinney album. Anyway, as we were listening to it this week, we got to thinking about ’90s bands we’d like to see get a second shot — somehow it seems that in amongst the slew of cash-cow reunions of late, it’s never the bands we loved best who get back together. Of course, this refusal to cash in may well speak volumes in those bands’ favor. But still. Here goes.
33.3 is an art show of album covers that have been reimagined and reinterpreted by artists and designers, which we first spotted over on Boing Boing. Click through to view 12 of our favorites — which range from the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds to Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast — and let us know in the comments if you think that they improved upon the original versions.
It is often a bad idea to get song lyrics tattooed on your body. Really, who wants to be a 40-something mother of three with, say, a Dashboard Confessional tramp stamp that dates back to high school? Our friends at Buzzfeed have rounded up 22 truly awful lyric tattoos, from a misspelled Goo Goo Dolls line to what appears to be a toilet paper roll bearing the words of Staind. As music fans, we knew there had to be at least a few decent song lyric tattoos out there. After the jump, 13 that we can get behind.
Oh, and people? Lay off of “Love will tear us apart” and “There is a light that will never go out” for a while, OK?
Riot Grrrl was an underground feminist movement that began in the early nineties, which was closely tied to punk music, radical politics, and a DIY aesthetic. Riot Grrrl activism involved meetings, the creation of zines, and a nationwide network of support for women in music. While some say the movement lasted until the mid-90s, others contend it never ended. With the popularity of Sara Marcus‘s recently published book Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution, it seems there may be some truth to that statement. And there are many zines, which tell the tale of the origins of the movement. In 1993, according to a Canadian newspaper (as mentioned in Girls to the Front), 40,000 zines were published in North America.
Continuing our obsession with female rockers of the ’90s, we present Kathleen Hanna’s new interview with GRITtv. Topics discussed: how the underground punk scene of today is less violent; why John Mayer and Miley Cyrus are creepy people and don’t really matter; and what she has been listening to recently (a lot of the bands from Willie Mae Rock Camp). Hanna also talks about handing over her cabinet of zines, papers, and random Riot Grrrl materials to NYU, and her desire for more interesting feminist leaders. We have such a crush on her. We also want her glasses.
Check it out after the jump, and follow Hanna on her blog here.
In her new book Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music, Marisa Meltzer takes readers on a journey from the moment when Tobi Vail first transfigured the word “girl” to “grrrl” all the way to the current cultural supremacy of all things Miley. As she explains in the preface: “The story of girl power kicks off with riot grrrl, but this isn’t a book just about riot grrrl, or even the nineties. It’s also a book about how everything that happened afterward was just as, if not more, important: how an underground movement trickled up from punk-rock utopias to teen girls’ bedrooms around the world.”
To celebrate its release, we asked Meltzer to provide a list of the most essential female artists from the ’90s — the decade that birthed the girl power revolution. Chime in with your own music heroes in the comments.
Summertime means weird street smells, rooftop barbecues, and the inevitable Sonic Youth tour. And if the past is any guide, you can expect to see some of the most interesting opening bands on the circuit. This year’s acts include The Entrance Band, Awesome Color, Endless Boogie (DC only) and Kurt Vile (Philadelphia only). Not sure you care? We’ve got 15 big reasons why you should. Read More »
, it seems there may be some truth to that statement. And there are many zines, which tell the tale of the origins of the movement. In 1993, according to a Canadian newspaper (as mentioned in Girls to the Front), 40,000 zines were published in North America.
, Marisa Meltzer takes readers on a journey from the moment when Tobi Vail first transfigured the word “girl” to “grrrl” all the way to the current cultural supremacy of all things Miley. As she explains in the preface: “The story of girl power kicks off with riot grrrl, but this isn’t a book just about riot grrrl, or even the nineties. It’s also a book about how everything that happened afterward was just as, if not more, important: how an underground movement trickled up from punk-rock utopias to teen girls’ bedrooms around the world.”
