Where to start with Riot Grrrl

Riot Grrrl is a music scene from Olympia, Washington & Washington, D.C., USA, 1988–1996. Its principal artists include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Sleater-Kinney. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 15 dated events.

Start here

1
Revolution Girl Style Now
Bikini Kill · 1991
Original release: [no label] · Cassette · US 1991
It set the template for riot grrrl's lo-fi sound and confrontational feminist manifesto from the very start.
2
Bikini Kill EP
Bikini Kill · 1992
It carried riot grrrl out of Olympia's underground and into indie rock's wider ear.
3
Pussy Whipped
Bikini Kill · 1993
Original release: Kill Rock Stars · KRS-218 · CD · US 1993
It gave the movement its most enduring anthem and became the central document of riot grrrl as an international story.

Go deeper

4
Pottymouth
Bratmobile · 1993
Original release: Kill Rock Stars · KRS 208 · CD · US 1993
Bratmobile's scrappy 1993 debut caught the DIY spirit of the scene and stands as the second most important riot grrrl statement after Bikini Kill's records.
5
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah / Our Troubled Youth
Bikini Kill / Huggy Bear · 1993
This 1993 split album documented the transatlantic feminist punk connection between the American and British riot grrrl scenes, a link made possible by Liz Naylor's chance 1991 meeting with Kathi Wilcox in Europe.
6
Call the Doctor
Sleater-Kinney · 1996
Original release: Chainsaw Records · CHSW 13 · CD · US 1996
Sleater-Kinney's second album pushed riot grrrl's sound toward critical respectability without losing its political urgency or its experimental edge.
7
Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney · 1997
Original release: Kill Rock Stars · KRS 279 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1997
With Janet Weiss now on drums, Sleater-Kinney's third album locked in the dual-guitar interplay that became the band's signature and one of riot grrrl's clearest sonic evolutions.

For the obsessed

8
Julie Ruin
Julie Ruin (Kathleen Hanna) · 1998
Original release: Kill Rock Stars · KRS 297 · CD · US 1998
Kathleen Hanna made this bedroom solo record in 1998 on a $40 drum machine, bridging riot grrrl's DIY punk instincts with electronic experimentation.
9
Le Tigre
Le Tigre · 1999
Original release: Wiiija Records · WIJCD 1108 · CD · UK 1999
Le Tigre's 1999 self-titled debut carried riot grrrl's politics into dance-punk, songs like "Hot Topic" and "Deceptacon" proving the movement's ideas could survive the move away from guitars and live drums.
10
All Hands on the Bad One
Sleater-Kinney · 2000
Original release: Kill Rock Stars · KRS 360 · CD · US 2000
This fifth album cemented Sleater-Kinney's status as, in Greil Marcus's words from 2001, America's best rock band, proof that riot grrrl's artistic force hadn't dulled a decade in.

The stories behind every record are in Riot Grrrl.