Laura Veirs

The songwriter salutes Bikini Kill’s The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records from 1994.

I first heard this [a compilation of Bikini Kill’s self-titled 1992 EP and their half of ’93’s split LP Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah] when I was at college in a tiny town in a Minnesota corn field. I was a part of a small punk scene there, getting interested in ways to combine feminism and music. I hadn’t heard this kind of passion and rage and energy from women before – I grew up in Colorado Springs where I knew of no girls playing in bands, nor did I ever go out to see live music, and I had no awareness of the DIY punk scenes in places like the Pacific Northwest and Washington DC.

I love Tobi Vail’s aggressive drumming on this. I also love the feedback guitars, and Kathleen Hanna’s intense vocals. Songs like Suck My Left One really push the envelope lyrically and I love how Kathleen cusses and sings out of tune. Resist Psychic Death is an awesome song title. Rebel Girl is my favourite song on this album – it has a classic, catchy punk chorus and woman-positive lyrics.

My women friends and I would headbang and mosh in our small apartment to this. It helped us vent and gave voice to the struggles we were experiencing as young women in America. I wrote a letter to the band – their PO Box was in the linernotes – and Tobi wrote back! Twenty-five years later she is a personal acquaintance. This CD and Tobi’s letter inspired me to form my first band – an all-women punk group, Rair Kx! We co-wrote about 10 songs. I was happily not the lead singer – I was the guitar player and backup singer. We played a handful of shows and recorded a 7-inch before graduating and moving to different parts of the country. Bikini Kill’s music and its community-minded ethos set the stage for my independent music career. I’m grateful for the bravery and early, challenging inspiration of Bikini Kill, and other ’90s feminist punk bands.