Hey all! Something slightly different from me today! Instead of covering a song, I thought I’d share a collection of my favourite women (and a couple of enbies!) in punk/alternative music! (I might still do a cover as an extra piece of content throughout the week, keep your eyes peeled if you enjoy those😉)
As a lot of people may have noticed, punk, and the alternative scene in general, is a bit of a boys club. A white, cishet, dick measuring competition. I wanted to share some of my top picks for awesome women making awesome alternative/punk/indie music!
Listen to the playlist here.
In addition to the playlist, I’m going to go through the picks for the playlist below! (Click the artist’s name in the article to be taken straight to their Spotify page, or any albums that I mention to be taken directly to that album!) Now without further ado, let's get into it!
Oh god, where to start with this band? Against Me! are a folk punk-cum-pop punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1997 by the singer Laura Jane Grace as a one woman band, the band has since gained a cult following. Laura is also my personal hero, and one of the biggest influences on who I am as a person today, no least in part due to when I first heard the album Transgender Dysphoria Blues. I tried to keep this playlist to one song per artist, but for Against Me!, I just had to include two, and I could have easily put all of their albums on this playlist.
Ashby & The Oceanns are the brainchild of non-binary musician Ashlynn Barker, who also runs the webcomic “Fake Gamer Girl Comics” which is also brilliant if you’ve never read it before, and I implore you to check that out too! They sing a lot about trans issues, with songs such as Queer Kidz but also songs about life in general, with Denny’s Song being one of my faves. Unfortunately, they only have one album on Spotify, but you can find their entire discography on their Bandcamp!
A three piece punk band from Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The singer of this band, Kat Bjelland, has one of the most distinctive voices I’ve ever heard, not just in punk, but in music in general, she often changes her singing style abruptly mid song, even mid line, going from almost whisper-like vocals, to loud, slurred, sloppy screaming. They only ever released three albums, but all three of those albums are awesome, especially if you enjoy the grungier punk style of bands such as Alice In Chains & Sonic Youth!
Feminist as fuck, Bikini Kill formed in 1990, in Olympia, Washington, this kickass band are often attributed as the founders of the feminist punk movement Riot grrrl. The band’s signature sound definitely comes from the singer, Kathleen Hanna’s high pitched, abrasive, angry, but still cheeky & playful vocal style, (which we’ll hear again in a later song on this list!) which beautifully portrays the aggression and feminism of the themes discussed by the band.
Blondie was formed in 1974, in New York City, by singer Debbie Harry & guitarist Chris Stein. Their blend of many genres ranging from pop, to punk to hip hop definitely contributed largely to their success, becoming one of the biggest new wave acts in the late `70’s and early `80’s, especially with two singles from their 1978 album Parallel Lines, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, the latter of which has been covered by such acts as Mandy Moore and even One Direction!
By far the most intimidating looking band on this list, L.A. band The Distillers were formed in 1998 by vocalist & guitarist Brody Dalle. Borrowing a lot more from the hardcore scene than most other bands on this list, The Distillers music is dark, moody & heavy as hell. They’ve only recorded three albums to date, but are apparently going to be hitting the studio soon! I’m definitely excited to hear what they come out with next, and you should be too!
Doing away with the traditional punk setup of guitar, The Dresden Dolls are an energetic, fun, cheeky band, led by Amanda Palmer and her piano, backed up by Brian Viglione on drums. Forming in Boston, Massachusetts in 2000, the band have only released 2 albums and an EP, although Amanda Palmer did mention a reunion & new album this year!
Samantha Stephenson is Frenchy, Scott Helland the Punk. They met in the mid 2000s. The rest is history.
I’m not really too sure how to describe this band, they’re an acoustic (mainly) duo, playing music that could be described as Steampunk, Dark Cabaret, punky carnival music, with lots of very different sounds comprising their discography, from folk to country to punk.
Scottish native Shirley Madison is the frontwoman for this alternative rock band, which formed in 1993. Despite a massive underground following, they never completely broke out of the underground, with the exception of their most popular album, Bleed Like Me, which reached no.4 in both UK & US charts. Delivering a sultry, dark take on the post-punk & alternative rock formula, these guys should definitely be up there on your To-Listen to list.
Gina Young is first and foremost a playwright, although her music career is definitely not something to turn your nose up to. Reminiscent of `90s grunge, Young delivers raw, honest music, discussing queer life, love, and everything else.
I will admit, my knowledge of Young’s music is fairly limited, and I definitely need to listen to more of her stuff, but so do you!
“We’re fucking future Girls, Living Outside of Society’s Shit!” I think this quote from the first track on their Self-Titled EP sums up this band pretty well. Another band formed in Olympia, Washington, G.L.O.S.S. are a hardcore punk band comprised of Trans & Gay musicians, fronted by the ever-cool Sadie "Switchblade" Smith, who’s visceral vocal delivery really gets across the idea of how it can feel as a gender non conforming person living in our current society & political climate.
These guys are a ska punk band from L.A. formed in 2011. Fronted by the boisterous Amiee Interrupter (real name Amiee Allen), are a fun, (as all ska should be,) light hearted band, who’s guitar skanks and bass grooves just make you want to move!
It’s Joan Motherfucking Jett. Enough fucking said. Next artist.
Possibly the queen of Lo-Fi music & Anti-Folk, Kimya Dawson’s music is, to me, the musical embodiment of a warm feeling. Although she’s probably best known for her music with Adam Green in the band The Moldy Peaches, her solo career is beautifully simple, usually not featuring more than just Kimya’s voice & her guitar. Multiple of her songs were also featured in the 2007 film Juno.
You probably know the song of theirs that I put in this playlist, even if you don’t recognise that name. The riff is just iconic. Formed in 1998 by Kathleen Hanna (I told you she’d come back!) after leaving Bikini Kill, Hanna teamed up with Joanna Fateman and Sadie Benning to create this rambunctious musical project, that somehow is even more political & feminist than Bikini Kill!
Formed in Stroud, Gloucestershire, in 2013, Milk Teeth are a playful pop punk band who’ve currently released 2 studio albums and 4 EPs. Their music is reminiscent of bands such as Green Day and My Chemical Romance, but add a bit more bite, delivered masterfully by lead singer and bassist Becky Blomfield.
The second ska band to appear on this list, No Doubt formed in Anaheim, California in 1986, with the legendary Gwen Stefani on vocals. Stefani’s dramatic, almost operatic vocals perfectly complement the upbeat, syncopated music provided by the rest of the band, creating a funky, groovy mood that you just can’t not dance to!
Punk rock & art rock workhorse Patti Smith is just iconic. Another artist that never particularly broke into the mainstream, her biggest charting album Wave only breaking No.18 on the US charts, her attitude and constant changing of musical styles garnered her a massive underground following, leading her to be revered as somewhat of a Punk legend.
Yet another band from Olympia, i think the band’s Bandcamp description is all we need for this band: “stories from a young girl falling in love with her bicycle, navigating storms and streets and relationships[...]” The trans artist Pigeon Pit is a folk punk singer & guitarist, who often plays very fast songs, with more of a rambly style to singing as opposed to a more traditional singing approach.
Russian born alternative singer Regina Spektor is another artist who often employs a piano more than she does a guitar. Releasing 6 albums to date, her music is insanely catchy, especially with her brilliant vocals, which range from soft and sublime on tracks such as Fidelity, to much punkier, louder vocals on tracks such as Your Honour, included in the playlist.
If you’ve been keeping up with our posts so far, you’ll already have heard my cover of She/Her/Hers’ song Gender Is Boring! From Lansing, Michigan, they play self admitted “Sad grrrl pop-punk”, which often talks about the singer Emma’s struggles with being a trans woman, and discusses larger LGBTQ+ issues in general.
One of the biggest names in new wave music Siouxie Sioux and her Banshees created some of the catchiest music of the `70s & `80s. Forming in London in 1976, their first single, Hong Kong Garden reached moderate success, hitting No.7 in the UK charts. They never really got any bigger than that, their only higher charting song being a cover of The Beatles’ Dear Prudence in 1983.
Last, and by no means least, we have X-Ray Spex, fronted by the magnificent Poly Styrene. By introducing a saxophone into the standard punk rock outfit, they created an amazing sound for themselves, with Styrene’s powerful vocals keeping every song going at a charging pace.
So yeah! That's the entire playlist! Comment below who your favourite women in alt music are, I know I definitely missed loads, but if I mentioned them all, this article would take me years to write, and by that time there’d be loads more women I’d have to add, and it’d be an endless cycle!
By Amelya-Lily Orme
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