Daisy Chain Fields
This past Saturday, Olivia Rodrigo announced that her charity music festival, Daisy Chain Fields, raised over $20 million for various charities focused on women's health and feminist causes. Much like Lilith Fair, the lineup consisted of entirely feminist and women led bands, across the musical spectrum from Bikini Kill to Chappell Roan. This had me thinking about the current state of pop music.
In a world that feels more and more dystopian it's awesome to see people like Olivia Rodrigo bringing riot grrrl messaging to the main stage. People like Chappell Roan are able to become superstars. While the messaging of songs like Serena Joy won't ever be as on the nose as something like George Bush is a Pig, I think it's valuable to introduce more people to the punk ethos. I've never really been into pop music but I gave Olivia's recent album You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So In Love a shot and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lot more post-punk and new-wave inspired than I was expecting. She even got Robert Smith to sing a duet on one track. Die Spitz, who participated in Daisy Chain Fields, even opened for her on tour. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more hardcore sounds from her or Chappell Roan in the future.
For a long time, I couldn't really get into punk music because of all the yelling and screaming, so I see why it isn't for everyone. It's supposed to sound bad. But there are so many punk (not quite hardcore) genres that I love (new-wave, post-punk, dance-punk, art-punk) that I just kept coming back to it. I think punk, and especially riot grrrl, is worth giving a shot for the messaging alone.
I'm glad Olivia is giving these bands, and newer riot grrrl acts like Die Spitz, some light. It's a bit backwards that Planned Parenthood relies on fundraising for funding, but seeing pop stars giving the right message to their fans is pretty sweet. If only the biggest pop star of the modern era had it in her heart to be a little more outspoken against MAGA.
Here's a list of some of my favorite riot grrrl albums
- Bikini Kill - The First Two Records (compilation/double EP)
- Bratmobile - Ladies, Women and Girls
- Le Tigre - Le Tigre
- X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescencts (not quite riot grrrl, but still great)
- Dazey and the Scouts - Maggot
- Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
I also recommend checking out The Punk Singer, a biopic about Kathleen Hanna and riot grrrl.