Help making a mixtape of female fronted queer punk?

April 17, 2009 10:12 PM

Help me make a mixtape of female fronted queer punk? I'm making a mixtape of female fronted queer punk and I need some suggestions of bands or songs.

Female fronted is most important. Punk is a very wide spectrum so whatever you think it is, it is (so far my list goes as wide as The Gossip to Homomilitia). The queer part can be loose as well, songs about (against) homophobia, bands with out/loud/proud members who aren't necessarily on vocals, etc.

Extra points for Seattle/NW bands or international hardcore punk.

Extra-super-double points for really, really pissed off vocals.

posted by crustix to media & arts (27 comments total)

L7. Not necessarily queer, but female, strong, and pissed off.
posted by parkerama at 10:17 PM on April 17, 2009

Spitboy. Tribe 8.
posted by padraigin at 10:20 PM on April 17, 2009

Spitboy, Bikini Kill, Bratmobile.
posted by Rykey at 10:21 PM on April 17, 2009

La Tigre. Even the Muffs. Lunachicks. Red Aunts?
posted by Rykey at 10:24 PM on April 17, 2009

God Is My Co-Pilot had a woman fronting them in Sharon Topper, and they covered a lot of gender, bisexual and gay topics in their music. They were pretty much unique musically, though in the lineage of No Wave, favourites of John Peel (who played them incessantly), and vastly more witty and clever than most bands there have ever been.
posted by galaksit at 10:39 PM on April 17, 2009

Second Bikini Kill -- classic! 7 Year Bitch is one of my favs, Heavens to Betsy, Slant 6, Tiger Trap, Babes in Toyland. Boy, I miss those days...
posted by Zoyashka at 10:44 PM on April 17, 2009

Ooh, also a song by CWA called "Only Straight Girls Wear Dresses" That's the only song I have by them, so I'm not sure what else is out there. A lot these bands can be found on the Kill Rock Stars compilations.
posted by Zoyashka at 10:46 PM on April 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Team Dresch. The butchies, kaia and melissa in general. Phrank. Early Sleater Kinney. Cary Brownstein qualifies to this day. then you get to cadillaca.
I wish I knew more Nervous Gender, That might qualify too.
posted by Cold Lurkey at 10:47 PM on April 17, 2009

X-Ray Spex
The Runaways
The Slits
Plasmatics
2nding God Is My Co-Pilot ("we're here, we're queer, we're gonna fuck your children!")
also yes Tribe 8 (leslie mah big ups)
TEAM DRESCH
(and offshoots -- Kaia solo albums, The Butchies)
This wikipedia entry should give you some tips too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queercore
posted by salem at 10:49 PM on April 17, 2009

Au Pairs, the ORIGINAL Female-Fronted Queer Punk Band^*. VERY angry stuff.

^* May not be the ORIGINAL Female-Fronted Queer Punk Band, but at least one of the first.
posted by SansPoint at 11:34 PM on April 17, 2009 [1 favorite]

Tracy and the Plastics, Le Tigre, King Cobra, Bikini Kill.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:50 PM on April 17, 2009

I don't know what side of the road they drive on, nor do I car, but Fabulous Disaster was a great all female punk band. Message me if you have a hard time finding their music but you probably won't.
posted by christhelongtimelurker at 12:07 AM on April 18, 2009

3rding Tribe8
posted by zippy at 12:34 AM on April 18, 2009

also, The NEED.
posted by tip120 at 5:05 AM on April 18, 2009

Sleater-Kinney, The Butchies, Julie Ruin, Le Tigre.
posted by sneakin at 5:47 AM on April 18, 2009

Seven Year Bitch
Throbbing Gristle
posted by greta simone at 7:12 AM on April 18, 2009

Cinder Block is not gay, but she fronted Tilt who were fairly angry and feminist.
posted by ignignokt at 7:13 AM on April 18, 2009

LE TIGRE LE TIGRE LE TIGRE
posted by King Bee at 7:29 AM on April 18, 2009

Joan Jett - maybe Androgynous? Joan doesn't tend to get too pissed off though, so she may not fit well in this mix.

Amy Ray's solo stuff perhaps.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 8:05 AM on April 18, 2009

Amy Ray's solo albums are pretty punky.
Athens Boys Choir may not fit into the scheme.
posted by hippybear at 8:14 AM on April 18, 2009

The fact that no one has mentioned Phranc -- a pioneer of the L.A. punk rock scene in the 70s and 80s and famous for her androgynous style and flat-top -- makes me feel old ;)

Check out Nervous Gender, Catholic Discipline and Castration Squad (links to all in the Wikipedia link above), but please don't overlook her solo work as the self-styled "All-American Jewish Lesbian Folksinger."

I'm not very knowledgeable about the genre, but the Wikipedia article mentions her as an influence on the "Queercore" movement so you may find more bands at that link, too.

I'm not sure how readily available her whole back-catalog is, but if it means the difference between including her on your tape or not I'd be happy to send you my old cassette tape of I Enjoy Being A Girl that I happened to find the other day. :)
posted by Room 641-A at 9:00 AM on April 18, 2009

'Chickenhawk' is another CWA song. Highly recommended.

Also, Emily's Sassy Lime.
posted by box at 9:16 AM on April 18, 2009

Poison Girls -- early female fronted anarcho punk. Vi Subversa, the lead singe had previously had a cabaret act (she was a middle aged mother of two when formed the band) and has a nice line in acidic bile for her lyrics/vocals.
posted by tallus at 12:27 PM on April 18, 2009

Huggy Bear!
British riot grrrl band. I love their song "No Sleep Til." I think they had some connections to (or at least were admired by) the Olympia/Pacific Northwest riot grrrl scene.
posted by val5a at 4:19 PM on April 18, 2009

(p.s. That song has really pissed off vocals.)
posted by val5a at 4:20 PM on April 18, 2009

Dog Faced Hermans–later female-fronted anarcho punk. With horns and anger and if not overt queerness, sympathy for sure.
posted by generalist at 5:58 PM on April 18, 2009

Third Sex
Vegas Beat
Cypher in the Snow (warning, self link)
Blatz (Anna Joy was queer and definitely pissed off)
Harum Scarum
posted by smartyboots at 6:38 PM on April 18, 2009