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diversions
Le Tigre bites
back with femme 'Sweepstakes'
By Alex Roman
On-line Forty-Niner
Long before Kathleen
Hanna asked, "Who took the bomp from the bompalopalomp?" on
Le Tigre's self-titled debut CD, she was already a legend
who proved that music really could make a difference in society.
With her former
band Bikini Kill, Hanna began a musical revolution dubbed
"Riot Grrl," which bolstered its DIY punk sound with pro-feminist
messages of female empowerment and gender equality.
But alas, something
was not right.
"Riot Grrrl," suddenly
became in vogue, forcing the movement that Hanna spearheaded
to dissipate and dilute into the Spice Girls version of "Girl
Power."
Slowly but surely
though, those pro-female bands have begun to resurface to
preach a message that is important enough to be heard and
appreciated.
One of those bands
is Hanna's latest project Le Tigre, whose new album "Feminist
Sweepstakes," has a similar message as her Bikini Kill work,
but is balanced with a wider sound a sense of humor.
"Feminist Sweepstakes,"
mixes new wave with hip hop type beats with that same early-punk
sound that made Bikini Kill albums like "Pussy Whipped" and
"Reject All American," classics in the early '90s.
With their second
album, Hanna, along with Johanna Fateman and JD Samson, is
still coming to grips with what happened to their '90s movement.
On "Much Finer,"
Hanna sings, "Got a to-do list behind my eyes, so go tell
your friends I'm still a feminist. But I won't be coming to
your benefit. I give up."
But don't let this
fool you, Hanna and her bandmates are not that fed up or defeated
quite yet.
In fact, the bands
feminist message seems to seep through the speakers, thanks
in part to Hanna's strong delivery, which as always has a
hint of sweet vulnerability to it.
When it's all said
and done, Le Tigre's messages remain positive and strong,
even as their place in the mostly male rock crowd has yet
to be etched into the mainstream.
Just look at it
this way, we're always complaining about how our favorite
indie artist sold out and made a huge commercial record,
so why not appreciate the sheer genius and balls required
of Le Tigre to stick to what they believe in?
"Feminist Sweepstakes"
is putting the music world on notice. There are still musicians
who believe in political movements and aren't afraid to continue
taking a stand.
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Mr.
Lady Records
Le Tigre is, from left to right, Kathleen Hanna,
JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, releasing their latest project
and sophomore album, 'Feminist Sweepstakes.'
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