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Life & Arts

Le Tigre a pioneer of feminist rock

Band's self-titled debut rocked music world two years ago, 
still has people listening

by DUSTI RHODES
The Daily Cougar

‘On the Record' is an occasional feature where Daily Cougar staff writers take a closer look at albums from the past.

In a time when rap-rock, pop-punk and Britney Spears (and her many incarnations) were what the musical world was coming to -- or not coming to -- three women stepped up to create one of the best albums of 1999, and today it can safely be called one of the best ever.

Whether you're a fan of catchy pop, rock 'n' roll or electronic dance tunes, Le Tigre's self-titled debut on Mr. Lady Records is an album that must find its way into your collection sooner than later, especially for those who still think that Hole and The Donnas are the best example of feminism in rock (while you're at it, go get a Sleater-Kinney album, too).

Featuring the riot grrl, Kathleen Hanna (former member of Bikini Kill), along with Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning (who was later replaced by JD Samson), Le Tigre set out to create feminist rock that was as much about the music as it was about the movement.

In an effort to bring her previous effort, Julie Ruin, to the stage, Hanna teamed up with Fateman and Benning but wound up with entirely new songs. Thus, Le Tigre's debut was born.

Picking up where she left off in terms of vocals and lyrics, Hanna steered Le Tigre into a more widely acceptable sound than that of Bikini Kill or Julie Ruin, creating tracks that make for the perfect protest dance party.

Le Tigre combined the repetition of hip-hop with rock and new wave flavors to keep things bouncing along, as Hanna leads most of the tracks with determined vocals that keep listeners as aware as they are entertained.

Songs like opener "Deceptacon," a quintessential Le Tigre track, capture the essence of the group. Simple repetitive guitar riffs and drum and keyboard loops are met with Hanna's ability to switch from singing to screaming perfectly on-key (think Deborah Harry, only angrier). 

The song dances along as Hanna expresses her grievances with the state of the rock world and the overabundance of mediocrity within it: "You're cool and I hardly want to say ‘not' / because I'm so bored that I'd be entertained / Even by a stupid … linoleum floor, linoleum floor / Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor / I'll walk on it / Like I'll walk all over you."

But it isn't all complaints -- the next track, "Hot Topic," is a soulful sounding ode to a long line of female artists as the group names numerous women who, like themselves, have paved the way for those to come.

The album captures the spirit of their empowerment and is a testimony to the ladies' strength to stand up for what they believe in. This is a trait the members of Le Tigre still carry with them -- their latest record This Island was released on major label Universal with an anti-war number as the first single.

In "The Empty," Hanna shares her feelings of alienation as a feminist in the entertainment world where women are more often expected to be sex symbols instead of independent beings: "Oh, baby, why won't you talk to me? / Oh baby, you just want me empty."

The girls take on the former mayor of New York in "My My Metrocard" as an organ-driven surf rock-esque tune highlights the advantages of public transportation and attacks Rudolph Giuliani's policies with lyrics like, "Workfare does not work."

The beauty of Le Tigre is not only in its strength, but its weakness as well. While the girls show their fearlessness in the previously mentioned tracks, the album is equally strewn with those that show vulnerability. This is what gives the album its honesty and proves that, as the girls say, "All that glitters is not gold."

"Eau D' Bedroom Dancing" is a confession of fear of rejection and scrutiny as Hanna gently sings of the freedom of dancing in her bedroom: "No one to criticize me."

Le Tigre proved with its first release that women's rock could be both tough and beautiful, and that selling records can mean baring your soul instead of your midriff.

Le Tigre shows the beginning of the group's metamorphosis from danceable rock to straight up dance tracks a la Island and is definitely the band's best effort so far -- a must have for feminists, women, men and all fans of music with a conscience.
 

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