Let the electrifying spirit of your favorite rock stars like Iggy Pop and Bikini Kill pervade your existence and unleash your inner rebel with tips that dare to be dangerous.
By: Ryann Frolik
Since the Psychedelic Stooges took the stage in 1967, punk icons have been battling oppressive societal systems through their lyrics and music. Here are some words of inspiration from punk artists of the early ‘90s to female activist bands today.
Founder of Pussy Riot, a feminist performative rock group based in Russia, Nadya Tolokonnikova created “Read and Riot: A Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.” She writes:
“Rule No. 7: Don’t Give Up Easy. Resist. Organize. Take your beatings as a badge of honor.”
Serj Tankian, lead singer of System of a Down, discussed how urgency for change was a big motivation for his music in a 2021 interview with fellow artist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.
“It’s important not to feel impotent about change. Systems want us to feel that way. The least participation the better for power,” Tankian said.
Published in 1991, the “Riot Grrrl Manifesto,” piloted by Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of Bikini Kill, urges women to rage together against patriarchal norms:
“We are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused or turned against us,” she wrote.
Zack de la Rocha, lead singer of Rage Against the Machine, uses his music to articulate his frustrations towards oppressive racist systems in America in what he calls political revolt.
“Any society, any government, or any system that is set up solely to profit a wealthy class while the majority of people toil and sell their labor; so long as that system’s only true motive is profit interest, not the maintenance and betterment of the population to meet humans needs then that society should not stand. It should be challenged and questioned and overthrown.”
Finally, Iggy Pop, The Stooges’s 74-year-old legendary lead singer looks back on his music journey and shares optimism for the future.
“As society has changed, what had formerly been unacceptable has become colorful.”