Hey you hip happening bitches,
Welcome to The Deviant Dispatch. It’s Mo, your guide to the underground world of Brooklyn and beyond. On Wednesday I write about events for free. On Friday I write about gossip for money (paying members only). There will be snark, and sometimes typos.
This is the part where I say something clever and witty but all I have is frustration. Being frustrated makes me go back to old angsty favorites, which for me means bands from the 90s feminist punk Riot Grrl movement. Inspired by the lack of parties, my anger at the world, and Julia Gray’s freewheeling end of year report on her newsletter I’m just gonna rant for a while about them. Let’s dive in!
Did you know Bratmobile put out a remastered version of their 1993 album Pottymouth? The punk trio are the best band with the worst recordings, so this discovery was a welcome one to me (even if it was 2 years after it came out). Check it out for a snotty band inspired by the B-52s and led by a furious nerd girl. Quite possibly this stuff doesn’t hit as hard if your not a closeted gay 15 year old hearing it for the first time but hey, worth a shot! It’s available wherever music is streamed, just make sure you click on the version with the cover below.
Bratmobile was a big deal for me when I first heard them. As an awkward kid who was gay enough to do drama but looking for something more subversive than show tunes, bands like Bratmobile were a godsend. I listened to their outcast anthem “Cool Schmool” on repeat on the bus ride to convince myself I didn’t care what my preppy classmates in math class thought. Leave me and my blue checkered horsehair Vans alone Adam!!!!
Also on frequent rotation was their sarcastic cover of the Runaways “Cherry Bomb.” I loved the so-not-sexy screams of Allison Wolfe and the brittle mania of the guitar. Their cover captures the feeling of being insatiably horny and laughs at mainstream America’s idea of what a horny woman sounds like.
This teenage Riot Grrrl kick led me to Huggy Bear, who famously got kicked out of the British talk show The Word for heckling the other guests. This thankfully happened after they performed their biggest “hit” on camera, prompting the music mag Melody Maker to run this iconic cover.
Once when high school Mo was watching the video of said performance, a friend of mine said while he couldn’t hear the music playing in my headphones it looked like the band was “pretty wild.” He wasn’t wrong!
Huggy Bear was a queer mixed-gender group of British punks who caused quite a stir in the UK along with their friends Bikini Kill. Their music was impassioned no-wave punk that sometimes stumbled into catchiness. Their songs remains absent on platforms like Spotify, though you can find them on Youtube.
Their biggest song “Her Jazz” has everything: a bouncy guitar riff, a call-and-response chorus, and a treasure trove of sloganeering lyrics. My faves are “Best pull up my skirt, and put up with hurt” “face it you’re old and out of touch,” and “this is happening without your permission”
Their song “Pansy Twist” isn’t as big, but should have been. “My Boyfriend he’s venereal, my boyfriend violates his parole” Chris sneers like the gay Sex Pistol we don’t deserve. Then the song goes into prime Sonic Youth-eque scorched guitar landscapes. The whole thing climaxes with some epic epic screams.
I’m not alone in loving this band. Bloc Party’s Gordon Moakes wrote an inspiring essay in The Gaurdian about how much the band changed his teenage self
“This felt radical, this felt like something that had never come before: a force to up-end the patriarchal system, the sexist mush that even as a 17-year-old kid I could see propping up the world around me, the horrendously safe status quo that I was too young to want to embrace, and too old not to want to do something about. But it was more than just an idea, with it came this articulate, riotous squall of energy and passion, femininity and delinquency that was attractive, constructive, sexy and persuasive. I wanted in.”
Sounds fab right!?!?
Are you over the age of 17 and feeling inspired after hearing “Shaved Pussy Poetry” for the first time? Email me at thedeviantdispatch@gmail.com or just respond to this newsletter. (Thanks to Ryan for emailing me this live version of Caroline Polachek’s cover of “Breathless”)
Since there are no sweaty basements to catch queer feminist punks in action, here are some concert livestreams this week. None of these bands are as raw as Huggy Bear or Bratmobile but they’re all worthy of your attention
XOXO,
Mo
Sunflower Bean
When: Thursday, 9pm NYC time
Where: https://lpr.tv/
What: This psych-rock band got their start playing in illegal warehouse venues when they were just teens. Now they’re in the early 20s and while their sound has gotten more commercial (“Easier Said” plays out of every Urban Outfitters) they continue to make great tunes like their September single “Moment in the Sun.” They also are much better live than you would assume from their laid-back sound. According to the band’s Instagram their set will be live for 48 hours after the show, so no sweat if you’re a little late to this gig.
How much: $14 plus fees to the tech overlords
Ariel Zetina, Cordoba, Fran, Tenci, Lala Lala, Kwirabura, Friko, Monoculture
When: Friday 8:00PM NYC time
Where: https://noonchorus.com/hideout/
What: Lala Lala is a indie band out of Chicago (think “Indian Summer” by Beat Happening with a budget/production value). They’re playing this benefit show for DIY CHI Mutual Aid fund, which helps provide COVID-19 relief to members of Chicago’s underground arts and music community. Hideout is a bar/venue in an old house that’s been a favorite of progressive Chicagoans for decades, and they’re hosting this shindig.
Keeping underground spaces and scenes alive is how we get boundary pushing and brash acts like Huggy Bear and Bratmobile. So tune in for Lala Lala and other bands, which include the queer techno artist Ariel Zetina, and the neo-soul of Cordoba. It’s how you can keep the Hideout and underground music alive.
How much: $10 plus a service fee to the tech overlords
Oceanator / Maneka virtual tour
When: Monday (1/11)- Friday (1/15) 7pm at whatever timezone the bands are playing in that day
Where: https://oceanator.surf/virtualtour
What: Live shows remain out of reach for the foreseeable future (maybe this summer?) but fledgling indie rock outfits Oceanator + Maneka have come up with a unique way to tour. Instead of traveling from city to city, the duo will "perform" (via stream) a set tailor made for each city, including covers of local bands and different stage setups. The tour starts Monday, and promises to breathe life into the stale concert streaming experience.
How much: $10
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