| Bikini Kill – Blood One Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I've always thought that this was pretty literal and about how limiting language can be -- and how it is kind of an elite institution that only grants authority to certain people. | |
| Rilo Kiley – Does He Love You? Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think that the narrator absolutely did know that she was having an affair with her friend's husband. "Let's not forget ourselves, good friend / You and I were almost dead" suggests to me that she would have been aware of who her friend was getting with -- because they were together when her friend and the husband hooked up. And the way the timbre changes when she delivers the "good friend" bit makes me think that a bit of resentment still lingers over the friend's leaving and getting married. So I think that she knows. And I think the timbre change in the vocals at the end of the song does betray a bit of sadness and desperation in the narrator's actions. I'm not so sure that her friend actually knows who the "other" woman is though. Earlier in the song when she sings, "Let's not forget ourselves, good friend," I don't believe she's actually talking to her friend -- rather, I think she's sussing the situation out in her head. I don't know that I think the narrator is actually speaking with her friend at the end either, or if it is just narration. And why would you call the friend who's having an affair with your husband unless you were calling to confront her? It just doesn't seem plausible that her friend would be calling her for support in that instance. |
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| NOFX – Kill Rock Stars Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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The "you've been crowned the newest queen" couldn't be a message about Le Tigre and Kathleen Hanna's increased fame because of that group -- the song / album was released before Le Tigre had even formed (1998). It is more likely a dig at Kathleen Hanna's scenester punk status and the fact that she kind of became the face of the whole riot grrrl scene. I think that the whole "hating" or "blaming" men thing is a really tired, overused argument against feminists. And I think it is particularly tired and boring in application to so-called 'Third Wave' feminists (which coincides with the rise and fall of the riot grrrl movement) because we really see power in a more postmodern sense, in which it is constitutive and embedded within us -- power "from below" as Foucault would have had it. So it's not a philosophical matter of simple oppression, but a lot more complex with more axis of identity to examine. Furthermore, I contest the labeling of anyone now as a 'riot grrrl' because riot grrrl as a movement is beyond dead. It's kind of like acid rock -- it existed in a certain space and location and was not just about music--there were pretty specific politics involved. We have the legacy of riot grrrl, but not the actual movement anymore. This is history, in music and pop culture terms. This isn't my favorite NOFX song. In fact, I don't even think I have a favorite NOFX song, but I think that simplicity and occasional outright stupidity is part of the NOFX aesthetic. It's what they do and they aren't bad at it. |
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