Grrrl!!!!!

For the longest time, I have wanted to make a girl (or grrrl, if you so prefer) playlist, but I sort of shied away from it. For one, it is a rather overused theme, for another, I am not exactly a feminist, I simply know my rights as a female. But I certainly like the refreshing sight of women in the sea of men in the moshpit, and how girls provide an interesting counterpoint to the musical style of the all-male bands.

So here it is, a 6 song playlist that does not even last 10 minutes. Fierce, you say? The artists and their songs:

1. PLASMATICS - Test Tube Babies

"Plasmic eruption, baby, erupting my brain"

The frontwoman of Plasmatics is none other than the late wildchild Wendy O. Williams, probably best known for her nihilist and sexual antics onstage. Test Tube Babies is off their 1980 full-length album "New Hope For The Wretched".

2. LIBYANS - Cough It Up

"Im sayin', it's not worth it. Cough it up!"

Female-fronted four-piece band out of Boston. I dig their frantic songs and Liz Panella's low, throaty vocals. They will appear on the July issue of Maximum Rocknroll. Do check out their MySpace too.

3. RIOT-A-GO-GO - High Society

"Got no money, got no sophistication. I'm working for the sound that's due to sweep up the whole nation."

Not anymore. Riot-A-Go-Go, the three-piece San Francisco-based outfit, has disbanded roughly four years ago, and last I heard, vocalist Nova Lee Szoka has joined the acoustic bandwagon too. It was definitely good while it lasted. High Society comes from the album "A Piece Of It": yep, that album with a very provocative cover.

4. ABRASIVE RELATIONS - Kulang Sa Pamagat

"Salita ka nang salita, wala ka namang ginagawa."

The songs comes from the now hard-to-find compilation "Alternatibong Musikang Filipino Dekada '90". The copy that I have in my possession was originally a gift to my late mom. Mention Abrasive Relations and 1990s punk scene come to mind. They were an all-girl band who could screech and play well: these qualities I daresay set them quite apart from similarly structured bands.

5. BLOODY REJECTS - 8 Years

"Don't you think you're such a fluke?"

I bought "Ready...Set...Go!", Bloody Rejects' album, upon the recommendation of a friend. ("They're interesting. The female members look so feminine, and yet they do kick-ass covers of Bad Brains." Cool.) This Singapore-based group has long been in existence - 1997 to be exact - and is said to be lately getting active once again in the gig circuit. Good for us then. Check this album out.

6. EPOXIES - Cross My Heart

"I'm not the type of girl who gives up easily or runs away.
You better get used to it, cos I ain't leaving you.
I'm here to stay."

Ouch. Heard this before? You can forgive this Portland, Oregon-based band for the rather cheesy lyrics, though. Vocalist Roxy Epoxy is very engaging and the band does really catchy songs. Oh, but if you do find the lyrics okay by you ... then hop right in, grrrl. ;)

That's it for now. Have a great week, people. Cough it uuuppp!!!

Photos all come from the artists' sites.