2000 Great Songs #1206: Rebel Girl

The risk in delivering a custom-built instant anthem is that it can come across as hackneyed and desperate. (See, e.g., Cut The Crap.) Anthems should be earned, songs which have no pretentions of greatness yet somehow build into something massive by virtue of popular adoption.

But sometimes it pretty much works right out of the box. Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl," from 1993's Pussy Whipped, sounds like an obvious Riot Grrrl proclamation, pure 70s punk rock adapted to the age of Nirvana and Hole, pretty much destined to one day become a go-to needle drop for a movie looking for a quick way to scene-set the early 90s Pacific Northwest. Yet it's no less compelling and magnetic, largely as a result of Kathleen Hanna's supernatural charm, as well as the savvy determination to take the feminist queen bee motif and shrink it down to a more modest schoolyard cheer.

Reunited band live on Colbert:

The Linda Lindas' update (mashed up with The Muffs):

Version by Where's Winona Now: