Riot Grrrl. A classic genre so distinct that the name itself leaves little need for definition. These days, the artists who once paved the way have inspired a new generation of grungy, femme-punk rock stars who have been pioneering the indie rock scene. In many ways, Riot Grrrl is as much as a feeling as it is a sound. So here are 50 contemporary riot grrl tracks that will make you want to smash your ex’s windshield and send the pictures to their fucking mom. Listen along while you read the list.
Mannequin Pussy “Control”
The queens of the modern day femme punk movement themselves, naturally Mannequin Pussy is at the start of this list. A song about imploring yourself that you’re in control even when you’re not, this track will really imbue the rage hidden deep within you. “Something’s in your eyes” Yeah, it’s the shards of glass and steel as you take that baseball bat to your ex’s Honda.
The Courtneys “90210”
Chanting, beautiful waterfront imagery and angst, all the trappings of a perfect riotgrrl tune. Employ this banger as a self care ritual and you will suddenly be feeling like the thought of committing criminal mischief may be truly healing.
Nanami Ozone “Desire”
Desire can mean many things. Love, lust, taking a fucking handaxe to every smashable thing your ex owns and holds dear. In this case, desire will induce feelings of violence and rage.
Dude York “Love Is”
A true anthem. Love is amazing. Love is horrible. Love is…complicated. A song about toxic love, “Love Is” will fuel your toxic lust for violence.
Guerilla Toss “Betty Dreams of Green Men”
Invoking the spirit of the classic Riotgrrls of yore, Guerilla Toss’ “Betty Dreams of Green Men” is a chaotic disarray of vibes. This is the sort of tune that will jumble your brain so badly you’ll be madly digging through the pantry for that hatchet you bought from Home Depot “in case of emergency.”
Wednesday “Bull Believer”
A dark and brooding song by the current sweethearts of the indie world, Bull Believer devolves into a turbulent mess of distorted wrath. With heavy, head banging hypnotics, by the third chant of Street Fighter’s “Finish Him,” you’ll start feeling the rage of Chun-Li herself with no game over in sight.
Retirement Party “Passion Fruit Tea”
We drank the tea that fills you existential dread and everyone knew you there. A “woe is me” anthem complete with the perfect breakdown that will make you want to warm up your body by smashing a few bottles before moving in for the coup de grace.
Niis “Slaughter”
This song is, by no over-exaggeration, a fucking ragefest that will fuel the fury of a thousand suns.
The Beths “Uptown Girl”
A breakup anthem of the century and at its core, a drinking song. This is the kind of tune that will have you calling his phone and slurring all your 4-letter words. You’ll be wanting to do a few shots to this one before turning the rest of that bottle of whiskey into a Molotov cocktail.
Slow Pulp “Cramps”
“Cramps” is one of those rare songs that perfectly captures the misery of having ovaries in true riot grrrl fashion. And of course, as we know, few things make you want to smash the things of those who’ve hurt you than rotting away in bed with a terrible bout of cramps.
Pretty Sick “Allen Street”
This droning, grungy tune touts the advice, “nothing’s gonna last forever.” And honestly? Cars don’t either. So you’re really just getting ahead of the curve. He’ll thank you later when he’s groveling at your feet for forgiveness.
Insignificant Other “heathers”
A song about spiraling into caffeine-fueled self-destruction, one must admit the thrill of the beautiful chaos an extra large cold brew can diffuse. “heathers” will encourage you to play drinking games with macchiatos. And who knows how many it’d take for those espresso shakes to produce some breathtaking baroque designs using a key and that once beloved passenger side door as your medium.
Taco Cat “I Hate the Weekend”
Schedule your week right and he’ll be repeating the title of this song while he cries to his mommy on the phone Monday morning. After discovering the carnage on his way to work, he’ll need all the help he can get explaining why he’s late to his boss.
Bleached “For the Feel”
If it’s not for anything else at all, destroying your ex’s most expensive and prized possession is all about the feel after all, isn’t it? Yeah, you did it for the feel. The police report will love that.
Gustaf “Best Behavior”
Everyone’s always pressuring everyone to be noble. Be the bigger person. Be on your best fucking behavior. But this song begs the question after all you’ve been through, “Maybe fucking some shit up is your best behavior?”
Great Grandpa “Teen Challenge”
Grungy, driving guitars that devolve into group vocals, “Teen Challenge” is the type of tune that’ll make you feel like all your friends are there cheering you on. And what’s friendship for if not to be there through the shattered glass fantasies because what good pal wouldn’t?
Sour Windows “Witness”
Drony, ambient, hypnotic. This one will really inspire you to listen to the devil on your shoulder. As you decide which direction your metaphorical blinker will go, you might as well end up just smashing in the headlights altogether.
Daddy Issues “In Your Head”
Let’s face it, a song whose first lyrics are “fuck you forever” will really make you lust after how you can achieve that sentiment in real-time. Daddy Issues will make you get out of your head and into the violent wilds of the night.
Suzy Shin “Junk Food”
The singular release from artist Suzy Shin, this is a track guaranteed to fuel your creativity. Go to the 711 and go fucking wild. A 2-liter bottle of Coke? Ice cream? I mean what would feel better than dousing that fucker in a gas station slushy?
Gobbinjr “bb gurl”
Perhaps the most adorably subdued on the list, “bbgirl” by Gobbinjr invokes the true spirit of riot grrrl. A simply cathartic listen, this would really accent the feeling of destroying expensive property in a fairy tale sort of way.
Jesse Cardiff is an ace pool shark, but no matter how good he gets he can never escape the shadow of his legendary predecessor Fats Brown. That is until the ghost of Fats comes down from heaven and offers Jesse a chance to prove himself by beating Fats in a game. Jesse does so, only to find that now he is the legend, doomed to live in limbo until a new challenger can usurp him. It’s not the scariest episode of “The Twilight Zone” but it’s a poignant reminder that when someone big dies, it’s only a matter of time before someone takes their place. Think Trump/Hitler.
In the first of two William Shatner appearances, a couple awaiting car repair at a diner begins to suspect that the novelty fortune teller on their table is supernaturally accurate. The man becomes obsessed and begins to unravel until his wife makes a case for the futility of trying to know the future, and they decide to walk away. It’s sort of an allusion to Pandora’s Box where man is spared the curse of foresight. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, this whole existing thing. We would give anything to not know how fucked we’re going to be after #election2024.
A guy dies and goes to what he thinks is heaven because he does nothing but win. The twist? It’s actually hell, and winning gets boring after a while. Big Deal. We’ve known this is hell since 2015 and we still need to go to work and shit.
A wealthy man on his deathbed forces his greedy heirs to wear grotesque masks until the stroke of midnight to receive their inheritance. When they remove the masks, however, they find their faces have been permanently deformed, their outward appearance now matching the ugliness within them. Take a look at that picture. Everyone there is still more appealing than Trump, Christie or DeSantis by a country mile.
A young girl vanishes into another dimension through a mysterious portal in one of the walls of her home. It seemed awfully scary in 1962, but today we should all be so lucky.
In the future, prisoners are marooned on their own planet, with only a sex robot for company. This is supposed to be scary? Real-life prisons are overcrowded, under-resourced, and not a sex robot to be seen. Robert Duvall’s prison sounds better than most of our lives.
In the future, a world war rages for so long that in the end there is only one survivor from each side. One of them is a woman, and the other is a Charles Bronson. They almost kill each other, but eventually decide to call off the battle and, presumably, repopulate the earth. It’s grim sure, but the survival rate of this war is higher than the survival rate of the upcoming third World War by about two.
Stranded at a snowed-in diner, the passengers of a bus discover that someone among them is secretly an alien in disguise. We would kill to have a problem as tame as “Who is the interloper?” Instead, we must decide which proven interloper will do the least amount of damage running our country for the next 4 years.
In a future overtaken by vanity, everyone is forced to have cosmetic surgery to make them look like one of a dozen beautiful people. They get twelve people to choose from?! We only get to choose between two people to be president and they aren’t even hot!
Accidentally traveling to the time of the dinosaurs is scary, sure, but at least you’re up there in the safety of an airplane, not down here on the ground, present-day watching the dinosaurs run the government.
A gremlin threatens to destroy an airplane mid-flight, and no one will heed William Shatner’s panicked warnings. If you think that’s bad, wait until you see what four more years of neglect does to our entire infrastructure. It doesn’t matter if we wind up with Biden again, Trump again, or any of the other GOP mutant hopefuls, you’re going to want to avoid trains and bridges.
A clown, a hobo, a ballerina, an Air Force captain, and a Scotsman all find themselves in a circular room with no exit, with no memory of who they are or how they got there. Each one of them would be a more viable candidate than anyone we will see on the 2024 ballet.
A stripper recovering from exhaustion keeps having a recurring dream in which she wanders down to the hospital morgue, where a nurse tells her “Room for one more, honey” before she wakes up screaming. Later, when she is boarding a plane, a stewardess identical to the nurse in her dream says “Room for one more, honey.” She screams and runs away. The plane takes off and explodes. It must be nice to be able to change your fate like that. We’ve been having nightmares about the next presidency every night and we’re still gonna have to get on the plane.
In a world where everyone is a pig-faced ghoul, a conventionally attractive woman is considered deformed, and after her 11th attempt at corrective surgery she is still “ugly.” Hang on… 11 surgeries? So even in this fictional world run by literal fascist pigs, insurance will cover 11 surgeries to fix a purely cosmetic issue? Which world is the dystopia again?
A man seeks shelter from a storm in a monastery, where he finds that the monks are keeping a prisoner. The prisoner howls and begs for help, but the monks warn the man that the prisoner is in fact the devil and must never be released. We got a guy like that. If you listen closely you can hear him howling now. “This trial is a witch hunt,” he says. “Stolen election!” he whines. “Make America great again!” For the love of God, don’t let him out.
