song 074 : Punkophony (Suburban Legends + Outtakes)

I was thinking back to the various snubs I’d met with in the riot grrrl and punk scene. The perfectly dressed, haircut and tattooed punk, handsome as a movie star, getting picked up in his mom’s Jaguar, after dissing everyone at the show. The riot grrrl control freaks who felt compelled to personally denounce me for being a “privileged blond,” or for making music they didn’t like. Like smarmy TV commercials their purpose was to make people feel insecure.

I grew up in a barrio, got thrown out of my parent’s house at seventeen, and was using music to regain my voice after nearly being murdered during abduction in tenth grade, so their snobbery stood out in high contrast. In this song I was throwing off all their shackles to worship rock and roll. It was a pivotal moment of liberation for me as a singer.

I was not picking on Olympia, Washington specifically, but I could not resist including that capitol of elitist non-conformists! I used to wonder what it was like to have the kind of support people like Kathleen and Corin had from the start: the labels, the scenes, the fellow bands, the ensuing hordes of faithful. Los Angeles wasn’t like that.


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