Customer Reviews

Singles

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm really only writing this review for the sake of pointing out how ...SPIN magazine is - often criticized by the band for it's superficial reporting of the punk underground, we find that the dumb ...can't even review a CD properly...right on the main Amazon.com listing for this album, SPIN describes the CD:

"The Singles boils down the band's brief career into a package as compact and abrasive as a scouring pad."

No, THE SINGLES is not a career retrospective. Bikini Kill was not a major-label band that put out albums and then promoted them with radio-ready single releases plucked from it's core. Their 7" 'singles' were completely original, previously unreleased work crammed onto 45 rpm vinyl. For a long time, these nine songs were only available to those with turntables, but after the band broke up Kill Rock Stars put that material out as _The Singles_ on CD and cassette. But it's obvious SPIN did little more than look at the albums cover before writing up that short, misinformed and completely useless review (the songs here are never described, the writer merely throws out adjectives commonly used to describe the band's sound and other cute wordplay).

Anyway, this is a really good collection of some of the bands best work, but only the song REBEL GIRL is also available on their albums, which are well worth owning.

This is probably the B-K CD I listen to most (if "Feels Blind" and especially "Outta Me" were on it, i might hardly ever listen to anything else--by anyone...). From the beginning (the Joan Jett produced troika "New Radio", "Rebel Girl"--the best verson--, and "Demi Rep", my personal favourite, to the end, it's an astonishing experience, you really get the feeling that this band is composed of ferociously tender people, with alot on their minds, and enough of a sense of humour to avoid becoming annoying about it. No one who was alive in the nineties should go another minute into the twenty-first century without hearing this...

Bikini Kill were a phenomenal band, too bad they aren't around anymore. Kathleen Hanna screams about what it's like to be a woman; the pain, anger, and frusteration. She is bold, blunt, and doesn't hold anything back. 'I Like F*cking' is possibly one of the best feminist songs ever written. All the other songs are excellent and I can't pick standouts because they're ALL standouts. Especially recommended to teenage girls.

The Singles is my favorite Bikini Kill record because it represents perfectly feminist issues, personal struggle--and Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna playing "Miss Mary Mack" doesn't hurt either. The Singles is what teenage girls would write if teenagers wrote really, really great things. Juvenile sex exploits and childhood abuse are written with a maturity that seems almost contradictory to the shocking accuracy with which these abuses are portrayed. The songs are written in blood with an emotional cord that plugs right into yr gut. It's experiences that all girls have gone through, only written so that everyone can understand.

I heard about this through a movie and bought the first one of their CDs I found. The first time I listened to it I thought "what a waste of $" and put it away. About 2 wks ago I put it back in the CD player and it's been there ever since. I LOVE it. Incredibly un-intimidated, un-inhibited... I have recomended it to at least 7 people so far

Yes, it's not the raw BK you heard on Pussywhipped, it's more like the polished rock of 'Reject All-American' - but better. Joan Jett lends her great voice, guitar-work and production to a few tracks. Yet another version of 'Rebel Girl' is here as well, but this might be the best of them all. If you were unfortunate enough to have missed the 7" where these songs debuted, this is an essential catch-up.

this is by far my favourite CD. The one complaint I have is the short length. I wish there was more to enjoy! this was my first Bikini Kill Cd, and remains my favourite, although Reject All American is also wonderful. This is fast-paced, loud, pure punk rock.

don't get me wrong; i love riot-grrl music. it's angry, hard, soft, and intelligent all at the same time. but after Hole hit it big and courtney love became a pretentious corporate woman, i lost some respect for the style. it seemed that the musicians along with hole, bands like babes in toyland, sleater-kinney, and bratmobile were selling mediocre music that had once been excellent to a mass market. it saddened me a lot.

the now defunct bikini kill were different, though. i have all of their albums, and each one is more breathtaking than the next. even though bikini kill are gone, and kathleen hannah's le tigre can't hold a candle to them, this collection of songs offers insight into the band, and just how f**king excellent they were.

'the singles,' is white-hot from the start, with the scathing, 'new radio,' which is presumably about how much corporate radio (k-rock!!!!). but that is only the beginning. the next two songs are even hotter, one of them being an alternate version of, 'rebel girl,' and the other being the sinister, 'demirep,' which may be my favorite song on the album. an interesting note; punk icon joan jett plays guitar and backing vocals on all three of these songs.

the other songs on the album continue in the same furious vein, but coats everything in sugar. this is found particularly on the fantastic, 'strawberry julius,' and the regrettably short, 'rah! rah! replica.' so to find out what kind of band bikini kill were and what they were about, 'the singles,' is the ultimate conversation piece. it can make you feel bad about sex, your body, and, at times, being male.

The one thing that all "punk" shares is a sense of rebellion -- and after listening to bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Bratmobile, I amazed that "punk" has been so dominated by guy bands. And, this might just be the best representation of the whole "riot grrrl" thing. It's angry, articulate, and at times playful. (Just listen to the sample from "DemiRep" to see what I mean.) The music and the lyrics come on pretty strong, but isn't that why we listen to punk-rock in the first place?

this cd is one of their best....my personal favorite is the cd version of the first two albums ...and this is my second...bikini kill is my favorite band..they are so great....and kathleens new julie ruin is just as good...i only wish there were more fast sounding grrrl bands like bikini kill.....thanx....kathleen you rock