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Rebel Girl (song)

"Rebel Girl"
Bikini Kill - New Radio-Rebel Girl-Demirep - 1994 KRS 45.jpg
Single by Bikini Kill
from the album Pussy Whipped
A-side "New Radio" / "Rebel Girl"
B-side "Demirep"
Format 7-inch single
Genre Punk rock
Label Kill Rock Stars
Songwriter(s) Kathleen Hanna, Billy Karren, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox

"Rebel Girl" is a song by American punk rock band Bikini Kill. The song was released in three different recorded versions in 1993 – on an EP, an LP, and a 7-inch single. The single version was produced by Joan Jett and features her on guitar and background vocals. Widely considered a classic example of punk music, the song remains emblematic of the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s.

The members of Bikini Kill sometimes swapped their instruments for certain songs, but all versions of "Rebel Girl" were recorded with the band's standard arrangement:

On the single release, Joan Jett provides additional guitar and backing vocals.

"Rebel Girl" is one of Bikini Kill's earliest original compositions, and was performed in concert as early as 1991. Songwriting credit is given to all four bandmembers. The lyrics are attributed to Hanna, and were reportedly inspired by the influential feminist artist Juliana Luecking.

The song's theme and lyrics overturn the traditional heterosexual tropes of pop music. Giving voice to an unconcealed lesbian perspective, it is a frank and explicit "tribute to, and love song for, another woman". In a larger sense, it is viewed as an ode to feminist solidarity. It is considered to be Bikini Kill's signature song, but its equally enduring affiliation is with the radical feminist movement known as riot grrrl. From their start, Bikini Kill was inextricably linked to riot grrrl and, more than any other song, "Rebel Girl" was that movement's most widely recognized musical expression, its "one definitive anthem".

Three different studio versions of "Rebel Girl" were recorded by Bikini Kill. The first version appeared on the split LP that the group shared with fellow riot grrrl band Huggy Bear in early 1993. Sporting front and back titles – Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah for Bikini Kill's side, Our Troubled Youth for Huggy Bear's – the split LP was released by the independent label Kill Rock Stars and was only available on vinyl and cassette. This first version of "Rebel Girl" became available in CD format in 1994 when Kill Rock Stars packaged The CD Version of the First Two Records, a combination reissue that contained all seven songs of Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah as well as the entirety of the band's vinyl debut, Bikini Kill.


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