Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #80


Le Tigre - LT Tour Theme (2001)


It's on the public record that Kathleen Hanna came up with the inspiration for "Smells like Teen Spirit." What should be a statement about the unity of the grunge and riot grrl movement has instead been relegated to fun fact. Accepting a revisionist perspective allows Cobain's death to be become a Courtney Love conspiracy theory, when the reality is that Hanna, who was just as iconic as Cobain in their original indie circle, got a chance to reinvent herself in a way Cobain never did. Le Tigre saw Hannah reach a level of fame and respect that she never received with Bikini Kill. On a lyrical level, "For the ladies/ and the fags yeah/ we're the band with the rollerskate jams," is as piercing of a response to hype as "Teenage angst has paid off well/ now I'm bored and alone." Musically, it's as jarring a transition from an album that set an impossibly high bar as "Everything In Its Right Place." The only problem is that Le Tigre's politics were radical in a way that Nirvana and Radiohead couldn't be. The problems of mass misinterpretation haven't gone away, but they've left an entire class of people afraid to even try. Kathleen Hannah did try with This Island, and if she failed, at least it was a noble failure. From my point of view, it's better to fail nobly and fade away than to burn out with a shotgun in your mouth at 27.

Labels: 2000s, le tigre, lists, lt tour theme, pop music