21 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Delta 5

Delta 5 were very short-lived, like many bands of the post-punk era, but combined feminist politics with a double-bass funk-punk sound similar to other Leeds bands like Gang of Four. They were socialists, as well as important figures in the Rock Against Racism movement. They were even the subject of a highly publicized assault of […]

22 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Kate Bush

Kate Bush was born in southeast London in 1958. She was turned on to music early in life by her older brothers, who were always playing with instruments and listening to bands like King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and Fleetwood Mac. By the time she was fifteen, she had already written over two hundred songs, including […]

23 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: The Go-Go’s

The Go-Go’s was formed by Belinda Carlisle, Jane Whedlin, Margot Olavarria, and Elissa Bello was the original drummer. They were formed as a punk band and they all had roots in the L.A. punk scene. Despite Belinda having been the first drummer of The Germs, who were looking for “two untalented girls” for their band, […]

24 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Wendy O’Williams

Wendy O. Williams was born in Webster, New York, in 1949. She was thought of as being pretty and concerned about her appearance and rather shy in high school. She dropped out at sixteen, and survived on her income from crocheting string bikinis and traveling for work, which included being a lifeguard, a stripper, and […]

25 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Annie Lennox

Ann Lennox was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1954. She grew up in a tenement and crawled her way out of a difficult upbringing, principally by winning a seat in the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she studied flute, piano, and harpsichord. She was unhappy and directionless there, however, and had to […]

INTERNAL UPDATE: EIGHTIES MUSICOLOGICAL REPARATIONS (MADONNA FREE ZONE)

One of the fortunate (for the pop star) and unfortunate (for quality of creative output) things about being a gay icon is that you can basically do whatever you want, as long as you don’t upset the gay community in any sort of immediate way. People find such shelter in your own success in being […]

26 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: ESG

ESG (Emerald, Sapphire, and Gold) made minimalist avant-funk that is often categorized within the no wave arena due to its existence outside of any formulaic genre-fication. (Yes, I made that word up; you’re welcome. Fucking William Shakespeare of 21st century music writing over here.) Their name comes from two of the founding sisters’ birthstones plus […]

27 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Kleenex/LiLiPUT and The Mo-dettes

What began as Kleenex and eventually was renamed LiLiPUT averaged a little over one line-up change per year of their five year career, and the only consistent members throughout were Klaudia Schiff (Klaudia Schifferle) on bass and vocals and Marlene Marder (Marlene Marti) on guitar. The other members at the outset were Regula Sing (Ramona […]

28 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: Lesley Woods and Jane Munro

The Au Pairs are probably my favorite post-punk band, and they are grossly overlooked. In fact, there is very little discussion about them or documentation of them on the internet, which is totally ridiculous, but also fine, because I have more than enough of my own very deeply felt thoughts and ideas about them and […]

29 DAYS TIL BIKINI KILL IN L.A.: The Raincoats

Formed in London in 1977, the original founding members of The Raincoats are Ana de Silva, who sang and played guitar, and Gina Birch, who sang and played bass. They were inspired to start their own band immediately after seeing The Slits live. They originally had a male guitarist and male drummer, but both […]