Punk rock and contemporary anarchism

[Elisabeth Vincentelli]

Though I really like many of the bands already mentioned (particularly Crass
and The Ex) I'm surprised nobody has talked about the Riot Grrrl legacy.
Bikini Kill definitely saw themselves as political, though perhaps more in
the "fight the patriarchy" than in the "fight the power sense". Kathleen
Hanna built the entire Julie Ruin album around French feminist theories, and
her new band, Le Tigre, is also all about cultural politics--sloganeering,
yes, and really fun. Furthermore, queer politics are essential to bands like
The Haggard and The Need.

Could the fact that nobody has mentioned these bands related to their being
associated with cultural activism rather than politics? A band like
Sleater-Kinney is extremely involved in grassroot activism (self-defense
benefits, animal rights, etc.) but they say that they consider themselves
cultural rather than political activists. Is it detrimental to their
message/impact in the long run?

Elisabeth