Song · Bikini Kill
“Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill
From the album Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah / Our Troubled Youth (1992)
“Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill appears on 5 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2019 and 2023. It was first released in 1992 on the album Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah / Our Troubled Youth. Its best result is #19 on the KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,539 indie & aaa song of all time and #259 of the '90s.
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"Rebel Girl" is Bikini Kill in a nutshell: a stomping, shouted anthem that came out in three different recordings in 1993, on an EP, an LP and a seven-inch, and became the riot grrrl movement's calling card. It was one of the band's earliest songs, played live as far back as 1991. All four members share the credit, Kathleen Hanna wrote the words, reportedly with the feminist artist Juliana Luecking in mind, and Tim Green recorded it for Kill Rock Stars.
It flips the boy-meets-girl script of pop: an openly lesbian love song and salute to another woman, and a rallying cry for feminist solidarity. Joan Jett produced the single version and plays guitar and sings backup on it. Rolling Stone placed it at number 296 in its 2021 list of the 500 greatest songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 19 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2021 | 782 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 240 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2022 | 37 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 117 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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