(Black Dog Publishing) www.blackdogonline.com

The mainstream media tended to write about riot grrrl as if it was an organized movement, with a stated cause and goals, and thus, when no great changes materialized, could be safely written off as a “failure” (though the grrrls’ raw aggressiveness was quickly co-opted and transformed into the “Girl Power” platitudes espoused by the Spice Girls). This book nicely puts paid to that idea, covering not only the history of riot grrrl, but also the acts that influenced the original grrrls, and, most importantly, its legacy, seen in the emergence of the Ladyfest events and bands like Sleater-Kinney, and, more recently, the Gossip (whose Beth Ditto provides the book’s forward).

Fittingly, the book isn’t a straightforward account. Four essays, each by a different author, tackle the subject from different angles; some are fairly linear histories, others from a more analytical perspective (such as Suzy Corrigan’s, which is more about feminist art as political protest). The “Riot Grrrl Writing” essay is especially fascinating, looking back at a pre-Internet/MySpace/Facebook age, when word was spread the old-fashioned way, via the mail; the reproductions from various zines provides a telling reminder that you just don’t get the same visceral thrill looking at a webpage.

The copious illustrations throughout (zines, manifestos, posters, pictures) also underscore the fact that riot grrrl wasn’t just about music, though that ended up being the element that captured the most attention (the “distressed” look of some pages makes them harder to read though). Julia Downes’ essay also makes use of the extensive interviews the Experience Music Project did with many of the original grrrls in 1999, the bulk of which were never released publicly. These interviews are really the heart of the story, making the point that riot grrrl wasn’t something that started, ran its course, and ended, it’s something that’s continually evolving. Or, as Tobi Vail puts it, “Bikini Kill started something, but it isn’t finished yet.” GILLIAN G. GAAR