"A blend of budget-friendly glamour and intellectually odd spectacle": Praise for Lunachicks' vibrant cult classic Babysitters On Acid
The Lunachicks, a groundbreaking band known for their unique blend of punk rock and low-budget glamour, are set to make a comeback at the CBGB Festival in New York on September 27. Tickets for this highly-anticipated event are now on sale.
Originating in 1988 as a high school band, the Lunachicks quickly gained significance with their signature look and sound, which was a mish-mash of low-budget glamour and high-concept absurdity. They saturated glam's already eyeball-bleeding color palette with hot pinks and screaming yellows, giving it a fierce feminist twist.
The band's love-hate relationship with classic rock was evident in their admiration for bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath, and MC5. Their first song, remarkably, was about killing one of their teachers.
In the late 1980s, New York/New Jersey bands were experimenting with the dying embers of glam metal, creating new hybrids. The Lunachicks, with their all-female (or mostly-female) lineup, were one of the pioneers in this scene, and they were one of the only such bands to play the Warped Tour.
The Lunachicks' music was not just about food and sex, but also about the pressure young women faced to look and act in socially acceptable ways. They showed up in movies like Blue Vengeance and Terror Firmer, adding to their rebellious image.
Sonic Youth main-man Thurston Moore helped get them signed to UK label Blast First, who released their debut, Babysitters on Acid, in 1990. This album set the Lunachicks on a course that found them running amok in the lower reaches of the burgeoning "alt-rock" nation for the next decade or so.
However, the band faced challenges in the male-dominated genre. Glam metal was shockingly conservative in its gender/sexual politics, with women mostly represented as set decoration or fodder for interviews. Lita Ford and Vixen were exceptions, but they too faced challenges.
In the face of these challenges, the Lunachicks considered themselves "socially unconscious". They were asked about defying or breaking down gender roles often, but they preferred to let their music and actions speak for themselves.
The Lunachicks disbanded in the late 90s but reunited in 2019, much to the delight of their fans. Other bands of the era, such as White Zombie, Monster Magnet, and D Generation, took different paths, with White Zombie dragging everything into a sexy pseudo-industrial B-movie nightmare, Monster Magnet turning 80's glam into a 70's sci-fi Jack Kirby comic book, and D Generation becoming known as the glam-grunge emissaries of the Eternal Bummer.
Regardless of these differences, the Lunachicks remain a significant part of the music history, having contributed to the Riot Grrrl movement and paved the way for future all-female bands in the punk and rock scenes. Their return to the stage at the CBGB Festival is a testament to their enduring influence.
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