Le Tigre | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Originally conceived as the live backing band for her Julie Ruin solo project, Bikini Kill founder and quintessential riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna formed Le Tigre, another bold, feminist-oriented trio, with filmmaker Sadie Benning and zine creator Johanna Fateman in 1998. Borrowing a page from Hannas Julie Ruin output, Le Tigre mixed punks directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as the Need. Le Tigre arrived in late 1999 on Mr. Lady, followed by the From the Desk of Mr. Lady EP in 2001. Benning left the group to pursue her filmmaking career before the recording of Le Tigres second album, Feminist Sweepstakes, and was replaced by J.D. Samson. Feminist Sweepstakes, which featured a more sophisticated sound and more overtly political lyrics, arrived later in 2001. Remixes followed in summer 2002. The band made a surprising leap to the majors for 2004s This Island, which was distributed through Universal. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Le Tigre Released: 1999-11-08 Tracks: 12 Duration: 34:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Deceptacon (03:04) 2 Hot Topic (03:44) 3 What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes (02:22) 4 The The Empty (02:04) 5 Phanta (03:14) 6 Eau d’Bedroom Dancing (02:55) 7 Let’s Run (02:34) 8 My My Metrocard (02:54) 9 Friendship Station (03:07) 10 Slideshow at Free University (02:48) 11 Dude. Yr So Crazy! (03:26) 12 Les and Ray (02:06) |
| Le Tigre : Allmusic album Review : The debut effort from Le Tigre sounds like the best new wave album not to come from the 1980s. Here, frontwoman Kathleen Hanna expands on the lo-fi sounds she tinkered with on her debut solo album, Julie Ruin. Le Tigre melds punk, new wave, and hip-hop into a seemingly cute package. Each song is hummable, and Hannas "valley girl intelligentsia" voice is perfectly deceptive. In "Deceptacon," a song loaded with the kind of simple contradictions that made Kurt Cobains lyrics so effective, Hanna sings, "Let me hear you depoliticize my rhyme." "Whats Yr Take on Cassavetes" is the best song about an auteur since King Missiles "Martin Scorsese." "My My Metrocard" and "Les and Ray," two of the best songs on the album, display a welcome sort of contradiction: both songs seem to be about escape and exploration ("Think Ill go a little/but then I go far"), but the catchy hooks of these tunes are inescapable. With Bikini Kill, Hannas politics were as subtle as the Empire State Building. But with Le Tigre, as with the great Tom Tom Club song "Genius of Love," the listener is left not only humming and dancing, but exploring the wealth of reference material hidden within its confines. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: Remixes Released: 2001 Tracks: 7 Duration: 41:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Tres bien (Nouveau Disco mix) (05:51) 2 On Guard (The En Garde mix) (05:10) 3 Mediocrity Rules (41 Small Stars mix) (03:00) 4 Dyke March 2001 (Reids Aphro-Dykey mix) (05:55) 5 Deceptacon (DFA remix) (06:24) 6 Much Finer (The Flaxdatass mix) (03:28) 7 Deceptacon (DFA remix long mix vocal) (11:42) |
| Remixes : Allmusic album Review : Unfortunately, when artists decide to commission remix discs of their catalogs, they often end up awash in a sea of predictable reconstructions and lackluster filler material that seem like nothing more than courtesy acts from other artists. In this instance, it is thankfully not the case whatsoever. After much consternation from only releasing a few of these tunes on vinyl, the ladies of Le Tigre made the excellent decision to supply these carefully crafted remixes together on one compact disc. Wasting no time in deconstructing and rewashing some of the most delicious moments of their catalog, Analog Taras acid-disco interpretation of "Tres Bien" seamlessly works its way into the Tigerbeat6-esque breakbeat-happy "On Guard," remixed by Swim With the Dolphins. Contributions are also generous from N.Y.C.s Reid Speed and New Yorker by way of Detroit Lauren Flax, who abandons her drumnbass roots for a very R&B-punk reworking of "Much Finer." But unquestionably the highlight of this remix package is the bona fide juggernaut hurricane remix of "Deceptacon" by modern-day art punk heroes DFA. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: From the Desk of Mr. Lady Released: 2001 Tracks: 7 Duration: 17:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Get Off the Internet (03:34) 2 Bang! Bang! (02:33) 3 They Want Us to Make a Symphony Out of the Sound of Women Swallowing Their Own Tongues (01:53) 4 Yr Critique (02:37) 5 Gone B4 Yr Home (02:19) 6 Mediocrity Rules (02:00) 7 All That Glitters (remix by Rachael Kozak) (02:29) |
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: Feminist Sweepstakes Released: 2001-10-16 Tracks: 13 Duration: 41:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 LT Tour Theme (02:47) 2 Shred A (02:46) 3 Fake French (02:52) 4 FYR (03:15) 5 On Guard (03:30) 6 Much Finer (02:33) 7 Dyke March 2001 (04:37) 8 Très bien (03:08) 9 Well Well Well (04:19) 10 TGIF (03:18) 11 My Art (02:01) 12 Cry for Everything Bad That’s Ever Happened (02:41) 13 Keep on Livin’ (03:10) |
| Feminist Sweepstakes : Allmusic album Review : On Le Tigres second album Kathleen Hanna is no less radical, but her politically charged agenda sounds a bit callous.The concept behind Le Tigre, and the thing that differentiates it from her previous band, Bikini Kill, is that the drum machine rules. Each of Feminist Sweepstakes 13 songs plinks along the rat-a-tat-tat beat of programmed percussion. The political outline is just a side effect. And Hanna straddles the line between cheeky and obnoxious throughout. Its certainly her lack of humor that makes this an arduous listen; its her punk sensibilities that keep it at least interesting. Shes fierce and committed in a way that hundreds of her rock-rap foes arent. Hannas enemies are bigger this time, and thats a huge step forward. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: This Island Released: 2004-10-19 Tracks: 13 Duration: 43:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 On the Verge (03:31) 2 Seconds (01:45) 3 Dont Drink Poison (02:49) 4 After Dark (03:39) 5 Nanny Nanny Boo Boo (03:35) 6 TKO (03:25) 7 Tell You Now (03:33) 8 New Kicks (04:17) 9 Viz (03:34) 10 This Island (03:23) 11 Im So Excited (03:49) 12 Sixteen (03:25) 13 Punker Plus (02:12) |
| This Island : Allmusic album Review : The wails of riot grrrls ages 7 to 77 echoed throughout the music world (and as a result, Internet message boards) when Le Tigre announced that their next release would be on Universal, the complete antithesis to riot grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hannas ethos for over a decade. Longtime devotees waited with baited breath and questions of anticipation as their formidable heroes completed This Island. Would it be nearly as good as the bands previous endeavors? Was Universal picking them up merely to savor the last morsels of the electroclash movement they so sorely (and in some respects, thankfully) missed out on? The answer to both questions is yes and probably. This Island is just as strong, if not stronger, than anything in Le Tigres oeuvre. J.D., Kathleen, and Johanna have crafted an album that stays true to their roots, the album theyve been wanting to make since their first demos thanks to what could possibly be attributed to a most generous advance in their contract and the able assistance of the legendary Ric Ocasek behind the mixing desk. The album is punchier than previous releases but doesnt sacrifice their core aesthetics in favor of shifting trends. The stylish but visceral lyrics are still here in full force, especially in the searing "Seconds." A prom-tastic version of the Pointer Sisters 80s classic "Im So Excited" brings the album to a most fitting climax before the group hits the road again with its tour-diary "Punker Plus." Its definitely an album thats going to have the purists sighing with relief and have new converts checking out their back catalog for more. But the best part of all this is that it sounds like theyre having fun, something that is sometimes noticeably and sorely vacant in what could be easily construed as a major boys club of laptops and analog rack gear. Of all the groups Universal could have chosen from this tired, depressing movement, they certainly chose the most honest and promising of the bunch and one whose full potential is just now starting to flourish. | ||