Music analysis: Anger as an anthem - How women are turning rage into music

Though it may have been the 17th-century play that introduced us to the idiom “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” four centuries later, this quote feels as relevant as ever, writes Music News Blitz’s Katie Slater. 

With far too many of the world’s most powerful men at best known misogynists, and at worst, suspected assaulters, bodily autonomy under constant threat, and the terrifying rise in the Andrew Tate-style role models, women have a lot to be angry about. 

As a catalyst for social justice, music and rage have gone hand in hand for centuries. 

Facing a particular resurgence in light of recent discourse, angry women are no longer just the alternative, screaming rockers they once were, but some of our most polished pop stars. 

Proving that anger has no genre, a powerful and dynamic group of musicians is forming some of the strongest voices of our generation - let's have a look at what they have to say. 

Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrrl movement

Perhaps one of the most openly politically charged and unapologetic in their message, no exploration of feminine rage feels complete without a nod to the Riot Grrrl era. 

Tied to the principles of third-wave feminism, this was the era of female-led punk that reshaped women’s place in the music scene forever. 

Loud, angry, and self-made bands of this era focused on sexual violence, identity and sexuality. 

With a strong ethos of individual liberty, the traditional idea of a ‘feminist’ became more inclusive and individualistic. 

A leading band of the era, Bikini Kill, pioneered much of what it became notorious for.

Lead singer Kathleen Hanna found her anger shaped by the presence of many harmful men in her life. 

From her drunk and abusive father to multiple cases of sexual assault, Hanna found her experiences to be all too common in her late 20th-century world.

As a way of addressing her own trauma while bringing such issues to light, Bikini Kill’s ‘women to the front’ ethos was born as a patriarchy-fighting tool. 

Musically, their punk sound was bold and angry. 

Vocals were often delivered through shouting, guitar parts were distorted and strummed with attack, and drums were fast and crashing. 

With songs such as “I like Fu**ing” encapsulating the core of their rage, strong language and powerful lines such as ‘just cause my world...is fucking goddamn full of rape, does that mean my body must always be a source of pain?’ deliver on shock factor.

Even descending into guttural screams and growls, the band do anything but sugarcoat their experiences, using their pain as a source of unapologetic rage. 

Culturally immense, Bikini Kill and their contemporaries inspired a new wave of music. 

Showing girls and women alike that despite the defeminising stereotypes, rightful anger is both healthy and a necessary tool for social change.

READ MORE: Beyond the boys’ club: Girl Group’s glitter-fuelled rebellion

Olivia Rodrigo and the angry pop star

Moving into the contemporary sphere, pop star Olivia Rodrigo couldn’t be further from the rebellious girls of the 90’s - musically or aesthetically.

A fan of a short glittery outfit, a polished dance routine, and a bold lip, Rodrigo is here to show us that not all our rebellious heroes must look the same.

Embracing both miniskirts and a staunch political stance, she has famously gone head-to-head with Donald Trump and donated tour earnings to pro-choice charities. 

Less than subtle in her activism outside of her music, Rodrigo harnesses much of this in her singer-songwriter style pop. 

Packaged up in a much glitzier pop sound, the opening track of the star’s sophomore album Guts bursts out of its gentle acoustic verses into undeniably angry choruses. 

Addressing the dual pressures of womanhood, her bold vocals are backed by screeching vocals as she subverts the concept of a ‘perfect all-American’ girl. 

Moving abruptly between a gentle and an increasingly frantic style, both her lyricism and structure convey the pressure on women to remain optimistic and easy company while faced with a torrent of social injustice. 

A bold nod to the fourth wall even acknowledges the therapeutic qualities of releasing her rage, as she breaks into a torrent of screams.

With a powerful outro that combines comically bright chords with lyrics that become laced with ironic and offensive language, the singer signs off her politically charged track with the style and grace her pop-girl image demands.

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Lily Allen and quiet rage

Approaching rage from a different angle, Lily Allen’s latest album, West Side Girl, has caused a stir. 

Telling the story of the recent breakdown of her marriage, she spares no details as she recounts the infidelity and dishonesty of her partner. 

Following along on the bumpy journey, we experience her processing the events through feelings of sadness, rejection and anger. 

With an undeniable layer of revenge in its creation, Allen paints her ex to be a sex addict who replaces her with a younger woman after feeling threatened by her successes.

With her personal experiences reflecting on societal issues surrounding the ageing of women, objectification, and female success, her anger is evocative and relatable.

Very different from both Bikini Kill and Rodrigo, Allen takes a more stream-of-consciousness style that never delves into screaming or shouting.

Even the fiercest tracks such as Tennis, Madeline and Nonmonogamummy relay a strong sense of injustice through dry wit, catchy tunes and neatly rhyming lines. 

Proving that a woman scorned can be powerful beyond the obvious, you find yourself singing some of the most radically powerful lyrics in the most ridiculous dressing. 

Whether by referring to her ex-husband's place of affairs as his ‘pussy palace,’ introducing comical adlibs into a tale of manipulation, or referring to his recurring bad behaviour as a ‘Fruityloop,’ Allen is continually ridiculing the man who hurt her. 

Conclusion

A power not to be underestimated, female rage is an ever-growing tool for social justice in music. 

More than a trend, the foundations cross genre, aesthetic and politics in a unified force for all those who have faced a beating from the patriarchy. 

With Bikini Kill, Olivia Rodrigo and Lily Allen only a small sample of this undeniably female era of music, the powerful women dominating today’s charts are the role models we need amid a crisis of rising misogyny.

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