I want to be Marisa Metlzer’s best friend. Her latest book, Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music, explores the history and influence of the most integral years of my life. The early ’90s were a pivotal time for women in music. Feminism wasn’t new—neither were girl groups, zines or punk rock—but Meltzer permeates the spirit of a movement that forever changed the music industry. Meltzer dives into how riot grrrl morphed and was mass-marketed, sans all of the politics and intellect, as the Spice Girls—but this isn’t a book solely dedication to the historiography. Meltzer adds her personal experiences; she doesn’t preach or snub. Her writing is casual, her story relatable. This book for is anyone wore baby barrettes or scribbled “incest” across their bellies in marker.
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2010.