The hit 1980s album Kathleen Hanna described as her “favourite shit”
Somewhere between discovering her love for music and kick-starting the riot grrrl movement, Kathleen Hanna has always embodied an intriguing blend of old-school sensibilities and forward-thinking ideas. While she’s open to using new technology when necessary, she often prefers traditional methods, like relying on word-of-mouth for music recommendations, instead of turning to Spotify’s Discover feature.
This means that Hanna is usually immersed in her community; the letters she receives from fans recommending new music form the basis of her network of self-discovery. For Hanna, finding and loving new music is often about listening to those around you rather than expecting an algorithm to know exactly what mood you’re in.
This has been a common thread throughout Hanna’s life—in between hanging out at her friend’s house and listening to whatever happened to be beneath the needle at the time; she would go out and buy records purely because someone had mentioned them in something that had been posted through her letterbox. In her view, it’s all a part of the fun. “I totally go out and buy stuff when people tell me to,” she told Spin. “Every time I’ve gotten a recommendation from a fan, it’s always been good.”
Hanna’s open-mindedness has led her to discovering many exceptional talents, filling her world with sounds from all over, and enriching her creative palette with a diverse range of influences. Some of these include enjoying the ambience of Soft Cell and Echo & the Bunnymen in a friend’s basement during the 1980s, while others involve soaking up the raw energy of underground punk shows and finding inspiration in the works of contemporary feminist artists.
However, one that struck her as gold at the time and remains as much now was Yazoo’s debut. “Upstairs at Eric’s was my favourite shit,” she admitted. “I was obsessed with Yaz. I didn’t have this record—I didn’t actually have very many records in junior high and high school—but I’d hear it at teen dance clubs. Ten years ago, I got into it again because they had it on the jukebox at a club I worked at in D.C. as a dancer.”
During the early 1980s, Yazoo were at the fore of the era’s fresh and exciting acts, mainly because of Vince Clarke’s affinity for blending endearing synth-lead tracks with accessible pop, exploring territories he likely felt he couldn’t within his earlier group, Depeche Mode. Combine all of that with Alison Moyet’s powerful, soulful voice, and the result is a sound that appeals to both pop fans and those looking for something more avant-garde.
Alongside its inherent accessibility, Hanna likely became drawn to Yazoo because of their innovative approach, which often veered into unconventional territory without losing sight of the listening experience. Upstairs at Eric’s was also a revolutionary arrival in the pop scene, one that challenged norms and expressed individualism—all traits that Hanna herself came to be defined by.
When she rediscovered the album years later, she likely grew a deeper appreciation for it from a nostalgic point of view, as Yazoo came to gain a certain cultural and historical significance that she likely didn’t anticipate at the time. Some of its songs, like ‘Only You’ and ‘Don’t Go’ became timeless stapes while also reflecting the nature of, as Clarke later put it, “Messing about in the studio.”
“Part of the charm of that album is a naivety,” he added. “There really wasn’t a profound concept that was running through the recording,” he said, proving that even something so theoretically complicated can be executed simplistically and still yield a long, unmoving shelf life. In a way, Hanna’s love for Yazoo likely stems from her initial open-mindedness about discovering great music that could surprise and resonate with her, even if it’s the opposite of the kind of music she thought she was into at the time.
