The worst song ever, according to Kathleen Hanna
Declaring a song as potentially the most unbearable sound you could ever encounter is a bold statement. Nonetheless, many artists openly share their disdain for certain tracks, whether due to associations with challenging life moments or a simple dislike for the sonic elements. For punk riot grrrl trailblazer Kathleen Hanna, the issue boils down to a sense of monotony.
Although Hanna is widely revered, it’s fair to say that she doesn’t receive nearly as much mainstream recognition as she deserves for the significant strides she has made for women in music. As the unwavering creative force behind Riot Grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill and dance-punk heroes Le Tigre, she stands among those whom original punks like Poly Styrene and Siouxsie Sioux paved the way for.
A definitive figure of third-wave feminism in the early 1990s and a source of abundant energy in live performances, Hanna continues to exhibit her prowess to this day. Without Hanna’s legacy, Bikini Kill, and the riot grrrl movement, it’s difficult to gauge where gender equality would be today. As Hanna put it, “To make riot grrrl move into the future in a new way with a bunch of new names, a bunch of new energy, younger people have to learn about it and apply it to their own lives and own modern conversation. And they are.”
Aside from pioneering an entire wave of feminism, Hanna’s signature confidence extends into sharing her distaste for certain songs, especially ones that feel like they run a little too long. “I used to be a karaoke host in Olympia at a gay bar, and [Harry Chapin’s ‘Cat’s In The Cradle’] is so long,” she explains. “A lot of dudes picked it, and I banned it. I just took it out of the book. I was like, ‘I can’t ever hear that again.’ So many people did it, but it was so long and so monotonous.”
“I’ve always thought it was a deadbeat-dad anthem. I know it’s more complicated, probably, to him. But also, I don’t really like his voice or his songwriting, so it really has everything going against it,” she continues. “It’s the deadbeat-dad thing. Were you paying child support during this time? I feel like it’s making it cool. It’s like it’s saying, ‘This is just how it goes.'”
Aside from its tediousness, Hanna’s dislike for the track runs deeper. Discussing the potential of its lyrics in legitimising men’s bad behaviours, she says: “It’s like, “When you coming home, Dad? / I don’t know when.” Then he’s showing that it’s an intergenerational thing, saying, “I ignore my son, and then my son ignores his son,” or something. You get the idea that he’s trying to let himself off the hook. ‘Well, my dad was a dick, too. It’s just the way men are, man! We’re just dicks. We don’t care about our kids.'”
Although Chapin’s piece sparks something deep in the pit of Hanna’s stomach, she reassures that there are tracks that she dislikes even more. One is attached to a commercial for Kars4Kids. “When it comes on, my husband [Adam Horovitz] knows he has to turn off the TV immediately, or I’ll have a nervous breakdown,” she says, “I cannot hear that song. It’s prerecorded, but they’re pretending like they’re playing it. It’s fake kid actors that are trying to be really cute. It’s so vomit-y.”
