“From The Back Of The Room”: New Documentary On Women In Punk Music

It’s been a kickass couple of years for women in music alternative scenes. Last year two books that dealt heavily with the Riot Grrl movement were published — Girls To The Front by Sara Marcus and Girl Power: The ’90s Revolution In Music by Marisa Meltzer — and a tour documentary about the band Le Tigre called “Who Took The Bomp? Le Tigre On Tour” debuted this spring. And there’s more kickass-ness where that came from, ladies and gents! Check out “From The Back Of The Room,” a new documentary about women in the DIY punk scene which is currently doing screenings up and down the East Coast. The punk scene is super-embracing of people who want an alternative from mainstream culture. Yet the scene is not always the sexism- and racism-free haven you think it is going to be, says one woman in the film. I would love to see a screening of “From The Back Of The Room,” especially since Kathleen Hanna from Bikini Kill and Le Tigre appears in it. [Pitchfork]