The Switchback: Spunky Punks of Gen X and Y, Mia Zapata vs. Jemina Pearl

While the majority of Seattle’s rock community in the early ’90s was testing a sound that blended the blister of the Ramones with the bluster of Zeppelin, Ohio transplants the Gits kept their punk unfiltered. The band bashed out sharp barre chord combinations with a bluesy twist that perfectly accentuated singer Mia Zapata’s deep, gutsy attack. With a throat that rivaled Joplin, Zapata could make her heartache and bitterness reverberate in your rib cage. She sang like she had lived more than a few lifetimes of stinging romantic ventures intertwined with alcohol-soaked regrets.

1992′s Frenching the Bully was a diamond drill of raw nerve, one that ground its targets into a fine gruel. Is there any other punk dis tracks as visceral or eviscerating as “Here’s to Your Fuck?” Read more »