It has been a great year for angsty young women who love rock music. Olivia Rodrigo is touring Guts with the Breeders. There’s a new Alanis Morissette album in the works and a Kathleen Hanna memoir on bookshelves. Speaking of Hanna, Bikini Kill just made their late-night debut on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and their tween-girl descendants, the Linda Lindas, announced a new record. Kim Gordon — also with new music out, albeit more Soundcloud rap than Sonic Youth — is making headlines for lightly dissing Taylor Swift. Maybe you were at Glastonbury, and saw Avril Lavigne burn the house down?
In more good news, it’s the 20th anniversary of Autobiography, the very underrated early-aughts pop-rock album from the cooler Simpson sister, Ashlee. Autobiography was Simpson’s debut, a bratty 12-track document of love and sorrow inspired by Hole and Joan Jett; it hit the top of the Billboard charts, but a Saturday Night Live lip-syncing incident derailed its success. On July 19, Simpson dropped an extended version of Autobiography with songs she initially didn’t release in the United States, like “Harder Everyday” and “Endless Summer.” She is also planning to release new music. “Right now I’m working song by song, and then we’ll see,” she told Stereogum. Her dream collaborators are Morissette, Fiona Apple, Jewel, and … Chappell Roan.
It’s already criminal that Rodrigo hasn’t invited Simpson to perform a surprise duet of “Pieces of Me” on tour, so maybe she could facilitate something. Olivia, give her a call?
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