Looking Back at Veruca Salt: 30 Years After Chicago’s Indie Alternative Explosion
The early ‘90s set the tone for one of the most boundary-pushing periods in rock music that include the emergence of grunge and alternative with eminent albums such as Nirvana’s Nevermind, Alice in Chains’ Facelift, Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville and The Breeders’ Last Splash. With many defining male rock stars to surface out of the period, many independent labels, indie radio stations and fanzines started to recognize the reclamation of femininity through many underground artists that weren’t afraid to be vocal about issues of sexual assault, deconstructing the “fragile” femininity myth, pro-choice causes, menstruation and channeling inner rage. Veruca Salt was able to distill their influences including ACDC, The Pixies, Velvet Underground, Sinead O’ Conner and David Bowie to present their artistry in such a way that it impacted Chicago’s music scene leaving an entire generation of post-punk feminists who ached for something new. The cultural phenomenon marked a new era in music history for women to take charge of the male-dominated stages.
Rapsy, grungy wails blast at full volume as Veruca Salt’s frontwomen, Nina Godon and Louise Post, scream into their microphones with messages of anti-establishment and female dominance as their reckless, disoriented guitar riffs pulsate in the background. In their hit albums, American Thighs (named for a line in AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”) and Eight Arms to Hold You, the songstresses explore the themes about everything from women’s inclusivity in the alternative rock genre and their personal relationships and heartbreaks.
Hailing from Chicago, Veruca Salt’s rise to fame started in 1992 when Gordon and Post began writing material as a duo and immersing themselves into Chicago’s folk coffee house scene. After finding Jim Shapiro for drums and Steve Lack on bass, the group defined their aggressive alt-rock sound that brought them acclaim with their first hit 1993 single, “Seether.”
Their jagged and abrasive sound landed them a spot on MTVs regular rotation and made their 1994 debut, American Thighs, become certified gold. Thighs spent 23 weeks straight on the Billboard charts. Rolling Stone listed the album as one of the best records from “Alternative’s Greatest Year” while Spin named “Seether” one of the best alt-rock songs. During the coming of age grunge era, the band successfully sold over a million records while touring with rock icons PJ Harvey and Courtney Love of Hole.
Following the record breaking success of Nirvana’s Nevermind release, Veruca Salt became one of the most criticised bands despite being one of the first female fronted groups in the genre. Among them were Bikini Kill, L7, Babes in Toyland and Hole. Stations shifted to more contemporary, alternative music to play more artists like Liz Phair, The Breeders and PJ Harvey. The two female vocalists saw themselves as different talents to emerge from the Chicago scene with a heavy rock presence interlaced with empowering sexual experiences and acceptance of open emotionality.
Female representation in male-dominated genres is more important than ever by unleashing a sound that uniquely represents female rage and sexuality. The reclamation of femininity is seen throughout the female rock renaissance of the ‘90s. Andrea Juno, the editor of the anthology Angry Women in Rock states, “In the back of women’s heads, they were gonna be delibidinized: You’re unsexy, you won’t be loved, and you won’t get screwed.” Veruca Salt defied all sexual boundaries that were placed on women to be silent and non-authoritative behind their instruments with “Seether.” Personifying female rage, the lyrics “Seether is neither loose nor tight / Seether is neither black nor white” refer to the myth of vagina dentata where it's said to contain teeth to bite back during sexual intercourse, resulting in the emasculation of the male involved. This myth has been heavily placed on Black women because of toxic stereotypes. Gordon and Post reclaim the word by acknowledging the inclusivity involved in the raw emotions that females undergo. Most notably, the lyrics “I tried to rock her in my cradle / I tried to knock her out / I tried to cram her back into my mouth” interlaces rage with a crying infant. Gordon and Post refer to Seether being born through the mouth, and they undo this birth by swallowing and suppressing the verbal expression of rage.
With undeniable pop hooks and unapologetic attitudes, Veruca Salt’s single “All Hail Me” is an evocative melody that was created in the songstress’ living rooms. Gordon considers the song as one of the band’s strongest works off Thighs. The song is a big f--you to internalized misogyny; girls who loved music but were too intimidated to pick up their instruments or scream into the microphone because of internalized preconceptions about boys being aggressive and center stage in rock culture. Hard to resist, the bridge makes the listener want to stand up and smash their own guitar against the ground with the lyrics “So sorry, so sorry now / So sorry, so sorry now.” Gordon and Post repeat the phrase “so sorry mister” throughout the song in a sarcastic, ridiculing tone, almost degrading the man they are addressing. By not actually apologizing, the two leads are in control of the situation and reclaim how men address women. The two harmonize, “‘Cause I’m a bad man, I do what I can / I’m a bad man, I do what I can / All hail me,” alluding to socio-political contexts and pop cultural references that many men in high power positions do not take accountability or do not face charges against discrimination and violence against women. They are criticizing that if roles were reversed; they would evade any charges, no one would question their intentions and they'd still be seen as powerful status symbols because the male privilege protects them.
When writing about controversially loaded topics played on mainstream radio, Gordon and Post sought to advocate for bigger platforms for women in underground rock music or who were just starting out. In her interview with Intelligencer, Gordon says, “When we first started getting written about, people kept saying we were ‘angry post-feminists,’ and we were like, ‘Hmm…I guess, whatever.’ It was like, ‘Oh, thank you for reducing me to a little pat phrase that really means nothing to me.’” They believe that the stages should be inclusive and cater towards women as equally as they do for men. Veruca Salt’s first two albums were a godsend to many independent female artists because it communicated so explicitly female experiences that entwine with music industry standards.
As the rock industry makes new strides in addressing the female experience and sexuality, Veruca Salt’s central message of staying true to your freedoms and not being afraid to release rage in music as an outlet continues to diversify modern alternative rock.
“I don’t know if it’s the power of melancholy in retrospect and thinking about that time in the ’90s and what music sounded like then, and how when in your teens and 20s, you’re so porous. Like, the music you listen to, and then if you’re a musician, the music that you actually make—is so much a part of your identity, and you feel it so deeply, you feel this kind of aching feeling. When I think back on it, it was so important. It was so important,” Gordon said.
