Music has always been a universal language. It’s what connects people around the world and brings us all together. And, in today’s age of technology, it can be found everywhere: from the radio to Spotify, from YouTube to Instagram. While listening to music can provide a lot of enjoyment, there is something that is even more satisfying: supporting new artists and their albums or subscribing to their social media feed, as well as becoming a part of their goals.
Bands comprised of young individuals who like music are among the emerging. Everyone is probably dealing with a pandemic, and there are plenty of opportunities to find or renew the passion for music, so some are urged to create a band.
These youthful bands, like The Linda Lindas, were founded for a cause and purpose, but they are not expected to be recognized. They exist because they like what they do and want to make a difference in the world—which the band does not place a high value on in the music industry. But who precisely is this Los Angeles-based band that has recently been the buzz of the town?
A new wave of punk: Meet ‘The Linda Lindas’
A video (bit.ly/3wLYbMj) of a half-Asian, half-Latinx bunch — two sisters, a cousin, and a close friend ranging in age from 10 to 16 years, ‘The Linda Lindas’, rocking out at a public library in line with the Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration in LA has gone viral — performing their song ‘Racist, Sexist Boy’, earning the band some followers over time.
The clip showed Mila, the band’s resident drummer, introducing the whole lineup with their response to racist guys—
“A little while before we went into lockdown, a boy came up to me in my class and said that his Dad told him to stay away from Chinese people,” she said.
“After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me. Eloise and I wrote this song based on that experience,” youngest member Mila continued.
The video of the public library was released on Thursday and soon went viral, gaining almost 130,000 likes, 36,000 retweets including prominent artists Awkwafina and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, and over 4 million views as of this writing.
Since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, unfavorable views toward Asian people have been on the rise, and this young band has decided that enough is enough through the strong and moving song ‘ Racist, Sexist Boy’.
The teen punk band also appeared in two films: Amy Poehler’s ‘Moxie,’ in which they performed Bikini Kill and The Muffs covers for a party, and a short documentary about the Japanese-American character in ‘The Baby-Sitters Club,’ in which they performed their original song ‘The Claudia Kishi Club.’
When you support young bands like ‘The Linda Lindas’, you are not only underpinning them in reaching the pinnacle of their ambitions and supporting them in their endeavors, but you are also standing with them in support of the message they want to convey.
