Teen Punk Band The Linda Lindas Go Viral With Tom Morello-Approved Song ‘Racist Sexist Boy’
Teen punk band The Linda Lindas have gone viral with the performance of their song “Racist Sexist Boy,” which Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello called the “song of the day” on Twitter.
The group played a 40-minute set at the Los Angeles Public Library at an event celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, tearing through six original tracks as well as two covers — Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” and The Muffs’ “Big Mouth.” But it was their own song which garnered the most attention as the four-piece punk troupe, whose ages range from 10 years old to 16, confronted racism and misogyny head-on.
“A little while before we went into lockdown, a boy in my class came up to me and said that his dad told him to stay away from Chinese people. After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me. Eloise and I wrote this song based on that experience,” said 16-year-old drummer Bela, introducing the song.
“So this is about him and all the other racist, sexist boys in this world,” followed 13-year-old bassist/frontwoman Eloise.
The half Asian, half Latinx band (as described on their Bandcamp profile) then tore into a gritty two-minute song that boasts a snarling, burly rhythm and enough drumstick count-ins to fill the quota on any Ramones album. “Racist Sexist Boy” is overwhelmingly raw and expression of disgust and angst. “We rebuild what you destroy,” screams Eloise over the chorus.
The performance clip caught mainstream attention, even landing coverage by Yahoo! News and NBC News. Tom Morello also helped spread recognition for the song, branding it the “song of the day” in a post on Twitter.
Watch The Linda Lindas play “Racist Sexist Boy” below and view the full performance further down the page.