Girls with an ax to grind -- and play

A new documentary on rock camp for girls. Where was this when we were kids?

Published March 10, 2008 6:26PM (EDT)

The recently released documentary "Girls Rock!" goes inside the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Ore., which brings together 8-to-18-year-olds to learn instruments, form bands, play a show for 750 adoring fans and learn to stop hating themselves, as adolescent girls are wont to do. It's hard not to be jealous of these girls: Where was this camp when I was playing air guitar and screaming along to my Bikini Kill records in my bedroom?

Check out the trailer, which features erstwhile Sleater-Kinney singer/guitarist (and NPR contributor) Carrie Brownstein and voluptuous Janis-Aretha hybrid Beth Ditto of the Gossip. Still, the doc's most intriguing character appears to be Palace, a 7-year-old banshee who is destined for rock stardom from the first time she sneers into the camera and diabolically declares, "Rock 'n' roll."


By Molly Eichel

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