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NPR Releases The Linda Lindas’ NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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It’s a tiny accomplishment for The Linda Lindas…

The Mexican & Asian rock group returned their breakthrough-inducing space for their brand new NPR Tiny Desk (Home) concert: the library.

The Linda Lindas,After becoming viral sensations with a performance at an L.A. public library in early 2021 that got them signed to legendary punk label Epitaph Records, sisters Mila de la Garza (11) and Lucia de la Garza (15), their cousin Eloise Wong (14)and their family friend Bela Salazar (17) returned to the comfy confines of the L.A. Public for a show at the Los Angeles Central Library for the NPR gig.

The show begins with the pummeling pop-punk of “Growing Up,” the title track from the group’s just-released full-length debut, snarled by guitarist Lucia de la Garza as her band mates rock out amid shelves of books.

“We’ll dance like nobody’s there/ We’ll dance without any cares/ We’ll talk ’bout problems we share,” she sings in a perfect deadpan through braces as the band churns behind her.”

And, because they’re still kids, in honor of their Tiny Desk show, the Linda Lindas folded up some colorful construction paper to form a tinier, tiny desk. “We’re super-excited, we’re so happy to be here,” Lucia says at the beginning of the 14-minute blitz. “Just [a] cool space, we’re playing in the library once more.”

Drummer Mila de la Garza takes over for the pogo-worthy pop gem “Talking to Myself,” grabbing lead vocals on the bouncy tune, with bass player Wong totally missing the planned funny stage banter setting up her doomy lead vocal on the teen lament about the perils of young love, “Why.” Mila’s drum teacher, Bleached member Spencer Lere, joins the ladies for the bubbling, wistful Spanish-language tune “Cuántas Veces,” which shows off their versatility, with Salazar taking taking lead vocals on the song about being “tired of feeling this way.”

The set, of course, ends with the song that helped the group explode into stardom last year, the biting blitzkrieg “Racist, Sexist Boy,” about a racist incident from early in the pandemic that Mila turned into their signature song. “Here we go — let’s blow the roof off,” Lucia says with a smile. “I live for danger.” And, as advertised, they bring the hammer down on a boy who says “mean stuff” to them with Mila and Eloise trading off lead vocals.

 

In addition to dropping Growing Up last week, the band recently dropped the spooky video for “Talking to Myself.”

The Linda Lindas Performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” Live from the L.A. Public Library Goes Viral

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The Linda Lindas aren’t staying quiet at the public library…

The all-girl Asian-American and Latinx punk rock band from Los Angeles have released the video of their epic performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy” live from the L.A. Public Library.

The Linda Lindas

The group, comprised of Bela Salazar (16, guitarist-singer), Eloise Wong (13, bassist-singer), Lucia de la Garza (14, guitarist-singer), and Mila de la Garza (10, drummer-singer), has turned the clip into a cause célèbre that has landed them more than 840,000 views and, reportedly, a deal with legendary punk label Epitaph Records.

In the video for their song “Racist, Sexist Boy” that blew up on YouTube recently, Mila and Eloise talk about how the song was inspired by an experience with racism at their school.

“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,” Mila said in the video. “After I told him that I was Chinese, he backed away from me. Eloise and I wrote this song based on that experience.”

With their ebullient mix of Sleater-Kinney/Bikini Kill power and an obvious homage to punk gods the Ramones in their stage names, the mighty quartet have already made significant waves at a young age, opening for Best Coast and Bikini Kill since forming in 2018.

Their Bandcamp page describes them as “half Asian / half Latinx. Two sisters, a cousin, and their close friend. The Linda Lindas channel the spirit of original punk, power pop, and new wave through today’s ears, eyes, and minds.”

The two singles and EP for sale on the band’s page were produced and mixed by Grammy-winning producer Carlos de la Garza, who also happens to be Mila’s dad. Together for three years, in an interview during the library set, they cited Paramore, Blondie, That Dog, Sleater-Kinney, Jawbreaker, the Buzzcocks, Alice Bag, Phranc, Le Tigre, Best Coast, Snail Mail, Bleached and the Go-Gos, as well as tacos, as their biggest inspirations.

After the video of the performance — as part of the library’s AAPI Heritage Month celebration — blew up, the group earned co-signs from a number of prominent rockers, including Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna, as well as the Silversun Pickups, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore.

 

Check out the full set here, which includes their original songs “Claudia Kishi” (for the 2020 Netflix short doc about the Japanese-American character from The Baby-Sitters Club), a track about missing their friends during the pandemic (“Missing“), as well as the poppy rave-up “Never Say Never,” a song about the guitarist Bela’s cat (“Monica“), the bouncy original “No Clue” and covers of Bikini Kill’s iconic Riot Grrrl anthem “Rebel Girl” and The Muffs‘ “Big Mouth.”