It’s been two years, give or take a few days, since one of the best rock bands of all time decided to call it quits. Sleater-Kinney gave the world about a decade of music, and for that I respectfully pour out a virtual forty for them on the curb. A few key S-K points and/or moments:
- No one has heard a voice like Corin Tucker’s, before or since (though a friend once said that her distinctive warble reminded him of Buffy Ste-Marie). The combination of her punk-rock yelp with Carrie Brownstein’s more melodic counterpart - often with both women singing completely different lines - never fails to stop my heart.
- They rock so hard, man. Carrie Brownstein is a babe, and her stage presence is amazing, all Pete Townsend windmills and leg-kicks.
- In a Punk Planet interview, Carrie Brownstein once said
“It’s like they think they’re paying you a compliment by taking you out of the ‘girl-group ghetto’ and saying that you’ve transcended gender. But that’s never been our goal. I mean, how could we possibly transcend something that’s so experiential and part of who we are? And why would we ever want to be ‘Men in Rock?’ It’s not a history that we’re part of, nor would we like to emulate it.”Did I mention she’s a babe?
- They never seemed content to rest on their punk-rock laurels, and each album was a step forward into new sound; their last album The Woods took envelope pushing to the next level.
- At their last show in Montreal, the opening band didn’t make it over the border, so S-K entertained the crowd by inviting people up onstage for Sleater-Kinney karaoke, with the band playing live behind them. So delightfully awkward.
This video for the song Get Up was directed by Miranda July, and it’s totally creepy and weird.
Ladies, I salute thee. The world is just a little less cool without you.
What do you remember?
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nine comments
I was just thinking about Sleater-Kinney, without realizing we were close to the anniversary of their death (or I guess extended hiatus, if you want to be really hopeful). The last show I saw them play made it obvious to me that it was time for them to go; they just looked and sounded tired of the whole touring thing, and I'll bet the Toronto crowd didn't help very much.
My favourite two shows of theirs, though, was a Vancouver show I saw just before The Woods came out, when they seemed so excited to be back on stage after being out of the spotlight for a couple of years; and the first S-K show I ever saw, possibly the third show I ever saw in my life. It was back in 2000 and it had on the bill C.O.C.O., who are about the coolest funk duo to ever come out of Olympia, and a very young White Stripes. But obviously everyone came to see S-K, and we all got the bonus of being able to hang out with all the bands at the merch table afterwards, wherein I think I managed to get out a couple of embarrassing words to a slightly bemused Corin Tucker before tucking my tail between my legs and heading home.
One last thing I'll throw out: if I had to pick a favourite album, I'd be torn between The Hot Rock and One Beat. And if I had to pick a favourite song, it'd be impossible, but I think I'd be torn between the last tracks of both albums, "A Quarter to Three" and "Sympathy." Yours?
Posted by Wesley
July 4, 2008, 5:07 PM
The Sleater-Kinney ladies played a big role in setting up the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon (which inspired girls' rock camps around the world).
I volunteered there a couple of summers ago, and it was totally amazing.
On the first day of camp Carrie Brownstein played guitar and taught all the campers and volunteers the official rock camp song, which we'd sing every morning. I had to keep my fan-girl self in check, and not just scream in her face.
Posted by Tiina
July 4, 2008, 6:28 PM
The Woods came out at the exact same time my current partner and I started dating. I used to listen to Modern Girl over and over again when trying to figure out that crazy little thing called lurve...
"My whole life looks like a picture of a sunny day..."
Needless to say we'll be playing Modern Girl at our (non)wedding in August.
That whole album on repeat also helped me finish the edits on my novel.
Swoon.
Posted by Stacey May
July 4, 2008, 10:36 PM
Wesley, I saw them on that very same tour with C.O.C.O. and The White Stripes here in MTL! I don't remember being blown away by C.O.C.O., but in the lobby between bands, after hearing The White Stripes (who nobody had even heard of back then) do their cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene, everyone was kind of looking at each other going "What the eff just happened back there?" We weren't sure, but it definitely seemed monumental. And of course S-K were incredible.
Favorites: Pretty much all of Hot Rock. And for individual songs, for some reason I really love One More Hour. It's so emotional, in a badass way. I also really like Modern Girl, but I always heard it as so sarcastic. Like you can hear Carrie Brownstein's sneer.
Posted by Anna
July 5, 2008, 12:01 AM
Sneering and sarcastic is exactly my kind of true love.
Posted by Stacey May
July 5, 2008, 2:41 AM
sleater-kinney loooooove!!!!
Posted by Sheetal
July 5, 2008, 1:58 PM
oh sleater-kinney, what a nice way to start the week. my favourite song is definitely 'good thing', to be blasted whenever one is feeling a bit angsty. or whenever.
also, did y'all know that carrie brownstein has a blog? she writes for NPR online at http://www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/
Posted by fireeyedgirl
July 7, 2008, 10:50 AM
Because of this I listened to "Jumpers" and "Good Things" over and over and over again while I was working this weekend.
Has anyone ever heard the live "Fortunate Son" cover they did? It gives me chills.
Posted by Stacey May
July 7, 2008, 11:39 AM
Yes, their cover of "Fortunate Son" is pretty awesome. Another one to track down: the cover of "Rock Lobster" they did with Calvin Johnson for a New Year's Eve show back at the start of 1998.
Posted by Wesley
July 7, 2008, 12:40 PM
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