Words, Guitar, and Passion: The Music of Sleater-Kinney

By Laura L.

I remember where I heard about Sleater-Kinney for the first time.

It was in the unlikeliest of places: Seventeen magazine. This was in 1997, when they were promoting what’s now my favorite Sleater-Kinney album, Dig Me Out. I wanted to know more about them, but for some reason, I was afraid. I was so self-conscious at the time about listening to a band I’m sure none of my friends would have heard of.

Photo from The Sleater-Kinney Archives

Fast forward three years later. I was in college, and it was the height of Napster’s heyday. Sleater-Kinney had another album out, All Hands On the Bad One, and, after sampling a few tracks on Napster, I decided to finally buy the album. I was hooked from “Ballad of a Ladyman” all the way to the last track, “The Swimmer.” As soon as I could, I bought all the other Sleater-Kinney albums.

So who are—or were—Sleater-Kinney? Well, they’re a band based in the Pacific Northwest: first in Olympia, WA, and more recently in Portland, OR. They’re made up of guitarists/vocalists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, and drummer Janet Weiss (who was in the band from Dig Me Out until their final album, The Woods). All are self-identified feminists, and Corin and Carrie actually used to date each other. (The song “Dig Me Out” is Corin’s breakup song to Carrie. I think most of the album is, actually.)

The band formed in the ruins of the riot-grrrl movement, deriving their name from Sleater-Kinney Rd. in Lacey, Washington, and recording their self-titled debut after their previous bands broke up (Corin was in Heavens to Betsy, Carrie was in Excuse 17).

The sound on their debut album is very raw compared to their future efforts, Call the Doctor in particular, which has one of my favorite songs on it, “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone.” It gives me goose bumps every time I hear it. It’s about wanting to be the rock star everyone wants to be or wants to be with. I like that the song name-checks Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore as well. One of my friends actually chose her roller derby name based on this song. That’s how powerful it is.

Even though I’ve never been in love with a girl, “Dig Me Out” spoke to me the first time I heard it. I’ve been in love before, and the album’s proved to be a soundtrack for breakups and crushes crashed. Every song on this album is worth listening to, from the opening riff to the title track; from the poppier “Words and Guitar” to the rest. I haven’t listened to it in awhile, but once I do, it all comes back.

As the new century dawned, Sleater-Kinney’s mainstream exposure began to creep in. I remember seeing their video for “You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun” on 120 Minutes, back when MTV still played videos a few times. They opened for Pearl Jam in 2003. They eventually appeared on the Showtime TV show The L Word.

Photo from The Sleater-Kinney Archives

However, feminism and living by the motto, “The personal is political,” are never going to make you as famous as Justin Bieber—let’s face it. They knew that, and they were more than OK with it, spreading their, pro-LGBT, pro-feminist, anti-war messages as much as they pleased (the latter being the most present on “Combat Rock” from 2002’s One Beat, with lyrics like: Where is the questioning?/Where is the protest song?/Since when is skepticism un-American?).

Four years ago (the day before I turned 25, actually), the band announced that they were calling it quits. Since then, Corin’s been raising two kids and has released the debut of the Corin Tucker Band, currently on tour. Carrie wrote in the NPR blog, Monitor Mix which recently saw its final entry last October. Currently, she is teaming up with Janet, Mary Timony, and Rebecca Cole in the band Wild Flag. She is also working on a book, The Sound of Where You Are, and writing a sketch show—Portlandia—for IFC with SNL‘s Fred Armisen.

I will definitely follow each of them wherever they go, but they will always be Sleater-Kinney in my heart.

For a complete discography of Sleater-Kinney, check out their official website, last updated on September 27.