SLEATER-KINNEY

'Sleater-Kinney' was a critically acclaimed, politically charged indie rock band. The group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They formed in and were a vital part of the music scene in Olympia, Washington, although they later moved to Portland, Oregon.

Contents

History

Style

Hiatus

Collaborations

Discography

Albums

Singles

Compilation album tracks

Music videos

Chart positions

Albums

Singles

Samples

References in pop culture

External links

References

History

Sleater-Kinney was founded by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. Tucker was formerly in the influential riot grrrl band Heavens to Betsy, while Brownstein was formerly in the queercore band Excuse 17. They often played at gigs together and formed Sleater-Kinney as a side-project from their respective bands. When Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17 disbanded, Sleater-Kinney became their primary focus. Janet Weiss (of Quasi) was the band's primary drummer, though Sleater-Kinney has had other drummers throughout its existence, including Lora Macfarlane, Misty Farrell and Toni Gogin.

Upon Tucker's graduation from Evergreen State College (where Brownstein would remain a student for three more years), she and then-girlfriend Brownstein took a trip to Australia in early 1994. Their last day there, they stayed up all night recording what would become their self-titled debut, ''Sleater-Kinney'' ^[1]. It was released the following spring. They followed this with ''Call the Doctor'' (1996) and ''Dig Me Out'' (1997), and became critical darlings as a result.
Their next few albums pushed the band towards mainstream listeners, culminating in 2002's ''One Beat''. The group opened for Pearl Jam at many North American shows beginning in 2003, and the band cited the experience of playing to large arenas as part of the inspiration and motivation for the music found on their last album, ''The Woods''. ''The Woods'' was released in 2005, and was a departure from the sound of their previous albums. In its place, ''The Woods'' featured a denser, heavily distorted sound that drew on classic rock as its inspiration.

Style

Both Brownstein and Tucker played guitar. Although Sleater-Kinney had no bass player, both Tucker and Brownstein tuned their guitars one and a half steps down ("C# tuning"), and Tucker's tone and style enabled her to fill the same role as a bass guitar.

Hiatus

On June 27, 2006, the band announced an indefinite hiatus, stating there were "no plans for future tours or recordings." The band's last appearance was at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon on August 12, 2006. No explanation for the hiatus was given, but it is widely believed to be because Tucker wanted to concentrate on raising her child. In a May 2005 interview, Janet Weiss stated "Corin's hurdles were my biggest hurdles. Her pulling away from the band was the hardest thing for me as far as writing music. She said in a recent interview that she thinks about quitting every week - and that's heavy for me, 'cause this is all I want to do." ^[2]
Tucker had previously hinted in interviews that Sleater-Kinney might become inactive soon. In a 2005 interview with Bust magazine, she was asked how she would handle touring when her young son started school, and she replied that she didn't even know if they would make another record after ''The Woods''.^[3]

Collaborations

In 1998, the band recorded "Big Big Lights", the first split single (with Cypher in the Snow) in the series of recordings dealing with women's self-defense entitled ''Free to Fight'', and released on Candy Ass Records.
In 2000, all three members of Sleater-Kinney assisted Robert Forster and Grant McLennan of the now-defunct Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens to record the album ''The Friends of Rachel Worth''.
In 2003, the band recorded the song "Angry Inch" with Fred Schneider of The B-52's for the charity tribute album Wig in a Box. Proceeds for the album went to the Harvey Milk School, a school for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.
Along with performing in Sleater-Kinney, Tucker also was a member of the band Cadallaca with Sarah Dougher and sts (both formerly of The Lookers). In a recent interview, however, she told the public "not to hold [their] breath for a new Cadallaca album."

Discography

Albums

★ ''Sleater-Kinney'' (1995) – Chainsaw Records

★ ''Call the Doctor'' (1996) – Chainsaw Records

★ ''Dig Me Out'' (1997) – Kill Rock Stars

★ ''The Hot Rock'' (1999) – Kill Rock Stars

★ ''All Hands on the Bad One'' (2000) – Kill Rock Stars

★ ''One Beat'' (2002) – Kill Rock Stars

★ ''The Woods'' (2005) – Sub Pop Records

Singles

★ "You Ain't It/Surf Song" (1994) – Villa Villakula Records

★ "One More Hour" (1997) – Matador Records

★ "Little Babies" (1997) – Matador Records

★ "A Quarter To Three" (1997) – Matador Records

★ "Big Big Lights" (1998) - Candy Ass Records

★ "Get Up" (1999) – Kill Rock Stars

★ "You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun" (2000) – Kill Rock Stars

★ "Entertain" (2005) – Sub Pop

★ "Jumpers" (2005) – Sub Pop

Compilation album tracks

★ "Ballad of a Ladyman" (live, 2001) – ''Calling All Kings & Queens'' on Mr. Lady

★ "Off with Your Head" – ''Rock Against Bush Vol. 2'' on Fat Wreck

★ "War Not Peace"

Music videos

★ "Get Up" (1999) Directed by Miranda July

★ "You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun" (2000) Directed by Brett Vapnek

★ "Entertain" (2005) Directed by Molly & Mariah

★ "Jumpers" (2005) Directed by Matt McCormick

Chart positions

Albums

Year	Album	US Billboard 200	Heatseekers (US)	Top Independent Albums (US)	Top Internet Albums (US)	UK Albums
1999	''The Hot Rock''	181	12	-	-	-
2000	''All Hands on the Bad One''	177	12	-	-	156
2002	''One Beat''	107	2	5	-	-
2005	''The Woods''	80	-	2	80	-

Singles

Year	Title	Album	UK Singles
1998	"One More Hour"	''Dig Me Out''	153
1998	"Little Babies"	''Dig Me Out''	147
1999	"A Quarter To Three"	''The Hot Rock''	157
1999	"Get Up"	''The Hot Rock''	111
2000	"You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun"	''All Hands on the Bad One''	94
2005	"Entertain"	''The Woods''	-
2005	"Jumpers"	''The Woods''	-

Samples

References in pop culture

★ Near the beginning of the 1998 film, The Horse Whisperer, Scarlett Johansson's character, Grace MacLean, is seen listening to "Little Babies" (Dig Me Out) through her headphones.

★ Sleater-Kinney made a guest appearance in episode 6 of season 3 of the TV series ''The L Word'', which is broadcast on the cable TV channel Showtime, and performed the song "Jumpers" from their album ''The Woods''.

★ Sleater-Kinney were referenced in a second season episode of ''Six Feet Under'' entitled ''Driving Mr. Mossback'' where Nate and Claire visit Seattle. Claire mentions that there is a Sleater-Kinney concert at the Showbox in Seattle the night that they're visiting and Nate mentions that he loves the band and wouldn't mind seeing them. In a separate season three episode entitled "Making Love Work", Claire is shown listening to the song "O2" in her bedroom.

★ Sleater-Kinney were one of the many bands mentioned at the end of ''Le Tigre's 'Hot Topic' from the self titled album ''Le Tigre (album)''.

External links

★ Sleater-Kinney official site

★ Kill Rock Stars, Sleater-Kinney's former record label ( band page, with sample mp3s)

★ Sub Pop Records, the group's current label

★ Sleater-Kinney.net Comprehensive fan site & archive

★ Tiny Suns Infused With Sour A Sleater-Kinney news blog

★ Pitchforkmedia.com: Sleater-Kinney Say Goodbye

★ The Village Voice: Sleater-Kinney Break-Up

★ Words and Guitar Sleater-Kinney discussion list

★ Random Truths about Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein from identitytheory.com

★ Sleater-Kinney profile on Punknews.org

★ Hear the Band Perform at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club

★ Interview from ''Punk Planet'' 61 (2004)

References

1. http://sleater-kinney.net/index.php?go=library_spin_june05
2. http://sleater-kinney.net/index.php?go=library_rock_decade
3. http://sleater-kinney.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=32&pos=3