Sleater-Kinney

I have been listening to Sleater-Kinney a lot lately, particularly The Woods. I just picked this up a few weeks ago. I wasn't too crazy about it at first. I missed that Sleater-Kinney sound--I missed the overlapping singing/yelping of Tucker and Brownstein. Don't get me wrong, Tucker's voice is as distinctive (and awesome) as ever. The Woods is more straight forward and more of a rock album, and I suppose you could say it is the album where the grew up. It is the album where the last remnants of the Riot Grrrl movement became a rock and roll band not a girl rock and roll band. They did it their way on that album and that was it.

But still, I missed that sound, like Call the Doctor. I adore that album. The emotion, the anger, the almost hiccuping sound of their voices. Love.it. I can listen to that album again and again. I listen to it in the car (and I sing) and at the gym (where I don't sing). But still, it isn't my favorite Sleater-Kinney. That would be One Beat. Why? The song "Far Away." There have been numerous songs about 9/11, but personally I feel this is the best. It sums up so much of what many of us were feeling, "And the sky overhead/is silent, waiting/Clear blue holds its breath/And the heart is hit/in a city far away/but it feels so close" and " I look to the sky/and ask it not to rain/On my family tonight." So simple yet so true. I also like "Sympathy" for the pure emotion in the song.

But The Woods... I may not have been impressed at first but now I can't stop listening. "Rollercoaster" rocks my world. The guitar seems so familiar to me, but I can't quite figure out why. Have I heard it someplace else? Or is it just that good? And this familiar guitar turns into something raw and almost distorted at the end. It fits the song so well. "Modern Girl," oh the simplicity. I hated the song at first because of the simplicity. It was too boring. Too too. But the sharp lyrics drew me in ("Took my money/And bought a donut/The hole's the size of/The entire world"). "Jumpers" is haunting. Absolutely haunting. Lots of songs have been written about suicide, but this one captures the dual sides of suicide--the depression as well as the liberation: "Drink your last drink/Sin your last sin/Sing your last song/About the beginning/Sing your song loud/So the people can hear." Whatever is causing this person pain is almost over. But the end of the song is gutwrenching. The calmer, quieter harmonies of Tucker and Brownstein: "I took the taxi to the gate/I will not go to school again/Four seconds was/The longest wait."

I had read that The Woods was Sleater-Kinney's most grown up album. I didn't believe it. I didn't hear it. I thought they were trying too hard to be the type of rock group I never liked. But the more I listened, the more I liked it and then loved it. Sleater-Kinney has become an obsession.

And not just because they recently announced they were going on an "indefinite hiatus." But because they are good. And because I will be seeing them this summer at one of their last shows. Too bad, really. I wish I had had a chance to see them earlier, but I didn't. So, now I will see them in Chicago before they head back to Portland for two farewell shows. Part of me almost wants to fly to Portland to see them. But I won't. I'll listen to my albums. I'll see them in Chicago with a gazillion other people. And a gazillion other people will be happy that we are seeing this band as they are wrapping up an amazing ten-year career. So, here's to you Sleater-Kinney: thanks for the music.