"I Blog about board games, of course I am out of touch."
so at J-Con Tim had his iPod playing, and I recognized Sleater-Kinney from my Pandora station. My Pandora station is all kinds of messed up, I mean start with Peter Pan Speedrock, add Punk, Blues, Bluegrass, 80 college rock and Surf Rock; you get a pretty eclectic mix.
It was a good song, and I confirmed that it was in fact S-K. Tim positively gushed about them. Which got me to listen to them. I found The Woods in its entirety on You Tube. I now wonder what the hell took me so long to give S-K a try.
So I am about to do something completely unfair, I am going to compare this band to a couple others. I've said this to a couple people already, they are like The Pixies meet Sonic Youth but in each bands Punk Phase (TM).
It's unfair because they really have forged their own sound, but this is a compliment. I really like the Pixies and Sonic Youth.
The guitar work sounds like the Pixies because it is abrupt, cornered and edgy. I don't know the musical term and don't really care too. But once you get into the Pixies, there is no mistaking the influence.
The guitar work sounds like Sonic Youth because Sleater-Kinney is absolutely fearless about inserting strange sounds into any part of the song and making them work.
The bass work sounds like nothing, because there isn't a bass player. This might be the most amazing thing about this band. I've heard bands without bass, mostly in garage bands where no one wanted to play bass. In general the music sounds less full, some of the spectrum is missing. Some songs can get away with that, but in general it misses something. Don't take my word for it. Pete Townshend in the documentary Amazing Journey: Story of the Who said this on John Entwistle (paraphrased)
"on the 1989 tour, I wanted to turn the sound down which just crippled John. We had to bring in multiple guitarists, back up singers and a horn section. All to make up the deficit of losing John's decibels"
Sleater-Kinney sounds amazingly rich over a broad spectrum as just a bass-less trio.
Oh yeah the vocals and drumming. Really really good. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein have similarly pitched voices and they are really creative at interposing who sings what part. Janet Weiss is a human metronome. She's just not good for a girl, she is just plain good and rocks harder then you. Deal With It.
Off "The Woods" my favorite songs are Entertain and Rollcercoaster. In fact the bridge during Entertain might be my favorite bit of new to me music I have heard in years.
So thanks Tim for getting me to take a closer listen.
You're welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite albums, in no particular order:
The Woods
All Hands on the Bad One
One Beat
I find Janet's drum work to be creative, she keeps time with unique rhythms. The dynamic between two singer/songwriters makes each album diverse and interesting. I think Sonic Youth is an apt comparison, because you also have multiple writers/vocalists.
And Carrie Brownstein is a guitar goddess. She swaggers and riffs like Jimmy Page.
One of my all-time favorite bands.
This game, music, is not interactive enough for me.
ReplyDeleteI first encountered Sleater Kinney on Spinners' "50 Greatest Guitar Riffs in Rock 'n' Roll." They had 'Dig Me Out' at number 48, and they also mentioned that SK's Carrie Brownstein was "the highest-ranking woman on Rolling Stone's 'Most Underrated Guitarists of All Time' list."
ReplyDeleteThe link is over a year old, I'm not sure if it's still current:
http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/13/rock-guitar-riffs/
Their list spans selections from 1958 (Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' at #5), up to 2003 (the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' at #28), and spans quite a few genres (funk, new wave, disco, classic rock, heavy metal, etc.) but it DOES tend to be awfully heavy in the 1960's and 70's. Still, it got me looking into a lot of bands I wouldn't have gotten into otherwise, like SK, Dinosaur Jr and The Meters, and looking at some other artists in a new way, like Devo, John Lee Hooker, Sonic Youth and Motorhead.
BTW, I encountered a song (also by way of Pandora) that reminded me of something you might like, if a little on the 'synth-punk' side:
ReplyDeleteAtom and his Package, "I am Downright Amazed at what I can Destroy with Just a Hammer"
Cool title at least. I think it's my second favorite song title of all time now, just after Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict"