Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold - August 16th

Hot Rock let me down at the time, but loved One Beat and The Woods. Not sure I've ever given HR a fair return listen.

What do I know? My favorite S-K album is AHOTBO, which everyone seemed to hate then and also now. One Beat was a big disappointment and then The Woods was a big dud.

i agree about that, the disappointment. probably in the long run i suppose i most preferred hot rock, although there's no preference for that that can do without the highs of dig me out / call the doctor

Call The Doctor thru AHOTBO is band's sweet spot.

I super love Ballad Lady Man on AHOTBO and just referred someone to You're No RnR Fun for something poppier to start with.

I think Hot Rock/All Hands is the peak

All Hands is probably my fav, I know lots of ppl who love it, I didn't know people didn't like it

Ugh, The Bsllad of a LadyMan. I feel obligated to correct this somehow.

or Hot Rock is the best, I go back n forth

I think Call the Doctor, Dig Me Out and The Hot Rock came out during an optimal time period for indie. Once the century turned over, it was fast churning over.

I am listening to Ballad of a Ladyman and those lyrics. Ugh. so good.

Huh, I forgot All Hands existed, not because I didn't like it because I only listen to this band so often, and when I do I usually go Dig Me Out or One Beat. Dunno when or if I'll listen to the new one, but I like your collective enthusiasm.

Like I said, I love the album. I relished how well they wrote about their bodies, and the arrangements reflect this development.

after two listens i'm with JF, it never lets you forget that it's been *produced*

It's not even that. It would've sounded great to me in... 2007, where it lives.

as that era of indie rockers matures it makes sense to expect that a lot of them would start to lag the times, wouldn't it? like 70s rockers who release albums in the 80s that affected 5+years dated sounds maybe

Yep.

I love AHOTBO and One Beat - from Call the Doctor through One Beat I don't think there's a peak, they're all great and pretty different.

I've always said the closest point of comparison may be Fugazi. All the albums are very different, but it's not a linear evolution so much as an ... expansion?

finally listening to the new one for the first time and...it's really not that huge a departure? it's certainly still primarily guitar-driven!

And generally speaking the synths tend to be doing guitar-like things.

yes, otm

agreed

Here's a review that gets it wrong.

But on the new album, the guitars are constrained, ceding space to keyboards and electronic beats; often, they’re content to repeat neatly deployed hooks. Instead of tense, fluctuating human friction, there’s layered pop architecture.

Bullshit. Flesh and blood vs machines, inspiration vs craft. I thought Pareles was too wise for these binaries.

breihan struggling with a record is a pretty sure sign i'll like it and think he's a wiener, reliable as the sunrise

― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, August 15, 2019 1:24 PM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i like the record, and i think it's funny that the one song Breihan singled out as "the one true miracle" (LOVE) is probably my least favorite song on first pass

just jammed this on the subway and i love the entire second half, especially "bad dance" and "the dog/thebody" (one of the best s-k tracks ever imo)

"the dog/thebody" (one of the best s-k tracks ever imo)

man otm, it's like a hot rock-style verse with a chorus they borrowed from, like, ex hex

that song stuck out to me too.

the best

Yep that was the only one I immediately played again the first time thru.

Really enjoying this album overall. It might end up being my most-played new SK album since All Hands.

My boy.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/janet-weiss-healing-fund

Man that's fucked up. But now I'll just pretend she couldn't do the SK tour because of injury .

I completely forgot that One Beat existed until now. TBH to me SK's great albums are Doctor and Dig, and Hot Rock to a lesser extent. Though 'you're no rock and roll fun' is still my favorite song of theirs.

one beat is still their best imo

disagree but it has their best song (sympathy)

I found the opening track disappointing when I first heard it a few weeks ago, but I love it now. This is one of their greatest records, and I probably (slightly) prefer it to The Woods (though One Beat is still my fave).

"the dog/thebody" (one of the best s-k tracks ever imo)

otm.

And their first post-Janet show is tomorrow night. Any word on who's drumming with them?

I was thinking of going but the venue has already been changed because of Dorian and at this point I don’t foresee my ass being willing to drive in the deluge to get there

I was thinking of going but the venue has already been changed because of Dorian and at this point I don’t foresee my ass being willing to drive in the deluge to get there

St. Vincent made Dorian

"Dorian" does sound like the name of a person she'd sing about.

I like this record a lot, but are there really only 3 tracks with lead vocals by Corin? Kind of feels like it’s a bit of a waste to keep her/her voice on the sidelines on so much of the record. I know Sleater Kinney as The Carrie Brownstein new wave band is much more marketable at the moment, but I miss their interplay.

(I think it's 4 tracks w/Corin on lead actually)

So this show happened, right? Who is the new drummer?

angie boylan of freezing cold

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-boylan-a86b0365

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/sleater-kinneys-new-drummer-is-angie-boylan-watch-their-first-show-together/

Oh wow I didn't know Janet left the band!

Um...

Janet's...been through some stuff recently.

Took a while but I've finally realized that "Ruins" is wholly rad. Also, got teary-eyed during the chorus of "Can I Go On" today.