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

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.

Awesome show last night. They played "Step Aside"!

Scorching in Austin tonight. Carrie is in full Rock Star Mode. It was Corin's birthday. Angie Boylan is a sure-footed & fast drummer. A bunch of the older numbers were practically thrash--even "Good Things" was sprightly! Checking out setlist.fm, I see they doing fairly locked-down setlists aside from the encores. And I do believe they played everything from The Center Won't Hold, plus the new vinyl & digital single "Animal". 29 songs total.

Great interview with Janet about the break up and her career

https://www.thetrapset.net/230-janet-weiss-quasi-sleater-kinney-wild-flag-elliott-smith-etc/

That was quite moving. Janet seems like an awesome person.

Yeah, the whole thing--her career in all her bands, the breakup of SK, the way she approaches her work. All so endearing.

And stunning how Carrie and Corin changed Janet's role.

The conversation that resulted in the blunt "yes you're just the drummer; not creative equal here" must have been a heated argument. I just can't imagine it being so harshly put via honesty alone. I can only imagine the context being used as a convenient way to end a frustrating argument quickly.

this podcast didn't make me want to see SK ever again

Janet said "they made this album sort of without me," while Carrie said, "she’s raved about this album to us and to Annie." Curious what accounts for the wild divergence.

Carrie also said, "We asked her to stay"...so..."You're just the drummer, but please stay with us in your diminished role!"

I remember the only time I saw them, in 2003 or so, one of the openers was Smoosh, a keyboard and drums duo of adolescent sisters. When SK went on they told some story about backstage chatter with Smoosh in which the drummer expressed outrage that drummers tend to not get songwriting credits, pointing out that her sister didn’t write her drum parts.

I love Smoosh!