TS: Sleater Kinney's "Call the Doctor" vs Sleater Kinney's "Dig Me Out"

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I just find the Marcus thing inexplicable. I don't understand how he could be so head-over-heels for them and then when One Beat comes out -- which I think is their best but which is almost certainly in the same ballpark as their best -- he acts like its a grand disappointment. If he'd written the same stuff about All Hands on the Band One, I wouldn't have been perplexed.

Inspired to listen to the first one again for the first time in a few years -- maybe I should bump it up over All Hands on the list above.

― chris herrington (chris herrington), Sunday, 21 September 2003 14:21 (twenty years ago) link

Justyn I feel justified in disliking him cos A) if can dislike "One Beat" as strongly as he seems to in relation to the others he's a gimp ("All Hands" is much worse, for a start), and B) he doesn't like the Fall

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Sunday, 21 September 2003 14:29 (twenty years ago) link

How odd it seems to me that SK are now the Grande Auld Dammes of Rokk Un Rolls...

― ModJ, Sunday, 21 September 2003 15:08 (twenty years ago) link

Was anyone else mystified when Greil "Sleater-Kinney's publicist" Marcus dissed One Beat? What was he listening too?

First thing he did in a million years that DIDN'T irritate me. Though he was rather vague about why he didn't like it, probably cuz he would have to admit he had overrated AHOTBO. Though he apologized recently by pitching woo about how great Corin's duet with Eddie Vedder on "Hunger Strike" live was. If he's gonna praise her Chris Cornell covers than he's still an insane hyper-fan.

I still adore the Call/Dig/Hot troika. And there's some great songs on the later albums.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 21 September 2003 15:15 (twenty years ago) link

Okay maybe I'm all wrong about everything, since I just re-listened to a few of these albums while cleaning my bathroom and desperately trying to get rid of my mysterious fly-or-is-it-a-beetle problem before my relatives invade ma casa 2morrow, and well, One Beat sounds just so deep and accomplished and full-fleshed compared to the skeletal, sparse, somewhat-incomplete by comparison earlier records...but maybe thats just today

One Beat is an amazing album no matter what, and who cares what some old, possibly-irrelevant intellekshuL thinks

― Vic (Vic), Sunday, 21 September 2003 15:30 (twenty years ago) link

hot rock is the cruellest of their albums, it is heartbreak and that is why its the best. you cry every second song. and then when "quarter to three" ends, you cry cos its damn well over. I HATE YOU SLEATER-KINNEy!!!!

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Sunday, 21 September 2003 20:46 (twenty years ago) link

i mean i'm not even depressed anymore and it still makes me cry like a stupid baby.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Sunday, 21 September 2003 20:50 (twenty years ago) link

The dude in me who listened to it all spring break long when it came out wants to agree its their best, but the critic in me whines that songs like "Banned From The End Of The World" point to the smugness of their later albums. But yeah, 3/4+ of the album is KILLER heartbreak material.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 21 September 2003 22:12 (twenty years ago) link

especially that song about visiting your dying loved one in a hospital

― Vic (Vic), Sunday, 21 September 2003 22:24 (twenty years ago) link

I'm with the Hot Rock camp. I didn't feel comfortable assessing S-K's career until I heard Dig Me Out (still haven't heard Call the Doctor), but now that I have, I still like Hot Rock the best. I could listen to "Get Up" non-stop.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 22 September 2003 03:32 (twenty years ago) link

jaymc, I could've said exactly what you just said and still been me so you = otm!

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Monday, 22 September 2003 03:39 (twenty years ago) link

Haha!

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 22 September 2003 03:55 (twenty years ago) link

'hot rock' was my first s>k and still my fave, although i give mad props to 'bad one'

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 22 September 2003 05:36 (twenty years ago) link

why is everyone talking about "all hands" like it's some kind of embarrassing mid-career slump? there's not one bad song on the whole thing! (admittedly SK have fairly high standards: they've got their blah moments but i can't think of many blatantly, undeniably awful songs on any of their albums, the debut excepted) (mainly because i haven't heard it yet)

saying "i don't get the fall" >>>>>>>>>>> not getting the fall and giving all their records B- reviews.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 22 September 2003 06:14 (twenty years ago) link

Justyn, I think because the riffs and melodies on All Hands sound so undercooked and sawed off. Ironclad and Youth Decay would be all time wonders if the riffs sounded better.

― Leee (Leee), Monday, 22 September 2003 07:28 (twenty years ago) link

And while we're at it:

1. 1beat/DMO
2.5. CtD
3. Hot
4. All Hands

― Leee (Leee), Monday, 22 September 2003 07:29 (twenty years ago) link

does anyone else find "youth decay" weirdly disturbing? i mean what's it supposed to be ABOUT, anyway?

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 22 September 2003 07:40 (twenty years ago) link

Teeth

― Leee (Leee), Monday, 22 September 2003 07:44 (twenty years ago) link

but the critic in me whines that songs like "Banned From The End Of The World" point to the smugness of their later albums.

But isn't that more valid for Hot Rock and All Hands (or even Dig Me Out) than for One Beat, which seems far less concerned with their band's place in the world than with the world itself (and not just post-911 stuff, but their hometown, having kids, etc.)?

― chris herrington (chris herrington), Monday, 22 September 2003 17:46 (twenty years ago) link

Here's me:
1. Hot Rock
2. Dig Me Out
3. All Hands...
4. Call the Doctor
5. s/t
with the first three pretty close together and then a gap before 4 & 5. I haven't really listened to One Beat enough to rate it, but I think it would probably go at #4 and knock Call the Doctor and s/t down.

― NA (Nick A.), Monday, 22 September 2003 18:49 (twenty years ago) link

"all hands" like it's some kind of embarrassing mid-career slump? there's not one bad song on the whole thing!

Milkshake & Honey, Male Model, Pompeii, and #1 Must Have could easily qualify as bad songs. Sometimes I want to include Ballad Of A Ladyman.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:06 (twenty years ago) link

my (v small) problem with all hands is not that its bad, its that its too slick and perfect and there aren't enough moments on it that don't make sense.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Monday, 22 September 2003 23:05 (twenty years ago) link

isn't giving B- reviews of Fall albums pretty much the same thing as saying you don't get them, though?

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 22 September 2003 23:42 (twenty years ago) link

Milkshake & Honey, Male Model, Pompeii, and #1 Must Have could easily qualify as bad songs. Sometimes I want to include Ballad Of A Ladyman.

-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), September 22nd, 2003.

- those first three are not only the best songs on the album, but amongst the best of their career

― Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:06 (twenty years ago) link

"leave you behind", "the swimmer", and "#1 must have" are the best tracks on AHOTBO

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:14 (twenty years ago) link

Di u and me are the best SKFANZ on ILX

― Vic (Vic), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:21 (twenty years ago) link

pompeii is just okay. the other four are great - "#1 must have" in particular is one of their ten best.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:13 (twenty years ago) link

I hate the bloody "Swimmer"

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:24 (twenty years ago) link

It's nothing like as bad as "Jenny", though, so who cares

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:25 (twenty years ago) link

andrew you sooooo don't get it.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:26 (twenty years ago) link

Where's that Sarah McLauchlan you taped me

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:27 (twenty years ago) link

I get 'Size of Our Love' and 'Leave You Behind' and stuff, I deserve at least a pass in "Getting It"

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:30 (twenty years ago) link

andrew stop not getting it!!

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:34 (twenty years ago) link

I'm thinking that's a call I should be making

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:35 (twenty years ago) link

when i met janet weiss i asked her if they'd play "the swimmer." she groaned and went "oh no, we don't play that one."

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:35 (twenty years ago) link

She gets it

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:36 (twenty years ago) link

then i named like four other songs and they wouldn't play any of them! we finally settled on "ballad of a ladyman."

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:37 (twenty years ago) link

I hate the bloody "Swimmer"

HERESY

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:40 (twenty years ago) link

i reckon assdrew is just pretending to hate those songs. either that or hes a robot.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:13 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah it's a scam, try and work out what I hope to gain by it!

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:14 (twenty years ago) link

a high flying political career?

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:20 (twenty years ago) link

No, I'm trying to get excommunicated from the Order of the Divine Jim

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:21 (twenty years ago) link

HERESY

Doctrine!

― Leee (Leee), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 17:43 (twenty years ago) link

Vic I have t-shirt with all 3 members on it ergo I'm best fan ever.

― Leee (Leee), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 17:44 (twenty years ago) link

hey what'd i do?

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 22:06 (twenty years ago) link

I would just like to state that I ADORE "Leave You Behind" and "The Swimmer." Pompeii and #1 Must Have are just too didactic and the latter is pretty damn limp musically too.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 02:16 (twenty years ago) link

Dig Me Out gets extra points for having one of the best covers of all-time. Too bad that KRS doesn't have the posters of it anymore.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 02:30 (twenty years ago) link

One Beat is actually the album that made me reconsider the band. Always found them overly-dramatic and just plain annoying before. Somehow, the lusher arrangements and the cute backing vocals on One Beat make it easier to appreciate the band's virtues by distracting from a vocalist/lyricist who (I assume this won't be controversial) can be off-putting if you're not already converted. I had One Beat on at the gym yesterday, and it really is incredibly solid. Actually raised goose bumps not once but twice.

― dlp9001, Wednesday, 24 September 2003 02:36 (twenty years ago) link

leee i have a sleater-kinney t shirt too.

― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 03:18 (twenty years ago) link

We should hook up.

― Leee (Leee), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 03:21 (twenty years ago) link

Skipping 34 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Corin was also literally destroying her voice before she got lessons so

― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Tuesday, 6 August 2019 02:35 (four years ago) link

so much the better for her, so much the worse for us

― j., Tuesday, 6 August 2019 02:49 (four years ago) link

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