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

I got the sense that decision was more driven by Berry? just not wanting the grind anymore, or at least that is my memory

Yes, Berry was deeply unhappy with touring and the responsibilities of being in a major label’s flagship band, and he realized he never needed to work again

I was thinking more like in fan reaction ("It hasn't been the same since Bill left maaaan..."), and how it gave lie to the whole "If one of us stops, we all stop" ethos that REM had prior to his exit.

Ultimately not the best example.

He'd had a near-death experience (aneurysm) on their last (?) tour, and wanted to live on a farm. iirc, he made sure to wait until whatever big album-tour cycle was over, so as not to leave them scrambling for a replacement. But yeah, it was Berry's decision, though he did say, "If you break up because I'm leaving, then I won't leave."

GnR fans mostly prefer Steven Adler to Matt Sorum these days, but I don't remember there being a big backlash when Steven was kicked out.

Feel like Queens of the Stone Age fans have some passionate opinions about their drummer rotation as well. "When are they gonna bring Dave back, maaaaan?" But no one's stopped buying their albums because of it.

lol xp to c. grisso on the "maaaaan"

no qotsa fan in their right mind would sub grohl for jon theodore

I really never thought of Grohl as part of the band

with Queens I feel like pre and post Nick Oliveri is a thing

Oh yeah, the Nick opinions are fiercer.

xp: agreed, but...

Tracklist:

1. Path of Wellness
2. High In The Grass
3. Worry With You
4. Method
5. Shadow Town
6. Favorite Neighbor
7. Tomorrow's Grave
8. No Knives
9. Complex Female Characters
10. Down The Line
11. Bring Mercy

Lots of bands have of course lost and gained members, drummers included. I think the vibe I get from this sort of situation is that S-K as Carrie, Corin & Janet felt like a team, a unit, and then they collectively tossed in the towel and took a final bow as S-K together. Granted, no bands ever seem to break up anymore, but that aside, the reunion made the most impact as a unit as well, like the return of your favorite team. When Janet left it felt ... less than amicable. Which in turn made it seem like the team was less a team, less a unit, and more Corin and Carrie, plus Janet, which felt a little like at least a symbolic betrayal of what they were, or at least appeared to be. A bit like when Dave Lombardo left or was kicked out of Slayer at various points. When someone so seemingly key is made to look replaceable or expendable, it kind of pokes a hole in the whole illusion of invincible indivisibility, us against the world. Now, does it matter? Probably not, but it does change the personality (literally and figuratively) of the band a bit.

Another good example might be Cheap Trick without Bun E.. Like, Black Sabbath, they have hated each other for years, so firing Bill Ward was very much in cynical character. But Cheap Trick also felt like a team, and Bun E. was pushed out under less than honorable circumstances. Which may explain why he remains (post litigation) a shareholder in Cheap Trick, Inc., and iirc gets paid even as the band plays without him.

Which in turn made it seem like the team was less a team, less a unit, and more Corin and Carrie, plus Janet, which felt a little like at least a symbolic betrayal of what they were, or at least appeared to be.

and of course according to janet that was the exact reason for the split - the other two weren't interested in having her be a creative equal anymore

https://img.discogs.com/rrNQTV3KaDzDmeIrm1k-SWNBGNA=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-7857718-1450289587-1336.jpeg.jpg

The Woods remains fantastic.

if it said "Carrie Brownstein" or "Corin Tucker Band" on the cover no one would care. their solo tours would probably draw 1/3 of the crowds at best

I was curious, so I checked out Corin's solo page on Spotify, and--while I know those two albums were a long time ago and even then they weren't super well-promoted or toured behind--I was shocked that her current monthly listeners count is 404. As in 4 over 400.

For comparison, Wild Flag have 5,783.

And Sleater-Kinney have 319,647.

wow yeah that's even lower than I thought

that first Wild Flag record rules

Curated Playlist of Inspirations for the new one:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1YdiSxLyGMa6z2EEVMTqxm?si=atrgu3HzQL6wq4_FRi8qog

Genesis! Rufus! Armatrading!

not much to glean from that except that the new alb will prob emphasize keyboards of some kind

I was curious, so I checked out Corin's solo page on Spotify, and--while I know those two albums were a long time ago and even then they weren't super well-promoted or toured behind--I was shocked that her current monthly listeners count is 404. As in 4 over 400.

For comparison, Wild Flag have 5,783.

Heavens to Betsy has 18,392 monthly listeners though.

New Interview: https://www.vulture.com/article/interview-sleater-kinney-carrie-brownstein-corin-tucker-path-of-wellness.html

Vulture: In 2019, Janet Weiss suggested that she had been shut out of decision-making processes in the band and that was why she left. I’m curious how you feel about that characterization.

CB: I mean, anyone who thinks there aren’t multiple perspectives and sides to this is either being willfully ignorant or perhaps lacks their own real-life experience. To be honest, I’m not interested in continuing to talk about something that really seems to revel in female cattiness and conjecture and confirmation bias.

Carrie is also going to direct a Heart biopic.

sounds like no love lost between them and Janet, that's unfortunate

Heavens to Betsy has 18,392 monthly listeners though.

That's impressive! I do wonder how much of that comes from algorithms bumping tracks as 'related' programming after S-K/Bikini Kill/etc. albums.

FWIW, Filthy Friends currently have 804 monthly listeners. One one hand I get it because I only know about their second album because I get emails from Kill Rock Stars, but otoh I thought REM stans would be more supportive.

No Spotify in senior living facilities.

It's The End of The World As We Know It (And Get Off My Lawn!)

New Corin Song & Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPJtv32WtA

very nice

yeah, love that

Ooh this is good

Sounds kinda like ... Pavement?

^^I can say for a fact that whenever I listen to either new single on Spotify, the subsequent 'song radio' always plays Pavement and Wire and Hole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O11TZvnHtmg

another good one, it already seems like i'll enjoy this album a lot more than the last two

Somebody's playing one of those St. Vincent guitars!

Only two listens in on this one, but thinking this is the least of the tracks so far. OTOH, "Worry With You" needed a few spins past that to get fully hooked in me, and "High In The Grass" was Love at first listen, so the bar is high.

I think S-K are my #1 band for when I love them I LOVE them, but when I can't stand a track I really can't listen to it. This is one of the unlistenable ones for me. I still love them as a band but I don't think there's a single LP I love all the way through

Album launch special on Amazon's Twitch is glitch af, channel just went offline for the second time. #ThanksBezos

Was listening to Dig Me Out for the first time in years and boy it was nice when Carrie's vocals weren't intolerably mannered

Only the last one is meh

ooh, totally forgot I can go buy this tomorrow

album is nice, kinda exactly what i'd want out of them branching out their sound & mellowing out a little at this point in their career. so much better than the last two albums

Definitely liking this on first listen, very different mood than the last two albums. This is probably their loosest, grooviest record? Feels more influenced by blues/psychedelic rock than punk. As jammy and noisy as The Woods was, those songs were pretty taut and clenched.

the one thing from their classic sound i do miss on this one is the overlapping vocal lines they used to do so well. otherwise it just feels like they're aging gracefully

after one drunken listen i feel like it's, you know, fine

also i hate it because it's nowhere near as good as 20+ years ago, and neither am i, and i don't want to begrudge their middle-aged art not living up to my middle-aged yet naive expectations of them, because they absolutely can do whatever they like, but also somehow i'd feel much better about it all if janet were involved

Tiny Desk Concert (Includes new arrangement of "One Beat")

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/01/1011298139/sleater-kinney-tiny-desk-home-concert

Really like that version of One Beat. There’s also some good live performances of the new songs on their official YouTube channel. Enjoying the new backing band.

oh no they're teasing something

— sleater kinney struggle tweets (@skfanstruggle) September 24, 2023

pic.twitter.com/oUl1YpmNUr

— sleater kinney struggle tweets (@skfanstruggle) September 26, 2023

The little audio clip on the FB teaser sounds BIG, Center Won't Hold-style w/skronk horns or something.

Also HBD CARRIE

On closer inspection (headphones on): Skronk Horns = Distorted Screaming/Wailing

Why did no-one tell me about this covers album from last year? Is it terrible?

Literally the only thing I ever saw/heard about it was the middling Pitchfork review. It sunk pretty fast, which tells you something, I guess. Never heard it myself.

It's not very good, although I remember liking the Margo Price, Linda-Lindas, and Isbell-Shires tracks. Also forgot that Low did "Dance Song '97". The Wilco is awful.

yeah really liked the margo price cover