Sleater-Kinney

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sleater-Kinney
L to R: Janet Weiss, Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker
Background information
Origin	Olympia, Washington
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Indie rock Punk rock
Years active	1995–2006
Label(s)	Chainsaw (1995—1996) Kill Rock Stars (1997—2002) Sub Pop (2005)
Associated acts	Cadallaca Excuse 17 Heavens to Betsy ninetynine Quasi
Website	www.sleater-kinney.com
Former members
Corin Tucker Carrie Brownstein Janet Weiss Lora McFarlane Toni Gogin Misty Farrell

Sleater-Kinney (pronounced SLAY'ter KIN'ee) was a critically acclaimed, politically charged indie rock band. The group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 offramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces.

Contents 1 History 2 Collaborations 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 3.3 Compilation album tracks 3.4 Music videos 4 Chart positions 4.1 Albums 4.2 Singles 5 Samples 6 Trivia 7 External links

[edit] History

Sleater-Kinney was founded by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. Tucker was formerly in the influential riot grrrl band Heavens to Betsy, while Brownstein was formerly in the queercore band Excuse 17. They often played at gigs together and struck up a relationship and formed Sleater-Kinney as a side-project from their respective bands. When Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17 disbanded, Sleater-Kinney became their primary focus. Janet Weiss (of Quasi) was the band's primary drummer, though Sleater-Kinney has had other drummers throughout its existence, including Lora Macfarlane, Misty Farrell and Toni Gogin.

Originally from Olympia, the band emerged from the riot grrrl movement with their self-titled debut, Sleater-Kinney (1995). They followed this with Call the Doctor (1996) and Dig Me Out (1997), and became critical darlings as a result. Their next few albums pushed the band towards mainstream listeners, culminating in 2002's One Beat. The band, however, remained fiercely faithful to their indie rock and feminist roots. The group opened for Pearl Jam at many North American shows beginning in 2003, and the band cited the experience of playing to large arenas as part of the inspiration and motivation for the music found on their last album, The Woods. The Woods was released in 2005, and was a departure from their economical sound of their previous albums. In its place, The Woods featured a denser, heavily distorted sound that drew on classic rock as its inspiration. On June 27, 2006, the band announced an indefinite hiatus, stating there were "no plans for future tours or recordings." No explanation for the hiatus was given. The band's last appearance was at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon on August 12, 2006.

Both Brownstein and Tucker played guitar. Although Sleater-Kinney had no bass player, Tucker played a baritone guitar, often filling the same role as a bass guitar player would, and Brownstein tuned her guitar one step down.

[edit] Collaborations

In 1998, the band recorded "Big Big Lights", the first split single (with Cypher in the Snow) in the series of recordings dealing with women's self-defense entitled Free to Fight, and released on Candy Ass Records.

In 2000, all three members of Sleater-Kinney assisted Robert Forster and Grant McLennan of the now-defunct Brisbane indie band The Go-Betweens to record the album The Friends of Rachel Worth.

Along with performing in Sleater-Kinney, Tucker also was a member of the band Cadallaca with Sarah Dougher (formerly of The Lookers). In a recent interview, however, she told the public "not to hold [their] breath for a new Cadallaca album."

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Sleater-Kinney (1995) – Chainsaw Records
• Call the Doctor (1996) – Chainsaw Records
• Dig Me Out (1997) – Kill Rock Stars
• The Hot Rock (1999) – Kill Rock Stars
• All Hands on the Bad One (2000) – Kill Rock Stars
• One Beat (2002) – Kill Rock Stars
• The Woods (2005) – Sub Pop Records

[edit] Singles

• "You Ain't It/Surf Song" (1994) – Villa Villakula Records
• "One More Hour" (1997) – Matador Records
• "Little Babies" (1997) – Matador Records
• "A Quarter To Three" (1997) – Matador Records
• "Big Big Lights" (1998) - Candy Ass Records
• "Get Up" (1999) – Kill Rock Stars
• "You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun" (2000) – Kill Rock Stars
• "Entertain" (2005) – Sub Pop
• "Jumpers" (2005) – Sub Pop

[edit] Compilation album tracks

• "Ballad of a Ladyman" (live, 2001) – Calling All Kings & Queens on Mr. Lady

[edit] Music videos

• "Get Up" (1999) Directed by Miranda July
• "You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun" (2000) Directed by Brett Vapnek
• "Entertain" (2005) Directed by Molly & Mariah
• "Jumpers" (2005) Directed by Matt McCormick

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Albums

Year	Album	US Billboard 200	Heatseekers (US)	Top Independent Albums (US)	Top Internet Albums (US)	UK Albums
1999	The Hot Rock	181	12	-	-	-
2000	All Hands on the Bad One	177	12	-	-	156
2002	One Beat	107	2	5	-	-
2005	The Woods	80	-	2	80	-

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Album	UK Singles
1998	"One More Hour"	Dig Me Out	153
1998	"Little Babies"	Dig Me Out	147
1999	"A Quarter To Three"	The Hot Rock	157
1999	"Get Up"	The Hot Rock	111
2000	"You're No Rock 'n' Roll Fun"	All Hands on the Bad One	94
2005	"Entertain"	The Woods	-
2005	"Jumpers"	The Woods	-

[edit] Samples

[edit] Trivia

• Sleater-Kinney made a guest appearance in episode 6 of season 3 of the TV series The L Word, which is broadcast on the cable TV channel Showtime, and performed the song "Jumpers" from their album The Woods.
• Sleater-Kinney was referenced in an episode of Six Feet Under (formerly broadcast on HBO), where Nate and Claire visit Seattle. Claire mentions that there is a Sleater-Kinney concert in Seattle the night that they're visiting and Nate mentions that he likes the band and wouldn't mind seeing them.

[edit] External links

• Sleater-Kinney official site
• Kill Rock Stars, Sleater-Kinney's former record label (band page, with sample mp3s)
• Sub Pop Records, the group's current label
• Sleater-Kinney.net Comprehensive fan site & archive
• Tiny Suns Infused With Sour A Sleater-Kinney news blog
• Pitchforkmedia.com: Sleater-Kinney Say Goodbye
• The Village Voice: Sleater-Kinney Break-Up
• Words and Guitar Sleater-Kinney discussion list
• Random Truths about Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein from identitytheory.com
• Sleater-Kinney profile on Punknews.org
• Hear the Band Perform at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club
• Interview from Punk Planet 61 (2004)

Sleater-Kinney
Corin Tucker | Carrie Brownstein | Janet Weiss Lora McFarlane | Tori Gogin | Misty Farrell
Discography
Albums: Sleater-Kinney | Call The Doctor | Dig Me Out | The Hot Rock | All Hands on the Bad One | One Beat | The Woods Singles: "You 'Ain't It!/Surf Song" | "One More Hour" | "Little Babies" | "A Quarter To Three" | "Get Up" | "You're No Rock 'n Roll Fun" | "Entertain" | "Jumpers"
Related
Articles: Heavens to Betsy | Excuse 17 | Cadallaca | Quasi | Riot Grrrl | Sub Pop | Kill Rock Stars | Categories: Sleater-Kinney albums | Sleater-Kinney songs
This box: view • talk • edit