Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney: The Best Band You've Never Heard?

Critics' darlings and guitar heroes. Riot grrrls and serious songsmiths. The thing about Sleater-Kinney that gets me is how different they are were from the mainstream, while not different at all from good rock 'n roll. Sleater-Kinney is were able to balance serious socio-political commentary (like much of last year's One Beat) with humor and melody. Not since the Clash has a band been this good. Yeah--in 2003, they were the only band that mattered--only no one has heard of them.

UPDATE: Sleater-Kinney broke up on June 26, 2006, or as they put it went on "indefinite hiatus". I can only hope they come back.

As an aside: when Rolling Stone put out its "Women in Rock" issue, who did they put on the cover? Britney Spears, Christina Agulara, etc. Not Sleater-Kinney, though they did write about them and call them one of the best bands out there, male or female. But then, real musicians wearing clothes don't usually sell magazines, when those musicians are female. Or that's what they tell us.

Started in 1995, out of the rather fertile musical ground of Portland, OR.

DISCOGRAPHY

Sleater-Kinney (1995) Chainsaw Records
1. Don't Think You Wanna
2. Day I Went Away
3. Real Man
4. Her Again
5. How to Play Dead
6. Be Yr Mama
7. Sold Out
8. Slow Song
9. Lora's Song
10. Last Song

Call the Doctor (1996) Chainsaw Records
1. Call the Doctor
2. Hubcap
3. Little Mouth
4. Anonymous
5. Stay Where You Are
6. Good Things
7. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
8. Taking Me Home
9. Taste Test
10. My Stuff
11. I'm Not Waiting
12. Heart Attack

Dig Me Out (1997) Kill Rock Stars
1. Dig Me Out
2. One More Hour
3. Turn It On
4. Drama You've Been Craving
5. Heart Factory
6. Words and Guitar
7. It's Enough
8. Little Babies
9. Not What You Want
10. Buy Her Candy
11. Things You Say
12. Dance Song '97
13. Jenny

The Hot Rock (1999) Kill Rock Stars
1. Start Together
2. Hot Rock
3. End of You
4. Burn Don't Freeze
5. God Is a Number
6. Banned from the End of the World
7. Don't Talk Like
8. Get Up
9. One Song for You
10. Size of Our Love
11. Living in Exile
12. Memorize Your Lines
13. Quarter to Three

All Hands on the Bad One (2000) Kill Rock Stars
1. Ballad of a Ladyman
2. Ironclad
3. All Hands on the Bad One
4. Youth Decay
5. You're No Rock N' Roll Fun
6. #1 Must Have
7. Professional
8. Was It a Lie?
9. Male Model
10. Leave You Behind
11. Milkshake N' Honey
12. Pompeii
13. Swimmer
Japanese Import Bonus Track:

One Beat (2002) Kill Rock Stars
1. One Beat
2. Far Away
3. Oh!
4. The Remainder
5. Light-Rail Coyote
6. Step Aside
7. Combat Rock
8. O2
9. Funeral Song
10. Prisstina
11. Hollywood Ending
12. Sympathy
Japanese Import Bonus Tracks: