Why Make A Sleater-Kinney Essay Collection — And Why Now?
Sleater-Kinney have been a band for, approximately, 26 years.
In that time, they have released nine critically-acclaimed albums, played an uncountable number of legendary live shows, been hailed as one of the greatest rock bands of their (or any other) era and, both directly and otherwise, influenced countless artists across the globe.
So, why have I decided to pay a bunch of people to write about their work?
In the middle of a pandemic, no less?
The simple answer is: Because Things Suck.
More specifically, Two Things Suck.
Firstly, critical commentary around Sleater-Kinney is, by my reckoning, largely substandard, exclusionary, or outright non-existent.
To put it another way; The Writing About Sleater-Kinney Sucks.
As one would expect of a band of their scope of accomplishment, there’s no shortage of writing covering Sleater-Kinney’s work. However, having recently become obsessed with the band and seeking to understand their work to the greatest possible depth, I’ve found most of that work to be quite superficial.
There are certain phrases or concepts that writers will throw around when discussing the band. ‘Interlocking guitar parts’, for example. Or, ‘Janet Weiss’ distinctive drumming’. However, there’s very little discussion as to why these aspects are so distinct or crucial to Sleater-Kinney’s sound.
I found, for example, only one article that referenced Sleater-Kinney’s surprising guitar tuning (i.e. both guitars tuned down a couple of steps) and the role it played in the band’s sound (supposedly; pushing vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker’s voice into a distinctive range).
A central aspect of the sound of a band hailed by multiple major publications as one of the greatest bands of their era — almost completed critically ignored. It’s strange. And, inevitably, dovetails into the other key issues surrounding coverage of the band’s work: a lack of diverse perspectives.
Sleater-Kinney are generally considered to be synonymous with feminist values. From the outset, their work has railed against what is and is not considered appropriate or expected of women. But, the majority of commentary (unsurprisingly) comes from male journalists.
A lot of the commentary that’s endured doesn’t actually showcase sexism or misogyny in the the typically antagonistic fashion one might expect of a male music critic writing about a band of women playing punk music. Generally, most commentary is very supportive. But, it’s still present.
In one feature article, Corin Tucker swearing at the start of a song is said to be upending the traditionally sexually subservient role a woman’s mouth has been forced to serve throughout history (?). In another a song famously and explicitly about being a rock star is described as a ‘hilarious sex anthem’.
When you combine these two trends (which extend much further than documented or discussed in this publication), you begin to comprehend the colossal gaps in coverage around a band of profound popularity and artistic and cultural significance.
So, you can understand why I wanted to put together a collection of essays on Sleater-Kinney’s work. Too often, writing on Sleater-Kinney is focused on what they are (women playing music, a legendary punk band, etc.) and not on the significance of what they do (craft, technique, artistry).
This is a collection of essays focusing exclusively on what they do.
But, why now? Why during a global pandemic?
Once again, I refer to my Things Suck precis.
In this context, the key things that suck are: income for musicians and valuing of musicians wholesale. (I will concede that a sucky status is not new for either of these things.) Musicians have lost the majority of their sources of income and fewer people than ever are appreciating their expertise.
I am incredibly fortunate. As yet, my income and employment have not been adversely affected by COVID-19. In an attempt to share that good fortune and support musicians, I needed to find a project that would allow me to pay a couple of them and showcase their expertise.
And, as it happened, my Being A Musician During COVID-19 Sucks problem dovetailed remarkably well with my Sleater Kinney Writing Sucks problem. So, I’ve created this project. Hopefully, it will go a tiny way to showing how much craft goes into music and how much musicians contribute to our world.
(And, you know, how much Sleater-Kinney fucking rocks, obviously.)
