LAD CULTURE ANTIDOTE
SLEATER-KINNEY
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LAD CULTURE ANTIDOTE SLEATER-KINNEY |
2 They spend a lot of time driving between Portland and Olympia
Janet and Corin live in Portland, while Carrie lives 90 minutes away in the legendary Olympia.
Hugely influential Northwestern scenes - they've got them covered. "Olympia has a regenerating
music scene because it's a college town - every year there's three or four new bands," says
Carrie. "The spirit of anti-professionalism is encouraged. Certain things are taken seriously
but there's also a spirit of 'You've been in a band for a week come play a show!'"
3
"We're seeing people in America right now disseminate a lot of sexist ideas - it's important
for us to do interviews as an alternative to some of the bad stuff," says Corin. "What's that
Bloodhound Gang album called?" ponders Carrie. "'Hooray For Boobies'? Or Sisqo 'Thong Song'. Yup, that's talking about something really important there."
Carrie sighs. "The stupid stuff is ridiculous, but there are lyrics that are really violent
against women, Limp Bizkit, Orgy - they're not just having fun. We're in a position to get
mainstream press, and we're not going to get quoted right every time, but if there's a
possibility that some 14-year-old girl in Florida listens to us instead of Limp Bizkit - well,
that's what you hope for."
4 Nor are men's magazines
"In the last couple of years there's been a lot of people paying attention to men - 'Why can't
men be men any more?" mocks Carrie. "There are all these films like Fight Club, all these
men feeling like they've been feminised, they need to let out the animal within. It's like
they're an endangered species. Those magazines cater to those... special needs." Corin nods
gravely. "If men want to be masculine, why don't they reinvent masculinity instead of going
back to the '50s?" "Hey," says Janet, deadpan, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
5 They tease men
Single 'You're No Rock N' Roll Fun' gently mocks "the tortured-genius, indie-boy rock icon",
pointing out that boys in bands could have a better time if they, like, loosened up. Lessons in
fun from Sleater-Kinney? Whatever next. "It's admiringly teasing," laughs Corin'. "We obviously
admire a lot of these bands; they're friends of ours. But we're challenging them to let go of
their baggage. It's like this weird competition - there's five cool things you're supposed to
do, five records you're supposed to own. It's an ownership culture."
6 The Bowlie Weekender was an inspiration
While complaining there weren't enough women either playing or attending at this year's Camber
Sands indie shindig, Sleater-Kinney are very much down with the Pontin's massive. They played
the main stage last year and had a whale of a time, although new song 'Ballad Of A Ladyman' was
triggered by a bizarre stalking incident. "We were in chalet 216," explains Corin, "and somebody
left a note on the message board saying 'Chalet 216: ladyman - yes!. It was funny but at the
same time, we were named as different, like, 'You're not like the rest of the girls here'.
We still make people uncomfortable."
7 They aren't too smart to rock'n'roll
Check that reference to Susan Faludi! Carrie has a Post-graduate degree in Linguistics from
Olympia's Evergreen State College, while Corin was destined for a similarly academic path. Their
parents took some convincing that music was a suitable substitute. " ... Until we were in the
New York Times, then it was, 'Yeah, Carrie's a musician,'" laughs the guitarist.
Corin smiles. "My parents still talk to me about getting a regular job. You can't really study
to be a lawyer and be in a band at the same time."
8 Janet is the coolest drummer in rock!
How many drummers have a website dedicated to them? Janet's is called 'Totally Janet'
(http:// home.earthlink.net/~bgrrrl/). She has
said she finds it "mildly embarrassing".
9 They like a joke as much as the next woman
It would be fair to say that their reputation precedes them. Carrie: "People are humourless
about us. We really love what we're doing. We're having a good time." Corin: "That's the idea
of 'You're No Rock N' Roll Fun' people aren't really in on the joke. They think we're strident,
dogmatic... but we enjoy a good pop song! We like to, kinda, shake a little bit!" Carrie:
"like the song 'Baby Got Back' by Sir Mix-A-Lot!" A triumphant "HA!" hangs heavy in the air.
10 They're keen to get their message across. But not that
keen
"One mag wanted to photograph us naked and duct-taped, like Wendy 0 Williams of The Plasmatics,"
says Janet. "Luckily we found out before - thank God. If I'd walked into the studio and
there'd been nothing but a couple of rolls of tape..." Carrie shakes her head. "Or the time
they wanted us to be Little Bo Peep and her sheep. We were just, like, 'NO WAY...'"
Text: Victoria Segal