After a very long while, I am listening to Sleater-Kinney's second album, Call the Doctor. It's totally brilliant. I would say it's their most overtly political and radical feminist work. And it's raw rock and roll - unstructured, unincumbered by the standards of masculine musicality - no unnecessary guitar or drum solos or jams. The lyrics are emotional, critical, ironic, dark. And it evokes all kinds of crazy high school memories for me. It's good to be able to look back and realize that I am the same person, just more happy, more stable, more strong.
Remember the show at Zoot's? Rock and Roll.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
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2 comments:
do you think Carrie, Corin and Janet think they are ascribing to masculine paradigms when they do solos at concerts?
I don't think they think they are consciously ascribing to masculine paradigms when they do solos. But part of what made them amazing for me is that they set their own musical standards and didn't follow the old hat cock rock bullshit. They created something that was not definable by mainstream rock or punk or indie standards, which of course are all masculine. And what they created was unique and amazing. And after listening to Call the Doctor, I am realizing that their new stuff has a more mundane sound. And now I've seen them live seven times. Each time, it getting progressively less unique. And not because I've seen them so much. They just seem more interested in themselves and less in the audience. I mean there were actual long-ass jam sessions and solos at the most recent show! Cognitively, I understood and recognized how amazing it was to see a woman show her mastery over an instrument in a way that is usually not available to women. But my visceral response was, "Ok Carrie, we all know how big your dick is. Now can we get back to the music?"
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