Having consolidated their strengths with All Hands on the Bad One, Sleater-Kinney revived the ambition of The Hot Rock on their sixth album, One Beat. John Goodmanson gives the group its cleanest-sounding production to date, which brings out all the new trappings in the ever more sophisticated arrangements. "Step Aside" boasts trumpet and sax, "The Remainder" a string section, several tracks are colored with delightfully weird vintage synths (the sort favored by Brian Eno or Pere Ubu), and there's even a theremin on "Funeral Song." (Trivia: The playful "Prisstina" also features the first male vocals ever on a Sleater-Kinney album, courtesy of Hedwig & the Angry Inch mastermind Stephen Trask.) Lyrically, One Beat is haunted by September 11; "Faraway" and the cry of dissent "Combat Rock" are some of the strongest statements on the tragedy any artist has yet released, and the backdrop lends a new urgency to Corin Tucker's pleas for a better world for her new son, not to mention the personal catharsis of "O2." All of this makes One Beat a much more effective stab at maturity than the often-difficult The Hot Rock. True, the group does occasionally fall into the angularity that made The Hot Rock their least immediate effort, but One Beat offers more rewards upon repeated plays -- the more challenging tracks eventually do sink in. The album does have its minor drawbacks -- Carrie Brownstein's vocals can be a bit precious at times, and the pointed 9/11 observations make the occasional feminist sloganeering sound like nothing the group hasn't done better elsewhere. All of which is to say that if you've never understood the cultish adoration surrounding Sleater-Kinney, One Beat isn't likely to change your mind. But if you're already on board with their idiosyncrasies, One Beat is another triumph from a band that seems to produce them with startling regularity.
CrashPryor's post on Sleater-Kinney reminded me of the time I had the luxury of seeing them perform live. This particular post was originally published on one of the many iterations of my currently retired blog. It was written on September 19th, 2002, at 5:05pm.. . . . . . . . . .So yesterday was pretty eventful.I went with some friends to go see Sleater-Kinney perform. They were slated to perf...
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This song is for those of you who never got around to checking out Sleater-Kinney (and for those who did, but didn't 'get it' at the time). "Oh!" is an amazing track off 2002's One Beat, the last album they recorded for Kill Rock Stars, and the album they recorded prior to 2005's The Woods.Give it a a few listens and you'll lilkely become a fan.http://www.killrockstars.com/bands/sleater-kinney/...
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Such a sad day here in the States.This song serves as a somber reminder of the day everything changed. Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney wrote this from Portland hours after watching the Trade Centers fall on tv. Such a powerful song, it really brings back the helpless feelings and the confusion we all had that day. The entire album 'One Beat' was actually written in the weeks following 9/11/01......
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Who are these fucking cave men that continuously lead their willing population of sheep into war and devastation? I don't have an answer... unless we can speed up the evolutionary process... At least there's a lot of people that speak up... we need more, but at least they're out there... Here's an unlikely pairing, Sleater-Kinney and XTC. One thing they have in common... brilliant music that's ...
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1. Tyrese, "How You Gonna Act Like That." Tyrese has appeared in more than a dozen movies. Why do hip-hop musicians do so well as actors?2. The Donnas, "Take It Off." Another song from this album, "Who Invited You," was included in a video game I played a few times. It was the first time I really understood how many money-making options are available to today's musical artists.3. Missy Elliott,...
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CrashPryor's post on Sleater-Kinney reminded me of the time I had the luxury of seeing them perform live. This particular post was originally published on one of the many iterations of my currently retired blog. It was written on September 19th, 2002, at 5:05pm.. . . . . . . . . .So yesterday was pretty eventful.I went with some friends to go see Sleater-Kinney perform. They were slated to perf...
More >
This song is for those of you who never got around to checking out Sleater-Kinney (and for those who did, but didn't 'get it' at the time). "Oh!" is an amazing track off 2002's One Beat, the last album they recorded for Kill Rock Stars, and the album they recorded prior to 2005's The Woods.Give it a a few listens and you'll lilkely become a fan.http://www.killrockstars.com/bands/sleater-kinney/...
More >
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 "One Beat")
