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Friday, March 6, 2009

Let's Talk About... WWS-KD?

Posted by Maranda Bish on Fri, Mar 6, 2009 at 1:42 PM

The tantalizing prospect put forth yesterday, along with an Insound advert I received in my email inbox, got me thinkin'.


W.W.S.K.D. : WHAT WOULD SLEATER-KINNEY DO.

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We now know one answer: NOT a reunion show, for the time being (don't stop believin'). From there, I don't think I'm alone when I say that Sleater-Kinney is one of the epitomal bands to whom I hold the ruler for developments in regional music and beyond. Their blend of rock aesthetic and "alternative" ethic helped create the formula for all modern DIY Pacific Northwest Band as are known and loved.

By the time they unplugged their amps three years ago, the music world was well on it's way in transition from various creative scenes to an emerging economy, with the rise of a national and international "independent music" market. I wonder now what Sleater-Kinney would have to say about the bands that have come in their wake.

We have a glimpse into one of their iconic minds via Carrie Brownstein's highly respectable weblog on NPR, Monitor Mix, where she keeps us up to date on her favorites & provides commentary on the Industry at large. One thing I haven't heard from her about, though, is the recent influx/rebirth of "girl rock" groups like The Vivian Girls.

The newsletter I got from Insound—an online vinyl/CD shop—lists The Dum Dum Girls as "THEE out of nowhere sensation of '09". I took a listen at their myspace, and immediately placed them: sounds like the Vivian Girls 2.0— the Vivian Girls Lite. It's perfectly pleasant, but does the successful rehashing an enjoyable sound merit the title of "sensation"? What does this music put forth of valuable/new?

Which leads to my bigger question: Do we live in an era in which bands like Sleater-Kinney—musically interesting as well as socially grounded and engaged—will be able to develop? Does music that sounds good and breaks new ground have a place in the landscape of 2K9? Of course, musical innovation will continue. Let's have faith that the creative force behind music won't be stopped.

However we must also consider that a new territory exists, one in which the taste-making apparatus of blogs, festivals, and the presence of an industry "hype machine" brings a shift: from do-it-yourself to have-someone-else-do-it-for-you. It's a sign of the times, then, that the speculation of an iconic DIY-band-reunion was linked to the effort to keep Reading Frenzy—as another institution of that era—afloat in the world of today.

WWS-KD? These days, there's no telling.

 

Comments (13) RSS

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1
Did SK break new ground? I thought they fit pretty firmly in the post-riot grrl sub-genre of indie rock. Like (not to be too obvious): Bikini Kill meets Queens of the Stone Age. I've always felt that they were within a niche...
Posted by ROM on March 6, 2009 at 3:09 PM · Report
2
To my thinking, they are the ones that forged that niche, the "meets" part and brought it to the forefront. Know what i'm saying?
Posted by maranda on March 6, 2009 at 3:46 PM · Report
3
Yes. And I admit I was only in the peripheral when they first came around, but when I heard them I immediately thought, this sounds like bikini kill, except bulkier and with rock replaced by punk. I liked it, but I didn't think of it as on the forefront of anything - more like, on the back-end of the fading riot grrl scene.

Not to link to my own music blog (except yes, to link to my own music blog), have you heard Hers Never Existed? 7" inch here: http://mostly.blueskiesabove.us/tunes/hers…

It rocks.
Posted by ROM on March 6, 2009 at 4:00 PM · Report
4
in the periphery... I think is what I meant.
Posted by ROM on March 6, 2009 at 4:08 PM · Report
5
you people are insane. listen to both sk and bk again. bk is WAY heavier than sk.
Posted by mmm on March 6, 2009 at 5:03 PM · Report
6
wait unless the woods is the only sk record you have heard...
Posted by mmm on March 6, 2009 at 5:03 PM · Report
7
Sorry y'all, too short of a blog post to get the musicolog down.

@mmm, nice jab! more like Call the Doctor.

I agree ROM, I'm not trying to say they were at the forefront of rrriot girl, it was in the confluence they created with NW rock at large that this position of prominence comes up for me. Thanks for the link to the 7 inch it looks great!!
Posted by maranda on March 6, 2009 at 6:22 PM · Report
8
I know you meant forefront of post-rrrriot grrrrrl, or whatever classification SK is considered to be in.

mmm, I will listen to both again.
Posted by ROM on March 7, 2009 at 2:39 PM · Report
9
SK SOOO BORING! WHY DOES ANYONE LISTEN TO THIS SOFT ROCK.
Posted by ROM's girlfriend's roommate on March 9, 2009 at 12:07 AM · Report
10
Congratulations, ROM's girlfriend's roommate, you are the 1000th commenter on End Hits. Seriously. While I sort of wish number 1000 would have gone to a comment that was not an ALL-CAPS rant, I understand that this is the internet, and I should not get my hopes up.

For the record, I adore the "soft rock" of SK. (I think maybe she meant "Hot Rock," as in the album of the same name. "I'm going to steal this diamond/hot rock to you.")
Posted by ezra on March 9, 2009 at 7:26 AM · Report
11
weird how you are calling dum dum girls a "have-someone-else-do-it-for-you" band and sleater kinney a "do-it-yourself-band" when sleater kinney had a booking agent, publicist, etc. recording with big producers like dave friedman and the yolatengo producer and dum dum girls is a band witout all of that stuff recording in a bedroom. it sounds like you guys need to look up the definition of diy, to me. and this is coming from a guy who likes both bands a ton.
Posted by bp baggins on March 9, 2009 at 12:18 PM · Report
12
BP, Sleater Kinney didn't have those resources from Day 1. I used those terms less as any type of slam on The Dum Dum Girls and more in attempt to discuss the way music-making and listening is changing. The bands of today are obviously extremely hardworking-- if anything the "have someone else do it for you" affects them adversely, when it seems like it'd be rather difficult to have the longevitous type of career SK has had in this climate. That's what I was tryin to get at!
Posted by maranda on March 9, 2009 at 12:47 PM · Report
13
s-k did have the advantage of already having a built in fan base from having members of excuse 17 and heavens to betsy in their band, though. that counts for a lot i would say. although i agree that most bands won't stay popular for so long in this new blogcentric music world.
Posted by bp baggins on March 9, 2009 at 2:25 PM · Report

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