sleater-kinney ~ the woods ~ the poll

rollercoaster

iirc da croupier had a cogent critique of "modern girl" on ilm when this album came out but i can't help loving it. it is kind of a bummer how bitter it is when you compare it to more earnest s-k songs, but still. also like "what's mine is yours" and "rollercoaster" a lot. i think i don't really get this album, though.

hmmm i didn't know there was an itunes bonus track

I kinda want to go with "Let's Call It Love" because of how it recalls their "My Generation"/Live At Leeds concert moments...but it pales in comparison to how that shit went down live, so I'm going with "Modern Girl."

jumpers
mine is yours
modern girl

wilderness
entertain
rollercoaster
steep air

fox

(big gap)

night light
lets call it love

yea i only discovered the bonus track a few wks ago tbh

le renard (not dmr)

Thanks to "Entertain" and her NPR column I distrusted Brownstein for years. I had to get through her meta songs about music to hear how good Wild Flag is.

i would love a playlist of tucker-heavy songs only, imo her weird crazy voice has gravitas and charisma that the band always loses the moment brownstein starts to sing

That too. The Wild Flag record isn't great because Brownstein sounds like she's got Keith Richardsitis.

tucker's voice is one of my favorites ever. "god is a number," holy shit

strangely haven't listened to the woods all the way through once tho

I think Brownstein sounds more like Muppet Patti Smith on the Wild Flag record, and it drove me crazy until I decided to just laugh.

Anyway this is TOO HARD, it feels like the whole thing is one long song, though I have a soft spot for "Entertain" because of seeing them play that in 04, not knowing this awesome new sound would manifest in a whole album. But yeah, "Let's Call It Love" live was some kind of monster.

"Let's Call It Love" is my favorite by a long shot.

lol muppet patti smith

i think brownstein's voice was pretty essential contrast tbh -- not just in terms of timbre and range but the kind of melodies written for her to sing

otoh i am definitely going to vote for 'the fox' and not 'entertain'

i am curious about these live versions of 'let's call it love'

the bluesy one on this has my favourite sleater-kinney lyrical infelicity: the progression from "i'm tired of waiting on a ship that don't leave shore" to "i'm tired of waiting on a plane that don't have wings." um

"What's Mine is Yours." Their least essential album, although they were even more ferocious than usual on this tour.

this is my favourite of theirs! it's a really neat step sideways for them to have decided to make, i think

gonna hafta listen again before voting but i LOVE Janet letting her inner John Bonham out to match the heaviness of most of the tunes on the woods. one of my fave Letterman performances ever was when they played Jumpers. **cking transcendent

"Rollercoaster"'s the only one I saved. I didn't care for the long one.

gonna hafta listen again before voting but i LOVE Janet letting her inner John Bonham out to match the heaviness of most of the tunes on the woods

the totally incongruous bonham-drumming totally makes/redeems the quiet one in the first half, i must say

thomp is pretty OTM ITT, plus All Hands is clearly the least essential one (all those didactic songs, ugh. At least "Entertain" moves unlike something like "Was It A Lie?"). Not sure this one's my fave but it might be their best. Most underrated: The Hot Rock. "Start Together" might be the best synthesis of everything they ever tried to do.

also that Letterman performance was suitably amazing but BOO THE CENSORING, wouldn't have thought S-K would've stood for that.

Is everyone debating the "least essential album" conveniently forgetting their horrible, unlistenable debut?

BOO THE CENSORING, wouldn't have thought S-K would've stood for that.

I think that was something that Big Media Carrie was compelled to accept.

btw, for the longest time, I hated this album, which kind of sucks considering so much of their last show was comprised of its songs and I spent most of my time wishing they'd play other songs rather than letting myself relax. T_T

pfffft the debut was at least a document of their riot grrrl roots/fandom, also "A Real Man" totally slays.

I've always thought of The Woods as a great album, and a wonderfully brash note for SK to go out on. I remember the Stylus review saying something to the effect of "you can't demolish patriarchy while copping from Zep," which I found insanely narrow-minded.

"You can’t upend the patriarchy while emulating the Who." - miccio

Narrow-minded is putting it mildly. Sheesh.

I stand by most of that review, but I regret writing anything about "upending the patriarchy," at the least because its the only line anyone had a response to.

the review in full: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3039

I'd chop out the first paragraph and the Who line.

While I disagree with much of the review, I see your points, and they're well-made, particularly about the production style. I think the fault is more in the mastering than in how it was recorded. It's annoying that it's such a physical chore to listen to, bereft of dynamic shifts as it is.

My main gripe with the patriarchy line is the swipe at the Who (who, just as an aside, played benefits for battered women's shelters in the 70s, something I doubt Zeppelin, for one, ever did).

"... think the fault is more in the mastering than in how it was recorded..."

this is why i desperately want this on vinyl (the only s-k vinyl i'm missing) but it's too damn 'spensive now ($80 on amazon)

While I disagree with much of the review, I see your points, and they're well-made, particularly about the production style. I think the fault is more in the mastering than in how it was recorded. It's annoying that it's such a physical chore to listen to, bereft of dynamic shifts as it is

you're crazy this is the best thing about it

xpost im sure i remember reading that the vinyl sounds p much the same

It does, and it's awesome.

you're crazy this is the best thing about it

Oh, I love the noise and distortion of it all. But without any dynamic shifts whatsoever, listening becomes arduous. I mean, even Borbetomagus and Merzbow exploit dynamics more than this record does.

im sure i remember reading that the vinyl sounds p much the same

xxpost i don't doubt it "sounds pretty much the same" but i've been A/B'ing a few "remastered" cd's with their 180 gram counterparts recently and i may be crazy but i swear the vinyl i've tested (road to ruin for example) has more lower end (on road to ruin dee dee almost sounds wimpy compared to the vinyl), is less "blaring" and i can turn it up louder without it sounding too loud if that makes sense. the queen is dead is another one that sounds MUCH better (in a sorta subtle way) to me on vinyl than even the new cd issue

Re-listening now, and up through "What's Mine Is Yours," that's getting my vote so far.

God Corin is like God.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I am thinking that "Steep Air" should've gotten some love, from me even.

im p satisfied w these results

Wilderness 0 votes.

This world is unfair.