The 500 - #272 - Dig Me Out - Sleater Kinney

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

---

Album: #272

Album Title: Dig Me Out

Artist: Sleater-Kinney

Genre: Punk-Rock

Recorded: John & Stu's Place, Seattle, Washington

Released: April, 1997

My age at release: 31

How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, At #189, moving up 83 spots since 2012

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Pretty Babies

It was a friend, Steve Crew, who put the band Sleater-Kinney on my radar. Some readers of this blog series might remember Steve from his guest blog post in February, 2021. He wrote about album #384, A Quick One by The Who.

Steve and I enjoyed chatting about hockey, music and film. While visiting him in the spring of 2006, he produced a video cassette he had recorded. He wanted to show me an interview with screenwriter, producer and director Oliver Stone on a new television program called The Henry Rollins Show.

Rollins, an outspoken, post-punk, renaissance man, had carved a niche for himself in contemporary counter-culture as a musician (fronting the LA punk band Black Flag), spoken word artist, actor, activist and novelist. His new program, on the cable channel IFC, allowed Rollins to play to his many strengths. Each 40-plus-minute episode featured engaging and often provocative segments, including Teeing Off and Letters From Henry, in which he offered short, acerbic and often comedic takes on current social issues.

Each episode also included an interview section in which Rollins was able to engage in an uncensored, thought-provoking chat with a diverse group of creative artists, many of whom eschewed conventional talk shows. Over the course of two seasons, his guests included the aforementioned Stone, Iggy Pop, Paul Thomas Anderson, Eddie Izzard, John Waters and Larry Flint.

Finally, each episode included a musical performance, typically from bands or musicians who were lesser-known or avant-garde in their sound or performance style. On the inaugural episode I watched with Steve, a high-energy, punk-rock trio of females named Sleater-Kinney was featured. I was riveted by their performance (which can be seen here).

Formed in 1994, the band took their name* from Sleater-Kinney Road, located near their first practice space in Lacey, Washington, a suburb of the capital, Olympia. Founding members Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker had been active in the Washington music scene for a few years. Brownstein was in the group Excuse 17, and Tucker was part of the influential riot grrrl (feminist punk rock) movement, with the cleverly named band Heavens To Betsy.

Sleater-Kinney was originally a side project for Brownstein and Tucker but, when their primary groups disbanded, it became their focus. Their first two records, Sleater-Kinney and Call The Doctor, featured Laura McFarlane on drums.

By the time of their third release, Dig Me Out, the trio had built a loyal following in the Pacific Northwest club circuit and Janet Weiss had replaced McFarlane. The lyrics on Dig Me Out address feminism, heartbreak and survival, alongside robust, high-octane rock and roll. Weiss' drumming is outstanding, drawing comparisons to the work of Ringo Starr (The Beatles), Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones) and Mick Avory (The Kinks). The Avory connection seems to hold water because Dig Me Up's album cover is clearly a homage to the 1965 album, The Kink Kontroversy. (Thanks to my pal V.A. for that heads-up.)

It is considered Sleater-Kinney’s breakout album, being well received by music critics. In his 1997 review of the record, Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone Magazine noted that while "the Spice Girls (a manufactured pop group) prattle on about 'girl power', Sleater-Kinney remain the real socket for that energy".

The trio released six more studio records between 1997 and 2019, after which Weiss departed the band amicably. In 2021, Sleater-Kinney launched their latest album, Path Of Wellness, with new drummer Angie Boylan.

A few years after Sleater-Kinney appeared on that episode of The Rollins Show, guitarist Carrie Brownstein was featured on another IFC television series entitled Portlandia. Alongside Saturday Night Live alumni Fred Armisen, the satirical, and often surreal, sketch show pokes good-natured fun at the inhabitants of Portland, Oregon -- a city famous (and often mocked) for its eccentric, hipster citizenry.

Much like the quirky humour on Portlandia, Dig Me Out might not be for everyone. Tucker's emotional vocal delivery is an acquired taste. However, as Sara Scribner of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "she is obsessed with finding emotion in the cold machinery of the human heart" – and that works for me.

Addendum

* Following the publication of this blog, a reader, Michael Breen, shared the following photo (found on Google) and let me know that the band took their name from an Exit Sign of Interstate 5 - which led to the street I mentioned. See below.