The European Lacertid lizard is the only species of animal on the face of our earth that only has one sex. The Lacertid is found only in the female gender. The lizards have evolved so that females lay fertilized eggs that hatch into more females, with out the help of a male. Some scientist’s believe this will soon begin to happen to humans. Some believe it is already happening.
Riot Grrrl punk music is the best example of this phenomenon. Since the 60s when Nico sang her first note on the Velvet Underground’s infamous debut women have played huge roles in Punk music. They have been singers (Sioux and the Banshees, Blondie) bassists (Pixies, Sonic Youth, Talking heads) solo artists (Patti Smith, PJ Harvey) and the subjects of countless songs. But when the wave of grunge in the 90’s was only an ankle licker, women took a whole new place in punk, the fore front. Sleater-Kinney’s fresh faced girl punk helped define a generation of music and their classic 3rd LP helped them get there.
Dig Me Out has every thing a man could ever ask for in a punk band, Women, Anger and Brilliantly sloppy musicianship. The vocals on Dig Me Out are amazing, you feel the pain and the beauty of lead singers Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein life. The lyrics show a frustration with society and men not seen since the early 1900’s. DMO features a new drummer, Janet Weiss showed the world almost as well as Corin and Carrie that women could do everything and she never said a word.
The first 3 tracks on this album show SK as a more accessible version of their older selves. The treble toned guitar burn will burn through your speakers on the title track
Dig Me Out. Peppy drums fills seem to fill every nook and cranny available giving the music an extremely full tone, while staying extremely minimalist. Howling vocals fit nicely over the sharp edges of SK’s music.
“ do you get nervous making me go
get into your sores get into my things
do ya get nervous watching me bleed
dig me out
dig me in”
Lyrics like these show woman in a dominant role. A mutiny on male dominance is being staged with the first half of the album. SK showed people that men weren’t the only people who could be leaders and men certainly weren’t the only ones who could rock.
“I’m the water I’m the dishes I’m the soap
I will comfort make you clean help you cope
when you're tired feeling helpless
come inside I am the shelter
and then when you're feeling better I’ll
watch you go”
Sleater were frustrated with dealt with matters such as abandonment with lyrics like the ones above found in Little Babies. But track number 9,
Not what You Want was the song that pushed the album over the edge. Corin drives off a cliff with her boyfriend in the car. The deed was done and the mutiny was final. Easily the best song on the album Not What you Want is an epic riot grrrl tune. The next track,
Buy Her Candy is a song about a boy who wants a girl. He sees the object of his affection crying and knows now this is his chance. He ponders the ways of woman over mellow, but catchy guitars. The final songs of the album switch gears, as we follow the boy we met in Buy Her Candy as he stalks a woman he knows he can’t have. On the last song Jenny, the stalker’s fantasy commits suicide. This song ends the album on one of the saddest notes possible.
Jenny realizes she has no point in living as the servant to men and ends her life. The song fades away with the lyric “ do you see her face when she’s gone” as a suicide note for every men jenny had ever met and a single guitar screeching out of existence.
SK enters new territory and brings an intellect to riot grrrl. The genre itself is not always punk, it enters into the territory’s of Independent alternative music, something punk in the 90’s rarely did. The songs are catchy ( Words and Guitar)
And heart-braking (Jenny) and at the end of the album, you will realize you have witnessed and musical, not to mention cultural masterpiece.
Ratings
Dig Me Out: 4.2
One More Hour: 3.7
Turn It On: 2.7
The Drama You Have Been Craving: 4
Heart Factory: 4
Words And Guitar: 3.7
It’s Enough: 3
Little Babies: 5
Not What You Want: 5
Buy Her Candy: 5
Things You Say: 4.7
Dance Song ’97: 5
Jenny: 5
The Mayans thought the sun exploding would end mankind. The Mayans had never heard Sleater-Kinney.
-Joe
