sleater-kinney is dead; long live (the) sleater-kinney (thread)

I'm in the defeated/just sad stage of grief.

I can't imagine who would be able to step into Janet's shoes. There are certainly many capable women out there (and yes, I do believe it should be a woman). But the chemistry and trust and understanding that 24 years has built will be absent.

I am still getting the album. I am still going to the show. We'll see what happens after that.
 
St Vincent/Annie Clark is who they hired to record their album. She didn’t write the songs, if Brownstein & Tucker had this direction in mind for a change in sound- they made a good choice for a producer.

Weiss is beyond reproach as a drummer & probably didn’t want to tour this music. Discussions probably stretched from there & she left the band.

I don’t like the new songs at all. Janet Weiss will find any work she wants as a drummer. This is either a new direction for SK, or a whimper to go out on. Not hating- just calling it as I see it.
 
Teeeee said:
I'm in the defeated/just sad stage of grief.
<snipped>
I am still getting the album. I am still going to the show. We'll see what happens after that.
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In situations similar to this one - where I love the band but the lineup changes and the sound/direction changes - I've stopped buying the bands' albums.

Putting aside drug abuse issues, guitarist Bob Stinson didn't want to go soft and The Replacements fired him after the Tim album. That's the last 'Mats album I have. Goo Goo Dolls and drummer George Tutuska parted ways when George didn't want to go soft, so I only have their stuff prior to the horrific A Boy Named Goo. I love The Clash but I won't own that Half-a-Clash album Cut The Crap due to them canning Mick and Topper for that final studio album.
High Rant District said:
If Weiss' current (?) band - Slang - puts out an album, I'm all over it. Weiss and Kathy Foster are forces to be reckoned with.
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Jan said:
Thanks for this post. I just found slang and from that Kathy fosters other band roseblood through your post.
I liked everything Kathy Foster did so far.
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Kathy Foster is fantastic, she was the bass player for The Thermals for over a decade. I've been waiting for Roseblood to put out something on physical media. Still waiting... I think something from Slang is more likely.
 
High Rant District said:
In situations similar to this one - where I love the band but the lineup changes and the sound/direction changes - I've stopped buying the bands' albums.

Putting aside drug abuse issues, guitarist Bob Stinson didn't want to go soft and The Replacements fired him after the Tim album. That's the last 'Mats album I have. Goo Goo Dolls and drummer George Tutuska parted ways when George didn't want to go soft, so I only have their stuff prior to the horrific A Boy Named Goo. I love The Clash but I won't own that Half-a-Clash album Cut The Crap due to them canning Mick and Topper for that final studio album.


Kathy Foster is fantastic, she was the bass player for The Thermals for over a decade. I've been waiting for Roseblood to put out something on physical media. Still waiting... I think something from Slang is more likely.
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Agreed. Without knowing exactly how things went down, it sure seems as though Corin and Carrie should have simply launched a new band (which in all honesty is how the new singles sound to me). Maybe they saw the opportunity to keep the S-K moniker as a way to ensure greater success? Who knows...in any case, it doesn't sound as though Janet had much of a role in the creative process - which is unfortunate. And if true, hard to blame her for moving on, regardless of the timing. The one thing that is undeniable? Clearly the end of an era for S-K, which is a loss for all of us.

The upside? It likely means I will get to see Janet play even more shows around Portland. Much like @Yer Ol' Uncle D I cannot wait for that Quasi / Roseblood / Slang tour. Maybe Drumgasm can open?
 
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High Rant District said:
In situations similar to this one - where I love the band but the lineup changes and the sound/direction changes - I've stopped buying the bands' albums.

Putting aside drug abuse issues, guitarist Bob Stinson didn't want to go soft and The Replacements fired him after the Tim album. That's the last 'Mats album I have. Goo Goo Dolls and drummer George Tutuska parted ways when George didn't want to go soft, so I only have their stuff prior to the horrific A Boy Named Goo. I love The Clash but I won't own that Half-a-Clash album Cut The Crap due to them canning Mick and Topper for that final studio album.


Kathy Foster is fantastic, she was the bass player for The Thermals for over a decade. I've been waiting for Roseblood to put out something on physical media. Still waiting... I think something from Slang is more likely.
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hatfieldpdx said:
Agreed. Without knowing exactly how things went down, it sure seems as though Corin and Carrie should have simply launched a new band (which in all honesty is how the new singles sound to me). Maybe they saw the opportunity to keep the S-K moniker as a way to ensure greater success? Who knows...in any case, it doesn't sound as though Janet had much of a role in the creative process - which is unfortunate. And if true, hard to blame her for moving on, regardless of the timing. The one thing that is undeniable? Clearly the end of an era for S-K, which is a loss for all of us.

The upside? It likely means I will get to see Janet play even more shows around Portland. Much like @Yer Ol' Uncle D I cannot wait for that Quasi / Roseblood / Slang tour. Maybe Drumgasm can open?
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These are great points. I do wish they had just decided to make an album without it being called an SK album. I'm not sure I will go as far as to not buy the album. But I think you all are helping me get in a better frame of mind about it. I can think of it as a non-SK album.

While we're talking about them, I miss The Thermals also.

HRD, have you read Trouble Boys?
 
High Rant District said:
In situations similar to this one - where I love the band but the lineup changes and the sound/direction changes - I've stopped buying the bands' albums.

Putting aside drug abuse issues, guitarist Bob Stinson didn't want to go soft and The Replacements fired him after the Tim album. That's the last 'Mats album I have. Goo Goo Dolls and drummer George Tutuska parted ways when George didn't want to go soft, so I only have their stuff prior to the horrific A Boy Named Goo. I love The Clash but I won't own that Half-a-Clash album Cut The Crap due to them canning Mick and Topper for that final studio album.


Kathy Foster is fantastic, she was the bass player for The Thermals for over a decade. I've been waiting for Roseblood to put out something on physical media. Still waiting... I think something from Slang is more likely.
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Yeah, but "Pleased To Meet Me" is a great album. Top notch songs and the band sounds great, even without Bob. "Don't Tell A Soul" is a mixed bag as far as the songs go...some extreme highs, and some middle of the road, filler tunes, but the biggest issue with that record is the slick production. Also, let's not pretend that Bob didn't have his own issues that helped lead to his departure.
 
Teeeee said:
HRD, have you read Trouble Boys?
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It's on the shelf, but I haven't read it yet. I'll get to it. My understanding is that it's anti-Bob (the guitarist, not the pooch) but I don't care, you don't boot your friend - or brother - out of the band.
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Aron said:
Yeah, but "Pleased To Meet Me" is a great album. Top notch songs and the band sounds great, even without Bob. "Don't Tell A Soul" is a mixed bag as far as the songs go...some extreme highs, and some middle of the road, filler tunes, but the biggest issue with that record is the slick production. Also, let's not pretend that Bob didn't have his own issues that helped lead to his departure.
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Pleased To Meet Me might be a great album, but it the band should have been called The Replacement Replacements or anything else.
 
High Rant District said:
It's on the shelf, but I haven't read it yet. I'll get to it. My understanding is that it's anti-Bob (the guitarist, not the pooch) but I don't care, you don't boot your friend - or brother - out of the band.
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Pleased To Meet Me might be a great album, but it the band should have been called The Replacement Replacements or anything else.
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By losing a guitarist and maintaining 3 original members they should have been called The Replacement Replacements? Gotta say, that's a super weak argument. "Pleased To Meet Me" still rocks, and follows pretty much the same blueprint as "Tim" musically (mostly uptempo pop rock songs with a couple of tug on your heart ballads). Your argument for them getting "soft" is better served for "Don't Tell A Soul", which, admittedly has more than its fair share of mid-tempo rock tunes. You not having "Pleased To Meet Me" in your collection because it doesn't feature Bob on guitar is kind of a cutting off your nose to spite your face kind of a thing to fit some theory of band purity or something. Just know that you are missing out on a great collection of songs.

I just kind of look at this stuff on a case by case situation. Singers are hard to change out. AC/DC managed to it, but often times the change is too jarring for fans. But swapping out a bassist or guitarist can be done more smoothly. If I were to apply this "sanctity of the original lineup" rule to The Cure, then I never listen to "Disintegration" because it doesn't feature the same lineup from their first record. Every band/group is different, and lineup changes aren't always for the worst. Let's not forget that Janet wasn't S-K's original drummer, so they have actually been through this before. Granted, it was a long ass time ago, and this will be a far tougher set of shoes to fill this time out. 24 years is a really long time to hold it down. Janet leaving S-K is rough, and she is going to be very, very difficult to replace, particularly live from what I understand. But I'm still interested in hearing this record, which, by all accounts, Janet still played drums on. And I'm not burning my concert ticket for November's show as some form of protest. They already have my money, and I'm guessing the show will still be good. We'll see how things go from there.

I just think drawing lines in the sand with band line-ups can be a bit dicey. If you check out the new stuff with the new player(s), and it doesn't do anything for you...totally understandable. Move on to other things and enjoy what you enjoy. But not giving something a chance because a player is changed out is more on you, particularly if the change ends up being a good one for the band itself.
 
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Aron said:
Yeah, but "Pleased To Meet Me" is a great album. Top notch songs and the band sounds great, even without Bob. "Don't Tell A Soul" is a mixed bag as far as the songs go...some extreme highs, and some middle of the road, filler tunes, but the biggest issue with that record is the slick production. Also, let's not pretend that Bob didn't have his own issues that helped lead to his departure.
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I have to agree with this.
Bob deserves all the love in the world for what he added to that band, and I would probably have more of a view like HRD's if I had been in the know with them as it was happening. As this applies to S-K, we really aren't going to know the full scope of what all of this means for maybe 20 years.
But as far as the Replacements go, yes, Bob was a great guitarist, yet I cannot pretend that it wasn't Paul's songs which made that made kept me a fan from album to album. Pleased To Meet Me is a classic.
 
High Rant District said:
It's on the shelf, but I haven't read it yet. I'll get to it. My understanding is that it's anti-Bob (the guitarist, not the pooch) but I don't care, you don't boot your friend - or brother - out of the band.
View attachment 9939

Pleased To Meet Me might be a great album, but it the band should have been called The Replacement Replacements or anything else.
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That "How To Ru(!)N A Record Label" has gotten really expensive lately. It was on my list to get soon.
 
High Rant District said:
My understanding is that it's anti-Bob (the guitarist, not the pooch)
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I think it paints Bob in a sympathetic light. He was a goofy lovable drug addict who had demons he could not overcome.

An anti-Bob. the pooch person is not the type of person I want to ever know. I sincerely wish no such person exists in the world because to be anti-Bob. the pooch is to be anti-love. ;)
 
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