so, when one thinks of girl bands, sadly there aren’t as many that rush the mind immediately. let’s see…the go-gos, the bangles, the runaways, um…um…
okay. so you get my drift. which is a shame, because, let’s face it, girls are just as awesome as guys when it comes to music.
case in point: the now-defunct sleater-kinney.
a trio of women who hailed from the pacific northwest, sleater-kinney didn’t conform to typical expectations of what a lot of people think women, even women rockers, ought to sound like. a lot of their songs were loud, angry, and angsty – but not in the hand-wringing way. the angst they sang about was more than simply lost love. case in point – jumpers. what is jumpers about, you ask? suicides off the golden gate bridge.
heavy stuff, indeed. yet awesome. future girl musicians, take note: you don’t always have to sing about cute boys and shopping for the perfect dress. you can sing about crap that happens in real life and know that it’s still girly to do so.
i spend the afternoon in cars
i sit in traffic jams for hours
don’t push me, i am not OK
the sky is blue most every day
the lemons grow like tumors, they
are tiny suns infused with sour
lonely as a cloud
in the golden state
the coldest winter that i ever saw
was the summer that i spent
the only substance is the fog
and it hides all that has gone wrong
can’t see a thing inside the maze
there is a bridge adored and famed
the golden spine of engineering
whose back is heavy with my weight
lonely as a cloud
in the golden state
the coldest winter that i ever saw
was the summer that i spent
be still this old heart
be still this old skin
drink your last drink
sin your last sin
sing your last song
about the beginning
sing it out loud
so the people can hear
let’s go!
be still this sad day
be still this sad year
hope your last hope
fear you last fear
your not the only one
let’s go!
my falling shape will draw a line
between the blue of sea and sky
i’m not a bird, i’m not a plane
i took a taxi to the gate
i will not go to school again
four seconds was the longest wait
four seconds was the longest
(mp3) jumpers by sleater-kinney
many of you might be saying…hey…that girl in the photo looks familiar. and carrie brownstein very well may be, peeps, if you’ve been watching IFC’s bizarre yet entertaining portlandia.
buy the woods, the album jumpers is off of, HERE.