Alrighty then, work went just fine, thanks for asking. I removed a few firewalls that we’ve consolidated since we had six of them doing the exact same thing. Now we are down to only two, for redundancy. Why I spent two monts removing firewalls is beyond me, since our group gets paid by the firewall. I’m second in line to get fired if they start with the layoffs, so those four firewalls may be my undoing. Monday I start working earnestly on cutting another set of eight down to two.

I long ago promised a friend that I’d make her another CD of Sleater-Kinney stuff after she dug the first CD. I made that one because she was pregnant, so I thought of her when I heard the great, great song Sympathy. The first CD was a compilation of my favorite stuff from their first four albums, the second is their last two minus a couple of songs because of length. Here are the songs:

All Hands on the Bad One
1. The Ballad of a Ladyman – Is it about a gay guy? Probably not, I think it’s about a straight guy who gets shit because he acts slightly fey.
2. All Hands on the Bad One – I’ve no clue what this is about, but it rocks out a bit.
3. Youth Decay – Again, no idea. But it rocks out a lot, and it contains the lines “It’s got nothing to do with you, but if you want to watch me chew, my teeth are cutting you out.” Cool.
4. You’re No Rock ‘n’ Roll Fun – The title speaks for itself. Good stuff, and I liked the video. They looked so cute.
5. #1 Must Have – Absolutely clueless.
6. The Professional – Ditto. Damn, I need to listen to the lyrics on these records more.
7. Was it a Lie? – Jebus, I’m an idiot. I love this music yet I don’t know what any of it means.
8. Male Model – Finally. It’s about the myth of the perfect man.
9. Leave You Behind – No idea.
10. Milkshakes ‘n’ Honey – Clueless.
11. Pompeii – They might as well just be babbling, but it rocks.
12. The Swimmer – A little slow for my tastes, but it closes the album so it got included.

One Beat
13. One Beat – Every S-K album has a song about the power of music. This one is a little for egocentric than in the past, more about the power of S-K’s music than music in general.
14. Far Away – Corin’s reaction to 9/11. This is one of those rare songs that gives me chills. I love when the instrumental breakdown starts, and it sounds like the song is about to end, then they drop back into the chorus again.
15. Oh! – Not sure what it means, but I love the “Oh oh-oh oh” and the wailing keyboard, which is pretty rare for Sleater-Kinney. Also rare (until this album): Carrie is singing lead.
16. The Remainder – Something about someone who won’t let you win an argument no matter how ridiculous their points?
17. Light-Rail Coyote – A paean to their hometown of Seattle (or Olympia?).
18. Step Aside – Gawd, what a great rock song. I love the bouncy, downright jaunty rhythm. Reviews of this album have said, “Oh, how typical. Their sixth album and they are using horns. They must have had trouble coming up with something new.” What bullshit! So what if they haven’t had horns before? They probably didn’t have the money, and the horns work so well on this song.
19. Combat Rock – Ah yes, the anti-Bush song. “Since when was dissent unAmerican?” Hmm, have any members of the band been tossed in the gulag? No? Well, I guess this is still America. Is that Carrie singing the verses?
20. O2 – I love songs that start with the chorus.
21. Funeral Song – I think this song is literally nonsense.
22. Prisstina – I really don’t like this song much. Music saves a boring girl’s life. Yawn. But it’s on the album, and I’m using an eighty minute CD-R, so on it goes.
23. Hollywood Ending – Don’t know what it’s about, but it’s pretty cool. I love the classic Sleater-Kinney sound of intertwined vocals and guitars. That’s really what impressed me from the start. I found the vocals a little tiring at first, but I got used to them. That happens a lot when I first get into a band that’s a little different. Check the end of the post for the story of how I came to love Sleater-Kinney.
24. Sympathy – The song that started it all. If you don’t like Corin’s vibrato wailings, then this song is not for you, because it’s wailing times ten. But I love it, it’s another that can make my neck hairs stand up.

Well, there it is.

Oh yea, how my love for the S-K started. I’ve probably told this story before, but what the hell. My girlfriend in college (who I’ve never really gotten over, and who is now married, but that’s another post entirely) had a cool roommate who got her into Heavens to Betsy. There is a very Heavens to Betsy song called Stay Away that kinda turned me off to them… all screamy and possibly man-hating. But right about then I read a review of Sleater-Kinney (Dig Me Out? Or Call the Doctor?) in Rolling Stone, and it mentioned that the lead singer was in Heavens to Betsy, so I bought the album for the girlfriend. She loved it, and told me I’d probably like it too. So I listened, and I really dug it from the first time. I now had a new favorite band (before that it was probably Fugazi or The Minutemen).

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