Thunderpussy/Sleater-Kinney SCREECH

I haven’t talked about Thunderpussy or new music in awhile, I feel like, so excuse me while I yell about it for a bit.

If y’all didn’t know, allow me to update you: Thunderpussy released their second EP Milk It today and it’s all I’ve been listening to since about 1:30am (I thought I was going to check it out right at midnight but I lost track of time).

I’m not intending for this to be a review exactly, but my basic thoughts about it are that I’m a fan of every song except for “Powerhouse.” Conceptually, I want to like “Powerhouse” (it’s like the rock version of “Dear Mama,” but from the heart of women – no offense, Tupac), and musically it’s nice, but something about the vocals bothers me. I’m not sure if they could’ve been mixed better or maybe if lead vocalist Molly Sides could’ve enunciated better (“And she’ll take you out” would seem a lot more forthright if I could be sure she was saying “out“), but when I listen to it I just feel like it could be better. Honestly, I wondered if performing/recording it with their drummer might make it better. Even though I have yet to personally see them live with Lindsey Elias, from what I heard of recordings they posted of shows at the beginning of their tour, Elias just seems to work really well with them. Not that I’m questioning Chad Smith’s or even Elias’ abilities, but like I’ve said before…drummers are not that easy to replace. I think they just sound good as a band with Elias, which is lucky since Ruby Dunphy was SO FUCKING GOOD. But I digress.

Otherwise, “Never Know” is an instant classic that I already figured out is about performing, “On the Line” is completely gorgeous and the strings are so unexpected but it makes me cry so I love it!, and I’ve been listening to “Trust a Man” on repeat for the past five hours so that’s how I feel about it (it’s important – especially the sentiment in the chorus), plus I vividly remember hearing this when I saw Thunderpussy live in June which makes it that much sweeter. I’m definitely trying to savor this EP before I start wondering when their next album comes out and what it’ll sound like. I think there’s great likelihood that they’ll wholly improve on their debut album when their second album comes out (which is to say I believe that their next album will be AMAAAAAAAAZING).

There is another band whose new music is also worth mentioning, though, and that would be Sleater-Kinney. (That, and now I get to mention that I’m officially seeing them for the first time next month and I will SCREAM about it every day until the day of the concert because I am that excited. I feel like, in terms of amazing rock bands that I’ve become obsessed with over the past few years, I HUGELY missed out on getting to see Pearl Jam live last year, so I’m not missing my chance to see Sleater-Kinney!) They put out their newest single “Animal” earlier this month and I listened to it soon after it was released, and man, it knocked me out. On one hand I felt like it was a song written and put out in response to The Center Won’t Hold naysayers – as though to prove they could reach for their roots any time they wanted (and that Corin Tucker could wrangle her rock vocals into a new arrangement any time she damn well pleased) – but I could also hear it as an extension of the album’s social commentary leanings, which I completely appreciated. And this might sound strange, but musically – not lyrically – the song reminds me of Halloween which makes me think it was released at an appropriate time, too.

Basically, I’m just super excited about some of my favorite bands’ new music, and I’m even more excited to see them live.

And now, for the first time in a long time, I get to brag about the bands I’ll be seeing this year (unless another artist/band chimes in that they’re touring/performing at a venue near me, in which case it might be more) in addition to new music excitement: Sleater-Kinney in November, The Black Tones in November, and Thunderpussy with Bear Axe on New Year’s Eve (a couple other bands who I’m mildly interested in will also be playing, but out of them I’m most excited about Bear Axe who I’ve already listened to). Not to get too off topic, but considering I didn’t get to go to my first concert until 2015, the fact that I’ve been to three shows this year and am planning for three more is a dream I didn’t anticipate having for a LONG time. ~~Maybe six shows doesn’t seem like many to you but my record of seeing bands live is two in one year, so this year has DEFINITELY improved for me!~~ It’s a good year for live music, apparently. It’s a good year for music, too, I must add, if you look in the right places.

Not to Hate on Pearl Jam But Have You Heard Sleater-Kinney

Okay, here’s an unnecessary, wholly-opinionated rant for you all that I’ve been thinking about:

Pearl Jam wishes they could be as relevant as Sleater-Kinney.

Seems weird that I’m comparing two bands that are pretty much nothing alike, right? Except, you know, they’re both political af and they have punk rock and alternative rock in common even if Pearl Jam’s musical influence encompasses much more than that (though I am not suggesting Sleater-Kinney is weakened in any way by employing fewer genres as their main influences). Plus they toured together 2-3 times. I dunno – you could get them confused. (Just kidding.)

But, being a fan of both bands (and I’ve been a Pearl Jam fan for three years now, whereas I’ve been a Sleater-Kinney fan for just half a year), I’ve seen comments that other fans have made on their social media accounts and on their Youtube videos. Long story short, PJ fans are annoying af asking for “the new album” every single time their account posts anything at all, and it seems like there are a lot of ignorant dudebros minimizing Sleater-Kinney’s ingenuity (not to mention the mindless comments toward SK by PJ fans that I’ve read).

A few months ago I started writing a post where I ranted about how I couldn’t care less about a new Pearl Jam album because, based on their last album, it doesn’t seem like they’re about to go anywhere new musically or lyrically. (Side note: I read an interview where Eddie Vedder mentioned that he wrote Lightning Bolt lyrically the way he did because he wanted to stop playing “word games.” But after reading the lyrics to those songs, I was like ‘Shit, man, at this point, BRING BACK THE WORD GAMES. THOSE WERE BETTER.’) And while I doubt all fans are literally salivating for a new album, I wish, for the ones who DO care so much, that I could push them toward Sleater-Kinney and be like “LISTEN TO THIS FUCKING BRILLIANCE IF YOU WANT SOMETHING NEW, RELEVANT, AND AMAZING. *whispers* It will change your life…“

I have to wonder if people aren’t willing to pay attention to Sleater-Kinney because they’re a trio of women (now duo, PLEASE DON’T REMIND ME – I AM SAD) and maybe they think, ‘Oh, there’s no way I’ll relate to this.’ I say: if you’re willing to listen to and enjoy bands like The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Nirvana, and Green Day, then Sleater-Kinney are 100% worthy of a chance. Plus, they’ve released nine studio albums throughout their career – there’s bound to be something worthwhile for everybody. Seriously, not only are they geniuses lyrically, but also musically in the way their arrangements interact with each other and the fact that THEY TOTALLY HAVE THEIR OWN SOUND THAT, APPARENTLY, NOBODY ELSE IS WILLING TO REPLICATE ~~which is why they came back and thank the UNIVERSE they did~~. Unlike Pearl Jam who had posers in the fucking ’90s when they were still relevant…yikes. You sadly misguided, straight, white dudes in rock. I wish you’d know when to stop trying because there is N-O-W-H-E-R-E LEFT FOR YOU TO GO. Cry about it! Support women, queer people, and people of color. Those are the voices we need to hear. The end. Also, you could argue that I am saying this @ Pearl Jam, too, if you’d like. I mean, I won’t stop you.

Overall, I just want to tell everyone to listen to Sleater-Kinney – including their new album The Center Won’t Hold – and Pearl Jam fans need to calm the fuck down and ALSO listen to Sleater-Kinney (it should sate your appetite for awhile).

P.S. I’m guessing that Pearl Jam themselves probably don’t care about being relevant. But the fans do, obviously, or they wouldn’t be hounding all of the band’s social media accounts for a new album.

Exciting Music Lately

I just wanted to mention who I’ve been listening to lately while I sit on at least ten ideas for new posts, most of which I have not started yet (but I’ll get to them – eventually, at least).

First and foremost, Sleater-Kinney. Once I realized the day that their new album came out, I eagerly waited until midnight to start streaming it. I heard “Hurry On Home” and “The Future is Here” about a month ago, but besides “Hurry On Home” I wasn’t SUPER excited about the new album…until I heard the “Can I Go On” single that got mixed in to my L7 radio station on Pandora. Since this is a quick post I won’t go too deep into my thoughts on it, but personally I like about half of it, and all of it I respect the band for trying in the first place. I wish I could see the band when they come to Seattle in a couple months but I’m hesitant to buy a ticket because I don’t know that I’d want to see them (for the first time, I should mention – since I became a fan just earlier this year) without Janet Weiss. I LOVE SLEATER-KINNEY, BUT COME ON…fucking great drummers are not easily replaced. Which I will surely say about any band, including my favorite ones.
While I’ve been doing research trying to broaden my knowledge and listening experiences of rock bands consisting of Black women (and I don’t just mean bands fronted by Black women), I discovered Big Joanie. I’ve listened to Sistahs (2018) and I loved all of it but a couple tracks, which is to say, for a debut effort, it’s PRETTY AMAZING.
Thunderpussy goes without saying. For me, it’s almost like, a day without listening to Thunderpussy isn’t a day lived well. And their new single, “Never Know”? Let’s just say ~~I’M DYING WITHOUT THE NEW EP just kidding I’m fine but I’ll be better than fine once I get to hear the rest of it~~ the band hasn’t disappointed me musically yet. I’m grateful for their existence (and existences) every freakin’ day I wake up on this planet. You could say I appreciate them a lot.
Another band I discovered whilst researching, from this SUPER great article I read on them (which I read before I’d heard them), T-Rextasy. They’re coming to Seattle soon and I’m DYING to see them but I don’t know if I have the time or resources to go…which I’m super disappointed about. I love Prehysteria (2019) and most of Jurassic Punk (2016).
After knowing about this band for awhile now via my favorite punk artist Alice Bag, I FINALLY started listening to Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries today and OH MY GOD. The bite, humor, and shamelessness woven into the great music is such a fun and positive experience, I’m totally going to listen to them when I’m feeling shitty. I especially love that their songs take on subjects that are not often covered in punk and rock (like “Fat Girl Tears” and “Best Friends”). Their self-titled is a great debut album (and was produced by Alice Bag! Even better!).
Finally, L7, since I mentioned that I’ve been listening to the L7 radio station on Pandora. I discovered through the station that I like a few other artists/bands that I hadn’t listened to much before, too, which is cool (like PJ Harvey and 7 Year Bitch). I’ve also probably been listening to L7 every day, like Thunderpussy, because I just don’t get tired of them.