Last year, the Internet collapsed into one feverish, unending thinkpiece when beloved riot grrl trio Sleater-Kinney announced they would reunite and release a new album called No Cities to Love. Sleater-Kinney's re-formation gave every music critic and fan just the excuse they needed to joyously dive back into the band's 100-plus-song catalog and examine everything from how their records have aged (very well) to whether singer Carrie Brownstein's success as co-star on goofy sketch-comedy show Portlandia would affect her ability to be as fierce as before (it doesn't).
The former is absolutely a worthy topic — because the world is still fucked, we still very much need bands like Sleater-Kinney, who smartly sing unapologetically about everything from music industry double-standards to the lack of empathy for those suffering from mental health issues. But sometimes, because they're always saying such wise things, it's easy to overlook the fact that Sleater-Kinney is as much a great pop band as they are icons of the riot grrl revolution. Yes, songs like "The Ballad of a Ladyman," "Jumpers" and "The Professional" will make you want to take to the streets and ignite change, but they stand alongside stellar mixtape-worthy love songs that get especially overlooked in the current study of their social and political importance. So if you're crushing or lusting, here are six Sleater-Kinney tunes you should definitely have on blast (you know, for when you need a break from wanting to set the world on fire).
"I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"
This is, quite possibly, the quintessential Sleater-Kinney crush song and the band's most obvious tune about loving and wanting to be loved. It says, in such a sweet, punk-rock way: I want to be someone worthy of your adoration. I'll be your rock god and you'll be my groupie. If you worship me, I'll take good care of you. Aww! Of course there is plenty to unpack in the fact that Brownstein (a woman) chooses only men (Joey Ramone and Thurston Moore) to represent that which she wishes to be, as though her being a badass rockstar worthy of adoration in her own right is not possible, but whatever. It's also just a fun "I like you and I want you to like me" jam.
"Dance Song '97"
There's something about the sultry tone of the guitar in "Dance Song '97" that feels like Sleater-Kinney is declaring this a "no more games" zone. And Brownstein's delivery of the chorus — "You're the one that I saw / You're the one that I want" — wonderfully captures both the required confidence and anxiety that comes with declaring your love (or lust) for someone and hoping they reciprocate. It's the perfect soundtrack for that moment in a friendship, when the passive, innocent flirting has gone on long enough, and it's time to be real. (And of course, by "be real," I mean "make out.")
"Modern Girl"
If you take this song at face value, it's sweeter than a jellybean and twice as addictive. It's the perfect lovey-dovey and all-is-right-with-the-world mid-tempo, harmonica-laced tune that makes a great day feel greater. But something deeper lurks beneath, of course (as is the case with nearly every Sleater-Kinney song, I'd reckon). The chorus — "My whole life was like a picture of a sunny day" — is in the past tense, hinting that the sunny day is no longer. It sure sounds sweet, though. (And perhaps we'll get further insight into this song later this year, as the line "Hunger makes me a modern girl" doubles as the title of Brownstein's forthcoming memoir.)
"Let's Call It Love"
Behold, one of the very few songs in the world that can actually make me blush just thinking about it. Grungy, pulsating guitar and bass pound along as Brownstein cries out about dirty tricks and tiger strength and wanting it like you never have before. It's hot, but it gets so much hotter. A cacophony of drums kicks in, co-frontwomen Corin Tucker and Brownstein start exchanging heavy breathing and orgasmic yelping, the breathy, distracted singing speeds up, the guitar lets go of its structured rhythm and starts to swirl, and just as you think Sleater-Kinney has dropped the ultimate sex bomb and the song is on the brink of climax, the band pulls back. They slow everything down and tease you for seven more very long, very hot minutes. "I have a long time for love," indeed.
"The Size of Our Love"
If you're the kind of weirdo who thinks The Police's "Every Breath You Take" or Death Cab for Cutie's "I Will Possess Your Heart" are über-romantic jams, then you'll no doubt appreciate this weepy, string-filled ballad with lyrics that can be interpreted as a story about people who love each other so much it's killing them.
"More Than a Feeling"
Goddamn right I'm putting the band's 1994 cover of Boston's "More Than a Feeling" on this list. Tender is rarely a word used to describe Sleater-Kinney — the women are wonderfully loud, brash and fearless, even when lyrically vulnerable, and that's what makes them so great — but their rendition of the Boston staple is actually quite earnest and sweet. They may be out to smash chunks of the patriarchy with every beat, but Sleater-Kinney still appreciates a great love song when they hear one.
From Songs for Cassavetes
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