Who knew Sleater Kinney was any good?

Disclaimer: If you had no idea before that I'm way too in to Pearl Jam, it'll soon be clear as day.

Apparently a lot of people do, and once again I'm late to the party.

I first became aware of this band in early 2003 when Pearl Jam announced they'd be touring together. I saw Pearl Jam four times that year and not once did I catch a Sleater Kinney set. It was probably for the best, My 17 year old self would have hated them. My exposure came when Corin Tucker started appearing with Pearl Jam for their encores, singing duets with Eddie Vedder.

I promise I'll never do that to you again.

I'll admit now that I was never being entirely fair to Sleater Kinney. I mean, this cover is awful, but it's not their fault. Pearl Jam played Fortunate Son a number of times on this tour and it never sounded good, no matter who was playing it with them. But with that said, Corin Tucker sounds like Mike McCready taking a shit on a cat, leaving me soured forever at the prospect of listening to her music.

But then came the 2006 Pearl Jam tour came around and Eddie Vedder started tagging a few lines from Sleater Kinney's Modern Girl onto the end of Not For You. It was subtle, haunting, and beautiful way to end the song. I soon found myself repeating those lines over and over. My whole life: like a picture on a sunny day.

The last time Not For You wasn't embarrassing.

Needless to say I was shocked when I found out that line was from a song by that same band with that same singer with that same insufferable voice. So I flat out refused to listen to the original. I mean, why ruin a good thing?

But I should have known better. In 2000 I saw Pearl Jam for the first time and opening on that tour was Sonic Youth. I caught their set, which apparently was hindered by technical difficulties, and it sounded like shit. Not to mention Sonic Youth, despite their brilliance, is a hugely acquired taste and I was some 15 year old tool at a Pearl Jam concert, so for years I just assumed they sucked. But I was wrong, and I should have learned my lesson.

Flash forward to today: A friend whose musical opinion I trust (he's the same guy I can talk to The Ting Tings about, so how could he be wrong?) assured me that the Sleater Kinney's Modern Girl is actually quite good. I was skeptical, but I decided to listen anyway.

I'm so stupid.

Ok, so this is pretty good. Actually, it's really good. But I've heard enough about these guys to know that they're generally not this mellow. The shrieking cat will come back, and I'm not sure if that's what I want. But I talked myself into it anyway. Hey, I used to hate the wall of distortion that's 90% of Sonic Youth's material but now I'd probably punch someone for talking shit about The Diamond Sea.

So I got a copy of their last record, The Woods, and threw it on while indulging in some sensory enhancements. And once again, I've proven myself to be a stubborn fool over the years. This record scratched me right where I itch. Powerful lyrics with poignant melodies awash in a wall of distortion that's only crude on the surface.

Listen to this song!

So will I learn anything from this experience? Probably not. I'll spend the next few weeks diving into Sleater Kinney's catalog and instantly increase my hipster credibility, all while maintaining my stubborn habit of making sweeping generalizations from small samples of music only to be proven wrong years later. But that's the great thing about music. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to find it, it'll still be brand new.