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All Hands on the Bad One
Studio album by
Sleater-Kinney
ReleasedMay 2, 2000
RecordedDecember 1999 – January 2000
Studio
GenrePunk rock
Length37:07
LabelKill Rock Stars
ProducerJohn Goodmanson
Sleater-Kinney chronology
The Hot Rock
(1999) 		All Hands on the Bad One
(2000) 		One Beat
(2002)
Singles from All Hands on the Bad One
  1. "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun"
    Released: May 2, 2000

All Hands on the Bad One is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney, released on May 2, 2000, by Kill Rock Stars. The album was produced by John Goodmanson and recorded from December 1999 to January 2000 at Jackpot! Studio in Portland, Oregon and John & Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington. The music on the record ranges from softer melodies to fast punk rock guitar work, while the lyrics address issues such as women in rock, morality, eating disorders, feminism, music journalism, and media.

Upon release, All Hands on the Bad One reached number 177 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart and number 12 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. One song from the album, "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun", was released as a single. The album received very positive reviews from critics, who praised its consistency and the vocals by singer and guitarist Corin Tucker. All Hands on the Bad One appeared in several end-of-year lists and received a nomination for Outstanding Music Album at the 12th Annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Awards.

Background and recording

All Hands on the Bad One is the follow-up to Sleater-Kinney's highly acclaimed fourth album The Hot Rock, released in 1999.[1] The Hot Rock marked a considerable change in the band's sound, veering into a more relaxed and gloomy direction than the raucous punk rock style of its predecessors.[2] It was also the first Sleater-Kinney album that entered the US Billboard Top 200 chart, peaking at number 181.[3] Some fans, however, dismissed the album, claiming that the band had sold out and that it was a commercial album.[4] This criticism was something that singer and guitarist Corin Tucker strongly disagreed with, claiming that The Hot Rock was their least commercial album due to its longer and intricate pieces.[4] According to Tucker, "we wanted to be doing difficult work. We wanted to be expanding as musicians and people didn't want that from us. They wanted us to jump around and yell."[5]

After expanding their musical boundaries with The Hot Rock, the band decided not to worry about what their next album was going to sound like.[6] Tucker explained, "It was so spontaneous [...] The songs just kept popping up one after another. We didn't really talk about anything. It just kind of happened."[6] She also said that they wanted to write songs that were "really straightforward but also a bit more mature in their structure and delivery than [their] earlier songs."[7] All Hands on the Bad One is also the first Sleater-Kinney album where drummer Janet Weiss provides backing vocals on some tracks. Tucker remarked that they initially wanted her to sing on The Hot Rock, but the idea was ultimately rejected due to the album's complex melodies.[7] All Hands on the Bad One was produced by John Goodmanson, who previously produced the band's third studio album, Dig Me Out.[8] The band decided to work with him again because, according to Weiss, Goodmanson "has the incredible ability of capturing our live sound and heightening it, so we sound better".[8] The album was recorded from December 1999 to January 2000 at Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon and John & Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington.[9]

Music and lyrics

Similar to other Sleater-Kinney albums, the lyrics of All Hands on the Bad One feature personal, political, and social themes.[6] The first song, "The Ballad of the Ladyman", is a deliberate attempt to mock those who misunderstand the band.[4] Tucker said that the song is "almost making fun of how people see us, how people see what you're supposed to be when you're a woman in rock."[4] The song was inspired when the band was invited to the Bowlie Weekender music festival in England in 1999.[4] Tucker explained, "We were all staying in little chalets or whatever and we had our own cabin and we were cabin 216. Someone wrote this message to us that was like, 'Cabin 216 ladymen.' And we were like, 'What?' It was meant to be a funny thing, but in this other way, it was really this naming of us. It was a subtle way of saying, 'Oh, you're different because you're a woman band and because you're in some ways political.' It's still seen as threatening to people. It's not like we had this weekend where we just relaxed with everyone and just hung out."[4] Kat Iudicello, writing for PopMatters, stated that the song "sports sweet harmonies, a slow anger and soft, low bitterness, and driving steady guitars and drums."[10]

The song "Male Model" targets the male role models for female rock bands, while "Pompeii" explores soul-searching themes such as one's losses and anxieties.[10][11] "Youth Decay" was described by Iudicello as a song that "grapples with adult disbelief of the problems of youth and the manifestations of it in terms of eating disorders and silence."[10] It features fast punk rock guitar work.[10] The lyrics to "#1 Must-Have" reference images of the riot grrrl scene in the mainstream media.[12] It was written when Tucker was preparing for an interview about the subject, held by the EMP Museum in Olympia, Washington.[12] The song also alludes to the misogyny that took place at the Woodstock '99 music festival, where several women were raped.[6][13] Similarly, the song "Was It a Lie?" is a protest against how violence is used as entertainment in the media.[14] "The Professional" aims at music journalism and contains heavy drum work, while "Ironclad" features "fuzzed-out riffs and pounding fills".[15] Other songs such as "Leave You Behind" and "The Swimmer" feature soft melodies and harmonies.[10] "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun" was described as "easy moving, beach punk rock music".[10] "Milkshake n' Honey" was considered to be the band's funkiest song.[10] Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork commented that the song "spits wit at expatriates in Paris as Corin rolls her eyes at the type of denizens in The Sun Also Rises."[16]

The song "All Hands on the Bad One" features guitar riffs that are reminiscent of the band's second album, Call the Doctor.[10] It was chosen as the title track because, according to guitarist Carrie Brownstein, it is the song that best represents the sentiment of the album.[17] Brownstein explained that the song deals with "your relationship to evil and your relationship to the hypocrisy of forcing a morality on someone else when you yourself are no better."[17] She added, "'Ballad of the Ladyman', for instance—who is 'the ladyman'? Is the person that wants to be on the radio, 'the bad one,' or is it the fans assuming that they [the artist] want to be on the radio—are they 'the bad one'? Or is 'The Professional,' the ominous professional figure, 'the bad one'? I think all these songs can go into that machine of 'the bad one' and that mentality and then be spit out in a bunch of different scenarios. So that's why I think it works as the title."[17]

Release

All Hands on the Bad One was released on May 2, 2000, by the independent record label Kill Rock Stars, which also released the band's previous two albums.[18] The album cover features a photo of Brownstein being hauled off a dance floor.[8] According to Weiss, "She worked herself into a frenzy and passed out. People are laughing in the background because she's wearing a bunny suit."[8] All Hands on the Bad One reached number 177 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart,[3] #12 on the Heatseekers Albums chart,[3] and #5 on the KEXP Top 90.3 Album Chart for 2000.[19] The band promoted the album with a tour across North America and England, featuring old and new songs.[20] The band also did the set-up and sold merchandise themselves.[21] As of August 2002, the album has sold 73,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.[22] As of February 2015, All Hands on the Bad One has sold 98,000 copies.[23]

The song "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun" was released as a single on the same day as the album, featuring an outtake, "Maraca", as the B-side.[18][24] In the United Kingdom, the single was released by Matador Records in both vinyl and compact disc formats. The compact disc version includes a third song, "What If I Was Right", which is an outtake from the studio sessions for The Hot Rock that was previously released on Kill Rock Stars' Jackson's Jukebox compilation album.[24] A music video was made for "You're No Rock n' Roll Fun" under the direction of Brett Vapnek,[25] who previously worked on music videos by Helium and Cat Power.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
Chicago Sun-Times[28]
The Guardian[29]
Melody Maker[30]
NME8/10[31]
Pitchfork8.3/10 (2000)[16]
8.5/10 (2014)[32]
Q[33]
Rolling Stone[34]
Spin8/10[35]
The Village VoiceA−[36]

All Hands on the Bad One received very positive reviews from critics.[26] Pitchfork reviewer Brent DiCrescenzo described it as the band's most melodic, playful, sarcastic, and punchy album to date.[16] Kat Iudicello, in her review for PopMatters, said that the album features "lovely harmonies, brilliant drum work, great punk rock guitar riffs, and super-smart lyrics."[10] St. Petersburg Times writer Alan Rittner commented, "Sleater-Kinney's confidence and sense of freedom translate into the most relentless instrumental work of the band's career, with no loss in its peerless songcraft."[37] Some critics also praised the album's consistency.[15][27] According to Joshua Klein of The A.V. Club, "what makes All Hands On The Bad One so distinctive is Sleater-Kinney's dedication to craft as well as spontaneous passion: Song for song, this could be its best album."[15]

Further praise was given to Tucker's vocals. DiCrescenzo opined that "Corin reveals greater character depth than ever before" while Kitty Empire of NME commented that she "is Siouxsie on 'Youth Decay', a sassy Francophile lover on 'Milkshake n' Honey' and all West Coast beach babe on the immensely pretty 'Leave You Behind'."[16][31] Steve Huey, writing for AllMusic, gave high marks to Tucker and Brownstein's guitar interplay as well as Weiss' backing vocals, stating that the band "makes full use of that extra instrument, packing the tracks with lilting three-part harmonies."[27] The Southland Times notably praised the album's maturity and assertiveness, commenting that the band "has also created a more melodic sound and tunes are catchier and more accomplished with Tucker's vocals sounding more confident and tuneful than ever."[38] Klein pointed out that "Corin Tucker's Belinda Carlisle vibrato has never sounded better [...], while Carrie Brownstein's straight counterpoint keeps the songs grounded in punk-rock fury."[15]

In a mixed review, Arion Berger of Rolling Stone magazine noted that Sleater-Kinney "have remade rock aggression as thinking-women's work and handled punk with finesse", but also criticized the writing of some tracks for being "awfully self-conscious for a fifth album."[34] The Village Voice reviewer Howard Hampton compared the album's music favorably to The Go-Go's' Beauty and the Beat, even though he remarked that instead of "[settling] for The Go-Go's demure ministrations", All Hands on the Bad One "means to work the whole loving fist all the way up your tight little mind."[14] In a very favorable review, Garry Mulholland of The Guardian concluded that the album "explains exactly why one US mag called [Sleater-Kinney] the best rock'n'roll band in America."[29]

All Hands on the Bad One appeared in several end-of-year lists. Pitchfork placed the record at number 16 in its list of "Top 20 Albums of 2000", commenting "Sleater-Kinney chanced losing some riot [grrrl] cred in favor of writing songs that cover a more diverse spectrum of emotions and themes, and came up their most compelling and political record to date".[39] Toronto Star rated it the eighth best album of the year,[40] Edmonton Journal named it one of the best album of the year,[41] and The Village Voice placed it #10 in its 2000 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.[42] All Hands on the Bad One also received a nomination for Outstanding Music Album at the 12th Annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Awards, but lost to k.d. lang's Invincible Summer.[43][44]

Track listing

All music is composed by Sleater-Kinney

No.TitleLength
1."The Ballad of a Ladyman"3:11
2."Ironclad"2:34
3."All Hands on the Bad One"2:57
4."Youth Decay"2:30
5."You're No Rock n' Roll Fun"2:38
6."#1 Must Have"3:04
7."The Professional"1:31
8."Was It a Lie?"3:16
9."Male Model"2:33
10."Leave You Behind"3:27
11."Milkshake n' Honey"2:55
12."Pompeii"2:43
13."The Swimmer"3:46
Total length:37:07

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Sleater-Kinney Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. ^ Sheffield, Rob (February 9, 1999). "The Hot Rock". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Sleater-Kinney – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Return Of Riot Grrrl Rock: The Sleater-Kinney Interview (Page 1)". Addicted to Noise. Archived from the original on February 26, 2002. Retrieved February 26, 2002.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Return Of Riot Grrrl Rock: The Sleater-Kinney Interview (Page 5)". Addicted to Noise. Archived from the original on August 28, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2001.
  6. ^ a b c d Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Return Of Riot Grrrl Rock: The Sleater-Kinney Interview (Page 2)". Addicted to Noise. Archived from the original on November 21, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2001.
  7. ^ a b Jenkins, Mark (September 22, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney's Rock 'n' Roll Fun". The Washington Post. p. N15. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". The Washington Post. May 2, 2000. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Sleater-Kinney (2000). All Hands on the Bad One (CD booklet). Olympia, Washington: Kill Rock Stars. KRS #360.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Iudicello, Kat. "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". PopMatters. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  11. ^ Nichols, Natalie (May 2000). "Fight For Your Right To Parity: Sleater-Kinney Riffs On Rape, Rock And The Beastie Boys". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 81. pp. 42–44. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Return Of Riot Grrrl Rock: The Sleater-Kinney Interview (Page 3)". Addicted to Noise. Archived from the original on November 21, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2001.
  13. ^ Guarino, Mark (May 5, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney raise the stakes on 'All Hands'". Chicago Daily Herald. p. 10.
  14. ^ a b Hampton, Howard (May 2, 2000). "Sticky Little Fingers". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d Klein, Joshua (May 2, 2000). "All Hands On The Bad One". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  16. ^ a b c d DiCrescenzo, Brent (April 30, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  17. ^ a b c Goldberg, Michael (December 28, 2000). "Return Of Riot Grrrl Rock: The Sleater-Kinney Interview (Page 4)". Addicted to Noise. Archived from the original on November 21, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2001.
  18. ^ a b "Sleater-Kinney". Kill Rock Stars. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  19. ^ "The KEXP Top 90.3 Album Chart for 2000". KEXP-FM. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  20. ^ "Anarchy in the USA". The Guardian. July 7, 2000. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  21. ^ Everett-Green, Robert (September 22, 2000). "The price of smarts". The Globe and Mail. p. R5.
  22. ^ Martens, Todd (August 5, 2002). "Sleater-Kinney Unleashes The 'Beat'". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  23. ^ "Unfinished Business". NPR. February 3, 2015. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  24. ^ a b Draper, Jimmy. "You're No Rock 'n Roll Fun – Sleater-Kinney". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  25. ^ "Sleater-Kinney - You're No Rock N Roll Fun". MTV. May 2, 2000. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  26. ^ a b "All Hands On The Bad One by Sleater-Kinney Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  27. ^ a b c Huey, Steve. "All Hands on the Bad One – Sleater-Kinney". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  28. ^ Williams, Kevin M. (April 30, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney, 'All Hands on the Bad One' (Kill Rock Stars)". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  29. ^ a b Mulholland, Garry (May 5, 2000). "Speeches and cream". The Guardian. "Friday Review" section, p. 17.
  30. ^ True, Everett (May 10–16, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". Melody Maker. p. 47.
  31. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (May 12, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney – All Hands On The Bad One". NME. Archived from the original on September 18, 2000. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  32. ^ Pelly, Jenn (October 24, 2014). "Sleater-Kinney: Start Together". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  33. ^ "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". Q. No. 165. June 2000. p. 115.
  34. ^ a b Berger, Arion (June 8, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands On The Bad One". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  35. ^ Weisbard, Eric (June 2000). "Sleater-Kinney: All Hands on the Bad One". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 6. p. 149. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  36. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 30, 2000). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
  37. ^ Rittner, Alan (May 26, 2000). "Sleater-Kinney, All Hands on the Bad One". St. Petersburg Times. p. 18W. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  38. ^ "They may be older but the passion remains". The Southland Times. February 9, 2001. p. 9.
  39. ^ "Top 20 Albums of 2000". Pitchfork. January 1, 2001. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  40. ^ Wagner, Vit (December 26, 2000). "Year's Best Expressions Of Americana Were British". Toronto Star.
  41. ^ Sperounes, Sandra (December 30, 2000). "The Year in Music: Tomboy punk of Sleater-Kinney among the year's best; Billy Corgan decidedly not". Edmonton Journal. p. C1.
  42. ^ "The 2000 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. February 20, 2001. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  43. ^ "GLAAD Announces Nominees For 12th Annual Media Awards Presented By Absolut Vodka". GLAAD. January 16, 2001. Archived from the original on April 9, 2001. Retrieved April 9, 2001.
  44. ^ "GLAAD Honors Paris Barclay, Will & Grace, Queer as Folk, k.d. lang, Los Angeles Times At 12th Annual Media Awards Presented By Absolut Vodka In Los Angeles". GLAAD. April 29, 2001. Archived from the original on June 4, 2001. Retrieved June 4, 2001.

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