CORIN TUCKER, Sleater Kinney
Oya Festival, Oslo, August 2003

Seeing Sleater-Kinney is always something I look forward to and that concert was made extra-special by what was going to follow: we would talk to them. Time and location were set, adrenaline was flowing. We were on time, but still Corin Tucker was waiting. We all agreed on the advantages of fresh grass in the shade over a charm less press tent in the sun. Janet was sitting in the distance, on another interview. Carrie was probably trying to cool down after the technical problems she encountered on stage.

Bib/Oa: Tell us, One Beat, why One Beat? I have had an album-name problem with Sleater-Kinney lately. Like All Hands On The Bad One and One Beat, it does not make sense to me. Can you tell us about that?
Corin: One Beat was the title -we are a bit lazy about titles- a song, cuz it has one beat throughout the song. But we kept it and chose it for the name of the album. It lent itself the kind of ideas about the world and the state of affairs, thinking about our ties to other people on different parts of the world, the problems that were connecting us. I know it sounds kind of hippi-ish, but it is about the idea that we all are on one earth and that if we don't evolve... our future is endangered. It is about the idea of something that is totally new. The idea of the human race evolving and living a life in a totally new way. It is also about giving birth, and about a new being.

Bib/Oa:I take it that you were the one writing the song.
Corin: : Yes, I wrote the lyrics. You have to get inside my head a little bit, which is a strange place. One night we were discussing at my son's birthday party about cold fusion. This idea of a totally new energy source that was being invented. it could fuel a racket, it could run all our vehicles. It is about the excitement about the possibility of a whole new way of living our lives we haven't found yet. We are stuck in this totally fossil fuel-based world, especially in America, where it is jut cars oil, military... Everything is rusting out our society, and the cost of this is becoming so great on everything. In America it is becoming so much worse with the Busch industry... well, yes, it is an industry, Busch administration. Because of what happened on September 11th, they have a blank check to do whatever they want, and they're gonna do it. The whole war with Iraq, among other things, it sounds really desperate.

Bib/Oa: Do you feel any consequences on the music business? We have been taking to a lot of bands that chose major labels to be able to afford what they want. they say they are still free... but Sleater-Kinney is still on Kill Rock Stars
Corin: Yes, but I think this is our last record we are going to do with Kill Rock Stars.

Bib/Oa: Because of financial demands?
Corin: : It is partly because of that and partly because Slim who runs the record label doesn't really want to do the label anymore. I do not think we will be signing onto a major label any time soon, but it is really difficult, it has got much leaner in the States. I mean the whole economy is going down the tubes, but the music industry, is very much like you're either on a major label or you're really struggling.

Bib/Oa: it is still comforting to see people still carry on in this setting, I am thinking of the big Ladyfest network, that spread so fast after it was started again in 2000 in Olympia. But of course, you cannot live from that....
Corin: no, you can't, trust me. Those people, they all lost money, at least in Olympia. So I think it is the next step for community organizing. It is learning to make a living, learning to run a business and make enough money to get a decent wage. You have to learn how to run your own small business. It is important for us to criticize capitalism and understand that we don't want to be tied to those major corporations. On the other hand, if we can lean how to support ourselves independently in some way... I do not know... The thing s that you just exhaust yourself over and over again with the non-profit organizing.

Bib/Oa: I think it also goes with being more mature, maybe.
Corin: Yeah, I have a kid now, you know, things are different.

Bib/Oa: What are the next plans for Sleater-Kinney, then?
Corin: This is basically it. We are taking some time off. We have been touring off and on for about a year

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