how sad the song is,” says Tucker.
“She’s good at disguising melan-
choly with a very uplifting melody.”
The Future Is Here
“My relationship to technology is one
of skepticism,” says Brownstein
about the tech-wary refrain of “Can
I Go On.” “I love that the internet is a
democratizing force, but I also think
it created a lot of disparities.... I
think it conflates a lot of things that
used to not be conflated, whether
that’s high and low or good and
bad—all these things are mediated
through a single screen, and I find
that that has a flattening effect on
experience in general. It’s hard to
talk about it without people just
being like, ‘Oh you’re anti this.’ I’m
actually not. I embrace it, but,
just like everything, I question it.”
It’s the End of the World
“So much of this album is dealing
with the political landscape and the
fragility and fractiousness, and
couching those in personal narra-
tives,” says Brownstein. “A lot of
the verses are sung with a sense
of desolation or loneliness. It’s one
singer, and then you get to the
chorus and you’re joined by a group
of people who get you out of that
mess, where you feel like it’s the
end of a night at a bar and every-
one’s singing along. There’s
something kind of ramshackle about
the chorus, especially at the end,
and that’s very purposeful. What-
ever isolation you feel, you’ll be met
by people who understand you.”
that Weiss can never be replaced,
they’re forging ahead with the
release of the new album—which
includes the anthemic “Can I Go On,”
a song that finds the band exploring
female desire and existential dread.
Here, Tucker and Brownstein break
down its origins.
A Fresh Approach
The foundation for Center was laid
mostly via email, something Brown-
stein, who lives in L.A., and Tucker,
who lives in Portland, Ore., had never
done before. “It forced us to express
our proof of concept, and that’s hard
when you’re so reliant on the other
person to finish your sentences,”
says Tucker, who both sings and
plays guitar for the band. Adds fellow
guitarist-vocalist Brownstein: “When
you’re dealing with people who are
living far away, there’s a vulnerability
there, because it makes them the
audience, not just a bandmate, so
there has to be something a little
presentational about it. You can’t
just send a voice memo with a
melody that you’re singing while
you’re on a walk and expect some-
one to be like, ‘Yeah, we should work
on this song. It’s a good idea.’ ”
Happy and Sad
Before she started writing “Can I Go
On,” Brownstein was hooked on
Genesis’ “Misunderstanding,”
which she says helped inspire the
track’s circusy chorus. “One of the
things I think Carrie is particularly
good at is she takes an idea that’s
catchy, and you don’t even realize
↓ The hand-
written lyrics to
Sleater-Kinney’s
“Can I Go On”
NIKKO LAMERE
