Dig Me Out is a classic record. In many ways, it opened up the worlds of both Riot Grrl and Indie Rock to bigger, more mainstream audiences. It’s also nearly perfect as it is. When it was first announced, Dig Me In left me with mixed feelings… There could be some truly great interpretations of these songs on this record. But why mess with a good thing? I mean, other than to raise money for SMYRC, an organization that provides queer and trans youth a safe place to make art, 25% of the proceeds from this release go to.
Anyways you can check this out yourself here, but my thoughts on it are below:
St Vincent / Dig Me Out
I adore St Vincent. I think Daddy’s Home was a crowning achievement. However, a lot of fans blame Annie Clark for Janet Weiss leaving the band, which makes giving her the song that introduced SK fans to Weiss already feels a little funny. I would be able to let that go if her “Dig Me Out” was great. But it’s not. She’s been doing a lot of covers lately… And they all kinda sound the same. She’s got a formula- take a signature riff and place it in space, disconnected from the rest of the song, which is a synthetic reinterpretation of the original. If you heard “Sad But True” from the Metallica Blacklist album, you already know what her version of “Dig Me Out” sounds like.
Wilco / One More Hour
Sonically, this is the most faithful cover on the record. Wilco know the song well and masterfully recreated the original. “One More Hour” is also the most overtly queer breakup song ever written. Hearing it sung by a male presenting singer changes the meaning dramatically… Hearing lines like “Take off your dress, take off your face” and “don’t say another word about the other girl” make the song sound like it was written from the perspective of a controlling partner trying to gaslight a partner into staying. It’s pretty chilling.
Margo Price / Turn It On
Hands down, this is the best track on this thing. Possibly the “sexiest” song on the Sleater-Kinney catalog, Margo Price turns this song into a sultry, country-rock burner. I really want Price to release this as a legit single on country radio because this really deserves to be a hit.
Tunde Adebimpe / The Drama That You Crave
This one makes me really miss TV On The Radio. Tunde brought all the chaos and noise of those classic TVOTR records. He punctuates the bitterness and sarcasm of the original nicely. There is little sonic resemblance to the original, but all of the soul is there, which is what you want in a cover.
Self Esteem / Heart Factory
This acoustic version of “Heart Factory” could’ve easily been one of a million acoustic covers on YouTube. However, Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s voice is stunning, and she punctuates the song’s tenderness and beauty, letting it rise above the distortion of the original.
Courtney Barnett / Words + Guitar
Possibly the most unnecessary cover on this record? Barnett is great, but she didn’t bring anything new to this song. It doesn’t hurt that “Words + Guitar” is already very Courtney Barnett.
Black Belt Eagle Scout / It’s Enough
Katherine Paul, aka Black Belt Eagle Scout, is probably the only guitarist on this that’s a better player than Carrie Brownstein. She found another side to “It’s Enough,” that’s still a driving rock song. Her intonation is practically the opposite of Corin Tucker, pushing the lyrics to the forefront, sounding more exasperated than angry. This is my favorite cover on this that isn’t a dramatic stylistic reworking of the original.
The Linda Lindas / Little Babies
I mean, this one is a little too obvious. That being said, it’s also great. The Linda Lindas are one of the best new bands around, and the fact that most of them are still in middle school means I suspect we will be seeing them grow significantly. This track? A well-done power-pop cover. More Go-Gos than Sleater-Kinney, but that’s not a bad thing by any measure.
Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires / Not What You Want
The second country cover, and nowhere near as exciting as the Margo Price version. Also, this is clearly an Amanda Shires-dominating track. Why does Jason Isbell get first listing? That being said, this one does add a bit of arena rock sheen to the original, and I’m pretty sure if I can across this version at a music festival, I’d lose my shit. Just in the company of so many other, better covers, it’s not standing out.
Tyler Cole / Buy Her Candy
Up until this track, nothing had the lofi beauty of the original. Tyler Cole’s earnest cover of Buy Her Candy feels the most of its time. It does move into some 00’s Warped Tour emo territory by the end, but the journey to the point feels damn good.
Big Joanie / Things You Say
THE ORGAN! It’s not the most dominant instrument, but the organ really makes this track. Singer Stephanie Phillips sounds great. It’s somewhere between a gospel and country rock track. I love it.
Low / Dance Song ’97
You have already pictured in your head what Low doing “Dance Song ’97” sounds like. What you are imagining is almost definitely correct.
Nmandï / Jenny
What a great way to close this thing out! We already know “Jenny” is a great album closer, but Nmandï owns it and makes it their own. This track would stand on its own nicely and would fit comfortably in Nmandï’s catalog.
