Discography:
1995 - Sleater-Kinney (Chainsaw)
1996 - Call the Doctor (Chainsaw)
1997 - Dig Me Out (Kill Rock Stars)
1999 - The Hot Rock (Kill Rock Stars)
2000 - All Hands on the Bad One (Kill Rock Stars)
2002 - One Beat (Kill Rock Stars)
2005 - The Woods (Sub Pop)
2015 - No Cities to Love (Sub Pop)
2019 - The Center Won't Hold (Mom+Pop)
2021 - Path of Wellness (Mom+Pop)
#1 Must Have
Sleater-Kinney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now who would have believed this riot girl's a cynic
But they took our ideas to their marketing stores
And now I'm spending all my days at girlpower.com
Trying to buy back a little piece of me
(Everywhere you go they say "Hello,
Weren't you the one that sold your soul ?"
Every time you leave the say "Oh no,
And I think that I sometimes might have wished
For something more than to be a size six
But now my inspiration rests
In-between my beauty magazines and my credit card bills
I've been crawling up so long
On your stairway to heaven
And now I no longer believe that I wanna get in
And will there always be concerts where
Women are raped
Watch me make up my mind instead of my face
The number one must have
Is that we are safe
(Everywhere you go teenage
Is the rage
Inside your pants
And on the front page
Everywhere you go it's die or be born
If you can't decide then
It's your own war)
No more, No more, No more
And for all the ladies out there I wish
We could write more than the next marketing bid
Culture is what we make it, Yes it is
Now is the time, now is the time, now is the time
To invent, invent, invent, invent, invent, invent...
The lyrics to Sleater-Kinney's song #1 Must Have speak to the struggle of maintaining integrity as a feminist punk rock musician in an industry that often co-opts radical ideas to sell products. The lyrics start out by acknowledging the singer's position as a "bearer of the flag" of riot grrrl feminism from its inception, but also reveal her cynicism towards the commercialization of this movement when she says, "But they took our ideas to their marketing stores." She finds herself constantly trying to buy back pieces of her own identity from websites such as girlpower.com, where the language of feminism has been repackaged for mass consumption. The lines "Everywhere you go they say 'Hello,/Weren't you the one that sold your soul?'" and "Every time you leave they say 'Oh no,/Why did you ever let us go?'" highlight the way in which women are often blamed for their own exploitation in the entertainment industry, as though they had a choice in allowing their ideals to be commodified.
The second half of the song takes a turn towards the broader fight for gender equality, touching on issues such as body image ("And I think that I sometimes might have wished/For something more than to be a size six") and rape culture ("And will there always be concerts where/Women are raped"). The repeated refrain of "No more" signals a call to action, a refusal to accept the status quo. The singer implores women to write their own cultural narratives ("For all the ladies out there I wish/We could write more than the next marketing bid") and take ownership of their own bodies and lives ("Watch me make up my mind instead of my face"). Ultimately, the "number one must-have" is safety for all women, everywhere.
Line by Line Meaning
Bearer of the flag from the beginning
I have been championing this movement from the very start
Now who would have believed this riot girl's a cynic
It's surprising that even though I was once so passionate, now I've become jaded
But they took our ideas to their marketing stores
Those in power have co-opted our movement and commodified it
And now I'm spending all my days at girlpower.com
I'm trying to reclaim my identity by constantly engaging with a website dedicated to the movement
Trying to buy back a little piece of me
I'm actively attempting to regain control of my identity
(Everywhere you go they say "Hello, Weren't you the one that sold your soul ?
I'm faced with people who question my authenticity and accuse me of 'selling out'
Every time you leave the say "Oh no, Why did you ever let us go ?")
Every time I attempt to reconnect with my ideals, I'm met with resistance from those who have already given up
And I think that I sometimes might have wished For something more than to be a size six
Sometimes I question if I subconsciously desired to conform to societal beauty standards
But now my inspiration rests In-between my beauty magazines and my credit card bills
I've found motivation in consumerism and materialism
I've been crawling up so long On your stairway to heaven And now I no longer believe that I wanna get in
I've been struggling for so long to fit into the current power structure, but now I'm realizing it's not for me
And will there always be concerts where Women are raped
I fear that sexual assault will continue to occur and go unpunished in music scenes
Watch me make up my mind instead of my face
I'm focusing on my mental and emotional well-being instead of my appearance
The number one must have Is that we are safe
Safety is the most important thing we need to prioritize
(Everywhere you go teenage Is the rage Inside your pants And on the front page
Sexuality is everywhere in our culture, from teenage hormones to the media
Everywhere you go it's die or be born If you can't decide then
Our society is one of intense competition, and if you can't make choices for yourself, you'll suffer
It's your own war)
In the end, the struggle we face is an individual one
No more, No more, No more
I'm putting an end to this cycle of conformity and disillusionment
And for all the ladies out there I wish We could write more than the next marketing bid
I hope women are given the opportunity to express themselves authentically instead of simply being used for marketing purposes
Culture is what we make it, Yes it is Now is the time, now is the time, now is the time To invent, invent, invent, invent, invent, invent...
We have the power to shape our culture into what we want it to be, and now is the time to start creating something new
Contributed by Sarah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.