The story of Sleater Kinney song ‘I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone’
In the 1990s, Sleater Kinney were shaking things up. As part of the Washington music scene that included Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains and more, the grunge band helped pioneer the decade’s sound.
But Sleater Kinney always had a distinct edge. In the male-dominated world of the rock scene, Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, and Janet Weiss stood out from their peers. Refusing to just be the girls in the crowd, admiring bands, the music fans decided to take to the stage themselves. Forming in 1994, the trio played a vital role in the riot grrrl movement of the ‘90s, encouraging more women into rock spaces and fighting the patriarchy of the music industry.
Their songs matched their attitude. Heavily influenced by the DIY grunge scene around them, their sound became unique and wild. Merging punk with the looser sounds creeping into the new alternative scene, Sleater Kinney were big on experimentation. Bringing in new styles, sounds and instruments, they were tireless in their excitement for making music, refusing to be boxed in.
Their lyricism also spoke to a keen sense of rebellion. With all the members having come from other riot grrrl bands, the topics of feminism and politics were heavily ingrained in all their compositions. Brownstein once said, “Sleater-Kinney are brave enough and strong enough to make a difference and get the word out.” Turning their lyrical pen and critical eye to topics of equality, exploitation, growing up as a woman and trying to navigate a heavily masculine space, the music industry as a whole was also a regular target of their lyrics.
One song especially perfectly sums up their 1990s voice. ‘I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone’ taken from their 1996 record, Call The Doctor, references several male rock icons. With a title inspired by The Stooges ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’, the song also calls upon the Ramones’ lead singer.
The track pokes fun at the way male musicians, especially, are heralded like gods. Comparing how men are treated in the industry in contrast to their female counterparts, the song is an outright call for gender equality.
On every level, from posters on bedroom walls to male music fans’ behaviour in crowds, Sleater Kinney tear apart that way the industry seems set up for men to succeed ahead of women.
In her memoir, Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl, Brownstein traces her career from her childhood to today. Regularly commenting on the way the patriarchy affected her and the inequality the band faced during their early career, she talks about this track in particular. “‘Joey’ was really the first song that set the precedent of what would become our habit of meta-songwriting, where we were in a band writing about being in a band, singing about singing,” she writes.
Often referencing the industry and their role in it in their songs, the topic of music itself is a regular one in their discography. In ‘I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone’, the band considers all the stereotypes about what it means to be a rockstar, with obsessive fans and bustling crowds.
But they’re not trying to romanticise it, Brownstein adds, “I feel the need to point out that our intent was different from those classic rock songs about being on tour. This isn’t us singing about roadies, drugs, and groupies.”
Instead, the track is a self-aware look at music and their roles in it as Sleater Kinney were getting more successful. “We were in dialogue with ourselves; we responded to and addressed the fans, the critics, and even our own work,” Brownstein explains.
