Carrie Brownstein

I have a complicated relationship with Portlandia. To start, I was born in Portland and I still live here, and I want everyone in the world to know that it's a great city with more to offer than coffee and bearded white dudes, so I am psyched that it is getting national, positive attention. However, Portlandia does little to challenge stereotypes about Portland and instead reinforces them by mocking bearded white dudes drinking coffee, causing my Facebook friends from the east coast to message me out of the blue, reminding me to "put a bird on it!" (I hate birds). And like others of you, I wish Portlandia was more critical of Portland and of white hipster culture in general, because a lot of race and class privilege is required before you can sit around all day watching Battlestar Gallactica and have audiences get the joke instead of telling you to get a job.

(Wild Flag cover the Rolling Stones' Beast of Burden. Genderbent covers=some of my favorite things...)

The big exciting announcement in music this week was supposedly that iTunes now has the Beatles catalogue. Well, in news that may shock some of you—I was A. unaware that they didn't already, as I'd never looked for it, and B. unconcerned, as I don't actually like the Beatles.

I understand that the Beatles are incredibly important to the history of rock 'n' roll. Hell, Ringo produced T. Rex, without whom I would not be who I am! (That was a joke. Partly.) But I never get the urge to sit down and listen to the Beatles. I am an Elvis/Stones girl, and yes I know that the Beatles had far better gender politics (well, sorta) than Elvis or Mick Jagger. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

"Indefinite hiatus" are two words you never want to hear from your favorite band. But when it comes to Sleater-Kinney, it means rad new rock projects rather than a riot grrl death knell.

A look back at Degrassi: The Next Generation's season two episode "Shout," and how Paige Michalchuk uses rock music to work through the trauma of date rape.