Carrie Brownstein & Maggie Rogers
A pop star talks to her punk hero about Patti Smith, reinvention, and motorcycles
Maggie rogers has a lot of memories tied to Sleater-Kinney, from discovering their explosive 2005 album, The Woods, when she was in middle school to driving around listening to them on repeat while on vacation in Iceland. “I’ve had all these special moments interacting with your work,” she tells Carrie Brownstein, the guitarist-singer of the Portland trio, who’ve been adding nuance and power to their groundbreaking riot-grrrl rock & roll for more than two decades. Rogers comes prepared with questions, which makes sense because she was once an aspiring music journalist, before Pharrell Williams visited her class at NYU and his reaction to her song “Alaska” went viral. Brownstein, it turns out, is a big fan of Rogers’ debut album, which combines synthy Eighties-style pop with Seventies singer-songwriter introspection. Both Brownstein and Rogers are at pivotal points in their careers; Sleater-Kinney just released their first album in four years, The Center Won’t Hold, produced by St. Vincent. But right before it was released, longtime drummer Janet Weiss left the group due to creative differences. Rogers, meanwhile, is trying to figure out a creative way forward on her second album while touring heavily. Brownstein isn’t worried about her: “The next thing,” she tells Rogers, “will come around and surprise you.”
BROWNSTEIN I have a lot of “gotcha” questions. ROGERS I love those! This isn’t a gotcha question, I promise: I was actually at your show at La Cigale [in Paris in 2015]. The show was fucking amazing, and afterward I was just buzzing.
BROWNSTEIN Are you going to tell me that we met five years ago?
ROGERS Sort of! I really wanted to say thank you. I went to speak to you outside and you introduced yourself and asked me what my name was, and you’re the only person who has ever done that in a celebrity context. It has stuck with me in this really powerful way. I want to just say thank you, because it has totally changed the way that I interact with people.