In a raucous and revealing panel discussion at New York City's Ace Hotel, the stars and creators of Comedy Central's Broad City interviewed all three members of the newly reunited rock band Sleater-Kinney Friday night. As part of a lengthy Q&A before an intimate crowd of about 150, Broad City's Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer peppered Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker and Janet Weiss with far-reaching questions shortly before the Tuesday release date for Sleater-Kinney's new album, No Cities To Love.
Though the two groups have operated under drastically different timelines — Broad City premiered just last year, while Sleater-Kinney was founded more than two decades ago — the members of both had much to say about creative restlessness ("We can't just settle," Weiss says), feminism, gender-based pigeonholing, audience and media expectations and commercialism. Glazer even read off a few questions submitted by Amy Poehler, an avowed Sleater-Kinney fan who helped will Broad City into televised existence.
Naturally, the Ace Hotel's Liberty Hall wasn't nearly large enough to fit everyone who'd want to attend, especially given the unique moment in each of the careers represented on stage. One of the most celebrated and important bands of the last 25 years, Sleater-Kinney only recently ended an eight-year hiatus, while Broad City just last week kicked off its second season — and, it turns out, has just been renewed for a third. Following the everyday coexistence of two twentysomething best friends in New York City, the show (which spun off from a successful web-only series) finds humor in the awkwardness of the everyday.
The mutual respect onstage was unmistakable: When Glazer and Jacobson insisted that Broad City wouldn't exist without Sleater-Kinney, Tucker replied, "When we watch your show, I want to write a song."
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