Brownstein and Tucker co-founded Sleater-Kinney in Olympia, Wash., during the 1990s feminist punk scene. While they were working on their new record, Little Rope, Brownstein's mother died suddenly.

Carrie Brownstein was headed into a studio in Los Angeles last fall when her friend and longtime Sleater-Kinney bandmate Corin Tucker called to give her the name and number of someone at the U.S.

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Our guests, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, formed the band Sleater-Kinney 30 years ago during the height of the riot grrrl feminist punk scene in Olympia, Wash ...