Sleater-Kinney took its name from a road near its first practice space in Lacey, Washington. As rock critic Greil Marcus once said, someday people will think the road was named after the band.

After rising from the ashes of Riotgrrrl bands Heavens to Betsy and Excuse 17, vocalist/guitarists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein put out two albums on the girl-positive indie label Chainsaw. The second of these, 1996's "Call the Doctor," an unbridled 30 minutes of adrenaline-charged, cliché-free punk-pop (capped with Tucker's vibrato cries of "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone") brought the band mass critical acclaim. Drummer Janet Weiss joined the band's ranks for "Dig Me Out," the band's '97 disc for Kill Rock Stars. With its visibility rising, Sleater-Kinney got labeled everything in the girl-positive, post-Riotgrrrl, and queercore spectra. Yet there's nothing exclusive or exclusionary about the band. At its heart is the need, and the love, to rock.

This year brought "The Hot Rock" to record stores and even a video (for "Get Up") to MTV airwaves. World domination could be next, but the trio would probably prefer to keep hitting the stage and delivering its unconventional vibe straight into your veins.

MTV News visited Sleater-Kinney before its show at New York City's Irving Plaza recently and talked about the trio's fans, its thoughts on Lilith Fair, and the pre-millennium necessity for bands like the Backstreet Boys.

Here's the drama you've been craving....