also a bit more mature in their structure and delivery than [their] earlier songs." All Hands on the Bad One is also the first Sleater-Kinney album where drummer Janet Weiss provides backing vocals on some tracks. Tucker remarked that they initially wanted her to sing on The Hot Rock, but the idea was ultimately rejected due to the album's complex melodies. All Hands on the Bad One was produced by John Goodmanson, who previously produced the band's third studio album, Dig Me Out. The band decided to work with him again because, according to Weiss, Goodmanson "has the incredible ability of capturing our live sound and heightening it, so we sound better". The album was recorded from December 1999 to January 2000 at Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, Oregon and John & Stu's Place in Seattle, Washington. Music and lyrics Similar to other Sleater-Kinney albums, the lyrics of All Hands on the Bad One feature personal, political, and social themes. The first song, "The Ballad of the Ladyman", is a deliberate attempt to mock those who misunderstand the band. Tucker said that the song is "almost making fun of how people see us, how people see what you're supposed to be when you're a woman in rock." The song was inspired when the band was invited to the Bowlie Weekender music festival in England in 1999. Tucker explained, "We were all staying in little chalets or whatever and we had our own cabin and we were cabin 216. Someone wrote this message to us that was like, 'Cabin 216 ladymen.' And we were like, 'What?' It was meant to be a funny thing, but in this other way, it was really this naming of us. It was a subtle way of saying, 'Oh, you're different because you're a woman band and because you're in some ways political.' It's still seen as threatening to people. It's not like we had this weekend where we just relaxed with everyone and just hung out." Kat Iudicello, writing for PopMatters, stated that the song "sports sweet harmonies, a slow anger and soft, low bitterness, and driving steady guitars and drums." The song "Male Model" targets the male role models for female rock bands, while "Pompeii" explores soul-searching themes such as one's losses and anxieties. "Youth Decay" was described by Iudicello as a song that "grapples with adult disbelief of the problems of youth and