Carrie Brownstein is the guitarist and singer of the girl group Sleater-Kinney. Her new album, Little Rope, is marked by the death by car of her mother and her stepfather.

Brownstein: "Creation is a ritual that makes us feel alive: the songs will last beyond death" She says she and her bandmate, Corin Tucker, have become even closer since recording the album in the wake of the tragedy. "I have always used the guitar as my voice, to express myself," Brownstein says.