1997 Ain't Havin' Any Of This Shit

This is actually a really fun way to spend my work day.

1997
Björk – Telegram
Daft Punk – Homework
Spoon – Soft Effects EP
Built to Spill – Perfect From Now On
Blur – Blur
Pavement – Brighten the Corners
Elliott Smith – Either/Or
The Dismemberment Plan – The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified
The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death
The Sea & Cake – The Fawn
Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
Supergrass – In It For The Money
Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
Guided By Voices – Mag Earwhig!
Radiohead – OK Computer
Company Flow – Funcrusher Plus
Godspeed You Black Emperor! – F#A#∞
Björk – Homogenic
Stereolab – Dots and Loops
The Apples in Stereo – Tone Soul Evolution
Portishead – Portishead
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy
Will Oldham – Joya
The Flaming Lips – Zaireeka (a record that comes on four discs that must be played simultaneously)
Roni Size & Reprazent – New Forms
Jay-Z – In My Lifetime, Vol. 1
Modest Mouse – The Lonesome Crowded West
Flake Music – When You Land Here, It’s Time to Return (band later renamed The Shins)

That’s a sick list. 1997, you have made your point.

In Defense of 1991 (And a Grizzly Bear Retraction)

First things last: it should be noted that my previous post praising Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest was based entirely on hearing just two songs, "Two Weeks" and "While You Wait For The Others." They are two incredible songs that should be taught to school children for the next half century, and I expected the rest of the record to follow suit. But the rest of the record sucks. Sucks hard. It's all dissonant space and cloudy atmospherics. It's the sound of a band that's afraid to be the kickass pop band the aforementioned songs suggest they could be, so they pile on the haze and arrange their songs to be as obtuse and inaccesible as possible. You know how Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was Wilco trying really hard to be important, to be Radiohead. That's what Veckatimest is like, and it's no fun to listen to.

On to the real subject at hand: 1988? You're kidding me, Petey. I'll put up 1991 in a steel cage match against 1988 any ole' day of the week. Let's go to the tale of the tape, shall we:

1991
Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
Spacemen 3 - Recurring
Morrissey - Kill Uncle
R.E.M. - Out of Time (a.k.a. the record that made R.E.M. megastars)
Bob Dylan's "Bootleg" series
Slint - Spiderland
Boyz II Men - cooleyhighharmony
De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
Smashing Pumpkins - Gish
Mercury Rev's debut record
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing (my least favorite of theirs, but still)
Massive Attack - Blue Lines
Blur - Leisure
Pearl Jam - Ten
Pixies - Trompe le Monde
Nirvana - Nevermind
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Public Enemy - The Enemy Strikes Black
Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
U2 - Achtung Baby

And that's not even mentioning all the Top 40 shit that came out in 1991, like Jesus Jones, EMF, Garth Brooks, or that Guns N' Roses double record bullshit, or Metallica's and Red Hot Chilli Peppers' biggest records.

And what do we have for 1988:
Biz Markie - Goin' Off
Bobby McFerrin - Simple Pleasures (the record that launched a thousand middle school talent contestants)
Tracy Chapman - the one with "Fast Car" on it
Ted Nugent - If You Can't Lick 'Em... Lick 'Em (classic Nuge!)
Stacey Q - Hard Machine (you're getting colder)
Morrissey - Viva Hate (okay, I'll give you this one)
Pixies - Surfer Rosa (yeah, well, you get this one, too)
Talking Heads - Naked (meh... )
The Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good (another point in your favor)
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Barbed Wire Kisses (wow, this year's getting pretty good)
Living Colour - Vivid
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Eric B & Rakim - Follow the Leader
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
The Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Peepshow
Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown (okay, for hip-hop, I'll concede, but as far as indie rock or post-punk, I'm pretty sure 1991 still takes the day)
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (motherfucker!)
R.E.M. - Green
Happy Mondays - Bummed (really? goddamit!)
My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything
Bad Brains - Live
Galaxie 500 - Today

Okay, I think the only thing I've proven is that both of those years were pretty kickass. So maybe this year has a lot farther to go before it gets to the top than I thought. Oh well, it won't be the last time I'm wrong.

Don't You Mean, "Suck It 1988"...

...which was obviously, and quite objectively, the best year in recorded music. Anyway, since I can't back that statement up in any way-shape-form, and while I'm waiting for Mr. Mike to officially take back his claims about the new Grizzly Bear, I'll distract our millions of loyal readers with a sampling of music that is currently awesome (to me):

"Daily Routine (Phaseone remix)" - Animal Collective

'Daily Routine' is one of my favorites from Merriweather Post Pavillion, but is this better than the original?? Definitely close--not a huge departure from the original except with slight nuances: prominent hand claps, the 'yeah...yeah' sample in between verses 1 & 2, and a different bass line. It's more hip-hoppy, if you will--and I mean that in the most hardcore way possible. I like how Phaseone takes the percussion all the way through the outro like a good, structured pop song should (unlike the original).


"Daniel" - Bat For Lashes

Take the bass line from my favorite Cure song ('A Forest'), slow it down a bit, and then add earnest love song lyrics dedicated to the titular character from a childhood cinema classic ("The Karate Kid") and well, I love it anyway.


"The Things That Hate Us" - Atmosphere

Get it for free here (legally, the whole frickin' album--but the aforementioned song is best). Just a little jab about existence in the good ol' US of A. Technically, this came out at the end of December '08, but oh well.
Sample lyrics:
"Strip clubs, gun shops, Oh Jesus/
right next to the liquor store for your convenience/"
&
"America the beautiful/
that's how she played us/
wasn't that cute/
it must've been her make-up/"


"Reality Check (aka Reality TV) feat. Black Thought" - J Dilla Jay Stay Paid

J Dilla aka JayDee (R.I.P.) was (and still is) the golden child of hip-hop producers circa 1990s-2000s (think 9th Wonder with a bit more tenure/longevity) who wasn't afraid to bridge the gap between the underground and mainstream--DOOM to De La Soul to Mary J. Blige. This song features the Roots' front man in a biting anti-reality TV diatribe (there really needs to be more of this--I would definitely buy stock in reality TV backlash).


The Ecstatic - Mos Def > see especially "Quiet Dog Bite Hard"

Ok, so it may not be a great album all the way through or as good as his earlier work, but it still is a pleasant surprise considering the previews I've seen for Next Day Air. And in the realm of rappers turned actors, I think Mos Def currently resides on the top of the mountain.


Still Night, Still Light - Au Revoir Simone

I'm still forming my thoughts about this album, but I'll tentatively say that I like it better than their first two. It definitely has a darker, more somber feel than the last album (The Bird of Music). Every now and then I wish one of these ladies would put down the keyboard and pick up a guitar...

The Year That Chamber Pop Broke

This year has been seriously sick, music-wise. Aside from the records we gushed over a few months back (including Animal Collective's game-changing Merriweather Post Pavillion), the stream of consistently awesome records continues seemingly unabated.

Add to our previous list of greatness: Madeline's White Flag and Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest, the latter of which contains "Two Weeks," a song currently battling Animal Collective's "My Girls" for Song of the Year honors, and which also has a pretty fantastic video.



I'm calling it now -- 2009: Best Year for Music, Ever.

Suck on that, 1991!