Jeff Tweedy - "I'm Beginning To See The Light" (live)
The Decembrists - "Sons and Daughters"
Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah - "Gimmie Some Salt"
Ambulance Ltd. - "Swim"
Of Montreal - "Death Of A Shade Hue"
New Order - "Who's Joe?"
Lucinda Williams - "Words Fell"
I do a lot of praising on this blog (after all, it is my music), but it's time for a serious lament. What happened to Lucinda Williams? Her 1998 album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road was a revelation. I'd vaguely heard of this singer-songwriter who was known as a perfectionist who rarely released records, but that album was an all-time great roots rock record. I recall having that CD in very heavy rotation and recent listens have only confirmed it's brilliance. But, and this is a big BUT, almost everything I've heard by her since has (please cover the kids' eyes) pretty much sucked. She seems to have traded in the rootsy sound for a much more introspective, slow, blues-inflected song writing. Stil, somewhere along the way I figured, she must still be pretty good live, and picked up the 2005 release Live At the Fillmore (which I'm sure got praised in No Depression magazine, or somewhere like that). Mistake! Perhaps not surprising is that I still don't like most of her post-Car Wheels songs. But what is surprising is just how annoying her vocals have become (or are in this recording). She always had a tortured, whine that made some her countrified rock tunes so good. But here it's become an annoying shriek on most tunes. I think it's pretty much un-listenable. And yet it remains on my iPod. Damn you Steve Jobs for giving me so much freaking storage!
The Foundry Field Recordings - "Buried Beneath The Winter Frames"
Pixies - "Hey"
I don't want to go out so negative today, so it's time to get back to our regularly schedule praise-a-thon. What is still a picture of perfection since the day it was released? (April 18, 1989, btw.) Doolittle. OMG. How good is this record...still? Even something that might seem at fist like a throwaway track, "Hey," is just do damn good. With Joey Santiago's curling guitar licks and David Lovering's crashing drum beats...goose bumps. Plus the vocal interplay between Kim Deal and Frank Black. Amazing. A fellow blogger recently wondered about perfect albums: As in every single track a classic, from end to end, that still sounds perfect today. I nominate Doolittle.
The Fiery Furnaces - "Guns Under Counter"
Ray LaMontagne - "Three More Days"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 47
Song with the most previous plays: "Who's Joe?" - 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Is it raining? Is it warm? Is it blustery? Will the real weather please stand up.
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10 comments:
I agree. Doolittle is as perfect as an album can get.
Can you think of any bands who have put together back-to-back perfect albums? I would argue that Pavement's run of Slanted and Crooked Rain have achieved this distinction. (WZ reeked of too much pot smoke to make it three-in-a-row.) I know you have a friend that might make a case for Archers of Loaf or Guided by Voices.
I almost forgot that you were a Foundry fan. I talked to Billy and he thought that maybe the two of you had conversed through MySpace once. I'll have to let him know that one of his tracks made your play list.
I think I know the answer to this, but I assume you never hit thie skip button on the iPod because there's some song that you're just not in the mood for on your way to work. For instance, sometimes when I speed walk through the park I just don't need to hear "Lost Verses" by Sun Kil Moon (10 minutes) or certain songs by Luna, but I love those bands. I very much enjoy your blog.
Two in a row? I know indie rock is your thing, CP, but how about Mr. Neil Young's After The Gold Rush and Harvest?
Thanks for reading, Simon. When I started the blog I basically made a rule that I wouldn't skip any song on the way to work as part of the experiment. It ain't easy...
well, if we're going back ... among the obvious candidates (highway 61/blonde on blonde; rubber soul/revolver/sgt peppers; sticky fingers/exile; the clash/london callin; etc), i'll express my deepest affections for the perfect talking book/innervisions tandem.
Cool, this is like a discussion. Good ones, P-Cup. How about Tim / Let It Be? And back on the classic rock tip what about Darkside of the Moon / Wish You Were Here?
I guess the two-in-a-row thing was too easy. What about three? And let's make it interesting by not including The Beatles, Stones, or Dylan.
Spoon's last three (possibly four) come to mind right away. The White Stripes run of White Stripes, De Stijl, and White Blood Cells (although, some would argue that Elephant should replace the first record) was pretty spectacular.
I think a string of three great albums is hard to come by. Also, a great album can have some filler. It's the overall product that makes it great.
Often, where 3 come to mind, so does 4:
s. wonder: talking book, innervisions, fulfillingness' first finale, songs in the key of life
springsteen: greetings, the wild the innocent, born to run, darkness on the edge of town
e. costello: my aim is true, this year's model, armed forces
n. young: everybody knows, after the gold rush, harvest, on the beach, tonight's the night
joni mitchell: blue, for the roses, court and spark
I wonder if we're all diluting the notion of the perfect album. (Or mostly I just love the fact that there are so many comments on my blog and I want to keep the discussion going...) I mean, I like The White Stripes, but a perfect album! Same with Spoon. Also, I'm a big Elvis Costello fan but I do think some of his older hits have aged so well. (What's so funny about peace, love and understanding indeed?!) And sadly I'm not a fan of Stevie Wonder the way P-Cup is, but that's probably because I'm an idiot. And when it comes to Joni Mitchell, I respect her and appreciate her but I don't think she'd make my personal list of perfection. But hey, let's keep the discussion going. Anyone for Liscensed to Ill, Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head?
i thought the criterion changed from "perfect" to "great"
Oh. I thought Comoprozac was using the words "great" and "perfect" interchangeably. You people in Missouri are very confusing. If it is just "great," I would probably have an inexhaustible list. I I’m guilty of using that word to liberally - - especially when it comes to my basic music criticism.
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