11-6 are my top 6 of the year I think, though not in that order. So that's nice. But an off-year for indiewhatever music as a whole, I think.
I like these lists primarily because I like to see what I HAVEN'T heard and might like, so 'Gum's is automatically the best because of the linked songs. Can't wait to go through the list. Thanks, Gummos.
I'm one of the biggest Cribs guys around. One of my fondest memories is hanging out with two of the Jarmans before a local show -- incredibly good guys. I named one of my kids after one of them.
But 8th? For the year? I don't think even Mans Needs did that well! Confirms my suspicions that it was a pretty weak year for music.
I'll go to my grave saying that Superchunk is the most criminally underrated band in rock history. Rating Chunk's songs for a mixtape would be harder than rating the albums, I'd think.
I think Here's Where The Strings Come In is almost a perfect record, so that'd be #1 for me. "Hyper Enough," "Animated Airplanes," "Detroit Has A Skyline, Too," "Iron On" ... just great, great songs.
#2 "On the Mouth," if only for the Ultimate Superchunk Rockers, "Package Thief," and "Precision Auto."
#3 "No Pocky" is this low because the first half is so great I hardly ever listen to the rest except of course "Throwing Things," which might be their most underrated song.
#4 "Foolish" for the Big Reasons named above
#5 "Tossing". It's a compilation, but "Cadmium," "Shallow End," "On The Mouth," alternate "Throwing Things"...
I am insane. I haven't expected that much from the AC Newman solo records, just a few nice tunes. Then at the end of the year, I've got "Miracle Drug" or "All My Days Off" or "Like a Hitman" on top of of my Best Of disk. Couple years on, the next record comes out, and I don't expect that much, just a few nice tunes.
The school by my house is called Frank Black Middle School. The office lady looked at me like I was nuts when I went in to order 6 school t-shirts, Adult Large.
In my dream world, Darnielle adds one more verse to "Cubs in Five" and records it again -- this time with real equipment, not the tin can and string above. That song's always been a ten-out-of-ten for this big sports fan.
1-3) All the REM records from when I was in college.
4-6) All the REM records from when I was in high school, if any.
7-10) All the REM records from before that time, if any.
11-infinity) All the REM records since I got a job and got old.
With a few tweaks, the same formula works for pretty much any long-term band.
(For me, it's LRP, Doc, Murmur, Fables, (Dead Letter), Reck, (Chronic), OOT, Green, Automatic, and a bunch of shite.)
Better without Marr. Don't know why, just Cribs songs have always been about 3 brothers bashing it out, and Marr lent a bit too much sophistication, maybe? The Cribs remain proof that there is always room for big guitar chords and stadium-chant melodies. One of the most fun (and funniest) live bands out there. If you have a chance to go see them, you're a fool not to.
Not Beatles for me because of the odd intervals in the melody, but very much like late-90s/early-00s Elvis Costello. Which was actually pretty Beatlish, if I'm honest. The bass is similar to a Bruce Thomas line or six.
Too low -- Pogues "Fairytale" (first NYC song I thought of)
Should be on -- Elvis Costello "New Amsterdam"
Glad it's not on there -- Manhattan Transfer "Boy from NYC"
It's exciting enough to have a new Cribs record (though the Marr record didn't do much for me except for Cheat On Me and a couple others...and Housewife was great), but the ancillary benefit is watching Ryan Jarman do publicity for a new record. Dude is the funniest guy in the music business.
Who ever told Rush he was funny? Seems like his "jokes" are the only thing that gets him in the news. Ahhhhh, perhaps that's his plan to get pub. Anyway, with sponsors bailing, it seems like he made a slight miscalculation. If he wanted to slam her, he could've just called her a liar and a free-loader and been done with it.
Comments