June 23, 2003Liner Notes:
1) Alex Chilton – Pleased To Meet Me – The Replacements
Paul Westerberg’s ode to Big Star’s Alex Chilton will always be one of my favorite rock n roll love letters. There’s nothing more fitting than writing a perfect pop song for one of the great unsung pop writers, and Westerberg’s simple chorus says it all, “I’m in Love… With That Song.”
2) In The City – The Radio One Sessions – Elastica
The recently released Radio One Sessions lets fans remember Elastica before they fell apart and hey, they weren’t that bad at all. “In The City” was left off of Elastica’s self-titled debut but it’s textbook Elastica: catchy, rollicking and just under 2 and a half minutes.
3) Speakers Push The Air – Good Health – Pretty Girls Make Graves
This is really the only PGMG song I like, and I’m not even sure why. Like “Alex Chilton,” this track is about falling in love with music, and is good enough to make you fall in love with it. For a three minute track it is wildly diverse, with verses that pull away at different directions before locking up again at the chorus.
4) Teenage Kicks – The Undertones – The Undertones
I’m not sure, but I think John Peel said this was his favorite single of all time or some other such crazy declaration. There have been lots of songs about teenage love, but few have ever encapsulated it as perfectly as “Kicks.” The way John O’Neill’s voice sorta breaks when he sings “Alright!” does it for me.
5) Oops! I Did It Again – 1000 Years of Popular Music – Richard Thompson
When Richard Thompson sings Britney, he transforms her Lolita bravado into straight up Dirty Old Man creepiness with stunning economy. Perverse and menacing, the song never feels like a light pop ditty until after Thompson’s tension racked guitar solo, when he invites the audience for a sugary singalong.
6) If I Can’t Change Your Mind – Besides – Sugar
This acoustic jam is listed as “Solo Mix” on the CD, so I’m not sure if it’s more a Sugar tune or a Bob Mould song. Without Mould’s feedback drenched electric production, his note ringing guitar work becomes almost folky. My favorite bit is the guitar solo/breakdown that starts underneath Mould’s soaring vocal note in the bridge.
7) Leaving Here – Live 04-16-03: Charlotte, NC – Pearl Jam
Here’s an old Holland/Dozier/Holland Motown song that made it’s way all the way to Pearl Jam. Strictly speaking, PJ’s cover is of The High Numbers (AKA The Who) version. This time, it was performed with Sleater-Kinney on backing vocals, and even in backup you can hear Corin Tucker’s voice threaten to swallow up the whole song.
8) Hackensack – Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
I think the single off this album is the comedic “Stacy’s Mom,” but I prefer this slow bit to a lost love. Like Matthew Sweet’s “Winona,” Fountains of Wayne straddles the line between sweet melancholy and disturbing obsessiveness.
9) The Bitter End – Sleeping With Ghosts – Placebo
I forget how I came across this track, as I’m not much of a Placebo fan at all. I liked it because it sounded a lot like old, old U2, especially the random pings of the synthesizer that pepper the song.
10) Jason’s Basement – Movement – Gossip
Ah, more of the Gossip. I promise there won’t be a Gossip song on next month’s mixtape. I assume this song is about playing basement parties on Olympia, WA, which is how the Gossip pretty much got their break. Like all their songs, this is designed for people to cram up against each other and get real, real sweaty.
11) S.O.S. – Tiger Beat – Bangs
More of that Olympia flavor here with an older Bangs track. I love the lyrics here for no apparent reason, as they range from the potent “I’d like to buy back for a dollar what you stole from me for a dime,” to the nonsensical “Like an octopus you bleed blue ink / Like a pair of jeans you’re fit to shrink.” What the hell does that mean?
12) Rock and Roll – How The West Was Won – Led Zeppelin
While Led Zeppelin’s known for it’s operatic grandeur, I dug them most when they stripped it down and dove straight ahead. This live version of “Rock and Roll” features the heavy boogie rhythm section that makes Led Zeppelin one of the most sampled rock act of all time.
13) The Ocean In Between – Kimi Ga Suki – Matthew Sweet
Sweet put out Kimi Ga Suki strictly for his Japanese fans, but he hasn’t sounded this interesting to these American ears in years. I’m assuming part of this is the reunion with his Girlfriend-era band, which features Television’s Richard Lloyd. Lyrically, this is the innocent version of Weezer’s “Across the Sea.”
14) In The Art Of Stopping – Send – Wire
This feels like one of those songs that was written behind a concept and a title. As if Wire were sitting in a studio saying, “hmm, let’s make a song with a line about the Art of Stopping, but make the entire song feel like perpetual motion and then instead of choruses, we’ll just have abrupt breaks.” OK, maybe they didn’t say it, but I did.
15) Miss Teen Wordpower – Electric Version – New Pornographers
I like the way Kurt Dahle drops these machine gun drumfills in this song without it ever feeling overpowering or distracting. I wish this song were about spelling bees, but they mention a swimsuit competition so it can’t be about spelling bees. At least, not the spelling bees I watch. I just realized that I don’t know what any of the New Pornographer songs are actually about, just that I know all the words anyway.
16) Timorous Me – The Tyranny of Distance – Ted Leo / Pharmacists
When I was at the Ted Leo show, his guitar was all messed up so he asked for requests for songs that were less guitary. Someone yelled “TIMOROUS ME!” to which Ted simply replied “But, that’s nothing BUT guitar and vocals!” He played it anyway. Admission Time: I had to look up “timorous” in the dictionary.
17) Dream All Day – Frosting On The Beater – The Posies
I had a weird early 90′s grunge/pop flashback a week or so ago, so I put on The Posies. I think this was their only modest hit, and it’s kind of weird artifact, hearing these pop rock songs pulled down with such downer guitars. The result is this psychedelia flavor that wouldn’t feel out of place on one of those Nuggets box-sets.
18) Sweetie – Calling All Kings and Queens – Le Tigre
I have NO IDEA where Le Tigre got that wonky horn sample from, but it sounds like a really awful Saturday morning cartoon. This song also features a harp sample and something that sounds like someone getting papercuts. Somehow, it all works.
19) Sinking Hearts – Sinking Hearts – The Organ
I never really saw any of the early 90′s shoegazer bands, but I can’t imagine any band moving less than The Organ did when I saw them. This is the only really great song off the Organ’s EP, unfortunately. All that aside, this song is awesome, with the nifty bassline and the chimey single note guitar. Also, the keyboard player is named Jenny Ewok, so I give them a pass.
20) Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis – New Coat of Paint – Neko Case
Tom Waits’ original is one of the most depressing songs ever, with the kind of ending that feels like a kick in the nuts. Sung by Neko Case, it’s even more heartbreaking. If I ever got a Christmas card like this, I’d go crazy.
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