September 30, 2003
1) I Hate The Kids – Suicide Invoice – Hot Snakes
A song so rocking that I named my column after it. The bass sounds like it’s a rubber band and the song just grinds along after it.
2) Liquid Courage – Pretty Girls Make Graves EP – Pretty Girls Make Graves
I saw PGMG rip through this old drinking anthem at the show and it really flipped me around on their old stuff. The song doesn’t make me want to drink as it makes me want to jump and scream.
3) Wave of Mutilation – Live at the BBC – The Pixies
I’m still not sure what I think about a Pixies reunion (if and when that actually happens), but I know I’ll be there to see how much they rock and/or suck.
4) Move On – Bandages UK Single – Hot Hot Heat
Is it just me or does this sound like Dexy’s Midnight Runners? Great song, despite the fact that it may remind you of heinous old bands.
5) Rebel Without a Pause – It Takes a Nation of Millions – Public Enemy
I hate to be one of those “nobody makes music like this anymore” but man… nobody makes music like this anymore. It’s a relatively straightforward Bomb Squad production: a beat, a squeal and Chuck D putting his mike in your chest.
6) Olio – Echoes – The Rapture
I’m definitely against the idea of the Rapture being the best thing since sliced bread (I distrust dance music in general, and even more so when it’s from White folks that aren’t sufficiently poor). That said, “Olio” sounds like a remixed b-side from The Cure’s Disintegration and I’m down with that.
7) Obstacle 2 – Turn On The Bright Lights – Interpol
“Love is in the kitchen with a culinary eye” … What the heck is that supposed to mean? What do any of Interpol’s lyrics mean?
8) Los Angeles, I’m Yours – Her Majesty – Decemberists
A hilariously beautiful ode to my city, it’s about the only ballad you’ll hear with repeated lyrics about vomiting. One of the great backhanded compliments ever written about Los Angeles.
9) Jesus, Etc – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
When I saw Wilco at the Hollywood Bowl they brought out a string quartet and “Jesus Etc” would have made Jesus cry. I don’t even like Wilco that much, but this song brought me to my knees.
10) California Stars – Mermaid Avenue – Wilco
Another song I saw at the same concert, except that it was performed with a combo of Wilco and the Minus 5.
11) Orange Crush – Green – R.E.M.
I’ve seen R.E.M. play lots and lots of songs, but it was amazing to see them rip through “Orange Crush” after all these years. I wish Stipe had done the whole megaphone monologue in the middle though.
12) High Fidelity – Get Happy!!! - Elvis Costello
I watched “High Fidelity” on DVD and I had to wonder… why wasn’t this song on it? They used “Shipbuilding” instead. For a movie that had such great takes on music, it had a really boring soundtrack.
13) Tangled Up In Blue – The Essential Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan
People always talk about how Bob Dylan is a horrible singer, but not many people would come up with some of these phrasings. His great talent as a singer is being able to wrap lyrics that don’t fit the song structure to the point where they feel just right.
14) Mesmerizing – Exile In Guyville – Liz Phair
I miss Liz Phair. What ever happened to her anyway?
15) Look a Ghost In The Eye – The Golden Dove – Mary Timony
Timony’s such a great guitar player, with such a great sense for that empty space. It’s an old record, but it sounds a bit like some of the stuff that Cat Power would end up doing years later.
16) Days of Wine and Booze – Down With Wilco – The Minus 5
Even more from Wilco, the band that I didn’t like that much. I guess I liked them more than I thought.
17) Rusty Cage – Unchained – Johnny Cash
One day, when I was back in college I flipped on The Box and Johnny Cash was on TV, sitting in a studio. I cocked my head and thought “Is he singing Soundgarden?” He was. I taped it and I watched it over and over again, mostly because of the way Cash read “burning deisel / burning dinosaur bones.” That’s about the lamest Cash story you’ll ever hear, but that’s mine. R.I.P. Cash.
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