Listening Log: March 12th thru March 15th, 2010

Matador 1999

3/13/10-3/15/10

Album of the Day: Pavement “Terror Twilight”

This has been on my turntable for the last three days. I just keep flipping from side to side. I bought the vinyl used at Love Garden years ago, back when it was still the old upstairs store. The near-mint copy was only six dollars. Nowadays, with vinyl being how popular it is, I bet “Terror Twilight” would go for at least double that amount. Hell, maybe even triple, what with their reunion tour coming up later this year. That is part of the reason I was listening to Pavement, actually—I just paid $54 for my GA ticket to the Uptown show on 9/11/10, and even though the show is still six whole months away, I feel myself getting more psyched for it all the time. I never got to see Pavement live. They are one of those bands that first turned me on to great rock music, and I came along just a little too late to actually witness them.

Beach House “Teen Dream”

Sub Pop 2010

I realize this review is coming a bit late. Not only was “Teen Dream” officially released in January, but it leaked onto the internet back in November. Even then, people were already blowing it up by word of mouth. I was impressed that so many people were talking about the record several months before its release, but being who I am, I also have to reserve some skepticism for those situations. I mean, seriously—Public Enemy was right when they said “Don’t believe the hype”. If you’re not careful, you can get tangled in that web pretty easily and might even totally forget what really turns you on musically.

Record Geek Heaven’s Top 50 Albums of the Decade (part 2)

Now to finish it off!

25. Bjork—Selmasongs (2000)

Like the film Dancer in the Dark did for the musical, “In the Musicals” reinvents the musical number. It has all the rising, uplifting trajectory of the best Rogers & Hammerstein tunes without being cheesy and overbearing like those were. Sure, musicals were the thing back in the forties, but it can be safely said that their popularity and credibility are slipping these days.

Top 100 Albums of the Decade 2000-2009 (part 3)

Sloan—Pretty Together
Murderecords, 2001

Maybe it’s the fact that they are Canadian and American audiences just can’t stomach them, maybe their songwriting is just too saccharine for most American tastes—who knows. Whatever the reason, Sloan will never get what they deserve from America.