Sleater-Kinney's "One More Hour" is really great. I'm glad that that is their representation on the tracks list
It was my favourite SK song as a teen, and it's still my favourite now. In retrospect I shoulda figured out I was gay waaaaaay sooner. Fuck compulsory cishet.
Anyway, as much as I love the songs on Dig Me Out, I think The Hot Rock is their true full-length masterpiece.
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 04:23 (one year ago) link
"one more hour" is their best song yeah
― ufo, Friday, 30 September 2022 04:25 (one year ago) link
Lists! On the internet!
― “Cheeky cheeky!” she trills, nearly demolishing a roadside post (forksclovetofu), Friday, 30 September 2022 05:26 (one year ago) link
went through a little 'exile in guyville' phase recently but LOL @ ranking it above 'nevermind'
― flopson, Friday, 30 September 2022 05:49 (one year ago) link
'american water' above any pavement album (also no 'wowee zowee') is kinda crazy imo. DB is one of my fav song writers ever, but the SJ albums are all kinda uneven imho. the pavement albums are just perfect front to back
― flopson, Friday, 30 September 2022 05:55 (one year ago) link
122. Roni Size / Reprazent: New Forms (1997)
hell yeah
― flopson, Friday, 30 September 2022 05:58 (one year ago) link
idk i think all the pavement albums are kinda inconsistent and chaotic but that's also supposed to be part of the appeal
but yeah american water being above crooked rain is pretty weird
― ufo, Friday, 30 September 2022 06:12 (one year ago) link
None more so than Wowee Zowee, which is a sprawling masterpiece of chaos.
Sebadoh albums make Pavement look super consistent by comparison though...
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 06:30 (one year ago) link
'crooked rain' is completely solid
― flopson, Friday, 30 September 2022 06:42 (one year ago) link
I dunno, Range Life is a great song but it is a bit of a gimmick. And that fake jazz song is kinda cringe.
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 06:44 (one year ago) link
the problem with 'american water' is nothing else comes close to 'smith and jones' and 'random rules'. since those are 2 of the best songs of all time, it's a steep drop-off right at the beginning
― flopson, Friday, 30 September 2022 06:46 (one year ago) link
crooked rain is the most consistent pavement album but it still has one goofy aside in "5-4=unity" and i do not care about "hit the plane down" at all
― ufo, Friday, 30 September 2022 07:03 (one year ago) link
― flopson
idk part of Pavement's charm for me is their insistence on shaggy-ass experiments that are best skippable and at worst active irritants; it's why I rank WZ above the rest. I couldn't imagine Pavement without them.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 September 2022 09:27 (one year ago) link
Pavement could make puzzling choices over what to put on albums and what to leave off; their B-sides were often the equal or better of their album cuts. I'm thinking of Strings of Nashville in particular.
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 09:41 (one year ago) link
i resent the idea that it's ludicrous to rank exile over nevermind, it's a lot better (but they're both good unlike pavement for example)
― Left, Friday, 30 September 2022 11:08 (one year ago) link
Tbh agree, EiG is a much better record—
― broccoli rabe thomas (the table is the table), Friday, 30 September 2022 11:26 (one year ago) link
Pollard is a better songwriter and an infinitely better lyricist/poet than Berman or Malkmus could ever hope to be.
this claim is false metal incarnate
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 30 September 2022 11:41 (one year ago) link
also false maths
― mark s, Friday, 30 September 2022 12:05 (one year ago) link
i can see people ranking American Water above CR CR. WZ is better tho
*the whole album is catchy--lyrics, Malkmus shredding, the drums. you can literally sing the whole album, the lyrics are so good etc*CR has Newark Wilder and Hit the Plane--now if they had put All My Friends on there, who knows? Or Raft?
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 12:14 (one year ago) link
i love newark wilder lol
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 12:42 (one year ago) link
it’s a brand new era! it feels great!
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 12:44 (one year ago) link
That's one way Pavement remind me of REM. Feels like everyone has a different favorite REM record--kinda similar with Pavement. Probably mostly Wowee Zowee but I bet after that there's a lotta variety. BTW has there been a pavement album poll?
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 12:51 (one year ago) link
ah yes found it. interesting. I'd probably rank WZ S&E (American Water) CRCR BTC TT
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 12:57 (one year ago) link
i think the highest highs are on crooked rain, and it also sticks together best as an album qua album imo
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 13:09 (one year ago) link
hit the plane down and 5-4 are oddities that come with the slacker territory, but both are better than brinx job
― comedy khadafi (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 September 2022 13:10 (one year ago) link
hahaha we agree to disagree but i think that's what interesting about the band--tough to pick a definitive rant
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 13:13 (one year ago) link
I sometimes say to others 'well I do like some Pavement, Wowee Zowee say', but last time I listened to it I turned it off pretty quickly so I'm not sure now.
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 30 September 2022 13:47 (one year ago) link
The liberals say they like them but I know that they don't.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 30 September 2022 13:48 (one year ago) link
I've never heard Terror Twilight, maybe that's the ticket
― you can see me from westbury white horse, Friday, 30 September 2022 13:49 (one year ago) link
Sebadoh albums make Pavement look super consistent by comparison though...III or Smash Your Head really should qualify for these lists – but like a few other major indie bands of the day (Unrest; the aforementioned RTX) Sebadoh seems largely ignored/forgotten now (Bakesale did make the ‘99 list, fwiw)
― "Cool ranch dressing!" (morrisp), Friday, 30 September 2022 14:04 (one year ago) link
Man Smash your Head was so huge in my day
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 14:15 (one year ago) link
just a massive record. same with III
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 14:16 (one year ago) link
God Imperial by Unrest, too!
― a (waterface), Friday, 30 September 2022 14:27 (one year ago) link
_Pollard is a better songwriter and an infinitely better lyricist/poet than Berman or Malkmus could ever hope to be._this claim is false metal incarnate
― broccoli rabe thomas (the table is the table), Friday, 30 September 2022 16:41 (one year ago) link
In this house we believe Pavement suck ass
― “uhh”—like, this is an insane oatmeal raisin cookie “uhh” (President Keyes), Friday, 30 September 2022 16:50 (one year ago) link
i'm not from around here, so afaik pavement and pollard suck.
― ミ💙🅟 🅛 🅤 🅡 🅜 🅑💙彡 (Austin), Friday, 30 September 2022 17:48 (one year ago) link
(don't lose your sense of humor)
funny that whiney brought up lambchop the other day bc i heard their (masterful, peerless, crushingly gorgeous and strange) new record today and i think kurt wagner is my preferred indie rock guy among these dudes, lyrically, musically, etc.
but berman was an incredible writer
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 September 2022 17:55 (one year ago) link
i personally don't get a transgressive thrill out of dissing someone who was good tho
pollard responsible for some of the funniest indie rock lyrics of all time ("shit yeah it's cool") but i don't think he's on the level of either malkmus or berman
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 September 2022 18:03 (one year ago) link
In the actual 90s I always regarded Sebadoh as the quintessential “indie rock” band. Like if there was a Mount Rushmore of “indie” it would have been Sebadoh, Sonic Youth, GbV and Pavement. And if you can grant my metaphor some latitude, then add Built to Spill.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Friday, 30 September 2022 18:33 (one year ago) link
They wrote the genre's titular jam!
― "Cool ranch dressing!" (morrisp), Friday, 30 September 2022 18:36 (one year ago) link
Sebadoh III would surely be in my top '90s records. It has all the lo-fi charm of Lou's earlier releases, and hints of the full-on noise pop they'd pursue later as a full band on the likes of Smash Yr Head. As an album it's all over the place but I love every minute. Hugely important to the lo-fi bedroom pop scene (the Shrimper label et al) and more importantly, to me as a depresso teenager.
Interestingly, I recently learned Domino was founded to release a Sebadoh record, like an early '90s version of Blast First, hoovering up the best unsigned bands from across the Atlantic. Of course now they're more associated with their UK guitar band signings of the oughts (Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys).
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:38 (one year ago) link
Pgwp otm
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:40 (one year ago) link
This thread has derailed in the best possible way into a '90s American indie thread, which tbh is pretty apposite for what p4k used to be
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:45 (one year ago) link
Speaking of Liz Phair, I saw her on a billboard today, some fashion brand. So I guess Liz Phair is ... mainstream?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:51 (one year ago) link
I have so much to say about 90s American indie that I have no idea where to start so I won't say anything.
...except just this one thing: the best 90s American indie album of all time is Swirlies – They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In The Glittering World Of The Salons
― Evan, Friday, 30 September 2022 18:56 (one year ago) link
i personally don't get a transgressive thrill out of dissing someone who was good thopollard responsible for some of the funniest indie rock lyrics of all time ("shit yeah it's cool") but i don't think he's on the level of either malkmus or berman
― broccoli rabe thomas (the table is the table), Friday, 30 September 2022 19:09 (one year ago) link
I feel the exact opposite. Never got the 'Robert Pollard is such a songwriting genius he could toss off a hit in his sleep but chooses not to' hype.
I mean, he DID try on Hold on Hope, and that was awful.
― The Ghost Club, Friday, 30 September 2022 19:12 (one year ago) link
Pollard's wordplay is like his collage art. It sounds like he is narrating an experimental comic. I love that about it.
― Evan, Friday, 30 September 2022 19:12 (one year ago) link
lip 1ol, I never got into GBV but ended up seeing them during a festival this summer and a friend who was definitely a 90s indie rock dude was explaining "he's just written so many songs!"
the show was fine but I wasn't about to run home and work my way through the discography
― mh, Friday, 30 September 2022 19:14 (one year ago) link