16th August - Sebadoh's III

Artist – Album: Sebadoh - III

Released:  16^th August 1991

Sounds Like:  Sea change

Today I want you to celebrate with me dear readers; rejoice, for I have moved out of my old flat and in to a new one! Although there were many wonderful memories associated with the old place and we left it as amicably as can be expected from two such lovely people, it is quite a relief to be out of the flat that I have shared with my ex for the last two years (obviously she wasn’t my ex for the whole time, that would just be crazy), and into a new one with one of my best mates.

If I needed any reminder that good things can come from painful separation and new beginnings (I don’t), then Sebadoh’s III serves as a brilliant reminder. In 1989, J Mascis, the freewheeling guitar genius and leader of Dinosaur Jr kicked his bass player Lou Barlow out of the group after he had released a cassette by his side project Sebadoh. Barlow didn’t let it deter him however and he persevered with his other band. Two years later he released today’s album, one of the landmarks of the alternative rock/lo -fi movement of the early nineties and one that is still garnering acclaim twenty-plus years later.

You get the measure of the album after three tracks – the opening ‘The Freed Pig’ is a barnstorming slice of indie, with Dinosaur Jr-esque squealing guitars (and J Mascis skewering lyrics); ‘Sickles and Hammers’ is a short blast of corrosive punk; and, ‘Total Peace’ is quiet, brooding acoustic lo-fi rock. The album continues along similarly diverse lines ‘til its end, using that triumvirate of indie, punk and lo-fi as touchstones throughout. ‘Truly Great Thing’ is beautiful and contented, whilst ‘Limb by Limb’ is terrifyingly aggressive.

This morning, as I was reviewing this record (i.e. listening to it loudly), I woke my new housemate (sorry dude!). He came through blearly eyed and scantily clad in his dressing grown, and I prepared myself for a dressing down. Instead, he sat and enjoyed it with me, contributed his own viewpoints (for the record, ‘Kath’ reminded him of Willy Mason, whilst the zaniness of ‘Wonderful, Wonderful’ brought to mind Monty Python) and generally got on with things. You know what, kid? I think we’ll be just fine.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       The Freed Pig – 3:08

     2.       Sickles and Hammers – 0:50

     3.       Total Peace – 3:02

     4.       Violet Execution – 3:57 

     5.       Scars, Four Eyes – 3:27

     6.       Truly Great Thing – 2:13

     7.       Kath – 1:52

     8.       Perverted World – 1:54

     9.       Wonderful, Wonderful – 3:13

     10.   Limb by Limb – 2:17

     11.   Smoke a Bowl – 3:02

     12.   Black-Haired Gurl – 2:12

     13.   Hoppin’ Up and Down – 3:16

     14.   Supernatural Force – 2:43

     15.   Rockstar – 2:42

     16.   Downmind – 1:31

     17.   Renaissance Man – 2:19

     18.   God Told Me – 1:09

     19.   Holy Picture – 2:53

     20.   Hassle – 3:30

     21.   No Different – 2:20

     22.   Spoiled – 3:03

23.   As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger – 6:49

Listen to ‘The Freed Pig‘: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um7kFyLmrQI

Also released on the 16^th August:

1994: Organized Konfusion – Stress: The Extinction Agenda

13th August - Eels' Beautiful Freak

Artist – Album: Eels – Beautiful Freak

Released:  13^th August 1996

Sounds Like: Witty and charming oddballs

Reknowned music critic Robert Christgau hasn’t half dropped some clangers during his lengthy career. He infamously pissed off both Lou Reed and Sonic Youth enough for them to blast him in song (the latter with a tune known as ‘I Killed Christgau with My Big Fucking Dick’), whilst his dislike of heavy metal is legend. A selection of his most questionable reviews include the unhappy face granted to Weezer’s brilliant self titled debut, a patently ridiculous “A” for the Black Eyed Peas album The E.N.D and a “B-“ for Radiohead’s OK Computer, widely held to be one of the greatest albums of all time (from his review: “Radiohead wouldn't know a tragic hero if they were cramming for their A levels, and their idea of soul is Bono, who they imitate further at the risk of looking even more ridiculous than they already do.”) Universally adored albums such as Guided by Voices’ Alien Lanes, U2’s Achtung Baby and Metallica’s Metallica (the Black album) have all received the lowest “bomb” rating. Such mistakes are understandable; after all, Christgau’s been doing this for years, and nobody’s perfect. But his routine dismissal of the Eels is borderline a vendetta. Four albums reviewed, three bombed, including this glorious debut.

The brainchild of one Mark E Everett, the Eels specialise in creating bleakly comical indie rock tunes, and the best known tracks here – ‘Novocaine for the Soul’, ‘Susan’s House’, ‘My Beloved Monster’ and ‘Your Lucky Day in Hell’ (which features the splendid lyrics “waking up with an ugly face: Winston Churchill in drag) – are brilliant. The rest of the album consists mostly of stately, beautiful piano led ballads such as the title track ‘Beautiful Freak’ and ‘Spunky’, although the tempo picks up on the likes of ‘Rags to Rags’.

Quite what Robert Christgau didn’t like about this album, I couldn’t say – “bomb” rated albums apparently aren’t worthy of further comment – but, I’m telling you, he had a shocker.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Novocaine for the Soul – 3:08

2.       Susan’s House – 3:43

3.       Rags to Rags – 3:53

4.       Beautiful Freak – 3:34

5.       Not Ready Yet – 4:46

6.       My Beloved Monster – 2:13

7.       Flower – 3:38

8.       Guest List – 3:13

9.       Mental – 4:01

10.   Spunky – 3:11

11.   Your Lucky Day in Hell – 4:28

12.   Manchild – 4:05

Listen to ‘Spunky’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHVvBx-SQAY

Also released on the 13^th August:

1990: Pixies - Bossanova

10th Feb - Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Artist – Album: Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Released:  10^th February 1997    

Sounds Like: Impeccable indie

It is damn near impossible for any album to attain universal adoration from indie fans, more so than with any other type of genre. Annoyingly well-informed hipsters like to play at one-upmanship when discussing their favourite discoveries:

“Hey man, I’ve started to get into this new crab-core five piece called Tantric Antarctic, ever heard of them?”

“Obviously dude, they’re like a shit Chessington World of Adventures”

“Yeah, well they’re just a poor man’s Bowser and the Koopa Troops”

“They suck. You should listen to Garry and the Douches”

“You suck. You’re a douche”

Any group that starts to earn a fanbase will automatically be derided simply because somebody else has heard of them. These guys get more precious over their favourite obscure bands than Gollum with the one ring.

It’s testament, then, to the excellence of Neutral Milk Hotel’s second album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea that despite becoming increasingly well known and loved there’s not been any backlash from the enthusiasts. If anything, its stock has grown and since the turn of the millennium it has consistently shown up in best ever lists, even topping a few. If you haven’t heard it yet, do so immediately. You don’t even have to be a music geek to love it.

p.s. It's Chinese New Year today - Kung Hei Fatt Choi! I've been trying to think of ways to shoehorn that into this blog, but it was pretty difficult. Sneakily, I've just done it. You probably didn't even notice.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

Also released on the 10^th February:

1971: Carole King - Tapestry

Also released on the 10^th February:

2004: Kanye West – The College Dropout

Also released on the 10^th February:

1997: Blur – Blur