sábado, dezembro 24, 2005

460. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - face the truth

460.SMfacethetruth
460.SMfacethetruth,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
'Face the truth' come across as a combination of steve's first two albums, it also features a bit more of experimentation on behalf the singer vocally, using effects and double tracks. Overall the album is a step in the right direction, filled with unexpected moments, but it doesn't come close to the solid effort that 'Pig Lib' was.

8 out of 10

sexta-feira, dezembro 23, 2005

459. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - pig lib

459.SMpiglib
459.SMpiglib,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This is a great record. The main and obvious difference between this album and the last is the addition of the Jicks to Stephen's line up. Suddenly Malkmus sounds like he is in a different band, not a solo artist extending a sound that he mastered so well in his last band. The Jicks simply rock heavily and the juxtaposition of SM's sly witty vocals and The Jicks 'serious' playing creates a brilliant sound. This edition came with a bonus disc containing five non lp tracks, also stellar. Pick it up.

9.5 out of 10

458. Stephen Malkmus - jo jo's jacket

458.SMjojo'sjacket
458.SMjojo'sjacket,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Single for one of my favorite tracks off of the last album. Also contains 'Polish Mule' and a live version of 'The Hook'... "Polish' is pure punk with Malkmus' slouched vocal style speeding up a bit. 'The Hook' live version, is er, live and that's pretty much it.

Now that I am not working this coming week, or having to walk to and from work, I should be able to step this up a bit.

5 out of 10

terça-feira, dezembro 20, 2005

457. Stephen Malkmus - stephen malkmus

457.SMstephenmalkmus
457.SMstephenmalkmus,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Steve's first solo release added much comfort to this sad Pavement fan. This release was a healthy mix of classic Pavement sounds, new pop explorations and genius witty banter. A great start for what should be a long healthy solo career.



'I’m not what you think I am
I’m the king of siam
I’ve got a bald head
My name is yul brynner
And I am a famous movie star
Perhaps you saw me in westworld
I acted like a robotic cowboy
It was my best role
I can not deny i
Felt right home deep inside
That electronic carcass'


7.5 out of 10

domingo, dezembro 18, 2005

456. Pavement - live in st. louis 14.10.99 (bootleg)

A great quality bootleg I got online from the 'Terror Twilight' tour. The show sounds like they already know it's their last tour, which they probably did. The set list includes 'spit on a stranger', 'rattled by the rush', 'stereo', 'shady lane' all which sound like they are being played by the band at an impromptu reunion at someone's wedding with everyone singing along to their memories.

7.5 out of 10

sexta-feira, dezembro 16, 2005

455. Pavement - spit on a stranger

455.Pspitonastranger
455.Pspitonastranger,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Ahh, the last disc of my official Pavement releases and it is a poor one... great lead track, followed by 'Harness Your Hopes', 'Roll With The Wind', 'The Porpoise And The Hand Grenade' and 'Rooftop Gambler' - all lyrically great, but musically stale. 'Harness' is the best of the lot, "Roll with the wind' is a little too CCR for me and both 'Porpoise' and 'Rooftop' are simply okay.

5.5 out of 10

454. Pavement - major leagues

454.Pmajorleagues
454.Pmajorleagues,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Contains a demo version of the single track which is just silly, the decent 'Decouvert De Soleil', the happy 'Stub Your Toe', the non Malkmus track 'Your Time to Change', the solid 'The Classical' and the jewel of the crown, a cover version of Bunnymen's 'The Killing Moon'. I love this version because it maintains the mysterious hopeful qualities of the original and manages to inject Pavement's humour in a non mocking manner - you can tell they are truly fans of the original and just want to make it their own. I'll post the track this weekend.

6.5 out of 10

quinta-feira, dezembro 15, 2005

453. Pavement - terror twilight

453.Pterrortwilight
453.Pterrortwilight,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Nigel Godrich and Pavement? A match made in music heaven by the gods? One would think so. The album starts of on a great foot with 'Spit On A Stranger' and has a series of sparkles and flurries with 'Cream Of Gold', 'Major Leagues', and 'Platform Blues'... but for some reason, overall, the album sounds worn or used and not in a comfortable way. It almost seems like the band had nothing left to say leaving many tracks flat and uninspiring. I've been wrong about almost everything before and maybe I am just not appreciating this release or maybe I am expecting too much from Nigel and one of my favourite bands... still glad to have it though.

8 out of 10

segunda-feira, dezembro 12, 2005

452. Pavement - stereo

452.Pstereo
452.Pstereo,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Features the opener to 'Brighten the corners', 'Westie can drum' and 'Winner of the'. 'Westie' is a delightful Pavement track. Yes I said delightful. The track is truly pleasant - not amazing, just all around very good, what a B-Side should be. "Winner' is a solid, solid track filled with great hooks and lyrics and vocal track led by someone else, not Malkmus.

7. 5 out of 10

451. Pavement - shady lane

451.Pshadylane
451.Pshadylane,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This is the first disappointing single from Pavement. 'Shady Lane' is a shorter version on this disc (does away with the outro), 'Slowly Typed' is a hillbilly version of 'Type Slowly' (does not improve on the original, just makes the song annoying). "Cherry Area" is a minute and a half of aimless magnetic tape (only slightly redeeming itself in the last 20 seconds), 'Wanna mess you around' is a mess, an outtake that shouldn't have even been an outtake and 'No tan Lines' is somewhat interesting, and then somewhat not (neat little chorus, boring song).

4.5 out of 10

450. Pavement - brighten the corners

450.Pbrightenthecorners
450.Pbrightenthecorners,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
'Brighten the corners' combines all the best elements of their last two albums. The slacker airy pop of 'Shady Lane' would have felt right at home on 'Crooked Rain' and 'Starlings of the slipstream' could have been on 'Wowee Zowee'. Other tracks though show how the band perfected their craft of defective pop: 'Passat Dreams', 'Blue Hawaiian', 'Type Slowly' and 'Embassy Row'. Again another great album.

"A welcome to my friends:
This house is a home and a home’s where I belong
Where the feelings are warm and the foundations are strong
If my soul has a shape, well, then it is an ellipse
And this slap is a gift
’cause your cheeks have lost their lustre"

9 out of 10

quinta-feira, dezembro 08, 2005

449. Pavement - pacific trim

449.Ppacifictrim
449.Ppacifictrim,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Years after having purchased this I thought I owned a piece of gold because not only was the cd good, but I hadn't seen it anywhere else before. Now I seem to find it used everywhere in the city - maybe the tracks were included in the deluxe reissue of 'Crooked'? Cd contains three tracks, 'Give it a day' is perfect Pavement, "Gangsters & Pranksters' is lyrically brilliant, and 'Saganaw' is at best slightly odd and boring.

"I've got all this Harvard LSD
Why Won't Anyone fuck me ?!"

6.5 out of 10

448. Pavement - father to a sister of thought

448.Pfathertoasisterofthought
448.Pfathertoasisterofthought,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Great track off of 'Wowee', backed by 'Kris Kraft' and 'Mussle Rock (is a horse in transition)'. 'Kris' is interesting, but makes me slightly anxious. 'Mussle' sounds like earlier Pavement and is sung by somebody else in the band, not sure who.

5.5 out of 10

447. Pavement - wowee zowee

447.Pwoweezowee
447.Pwoweezowee,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
I love this album. Not perfect, but still great as a whole. A less cheerful sound I guess, a bit more serious maybe? But we are still talking about Pavement, so it's not like this record is their 'Kid A' - but they definitely weren't duping the sound they coined on 'Crooked'. What I always loved about 'Wowee' was that it felt like an album to me - I wish it was oversized like an LP with a proper sleeve and such (old school, with lyrics, listing what gear the band uses, thanks, etc.). Probably the fact that there was no clear single on the disc, and that it is so layered and at times dense placed more emphasis on the whole rather than any individual track.

8.5 out of 10

quarta-feira, dezembro 07, 2005

446. Pavement - cut your hair

446.Pcutyourhair
446.Pcutyourhair,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
Single track backed with 'Camera' and 'Stare'. 'Camera' could have easily fit onto 'Crooked' and felt right at home - 'Stare' is more of an oddity, it almost sounds like a segment of a song with no clear beginning or end, interesting but not great.

5.5 out of 10

segunda-feira, dezembro 05, 2005

445. Pavement - gold soundz alt

445.Pgoldsoundz_alt
445.Pgoldsoundz_alt,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
This disc is almost exactly the same as the previous 'Gold Soundz' single, except that in addition to 'Kneeling Bus' and 'Stringz of Nashville' it also contains a version of '5-4' with vocals. I know it's a sickness.

7 out of 10

quinta-feira, dezembro 01, 2005

444. Pavement - gold soundz

444.Pgoldsoundz
444.Pgoldsoundz,
originally uploaded by jrd550.
You probably have noticed by now that when I really like a band I tend to go a bit overboard with their catalogue. 'Gold Soundz' is backed by three non LP tracks: the instrumental 'Kneeling Bus', the quiet 'Strings of Nashville' and 'Exit Theory (edit)'. The b-sides aren't particularly memorable but are still great.

7 out of 10