she took the oldsmobile out past condor avenue

I'm listening to From a Basement On the Hill as I type this, so I guess that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite (since I can't play what I want when I want.) Roman Candle is the 1994 debut of the great Elliott Smith, an uber-depressed, quasi-folk singer. Here he keeps the majority of the material acoustic, and he strikes gold. The title/opening track is a soft-toned but vicious "ode" to an abusive boyfriend of an acquaintance. Condor Avenue is probably the best track; you can hear Smith's multilayered harmonies really shine. Also included are four "No Name" tracks (the smooth No Name #1 and harmonica-sprinkled No Name #2 being the best) that would later be followed up by No Name #5 on Either/Or. Everything is really mood, and his refusal to shout only makes it moodier. Some of the tension is relieved by the conclusion of the album, an instrumental country melody strangely entitled "Kiwi Mad Dog 20/20." Having listened to Roman Candle for the first time in physics months back, it really cemented my respect for Elliott Smith. He quickly replaced Beck as my favorite solo-artist and is probably one of the most genuinely depressing figures in rock.

Indie? A GENRE? Controversy!

Once upon a time there was a delightful little genre called "alternative." Bands stripped off the excess noise of 80s metal and turned what was left into, you know, not shit. Leather pants were replaced with faded denim, Gibsons with Fenders¹, glam-locks with five o'clock shadow, etc. etc. When R.E.M's single "The One I Love" made it on the Billboard 100 in 1987, America went fucknuts. By the mid 90s, "alternative" could pretty much describe anything that wasn't rap or metal. In 2010, alternative is the new rock, indie is the new alternative, and rock is the new...hard-rock? You get my point though. Alt. went places, good (Weezer's first two albums, The Bends, Beck) and bad (Weezer's post-Green Album works², Nickelback, Coldplay, etc.)


In the late 80s, a couple of masterminds were creating what would go on to be known as the "indie sound." These rambunctious lil' scamps were known as the Pixies. In 1987, Steve Albini helped produced their 1988 debut Surfer Rosa, the follow up to their 1987 EP Come On Pilgrim. It was fucking awesome. Drums, vocals³, bass, guitar - everything was epic. While their 1989 album Doolittle⁴ usually gets more credit, Surfer Rosa is still a classic and cited by a fuckton of musicians as an inspiration⁵. Oh, and the album cover has titties. Fucking awesome.

(How wonderful. At the time of writing this, MediaFires decides to break down. I'll put the link up ASAP, folks.)

1. This is speculative
2. Okay, the Red Album was pretty fucking good.
3. Have you ever masturbated to Kim Deal's voice? Feels good, man.
4. Listen to this as well
5. Kurt Cobain said that Smells Like Teen Spirit was basically his attempt at a Pixies song. CUZ IT'S NOT A RIP-OFF IF YOU ADMIT IT, AMIRIGHT????//?///?

Three pills each day, etc.

How the fuck am I supposed to play Monster Hunter 3 and blog at the same time?

If there's one thing Sunny Day Real Estate has taught me, it's that all women are skanks that will do anything to fuck you over. Seriously, every song off of How it Feels to be Something On [incidentally their best album] was about how Jeremy Enigk's girlfriend stabbed him in the back, yeah? So post-hardcore emo + girl problems = awesome. This brings me to Reality vs. the Optimist, which perfectly fits the former sentence. Kiss Kiss can simply be described as post-hardcore electric violin orchestrations (played by a female, so I guess Freud* was right when he said all women are naturally masochistic**.) If the track "Shits in Suits" is anything to go on, they're pretty pissed too. So if you just got out of a relationship and hate the spiteful bitch who broke up with you, this is the album to go to (alternately, if you still like the spiteful bitch that broke up with you I suggest listening to some Hospice).

*I think it was Freud.
**To the female readers: Freud's words; not mine.

EXPLOSIONS AND SHIT

"Chiptune? F-f-f-f-fuuuuck your shit"

That might be what you're thinking. Probably not, but maybe. Designing a Nervous Breakdown is the debut album of The Anniversary, Kansas' pride and joy*. Actually, it never really got that big, but that doesn't detract from the awesomeness of this album. It came out in 2000, but it never made any "best of the naughts" lists, which is a real shame. Their style is like the middle-road between Jimmy Eat World and the Get Up Kids, with some synth here, some synth there, and female back-up vocals.

Best Tracks: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The D in Detroit, Perfectly, Without Panasos

*Interestingly enough, they were just a circle of bros who never really got serious until highschool friend Matthew Pryor (of The Getup Kids, no less) suggested they make an album. It's all about connections, man.