three steps to midnight

I’m more than just a little excited about this.  Even if he doesn’t play a single Pavement song, the show is bound to be spectacular.  With the Doves having just been here, 2009 may well be the year of ’seeing bands you always wanted to but weren’t sure you ever would’.  I should probably come up with a catchier phrase and snappy acronym.  In the meantime…

…but I could swear Jeff Tweedy is channelling Jack White in this video:

I truly do.

I was trawling the internets looking for cover art images to totally deck out my library with the appropriate images as is my obsessive compulsive way.

In doing so, and in being up to ‘M’ for ‘The Mountain Goats’, I stumbled across this little gem of a quote from Mr. Darnielle himself, in response to a rabid fan trying to track down a never actually released EP ((Jack and Faye):

no I disagree! the worst thing about our present age is that people are always trying to deny oblivion to things that have earned it, it is OK for there to be things that nobody’s ever seen or heard & in fact it’s GREAT that there are such things, that is like my deepest religious belief

Quite possibly never a truer word has been uttered.  There is something so cloyingly desperate about our modern society that requires us to try and maintain every semblance of everything that was.  And I’m certain we’re wrong.  Maybe that bird is supposed to be extinct, maybe that friend from high school was meant to drop out of your life and not look you up in facebook.  Maybe you were meant to get on with your life.

Maybe we’re all just so riddled with guilt that we have to cling desperately to what we know in the face of a brave new unknown world?  I know what I’m choosing.

Perpetual indie rock darlings Death Cab for Cutie have recently announced, perhaps somewhat low key, that they’ll be returning to our shores early in 2009, nay six months since their previous visit.  Given there hasn’t been a new album in the ensuing time, we can only assume it’s a tour to celebrate Ben Gibbard’s recent engagement.

Death Cab have a run of dates across Australia in February from the 19th to the 28th and at this stage are ably supported by Youth Group, though one suspects they may add a local support at each stop.

In Perth, the band plays the wonderful Fremantle Arts Centre south lawn as an outdoor venue and tickets are avaialble here.

Death Cab for Cutie February 2009 Tour Dates

• Thursday 19/02/2009 @ Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle
• Sunday 22/02/2009 @ Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
• Monday 23/02/2009 @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne
• Tuesday 24/02/2009 @ Forum Theatre, Melbourne
• Thursday 26/02/2009 @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney
• Saturday 28/02/2009 @ The Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane

Death Cab for Cutie perform ‘Cath’ from Narrow Stairs on the Late Late show, inclusive of a rather whimsical introduction:

In part two of my review of the year that was, I’ll take an in depth look at my favourite gigs of 2008.

While 2008 was somewhat less endowed with gigs than what I was able to attend in 2007 (around one for every two the previous year),  it was certainly a diverse year which contained many highlights.  The fact of the matter was almost every gig I attended was a highlight hence the length of this list.

I became somewhat disillusioned with attending live music to a certain extent in 2008 mainly due to the current shift towards selfish audiences only concerned with over indulging to the point of collapse and with taking photos of themselves for their facebook pages while talking about how they have vapid, shallow lives to their equally vacuous friends while the music plays in all its glory on stage.

To that end I penned a guide on how to behave at gigs and also stopped going steady with outdoor music festivals.  It’s my attempt to try and change this worrying culture and shift it back towards people actually going to gigs to see music; not just to be seen.

Rants aside, the music was great and following are twenty of the best, in my eyes, for 2008:

# 20 - Cut Copy at V Festival, Esplanade Perth, April 2008

The V Festival is, more often than not, an odd mix of artists performing.  Indeed, the organisers seem to adopt a policy of trying to supply a little something for everyone and 2008 was no exception.  One didn’t have to go far to see The Jesus and Mary Chain appearing before Modest Mouse or Duran Duran preceding The Smashing Pumpkins.  In amongst all that though was the little Aussie electro-New Order-cover-band-that-could Cut Copy that had one of those very awkward time slots for an electro based band at around 3pm.  None of the lights make a lick of difference and in most cases, the drugs haven’t kicked in yet for the punters.  Rising above it all though, they delivered a fantastically synth infused set of rock pop that for me upstaged quite a few other acts on the day.  Blending a generous smattering from their much vaunted In Ghost Colours to the decidedly underappreciated Bright Like Neon Love, the hits and the rock continued to flow.  The highlight for me, though, was them playing a medley of That Was Just a Dream and Zap Zap; these two tracks are quite possible the finest piece of electro/syth/pop to arise from the mid 2000’s obsession with 80s revivalism.

Cut Copy with the aforementioned medley – be sure to watch in high quality!  If the breakdown at 2:09 doesn’t get your hair standing on end, nothing will!

# 19 – Supergrass, Metropolis Fremantle, October 2008

If you’re around my age and have been into music for a similar time frame as I have, Supergrass are one of those bands that have always been there.  Even if you’re not conscious of their releases, there’s at least half a dozen songs in their back catalogue that you know and probably even know the chorus to.  For me my appreciation of them was slightly above this, but certainly not in the fanatical state.

Faced with a a conundrum for the evening (The New Pornographers, whom I’m also not completely obsessed with, were in town that night as well – the rant about why promoters would schedule two international acts on a Wednesday night will be saved for another day) I settled on seeing Supergrass, figuring that it could be the last time they’re in town and forearmed with the knowledge that Canadian Indie Supergroups are known for their immortality – only the members change.

And what a rewarding evening it was.  It was actually surprising how much of their varied back catalogue I knew but perhaps not as surprising was how much rock was wrought on the evening.  Lead by possibly one of the best frontmen who wields a guitar in the business, Gaz, who was donned by a mighty fine hat, Supergrass smashed out some of their classics with the fervour and passion of a band on their debut EP.  Mary was fantastic, but my highlight for the show was absolutely Richard III, quite possibly one of my favourite live music moments of the year.  A bonus for this gig was the very strong support of Perth’s own The Panda Band.

Supergrass at Glastonbury 2004, playing Lenny and Richard III.  Unfortunately Gaz doesn’t have an awesome hat on.

# 18 – Birds of Tokyo, Metropolis Fremantle, August 2008

It’s a testament to the strength of the live music witnessed in 2008 that such a tight and ascending band like Birds of Tokyo rank down at #16.  As I’ve mentioned numerous times on this site Ian Kenny, the man with the pipes for Birds and also Karnivool, has one of the best voices kicking around in any form of music, though it is certainly one that lends itself well to the melodic rock/post grunge of his bands.

Supremely honed musicians with a vocalist as good if not better live as he is on record made for a fantastic show.  It also produced the first ever instance I’ve witnessed of a keyboard player climbing up onto hey keyboard mid-solo.

# 17 – The Panics, Capitol, May 2008

The Panics played Club Capitol in May and front man Jae Laffer proudly proclaimed that they had achieved one of their ambitions set when they became a band which was to sell out the iconic Perth venue.  This show was about the prodigal sons returning, local lads made good and a celebration of their success far afield and abroad on the back of the successful Cruel Guards long player.  The band played with a relaxed joy and the zeal of a group of musicians there simply to enjoy their music and share it with friends.  The mood permeated the crowd and made for a special evening, which included Drew Wootton dancing a merry jig after his guitar gave up the ghost during an encore rendition of Cash.

# 16 – The Smashing Pumpkins at V Festival, Esplanade Perth, April 2008

As a longtime fan of the band one of my larger musical regrets would definitely be not having seen The Smashing Pumpkins circa 1996 (my largest may well be not seeing Led Zeppelin circa 1971, for which I blame my mother’s slackness in not conceiving me earlier¹).  Seeing them re-badged in 2008 was the next best thing even though it was a reworking of something that is perhaps of an earlier time.

I feel sorry for Billy Corgan; he had it all in The Smashing Pumpkins and he made fantastic music in doing so.  He made a few stupid decisions (like sacking Jimmy Chamberlin) and found out that the sum of the parts were greater.  In bringing himself back as The Smashing Pumpkins, he seems to want to forget the legacy which most people only wish to remember.  The Police played a fantastic comeback tour which they weren’t trying to feed something new to fans of yore (except maybe Fergie, who’s only fit for being fed to lions).

Billy’s caught in the proverbial rock and hard place; in one sense he wants to create something new, but his vehicle for being heard is something he created 15 years ago.

Regardless of the turmoil that I pondered as I watched him, it was still impressive to see this enigmatic, crazy man on stage and to witness Jimmy Chamberlin, one of the finest drummers of our time, deliver.

Plus, he played Porcelina, and well, that’s pretty much guaranteed to win my heart.

The Smashing Pumpkins – Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, circa 1996

#15 – The Jesus and Mary Chain at V Festival, Perth Esplanade, April 2008

Another of the eclectic line up at 2008’s V Festival, I knew little of this band prior, though knew both of their legacy and that they should be on the list of ‘things to check out when I get a chance to check out things that I should check out’, something I have subsequently done.  The live show, however, was fantastic.  Their sound is relevant and many other bands on the day are derivative of them.  They played with a passion that belies their 25+ years in the industry (minus the obligatory hiatus!).  Most importantly they brought the rock, though most of the drunken kiddies wearing fluoro t-shirts didn’t seem to notice.  But, I noticed, and further discovered their place in the ongoing evolution of music.  The Verve proved last year that a band can return from a significant hiatus and still produce valid music.  It’ll be interesting to see if the Jesus and Mary Chain can do the same.

#14 – Hilltop Hoods at the Big Day Out, Claremont Showgrounds, February 2008

It was about 25.7million°C² at the Showgrounds for the Big Day Out.  Seemingly this festival is always geared around the hottest possible day in Perth and it never fails to deliver.  That said, there was also some hot music on offer.

One of the acts to deliver in the heat of the day, around 4pm, was the Hilltop Hoods.  Having seen the Hoods previously at a free gig in Scarborough back in around 2004 when I was in Perth for work, I knew that they certainly had the skills to pay the bills as it were live.  Suffice to say, that first time I saw them they rocked out and had the entire crowd behind them; I was curious to see what they had added to their live show.

And holy crap, what a live show.  Rarely have I seen a band able to get a crowd jumping more than the Hilltop Hoods, especially in that heat.  With many a track that is ingrained in part into the Australian personality and way of life, the duo of MCs Pressure and Suffa deliver a fantastic live set ably backed by a live band and DJ Debris.  You’re not likely to see a band with as much energy and crowd participation and it certainly brought a new vibrancy to a very hot afternoon.

#13 – Sparkadia, Amplifier, November 2008

I missed Sparkadia when they were around earlier in the year supporting the Thrills and much to my chagrin it was, by all accounts, a very good show (some saying that Sparkadia actually upstaged the main act).  With that in mind and with Postcards being one of the stand out albums of 2008 I was quietly confident going into this show.

And most certainly, that confidence paid off in kind.  Sparkadia play with an energy I’ve rarely seen in a live band.  Recorded, their songs have a strong presence that ensures you look up and take notice.  Live, you feel as though you’re swimming through their sound, breathing it in and leaning into the wind.  It’s beautiful, impassioned, blissful music that you can’t help but walk away from smiling.

This is a band to see every time they’re in town and I’m genuinely looking forward to their next album.

A clip of Sparkadia performing Jealousy live this year.

#12 – The Black Keys, Fremantle Arts Centre, December 2008

As mentioned in the many reviews for them, I’ve seen the Black Keys three times in the last 12 months, so picking out a favourite gig is pretty much like shooting fish in a barrel.  That said, the idyllic setting of the Fremantle Arts Centre lends itself to the creation of a little magic and this night just two days before the New Year was no exception.  As always the boys delivered a show with immense resolve.  For an idea of just how much I like the band, read the reviews I posted earlier in the year.  I’m certainly not one complaining that they’re here every six months.  Quite possibly the best two piece getting around.

#11 – Okkervil River, Becks Music Box, February 2008

This was a last minute decision gig that fortuitously only came up due to my subscription to the Perth Festival email list.  Not knowing a huge amount about the band I hadn’t bought tickets when they’d first come out and the event sold out.  Then, one evening driving home from work I heard RTR playing Black Sheep Boy and thought ‘hey, that’s a bit of an alright; pity it’s sold out’.  Then, the next morning I’m sitting at my desk at work when an email pops up mentioning ‘last minute additional tickets available for Okkervil River‘.  I was on the phone within about five seconds of the email arriving and had tickets secured inside a minute.

And I’m glad I did.

An absolutely stellar performance by a band at the top of their game.  Their back catalogue has a wonderful depth to it which translates live.  Each song ecked out with a focussed concentration and measured delivery.  A wonderful warm Perth night outdoors in the Music Box underneath the stars ensured this was a show to remember.

And that wraps up part one of the top 20 gigs of 2008.  It’s taken a while to deliver, mainly because my day job has sucked hard at the start of this year, but hopefully part 2 won’t be too far away!

1 Kidding mum, honestly!

² Note – may not be factual

Quite a few of the feature images at elementography.com this last week have been from a shoot at Kings Park in late Spring of last year.  The trip was to see the wonderful new boab (which is actually quite old at around 750 years) for the first time.  The back story to these images have now been uploaded for you to enjoy.  In amongst the images of the boab are a taste of the wonderful colour of Western Australia’s thousands of wildflowers which never cease to amaze.  I was lucky enough last year to venture out and see a lot of them in the wild and plan this year to follow them down the coast as they begin around Geraldton in July and make their way south to Albany in October/November and hope to document them as a bit of a series.

I’ll be sure to share that with you when the time comes.

With news that Gija Jumula has begun sprouting leaves, I imagine I’ll be back there very soon to see what’s happened since my last visit.  Enjoy!

 

Dig News have posted an excellent interview from ABC Radio National of Steve Cannane interviewing Nick Cave.  Cave is such an enigmatic character in all forms and creative guises.  That said, the prevalence of more interviews like this in recent years perhaps suggests, with a grain of salt, that he’s at least shedding some light on who he is and how he creates.

Cannane as always (as he did back in his Hack days) asks thoughtful questions and Cave delivers in his usual intelligent and witty manner.

Definitely worth a listen.

I’ve just now added a new gallery of images taken on the delightful shores of Lake Monger.

It continues to be a favourite spot of mine for the relaxing visage across the lake and the opportunity to sit with camera and observe the relatively tame wildlife run around and annoy each other.

For those of you bored of birds, the good news is I am taking photos elsewhere and I’m sure those galleries will start to appear here and on elementography soon enough!

For now though, enjoy the wacky shoreline shenanigans:

 

Time now for part 2 of the Top 20 artists adorning my listening habits for the year 2008.  On with the countdown:

#10  - Broken Social Scene – 403 listens

Broken Social Scene are one of those bands whose music seeps its way into your subconscious and before you know it’s permeated a small corner of your being.  As the band is so massive, the sound is also incredibly massive.  I first came to the band a few years back on the back of their self titled release and have slowly clawed my way through their back catalogue, though admittedly it isn’t a large mountain to climb with regards to release volume, however each album takes several months of listening to really ‘get into it’.  2008 saw me listening to all albums and as anyone who shared Christmas night with me will know, Superconnected IS the greatest song of all time.

At least then it was…

Broken Social Scene – ‘Superconnected’ from 2005’s ‘Broken Social Scene’

#9 – Smog – 426 listens

The rest of the Smog albums that I’ve listened to this year have been of the non-bracketed variety.  In particular, albums like the deliciously produced and played Red Apple Falls, to the ‘likely to be the best so far’ A River Ain’t Too Much To Love and also gems such as Knock Knock; I’ve listened to them all.  The number of Smog/(Smog)/Bill Callahan  albums that I own now numbers in the double digits and each album is like a microcosm of Callahan’s creativity.  It’s such a wonderful thing to chart his own evolution as a musician which he has so dutifully recorded for us.  Sewn to Sky is a bitch to listen to and is scratchy, cat clawing a blackboard made out of gravel at times, but it is worth the listen for when he does break out into those melodic moments.  His lyrics are beautiful and recursive.  On ‘Teenage Spaceship’ from Knock Knock, he, perhaps tongue in cheek sings:

I was beautiful with all my lights
Loomed so large on the horizon
So large, people thought my windows
Were stars
So large on the horizon
People thought my windows
Were stars
A teenage spaceship
A teenage spaceship
And I swore I’d never lay like a log
Bark like a dog
I was a teenage smog
Sewn to the sky 

For a pattern spotter like me, that’s a very enjoyable musical moment (though it’s admittedly no Lateralus Fibonacci)

I’ve been enchanted by the man ever since I saw him in 2007 on his ‘Woke On A Whaleheart’ tour and, having played a selection of mostly newer material, he finished his encore with ‘Cold Blooded Old Times’.  That night was very much a Warm Blooded Old Time for me.

#8 – The Mountain Goats – 453 listens

While I didn’t end up seeing the Mountain Goats this year owing to the first show being cancelled and myself being cancelled for the second show, I did spend a whole swag of time listening to them.  John Darnielle is incredibly prolific and the swagger and passion with which he writes, records and delivers his music is enviably enough without that fact that it is fantastic to listen to as well.  It can be as immersive as his more recent work or more stripped back and elemental as some of his earlier work which can at times sound like a man playing guitar and singing with a bathtub on his head inside a portaloo placed at the back of an underground carpark.  It matters not, because the man’s message is more than his means of delivery and even so, each song’s music is perfectly apt for what he’s trying to get off of his chest.  Again, much like Smog, one can chart his evolution from lo-fi to a strong and bold ‘broader’ sound.  Regardless of the iteration, the man is a genius.

The Mountain Goats – ‘This Year’ from 2005’s ‘The Sunset Tree’

#7 – The Black Keys – 479 listens

Anyone who read my recent review, or the one early this year of the two concerts I saw of these guys this year, or for that matter anyone who’s ever spoken to me about music at all will know the respect and admiration I have for these guys.  I remember picking up a copy of Thickfreakness when I was on one of my ‘let’s send Ben to sort shit out’ trips to Kalgoorlie for the day job.  Kalgoorlie, which you may not know, has the greatest CD store in the world ever.  Anyway, I’m fairly certain I listened to Thickfreakness non stop for about four weeks after that; in the car on trips out of Kalgoorlie, at work through my headphones.  I couldn’t put it down.  I padded out the back catalogue fairly quickly and have charted their career as they’ve made subsequent releases.  The sheer force at which they deliver their music will always leave me begging for more.  The fact that I was able to see them twice in the space of seven months also leant itself to me listening to them an awful lot.

#6 – Eels – 497 listens

Eels were another band with whom I strongly padded out my back catalogue for in 2008, very much to my delight as it’s such a strong collection of work.  In particular, I really got into Shootenany and Daisies of the Galaxy with much gusto and both are incredibly strong albums.  Shootenany delivers more of a rock punch and Daisies has an air of fragility about it, but like Smog, the chart of E’s journey is surely a beautiful one to behold.  Having just picked up Electro-Shock Blues today, I’m certain this will continue well into 2009.

It took me a long time to get into Eels even though I’d always liked them from a distance (i.e. what was played on the radio or Rage etc).  I remember the Hottest 100 #4 which had Novacaine for the Soul on it.  I picked up a copy of Beautiful Freak at that time, but I don’t think I really appreciated then.  More than 10 years is a whole world away and my appreciation for it and the band in general has grown immensely.

Eels – ‘Flyswatter’ from 2000’s ‘Daisies of the Galaxy’

#5 – The Panics – 621 listens

Okay, the top 5 and we’re starting to head towards obsessive listening habits territory!

The Panics are without a doubt my second favourite Australian band at the moment.  The Panics songs to me describe the landscape, the enormity of the land, the places that are in between the places that we go, we live and we reside.  As I think I allured to the time before I last saw them, there’s something about Drew Wootan’s guitar that encapsulates every single road/country town/escape the norm song written about Australia.  You can hear ‘This Is Not The Way Home’ by the Cruel Sea, you can feel ‘The Wide Open Road’ by the Triffids.  It’s all there in the way Jae Laffer unfurls his lyrics and sings about the cracks, and relationships.  It’s not just as linear as one person to another, but it is one and many people to a land.  The Panics, though probably not deliberately, underwrite what it is to live in a place like Perth where you are closer to the capital of Indonesia than you are the capital of Australia.  Their words, their melodies, rhythms and timbre will always hold a special place for me.

The Panics – ‘This Day Last Year’ from 2003’s ‘A House on a Street in a Town I’m From’

#4 – My Bloody Valentine – 653 listens

If only looking at raw numbers, 653 listens may not seem like much over the course of the year, until you take into account that with My Bloody Valentine, up until about three months ago I only owned the one album which contained 11 tracks.  Put into perspective, that has me listening to the album 1.15 times a week.  That means that every week of the year I put this album on at least once.  More truthfully though, there would be days where I would listen to it on repeat all afternoon and sometimes weeks where I would listen to it every single day.  I am, and continue to be, absolutely obsessed with the album Loveless.  It approaches very close to what I would consider a perfect album if only simply by the fact that I cannot find a way to get sick of it.  My obsession knows no bounds.  Like Karnivool, the album and band were blessed with being available on my laptop at work which fuelled my ability to listen to it, but I’d almost always have the CD with me anyway, just in case.  For the record, it’s not that I don’t like their first album ‘Isn’t Anything’ it’s just that I haven’t had the opportunity to put down Loveless long enough to get into it.  To me, listening to Loveless is like looking the matrix; I can see the beginning and end of so many styles and types of music that have come and that went before.  It’s like a crossroad in the creation of  music, however all roads are one way streets.

That, and Kevin Sheilds’ guitar playing does something funny to my insides.

My Bloody Valentine – ‘Soon’ from 1991’s ‘Loveless’

#3 – You Am I – 782 listens

In light of the Panics, You Am I are without a doubt my current favourite Australian band and may well always remain there.  The simple fact of the matter is that Tim Rogers is quite possibly the best song writer this country has ever seen.  I was yet again blown away by them when I saw them recently at the Fly By Night and I continue to enjoy every new release.  Tim Roger’s solo album this year was also a highlight, though it doesn’t come into play on the You Am I list.  With all the above said though, nothing can take away the shear brilliance that is the album Hi Fi Way.  The album is a timeless piece of Australicana that should be placed in a museum for people to come and sit and admire.  Rogers time and time again effortlessly sums up the Australian way of life, the ’she’ll be right attitude’ and the broken dreams that dot this landscape.  His characters are people that you and I know, live with, probably have loved.

I was amazed when Wide Open Road was on just how many of You Am I’s songs ended up on the tracks map.  Places that have shaped a man and a man that has ultimately shaped the land.   There are not enough words in me to describe my admiration and respect for Rogers as a song writer, performer and a thinker.  Anyone who saw his interview with Andrew Denton earlier in the year would have seen the mind of a genius in full flight.  Brilliant.

You Am I – ‘Moon Shines on Trubble’ from 1996’s ‘Hourly, Daily’

#2 – Smashing Pumpkins – 896 listens

It’s a well known fact amongst my circle of friends just how much love I have for Mellon Collie and the Infiinite Sadness as an album.  So much so that if I’m out of state, for example, I would locate it in people’s collections and sequest it in my vehicle for the duration of my stay so that I could listen to it.  It’s the reason that ‘Bodies’ is my number one track of all time.  It’s also part of the reason that the Smashing Pumpkins are near number one on this list and are currently #1 overall.  That said most of my listening would have ocurred in the first half of the year for this album as after a lot of counselling I haven’t actually picked it up for a few months now.  Which reminds me, maybe I should take it to work on Monday.

Actually, the real truth is that the album has been played so much that it won’t actually play on my laptop’s CD player anymore.  I considered ripping it to MP3s, but then if I had it that easily available at work, I may never leave.  The second half of the year I went back into their early works and spent quite a bit of glorious time listening to Gish and Siamese Dream; albums I hold very dearly.  After all, as anyone who’s received drunken messages from me at the Landsdowne knows, Gish is the greatest album of all time.

#1 – Culture Club – 1047 listens

#1 – Pavement – 2445 listens

No, that’s not a typo; I haven’t held down 4 too much.  That actually is the correct figure.  In the 12 months from January 1st 2008 to December 31st 2008, I listened to Pavement 2445 times; this equates to 6.9 tracks/day based on a seven day week or 47 tracks a week.  Given that I predominately listen to CDs during the week when I work, that means that I have on average listened to a Pavement CD at least once every working day of the year.

It would be no understatement to say that I ‘got’ Pavement in 2008.  I’d always known about them, I’d seen their clips on Rage, but I’d never really listened to them.  I was fascinated by their seeming legacy and legendary fan base, but also as much by the vacuum of mainstream praise for them after the fact.  You never hear them on the radio, you rarely read about them in the press and it’s at times as though they never existed.

Oh but the music.

Where My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless is the cross road of music for many genres both before and after it was made, Pavement is the coast to coast highway that is not marked on the map.  It will get you very nicely from a to b and all places in between, but most people seem to be taking other roads.  Pavement rewards the persistent, repeat listener.  With each replay, you pick up on a different element, the subtle way they’ve played a chord, or another take on the bizarre and occasionally mundaneness of Malkmus’ lyrics.  Say what you like about the direction of music, before and after, but the Venn diagram of anything with a guitar has Pavement sitting happily in the middle, though their name tag has fallen off.

While I’m sure my unnerving passion will wane some to a healthy interest, I’m most certainly a more learned music fan for having had the Pavement experience and exploring its tendrils.

That said, I did today pick up the ‘Brighten the Corners’ Deluxe Pack…

Pavement – Rattled by the Rush from 1995’s ‘Wowee Zowee’

And thus ends my top 20 artists.  In the next day or two I’ll present my top 20 individual tracks and then my top gigs of the year.  Lots to write, but there’s a history to be recorded!