Amazon.com

The opening track, "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine," explodes out of your speakers with sharp, see-sawing guitars and shouted vocals, an irresistible melange of angular rhythms and mighty, powerful dynamics. The rest of the songs are similarly pulled along by some unseen force, driven by an energy found in classic post-punk bands like Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 or Drunken Boat. Some reviewers have referenced the Pixies, and while that's not off the mark, this is more like the Pixies undergoing dental work--without anesthesia.--Lorry Fleming ... Read more

Reviews (97)

My First Experience with Modest Mouse
I was flipping through my brother's CDs one night, and noticed this CD lying among the rest. Not really wanting to check it out at the time, I made a note to check them out later.

So finally, after a month or two completly dry of new music, I finally went out and got this CD.

Whoa, was I amazed.

Modest Mouse, has an interesing sound, the album started off with the jarring loud sounds of Teeth Like God's Shoeshine, and then moves into the softer, Heart Cooks Brain. By the end, I felt as though this album went through so many different genre's it was amazing.

Issac Brock's voice, which was jarring at first, has quickly become one of my favourite parts of Modest Mouse. His voice is definately an aqquired taste though.

Musically, Modest Mouse tend to be "punk rock" ish (And I've heard many comparisons made between them and The Pixies, but I've never heard anything by the Pixies) but they occasionally dip into a country western sound (Jesus Christ Was An Only Child) or a softer, sound (Heart Cooks Brain)

Definately a good place to start listening to Modest Mouse.

very good, not the greatest of the 90s, however
...compare modest mouse to the pixies. okay... isaac brook and black francis both have unique scream-y voices, both bands play distorted fractured yet catchy songs. but modest mouse's ideas on songforms and willingness to experiment is a big difference (don't take this as a bad thing for the pixies). most pixies songs were short compact and fit within conventential songform. not so with modest mouse, their songs are long epic strangely assembled with threading guitars working their way through. also, when have the pixies ever experimented as wildly with genre as modest mouse? they put in some surf rock on their later albums. they never used a turntable, or played with country, much less on the same album. now that THAT'S out of our way... i can discuss the merits of the album it's self. this album is best loud (well okay most albums are but this one benefits especially), a perfect soundtrack for teenage bedroom flailing. it's super long and full of energy the entire duration which makes listening to it straight through exhausting in the best possible sense. for whatever reason i rarely listen that hard to the lyrics in rock, so i can't comment especially on their merit but there's nothing embarrassingly bad in them that jumps out, and whatever isaac is singing about you can tell: HE MEANS IT, MAN! the chord progressions are throughly in the late '90s indie totally non-blues post-sonic youth polvo, built to spill style. i'm not a real big music theory head so i might be wrong, but the chords don't sound like any blues or metal or punk clichéd progressions. my favorite song: cowboy dan (but this might only be because i can play most of it on guitar). yeah i actually get a certain bored middle american parking lots and strip mall suburban depressing feeling from this cd which is good for me cos i can totally relate to that [bad] vibe living in a soulless place like that myself. end of ramble here.

Crisco Disco
It is a rare thing, indeed that a band issues a debut that not only defies convention, but also defines a sound; Lonesome Crowded West, by Modest Mouse, at the very least, does this. Reference points and comparisons are meaningless here. The spiraling and inharmonious guitar ricocheting off melodious base lines and thundering drums are kept afloat by Brock's impaired vocals. Love this record, or hate it, but where can one find a turntable, acoustic guitar, violin solos, and Jesus all in one song. Brock's lyrics cover the spectrum, life, religion, cowboys and, in their own way, offer meaning to what has none. In these existential tirades are also great stories, interesting characters, and non-existent dance moves. Don't be fooled by double-talk or jaded old rock critics; this album is one for the ages. Keep it in your car for a week on repeat- soak it in, then see if you haven't suffered a shift in the way you hear an album. This record will change your mind about what could, should, and ought to be done with the tried and true guitar, base, and drum trio. The West, though now it may be crowded was once a great frontier. With Lonesome Crowded West, Modest Mouse have opened a new one.

An arrogant mouse baring it's teeth...
After being introduced to MM through "The Moon and Antarctica", I bought this release and was confused. Gone was the mellow mood and beautiful, smooth-sounding backwards guitars prevalant on most of "Moon...". In their place was screaming about cowboys vowing to kill God and some minor-chord indie dance called the Cockroach.

After the longest period of getting into an album I've ever had to deal with, I can say that this is MM's best release. It is their most focused, with all tracks focusing on single goals or points of view, without the jump-around eclecticsm of their later releases (i.e. "Good News..." and how it jumps from emo-rock to Tom Waits). Although it's harder to get into, this album is definitely worth it.

As the AllMusic.com review says, there is a very "white-trash" feel to this album. But not celebrating being ignorant, like Kid Rock does. It's more like having to cope with being poor (just see the absolutely jaw-dropping track "Trailer Trash"). Seeing as how Modest Mouse honed their skills playing in a makeshift practice space BUILT by Brock next to his mother's trailer, they have credibility in living a hard life.

I'll outline some of the standouts:

See the first track, "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine". Long (it's past 6 minutes) and angry. Isaac Brock's incredibly moving screams and shouts (criticized by many of the newer Modest Mouse fans) permeate this song as he sings, "Said hell ya! The money's spent - went to the country line and paid the rent said 'Uh-oh'!" After a momentary silence, the guitars burst back in with jagged rage as Isaac screams, "Well, do you need a lot of what you've got to survive?"

The next track, "Heart Cooks Brain" is the best downbeat indie-rock song with DJ scratching I've ever heard. Some of the coolest and most bizarre metaphors in music.

"Lounge (Closing Time)" shows off Modest Mouse's ability to play in bizarre time signatures and starts to show their ability to write jump-around emo. "I've got a girlfriend out in th ecity, I know I like her I think she is pretty!" Isaac chants with a hillbilly drawl over 7/8 time.

"Jesus Christ was an Only Child" is funky country that features Tyler Riley, one of the most prominent MM side musicians.

"Doin' the Cockroach" is just cool. Listen to it. Damn.

"Cowboy Dan"...uh...let me just quote the lyrics:
"Cowboy Dan's a major play in ther Cowboy Scene. He goes to the reservation, drinks and gets mean. Goes to the desert fires his riffle in the sky and yells, 'God if I have to die, you will have to die!'"

The rest is more of the same brilliance. If you are open-minded and looking for something indepedent-sounding, while needing a fix for loud guitars and a dose of Americana, buy this album.

Wow.
Isaac Brock is a pure genius. On this album, there is a wide variety of music. From the 10 minute-long "Truckers Atlas" to "Cowboy Dan" to the fiddle in "Jesus Christ Was An Only Child". I must say, I cannot be more impressed by this album than I already am. It is one of the few CD's that I can listen to all the way through and not get tired of it. The guitars are fantastic on all the songs, and the lyrics are incredible. If you've never heard of Modest Mouse, then I suggest that you give this CD a try and get into some great indie-rock music. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Singer-songwriter Stephen Merritt's ironically morose lyrics, Tin Pan Alley stylings, sugary melodies, and idiosyncratic sound have earned his band the Magnetic Fields cult status and the adulation of grad students everywhere. The ambitious, genre-hopping, and intensely heart-tugging three-disc set 69 Love Songs probably won't gain Merritt the wider recognition he deserves, but the clever misanthrope likely wouldn't have it any other way. --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (109)

A Fantastic collection of bitter-sweet songs
For the past nine months (with the reissue of "Holiday"), the Magnetic Fields have become my all-time favorite band. Beware of the craving for every Stephin Merritt release that will accompany the purchase of "69 Love Songs."

This boxed set is the crowning achievement of the Magnetic Fields' already stellar career. The diversity of the music is incredible and Stephin Merritt is one of the few artists whose lyrics are as enjoyable as the music.

For the seasoned Magnetic Fields fan, "69 Love Songs" is significantly less techno-sounding than their previous work. Guitar, ukelele and piano dominate while the synth pop takes the back seat.

There are too many great songs to list here but my absolute favorites are "Fido, Your Leash is Too Long", "Epitaph for my Heart", and "The Death of Ferdinand De Saussure".

Please ignore the review posted by Darren from Chicago. These albums are not "overindulgent" or "plain old annoying": they are creative, humorous, witty and endlessly listenable. There are so many other bands who package their musical talent with a pretentious attitude (i.e. have you ever tried to read the liner notes to "If Your Feeling Sinister"?). Stephin might occassionally be bitter and sarcastic, but he is certainly not "cooler than thou".

The Magnetic Fields have single-handedly restored my faith in "indie" rock. "69 Love Songs" is a great work of pop exuberance for the new millenium.

One year and still in the player
I've had this box set for a year and still am amazed.. Stephin Merritt is incredibly talented and will be remembered for this creation of tunes in years to come. Whether it's catchy humorous pop (Ab.Cuckoo, Chicken..,I Think I Need a New Heart, etc.), sweet serenades (Come Back from San Fran., The Book of Love, Your My Only Home, etc.), experimental sounds(Love is Like Jazz, Xylophone Track, etc.) or classic duets (Yeah, Oh Yeah!, Papa was a Rodeo)... (shall I go on?)it's all good. There's a little bit of everything in this set, and it all fits together so perfectly. I saw The Magnetic Fields perform all 69 Love Songs in a 2-night concert that touched my soul. This album, about love, taps into ambivalence, fears, disgusts, bliss, dysfuntion, etc....much of which can be expressed quite eloquently in a damn good song. Here's 69 of them. Buy it and enjoy.

All killer? Any filler?
Well, yes, there is some filler. But for 3 CDs and 69 songs, Stephen Merritt is allowed some slack. The rest is gorgeous, nearly a dictionary definition of indie pop. Most of the instrumentation is sparse, allowing the witty lyrics to come to the foreground. Many different styles appear here, with only the loose theme of "love" to tie them together. A lot of the songs deal with the messy end of love - making this set perfect for the heartbroken as well as the head-over-heels couples.

weak tastes need not apply
Folks, this collection is the best thing I've heard in years. I predict that Mr. Merritt will be considered the Gershwin of our times. Take a shot on this band. Truly beautiful, poetic, and true sentiments for those of us who've ever really been in love.

classic
maybe not merrit's best, but it's sprawling and it's beautiful and it's fun ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Go to "Island"
Though their sophomore album was a step up, "On Avery Island" is rough, ragged psychedelic rock that blasts you to the floor. Surreal lyrics, thick and heavy melodies, it's one of those few albums that can actually be classified as an "experience."

It opens with the roaring, weirdly-catchy song "Song Against Sex" (don't ask why it's called that), followed with swaying jam session "Someone is Waiting" with its twanging finale, and softer songs like the low-key, accoustic-led "Baby For Pree." The surreality kicks in with "Marching Session," a mix of distortion and whistles, a song that can't really be described -- you can only focus on one part of it at a time.

Musical soundscapes are usually smooth and shimmering. Neutral Milk Hotel leaped into unknown territory by making theirs distorted and scratchy. You won't like this unless you embrace the weird and unconventional, accepting the music that is deliberately done in a jam session style, unpolished and apparently recorded badly on purpose. The climax of the album is undoubtedly "Pree-Sisters Swallowing A Donkey's Eye," a toneless, whirring, whirling mess of sound and humming that somehow coalesces into a breathtaking soundscape.

The writing of the songs is about as unique as possible. Songs about hanging men in paintings "kissing foreign fishes," riding roller coasters into the sea, cities of "frost-covered angels," stalkers and babies fill "On Avery Island." Jeff Mangum's voice is high, reedy, and not that great, but it fits in well with the strange music.

"On Avery Island" is one of those albums that you either worship or dislike. Its lo-fi, horrifyingly surrealistic feel is one that will cling to your mind long after "Pree Sisters" has faded out to silence.

So you want to know more about Neutral Milk Hotel?
Well, if you've already listened to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea a million plus times, then maybe you're ready for NMH's first album, On Avery Island. It is quite different than Aeroplane at first, but once you give it a couple of listens, it will be just as good (if not better) than Aeroplane.

The main difference is the actual sound. On Avery Island sounds very raw and ragged, while Aeroplane is more polished. Avery Island is more rock, it seems, and definitely more psychadelic than Aeroplane. However, if you like more psychadelic music, On Avery Island is a WONDERFUL place to learn more about NMH.

The album roars open with "Song Against Sex" and finally calms down some with "A Baby for Pree," a beautiful piece that shows off Jeff Magnum's amazing voice, which is more of an instrument itself than a voice. "Garden Head Leave Me Alone" is also a great song, as is "Naomi." But it's hard to seperate the songs since they all flow so well into one another.

Buy this album! You will love it!

sad
This is an essential album. While it may not reach the same thematic levels of Aeroplane, this CD contains some of Jeff's best tunes (Where You'll Find Me Now, Naomi), and the most poignant and sad lyrics you're ever likely to hear (Gardenhead, You've Passed). Rob Schneider's musical contributions are good but don't compare to those on Aeroplane, despite this record featuring more instrumentation.

A powerful record you will never forget.

timeless
This is one of those original works of art that will never grow old. I write very few reviews, only the albums I feel are too good to miss. The music on this cd is lush and thick with fuzz and reverb. It is best listned to on a full range stereo or good headphones, playing it through a boombox will not do it justice. You have to be patient and really listen to it, this is not background music! Buy with confidence, enjoy!

Mind-blowing.
1. Neutral Milk Hotel is my God
2. Naomi is the best song in existence
3. Song Against Sex is fun to sing
5. Jeff Mangum is one frickin twisted GENIUS
6. Jeremy Barnes (drummer) is a hottie :)
4. Even though this review is very informal, know this... this is a hardcore AMAZING musical accomplishment. Read number one and proceed to buy this CD and aeroplane over the sea to listen to the sounds that no one can categorize, so I'm not gunna try. if you're willing to give something new a listen, make it NMH today! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Eponymous albums are usually either debuts or the work of musicians trying to introduce themselves to a new audience. Count Liz Phair among the latter. It’s Phair's fourth studio album, but her first since 1998, and it's a long way from the arty, low-fi sound that marked her true full-length debut, 1993'sExile in Guyville. Phair has developed into a considerably more confident singer, while her songs and the production they receive here are as slick and radio-friendly as anything by, say, Avril Lavigne. That’s no surprise, since Lavigne's production team, the Matrix, produced many of the tracks here. (The rest are helmed by LA rock stalwarts Michael Penn and Pete Yorn producer R. Walt Vincent.)Sex is still Phair's primary subject, whether it’s comparing a lover to a comfortable pair of old underwear ("Favorite"), asking a much younger man to "Rock Me" all night long, or praising the beauty benefits of oral sex ("H.W.C."). The only time Phair lets the cheery facade crack a bit is on "Little Digger," on which Phair tries to explain to her young son why the man she's currently dating is not the boy's father. Who could've guessed that even the freest, best-protected sex could have such far-reaching, unintended consequences? --Keith Moerer ... Read more

Reviews (391)

Who put these Avril Lavigne songs on my Liz Phair album?
I went out and bought this CD after I read the NY Times piece which was about the most vicious record review I have read since Lester Bangs stepped on a rainbow. I thought it was really overdone ("me thinks thou protests too much").

Basically it comes down to charges of slickness and selling out. I think it's all a bit overdone but there is some merit to the charges. Selling out, specifically the Matrix songs, are another matter which I'll come to in a minute. When I saw Phair on the whitechocolatespaceegg tour about five years ago now she was already sporting a more glamorous look. She's evolved to the current sexy cover shot from Guyville's more subtle nipple shot. Welcome to the age of Maxim. Female music artists have two choices these days: let the music speak for itself and find yourself probably selling a few hundred thousand copies at best on your way to not keeping your recording contract or go the pop star route and slap a Maxim like shot on your CD cover, shoot a suggestive video and release a couple of slick singles to get you into the multi million category so you can live to release another CD. And I think this is part of what's pissing everyone off is that they didn't think that Phair would make this choice. But she's been gone five years and wants to come back with a bang; you can see how it could happen. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for the hard core "I knew here when couldn't play or sing" fans who want her to keep recording her albums in her bedroom with a four track. Time to move on folks. Face the facts. Whitechocolatespaceegg was a solid album and it sank like a stone. One more like that and it's Abyssinia Liz.

Ok so what about the CD? The biggest problem I have with the album and the Matrix songs in particular is the trivial, pop-like subject matter. Typical Liz Phair cleverness grafted over this music would have been pretty compelling and might have pulled off the trick of getting a hit and maintaining credibility with her hard core fans. Extraordinary and Why Can't I are great songs but are definitely dummed down LP (she slips a dirty line to the latter ? can you find it without the lyric sheet?). My Favorite Underwear is just too obvious. Rock Me is a great pop song but again is the lyric is just so hammer headed and sophmoric. WHC is also a clumsy parody of what people expect to get on a Liz Phair album and lacks all the subtly and cleverness of songs like Flower and Chopsticks. So what works? Red Light Fever is an example of how this balancing act could have been pulled off. Great hook, clever lyrics and a soaring production combine to make probably the best song on the
album. Little Digger is probably the most heartbreaking song I've heard in awhile. After that it's pretty typical Liz fare which is fine but what made Liz fun in the past was her offbeat way of writing about familiar situations; shifting her point of view and narrative. Songs off of spaceegg like Johnny Feelgood and Polyester Bride. There's not much like that here. You kind of get the filler of those albums and over the top pop (or pop top) numbers from the Matrix. The center doesn't hold. The next album, if there is one, should be interesting.

One last thought: She should release a compilation of all her songs containing dirty words and sexual subject matter. Almost Blue?

Hardly worth complaing about
To all the people who are distraught over this album: seriously, what is wrong with you? Not only is it ridiculous to reject an artist simply because their style has evolved, it eludes me how anyone could think that "Liz Phair" is an all-out terrible album. This record - which a lot of people seem to be calling "pop" - does an excellent job of incorporating many different styles of music. You've got pop songs, rock songs, and even a couple ballads. The diversity of "Liz Phair" is impressive in itself, but what makes this album really successful is Liz Phair's slightly-perfected vocals and characteristically witty and poignant lyrics. On songs like "Take A Look," "Little Digger," and "It's Sweet," Liz Phair's talent - both vocal and literary - really shines. Even the song "HWC," which seems to be the most critically maligned track on the album, retains the wit, humor, and even grace that fans have grown to expect from Liz Phair, who has a knack for making any situation - even the most intimate and, well, messy - seem amusing, important, and utterly natural.

Some fans and critics bemoan the fact that, since the release of "Exile in Guyville," Liz Phair has moved further and further away from her indie-priestess roots. I strongly believe, however, that these are the same fans and critics who would criticize Liz Phair if she only put out albums that mimiced the alt-rock sound established on "Guyville." The easiest thing Liz Phair could have done was stick rigidly to that sound and receive great press for the rest of her career. I admire the fact that she was willing to take a risk with "Liz Phair." And regardless of how the naysayers feel, I think that risk was well worth it.

not the same exact liz but still GOOD
I know it's not the same as her first album....yes..yes but after 10 yrs isn't she allowed to change, people??? Who would want to listen to the same thing over and over again?

I loved the album. Besides the "made for radio" "Why Can't I" the rest is fun, packed with funny lyrics, and perfect for singing out loud. "Little Digger" and "Favorite" are great. If you like liz's voice, lyrics, and prefer something different and not so angry (anymore) like other female alternative singers still trying to hold on to their "edge", then you'll like this.

Give it a chance. I was wrong.
I originally did not like this album, and after one listen, I got pissed off at Liz and shelved it. I recently got it out for a listen after giving some other cd's a second chance (one of them being Courtney Love's solo album). And you know what? I was wrong about this one. Overall, it is a good album. I personally could do without the Matrix-produced tracks (which sound like Avril Lavigne b-sides), and that's what CD players are for. You can program those songs out. I don't know what was going through her mind when she decided to work with them, but that's a choice she made, and I am sure she had her reasons. I am also sure she knows that her choice alienated a lot of fans, but I don't if it is really worth it to her to lose a bunch of fans in return for getting a song or two on summer teen movie soundtracks and getting billed on girlie festival tours. Maybe it was money, and I understand if that's the case. I thought she had lost me as a fan, but I was wrong. On my second, third, fourth listen I realized that the rest of the songs on this album are classic Liz Phair. Yes, updated a bit. More glossy, but still Liz. I hope she continues to make albums, but I also hope that she stays away from people who want to make her sound like Avril Lavigne's big sister.

An Exorcism Has Taken Place!!!
Liz, The Lovable Liz Of F and Run and Supernova. Joltin Joe has gone away, hey hey hey, hey hey hey. This record sounds like a Sheryl Crow CD all polished up with turtle wax!!! "Why Can't I" who cares if you like the younger guys Liz lovem all and get over it and make that tough, rough music you used to make!!! EXTRAORDINARY...NOT!!! The best thing about the CD is the CD cover and it's not even original, Carly Simon did it first. Come Back Liz, Come Back! ... Read more

Album Description

With Our Shadows Will Remain, Arthur has delivered the album that will connect with the masses. It is at once his most intricate and focused work to date, featuring the mesmerizing rock tracks "Can't Exist" and "Even Tho". With other songs ranging from beautiful acoustic melodies (Echo Park) to harder-edged, expansive driving rock (Devil's Broom), to deep and gritty programmed beats (I Am, Wasted), this album is a real, vital diary of the landscape of urban life and the album that most clearly reveals the breadth of Arthur's incredible talents. Our Shadows Will Remain is an instant classic, destined to make Joseph Arthur a household name. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This twenty-minute EP is a five-song companion piece to Sam Beam aka Iron & Wine’s exceptional 2002 debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle. Culled from sessions in Sam’s Florida house between 1999 and 2002, everything that made that left-field album of often beautiful and sometimes strange folk music is here. There’s Beam’s deft banjo and slide guitar playing, his hushed and lovely but somehow very intense vocals, and those wonderful cryptic Southern Gothic lyrics. The words are sung clearly and they’re worth chewing over; infused with religious overtones and muted irony, they’re never corny and invite multiple interpretations. A highlight is the audience favorite "Jesus the Mexican Boy," one of his most beautiful and touching songs to date. PS: Your copy did not get water-damaged; like the intentionally lo-fidelity recording sound, it’s supposed to look like that! --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (9)

beautiful EP
First of all, I do not understand how some of the other reviewers could say that "Jesus, the Mexican boy" is a bad song. I guess it's just a taste thing, but I think it's one of the strongest on this EP. Sure it's not a song that's gonna "raise the roof" but that's not why I listen to Iron and Wine to begin with. The song is a beautiful poetic parable about his friendship with Jesus, the Mexican boy, and how he betrayed Jesus, but was forgiven. And as for the reviewer that called this album "JUNK," well, to be honest, that makes me sad. Sad that this person just doesn't get it.

Now that my temporary rant is over, I'll accually talk about the EP as a whole. When I bought this EP, I was hesitant at first, because it was only five songs, but I bought it anyway. That night I was up late framing some paintings and I just put it on loop and played it for about 5 hours. Now you'd think I'd get tired of the same five songs for five hours, but I didn't. Actually, I bought this before I had ever heard "The Creek Drank the Cradle," and I thought, "if this is what they left off of the first one, I've got to hear it." I was not disappointed at all, and haven't been by "Our Endless Numbered Days" either. I would recommend that anyone who is into layed back, beautiful, poetic, acoustic music buy all of Iron and Wine's albums. You will not be disappointed. However, if you are someone who absolutely adores what you hear on pop radio and on vh1, maybe you're not up to it. And for the record, I only gave it four stars because lately I've been saving my five stars for completely ground breaking, "change my life" sort of albums.

Not as good as Creek
I'm with a couple of the other reviewers about "Jesus the Mexican Boy," which is overlong and wouldn't be all that good even if a couple of verses had gotten lopped off. The first, second, and last songs are gorgeous. though, and the third song is fun ... Hardly "junk" like an apparently deaf customer called it, this EP is definitely worth it if you're a big fan, but the uninitiated would be better off starting with one of the full-length LP's.

Beautiful EP
This EP is absolutely brilliant. Beam maintains the same sound of his full length, with a new message. As his LP was filled with songs about a fallout with hs religious upbringing, The Sea and the Rhythm seems to be regaining those beliefs seen most clearly on 'Jesus the Mexican Boy'. The highlight here is the title track, a descriptive narrative about making love in the lyrical vein of Neutral Milk Hotel. Buy this EP if you had more than a passing interest in 'The Creek.'
2000man

"Someday the Waves Will Stop"
Length - 21:16
The brilliant Floridian Sam Beam, aka Iron and Wine, had displayed his lush, porchlight lullabies magnificently on Iron and Wine's debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle. The Sea and the Rhythm divagates through the same wayworn roads, but with an augmented sense of wistfulness and desolation. Another reviewer propounded that this EP will make listeners who are more concerned with lyrics very happy. The lyrics are, without a doubt, indelibly beautiful; but depreciating the music by sparing it a mention lucidly personifies ignorance. The delicate acoustics are as much a part of the poetry as the words themselves. Without the lilting glow of a banjo and a guitar, seemingly strummed by divine fingers, Jesus the Mexican Boy and Someday the Waves would be nothing more than average ballads. The Night Descending, for example, offers such pensive lines as "Met a man with missing fingers/Shaking hands with shaded strangers/Far too strong to pacify you/Ain't no telling what they're up to", but conflated with the hokey, O Brother Where Art Thou?-ish country jangle, a lackluster track is rendered. Thankfully that is the only number with parts not adding up to a cohesive whole (hence my rating of 4 stars, 4 exceptional pieces). The opening duo of songs that I've yet to mention are both very well done. The mysterious opener Beneath the Balcony foreshadows the dense lyrical tapestry that is woven in somber stitching through the course of the EP. The eponymously titled second number is a sultry love song in the purest sense..."Our hands they seek the end of afternoon/My hands believe and move over you". All in all, The Sea & the Rhythm airily transcends its earthly figures of 21 minutes and 9 dollars in a meek, self-effacing manner. Not monetarily, but soulfully, it shares a brief composition that will pull at your heartstrings and leave you wondering, how can a man come to create such music?

junk
I love Creek drank the Cradle but this is pure junk. Jesus the Mexican boy is simply pathetic. Why, why was this released? ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Like a futuristic Of Montreal, perhaps even better...
The twisted pop tunes that dance from mind-boggling hook to mind-boggling hook within seconds, the dually hilarious and morbid lyrics, the energy, the synths... my God, if a debut album were ever to set insurmountable expectations, this is it. Perhaps the most shamelessly fun band since Of Montreal, The Unicorns' (who are, in fact, of Montreal) debut is the kind of danceable pop album that is deep enough to keep an indie geek fascinated for months while also being accessible enough for your ailing grandmother not to complain about that god awful racket coming from Fraust's room. It's an elated frenzy of sugary death, guaranteed to rot your teeth and your flesh, without giving you a second to catch your breath. Now, of course, I realize all Amazon customer reviews are hyperbolic nonsense, and yes, I realize that only people with glowing opinions even bother to write them... but trust me, this album is sure to knock your socks off (or at least jostle them forcefully).

Cheeky and Irreverent
Maybe the rap rock reviewer was onto something. Maybe the author had an inside joke he had to tell and didn't care if the rest of us got it. In that case the reviewer accurately summed the spirit of WWCOHWWG. Musically the album is the farthest thing from rap rock. But it's also pretty far from traditional pop with its shifting song structures and playful use of multiple instruments that creates a sound that harkens back to Pavement (ala Slanted and Enchanted). Actually, take Pavement of 1992 replace the slacker pose with a cheeky Canadian sense of humor, replace fuzz and distortion with a synthesizer you'd get the Unicorns.
That aside...My theory is there was a car accident in Montreal we never heard about. One where the Ween tour van sideswiped the Pavement tour van and these three guys were the only witnesses.

quirky indie fun
Everyone I've played this album for has laughed at least once. The music, the lyrics, its ridiculious- and in a good way. The songs are catchy and entertaining, the lyrics are smart, and their general attitude will leave you wondering what just happened.

Blow your head on the turn of the fan
If you don't have this album yet, you are behind the times. No, really. This is one of the best new groups I've heard in a long time. I've had this since it came out in March and I play it all the time still, even despite my shor attention span. Funny, laugh-out-loud lyrics, and great music that's for sure not going to bore you. Guitars, synthesizers, even a flute! I say, William, clap your hands now!! This will be a cult classic. Stay away if you are mainstream.

pretty damn good
I just found out who the Unicorns were a couple of days ago, and they are catchy as hell. The songs are humorous, but the vocals and the melodies, as well as the catchy drum beats sort of make this band a unique result. Some songs are beautiful, and if you would delete the lyrics, you'd think this band was dead serious, and not singing about ghosts. I love it. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

In 2000, the techno-folk troubadour Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy,won the U.K.-based Mercury Music Prize, Brit-pop's blue ribbon award. His first full-length, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, is a song cycle relaying the life span of a romantic relationship with dry lyrical humor, soft-touch acoustic strumming, mellow horns, and gossamer strings.Repeated listenings are required, but like a down pillow, as your head sinks into this album, its warm comforts and rewards reveal themselves deep within a melodic cushion. --Beth Massa ... Read more

Reviews (108)

Startling Debut!
The first album by Badly Drawn Boy has been released amidst much hype--and believe me the hype is well founded. Badly Drawn Boy is basically the brainchild of Damon Gough from Manchester,England.The early e.p.'s showed great promise,and this promise has come to fruition on an album of startling variety. The influence of sixties folk musician Nick Drake seems to be all the rage at the moment.When the first notes of the first song 'The Shining' are struck I was expecting a c.d. of 18 mellow tracks.It starts off with a gentle cello-horn instrumental,then Gough adds some vocals to this beautifully mellow opening.Then track 2-'Everybody's Stalking' changes the mood totally,as it's driven by a ferocious bass line and it doesn't half rock!This is the magic of this c.d.,Gough has the ability to change the sound,the influence,the mood with consumate ease.Another example of this comes at track 8-'Body Rap' which sounds like one of those Beastie Boy,D.J. Shadow instrumental interludes.This leads straight into 'Once Around The Block' a gentle r/b piece,complete with wah-wah guitars,Blues lead guitar and excellent harmonious vocals.You may think all this mish mash of influences may make the c.d. very disjointed-but somehow it all seems to fit together perfectly.The title track,song 11-Bewilderbeast is wonderful in that it brings all these sounds together on one amazing track.Track 12 'Magic In The Air' is a haunting,melancholic ballad,with piano and guitar the backdrop for Gough's excellent vocals.Track 14 has a definite country feel to it.Track 16-'Disillusion' has a real seventies feel to it-with a sound that isn't to far removed (instrumentally) from The Doobie Brother's. 18 tracks may seem quite alot for any c.d.-especially a debut,but there are no obvious weak songs at all.I have to say it's an incredibly ambitious debut but it is one that shows the work of a very talented musician and song-writer.Finally this c.d. deserves to do really well and I would certainly reccomend it to lovers of good quality music.

It 's all about the melodies....
Firstly, Badly Drawn Boy is really Damon Gough of Manchester, UK with some help from various friends.

I really would like to give this album 5 stars. I had heard about half of the album before actually buying it, and all of those songs could be rated a "10". Songs like "The Shining", "Everybody's Stalking" "Once Around The Block", "Fall In A River", "Magic In The Air", "Cause A Rockslide" and "Disillusion" are spectacular pop gems. All are infected with hummable melodies that stay with you for weeks. The other tracks are also very good but may take some extra plays to really hit the listener with the same effect.

Four songs to take note of are:

"Once Around The Block", the song that is probably getting the most mention. It's a track that seems to have a flavor of being played by a street band, with twangy and jazzy guitars and a lot of backing vocals and shuffles along in a sort of "fast waltz-time". Awesome melody.

"Magic In The Air" a wonderfully bittersweet melody, drenched in acoustic guitar and rich piano.

"Disillusion", a song that seems so authentically set in the '70s that you'll get flashbacks of "Three's Company", Evil Knieval action figures, Trans Ams, "Starsky&Hutch", and "Saturday Night Fever" memories. A lot of fun to listen to though!

But the album's peak moment is the great second track, the slow, dark funk of "Everybody's Stalking", which cops a lyric from Bruce Springsteen, and has a cool guitar riff throughout the song.

There are also several short instrumental pieces that sort of act as "intervals" throughout. The album owes a lot to past pop giants like The Beatles and other folk artists. This album is deservedly getting much attention. In this music wasteland of over-exposed non-entity acts like LimpBizkit, Britney, Backstreet Boys, it's nice to hear some real songs for a change. If you like Beatles, Elliot Smith, et. al you'll love this album.

Stunning debut
The Hour of Bewildrebeast is just a stunning patchwork of different musical styles and influences that all flow together seemlessly. His songs sound so naked and timeless, i can't remember the last time i heard pop music like this. I guess the one criticism i have of Badly Drawn Boy is that he has so much talent he sometimes doesn't know where to focus it and while there is hardly a weak moment on this album, parts of it do sound a little tacked on. Still worth 5 stars though.

Pissing In the Wind
Simply a beautiful album. I can't state in words how this album made me feel the first time listening to it all the way through. Its hard to tell whether its joy or despair, but the point is this album makes you feel. 'Epitaph' Still gets me to this day when the birds chime in and he sings "Just Promise That you'll try." unrequited love is somewhat of a button for me and that song pushes it hard. Another standout is 'Pissing In The Wind' almost a tongue-in-cheek rebellion song that upon further investigation (I mean looking past the title) is really more universal than funny. The reason this album isn't a 5-star album is because of its consistency. Songs like 'Body Rap' and 'Cause A Rockslide' are cool concepts, but don't really flow with the goal of the album. However, overall this is a standout album from ONE guy! he plays 8 instruments at a time (I believe thats the correct number). That's talent.

Kaleidoscopic debut by the english Beck
2000's splendorous debut by Manchester's prodigy songwriter Damon Gough should be regarded foe what it is:the last great pop album of the twentieth century.

Some reviewers criticize the way it seems almost too easy for him to create his music - they should instead be marvelled at his incredible resourcefulness and tasteful arrangements.

In the booklet's thank yous there's one aimed at Bruce Springsteen and other at Johnny Marr which makes all sense in the way his music frequently resembles a Springsteen filtered through the Smiths' sensitivity and emotional depth.

It should be said that the album works better as a whole than as a sum of its elements for while the outstanding songs are plentiful it should be heard from start to finish in order to be fully emerged in all its beauty.

Some key tracks:

-The Shining:A folk opener, gentle, sunny and reminding Belle& Sebastian's work.

-Everybody Stalking:A dark tune covered in heavy guitars.Great.

-Camping next to water:The gorgeous lovelorn("What's the use of feeling,there's no one here to feel it with me")and the emotional solo makes this probably the album's top cut.

-Stone on the Water:Folk rock which in its second part uncovers some precious vocal harmonies.

-Another Pearl:The piano driven single,filled with surrealistic lyrics(some in French)features also some cool singing by Damon.

-Once Around the Block:An uplifting singalong track.

-Cause a Rockslide:Sung in a falsetto(not an annoying one though)and refreshingly schizophrenic.

-Pissing in the Wind:A simple but heartfelt song.

-Disillusion:Set on a disco beat,bouncy but elegant,a change of direction after the more confessional "Pissing in the Wind".

-Say it Again:The proof that indeed it all flows effortlessly out of him.A song in theory as simple as this one, achieves status of excellence as it passes through his hands.

All fans of singer-songwriters should give talented Badly Drawn Boy a try. ... Read more

Album Description

The remastered version of Pavement's seminal debut. 2 CDs, 48 tracks , 23 unreleased recordings , 8 unreleased songs . The complete "Slanted" recording sessions along with the contemporary "Watery, Domestic" EP, B-sides, compilation tracks, outtakes, two Peel sessions and a complete live concert.

Simultaneous release with "Slow Century" double DVD chronicling the band's entire career. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Great re-issue!
Pavement's seminal debut has been re-released in one of the best moves in Matador Records history. A sixty-page booklet packed with photos, interviews, and great notes from the band is enough to accompany every listen. As for the new material featured here, let it be known that none of bonus tracks are at all throw-aways. Each track is essential listening for anyone who has enjoyed "Slanted and Enchanted" in its original format. The full live concert on the "Watery, Domestic" disc is especialy nice, with surprisingly good sound quality.

Listening to "Slanted and Enchanted: Deluxe and Redux" shows a new light on Pavement. More than a decade after its original release, it still sounds fresh and original. The same can not be said of any Sonic Youth or Pixies album. This album was the blueprint which all art-school noise bands followed for the next decade, but no one can duplicate the intensity, the songwriting, or the overall free-form attitude that Malkmus & Co. laid down. Songs like "Summer Babe" and "No Life Singed Her" show just how intense they could get at times, but never obnoxiously so. "Here", the album's best track begins quietly and introspectively, but eventually builds into a screeching monument.

Since 1992, indie music has changed a great deal, yet "Slanted and Enchanted" remains as important as it was the day of its release. Perhaps Pavement were ahead of their time, but they were so at the perfect moment.

Gotta get it
Run out and buy this on principle alone. This is the Sgt. Pepper's of the 90's (or Revolver, or White Album, or whatever). On a personal note, I credit this album alone for my introduction and long-standing love affair with indie music. I'm sure most people reading this remember the first time they heard it too, sitting there with your jaws on the floor. It is that good, the hype is real.

Anyway, Matador, one of the premier indie labels in the country, has finally released the remastered disc including live footage and unreleased tracks. I believe it's to celebrate S&E's 10th anniversiary. The studio album itself remains revolutionary, even upon it's 5,000th listening. It might be ten years old, but each track still reaffirms everything that is wrong with commercial radio and its cohorts. I'll take Steve Malkmus' lyrical obscurity over just about anything out there. The live versions are pure fun, a nostalgiac trip back to the days when grunge was king. Of course, if you like Pavement, you probably laughed at anyone wearing flanel, but I guess that's half the enjoyment in reliving their old, live shows. Summer Babe is still the best song ever to sing along to.

This disc should be to music fans what combat boots are to Marines - standard issue.

Hmmm...HAH!!!
ok, this band is not that good.
Plain and Simple.
They sound like Beck trying to Cover Weezer songs!
Whoever said that they are the 90's version of Sgt. Pepper or any Beatles CD is a MORON because this band has no talent compared to the beatles. They have some talent, but not enough to impress me. I must say that some of their tunes are catchy but other than that they are average underground to me.
Also, Contuid for Sale sounds like Primus, but in this case, not in a good way.
If you really want the 90's version of SGT. Pepper, it's RadioHead...look at their transformation from songs like "creep" to "Motion Picture SOundtrack." Anyways, yeah, Pavement is just another band that making weird music that doesnt sound good, and attracting alot of emo kids and underground kids to it...just Go listen to The Beatles, or Radio Head or Coldplay or even Dave Matthews Band if your looking for talent...

Pavement Deluxe!
Pavement was the reigning indie band of the 1990s, with their vibrant rock and Stephen Malkmus's deliciously strange lyrics. And at the 10th anniversary of debut "Slanted and Enchanted"'s release, devoted fans were rewarded with "Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe," with a wealth of live tracks, new tracks, B-sides and more.

The original recording itself is a masterful creation: its includes the whooping "Life Singed Her," intricate "Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17," droning "In the Mouth of a Desert," gently poppy "Zürich Is Stained" and jangling, shimmering "Loretta's Scars," before wrapping up with the solid acoustic "Our Singer."

But no sooner has the rat-a-tat percussion of "Our Singer" faded out than the new stuff begins: The "Slanted Sessions," which include the droning "Mercy Snack: The Laundromat," the catchy rocker "Baptist Blacktick," a rawer, rougher alternate mix of "Here," and the shimmery indie "Nothing Ever Happens" (which sounds a bit like the Beatles). The first disc fades out with the John Peel Session #1 -- which has never been released before -- four fuzzy, solid renditions of their songs.

The second disc is almost as good, kicking off with the Watery, Domestic tracks: the ear-tingling feedback that opens "Texas Never Whispers," the sweeping "Frontwards," and the poppy "Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)." The Watery Sessions are on a somewhat grimmer note with the melancholy "Greenlander," the gothic-sounding "Sue Me Jack," and the drizzly "So Stark (You're A Skyscraper)."

A second John Peel session -- also never before released -- which starts off on a grey, drizzly note but builds up to the muffled shrieks and roars of "List of Dorms." Finally, the second disc rounds off to a live performance at London's Brixton Academy in late 1992: A surprisingly clear, sharp-sounding rendition of their songs -- you can almost feel the energy crackling from Malkmus's voice.

And accompanying the two discs of music is a thick little booklet the size of a skinny CD jewel case. It doesn't really provide many new insights into the songs themselves, but it does give a look into where the guys from Pavement were before rocketing to indie-godhood. It looks like a bunch of notes pasted together, especially with some scrawled lyrics in the middle of it, written in marker with lines crossed out.

Pavement is one of those wonderful bands that have a subtle influence on many of the bands who come after them, such as, for example, Weezer. Their fuzzy, roiling guitar was offset by creative flourishes that can make your heart bleed and your ears tingle. And don't be deceived by the seeming simplicity of these songs -- under the fuzzy guitar and machine-gun percussion are outstanding melodies.

Pavement may be gone, but it's not forgotten. And "Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe and Reduxe" is among the best rereleases I've seen yet, with its overwhelming wealth of extras and bonuses. Vibrant and timeless -- and the rarities and B-sides make it even better.

Possibly the best band ever.
Do yourself a favor and buy any Pavement record. Slanted and Enchanted should be your first purchase. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Among the most stunning debuts of 2003, Catalpa was initially self-released by Ms. Holland in January, but word quickly spread beyond her San Francisco home of this strikingly talented singer who sounds like Billie Holiday covering Cat Power versions of Appalachian folk songs. After a bidding war, the album was re-released on Anti--worth noting because it makes her the first up-and-comer to sign with the same label as Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Solomon Burke. When Holland made these recordings, she hadn't set out to make an album at all; some tunes were demos and others were simply recordings made to teach her songs to potential accompanists. Holland helped found Canadian alt-folk act the Be Good Tanyas, and, although she left them due to creative differences, her music is similar to that of the Tanyas--just stranger, sparser, and more haunting. The most apt reference point might be the '60s folk singer Karen Dalton, but Holland's voice is so strong and sweet the nearest analog might actually be Van Morrison circa 1968. Her voice floats about like the loveliest bumblebee in flight on "All the Morning Birds," while the ghosts of Bessie Smith and Geechie Wiley are channeled on the acoustic blues stomp "Black Hand Blues." --Mike McGonigal ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A different sound, for sure
This is one of the most distinctive, defiantly genre-bending albums to come down the pike in quite some time... Generally speaking, it's in the "Americana" realm, but with odd, insistent jags of torchy jazz, blues and indefinable world music influences. It's not surprising since Holland, who has become a fixture on the Northern California/SF Bay Area scene, was once a founding member of the equally eclectic Be Good Tanyas, and carries much of their searching moodiness with her. There's also an art-school diary aspect to this disc, with elusive impenetrable lyrics that are matched by the amorphousness of the music. This album certainly has a unique feel to it... whether she'll be able to sustain the mystique, or sharpen her focus, remains to be seen, but for now Holland has struck a remarkable balance between the pretentious and the sublime... If you're looking for something substantive and off the beaten track, this disc is certainly worth checking out.

That being said, I find all the comparisons to Billie Holiday to be utterly ridiculous and overblown... I mean, get real! Have you folks really ever listened to Billie Holiday?? She was a singer of gigantic stature, a lyrical interpreter sublime beyond compare -- just because Holland croons a little and doesn't sound like Alanis Morrisette or Sheryl Crow, or whoever your modern-day point of reference may be, that doesn't make her "the new Billie Holiday..." Not by a longshot!

High promise from an unusal record...
Catalpa is an aberation in an age of slickly produced and packaged material: a murky, dim, low fidelity, home made confection, complete with the occasional cough from the musicians, off-harmonies, and tuning up jams. Out of this sere, almost inaudible background comes Holland's bright, lilting soprano and, well... that's quite some pretty Southern inflected skylark in there. The whole tone and sound is exactly as if you had wandered into the musician's garage or backyard and were evesdropping. This is probably the best voyeuristic musical thrill available on CD, reminiscent of spare Blue Note recordings from the Sixties.

So why only four stars? Well, like many freshman efforts, this disc has higher points and lower points, but it's very even in tone, lacking real peaks or valleys. Melodic, but never barn burning (or completely heart-rending). Compared to, say, Bonnie Raitt's 1972 opus "Give It Up" (recorded in a barn), it lacks the real zip that gives you a full-throttle peak. Neither does any particular song break your heart. There is plenty of beautiful, personal music here--even some of the best whistling since Bing Crosby warbled a tune. With some variation and maybe some more humor this would be a truly great find.

My money's on her next album, though, which promises to be shockingly good.

Half-assed perfection
Among the other rewiews I've noticed several comparisons between Jolie Holland's voice and that of Billie Holiday. In a sense, I disagree with such comparisons because Holland sounds as much like Will Oldham's broken larynx or Paul Simon's African inflections as she soes like Holiday. But the comparison is apt because her voice makes you feel the same way as Holiday's did -- like it should be hot outside, but you've got a nice spot in the shade -- like you're reliving a particularly vivid moment from the past.

Catalpa is a collection of stripped-down, low-fi songs that lie firmly in the hard-to-define crossroads of folk, country, blues, and jazz. The songs are as slow and as sweet as molasses. Holland's ballyhooed voice is typically accompanied by acoustic guitar with tickles of banjo, another guitar, drums, and some of the most delicious whistling I've ever heard slipping in occassionally. While the mediocre sound quality gives Catalpa a lovely patina, Amazon's song samples come off a bit tinny. You'll have to give Holland the benefit of the doubt. "Black Hand Blues" shows Holland's more energetic and jazzier side as well as some Holidayesque vocals. "December, 1999" is more demonstrative of the downhome fingerpicking that dominates the album. "Alley Flowers," though one of my least favorie tracks, shows some indie inclinations and helps explain why Holland has opened for bands like Low. Unfortunately, most of the best tracks lay outside of the first five. "The Littlest Birds," (for example) is a wonderfully happy song, reminding me of Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," while "Wandering Angels" straddles musical space between Mazzy Star and Norah Jones.

The only reason I give this album four stars instead of five is that it's a little rough around the edges. I actualy enjoy it more with warts than I would without, but I could picture someone who likes perfect, big-studio production qualities being a little turned off (for example) by the slow, imprecise instrumental build-up leading into "Demon Lover Improv." If you're not scared by the production quality caveat, go out and buy Catalpa -- for all the comparisons I've made it's some of the most delightfully original music I've heard in a long time.

Hillbillie Holiday
Imagine Billie Holiday heading up to the West Virgina hills to dry out. In terms of sound quality, Catalpa is a bit like dusting off some old photo album in your grandma's attic. Lyrically, the images are as mysterious as sepia toned snapshots. I equate it to discovering the early recordings of Skip James or Blind Lemon Jeffereson for the 1st time. You can't quite make out all the words but there's some magic at work that keeps you coming back to eavesdrop some more. Lord knows this sort of low fi Americana thing has been done to death by now. Starting with trendsetting 'Palace' era Will Oldham. Unto Songs:Ohia. Cat Power. Bright Eyes & countless others. Quite frankly it's all beginning to wear off it's charm as far as I'm concerned. The same goes for the whole O Brother/Down From The Mountain militia. But Catalpa is anything but contrived. There's nothing self-concious at work here. Perhaps, because this record was never really intended for popular release. Merely a home recording to sort of shop around. Be Good Tanya fans may remember Holland as one of the band's founding members, but this far more evocative in my book. There's the surreal wit & wind chimes of "Alley Flowers". The balladry(and mid song cough) of "Morning Birds". The bluesy swing of "Black Man's Blues" can't help but bring Rickie Lee Jones & Karen Dalton to mind. "I Want To Die" sounds like it could've been lifted from the fingers of a dozing Mississippi John Hurt. That said, "The Littlest Birds" borrows from both Dolly Parton & Syd Barrett. Strange bedfellows to be sure, but with Holland, it all comes off as perfectly natural. "Wandering Angus" is none other than a W.B. Yates' poem set to music. In short, this is pretty eclectic stuff. Not to mention a breath of fresh air within it's genre. The kind of record you curl up with on a winter's night. Or kick back with on some lazy Sunday in May. A place where you can ease your mind or challenge it. My favorite kind of record.

hey
ya i dont have the cd i was just listening to it on here. its crazy how similar she sounds the the be good tanyas. strange--even a little freaky. sounds good though : ) ... Read more

Amazon.com

Loneliness, boredom, and random observations have been at the heart of Modest Mouse's skewered musical universe through all their releases. The Issaquah, Washington-born trio has also been able to spin very-long-playing albums that catered to the group's core obsessions, with both its full-length Up Records releases--This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About and The Lonesome Crowded West clocking in at more than 70 minutes in length. So it's refreshing to hear this supremely odd rock band at its most economical. Building Nothing Out of Something catches singles, compilation tunes, and more--none of which were ever intended to be sequenced as an album. As a narrative whole, the singles take on a visionary quality, discerning worldly, bent revelations in the everyday world. The swervy vocals that Isaac Brock has made his trademark sound as languidly distressed as ever, stricken by marvel and ghastly awakenings in equal measures. The music serves Brock well, sounding wobbly and sturdy at once, as if it barely teeters on chaos's brink at a variety of mostly midtempo paces. "Never Ending Math Equation," "A Life of Arctic Sounds," and "Other People's Lives" play the most stoutly, with the tonally clean guitars breaking across all the angular phrasings and rhythms Modest Mouse thrive on while Brock's voice goes from warpy drollery to exasperated wail in the face of his task as a singer and writer. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (38)

BEST MODEST MOUSE CD!
THis was the first modest mouse CD i ever bought. I bought it straight off of recommendation and at first i didn't like it enough to play it more than 2x in my CD player, (except baby blue sedan, which was the only song that even somewhat caught my attention) Later i heard Lonesome Crowded West and loved it, got it, and the other modestmouse CDs, and then i listened to this one again and it still seemed hard to get into...then something happened and every single song became a masterpiece. I couldn't stop playing this CD and after just seeing them live i was really happy they played lots of songs from this album, it's great. buy.

The 'Mouse return and have built something special!
Yes, it's a compilation of 7-inch singles (plus one vinyl-only track), but it holds together just as the greatest albums do. The reason? The music (which any fan of American indie-rock, Built To Spill, or the Pixies should already be familiar with) is fully-focused, ethereal, and beautiful, ever ready to be purposely spoilt by an injection of twangy guitar noise, or Isaac Brock's warm, throaty (occasionally abrasive) rasp. The range is also terrific, as the band sound delightfully jumpy on "Never Ending Math Equation", but gorgeously insightful and melancholy on "Positive Negative". There is also some of their most hummable stuff here. "Broke"'s swirling, stoned-into-logic refrain haunts long after the disc stops, as does "Workin' On Leavin The Livin", while "Baby Blue Sedan" is possibly the most tearjerking song they've ever done. A fantastic album that shows off a truly special band, who are themselves one of the best American indie-rock bands since the Pixies or, dare I say it, Nirvana.

My only 5 star album by modest mouse.
My introduction to modest mouse was the deliciously strange EP, "Everywhere and his Nasty Parlour tricks" which I took a while to warm up to. I can't help but thinking that if "Building Nothing out of Something" had been my introduction to Modest Mouse I would have caught on to the true depth of their musicianship much quicker. Every Modest Mouse release, especially the new one, gets High marks in my book, but this is the one that I never get sick of and never skip a track on. If you like unique music, buy this album. If you just heard "Float On" and you're curious about what Modest Mouse has to offer, buy this album. It's definately a worth while purchase.

These are B-Sides???
This is another amazing album from modest mouse. It's a collection of B-sides and rare tracks but you wouldnt know that because the quality of these songs is breath taking. Just listen to "A Life of Arctic Sounds" and "Never-ending Math Equation" these are some of Modest Mouse's best songs.

Wonderful!
This is my favorite Modest Mouse cd, mostly because it deals with a lot of personal views or problems or any of the likes. The introduction is great, fast and witty, and I enjoyed the cd from then on. Baby Blue Sedan is a very pretty song and you'll want to listen to it for days. Whenever you breathe.. is perfect, and I very much so recommend this cd whether as a collectible or a starter. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Back in the mid '80s, when Conor was still in diapers, Lou Barlow was moaning gut-wrenchingly emotional indie-rock into a cheap tape recorder, on his own and with pal Eric Gaffney. It was a creative outlet separate from his day job as bassist for very loud proto-grunge act Dinosaur, but once Lou left the band the project took on a life all its own in the guise of Sebadoh. Barlow’s best songs are unabashedly dorky nursery rhyme songs sung in a honey-coated multi-tracked croon with generally minimal backing music, the strum of an acoustic guitar often its center. Lou doesn’t always write the best lyrics ("If you love me tell me with your eyes, they never lie"?) but Emoh, his first solo album in a decade, recorded with a host of friends, is a true return to form. A few songs percolate with drum loops and tape hiss is notably absent here. Whether the record-buying public still cares is another question entirely, but, from a heartfelt cover of Ratt’s "Round & Round" to the slowly building and beautiful "If I Could," no one can say Barlow didn’t try. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

If talent was all you needed, this CD would be huge
I love this CD.The arrangements are done with just the right touch.The vocals are solid.The musicianship is top drawer.If I have a complaint, it's that the lyrics could be a bit tighter and that they are a bit maudlin, but you can say that about just about all good indie rock.It seems to come with the genre.

Lou Barlow is one of the most talented singer/songwriters in pop music today.He should be a star.By that I don't mean, MTV and commercial radio stardom, but the college radio crowd should be playing this CD and buying it by the shovelful.

Mr. Barlow has every element of artistically driven pop music nailed down except one, style.He isn't a poseur.He looks and acts like a rather dour, mild-mannered geek.And to my mind, that's the one thing that's keeping Mr. Barlow and this CD from being a commercial success.

This is one of those albums that you'll find in a record cutout bin a few years from now, buy it because it's a bargain, play it and say, "Why wasn't this a hit?"You can say that about a lot of CDs that should get attention but don't.Likely, someone who makes it big in a few years will mention this CD as a big influence.It's the kind of music that other musicians love, but maybe the public just isn't ready for.Big Star.Joe Henry.Graham Parker.The list goes on and on of great, but no buzz acts that sound better and better in hindsight.

Lou Barlow has a winning CD!
I recently heard one of Lou's songs on "The OC", and liked it so much I decided to seek out his music. I am delighted with this CD, as all the songs are well written and have great melodies. I like the sparseness of the musical arrangements, focusing mainly on acoustic guitar, and highlighting Lou's beautiful voice. Highly recommended!

Best of 2005 so far
To read all of this review or many more like it check out my music review blog @ http://twowaymonologues.blogspot.com

"Hit me like a kick to a thickening gut, the beat has gone beaten me up. No-one's gonna lift me out of this rut, the groove has gone ground me to dust. Knocking on the wrong cocoon. spun another web of lies.

And then you break through
And dry before my eyes
Take me with you, where you hide tonight.

Did You feel the beat in a fetal curl? Could you be original caterpillar girl?
Crawling up the vine, splitting your spine.
Flowing through the motion, leave your shell behind.

And then you break through
And dry before my eyes
Take me with you, where you hide tonight.
Away, alone, look out.
The birds, like me, want you now.
Caterpillar come out."

Those are the words to the latest in my favourite song of 2005 thus far. Something tells me though this song has a serious chance of maintaining that esteemed title for a long long while. The song is called "Caterpillar Girl" and considering i've had/have a few caterpillar girls in my life the lyrics of the song are just all the more powerful and relevant to my life. The song is by the wonderful Lou Barlow whom if you didn't know was the lead singer of Dinosaur Jr, Folk Implosion and is the lead singer of Sebadoh. Somewhat hilariously I have never been a big fan of Sebadoh, don't know any songs by Dinosaur Jr and never invested much time in Folk Implosion. Yet somehow I came to be a proud new owner of Lou Barlow's brand new solo album "Emoh". How did that happen?

Well, I really didn't plan on buying the album. I read a few things about it, and decided to download it and review it for the website. Then like so often happens I ended up really liking it, and after a few more listens that like became a love and within a week or getting it on my computer I bought the album. I consider myself to be an unique position where I can review thi album on the merit of the album, without having to worry about comparing it to Barlow's current/previous bands he has been involved with. For a long time fan of Lou Barlow's work it must be hard to accurately review a solo album like this. I honestly can say I am thankful I don't have that burden.

Barlow's style of music on this album can be described to me as being reminiscient of Elliot Smith without the underlying tones of suicide that always accompanied Elliot's music. You could also compare him to Bright Eyes, Damien Rice, and Ben Folds. More or less you can compare him to most of the solo sparse sounding, strong song writing, with heavy emphasis on the guitar group. And unlike the title you can't really call the sound emo. I mean yeah it is emotional no doubt, but emo is closer to punk and nobody in their right mind would call anything on this album anything near punk. The production stands out on the album, with everything sounding very crisp and creative. In terms of range this album has more range than say Bright Eyes did, but most albums that fall into this kinda sound end up being a bit restricted in the amount of range they can show.

............

When I heard "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" a few weeks back, I was convinced it would be the best album of its type that came out in 2005. I was very wrong. Lou Barlow one ups his young competition with "Emoh". The album has more range, superior lyrics, and more style than the Bright Eyes album. And if you read the Bright Eyes review that is saying something. Like I said 14 songs, and 50 minutes and not one minute of it is regrettable. The entire album works so cohesively. Everything from the order of the tracks, to the use of different instruments, and even the decision of where to sprinkle the upbeat songs to keep the listener from hitting a rut is noteworthy. I don't know if this will tempt me into going back and looking more closely at Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr, and Folk Implosion because from what I can gather this is considerably different than that. But what I do know is we have an early candidate for album of the year.

Tracks you should download: Anything I mentioned, but quite frankly any of the 14 songs on the album are in my opinion download worthy.

SCORE: 9.15 (I reserve the right to reconsider this score at a later date. But I want to leave some wiggle room for future albums that I hear that might top this wonderful record.)

Still so good after all this time...
I saw Lou perform in San Francisco last night.It was the first time in 12 years I had seen him live, but I had to go to the show once I heard this album.It is pure unadulterated Lou Barlow, with sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious lyrics and excellent melodies.If you ever enjoyed listening to Sebadoh (which I spent my entire teenage years doing) you will want to buy this album; it has the same heart LB has always had, but with more life (and musical) experience shining through.

Good ol-fashioned indie rock.
Back in my old days (the early 90s) as a college radio DJ, I used to dismiss Lou Barlow and Sebadoh as stock indie rock fare.Good, but not really anything that made me want to run out to the store and buy it, especially in those days (and I guess still even now) when indie-rock troubadours were a dime a dozen.Cut to over a decade later, and I guess it says a lot (to me, anyway) that I bought this album.I heard "Home" on the local college radio station, and I have to say it's pretty sublime.The perfect mix of strumming.The perfect mix of slacker-cum-poet.The perfect mix of lo-fi production values.The first track is solid, too.Even the cover of Ratt's "Round and Round" is worth it.To quote the ever-annoying American Idol judges, Lou took that song "and made it his own."Who would've thought an over-done 80s hairspray-and-glam-rock song like that could sound like a note-perfect lo-fi melody of white-boy longing?Okay, well that's a stretch.You should still check this out anyway. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

the best album i have ever bought in my life(and ever will)
I feel very proud to have grown up in the same city that pinback was created in, San Diego, CA. I bought their cd several months ago and fell in love with it one night with my dog sitting on my lap. It took me a couple listens to really get into any song other than "penelope" which they played on my local "independent" radio station. I love the clapping sound that pinback has in that song, that's what hooked me.

I bought the cd hoping i'd like it and now i actually love every single song on the album. My favorite song pretty much changes weekly, last week my favorite song was "offline pk" and now i'm really enjoying "prog". I'm trying to convert all my friends into pinback fanatics but they all seem to think it is too "emo", to me it's not at all emo, but then maybe i don't have a clear idea of what exactly emo is. If it sparks emotions and moods in the listener, which it does, then yes it is emo, I guess.

I went to their concert and got the two vocalists and the drummer to sign my album, they were very humble and truly nice to me. To my surprise, their performance was punk with high energy and yet an intimacy with the audience at the same time.

Their lyrics are clean and a bit cryptic, but that adds to my fascination with them. I feel energized and soothed after a full listening to their album. I hightly reccomend the purchase of this album.

amazingly good
I lived in San Diego, and used to see ThreeMilePilot play live a lot. Needless to say, the bassist of 3MP is one of the most talented and unique musicians in the modern world of indie rock. I was bummed when 3MP went into hiatus. I used to always check their section in the local record store, in the naive hope that a new album would appear. It never did.

I kinda got into blackheartprocession, but it just isn't the same. Tobias Nathaniel is a damned fine pianist, yes, but the bass is missing. And Pall's voice is grating to me, especially without the 3MP bass magic behind it.

Then, I discovered Pinback, and there was light. A beautiful and necessary expansion from 3MP. This is the best of ThreeMilePilot made better. The bassist of 3MP united with another great musical mind, Rob Crowe of Heavy Vegetable. The resulting band, Pinback, is at once complex, tuneful, melodic, rhythmic, simple, pure, and unique. They're also playing music for the right reasons, and are completely UN-pretentious, a welcome commodity in this modern world of indie rock which is seemingly populated by total wankers like Bright Eyes.

Alas, I ramble. I saw Pinback live recently and they blew me away. They were so good, that they caused cynical San Francisco hepsters to shake their booties. This is THEE Pinback album. A brilliant progression of the sound they released upon the world with "This is a Pinback CD". Can't wait until their new album comes out, in the meantime there are a variety of EP's to hold me/us/we/you over.

rob crow aint no joke
you wont hear riffs that interweave better than this. then they do some vocal intersecting thats off the charts..this stuff aint for everyone but if you dig original riffy grooves,vocal harmonies and melodies then buy this and their self titled album (my favorite)...the first i heard of pinback was a song called "B" off their "some voices " ep and it tripped me out so i hunted down more Pinback songs and now i'm hooked..these dudes can write some original songs.....find and download Penelope, this song just rocks and shows you what pinback is all about. they do go mellow, moody and experimental at times but for the most part its catchy song writing in spades.the dude that fronts pinback has done alot of projects such as a band called heavy vegetable and THINGY (thing rocks).

try the band 12 rods their album "seperation anxieties" is equally impressive and original

Mellow melodies
I just purchased this CD today and read a few reviews on Amazon before I opened it up. Almost all but a couple (or few) reviewers loved the CD and the band, but those two or three thought otherwise. The complaint I most agreed with was the CD's blandness, it's inability to provide a consistency of individual, good songs. On their own, the songs aren't bad, but as a CD they fit almost too perfectly together. None of the songs really stand out, especially as the CD progresses.

Don't get me wrong, some of the songs are really good. Concrete Sounds is amazing, and Penelope and X.I.Y. are good (as is Seville, which has nice little riffs throughout it). My only problem with the CD is the presentation. It's a very mellow CD, and the songs seem to fade into each other almost as one long song. Of course there are differences in the songs, but they aren't catchy jumps that grab your attention. Then again, that's not the kind of music this is.

The first and only Pinback song I'd heard before this album was off the Absolutely Kosher Records sampler. The song, Microtonic Wave, was good. It hinted at an experimental band that managed to do as much as it could while staying downbeat and mellow. What I expected from Blue Screen Life was more of that, a group of songs that were all different but could easily be recognized as Pinback.

I guess, in general, the CD is too mellow for my tastes. I'd say close to 33 of the 35 people who reviewed this CD on Amazon loved it, one guy even said this was one of those "cd's that remind you why you love music in the first place". So, I guess I'm in the minority. I still haven't listened to any other Pinback, but I plan on checking out their self-titled and Offcell. From what I can tell, if you like Pinback you'll like this CD. If you're just looking for some music to mellow out, I recommend the Postal Service or Death Cab for Cutie.

I can't help but think I'm just missing the point.

Strong 1st Half
This is a good album to lull me off to Dreamland. The first half is excellent, from the dreamy "Concrete Seconds" to the cinematic bassline of "Penelope" there isn't anything to complain about. "Boo" is the album standout and was the show-opener when I saw them live. The only problem is that the 2nd half of the album suffers from more-of-the-sameness, where none of the tracks really stand out from each other. This is pretty much how I feel about their first album as well (not much after Loro is worth listening to). So I suppose if you put the first halves of their first two albums together, you'd get a swell disc that could accompany you on rainy and sunny days, high ones and sober ones. ... Read more

Reviews (151)

A tamer version of Liz
Liz Phair's third album 'whitechocolatespaceegg' doesn't measure up to either her debut or sophomore album, but it's still a grab bag of good tunes. About half this album I really like: Perfect World, Johnny Feelgood, the title track, Baby Got Going, Headache, Ride, and What Makes You Happy. The rest of the songs however, seem to be either too short or too long, with nothing really special to say. Liz used to be able to write wonderfully quirky, and unique songs but it seems like most of her edge and quirky abilities have been lost. Instead of trying to sound witty, songs like Sh*tloads of Money and Uncle Alvarez come off as sounding stupid instead. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this album is bad at all but it really pales to her two previous records. Not the first Liz Phair album to get, I would recommend 'Exile In Guyville' or 'Whip-Smart' before this. But definately an album to consider, after those two have taken up permanent space in your CD player and mind.

Life after the thrill is gone...
Unfortunately for Liz, she hit a grand slam home run on her first swing ("Exile in Guyville"), leaving little possibility of anything but artistic retreat and the inevitable evolution into slick professionalism in her future.

To her credit, she's made two far from bad albums after that classic debut, and may well continue to put out strong work that stays on the right side of obvious commercialism. But she'll never be able to surprise us again, which is a shame.

That said, this album contains many strong songs, especially "Johnny Feelgood," "Polyester Bride," and "What Makes You Happy." And she can still be charmingly off-beat, as on "Uncle Alvarez" and "Shitloads of Money." She could easily be doing Sheryl Crow-slick mainstream rock, but her quirky indie instincts are intact. While not as interesting as Pavement, she's maturing with dignity in a similar way, and she deserves credit for that.

It's a Shame It's Her Worst-Selling Record...
After an extensive break, having a son and getting divorced, "Whitechocolatespaceegg," which arrived at #35 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart, surprised many Liz Phair fans in summer of 1998. Though its tongue-in-cheek lead single "Polyester Bride," didn't see the success that her breakthrough single, 2003's "Why Can't I?" (which entered the Hot 100 September 11, 2003 at #76, eventually peaking at #32, her first and thus far only Top 40 hit) had, one thing was clear: She could create songs that were easy to listen to and difficult to turn off...that's right...POP MUSIC! :::Gasp:::

Even though this is extremely far from the slickly-produced but excellent self-titled album from last year, this is essentially its foreshadower; "Liz Phair" took the formula of this album and amplified it. Indeed, with "Whip-Smart" back in 1994, she proved with songs like "Jealousy" and "Supernova," her first song to make the Hot 100 (#78), that she could stick to guns; pushing the envelope with themes that near-completely dealt with sex while still crafting radio-worthy fare. "Whitechocolatespaceegg" is far more mainstream than anything she released previously, but it walks the balance beam between indieville and Top 40 land carefully; in fact, perhaps too carefully, which could explain why it has been her least-embraced release.

From the opening title track, which many agree is in reference to her then baby son, to the awkward "Girls Room," this album is a mix bag of different infectious styles that without a doubt has at least one song to please every listener. "Big Tall Man" is a hilarious, extremely catchy tune likely inspired by her ex-husband, while "Love Is Nothing" and "Johnny Feelgood," melodically, sound like something you'd hear after popping a coin into a jukebox in a 50's-style restaurant. Other tracks, like "Go On Ahead" are lyrically reminiscent of "Exile In Guyville" in their examination of relationships, while the likes of others such as "What Makes You Happy" or "Baby Got Going" are so downright catchy that it's a true shame they didn't mark Phair's arrival at mainstream radio. The lyrics to the former are sung so perfectly; she gets an A+ for the acting job: "But mom, I'm sending you this photograph/I swear this one is gonna to last/And all those other bastards were only practice". How can you not love this woman?

Although it is her least successful record, "Whitechocolatespaceegg," with its sing-along choruses and insightful lyrics (and at times appropriate lack thereof) deserves a second chance.

I Looooves Liz
This is vintage Liz Phair! I love that song about mom disapproving of her bf , or that polyester bride song, etc. She just never goes wrong for me in any of her albums, I like all she produces.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

Absolute awful and a waste of money
Whipsmart and Exile this CD is not. Could this be Liz developing herself? No, it is a clear example of "she has a record contract and her last 2 CDs did well so lets just put this poorly written and unlistenable trash out so that the idiots on the Liz-Phair-team will buy it." Don't waste your money. Liz is creatively "dead." This is the last you'll ever hear from her (it's been a couple years). Buy her sometimes fun, rocking and clueless first two CDs ... Read more

Album Description

The long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed 1999 release 69 Love Songs, i finds singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt in full possession of his acerbic wit. Featuring lyrics ripe with melancholy and bittersweet imagery, the record's fourteen tracks are possibly the most personal Merritt has created to date -- a departure from the many voices on 69 Love Songs. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

The loneliest number
I approached this latest outing from the Magnetic Fields with some trepidation. After all, "69 Love Songs" was such an overwhelming triumph, how could Stephin Merritt possibly hope to equal what many critics have called the greatest album of the past decade? As it turns out, he didn't have to. "I" is not, as some reviewers have suggested, a handful of leftovers from "69" (it runs a scant forty-one minutes); rather, it's something of a sequel. No one seems to have noticed how downbeat most of these songs are; whereas "69" was full of songs about relationships--their ups and downs, and myriad other permutations--"I" is first and foremost about being alone. The CD appears to take its title from the initial word of its first song, "I Die," and its bittersweet lyric ("Having forgotten how to cry / I die"), but the capital "I" can also be the Roman numeral "one," which, as we all know from Al Kooper, is the loneliest number. Here, Merritt's trademark wit has turned brittle, and the result is devastating. He may yearn for the romantic certainty of "In an Operetta," but he seems to be trapped beneath "clouds that warn of thunder." The epitome of this emotion is summed up in the lyric of "I Wish I Had an Evil Twin," wherein he actively embraces the dark side of love. Of course, the music still toys with the mind like something heard on a music box (Sam Davol's wistful cello is especially evocative in this context: witness its gorgeous counterpointing on "Infinitely Late at Night") and the set ends on an upbeat note in "It's Only Time" ("and in your hands / I will be free")--but that's a song for the future. For now, Stephin Merritt is sad, and lonely; odd then that he should make such marvelously good company.

Excellent band, inconsistently good CD
I love Magnetic Fields and all of Stephin Merritt's outtings (Stephin Merritt, Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Heroes, The 6ths, Gothic Archies). This CD has few GREAT moments ("I don't believe you," "I thought you were my boyfriend," "If there's such a thing as love," "In an operetta.") But I tend to agree with another review that some of the rest of the songs sound like sessions from 69 Love Songs which didn't quite make the cut.

The sound here is similar to 69 Love Songs, (the bands previous album), with pop songs containing some quirky instruments. It is different from his earliest recordings in that it is a "synth-free" album (who would have guessed that in 1995?) But the music is still quite well written.

The theme of the album, as you might surmise from its title, is "I": (all songs begin with letter 'i', they are sequenced in alphabetical order).

What makes Merritt's music so wonderful is the marriage of wonderfully inspired lyrics (which probe deeply into the psyche of [gay men's] relationships) with addictive hard-bop-pop. For example: in the great "I thought you were my boyfriend" single, the protagonist talks about filling the emptiness/loneliness with physical touch = "I wanted you tonight. I walked around a lot wishing you were here to keep me from sleeping with anyone who might want me, or even not. Some guys have a beer and they'll do anything."

The melodrama of The Smiths meets the erudite and swanky rhymes of Cole Porter. However, this CD seems slightly watered down compared to the amazing triumphs of "HOLIDAY" and "WASPS' NESTS" or the breadth of thematic expression in "69 LOVE SONGS", none of which are to be missed.

Aye,aye
The Magnetic Fields is one of several guises that the artist Stephin Merritt records under. His last work with this 'group' was descriptively and accurately titled "69 Love Songs". We didn't buy it, although it was critically hailed, because, frankly, the sheer (and symbolic) number of numbers scared us off. Merritt gets cute with his cd's moniker once again (every song title begins with the letter of the album's title), but, at least, there are only 14 tracks this time. The majority of them are highly melodic, engaging, mostly melancholy ditties sung by Merritt (on other albums he frequently employs singers) in his arch and intimate manner. Merritt is blatantly gay, self-deprecating, and witty. His songs abound with clever and freshly blazoned lyrics (eg. "So you quote love unquote me/ Well, stranger things have come to be" and "Feels like December but it's May/ I've gone as pale as Doris Day") that ring with humor and truth. Although occasionally upbeat (even disco), most are the oddball torch songs of a contemporary and eccentric stylistic descendant of Cole Porter. The production is deft, spare and organic. Among the list of atypical rock instruments (banjo, harpsichord, cello, sitar) in the credits is the disclaimer "no synths". This album is not recommended for the macho boys among us. However we would strongly suggest it to those who enjoy a little quirk in their work.

Refreshing. "It's Only Time" is Worth The Album Price
Found this jewel the hard way - punching buttons through the 30 or 40 weekly samples at B&N listening stations. This is an impressive album, and if they can repeat this quality, they will become a major item. It's refreshingly different and original with a touch of something like Beatles influence.

It's Cole Porter
This is the first Magnetic Fields record in five years. I remember listening to 69 Love Songs for weeks. I thought it was a weird record. Momus was releasing similarly themed long concept albums at the time. Stephin Merritt has released a few records as Future Bible heroes. Merritt has also worked on a few movie soundtracks. So with all the concept records and side projects out of the way, here is a release that is just Magnetic Fields and Merritt. His singing is sort of out of tune. It's a voice that you have to become accustomed to. Merritt has been compared to Cole Porter, but he's more like an American version of The Divine Comedy. There are no synthesizers on this record. The songs are all great. One might think that "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" might be a really great song with synths and a techno drum sound. It seems like this album is an edited version of 69 Love Songs and a little quieter and more intimate. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

This EP is GRREEAAT!!!!
This CD is GRREEAAAT!!! If you like Modest Mouse and you haven't heard this you're selling yourself short. IT's incredible, It came out after Interstate 8 but before Lonesome Crowded West and it rocks. IT sounds like they had a lot of fun making it. Songs like"Summer" and "The Waydown" "karma Payment plan" are wonderful and have something to them that just isn't on any of their other albums. I highly recommend this for anyone, esp. Modest Mouse fans.

A great showcase of old-school Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse's first two LPs, This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About and The Lonesome Crowded West, bot suffer the same ailment- too long. At about 75 minutes a piece, their brilliance tends to get tedious and, dare I say, boring.

The Fruit that Ate Itself is a 6-song (but 9-track) EP that solves this problem, showing MM at their best before the Age of Epic [Records].

It starts (on track 2) with The Waydown, which is as good and yet conservative as indie rock gets. Dirty Fingernails sounds like it came right off of TIALDFSWNTTA, and is as hypnotic as it is jarring. However, I find the best track to be The Fruit That Ate Itself, with it's very screamy noise, heavy bass, and Latin (Caribbean?) beat. The EP's final track's final line ends the EP so abruptly, you can't help but laugh.

Overall, fans of the first two LPs shouldn't miss this and those who joined in after Moon and Antarctica may want to take a listen to see if old-school MM is right for them. It still remains one of my favorite MM discs.

Nice little Intorduction to a very promising band
This EP is the second but official MODEST MOUSE debut (their original intended debut by the name of SAD SAPPY SUCKER was scrapped by K Records and later re-released in light of the band's major label outing). It's a nice little introduction to a promising band. 9 tracks of very appealing emotional indie rock. "The Waydown" is a great track and the lo-fi sludge of "Dirty Fingernails" is amazing. After that the record kind of spaces off and doesn't really go anywhere though..however you can certainly tell the band was headed for bigger and better things. Certainly not their best release.

Punk in a pear tree
Modest Mouse is peerless, and not a pear less. You need this serving from the fruit group. Enjoy.

Best Modest recording...
b/c it is their most consistently good. This is probably b/c it's just an e.p and easier to accomplish. I find that on all other full lengths they really get long winded, repeating licks too often, or changing parts that don't flow well. Sometimes songs are very similiar to each other. It's always sort of bugged me b/c I love their sound. They sound like an "Appalacian punk band" if there ever was one. Another thing I'm tiring of on subsequent albums is his use of the whammy bar. He pulls up on it and it gets to be a crutch b/c it seems like he has nothing else to add. But his voice and songs are really original..."Fruit" is great stuff and the subsequent " A long Drive" and "Lonesome" are also good. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

"Prince" Will Oldham has always threatened to make a completely devastating album and this is it. Brooding and strikingly intimate, I See a Darkness picks through the abandoned camps of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, finding lonely tales and ragged melodies strewn about. The magic comes in the light Oldham is able to shine on these songs, rendering them both gorgeously baroque yet starkly modern. --S. Duda ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Death to Everyone
Sparse Instrumentation and hauntng melodies make up this release from Bonnie "Prince" Billy and they won't leave your head for days. From the Bass and piano opening of Minor Place to the end its simply put a brilliant record. Full of gorgeous melodies and simply beautiful string arrangments. The album does truly sound aged in a way that will let it always be a timeless record that will live on for years to come as an intelligent and inspiring piece of work. The tender intelligence that the lyrics portay is none the less amazing. I dont have to sit here and type why its good...just buy it and find out for yourself.

Drinking music
I stumbled on this album by hopping from list to list on Amazon. It caught my eye and I read the reviews on it and purchased it without even so much as hearing a track performed by Bonnie Prince Billy or any of his various other incarnations. Admittedly, the first song, "A Minor Place" is kind of a dud in my opinion. It generally annoys me but a few times as of late, it has seemed a better song. The rest of the album, however, is all beautiful, haunting tracks featuring Oldham's amazing song-writing and his simple voice that seems as old as time itself.

Some of the particularly strong tracks on this album include Nomadic Revery, I See A Darkness, Today I Was An Evil One, and Black. And for the record, track 4 is called "Another Day Full of Dread", not Bread.

Quite simply, this is an album with a beauty and haunting quality that cannot be described with words. It is also some of the best music to listen to while drinking with a close friend.

Will Oldham is super dope!
Will (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) Oldham is amazing! Don't be swayed by the close minded folks who have reviewed some of his other albums, "Eww, he has a beard and he's balding! Oh no, this is weird!" Those are the same folks who rag on Tom Waits, "I just can't get past his voice! It's too gravelly! That's not singing!". Will Oldham is great. Buy this album and really listen to it, you won't be disappointed

Gets it Just Right
It boggles my mind that someone can sit down and write these kinds of melodies. If we're all looking for that perfect combination of notes and words - the kind clearly understood by the Beatles - "A Minor Place" is it, along with several other tracks on this record, such as "Madeleine-Mary" and "All Around."

I like it in the same way I like the Shins' "New Slang", Mogwai's "Haunted by a Freak", and Brian Eno's _Another Green World_. Something about it won't let you go.

Perversely Uplifting
I am trying to be frugal with my five star reviews but this album deserves full marks without question. Judging by my screen name, one can safely assume that I am a Will Oldham fan. I, myself not being much of a writer, will avoid trying to pin this album down with my words but direct those interested to reviews at both pitchforkmedia.com and nme.com. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The beauty of Schoolhouse Rock in its original Saturday morning run (1973-85) was that kids watching couldn't tell whether the catchy three-minute cartoon jingles were meant to be commercials, shows, or something else entirely. That enabled overexposed TV youth to learn without realizing it between episodes of Scooby Doo and Fat Albert. Then the Brady Bunch generation became the alternative nation, and the innocence with which they took in these grammar, history, and math lessons was lost. Now comes the obligatory tribute album, Schoolhouse Rock Rocks--pleasant enough, but full of postmodern yuks and missed-the-point nostalgia that aim to celebrate but instead drain the joy from childhood memories.

Though it's somewhat interesting to hear Pavement turn "Mo More Kings" into lo-fi krautrock or Moby make "Verb: That's What's Happening" into industrial techno-pop, the performers who most successfully preserve Schoolhouse Rock's edutainment viability are those who are most cartoonish to begin with: Ween ("The Shot Heard 'round the World"), Biz Markie ("The Energy Blues"), and Daniel Johnston ("Unpack Your Adjectives"). The problem remains, nonetheless: Any revamping of these songs implies Schoolhouse Rock somehow needed to be made hipper. That none of these songs is better than its original proves how very unhip '70s kids have grown up to be. --Roni Sarig

... Read more

Reviews (28)

Groovy!
Worth buying just to hear the Mr. Morton track, by Skee-Lo, I also liked Blind Melon (w/Shannon) doing 3 is a Magic Number. Okay, this is no grammy winning CD, but interesting and fun enough to listen to more than a few times, I mean where else can you hear Moby singing about Verbs? If you want the Orignal School House Rock songs,with all those cute voices, you'll have to get the original SHR CD or better yet, buy the videos (of course, the videos we purchased have some exceedingly annoying intros by some very annoying kids and Cloris Leachman? I think that's her name, blyuck!).

Very cool
I'm a huge Schoolhouse Rock fan, so this album was definitely a treat. The songs are already classics, so the individual artists' interpretations take center stage here. Another good thing about this CD is that in many ways it sums up the sound of 1996 in rock, alternative, techno, R&B. There's some fun stuff here, and it all starts with the original theme music, just to add a little more irony to the disc. A great buy.

Pavement rocks
Being a huge Pavement fan, I was mostly interested in their cover of No More Kings. Their reworking of the tune is great, definately on par with their eariler work, and at the very least out performs most of the S&E era B-sides.

Not worth five stars, but certainly enjoyable
There have been numerous negative reviews of this album, and several five star ratings. I do not believe that it really deserves either. I enjoy each of the bands on this album seperately, anyway, so I don't know how biased I may be. But this album is not bad. I'm also not going to say that if you necessarily liked Schoolhouse Rock (which I did, by the way) that you will like this album. You kind of need to be in touch with this kind of music.

It is a tribute album, not a reworking of old songs. Each artist puts their own touch to the songs, though some leave them closer to the way that they were originally. I personally really like Pavement, but it's a taste that most people seem to lack. So they will probably not appreciate the song as much as I do. Actually, I probably have the weirder tastes. Also a fan of Moby, both early and late, so I enjoyed his reworking of Verb. Warning though: it's more like the Moby tracks from "Everything is Wrong."

Some of the songs less touched were actually the more enjoyable tracks. Blind Melon's rendition of "Three" is wonderful and almost makes me feel like I'm listening to, say, Three Dog Night (ironic, huh?). Ween, The Lemonheads, and Better Than Ezra all do tremendous jobs keeping to the original sounds, while still making the songs their own. Same for Biz Markie's "Energy Blues." "I'm Just A Bill" is done wonderfully, and certainly gives us a different view of how the bill actually feels about all of this beurocracy.

And, hey, let's face it: Skee-Lo's "Mr. Morton" is so wonderful, I had to replay the track immediately after listening to it.

Overall, I think the album deserves four stars. Pluses: Good collection of artists reworking some of the favorite tracks, and every track is worth listening to many times. Cons: Tribute cds are just so...common.

Knowledge is power!
The album features contemporary acts covering Schoolhouse Rock songs. All of them are good, with the notable exception of Pavement's dirge-like version of "No More Kings". Everything else is a lot of fun. And if you're not careful, you may learn something before it's done. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

the magnetic fields' best album
'Holiday' is brilliant not any sort of complex sense but rather because of the simplicity of the songs and emotions therein. It is the Magnetic Fields' best album, in my opinion, because it embraces the idea of happy melodies and quaintly gorgeous lyrics much more than any other work of theirs. For me, the band's charm and ultimately the thing that makes their songs so heartbreakingly melancholy is the contrast between lyrics and music. The best example of this on the album is probably 'The Flowers She Sent and The Flowers She Said She Sent' (I'm not sure if that is one of the real audio tracks), which combines great poetry like "crying on the moving sidewalk/ on your way to Disneyland" with the humming major harmonies. The best song is 'Take Ecstasy With Me,' which for me evokes lovely images of romance and the idiosyncrasies of the girls for whom I've fallen: "you used to make gingerbread houses" and "A vodka bottle gave you those raccoon eyes/we got beat up just for holding hands." I can't endorse this album enough, the Magnetic Fields are my favorite group and this is their best work, a mon avis. "I'm taking a ride to somewhere inside where you never left me and I never cried, at the speed of light..."

painfully beautiful
So here it is 1994 and Stephin Merritt has expounded on his ideas of pre-programmed love songs, so they sound better than ever, though hardly glossed over. They're just as messy, with loose ends showing everywhere. He also takes over as the sole singer of the Magnetic Fields. What happened to Susan? I have no idea. She's only on one track here. But mostly we have Stephin in all his depressed glory. He might have the most depressed lackadaisical voice in music. Whether its the fun "Swinging London" or the terribly depressing "The Flowers She Sent," he treats them all the same, but his voice always seems to get in your head. He actually shows a lot of range on "All You Ever Do Is Walk Away" where it sounds like he's yelling so much, poor Stephin's head is going to pop off!

The album also has probably my favorite lyrics of all the Magnetic Fields releases. Everything Stephin Merritt comes together in the imagery of the opening lines to "The Flowers She Sent": "I saw you standing at the airport / with your chiahuahua in your hand / Crying on the moving sidewalk / on your way to Disneyland." That's not to shake a stick at the dense growling "Desert Island" where Merritt is put with his love in that very place that dreams are made of. "We'll develop muscles / from cracking coconuts / Let our clothing drop off / feel each other's butts." He has a way with turning old love song ideas on their head. For example, it's not out of the ordinary to be singing about a lover's eyes, but Merritt writes "My heart just turns to ice when I see myself reflected in your torn green velvet eyes." Although, I have to say that since in most Magnetic Fields albums not many people seem to be getting any, there seems to be a lot of happiness on this album.

As usual, the music is programmed most of the time, but we hear some branching out on "Sad Little Moon" where a violin, tuba and glockenspiel provide almost all of the music. It's refreshing since its slapped between two synthpop songs. And the whole album is wrapped up with "Take Ecstacy With Me," maybe my favorite Magnetic Fields song - all time. It starts off with the the percussion of a guiro and a bass drum and there's tons of synthed flutes and guitars and such and it's all very dense and extremely addictive. This is the only song not sung by Merritt, and it's done beautifully by Susan Anway.

Don't have enough money for 69 Love Songs? Then get Holiday.

A casio classic
I prefer this version of MF to the more pretentious incarnations of recent times. Put together a great melody, a funny/depressing/poetic lyric, over a casio sounding arrangement that sounds like the entertainment guy at the old folks home put it together, and what do you have? Brilliance. Absolute brilliance. So many great moments on this album.

synchroanalogic whoopie delight
i found this cd in my car. i was hooked. apparently friends had tried to turn me onto tmf in the past and i failed to pay attention. sad that i missed years of tingly pleasures just because i was DISTRACTED. also get 69 love songs and be happy.

Their Second Wonderful album....
and arguably the best of the early ones (if not the best of all of his). Holiday is a wonderful synth pop album which ranks up there with 69 Love Songs as their best. This opened my ears to alot of synth pop music.

The album starts of with the 22 second long intro, which has a sixties-meets-synth sound to it (i think) and is followed by 13 brilliant tracks. IMO, All You Ever Do Is Walk Away is one of the best vocal performance from Stephin Merritt and also ranks as one of his best songs. Other highlights are Trouble I've Been looking For and Take Ecstacy With Me.

Buy this and 69 Love Songs for the perfect grasp of the best of this band. ... Read more