30. Warren Zevon: Learning To Flinch

I saw Warren Zevon at a Portland club sometime in the 1990s. I can't remember exactly when. It was a very memorable moment for me, but I just don't know when it happened (that seems odd). Learning To Flinch (1993) had already been released. I know this because Zevon related this story to us that night. He said, "A reporter asked me if the live show would be similar to the disc Learning To Flinch. I said, 'Yeah my live show might be somewhat similar to my live disc.'" Zevon was a funny man. He used his dark sense of humor throughout his decades of entertaining us. Learning To Flinch takes his listeners beyond the cynical humor and deeper into the singer/songwriter/musician himself.

Armed with a guitar, a harmonica, and a piano, Zevon took to the road in 1992 playing small clubs all over the world. The album features recordings from venues in Germany, England, New Zealand, Norway, Australia, and throughout America. Many of his greatest songs are included (there are 17 tracks in all), and every one is stripped down and acoustic. It's wonderful to hear his husky voice when it's not fighting for center-stage with the sounds of a full band. This tour came as a result of Warren's back being against the wall. His albums had not done well and he'd been dropped by both Asylum Records and Virgin Records in the last few years. Being a singer/songwriter in the early 90s was not very fashionable either (unless you wore flannel). Thankfully, Giant Records picked up the somewhat struggling artist and the reduced circumstances that followed led to this "unplugged" solo masterpiece.

Opening the album with "Splendid Isolation", perhaps as a way of telling us he's alright on his own, we hear the terms "Georgia O'Keeffe", "Michael Jackson", and "Goofy" within the first minute. I don't really have much to follow that...I just think it's funny. Learning To Flinch contains outstanding versions of "Lawyers, Guns, And Money", the psychopathic story of "Excitable Boy", "Mr. Bad Example" (waaay better than the original studio version), "Boom Boom Mancini", "Werewolves Of London", over twenty minutes worth of cult faves "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", and the closing anti-anthem "Play It All Night Long". There are certainly some great songs missing (no "Desperados Under The Eaves", "Ain't That Pretty At All", "Mohammed's Radio", "Johnny Strikes Up The Band", or "Accidentally Like A Martyr"), and three new songs are included that don't seem to measure up to his best...making me miss the exclusions that much more. However, overall, the collection should satisfy any Zevon fan. The intimacy of these versions is what makes this album great. It's not necessarily the selections. The songs chosen to represent this tour are played differently and heard differently.

I've included a video from a BBC TV show of "Lawyers, Guns And Money" from the Learning To Flinch time period. Also included is the final public appearance for Zevon... October 30, 2002 on Letterman. He performs Dave's favorite, "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner". Today marks the eighth anniversary of Warren Zevon's death. His dark humor continued to amaze right up to the end. To Letterman he quipped, "I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for twenty years." And when asked if he knew more about life and death, Warren Zevon responded, "Enjoy every sandwich."

29. Alejandro Escovedo: Bourbonitis Blues

I do not claim to always know of what I speak. Those of you who choose to have conversations with me daily can attest to that. However, when it comes to writing, I usually research like nobody's bidness! I've had lots of fun reviewing the first 28 albums on Marc, Turn That Down! I enjoy sharing the music I like with you and sharing what I know from my own experience. It's important, as a writer, to write about what you know, and up to now, the albums I've reviewed have been some of my best friends. It's been easy to write about them. I do enjoy researching each particular album and sharing what I learn after looking for that extra tidbit of interesting info...a piece that might nudge a reader to try something new.  And now, I am going out on a limb at #29 with Alejandro Escovedo's 1999 album Bourbonitis Blues, because it breaks the mold...shuns the format....ixnay with the atternpay. Of Bourbonitis Blues and Alejandro Escovedo I knew next to nothing last week. It was the unwelcome visit to the east coast by Hurricane Irene that is responsible for today's post...but we'll put a pin in that...I'll explain in a bit.

Alejandro Escovedo was there when punk began...first-wave punk rocker...band called The Nuns (big enough and punk enough to open The Sex Pistols' last show). The Escovedos are a big Mexican-American family...mostly all musicians (including his niece, drummer Sheila E...see...there's one of those tidbits of info). I mention his family because when the 80s came around he changed his style to more of a roots rock/alternative country sound (in the bands Rank and File and True Believers with his brother Javier). However, it wasn't until the 1990's and the release of his first solo albums that he really found himself, musically speaking.

Bourbonitis Blues was Escovedo's sixth solo album containing nine songs (five of which are cover songs); which leads me to Hurricane Irene and how I came to write about this album. I wanted to be funny and liven the spirits of friends and family on the east coast by posting a song's video on facebook about "Irene" (as if that's all it would've taken..."We're anticipating one of the scariest moments of our lives, but look Honey...Marc posted a video of a song with the word 'Irene' in the title. Everything's going to be just fine now!"). So, while searching my iTunes library to see if I had any "Irene" songs, I came across "Irene Wilde" by Escovedo (I've had this album for a long time, but really never gave it any play). As I listened to see if it was the song that would make everyone smile...make them forget about the impending onslaught bearing down upon them I realized...it was. I know that sounds silly, but, at that moment, it was one of the most magnificent songs I had ever heard. I don't know why I never "heard" it before. Anyway, I didn't post it on facebook. I decided to devote some time to it and now, here it is.

"Irene Wilde" is a beautiful song written in 1976 by Ian Hunter (of Mott The Hoople). It's the story of Hunter's rise to stardom as a result of his being rejected at 16 by his lifelong desire, and Escovedo's acoustic guitar and string arrangement does it some wonderful justice. It's a song with a familiar feel. I don't think I'd ever heard it before, but it sure sounded like the comfort of an old blanket. Other cover songs include a wispy-soft "Pale Blue Eyes" (Velvet Underground), the pretty "Amsterdam" by John Cale, and a super version...lazy and strange...of The Gun Club's "Sex Beat" (a song from my recent list). One standout from his original tracks is the lead song "I Was Drunk", a slow-rolling tale spun from an experience common to many. Other essential songs include "Everybody Loves Me"(the chorus of which I can imagine being sung loudly by a bar full of drunks), and "Sacramento & Polk" which harkens back to days of punk...powerful guitars that start loud and stay there until the soft surprise of a violin finish.

Bourbonitis Blues is all I know of Alejandro Escovedo, but it won't be for long. Most reviews of this album steer the reader toward other Escovedo releases..."better" ones. I can't wait to check on that. Here is a video for "I Was Drunk" with Escovedo (a fine guitarist in his own right) playing alongside the incredible David Pulkingham in 2007 (Pulkingham's expertise kicks in around the 2:35 mark). A live and loose version of "Irene Wilde" follows. The images are somewhat blurry and annoying, and the song seems more haphazard than planned, but its beauty shines through just the same.

27. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow

The inspiration for this post (the last one until mid-August...vacation time!) came from my five year old son watching one of his favorite shows, Yo Gabba Gabba! Floating through the house to my sensitive eardrums from midway through this 2009 episode of space-pop meets life-lesson-via-robots kids show was a performance by The Shins (singing "It's Okay, Try Again"). Catchy little song...got me thinking about the band and its current state of hiatus. Debuting as The Shins in 2001 (it was actually a deviation from frontman James Mercer's band Flake Music), they gained praise and popularity immediately. The band's following continued to grow throughout the decade (including a big boost when Natalie Portman's character Sam touted the band to Zach Braff in the 2004 movie Garden State. She plays "New Slang" from their debut Oh, Inverted World and assures him "You gotta hear this one song. It'll change your life...I swear."). They released three wonderfully different albums, and then, James Mercer, in a chest-thumping, alpha-male, let's-not-forget-whose-band-this-is move fired half of the band. I don't know...I guess I can't speak for him, but he then went on to form Broken Bells with Danger Mouse, and announced replacements for the sacked Shins members, keyboardist/guitarist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval.

All this leads me to the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". It seemed to apply in the case of The Shins. On the heels of a highly successful debut album (2001's Oh, Inverted World) the expectations for the band were extremely high...in the eyes of fans and critics alike. Oh, Inverted World was universally and uniformly enjoyed and this was a band primed for the all too common sophomore slump. That, however, was not to be. The second album, Chutes Too Narrow (2003) traveled down a different avenue than did the debut. The Shins exchanged the hazy, lo-fi, hushed-reverb sounds of Oh, Inverted World for a more guitar rich, crisp complexity. On Chutes... Mercer's voice takes center-stage (whereas the beautiful harmonies, at times, seemed to amalgamate with the other instruments on the previous recording). And it's a voice worth listening to...a smooth falsetto, yet filled with nervous tension. He has an incredible vocal range and makes the most of it in these forty minutes...especially on the first track, "Kissing The Lipless", where he takes your ears to another place in the line "You told us of your new life there". 

Another standout track is the first single "So Says I", a hard-rocking pop tune that picks up where Oh, Inverted World left off. "Mine's Not A High Horse", "Saint Simon", and two slower songs "Young Pilgrims" and "Pink Bullets" are also favorites of mine. The strangest of these, "Saint Simon" is magnificent. It transitions seemlessly from unequivocal pop hooks to melancholic choral sections (complete with strings) and coalesces into an aural masterpiece.

Apparently, The Shins are back. The new lineup is slated to play a few festivals this year. I'm hoping they can pick right up where they crashed, but having to replace Crandall and Sandoval is a big blow. For all of Mercer's talents, he's not much of a stage presence. All of the crowd interactions were orchestrated by Marty Crandall at center stage while James Mercer planted himself off to the side (which I always thought was odd). Here's a video of The Shins performing "So Says I" on Letterman followed by a great live performance of "Kissing The Lipless" in Sydney, Australia. Much like The Shins, I'll be taking a break from the blog as we're heading to the Netherlands for a bit. Unlike The Shins, there will be no firings or lineup changes in my household.

26. Screaming Trees: Sweet Oblivion

No doubt the early 1990s will forever be known as "The Grunge Years" thanks to the commercial success of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten. Those releases sparked an international interest in a musical style that had gone unnoticed (outside of the Pacific NW) prior to 1991. The following year, the movie Singles and its accompanying top ten soundtrack exposed the world to even more artists of the genre. Seattle bands Alice In Chains and Soundgarden, as well as Smashing Pumpkins (who were Chicago-based, but were desperately searching for a Seattle apartment...just kidding) all cashed in on the newfound success. Perhaps the best band of the lot never achieved the level of success of their aforementioned contemporaries. Seattle's Screaming Trees produced one of the greatest albums of the time, but were unable to gain momentum and build upon it.

In 1992, Screaming Trees released their sixth (that's right, sixth) studio album, Sweet Oblivion. While newbies such as Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins were just starting to wear Pull-Ups, bands like Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, The U-Men, and The Melvins had been around for years. Screaming Trees had worked with smaller labels (Sub Pop and SST) for their first four releases from 1986-1989. Their fifth release in 1991, Uncle Anesthesia, marked their major label debut. That album received some radio airtime, however Sweet Oblivion was the album that was to put them over the top. It did make them stars, to some extent, but bad timing and infighting hurt them and they lacked the staying power of their peers.

Sweet Oblivion opens with the dark "Shadow Of The Season". (Sidenote: My wife told me to post a light, summer-appropriate album, but I wanted an album from the 1990s, and the 90s just didn't go there for me. Seems like all my favorite music from the 90s was dark and depressing. Was I unhappy throughout the 90s? If anyone can remember, please let me know.) The 1970's psychedelic, classic rock influence hits you immediately with force. Once Mark Lanegan's gravelly, whiskey-riddled voice kicks in, you realize this band's been through the ringer and has stories to tell..."The hour's ended can't you see/There is no way now to be free/In the shadow of the season/Without a reason to carry on..." Following the excellent lead of "Shadow..." is the cut from the Singles soundtrack, "Nearly Lost You". It's definitely at the top of the heap here. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this track over the years. It received more radio/MTV time than any other Trees song, and should have been the springboard to bigger and better things for the band. I haven't been able to confirm it, but I believe the album was released just months before the Singles soundtrack, which meant there wasn't the anticipation for a new Screaming Trees release for potential fans...bad timing hurt sales.

Other standout tracks include the softer hit "Dollar Bill" with its sweet acoustic verses building to hard rock choruses, "Butterfly", and "Julie Paradise" (also using the crescendo tactic, building to a rousing conclusion). Truthfully, the album is strong all the way through. Each track stands tall from the thick and fuzzy "More Or Less" to the bouncy "For Celebrations Past". The draw for Screaming Trees is Mark Lanegan. His voice is a gravel road at it's best...tightly packed and smooth. If you have a difficult time reaching high notes...he invites you to sing with him. It's a voice...deep and guttural, yet as silky as any you've heard.

I mentioned infighting, and it prevented the Trees from releasing a follow-up album until 1996's Dust. Whatever momentum they'd built with Sweet Oblivion went out the window when all that time passed. The tension between band members was present in October of 1993 when I saw them perform at LaLuna in Portland. A great show was cut a bit short when Lanegan stormed off the stage, for some reason, in mid song, while the rest of the band extended the now instrumental version of the song (can't remember which) waiting to see if he'd return...never did...still loved the show though, and the opening band Flop was terrific.

Sweet Oblivion is the best of an overall body of work superior to that of many other more commercially successful "grunge" bands of the time. Here's the video for "Nearly Lost You" capitalizing on the exposure from Singles, and a live version of "Dollar Bill" from the BBC Late Show in 1993.

P.S. Should also mention that an unreleased album recorded in 1998/1999 will finally see the light of day. Titled Last Words: The Final Recordings it should be available digitally on August 2nd...with CD and vinyl release in the next few months. Unfortunately, they have squelched any talk of a reunion.

25. Big Star: #1 Record

While it's too bad that some great bands have discographies as short as a Willamette Valley dry season, it often leaves them welcomely shrouded in mystery. Performers who are consistently producing records, making TV appearances, and touring are no longer strangers to their fans...that can be good, of course, but bad as well. A long list of records almost certainly contains some duds (especially as bands age and more current music sounds nothing like the music of the past). And fans are always craving something new...something unfamiliar. Some of the most influential bands had short careers...think The Clash, Joy Division, Pixies, The Smiths, and The Doors...and they all left their fans wanting more. Another band to include amongst those greats is Big Star.

Big Star was an American power-pop band and the brainchild of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. The two became smitten with the sounds of The Beatles during their 1964 U.S. tour. They decided then, at age thirteen, that they would someday be their own Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo. The most productive years for Big Star were from 1971-1974. In that time they recorded three beautiful albums, #1 Record, Radio City, and Third/Sister Lovers (though Third was not released until 1978). The 1972 debut, #1 Record, contains twelve songs that could've all been singles. There are obvious 60s influences at work here (The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Byrds to name a few), and a strange flow to the album. The abrupt mood changes are exciting and a bit hard to get used to at first.

The opening song "Feel" provides a chorus that sounded familiar to me at once...even though I'd never heard it before. And for the first song from the debut album to bemoan the words "I feel like I'm dying/I'm never gonna live again/You just ain't been trying/It's getting very near the end" shows both confidence and, unbeknownst to the band, an incredible sense of foreshadowing. Internal strife and the frustration of critical accolades coupled with being commercially unsuccessful killed Big Star too soon.

The high-powered tension of "Feel" is followed by the wonderfully glowing melancholy of "The Ballad Of El Goodo" which takes its refrain..."There ain't no one going to turn me 'round"...from an old spiritual which had become a slogan for civil rights in the 60s. Soon after is "Thirteen", a song Rolling Stone includes in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all Time (#396). The song is based on Alex Chilton's inspiring Beatles experience from 1964. It's a mellow stroll of a song with no percussion, and covered by many throughout the years. "Thirteen" gives way to the high-energy "Don't Lie To Me" continuing the roller coaster pattern of contrasting moods.

The second half of the album is softer overall. "Give Me Another Chance" could've come straight from an Elliott Smith record. So strong is the connection between the acoustic strumming, the lyrics, and the vocal style of Chilton and what Elliott Smith provided his fans with decades later. And "Watch The Sunrise", though void of percussion as well, builds such a rolling momentum. It's a beautiful song that was responsible for the start of the band. The story goes that Alex Chilton, who recently had a number one hit in "The Letter" (when with the soul group The Box Tops), approached Chris Bell with the desire to get a Simon and Garfunkel thing going. Bell said no dice, but invited Chilton to come hear his band Icewater (which included Big Star bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens). Chilton came, showed the band one of his own songs and the band sucked him up on the spot. That song was "Watch The Sunrise".

Big Star combined dark, nihilistic themes with the sounds of the British invasion of the 60s and the jangly/power-pop sounds of the day into an overall body of work that became the seeds of today's alternative music. Big Star has been cited as a major influence for artists such as Elliott Smith, Wilco, R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, Primal Scream, and The Replacements (whose 1987 song "Alex Chilton" includes the lyrics "I never travel far without a little Big Star")...just to name a few. The band lasted only a few years, yet it continues to influence generation after generation of indie bands. As it does so, the popularity of Big Star grows and grows. Below is the song "Thirteen". No real video accompanies the audio as I wanted to include the album version. I've also included a video of "The Ballad Of El Goodo" from their 1993 reunion concert at the University of Missouri.

23. Beat Happening: Crashing Through (Box Set)

The secret to the success of Beat Happening comes from the notion, "I could do that...that could be me." You may not think Beat Happening is the best band reviewed on Marc, Turn That Down! On your first listen to their early material, the music is crude and childish...it might even be somewhat irritating. There is no bass, and the guitars can't seem to string three chords together. Once in a while, the drums will keep the beat as you would expect, but that moment will be fleeting. And the vocals?...If you're not put off by the utter lack of musicality of Beat Happening, then Calvin Johnson's baritone-from-the-deepest-depths-of-the-earth voice will surely do the trick. So, how, based on the information I've just presented, could they have even lasted long enough for an album...nevermind released a definitive retrospective box set, Crashing Through, that has become the best music-money I've ever spent? This little band from Olympia, Washington has become legendary, and it's simply because it sounds like any of us could do it.

Beat Happening thumbed their noses at the record industry early on. Calvin Johnson started his own label called K Records in order to issue music by lesser-known bands that no major company would have otherwise released. That attitude eventually carried over to the music of Beat Happening. They didn't play for critical success or to expand the boundaries of music. They played because it was fun.

Beat Happening (1985)

The box set begins in 1985 with their self-titled debut. On Beat Happening we hear the band (Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford) in its infancy. They rarely had instruments and usually borrowed from bands they were playing with that night. This album is raw, and without the knowledge of what they had accomplished in their career might be a complete turn-off for most. Its child-like innocence is most evident in the lyrics of "Fourteen"..."You see, to me, the best part of sex is walking home, holding hands, after swimming in the lake/To Me, the best part of love is when you say you'll be my friend."

I first heard "Fourteen" when searching for Screaming Trees music (Calvin Johnson is linked with many NW artists). I thought...sure, it wasn't very good, but wondered what the rest of their catalog sounded like. I actually enjoyed Calvin's voice the first time I heard it. I knew it was not meant for the Grammy stage, and took it in stride. Calvin and Heather each contribute vocally, and I tend to gravitate toward CJ's songs. As such, "Our Secret", "I Love You", "Fourteen", and "Bad Seeds" are the strongest tracks from this early release...while Heather's "Foggy Eyes" may be the musical shining moment from this album. Beat Happening, though not their finest album, is seminal twee pop.

Jamboree (1988)

The second album from the set is 1988's Jamboree, which is said to be one of Kurt Cobain's favorites. Despite the upbeat title, Jamboree is decidedly darker than the debut...evident right off the bat on "Bewitched". The songs are stronger, the musicianship tighter, and this album is decidedly more Calvin Johnson than the first group effort. The highlight of Jamboree is the indie rock's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (everyone's covered it) and that's "Indian Summer". Recently done by Death Cab's Benjamin Gibbard for the soundtrack of the Kurt Cobain movie About A Son, "Indian Summer" is probably Beat Happening's best known song. Other highlights are "Hangman", Cat Walk", and "Midnight A Go-Go". Props also go to "The This Many Boyfriends Club" because I'm not sure what to think of that one...making me love it all the more.

Black Candy (1989)

If Jamboree is dark, 1989's Black Candy is a moonless midnight. Seemingly designed for a B-grade teen horror movie, songs like "Pajama Party In A Haunted Hive", "Gravedigger Blues", "Bonfire", and the title track dot the landscape of this third effort. However, it's not without its shiny moments. Like "Indian Summer", "Cast A Shadow" is another well known Beat Happening song (most famously covered by Yo La Tengo). It is a pure pop treat glittering amongst the ominous themes of its album mates. All in all, Black Candy is not the best of the collection. This batch of songs seem less, somehow, than those of Jamboree, but if you're listening to Beat Happening you're past the point of differentiating between good and bad music. You're listening for the fun of it, and Black Candy certainly provides the fun. 

Dreamy (1991)

The good times continue on the fourth album, Dreamy (1991). Dreamy is more of a return to form than a continuation of Black Candy. It is still aggressively dark like its predecessor, but the songs are stronger (similar to Jamboree) and there is more of a balance between maturity and naivete. "Me Untamed" shows right away how far their instrument playing has come and any aspiring musician would want to take a crack at the rollicking "Hot Chocolate Boy". Heather's songs ("Left Behind", "Collide" and "Fortune Cookie Prize") are memorable and lovable. The darkness rears its head as well. In the lament "I've Lost You" Calvin begs for acceptance with the line "Who's gonna love me the way that I am?", only to find acceptance and more in the sexy and underrated "Nancy Sin".  The album closes with two strong tracks...the epic "Revolution Come And Gone" and the often-covered "Red Head Walking" (most recently by R.E.M., as an Accelerate B-side in 2008). Considered by many to be their best work, Dreamy is filled with gems.

You Turn Me On (1992)

Unlike many bands, Beat Happening arguably got better with each release. With that in mind, 1992's You Turn Me On is their tremendous swan song. The band bucked many trends found on previous recordings. The biggest change is that they all but abandoned the three-minute song. A third of these tracks are over six minutes long, and it's obvious there's some heavier production at work here.

At this time, you might listen to their debut once again to appreciate the level of maturity they've hit on You Turn Me On. You'd have no idea they could've reached this point. "Tiger Trap" begins this album with jangly guitars and a calm, charming tone. It's followed by Heather's "Noise" sung with a certain delicate quality we haven't heard before. The beautifully entrancing "Godsend" (also sung by Heather) is, perhaps, my favorite Beat Happening song. The repetitive nature of this ten minute song notwithstanding, I could hear it for ten more minutes and it wouldn't get old. Of course, they let a little dark in as well. "Pinebox Derby" and "You Turn Me On" each deal with death in that fun Calvin Johnson way. "Hey Day" is also a strong song. I believe this song is a glimpse of where the band was headed had they been interested in continuing on. The fact that they quit making records just after Nirvana's Nevermind and the explosion of Pacific Northwest bands when they could've easily hitched themselves onto that wagon reminds you they did it their way...they were not looking for fame or financial success.

Music To Climb The Apple Tree By (2003)

The last album in the box set is a collection of singles and rarities titled Music To Climb The Apple Tree By (there's also a disc of a short 3-song set which includes videos of live performances). This fifteen song compilation includes two later releases, "Angel Gone" and "Zombie Limbo Time" as well as songs from an EP they recorded with Screaming Trees, and original versions of several previously released songs. Overall, like so many other compilation collections, it does lack the cohesion that brings the narrative together. You would be ill-advised to make this your only Beat Happening possession. Use it only as a springboard to get to know a band important enough to be acknowledged and appreciated.

Love 'em or hate 'em (some houses are divided) Beat Happening played music for the fun of it. The child-like innocence of the lyrics and lack of technical prowess with musical instruments should be endearing if you believe that's why music should be played...for fun. The secret to their success may be the notion that any of us could do it, but I guarantee none of us could do it like Beat Happening.

If you've read through this entire post, I salute you. You've invested a lot of your time. I'll leave you with but one video..."Indian Summer".

22. Viva Voce: Get Yr Blood Sucked Out

I am excited to be writing about a fantastic band...Portland's own Viva Voce. Viva Voce trace their beginnings to Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1998, but relocated to Portland in 2001. Choosing an album to review for you was difficult because I cannot definitively say one is better than another, but their sinister sounding fourth album, 2006's Get Yr Blood Sucked Out (an allusion to the evils of the record industry), is when I first heard them. It's also their debut for Barsuk Records.

Viva Voce, in 2006, consisted of the husband and wife team of Kevin and Anita Robinson (they have since added two members). For this record, they played every instrument save trumpets on one song and an extra piano on another. Yes, we are talking about another guitar/drum combo from the same time period as The White Stripes, The Black Keys, and Deadboy & the Elephantmen, but, to be sure, there are different influences at work here. Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is lush, sultry, and complex, and is miles away from the garage rock sound of their aforementioned contemporaries.

The album begins with "Believer", a tense-chant of a song that sets an eerie tone. Sebastian says it sounds "like monsters marching". Kevin and Anita lay out incantations as a cool, calm two-voice harmony (they've shared vocals throughout their career)..."I'm a believer now/I'm a believer now/And there's nothing that I can do/To keep me safe from you". And as if she absolutely could not wait, Anita begins shredding her first of many guitar solos about forty-five seconds in. On "When Planets Collide" we get a taste of a song structure similar to "Alive With Pleasure" from their third album The Heat Can Melt Your Brain. The shifting movements of "When Planets Collide" create the feel of a mini-opus.

Kevin finally takes lead vocals on "From The Devil Himself", the album's main attention grabber (and my favorite track). Once again, Anita's guitar screams at the top of its lungs while Kevin sings in his powder-coated, Victor DeLorenzo voice (of Violent Femmes fame). I guess I also have a thing for hand claps. Other standout tracks include the marathon "So Many Miles", the piano-laden "We Do Not F**k Around", the pretty pop of "Faster Than A Dead Horse", the surprising catchiness in the wispy-soft 60s sound of "Special Thing"(again, love the sweet hand claps), and the weary "Never Be Like Yesterday", where the mood of the song matches its content...an all night fight between two halves of a concrete random couple. I don't know if this song is written from experience, but the Robinsons were certainly on the same page for this album.

This Tuesday (6/21) marks the release of their sixth album The Future Will Destroy You. They'll be performing a free show at 6:00 at Music Millennium on E. Burnside in Portland. I'll be there. Maybe you can get out for the night too.

Here are two videos from Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. The first is the official video for "From The Devil Himself". The second is a performance of "Believer" from Easy Street Records in 2006. Perhaps I'm amazed because I can barely sing and breathe at the same time, but watching Kevin play drums with one hand (notice the stick twirls), play harmonica with the other (including solos), and singing to boot just boggles my mind. You also get to see Anita looking cute in her typical cowgirl-esque outfit while melting your face off with her guitar work. It's not quite what you expect.

20. The Doors: The Doors

Marc, Turn That Down! is going way back for this next post...over 40 years back...to the 1967, self-titled debut album from The Doors. In fact, to emphasize how far back we're going, here's a short list of long-gone people who might have grooved to Jim Morrison and company at least once in their lifetime: the father of the atomic bomb--J. Robert Oppenheimer; saxophonist/composer--John Coltrane; baseball Hall of Famer--Jimmy Foxx (who made his major league debut in 1925); singer-songwriter--Woody Guthrie; 1928 gold medal figure skater--Sonje Henie; leader of the American civil rights movement--MLK; Argentine guerilla leader--Che Guevara (though he was probably busy that year, and I don't think Bolivia had any good radio stations at the time anyway); and deafblind author and political activist--Helen Keller (well...she could've felt the vibrations and grooved just the same).

The album The Doors is universally hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time. As far as debut albums go, The Doors is often rated anywhere from #1 to #5 all time on any reputable list. It is the place to start if you are interested in exploring classic rock music, and, overall, is the band's best album.

Just like the leadoff hitter in baseball sets the table for the rest of the lineup, the first song sets the tone for the album. If we single out the very first song from a band's very first album, we see some greats throughout time..."I Will Follow" by U2 (Boy), "Gloria" by Patti Smith (Horses), "Foxy Lady" by Hendrix (Are You Experienced?), even "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns and Roses (Appetite for Destruction). However, I envy the young fans who, in 1967, put The Doors on the turntable and heard "Break On Through (To The Other Side)". Without knowing what the future held for The Doors, they must have been awestruck, for "Break On Through" is the greatest debut-leadoff song of all time.

What follows "Break On Through" is a cast of characters that range from German Opera ("Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)") to Chicago blues ("Back Door Man"). The entrancing song "The Crystal Ship" was my first exposure to The Doors. As a youngster, I would listen to my brothers' 45s and I remember playing this song, the B-side to one of the most well-known songs in history, "Light My Fire", over and over, believing it to be the better of the two. "Twentieth Century Fox" and "Soul Kitchen" are outstanding songs that stir up similar feelings in me, and singing one often leads me to sing the other in a sort of Glee-style mash-up (minus the choreography).

The Doors closes with the 12 minute musical drama "The End". Building to a series of crescendoes like Ravel's Bolero three times over, this Oedipal opus hypnotizes the listener with Robbie Krieger's haunting guitar, John Densmore's rolling drums, and Jim Morrison's poetic visual imagery. It does so for all of about nine minutes before arriving at the final, explosive, psychedelic climax...and the denouement, "...The end of laughter and soft lies/The end of nights we tried to die/This is the end". All in all, the song is a perfect ending to this timeless Doors album.

Ah, videos! For you I have provided the video for the restored, uncensored version of "Break On Through" (which includes the lyric "...She gets high!"). The video is the same as the original, so it's a bit choppy when the word "high" is returned to its proper place. The second video is the 3 minute speed version of "Light My Fire" from The Ed Sullivan Show. Once again, the word "high" was the cause of controversy as Morrison was supposed to compromise his lyrics by singing "Girl we couldn't get much better" instead of "...higher" during the national TV performance. He did not. After the show The Doors were told that their six future appearances on the show were now canceled, to which Morrison replied, "Hey man...we just did the Sullivan show." The final video of the day is "The End" live from the Hollywood Bowl. It's fifteen minutes long, but, after viewing these three videos, one is reminded that any young boy from the day who aspired to be a rock star had Jim Morrison to thank for those aspirations. He was one of the most iconic rock stars of all time.

18. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Orange

If you've been keeping track of Marc, Turn That Down!, you might have noticed a lack of 90s music being reviewed. They were mostly dark days, the 90s. So many favorite bands seemed to forego their successful pasts and pull new sounds from a grab bag like contestants on a reality TV show (R.E.M., U2, and The Cure). Others were strong only a short time ago and the negative forcefield of the 90s hit and tore them apart (Pixies, Stone Roses, and Echo & the Bunnymen). For some, Father Time was shaking his glass, and it was last call (Big Audio Dynamite, PIL, Violent Femmes, and Fishbone). The decade was not without it's share of classics, and there will be plenty of posts highlighting those, but, overall, 1990-1999 were not the strongest ten years of music.

New on the scene in the early 90s were bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins as the grunge genre reared its ugly flannel-wrapped head. The music was mind-blowing, but certainly couldn't be labeled as fun. Enter The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and their 1994 album Orange (stocked with rhythm and blues, rockabilly, punk, noise...you name it)! Jon Spencer is a demonic-Elvis of a frontman, but singing is not quite high on his priority list. This is 45 minutes of "music first"...followed by attitude, virility, and...somewhere down the line come songwriting and singing. And the lyrics, to be sure, aren't much more than shouting out the names of the cities where The Blues Explosion is "number one". He also channels early east coast hip hop by glorifying the band with shout-outs constantly throughout the course of Orange...You can hear the words "Blues Explosion" over 25 times. The rest of the lyrics focus on Spencer's sex drive or are virtually incomprehensible. However, this is a product of JSBX enjoying themselves...imbibing and having fun...and that's the target audience. It's not dinner music.

Orange grabs you right away and immediately lets you know what's in store. "Bellbottoms" opens the album with the trio (Spencer, guitarist Judah Bauer, and drummer Russell Simins) pounding out the intro over Spencer's growling mumble, while Bauer and Simins cheer him on as if curbside at the start of a fight. Then kicks in the 70s disco strings and the party is on! However, JSBX is at its best on Orange when the band tones it down a bit and maintains control (for example, "Dang" is powerful but painful). After "Bellbottoms", the list of great tracks include "Sweat", "Orange", Blues x Man", "Full Grown" (At this point, Jon would like you to know that young girls..."16, 17, 18...just don't know what's happening" and that he needs a full grown woman.), and "Flavor". "Flavor" features a phone-call cameo by a young Beck, and this provides us with one of the great moments from Orange. With smooth, mellow verses from the up and comer finished, Beck asks Spencer if he'd like him to do one more take. He is taken aback as Spencer ignores him in favor of shouting, "You got the flavor!" until Beck sings it with him.

This is JSBX's best album. Every album that came after it made an attempt to match Orange, but none could. Sheer power, fun, adrenaline...Orange was a blast!

I was disappointed with the videos I was able to provide for you. The first is a version of "Flavor" from an album of remixes...nowhere near as good as the original Orange version. The second is a promotional video for "Bellbottoms" that begins about two minutes in...skipping the entire introduction, which includes the mood-setting 70s style strings arrangement by Kurt Hoffman.

Summer's almost here. There's lots of great music coming your way soon. Don't let radio dictate your choices. Go out and get what you want!

17. Jeff Buckley: Grace

I have a local record store owner, Tim Cretsinger, to thank for introducing me to Jeff Buckley in 1994. Tim owned Groovacious Platters in Keizer, Oregon (he and his wife have since moved the store to Cedar City, Utah). He pushed and pushed, day after day, until I finally left his store with Jeff Buckley's Grace. He knew I'd like it...but, the truth is, I didn't...not at first.

Why Grace and I didn't connect right away, I don't know, but I know when it did. I remember my one and only Jeff Buckley show at a long-since-gone club called LaLuna, in November, 1994. I was excited, but not to see him...I was excited to catch his opening act. I had come to know the music of Brenda Kahn, and couldn't wait to finally see her perform and meet her (I was 25 and she was cute).

Skip to Buckley approaching the stage: After Brenda Kahn's performance, it was Jeff Buckley's turn. Out walked this little man in a floor length fur coat...sunglasses (I think)...and a fuzzy white hat with a full brim (I swear it could've looked something like this). The venue was considered medium-sized, but this show was in the balcony section only...very intimate. He had to walk through the crowd to reach the stage. What a spectacle it was to see the thick crowd part to let this wee pimp look-alike stroll in nonchalantly with his backing band respectfully two steps behind. I remember thinking the ego was bigger than the man himself.

Once on stage, Buckley was personable, engaging, and genuinely happy to be there performing for us. The show was incredible. I chose to go by myself (try it if you haven't). He began to perform and it was as if I heard the Grace songs again, for the first time. Buckley's voice and the entrancing guitars of Michael Tighe and Buckley himself, and the bass of Mick Grondahl coalesced into a enormous wave of sound and emotion...and I gave in to it. What I originally thought was slow-moving, background music grabbed my attention that night with claws that dug deep. Unbeknownst at the time, I was hooked only to be heartbroken two and a half years later. On this day, May 29, 1997, Jeff Buckley went for a fully-clothed swim in the Wolf River in Tennessee...and slipped away forever.

When he died, Jeff Buckley left behind his only full-length album, Grace...an incredible legacy. Songs like "Last Goodbye", "Lover, You Should've Come Over", "Grace",  and "Mojo Pin" are potent enough to bring tears. His version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was tabbed, in 2003, as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. The album, itself, frequently appears on "Greatest" lists compiled by magazines such as Rolling Stone, NME, Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, and many others...and it'll be on your list as well if you invest the time to really hear it. Go visit your local record store (Thanks Tim!).

Here's Jeff Buckley performing the title track to Grace on the BBC Late Show in 1995 and his interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (neither of which are the album versions). Finally, my favorite, "Last Goodbye" the only official video from the album. Thank you, and rest in peace, Jeff.

15. Kings Of Leon: Aha Shake Heartbreak

Bear with me...

I recently watched the movie "Black Swan" (starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel) and loved that it had something for everybody. Here's how I see it...even if you didn't like the movie, you had to admit that it had it all. There was murder, sex, psychotic characters, human-to-animal transformation, club music, girl-girl "Bring It On"-type competition, and dancing...ballet en pointe. It was a psychological thriller centered around an 1877 Russian ballet! Wow! Girl or guy...if you couldn't find something in there that you liked, then there is no pleasing you.

Trace the evolution of Kings Of Leon and we find they too have something for everyone (not sure about the human-to-animal transformation though). There's the upbeat Southern rock and blues influenced albums from the early years (2003's Youth and Young Manhood and 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak) when they were recently freed from the restrictions of their religious upbringings. There's the polished arena-rock sound of 2008's Only by the Night and 2010's Come Around Sundown. And right in the middle we have Because of the Times from 2007, which has a little bit of both. I'll take the risk and stereotype the early years as targeting and achieving more of a male audience ("Black Swan"). The later albums were apparently designed to attract the ladies ("White Swan").

KOL's second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, is a strong record. It's raw...raunchy blues, seeming countrified at times. Caleb Followill's unique vocals beg the question "Is he drunk, or did he just wake up?" It doesn't matter...you're probably one or the other when the desire to hear this album hits you. This album builds upon the southern-rock sounds of their debut. The band had no idea how to play their instruments in 2003...literally. Aha Shake Heartbreak is simple, musically, but it's still amazing how far they came in such a short time for this release. Prepare for most every song to rock your socks off in a seventies style...especially "Slow Night, So Long", "King Of The Rodeo", "Pistol Of Fire", "The Bucket", "Razz", and "Four Kicks". Much of their lyrics center around partying, fighting, sex, and insecurity...unleashing all of their pent up frustration and angst. This album comes from their hearts and loins, and the listener can feel this record as legitimate...it's not an effect.

Naturally, KOL was much more of a hit across the pond than here at home. It wasn't until KOL released their softer, more polished sound that they achieved commercial success here in America. I'm hoping, as many early fans of KOL probably are, that someday we'll experience a return to the early days of fire and debauchery. Until then, we have Aha Shake Heartbreak making the case that rock and roll is the voice of youth and desire...not classical training and effects. For Aha Shake Heartbreak, KOL's rock and roll is all "Black Swan" and no "White Swan". Here's the video to "Four Kicks" to emphasize that point.

13. Menomena: Friend And Foe

Click to enlarge and see
Craig Thompson's intricate details

Sometimes, you know what you're getting into, but, usually, you happen upon music by chance...a CD playing in the background, or a song on the radio from a band you've never heard. And then sometimes, you have tickets for a show and decide to actually make it there in time for the opening act. Catching a band live on stage is a much more potent lure for me, and for this next post, I've decided to share an album from a band that most will not know...a band that I happened upon by chance.

My wife and I had tickets to see Bloc Party at Portland's Roseland Theater in 2009. Seeing the opening band is part of the whole night's experience and we made it there in time to see local band, Menomena, perform most of their set. We had no idea who they were and didn't even know their name upon arriving. However, we were quickly smitten as the trio constantly swapped vocal duties and played a variety of instruments throughout the show...from saxophones and a foot synthesizer to a laptop and glockenspiel (as well as your basics...guitar, drums, and keyboards). By the end of the night, we agreed that Bloc Party was great, but the opening act had upstaged the headliner. We had found a new toy for our ears.

2007's Friend And Foe is officially listed as Menomena's third studio album. However, their second, called Under An Hour, is a three track instrumental (at about 17 minutes per track) that comes across as more of a concoction of a side project rather than a connection between 2003's debut, I Am The Fun Blame Monster! (an anagram for "The First Menomena Album"...and being rereleased next week with nine bonus tracks) and Friend And Foe. So this is, for all intents and purposes, their second release in the normal-length-songs category.

You'll notice beautiful tempo changes right away on the roller coaster ride of "Muscle'n Flo". It begins with crashing drums that leave you as quick as they come, only to hit you soon again with a vengeance. "The Pelican" follows with a relentless pounding that might sound harsh but somehow turns into a sing-along just a few plays later. Other great songs include "Wet And Rusting", "Weird", and "Rotten Hell". The second half of the album is anchored by "Boyscout'n" which sounds like it could've come from Elvis Costello's strange masterpiece, The Juliet Letters, and "Evil Bee" which provides the album with its most memorable lyrics..."Oh to be a machine...Ohhh to be wanted...to be useful..." repeated over several different musical arrangements throughout. It all works wonderfully!

Also worth mentioning is the packaging for Friend And Foe...it's amazing. Created and illustrated by Craig Thompson, it contains die-cuts, decoder rings, and hidden messages (most of which I've not found). In 2007, it was rightfully nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

Again, Menomena are from Portland, but have developed a great following across the country, and they are extremely accessible. Here's a fun video of them performing "Weird" in a Brooklyn home for the Plum TV show Juan's Basement. Enjoy, and thanks for reading.

11. Violent Femmes: Violent Femmes

The self-titled debut album from the Violent Femmes in 1983 was one of the most memorable albums created. Ten pop songs (in the original release...12 later) about yearning for love, sex, and affection...performed in such a way that makes them impossible to forget, or mistake for anything else. The simple sounds of the three musicians (guitar, bass, and snare drum...with brushes) delivered in their signature aggressive, driving manner, and the magically quotable lyrics by Gordon Gano (most of which were written while he was still in high school) made the band 80s gods on college campuses throughout the U.S.

The Violent Femmes released eight studio albums during their time, but the most well-known songs were hatched here...Who do you know that couldn't recognize the opening intro to "Blister In The Sun"?...or the count-up in "Kiss Off" ("I take one, one, one cause you left me...")? Other distinctly memorable moments include Gordon's whiny begging (but in a good way) in "Please Do Not Go" and the slow, child-like, a cappella introduction to "Add It Up" ("Daaaaay after daaaaay, I will waaaaalk and I will plaaaay..." This was the song that had college kids wondering why they can't "get just one kiss" (among other forms of affection) at the top of their lungs. How about the xylophone from "Gone Daddy Gone"...the darkly menacing length of "Confessions"..."Prove My Love" ("...third verse, same as the first!"), "Promise", "To The Kill", and the sadly-sweet "Good Feeling" to close the door on this gem. There's your ten...every one of them perfect songs in their simplest forms combining to produce an outcome greater than the sum of its parts.

This album is grossly underrated...no accolades! No mention of the Violent Femmes on any music magazine's lists of the greatest whatever (probably "Best Bands from Milwaukee, Wisconsin" but I didn't really look). Well, I can say with confidence (and perhaps a bit of stubbornness) that they all missed the boat here. I can't understand how it was overlooked. The album has sold over 1,000,000 copies. It was another album that was near impossible to find in used record stores, meaning, if you bought it, you loved it, and you kept it. It was, in short, one of the great albums of the 80s.

The Violent Femmes were also tons of fun to see live. I saw them on six separate occasions (The last of which was in Portland. I went with my friend Ana, who eventually became Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters.). Every performance was excellent. But, alas, a huge rift regarding rights and royalties between Gano and bassist, Brian Ritchie has sealed the fate of the band, and the Violent Femmes are no more. Here, you have, not one, but three videos to enjoy! I could not choose between "Blister...", "Kiss Off", "and "Add It Up"...then remembered...Hey!  I'm the boss here. Who says it has to be only one? Happy Mothers' Day! Treat her right.

10. Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream

When your drummer is severely addicted to heroin, your guitarist and bassist are in the midst of a bitter feud (having just broke off their relationship), and your frontman is a suicidally depressed tyrant...how can anything other than a magnificently powerful album be the result?

Citing the success of their first album, Gish, in 1991, and the release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten later that year, critics labeled the Smashing Pumpkins as "can't miss"..."the next Nirvana". This incredible pressure to succeed intensified their already problematic situations. Yet, somehow, they managed to not kill themselves (or each other) throughout the writing and recording process, and created their brilliant second album, Siamese Dream in 1993. 

Siamese Dream spawned four great singles. Three of them, "Cherub Rock", "Today", and "Rocket", were thick with fuzz, and hit hard...continuing the style of Gish.  The effect-laden sounds of layer upon layer of guitar fused with Billy Corgan's vocals produced a highly creative noise designed to repeatedly smack you in the ears. They were not, however, limited to screams and fuzzy guitars. Similar to Nirvana's "Polly" and Pearl Jam's "Black", the Smashing Pumpkins had "Disarm", the album's fourth single...a softer, personal song. The four singles stand out as obvious radio-play choices, but every song on Siamese Dream is strong. Other great tracks include "Quiet", "Mayonaise" and the near nine minute "Silverf**k".

I saw the Smashing Pumpkins at a club in Portland in 1993. It was a fast paced show...high energy all the way through. However, only two distinct memories from the concert come to mind. I remember Billy Corgan thanking Shudder To Think and The Frogs for opening the show and then threatening to end the night right then and there if the crowd continued to boo The Frogs. I think he said, "Do not boo The Frogs. DO NOT boo The Frogs. We will walk off this stage right now if you boo The Frogs." The Frogs were awful (Though, mysteriously, they have a decent cult following). I also remember Corgan on stage, by himself, under a spotlight, closing the show with the beautiful "Sweet Sweet" from Siamese Dream. Here, however, is the video to "Cherub Rock", the song Rolling Stone readers picked as the 25th greatest guitar track of all time. Thanks for reading!

8. R.E.M.: Accelerate

I was so proud to be an R.E.M. fan when Accelerate was released in 2008. Is this album their best? Not at all...and by a pretty good distance. It's just that, even though the band steered clear of pinning a label on the sound of Accelerate, the hype about R.E.M.'s return to their old sound surfaced prior to its release. And so, the wait was on...was it true? Would R.E.M.'s new album be a departure from their recent, rather underwhelming work? I was skeptical, because U2 had released How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb a few years earlier under the guise that it was a rock album ("It's taken us twenty years...but this is our first rock album" -Bono, from the DVD documentary U2 and 3 Songs). U2 are one of my favorite bands, and my goal is to keep things positive in my posts, but it was false advertising. Atomic Bomb was not a rock album. I count about two and a half songs worth of "rock," thank you very much. So, based on R.E.M.'s previous three albums, Up (1998), Reveal (2001), and Around the Sun (2004), and the disappointment of believing U2's earlier hype, I was preparing for más decepción.

The band, themselves, were not happy with their previous record, Around the Sun, going so far as to admit that "if [they made] another bad record, it's over." However, R.E.M. had delivered the goods when Accelerate hit the record stores! Right out of the gate, "Living Well is the Best Revenge" reminds R.E.M. fans of what once was (circa 1986-1987). "Man-Sized Wreath" and the album's first single, "Supernatural Superserious", would fit perfectly amongst the songs of Green from 1988. "Hollow Man" follows with verses reminiscent of Out of Time (1991) or Automatic for the People (1992) and a chorus that takes the listener back even further. The album lags a bit after the first four songs (though the songs "Accelerate", "Until the Day is Done", and "Horse to Water" should also be given a round of applause), but Accelerate, the album, satisfied me, a big R.E.M. fan who'd felt something was missing after drummer, Bill Berry, left the band in 1997.

I'm a fan of several bands who have been plugging away for twenty to thirty years (U2 and The Cure spring to mind). Naturally, people grow, band-members change, dynamics change, goals change, and, inevitably, the music changes. Because I'm one who's steeped in nostalgia, I often hold onto that original sound...the sound that drew me in years and years ago...and I'm sometimes (more often than not) disappointed with new music from experienced artists. R.E.M.'s Accelerate is an album that did not disappoint. They tried hard to rock...to get back to the sounds that earned them a huge devoted fan base, and I feel they really succeeded. Now, hopefully the recently released Collapse Into Now can grow on me. Here's "Living Well is the Best Revenge" live from Austin City Limits.

7. Pixies: Doolittle

It was April, 1989...22 years ago this month...that The Pixies released Doolittle. Have you heard it? If so, honestly, you don't need to read any further. You know exactly what I'm going to say. If you haven't, here's the link you need. Now buckle up!

This is the second full length album from The Pixies (always a bit awkward deciding whether to say "Pixies" or "The Pixies"...whether to capitalize "PIXIES" or not...they probably don't care either way, and would simply giggle at my indecisiveness). It follows another great album in 1988's Surfer Rosa (which many Pixies fans claim as their favorite...however, I believe that might just be because of Doolittle's commercial success...something Surfer Rosa never achieved, keeping it more underground). Combined, the two albums easily make up the band's strongest work.

Fifteen songs...twelve of which are under three minutes.  Black Francis (as he was known at the time) fought for this concept. He took his producer to a record store, pulled Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits from the rack and said, "If it's good enough for Buddy Holly..." I happen to love a good two minute song. It always leaves you wanting more...and if it happens to be no good...that's fine...it's over quickly. In the case of The Pixies, each song is a gem and a half!

The album begins with the incredible "Debaser", a song based on Salvador Dali's 1929 surrealistic film Un Chien Andalou (the line "slicing up eyeballs" stems from an early scene from the film)...followed by a song, "Tame", that would become the epitome of their sound...loudQUIETloud. This sudden loud to quiet dynamic would be extremely influencial to several bands, most notably, Nirvana, who, upon completion of the writing of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" believed it sounded too much like The Pixies, and that people were "going to nail [them] for this". "Wave Of Mutilation" and "I Bleed" follow respectively, and then comes the song "Here Comes Your Man". "Here Comes Your Man" has been described by...me...as the perfect pop song, showing the versatility of The Pixies, both lyrically and musically.

Soon after, we have "Monkey Gone To Heaven", one of the best Pixies songs, highlighting the biblical influences in the songwriting (you can also hear it in "Dead" and "Gouge Away'). Y'know, I'm seriously going to run out of space before praising this album as much as it deserves. I should mention "La La Love You" is a cult favorite, and "Hey" is another fantastic song.

This album, Doolittle, voted as #226 on the list of all time greatest albums by Rolling Stone, and as #2 all time by the UK magazine, NME, is jam-packed, straight through. It laid the groundwork for 90s rock, and the band, itself, even influenced existing legends such as David Bowie and Bono. Doolittle continues to sell well today, reinforcing its status as one of the greatest albums ever, and The Pixies reunion this past decade has gone a long way toward influencing a younger audience...thankfully!

By now, you must be dying for it, so here it is...actually, it was difficult to pick one video to attach here. I went with "Monkey Gone To Heaven"...enjoy!