[Originally posted on Paradigm Pudding]
Update: So i was scurrying madly one day in November while working at the TV station to make sure i had this done and posted before i released PAC2011 at my birthday party...and then i completely forgot to come back and finish the last two tracks and publish it. So here it is, PAC2011 Liner Notes, four months late.
Given how much i enjoyed writing out last year's liner notes for the Trevor's Poor-Ass Christmas Collection, i thought i'd repeat that success this year. If you don't know what i'm talking about, clicky that linky-linky. Maybe you do that with fewer uses of the letter y. I won't judge you.
1. The Adults / Nothing to Lose
theadults.co.nz
Since one of the reasons i do this compilation every year is to get people into new music, i thought it might be helpful to provide links this year to the artists' web sites.
Unfortunately, The Adults' music is not yet available in America. They're a New Zealand band that hasn't gotten far across the pond yet, although i just heard today that they've been opening for Portishead in Austrailia. So that's pretty cool.
Anyway, a co-worker at the lab brought The Adults to my attention earlier this year by directing me to this music video, which i'm responsible for at least thirty views on. I had to rip the audio out of that video in order to get it on the comp, so here's hoping they release that CD in America sometime soon, so i can pay actual money to actually get it. Because i will. I do that sort of thing.
2. The Type / Same Sex Attraction
knowthetype.com
I've been following The Type since their very first show in 2005. We're friends. They played at my house once. And their new album, Sirens and Storms, is pretty consistently great. But this song is my favorite, if only for the line "Lost my shoes in a battle with God," which i'm pretty sure is one of the greatest lyrics of all time. Of all time! Also, i did a video for this song.
3. damidol / I Don't Care if You're Still Drunk
facebook.com/damidol
So we finally recorded a full length...
4. Red Bacteria Vacuum / San Francisco
red-bacteria.com
This Japanese girl band spent their summer opening for A Perfect Circle across America. It seems like a weird combination to me, but if they hadn't, i'd probably not have heard of them. Some friends went to see APC in August and ended up getting blown away by Red Bacteria Vacuum. After i wrote that last sentence, all i can think is, "It's Mega Maid, sir! She's gone from suck to blow!" But i digress, as usual. So they brought me some CDs, so i too could get in on the blowey-awayeyness. And it worked. This is the first of two Red Bacteria songs on the compilation. If you have trouble understanding the words, keep in mind that most of them are Japanese.
5. Fugazi / Waiting Room
dischord.com/band/fugazi
One of my teachers at MMI dumped me a bunch of music he thought i'd enjoy. Well, he was right.
6. Mclusky / To Hell With Good Intentions
myspace.com/mcluskyarefuckingdead
Same as above. I had a hard time choosing between Mclusky tracks for the comp, so you ended up with two of them. Enjoy!
7. cKy / Rats in the Infirmary
ckyalliance.com
cKy is a band that, as far as i knew several years ago, had that one song "Flesh Into Gear" on the radio breifly when i was in high school. Maybe a year or so later, i picked up their album Infiltrate - Destroy - Rebuild at a garage sale for fifty cents; i may have listened to it once or twice around then, but it quickly got lost in my collection, presumably never to be heard again. A few years later, maybe 2007, i finally gave in to the idea that mp3s would one day replace the CD, and i was damn lucky i wouldn't need to buy the new format like everyone did when vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes and so forth died. So i started copying all my CDs into my computer. One day, i had my iPod on shuffle, and cKy's Frenetic Amnesic came on and i was suddenly blown away. I went back and listened to the whole CD again and came away from it a changed man. After that, i hunted down their other two albums, Volume 1 and An Answer Can Be Found, and played the shit out of that shit for months. cKy remains one of my all-time favorite bands to this day, and this year i scored a copy of their latest album, 2009's Carver City, from Half-Price Books. It's weird to me that i didn't know about this when it came out, but i suppose that's the price you pay for (a) not listening to the radio on a regular basis and (b) not having any radio stations in your area that play great music. Rats in the Infirmary is from Carver City. It's good stuff. If you enjoy heavy music at all, give cKy a shot.
8. t.A.T.u. / 220
tatu.ru
Yes, the pseudo-lesbian dance pop sensations of early this millenium are on my PAC this year. Yes, i love their music. No, it's not because they're hot and lesbians. I'm of the internet generation, if i need hot and lesbians, i'll Google "hot and lesbians." Anyway, i went on a t.A.T.u. kick for a couple days in October, listening to their first two albums at least once each per day for over a week, prompting my roommate David to ask if i had all of their albums. I had to respond in the negative, since their final album, Waste Management, was never released in America and so i never picked it up. But that prompted me to have a look at the East Bay Trading Company, where i scored the Russian release for cheap. I got a version that's got like eight bonus tracks on it; i could have easily included the English version of this song, but there are three other foreign language tracks on the comp this year so i thought i'd run with it. Besides, it's so much better in Russian. Also, fun fact for the haters: this is t.A.T.u.'s third PAC appearance.
9. Ladytron / Ghosts
ladytron.com
Ladytron popped up on my Pandora shuffle early on this year, i don't remember what i had it programmed for, but Ghosts and Deep Blue have both been in heavy rotation on my iTunes all year. I really had to go with Ghosts, which is in a way too bad; i could've continued the foreign language theme by including either Black Cat or Kletva, songs from the same album (Velocifero), which are both sung in Bulgerian.
10. The Noise FM / Simple Simone
thenoisefm.net
We drove down to Chicago twice this year to see Biffy Clyro, a Scottish band that we discovered whilest in New Zealand and have driven hundreds of miles to see four times now (once to Minneapolis and three times to Chicago). Well, after the third time we saw them we realized that every band we've ever seen them play with has sucked. So, the fourth time, we were expecting the same. But to our surprise, the opening band, The Noise FM, absolutely demolished the trend. I loved every song they played that night. After their set, i went back and talked to them for a bit, bought some merch, and got their contact info so i could get them to come to Madison. They're really great guys, too; even offered to buy me a beer. Then the next band went on, and we were back to terrible ridiculous emo trash. The Noise FM has made one Madison appearance since then, which was not of my doing. I had them booked to play my birthday show this year (also damidol's CD release event), but sadly, their bass player quit the band and they had to cancel the show. Better luck next time i guess.
11. Ouija Radio / Red Eye Fly
myspace.com/ouijaradio
A Minneapolis band who i'm sure has played in Madison a lot in the past. I picked up their album OH NO!...YES! YES! at the Half-Price Books for a dollar, simply because i recognized the name. Listening to it was one of the best choices i've ever made. This shit rocks. I can't wait for them to get back to Madison...i'm gonna have to keep a close eye on this band.
12. Tsunami Bomb / Count Me Out
myspace.com/tsunamibomb
I was into Tsunami Bomb back in High School, i grabbed a whole lot of their music off of the original Napster. But i never actually had their CDs until recently, so i've gotten really heavily back into Tsunami Bomb this year. This song is short, but also sweet. Listen to it three or four times if you're feeling unfulfilled.
13. Jeunesse Apatride / Destruction
jeunesse-apatride.org
A French Canadian band that Bob introduced me to just weeks before i put together the final track listing for the PAC. I chose this song almost at random, just because every one of their songs is as amazing as any other. Bob said they would be right up my alley; i'm starting to think he knows me too well and i should probably do something about that (either killing him or starting to listen to Michael Bolton...not sure which is the better choice there).
14. Secret Secretions / Wisconsin Way
facebook.com/Secret-Secretions
A band from Steven's Point that i bought off the dollar shelf at Half-Price Books based solely on the album art. It's hardcore punk at its best. And how could i not include a song called Wisconsin Way? Hell yeah.
15. Pennywise / Bro Hymn
pennywisdom.com
We listened to a lot of Pennywise on our enormous road trip that we took this summer, and this is probably my favorite song of theirs. It's about dead people. So it's perfect for a Christmas compilation.
16. NoFX / Don't Call Me White
nofxofficialwebsite.com
I've also gotten really into NoFX this year, having picked up eight of their albums at Half-Price Books. It was a toss-up between this song and Vanilla Sex for the PAC, but i decided that i liked the energy and message of this song better. Plus, not to detract from NoFX any, but i think i liked Rancid's cover of Vanilla Sex better than the original. Please don't throw any shoes at me.
17. Reggie Watts / Fuck Shit Stack
reggiewatts.com
A friend introduced me to the magic that is Waverly Films over the summer, and we spent a night paging through their YouTube channel and consuming every damn video they have made, which includes this amazing, amazing video for Reggie Watts's song Fuck Shit Stack. It's a brilliant satire on the state of current rap music. Rap used to mean something. It used to be about politics, and about social injustice, and about the common man. Nowadays it's about possessions and gold chains and money. Kind of like Republicans, now that i think about it. But anyway, based on that YouTube video, i bought Reggie's CD/DVD combo and have enjoyed it all thoroughly. Frankly, though, Fuck Shit Stack is probably the second best song on the album; i'd have included My History Thus Far if it weren't fifteen fucking minutes long.
18. Jem / Come On Closer
jem-music.net
Another discovery from Pandora, probably on the same playlist i got Ladytron from. Shortly after i first heard her on Pandora, i found her CD at Half-Price for a buck. How could i go wrong? A friend later gave me another copy of her CD, which i passed on to another interested party. It's pretty good stuff, if you're into great pop music with heavy distorted guitars low in the mix. I had a hard time choosing between this song and They. I went with this song because i love the guitar part so much, but i'm still not convinced i made the right choice. The song 24 is also really good.
19. Green Day / Peacemaker
greenday.com
Yeah yeah yeah, Green Day, i know. But this song is a hell of an earworm. Probably the only song off of 21st Century Breakdown that i actually liked. Also, possibly one of the most infectious bass lines ever. My co-worker Aimee takes great pleasure in sneaking up behind me and singing the, "Hey hey hey!" part, getting this song lodged in my head for the rest of the damn day. Sometimes i text her randomly, "Death to the girl at the end of the serenade!" just to get some revenge in the off hours.
20. Cage the Elephand / Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
cagetheelephant.com
I did not like this song when i first heard it. Did not like it at all. But then, Borderlands. This song plays through the opening credits and the whole introductory cutscene for that game, a game which thoroughly consumed my life for a while after my Indianian friends gave it to me for my birthday last year. The song compliments the game so nicely. I ended up going out and buying both of Cage the Elephant's albums this year, and they're both pretty great.
21. Foo Fighters featuring Bob Mould / Dear Rosemary
foofighters.com
I wasn't particularly fond of the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light. It's ok. But it's not great. This track, however, is. But i might be biased. It's totally because of Bob Mould. I do love me some Bob Mould. Husker Du, Sugar, his solo stuff. Beautiful. The guy has crafted so many great songs. Also of note: i hugged him once.
22. PJ Harvey / Bitter Branches
pjharvey.net
The only artist on this year's comp that was also on last year's. I actually didn't listen to PJ much this year, but she did release that new album of hers, Let England Shake, which has won a metric buttload of awards, including England's prestigious Mercury Prize, which i understand is their equivalent of a Grammy, except with 30% more integrity. PJ Harvey is the first artist to ever receive the Mercury Prize twice; she also won it in 2001 for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. So, i went out and bought it; i think it's one of only three new CDs i actually bought this year (the others being the aforementioned Cage the Elephant release Thank You Happy Birthday, and Wayne Static's solo debut Pighammer, which was a decent album, but gets my vote for Worst Album Art of the Year). It's an astounding piece of work; in general, i'd say it must be experienced as a complete album; separating tracks from the full work just doesn't do them justice. But i certainly couldn't put the entire album on the PAC, so this is what you get.
23. Veruca Salt / One More Page of Insincerity Please
verucasalt.com
I think it's safe to say Veruca Salt has broken up again; there hasn't been an update to their web site since November 2008. Which is sad. But anyway, i stumbled into a treasure trove of old Veruca Salt b-sides from their heyday in the 90s, i think it was at verucaslut.com but i can't quite remember and since i'm at work right now i'm not willing to type in that address and hit enter. But if you're into Veruca Salt, i highly reccommend heading over to that page and stripmining it. Otherwise, i reccommend buying the album American Thighs, and when you're done with that, Eight Arms to Hold You. The post-Nina stuff is ok too, but really, those two albums are where it's at.
24. Mclusky / Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues
myspace.com/mcluskyarefuckingdead
More Mclusky! God damn i enjoy this band.
25. Jack Off Jill / Fear of Dying
jackoffjill.com
The first time we were in Indy this year, i went through Shayne's CD and ripped about fifty of them, including Jack Off Jill. What can i say, dude's got good taste in music. I've grown quite fond of this band, and i think this was their best song. Too bad they're not around anymore. Also, when i was compiling the CD, the first time i heard this song immediately after Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues, i had thought it was still the same song until Jessicka Addams started singing there. Unfortunately, when i went to burn the CD, for whatever reason, it cut off the last fraction of a second of Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues, and, as the Jolly Green Giant put it, my mojo was thrown off. So i had to slip in about a half a second of silence between them; Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues was saved, but the paradigm between the two songs is now totally off and there is too much time between them. I wasn't willing to keep fucking around with fractions of seconds and wasting CDs trying to get it right, so sadly, the transition between these songs is not what i wanted. But still. Bygones.
26. Fuzzbubble / Out There
myspace.com/fuzzbubble
I have been searching for Fuzzbubble's album ever since i got the Godzilla soundtrack in 1999. No joke. This album is that hard to find. I'd trawl the internets about twice a year, spending a good hour or two fishing through eBay, Amazon, Half, Google, and what have you, trying to track down a copy of this. From that interval, you can probably guess that it wasn't a huge priority, but that's still a good amount of work for finding one album, especially an album by a band you know only one song by. Well, in the summer, while we were on our great American Nomads trip, i chanced upon it in a $2 bin at Half-Price Books in Greenwood, IN. As a friend said in a Facebook comment when i mentioned that my twelve year search was up, "Quest complete, now take it back to the quest giver and you'll get a pair of pink boots of Hobbit Smashing!" Well, after listening to the full album, i'm with him: i should take it back to somebody and get some pink boots, they'd be much more useful. It's not that the album is bad, it's just that it's the kind of thing i definitely would have appreciated more twelve years ago. But, this song is still fun, if only for the line "Devil ship from Mars."
27. Red Bacteria Vacuum / Enso Wa Tanoshi
red-bacteria.com
And here we have the second appearance by Red Bacteria Vacuum, the same song that closed out the Cincinnati show that my friends experienced a great away-blowing at. The title roughly translates to "We Like Playing For You," and the song lives up to its name by being appropriately fun.
Well, until next year!
Given how much i enjoyed writing out last year's liner notes for the Trevor's Poor-Ass Christmas Collection, i thought i'd repeat that success this year. If you don't know what i'm talking about, clicky that linky-linky. Maybe you do that with fewer uses of the letter y. I won't judge you.
1. The Adults / Nothing to Lose
theadults.co.nz
Since one of the reasons i do this compilation every year is to get people into new music, i thought it might be helpful to provide links this year to the artists' web sites.
Unfortunately, The Adults' music is not yet available in America. They're a New Zealand band that hasn't gotten far across the pond yet, although i just heard today that they've been opening for Portishead in Austrailia. So that's pretty cool.
Anyway, a co-worker at the lab brought The Adults to my attention earlier this year by directing me to this music video, which i'm responsible for at least thirty views on. I had to rip the audio out of that video in order to get it on the comp, so here's hoping they release that CD in America sometime soon, so i can pay actual money to actually get it. Because i will. I do that sort of thing.
2. The Type / Same Sex Attraction
knowthetype.com
I've been following The Type since their very first show in 2005. We're friends. They played at my house once. And their new album, Sirens and Storms, is pretty consistently great. But this song is my favorite, if only for the line "Lost my shoes in a battle with God," which i'm pretty sure is one of the greatest lyrics of all time. Of all time! Also, i did a video for this song.
3. damidol / I Don't Care if You're Still Drunk
facebook.com/damidol
So we finally recorded a full length...
4. Red Bacteria Vacuum / San Francisco
red-bacteria.com
This Japanese girl band spent their summer opening for A Perfect Circle across America. It seems like a weird combination to me, but if they hadn't, i'd probably not have heard of them. Some friends went to see APC in August and ended up getting blown away by Red Bacteria Vacuum. After i wrote that last sentence, all i can think is, "It's Mega Maid, sir! She's gone from suck to blow!" But i digress, as usual. So they brought me some CDs, so i too could get in on the blowey-awayeyness. And it worked. This is the first of two Red Bacteria songs on the compilation. If you have trouble understanding the words, keep in mind that most of them are Japanese.
5. Fugazi / Waiting Room
dischord.com/band/fugazi
One of my teachers at MMI dumped me a bunch of music he thought i'd enjoy. Well, he was right.
6. Mclusky / To Hell With Good Intentions
myspace.com/mcluskyarefuckingdead
Same as above. I had a hard time choosing between Mclusky tracks for the comp, so you ended up with two of them. Enjoy!
7. cKy / Rats in the Infirmary
ckyalliance.com
cKy is a band that, as far as i knew several years ago, had that one song "Flesh Into Gear" on the radio breifly when i was in high school. Maybe a year or so later, i picked up their album Infiltrate - Destroy - Rebuild at a garage sale for fifty cents; i may have listened to it once or twice around then, but it quickly got lost in my collection, presumably never to be heard again. A few years later, maybe 2007, i finally gave in to the idea that mp3s would one day replace the CD, and i was damn lucky i wouldn't need to buy the new format like everyone did when vinyl, 8 tracks, cassettes and so forth died. So i started copying all my CDs into my computer. One day, i had my iPod on shuffle, and cKy's Frenetic Amnesic came on and i was suddenly blown away. I went back and listened to the whole CD again and came away from it a changed man. After that, i hunted down their other two albums, Volume 1 and An Answer Can Be Found, and played the shit out of that shit for months. cKy remains one of my all-time favorite bands to this day, and this year i scored a copy of their latest album, 2009's Carver City, from Half-Price Books. It's weird to me that i didn't know about this when it came out, but i suppose that's the price you pay for (a) not listening to the radio on a regular basis and (b) not having any radio stations in your area that play great music. Rats in the Infirmary is from Carver City. It's good stuff. If you enjoy heavy music at all, give cKy a shot.
8. t.A.T.u. / 220
tatu.ru
Yes, the pseudo-lesbian dance pop sensations of early this millenium are on my PAC this year. Yes, i love their music. No, it's not because they're hot and lesbians. I'm of the internet generation, if i need hot and lesbians, i'll Google "hot and lesbians." Anyway, i went on a t.A.T.u. kick for a couple days in October, listening to their first two albums at least once each per day for over a week, prompting my roommate David to ask if i had all of their albums. I had to respond in the negative, since their final album, Waste Management, was never released in America and so i never picked it up. But that prompted me to have a look at the East Bay Trading Company, where i scored the Russian release for cheap. I got a version that's got like eight bonus tracks on it; i could have easily included the English version of this song, but there are three other foreign language tracks on the comp this year so i thought i'd run with it. Besides, it's so much better in Russian. Also, fun fact for the haters: this is t.A.T.u.'s third PAC appearance.
9. Ladytron / Ghosts
ladytron.com
Ladytron popped up on my Pandora shuffle early on this year, i don't remember what i had it programmed for, but Ghosts and Deep Blue have both been in heavy rotation on my iTunes all year. I really had to go with Ghosts, which is in a way too bad; i could've continued the foreign language theme by including either Black Cat or Kletva, songs from the same album (Velocifero), which are both sung in Bulgerian.
10. The Noise FM / Simple Simone
thenoisefm.net
We drove down to Chicago twice this year to see Biffy Clyro, a Scottish band that we discovered whilest in New Zealand and have driven hundreds of miles to see four times now (once to Minneapolis and three times to Chicago). Well, after the third time we saw them we realized that every band we've ever seen them play with has sucked. So, the fourth time, we were expecting the same. But to our surprise, the opening band, The Noise FM, absolutely demolished the trend. I loved every song they played that night. After their set, i went back and talked to them for a bit, bought some merch, and got their contact info so i could get them to come to Madison. They're really great guys, too; even offered to buy me a beer. Then the next band went on, and we were back to terrible ridiculous emo trash. The Noise FM has made one Madison appearance since then, which was not of my doing. I had them booked to play my birthday show this year (also damidol's CD release event), but sadly, their bass player quit the band and they had to cancel the show. Better luck next time i guess.
11. Ouija Radio / Red Eye Fly
myspace.com/ouijaradio
A Minneapolis band who i'm sure has played in Madison a lot in the past. I picked up their album OH NO!...YES! YES! at the Half-Price Books for a dollar, simply because i recognized the name. Listening to it was one of the best choices i've ever made. This shit rocks. I can't wait for them to get back to Madison...i'm gonna have to keep a close eye on this band.
12. Tsunami Bomb / Count Me Out
myspace.com/tsunamibomb
I was into Tsunami Bomb back in High School, i grabbed a whole lot of their music off of the original Napster. But i never actually had their CDs until recently, so i've gotten really heavily back into Tsunami Bomb this year. This song is short, but also sweet. Listen to it three or four times if you're feeling unfulfilled.
13. Jeunesse Apatride / Destruction
jeunesse-apatride.org
A French Canadian band that Bob introduced me to just weeks before i put together the final track listing for the PAC. I chose this song almost at random, just because every one of their songs is as amazing as any other. Bob said they would be right up my alley; i'm starting to think he knows me too well and i should probably do something about that (either killing him or starting to listen to Michael Bolton...not sure which is the better choice there).
14. Secret Secretions / Wisconsin Way
facebook.com/Secret-Secretions
A band from Steven's Point that i bought off the dollar shelf at Half-Price Books based solely on the album art. It's hardcore punk at its best. And how could i not include a song called Wisconsin Way? Hell yeah.
15. Pennywise / Bro Hymn
pennywisdom.com
We listened to a lot of Pennywise on our enormous road trip that we took this summer, and this is probably my favorite song of theirs. It's about dead people. So it's perfect for a Christmas compilation.
16. NoFX / Don't Call Me White
nofxofficialwebsite.com
I've also gotten really into NoFX this year, having picked up eight of their albums at Half-Price Books. It was a toss-up between this song and Vanilla Sex for the PAC, but i decided that i liked the energy and message of this song better. Plus, not to detract from NoFX any, but i think i liked Rancid's cover of Vanilla Sex better than the original. Please don't throw any shoes at me.
17. Reggie Watts / Fuck Shit Stack
reggiewatts.com
A friend introduced me to the magic that is Waverly Films over the summer, and we spent a night paging through their YouTube channel and consuming every damn video they have made, which includes this amazing, amazing video for Reggie Watts's song Fuck Shit Stack. It's a brilliant satire on the state of current rap music. Rap used to mean something. It used to be about politics, and about social injustice, and about the common man. Nowadays it's about possessions and gold chains and money. Kind of like Republicans, now that i think about it. But anyway, based on that YouTube video, i bought Reggie's CD/DVD combo and have enjoyed it all thoroughly. Frankly, though, Fuck Shit Stack is probably the second best song on the album; i'd have included My History Thus Far if it weren't fifteen fucking minutes long.
18. Jem / Come On Closer
jem-music.net
Another discovery from Pandora, probably on the same playlist i got Ladytron from. Shortly after i first heard her on Pandora, i found her CD at Half-Price for a buck. How could i go wrong? A friend later gave me another copy of her CD, which i passed on to another interested party. It's pretty good stuff, if you're into great pop music with heavy distorted guitars low in the mix. I had a hard time choosing between this song and They. I went with this song because i love the guitar part so much, but i'm still not convinced i made the right choice. The song 24 is also really good.
19. Green Day / Peacemaker
greenday.com
Yeah yeah yeah, Green Day, i know. But this song is a hell of an earworm. Probably the only song off of 21st Century Breakdown that i actually liked. Also, possibly one of the most infectious bass lines ever. My co-worker Aimee takes great pleasure in sneaking up behind me and singing the, "Hey hey hey!" part, getting this song lodged in my head for the rest of the damn day. Sometimes i text her randomly, "Death to the girl at the end of the serenade!" just to get some revenge in the off hours.
20. Cage the Elephand / Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
cagetheelephant.com
I did not like this song when i first heard it. Did not like it at all. But then, Borderlands. This song plays through the opening credits and the whole introductory cutscene for that game, a game which thoroughly consumed my life for a while after my Indianian friends gave it to me for my birthday last year. The song compliments the game so nicely. I ended up going out and buying both of Cage the Elephant's albums this year, and they're both pretty great.
21. Foo Fighters featuring Bob Mould / Dear Rosemary
foofighters.com
I wasn't particularly fond of the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light. It's ok. But it's not great. This track, however, is. But i might be biased. It's totally because of Bob Mould. I do love me some Bob Mould. Husker Du, Sugar, his solo stuff. Beautiful. The guy has crafted so many great songs. Also of note: i hugged him once.
22. PJ Harvey / Bitter Branches
pjharvey.net
The only artist on this year's comp that was also on last year's. I actually didn't listen to PJ much this year, but she did release that new album of hers, Let England Shake, which has won a metric buttload of awards, including England's prestigious Mercury Prize, which i understand is their equivalent of a Grammy, except with 30% more integrity. PJ Harvey is the first artist to ever receive the Mercury Prize twice; she also won it in 2001 for Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. So, i went out and bought it; i think it's one of only three new CDs i actually bought this year (the others being the aforementioned Cage the Elephant release Thank You Happy Birthday, and Wayne Static's solo debut Pighammer, which was a decent album, but gets my vote for Worst Album Art of the Year). It's an astounding piece of work; in general, i'd say it must be experienced as a complete album; separating tracks from the full work just doesn't do them justice. But i certainly couldn't put the entire album on the PAC, so this is what you get.
23. Veruca Salt / One More Page of Insincerity Please
verucasalt.com
I think it's safe to say Veruca Salt has broken up again; there hasn't been an update to their web site since November 2008. Which is sad. But anyway, i stumbled into a treasure trove of old Veruca Salt b-sides from their heyday in the 90s, i think it was at verucaslut.com but i can't quite remember and since i'm at work right now i'm not willing to type in that address and hit enter. But if you're into Veruca Salt, i highly reccommend heading over to that page and stripmining it. Otherwise, i reccommend buying the album American Thighs, and when you're done with that, Eight Arms to Hold You. The post-Nina stuff is ok too, but really, those two albums are where it's at.
24. Mclusky / Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues
myspace.com/mcluskyarefuckingdead
More Mclusky! God damn i enjoy this band.
25. Jack Off Jill / Fear of Dying
jackoffjill.com
The first time we were in Indy this year, i went through Shayne's CD and ripped about fifty of them, including Jack Off Jill. What can i say, dude's got good taste in music. I've grown quite fond of this band, and i think this was their best song. Too bad they're not around anymore. Also, when i was compiling the CD, the first time i heard this song immediately after Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues, i had thought it was still the same song until Jessicka Addams started singing there. Unfortunately, when i went to burn the CD, for whatever reason, it cut off the last fraction of a second of Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues, and, as the Jolly Green Giant put it, my mojo was thrown off. So i had to slip in about a half a second of silence between them; Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues was saved, but the paradigm between the two songs is now totally off and there is too much time between them. I wasn't willing to keep fucking around with fractions of seconds and wasting CDs trying to get it right, so sadly, the transition between these songs is not what i wanted. But still. Bygones.
26. Fuzzbubble / Out There
myspace.com/fuzzbubble
I have been searching for Fuzzbubble's album ever since i got the Godzilla soundtrack in 1999. No joke. This album is that hard to find. I'd trawl the internets about twice a year, spending a good hour or two fishing through eBay, Amazon, Half, Google, and what have you, trying to track down a copy of this. From that interval, you can probably guess that it wasn't a huge priority, but that's still a good amount of work for finding one album, especially an album by a band you know only one song by. Well, in the summer, while we were on our great American Nomads trip, i chanced upon it in a $2 bin at Half-Price Books in Greenwood, IN. As a friend said in a Facebook comment when i mentioned that my twelve year search was up, "Quest complete, now take it back to the quest giver and you'll get a pair of pink boots of Hobbit Smashing!" Well, after listening to the full album, i'm with him: i should take it back to somebody and get some pink boots, they'd be much more useful. It's not that the album is bad, it's just that it's the kind of thing i definitely would have appreciated more twelve years ago. But, this song is still fun, if only for the line "Devil ship from Mars."
27. Red Bacteria Vacuum / Enso Wa Tanoshi
red-bacteria.com
And here we have the second appearance by Red Bacteria Vacuum, the same song that closed out the Cincinnati show that my friends experienced a great away-blowing at. The title roughly translates to "We Like Playing For You," and the song lives up to its name by being appropriately fun.
Well, until next year!
