Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted: Talk about, mmmm, pop music. This is it. Except for perhaps
the obsessively obsessive Unrest disc, Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted is
this year's model, a sly, shit-eating grin of a record that's so rich in
mellifluous melodies, elliptical lyrics ("Lies and betrayals /
Fruit-covered nails / Electricity") and thrilling, avant guitar-pop
seductions that it renders any and all competition meaningless. Perfect sound
forever, indeed.
Modest Mouse in the 90s (The Lonesome Crowded West) was shear anticipation of things to
come. Thank goodness for this pop dreaminess that no one was listening to and
wouldn’t till well into the naughts. This is one of the great and underappreciated albums of the 90s; things haven't changed much.
Sonic Youth, Dirty: The most anticipated release in the alternative scene this
year, Dirty left no doubt as to Sonic Youth's status as progenitors
of a movement. The album is slicker than previous offerings, partly due to
Butch Vig's production, but regardless of the tidy edges, the spectrum of sound
and fury unleashed by Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve
Shelley is the perfect soundtrack for a generation.
Rumors that Tom Waits' one-of-a-kind, gravel-shoveling,
growling voice had gotten shot to hell over the years were quickly nipped in
the bud by this shining collection of tunes from his skewed mind, heart, and
throat. Songs such as "All Stripped Down" leave you breathless in amazement
that anyone could be this friggin' weird and cool. As always, Waits belts out
his cleverly twisted, morbidly enchanting tales with the authority of a drunken
sailor.
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