Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (LP, 2006)

My introduction to Arctic Monkeys came from this video, and I was happy to hear Alex Turner utter "don't believe the hype" before they sped through a nervously peppy version of "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor." I was also happy to hear that the song didn't suck.

It's a new phenomenon, really only started in the last decade, that so much "buzz" can surround a band before their first official release even hits the streets. This is, of course, a result of the internet, and the Arctic Monkeys were considered one of the first bands that really gained popularity from Myspace and other social networking sites (The other being Mickey Avalon, who is here to save music with his eyeliner, neat-o tattoos, and unique brand of shitty music). So, when you hear that a band comprised of four barely-20 year olds has caused a riot on Myspace, you don't expect much. Which is maybe why I ended up being shocked at how good this record is.

"Dancefloor" is a catchy tune, a solid choice for a single, and while some of the lyrics are a little hammy, the lines about sand and Rio are so both nonsensical and witty that you can't help but give 'em a pass. The rest of the album follows suit, either picking fast or slow as the tempo, showing slight signs of unassured lyrical chops, but making up for it with surprisingly intricate melodies and songs that are too short to get tired of.

I had this album on repeat in my car for a few months two years ago. That's the truth of the matter. That and the fact that "Riot Van" is a terribly underrated song.

"Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But..."

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Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle (LP, 1993)

Alright, we're getting to some good stuff. I make no apologies for my 2Pac, Alice In Chains, or Fiona Apple albums, but they're not exactly the bright spots in my collection. OK, enough with my bullshit posturing...

I was late to the game with Archers of Loaf. I'm still catching up. This remains their only album that I own an actual copy of, and that's a shame. A damn shame. But, I always have room to improve.

If you ever see an even slightly informed list of the best indie rock of the 90's, this record is bound to be on it. And it should be. Because, well, at the risk of sounding too heavy-handed, it's one of those albums that manages to sum up a time and a feeling perfectly. It's Slanted and Enchanted for the kids who didn't like Pavement. If that makes any sense. The recording and production sound rushed, the songs sound loose and at times barely finished, and it's clear that this is the work of dudes who have not showered in weeks. And these are the reasons that you can listen to it over and over.

Plus, you could easily make an argument that "Web In Front" is one of the top ten best songs released in the 90's, and, given enough enthusiasm, have a pretty solid case. I'd like to see some numbers on how many mixtapes that song ended up on. "Plumb Line" is straight to the point as well (strangely, it's one of three songs on the record that clocks in at 2:04), and when Eric Bachmann sings "She's an indie rocker/ and nothing's gonna stop her" you can't tell if it's meant to be endearing or condescending.

Though I lean towards the latter.

"Web In Front"


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Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (LP, 2005)

I downloaded this record, like the rest of the world, in its original Jon Brion version when it leaked on the internet the year before its official release. So, I had been listening to different versions of the songs in a different order when this "official release" came out. It took some adjusting, and I still like the sequence of the bootleg earlier version better.

But, make no mistake, even with all the weird hype and strange re-recordings, this is a fantastic record. And the title track, though it is awkwardly placed first in the sequence of the official release when it clearly should have been last, wins the award for best song in the last five years that you swear you've heard somewhere before. You haven't, and even if you had, the lyrics to that song wouldn't be as good as the ones here.

After only three albums in almost a decade, you start to realize that Fiona Apple, while slightly sub-par in the actual amount of songs she has released, is way ahead of a lot of her contemporaries in one crucial way: she has yet to release any song that could be considered filler. Each of the tracks on all three of her albums is big, memorable, and completely filled out. That's why they take so long, and that why each one feels meticulous, in the best sense of the word.

However, I did see her on a talk show after this album was released and the host (it may have been Carson Daly) asked her where she'd been for the last five years, and was asking her why the album took so long. She said she had become really involved in daytime television, and had spent a few years just sitting on the couch. And I was, for that second, terribly in love with her.

"O' Sailor" live on Letterman


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Fiona Apple - When The Pawn... (CD, 1999)

For New Year's Eve, 1999, my brother and I went to San Francisco to see a Mr. Bungle show. We stayed with my friend Sloppy down there, and it was while staying at his house that I first heard this record.

We were sitting around, he asked me if I had heard the new Fiona Apple record, and I scoffed. After verifying that he was serious, I told him to throw it on so I could go ahead and not like it. "On the Bound" started, and as much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to say a bad thing about it. By the time we got to "Fast As You Can," I was making mental plans to buy the album when I got home.I did just that, and I spent the year 2000 listening to it and never telling anybody about it. Because I'm a cool guy like that.

If we needed proof that Fiona Apple wasn't a fluke, this is certainly it. She might have taken three years to write and record ten songs, but when you listen to them, you can hear why. The production is intricate, the lyrics are teetering on the brink of verbosity but don't take the plunge, and she creates vocal melodies that are impossible to remove for your head.

She done growed up.

"Limp" live on Letterman

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Fiona Apple - Tidal (CD, 1996)

Like a lot of folks, my introduction to Fiona Apple was via the "Criminal" video that aired nonstop on MTV in the summer of 1996.

It was a fine song, but not really my thing. And the video just seemed like an extended Calvin Klein commercial. I pegged her as a one-hit wonder, and left it at that. It wasn't until When The Pawn... came out that I really took an interest in her. And, it wasn't until even later that I picked up this album.

These are big songs, and at times they drag a bit, but tracks like "Shadowboxer" and "Sleep to Dream" are still great.

For a debut, this is pretty damn impressive. And, luckily, she just kept getting better.

"Never Is A Promise" live in 1996

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Analog Brothers - Pimp To Eat (LP, 2000)

This album sounds exactly as strange as you think it would.

Kool Keith and Ice-T? Why the hell not. Give 'em a bunch of synths and let 'em run wild. They do, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the beats mix it right along with the spaced out lyrics, so it doesn't get boring.

I don't think I like Kool Keith as much as everyone else, but I might secretly like Ice-T a bit more than I should, so this record works well for me. And hearing T rap about something other than LA gangs is a nice change of pace (as you can tell, I stopped listening to Ice-T after his OG album).

All in all, for a side project, this shit is on the ball.

"We Sleep Days"

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Alice In Chains - Sap (LP, 1992)

This is, and will probably remain, the only Alice In Chains album I own.

When the Seattle scene and "grunge" hit it big in 1991, it was time for the boys in Alice In Chains to give themselves a makeover. Having already released the slightly ass-rock influenced Facelift in 1990, the chaps were eager to join the rest of their NW brethren and ditch the primped hair in favor of Docs and logging wear. Making the world forget "We Die Young" didn't turn out to be that hard, but just to drive the point home, they are pictured on the back of this EP urinating on old pictures of themselves. Yet one of them (Sean Kinney would be my guess) still hasn't traded in his acid washed jeans and cowboy boots. So, the transformation was not quite complete, but this was a huge step for them.

The songs follow suit, especially "Right Turn" which features Chris Cornell and Mark Arm. The short set is clearly the vision of Jerry Cantrell, as the tracks are brooding, but not conspicuously dour. The only one that gets a tad gloomy is "Am I Inside," which is the weak track out of the four, and the only one co-written by Layne Staley.

I heard Dirt (their full-length that followed this) when it came out later that same year. It was alright, but I realized I could only listen to Staley drone on about drugs for so long. I always felt AIC's strength was in their softer stuff (their Unplugged performance is great) and so I guess I gravitated towards the songs Cantrell wrote. I think "Got Me Wrong" is easily their best song, but my second favorite is probably "I Stay Away," (from the Jar of Flies EP) and I think Staley wrote that one, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Either way, I have always loved this record, and while it may be obvious pandering to the scene at the time, the songs are still great, and the "Alice Mudgarden" team-up was a wet dream to a kid hooked on the NW rock scene.

"Got Me Wrong" (Unplugged Version)

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