While I’m eternally grateful to Brad Lidge for making Eric Hinske a household name here in Philadelphia, I feel that after two consecutive bases-loaded saves he should at least consider changing his entrance music to the Beastie Boys’ thrash track, “Heart Attack Man.”

It sounds like a snide, elitist thing to say, but the New Pornographers weren’t built to last. They were that rarest of animals: a supergroup not only didn’t suck, but actually produced two classic albums and a passable third before becoming adult contemporary claptrap.

You see, it would’ve been wonderful if they never really formed a band as such, just produced Mass Romantic, toured, and then went their separate ways. Sure, Electric Version is a spectacular album and I wouldn’t want to forget how fantastic it was to see them play those songs, too, but it’s just that it’s hard to look back on those albums and see them in the same light as they were made. Together, and it’s predecessor, Challengers, are shockingly boring mid-tempo affairs that make you wonder how the New Pornographers ever packed so many hooks into “To Wild Homes.”

The pace of their career makes me think they released those great albums, split briefly, and then reunited to produce two more lackluster albums, only to disappear into obscurity. Maybe it’s for the best. That way future generations might discover the unbridled joy when they first hear Neko Case wail on “Letter From an Occupant.”

I’ve been reading about this set all over the web, most recently at An Aquarium Drunkard. Unsurprisingly, understandably, everyone’s fallen in love with one of the greatest albums ever all over again.

I got the deluxe remastered edition for Father’s Day and I’m still working my way through it, but something really struck me as I listened: do we have the Stones to blame for Blueshammer and their ilk? I mean, would Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Jonny Lang have been possible without the Stones paving the way for guys like Stevie Ray Vaughan?

For the record, that review stands as one of the most puerile pieces of criticism I’ve ever written. Bear in mind that it was written at a time when people actually wrote negative reviews about music, and those reviews were often long than 140 characters. Want to know a secret? The original was longer AND meaner. Hard to believe, right?

For what it’s worth, I loved Pavement. I’m not a hopeless nostalgic for the band, however, and I’ve felt that both Kannberg and Malkmus overestimated their talents in their solo efforts. I listened to Monsoon hoping to hear something different from Kannberg. How do you root against the underdog? The unfortunate thing was that I didn’t find anything to like and he’s been shockingly consistent in underwhelming critics and consumers. This may be why he was so frustrated in Pavement. Malkmus was too shrewd an editor to allow him to contribute material like this.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the praise I lavished on Kannberg for really working to preserve Pavement’s legacy as one of the great acts of the ’90s. I meant what I said about him undertaking the thankless task of unlocking gems from old tapes that he had to literally cook before they could be prepared for remastering. I think I can speak on behalf of Pavement fans everywhere when I say that effort was appreciated.

It’s a shame he can’t get past these bad reviews and just move on. He shouldn’t be discouraged by a handful of bad Pitchfork reviews. At least someone’s listening to these albums and promoting them at all. Will he ever play sold out tours across mid-sized venues as a solo artist? No. But he’d do himself a favor by lowering his expectations and maybe enjoy the fans who do come out to see him perform. Is that so much to ask?

Is it still cool to like Black Mountain? I strayed on their last album, but I’m willing to come back to the fold if it sounds like this, although I’m not hearing the OMG Black Sabbath freakout people have suggested elsewhere. I think I like the Two Lane Blacktop vibe of their new video, though. Maybe the ’70s revival isn’t dead yet?

(I honestly don’t know anything about the new album as I fell off the Jagjaguwar/Secretly Canadian/Dead Oceans promo list somewhere along the line and never remedied that oversight.)

Yeah, once upon a time I would’ve derided this gig as a shameless ploy. Fortunately people can change. Can’t wait to see Krautrock pioneer Michael Rother perform the music of Neu! at International House in August. Should be a pretty amazing experience.

(For the record, my first experience with a chain music store that wasn’t a big box prototype was Sam Goody. I tried to order Fugazi’s ‘In on the Kill Taker.’ What a mess that was.)

I expected to be chatted up by the adolescent clerk and I was. I told him I didn’t need any help, although I probably should’ve asked him to turn the lights on as the shop was as dark as a cave. I guess long shadows are the only way to make an FYE seem remotely “edgy.” That said, my overall shopping experience wasn’t bad! Sure, it’s not the treasure trove you remember from youth: the bands are all much more familiar; I spend way less time trying to convince myself to buy things I might not like in the name of “music discovery”; and the selection remains woefully dull.

What drew me into the store, apart from the need to keep myself and an angsty toddler busy for about 30 minutes while Mom bought some new tops? $9.99. The magical pricepoint! Everything in the store was marked at $9.99, meaning that yet another brick-and-mortar retailer is moving toward Apple’s pricing, with the distinct disadvantage of, um, overheard. Pesky, that.

$9.99 got me in the store and I was trying to remember what stuff I wanted to pick up. I grabbed copies of the new Janelle Monae and LCD Soundsystem records. (I know I said in my last post that I’m not all about Pitchfork-hyped bands, but I’m a contradiction.) Outstanding.

When I arrived at the checkout, the distracted clerk was waiting for me, but little did I know what awaited me there. The dreaded upsell! And not just one! No, when I got to the counter, baby in one arm, I was made several offers, all of which I could easily refuse.

First, I was asked if I wanted to join some sort of FYE Club or another. I politely declined. Second, I was asked if I wanted to pre-order the new Jack Johnson album, which was due to hit store shelves a mere three days later. When I said I’d pass, the clerk noted that he saw me singing along to it. True enough, but it didn’t mean I wanted to pre-order the silly thing. Sometimes you need to invent ways to keep a baby busy, right? After the hard sell, he asked me if I was interested in subscriptions to any of the several magazines included on a blotter right on the checkout counter. After the third “no” of the checkout, the transaction was complete!

Now that I’ve written this all down, I’m not sure if $9.99 is really worth the aggravation, especially when you consider that I was able to scoot into AKA Music, grab a copy of Erykah Badu’s latest LP, and get back out again in no time at all. No pre-orders or shopper’s club offers at all! Wish more people felt that way, since I passed a forlorn rack of Record Store Day exclusives (including the Arthur Russell one from ’09) as I walked in the store.

I’m eating crow this morning thanks to my friend Marc Masters. He’s mentioned them a few times in his Twitter feed (follow him here) and I’m finally getting around to check their Daytrotter session out. I’m also loving eMusic’s Best Albums of the Year…So Far list, which takes me once again through the musical underbrush to discover stuff I haven’t even heard about until now. Which is all to say that I do sometimes miss the manner in which I was exposed to a frightful and delightful amount of music when I was a struggling freelance guy that I just don’t hear now that I’m paying more attention to the tabloid news media.

As an aside, I have to admit that since Lala.com shut down May 31st, I’m coming around to the various legitimate ways to hear new music. Everyone’s recording people now, whether it’s places like Daytrotter or it’s an NPR stream and I’m okay with that. Instead of feeling as I once did that putting a full album stream at MySpace was an invitation to piracy, I’m hopeful that more people are okay with the idea of just listening and enjoying what’s out there and supporting the artists they truly enjoy.

Helen and I are going to see Erykah Badu June 8th at the Tower Theater. Janelle Monae is opening. Am I excited? Hell yeah! Just picked up Erykah’s latest LP at AKA Music. Love her music so much. She’s also one of my favorite entertainers these days. Doesn’t hurt that she’s playing fast and loose with the great sounds Parliament Funkadelic introduced either.

I know I haven’t posted anything music-related here lately. I got myself wrapped around the axle there for a bit about the future of music and couldn’t find a way to unwind. Pretty sure I’ve put that behind me and will happily be posting more stuff that I like here.

So Free Energy? I’m really into their lead single, “Bang Pop.” I know it got a whopping 8.1 on Pitchfork, yet it’s failed to really catch fire online, at least from where I sit. Does it reinvent rock music? Nope. Is it still a ton of fun? Yup! If I weren’t on baby duty tonight I might’ve snuck over to the First Unitarian Church tonight to see them in person. If you were looking for a summer jam that’s not by Ludacris or Katie Perry, you’ve probably found it in this gem.