Just two days left as the music editor at comcast.net. I feel like I’m rediscovering some old favorites that have been gathering dust on my CD shelf. (Yes, I still have one. Saw too many people mourn the loss of all of their music when during the great external drive crash of ’03-’05.)
Marble Sheep are super great. Haven’t listened to them in far too long. Can’t wait to dive back into all the weird stuff I was listening to when I was a freelance critic writing about unheard music.
First heard Vic Chesnutt’s “Panic Pure” on the b‑side of R.E.M.‘s mediocre version of “Sponge,” which sounds indistinguishable from any of the hard rockers on New Adventures in Hi-Fi. Hersh’s version of “Panic Pure” absolutely bewitched me. Here Hersh sings with Vic Chesnutt.
Been thinking about Chesnutt quite a bit lately. Part of it is that these songs meant so much to me my freshman year of college and I feel guilty for not having explored his music further. Now that he’s gone I’m looking him up on YouTube and finding all these great clips that exemplify what a great presence he had.
Once upon a time, Pavement were a special band to me. That rabid fandom petered out since they called it quits in ’99, and ever since I’ve felt like Malkmus’ solo career was just him navel gazing.
The reunion disappoints mainly because they haven’t learned anything about showmanship since their started. Maybe that’s good for folks who were accustomed to them being one of the most boring live acts on the indie circuit, but I really expected it to feel momentous, like I’d finally witnessed a piece of history I missed the first time around.
Doesn’t help that my friend got assaulted, or that the words “I could kill you” were directed at me, entirely unprovoked. What they said about Pavement fans changing over their course definitely holds. I’ll stick to those records and cherish the memories I made listening to them.
Also worth noting: the Mann Music Center wasn’t nearly as great a venue as I thought, at least not for rock music. I know that I’m nostalgic for my high school days when I saw classic rock fogies like Emerson, Lake and Palmer and the Moody Blues sitting on the lawn, but the pavilion sounds really noisy, especially toward the back. I hate to say it, but I’ve had better concert experiences at the back of the Susquehanna Bank Center pavilion.
I guess the only way for me to stomach the Mann Music Center’s outrageous service charges is to buy a ticket from a friend.
I don’t get out to shows much these days, but this should feel like jumping into a hot tub time machine back to my Philly music scene heyday, circa 2003. Expect to see familiar faces!
Not really, but Geggy Tah popped into my head while I was on vacation and I had to ask myself if it was real. Post-grunge wasn’t all Nickelback and Creed! There was tons of stuff like this.
It wasn’t all gold. I mean, there was this, too.
Yeah, I can remember biting my tongue quite often during college. People really liked stuff like this! What I need to do is get down a few songs that I feel really captured the evolving ’90s Zeitgeist. It was a weird decade!