VAGUE SPACE

Happy New Year

Party on, ladies and gentlemen.  But don't drink too much.  Be safe.  Be happy.  Beware that there are only a couple days left until school and/or work start up again.  On second thought, drink until you pass out.  Happy New Year.

• Download Asobi Seksu - "New Years".mp3
• Download Death Cab for Cutie - "The New Year".mp3
• Download Jesu - "Old Year".mp3
• Download Les Savy Fav - "The Year Before the Year 2000".mp3
• Download Stars - "Calendar Girl".mp3
• Download The New Year - "Disease".mp3
• Download Pulp - "Party Hard".mp3
• Download Death Cab for Cutie - "Champagne from a Paper Cup".mp3
• Download Bright Eyes - "Drunk Kid Catholic".mp3
• Download Cloud Cult - "What Comes at the End".mp3
• Download Arab Strap - "There is No Ending".mp3
• Download Radiohead - "Exit Music (for a Film)".mp3
  
• Download Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "New Year's Kiss (Daytrotter session)".mp3

Woke up with fingers crossed
In a boy's bed with your pants off.
After polite declines of coffee and toast,
Walked home itching in last night's clothes.

Past the Phone Booth and the Beauty Bar,
The broken windows of your neighbors' cars.
Through the backdoor to a message from Sis,
Asking, "Who was your New Year's kiss?"

Took the afternoon to piece it all,
Plus a half a dozen phone calls.
Crashed a party with Larissa and Chris
In pursuit of a New Year's kiss.

And not the way that you'd imagined it.
On a balcony with champagne lips.
But in a pantry against the pancake mix,
You had your New Year's kiss.

11. Summer Babe

Song:  "Summer Babe [Winter Version]"
Artist:  Pavement
Album:  Slanted and Enchanted
Year:  1992
Length:  3:17
Label:  Matador
Rating:  10 out of 10 (for the album on Pitchfork)

• Download Pavement - "Summer Babe [Winter Version]".mp3

The story of the debut album by Pavement is well-known by now.  It was originally released in a raw version on cassette to critics in 1991 and was raved about so endlessly, that by the time it got its proper release 6 months later, only the level of "classic" was being debated.  It was and is the most influential indie rock record ever released, even though it didn't exactly propel Pavement into any kind of superstardom, and even as of 2007, the album has only sold 150,000 copies.  Which is pretty fucking amazing (and not in a good way).  This opening track is only the first of two tracks from the album that appear in my top 11 of all-time, so I'll just touch upon the accolades for the album here.  And yes, you're reading it right, in its 2002 re-issue edition, Pitchfork gave it a 10 out of 10.  And every single indie rock fan in the world could only nod his head and agree.  Even if the lyrics to "Summer Babe" don't make any sense.

• Chosen as #5 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s (Redux) link
• Chosen as #4 on Spin magazine's Top 100 Albums of the Past 20 Years in June 2005 [1]
• Chosen as #1 on Blender magazine's Top 100 Indie Albums of all Time in November 2007
• It was also included in the All-Time 100 albums from Time magazine. [2]

#11 Favorite Song of All Time

Ice baby,
I saw your girlfriend and she was
Eating her fingers like they're just another meal
But she waits there
In the levee washes
Mixin' cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar

My eyes stick to all the shiny robes
You wear on the protein delta strip
In an abandoned house but I will wait there
Ill be waiting forever...
Ill wait and wait and wait...

Minerals, ice deposits daily, dropped off
The first shiny robe
Ive got a lot of things I want to sell, but
Not here, babe-- torture...

Every time I sit around I find I'm shot
Every time I sit around I find I'm shot
Every time I turn around I find I'm shot
Every time I sit around I find I'm shot
Every time every time...
You're my... summer babe
Summer babe

Check out the enthusiastic crowd in this classic old live performance of the song... it's almost like they're thinking "If we cheer hard enough, some day, Vague Space will put this in its top 11 songs of all time."  Even Mr. Malkmus, the originator of the name Vague Space, seems especially excited (or maybe he's just high).  Enjoy.

12. The Wagon

Song:  "The Wagon"
Artist:  Dinosaur Jr.
Album:  Green Mind
Year:  1991
Length:  4:55
Label:  Sire Records

• Download Dinosaur Jr. - "The Wagon".mp3

Green Mind was the fourth studio release from Dinosaur Jr., but the very first that didn't feature Lou Barlow on guitar, after the ugly split between he and J Mascis led to the formation of the eventually superior Sebadoh and the blistering breakup tune "The Freed Pig."  And although most of Dinosaur Jr.'s greatest work was now behind them at this point, the lead track off their major label debut, "The Wagon" is the best work they've ever done and greater in fact than anything Lou would ever be able to do.  Which is not to disparage Sebadoh, because I only consider 11 songs in the history of music better than this one, but perhaps the loss of Lou was worth it if only for this masterpiece of a rock anthem. 

After temporarily suspending the band, J Mascis first snuck out "The Wagon" as a Sub Pop single, then a little while later released the group's first major-label album, Green Mind. More of a solo project than a group effort -- Lou Barlow was out and then some, Murph only drums on three tracks, a few guests pop up here and there -- it's still a great album, recorded and performed with gusto. Such a judgment may seem strange given Mascis' legendary image as the überslacker, but clearly the man knows how to balance how to convey himself with getting the job done. "The Wagon" itself kicks off the album, an even quicker and nuttier sequel to the peerless "Freak Scene" -- Don Fleming of Gumball fame adds some of the music and background vocals, but otherwise it's Mascis and Murph cranking it and having a blast. When Mascis goes into one of his patented over-the-top solos, it all feels just right -- this is loud rock music for putting a smile on your face, not beating up people in a pit.

This song also features what is possibly the greatest opening line ever, accompanied by a blast of rock brilliance..  "There's a way I feel right now, wish you'd help me, don't know how..."  Turn it up.  Loud.

From an undated but really old David Letterman, circa probably 1991 (when he was still on NBC), with J Mascis surrounded mostly by members of Paul Schaeffer's "band", who can't quite keep up with the amazing guitar prowess of Mr. Mascis ...

13. How Soon is Now?

Song:  "How Soon is Now?"
Artist:  The Smiths
Album:  Meat is Murder
Year:  1985
Length: 6:46
Label:  Rough Trade

• Download The Smiths - "How Soon is Now?".mp3

This song actually first appeared on singles collection Hatful of Hollow in the UK, but received its first US release as part of the classic Meat is Murder, which would go on to occupy status as my favorite album of all-time.  This song was the first by The Smiths that I'd heard, and would stay to this day one of my favorite records of all-time (obviously).  It's a little dated, and admittedly, the emotions displayed worked better on me when I was in high school, but there's a reason people of a certain age remember it so fondly. 

Sire Records chief Seymour Stein called it "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties",  while co-writer Johnny Marr described it as "possibly our most enduring record. It's most people's favourite, I think."

Here's a review from the days of its release:

"Morrissey and co have once again delved into their Sixties treasure-trove, and produced a visceral power capable of blowing the dust off Eighties inertia. The majestic ease of Morrissey's melancholic vocals are tinted with vitriol, as they move through vistas of misery with plaintive spirals around the pulse of Johnny Marr's vibrato guitar. The string's muted strains conjure wistful signs that bridge the schism between crass sentimentality and callous detachment. Each repeated phrase intensifies the hypnotic waves, with results that outflank anything since 'This Charming Man'. Catharsis has rarely been tinged with so much regret, and shared with so much crystalline purity." - Melody Maker, 2 February 1985

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "How Soon Is Now?" at # 7 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.

 

14. The Official Ironmen Rally Song

Song:  "The Official Ironmen Rally Song"
Artist:  Guided by Voices
Album:  Under the Bushes, Under the Stars
Year:  1996
Length:  2:49
Label:  Matador Records

• Download Guided by Voices - "The Official Ironmen Rally Song".mp3

For those readers of mine who are unable enjoy the subtlety and grace of an "Edit the Sad Parts," take a gander at this track.  It's about the most accessible pop song in my entire top 40.  Which doesn't mean I like it any less.  This album was the first "professional" release from GBV, the first not done in Robert Pollard's basement on 4-track, and as such, the diehard fans and critics alike kind of shunned it as a failure.  Of course, the sheen on Pollard's albums would continue to grow through future releases, and comparatively speaking, Isolation Drills or Half Smiles of the Decomposed sound almost like a different band, at least compared to the brilliance that was Bee Thousand.  But this little gem stands out from the rest of the tracks of the professional-sounding GBV era, combining Pollard's ability to write a short and sweet burst of pop genius along with production values that elevate the song even above Bee Thousand's best.  I can't listen to this song and not feel good. 

#14 Favorite Song of All-Time

Bitter fish in crude oil sea
You don't have to bother me
You just have to join on this song
Crawling people on your knees
Don't take this so seriously
You just have to hum it all day long

To dine, alone
To build a private zone
Or trigger a synapse
And free us from our traps

You won't see me turn my back
With my head against my stack
Spinning deep and broken open skin
Official ironmen, you are free
Champions officially, but
You won't catch me on an open chin

To dine, alone
To build a private zone
Or trigger a synapse
And free us from our traps

Knockout punches for the freaks
Happy little babies with red cheeks
You will rock them gently out of sync
Confirmations through the wire
Spitting gas into the fire
Am i also worthy of a drink?

To dine, alone
To build a private zone
Or trigger a synapse
And free us from our traps...

Album of the Year

Back in 2003, Spencer Krug was an up and coming Canadian musician who was tabbed by Arcade Fire to appear on their Us Kids Know tour (back when they were still relatively unknown), so he called up fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (of Atlas Strategic) and they wrote a bunch of songs in three weeks to become Wolf Parade.  Hadji Bakara joined in 2004, and Dante DeCaro brought in percussions in 2005, and in September, this new band would release its first full-length, Apologies to the Queen Mary, which would become my #2 favorite album of the year.  While recording for Wolf Parade, Spencer spent time working on a solo side project under the moniker Sunset Rubdown, and after a series of self-released EPs, Camilla Wynn Ingr and others were added to the now-full fledged band to record their first full length, Shut Up I Am Dreaming, released in the summer of 2006, which would become my #2 favorite album of that year.  Spencer then recorded another side project with friend and Frog Eyes-frontman Carey Mercer, along with Destroyer and New Pornographer Dan Bejar, for a band they called Swan Lake, which released my #8 favorite song of 2006 "Are You Swimming in Her Pools?"  His Sunset Rubdown performance of "Winged / Wicked Things" for the Daytrotter website became my #4 favorite song of the year. 

In 2007, never one to slow down, Spencer recorded a cover version of Xiu Xiu's "Apistat Commander" for their Remixed & Covered album, which would end up as my #2 favorite song of the year.  He was also part of the Frog Eyes release in the spring that appears later on this list.  And bandmate Boeckner, not content to allow Spencer be the only obsessively overworked member of Wolf Parade, released his own debut side project album, Handsome Furs' Plague Park, which is my #2 favorite album of the year.  Which leads us all to August, 2007, when Sunset Rubdown's follow-up to Shut Up I Am Dreaming was leaked to the Internet, I downloaded it, plugged it into my iPod and took a drive while listening to it and thought - at very first glance - it wasn't that great.  But by the 2nd or 3rd listen, I realized that I was not only mistaken, but this was a true work of staggering genius.  By the 10th and 20th listen, I realized this was one of the greatest albums I'd ever heard.  The first track, "The Mending of the Gown" would go on to be my #1 favorite song of the year.  "Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days", the third track, ended up at #3.  "For the Pier (and Dead Shimmering)" reached #17.  And fully four other tracks (7 total of the 11 on the record) made my top 100 songs of 2007.  So yes, it's not really a surprise, but after two straight years at #2, Spencer Krug now has the #1 album of the year.  A more impressive three-year run at the top of the indie rock game has not been seen in a long, long time, if ever.

1. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover

• Download Sunset Rubdown - "Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot! Toot!".mp3

(From "The Mending of the Gown")...

It was the tender mending of this slender gown that brought me bending to the ground.
Now you'll wear any old thing, oh you'll wear any old thing.
So she wrapped herself in swallowing up the fever to the air of a broken wing
It's an act, I think she's just pretending.
It's an act, I think she's just pretending!
If you burn the virgin flags, then I will shake (shake!)
As the heat waves in the sand.
This one's for Maggie (this one's for Maggie), this one's for Sam (this one's for Sam)
This one's for Maggie (this one's for Maggie), this one's for Sam (this one's for Sam)
Oh any other random spirit lover busted, I have lusted after you...
The way bloodsuckers do.  The way bloodsuckers do.  The way bloodsuckers do!

Happy Christmas

Hope every one of my readers has a healthy and happy holiday.  Thanks for the highest year of Vague Space readership yet.

• Download Sufjan Stevens - "Sister Winter".mp3

Oh my friends I've
Begun to worry right
Where I should be grateful
I should be satisfied

Oh my heart I
Would clap and dance in place
With my friends I have so
Much pleasure to embrace

But my heart is
Returned to sister winter
But my heart is
As cold as ice

Oh my thoughts I
Return to summertime
When I kissed your ankle
I kissed you through the night

All my gifts I gave everything you
Your strange imagination
You threw it all away

Now my heart is
Returned to sister winter
Now my heart is
As cold as ice

All my friends, I've
Returned to sister winter
All my friends, I
Apologise, apologise

All my friends, I've
Returned to sister winter
All my friends, I
Apologise, apologise

All my friends, I've
Returned to sister winter
All my friends, I
Apologise, apologise

And my friends, I've
Returned to wish you all the best
And my friends, I've
Returned to wish you all the best
And my friends, I've
Returned to wish you all the best
And my friends, I've
Returned to wish you a happy Christmas

To wish you a happy Christmas
To wish you a happy Christmas
To wish you a happy Christmas

A Trip to New City

For the final Sunday of the NFL fantasy football season, a fictional trek by many members of the EFFL was made to the house of WHM General Manager Howie, who was making his first trip to the fantasy finals in more than a decade.  His appearance in the finals was due partly to the generosity of the Fat Boyz, who agreed to start Switsky's gardener, a guy named Darius Walker, over Pro Bowler Fred Taylor in Week 15, guaranteeing a loss.  Howie thanks them very much.  And now without further ado, here are the events of the day.

Rud, Dan, Lenny, Jan, and Bill arrive at Howie's house in New City, greeted by a smiling Howie, who ushers us into his den, where several television sets connected to the DirecTV NFL package are set up across the room from a series of seats.  An odd, orange-colored stain mars the center of the plush carpeting, but no explanation for its appearance there is given.  Howie's friend Garett is sitting in one of the seats.

Garett:  "What's up guys?"
Dan:  "Hey."
Lenny: "What's up?"
Bill:  "Hey."
Rud:  (does not speak)

Howie:  "Have a seat, guys, and I'll get the refreshments.  Anybody want anything?"
Bill: "I'll have a beer."
Lenny:  "Me too."
Dan:  "A water's fine."
Rud: "Do you have any 1994 Savignon Blancs from the Alsace region of France?"
Howie:  "Um... I think we're all out."

Rud: "That's disappointing.  Do you have anything from the Bourdeaux region - after 2001 of course... everyone knows that the weather destroyed the grapes for everything of vintage 2000 and earlier."
Howie:  "Um... I think we're all out.  I have some Sam Adams."
Rud:  "I'll just have some of Dan's water, thanks."

15. Anything, Anything

Song:  "Anything, Anything"
Artist:  DramaRama
Album: Cinema Verite
Year:  1985
Length:  3:24
Label: Chameleon Records
Rating:  4 1/2 stars (out of 5) AMG

• Download DramaRama - "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)".mp3

The first full-length release from this New Jersey band was originally only available on a French label, but got picked up by the small California indie Chameleon, and somehow became the #1 most requested track on the highly influential KROQ radio station in Los Angeles.  The "hit" song was a staple in indie rock circles throughout the late '80s and '90s, registering as the #1 song of all-time on the now-defunct FM106.3 "Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore", back on their countdown in 1995.  It was in my own top 2 or 3 at the time, and although a number of tracks released in the past ten years have surpassed it, that it's still held up well enough to be in my top 15 is pretty impressive.  It's also a song that has a significant meaning for me due to who introduced me to it back in college, so that might be why I remember it so fondly.  If you weren't even born in 1985, take a listen anyway.  You might enjoy.

And here's the All Music Guide report, if you don't want to take my word for it:

Blending everything from British Invasion panache and glam influences to punk energy and back again, its cult legend was established by L.A. DJ legend Rodney Bingenheimer. He played "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)" to death on his show and created a sizeable following for the New Jersey band in Southern California. It's no surprise why: "Anything, Anything" simply smokes, a rave-up for the modern day that starts with a blasting riff before hitting a high-speed punch that doesn't stop, while singer John Easdale details the highs and lows of a relationship with a breathless yowl.

#15 Favorite Song of All-Time

Ok, what is it tonight?
At least just tell me what the hell is wrong.
Do you want to eat, do you want to sleep, do you want to drown?
Just settle down, settle down, settle down...
I'll give you give candy, give you diamonds, give you pills,
I'll give you anything you want, hundred dollar bills,
I'll even let you watch the shows you want to see,
Just marry me, marry me, marry me...

I'm so sick of you tonight,
You never stay awake when I get home,
Is something wrong with me, something wrong with you?
I really wish I knew, wish I knew, wish I knew...
I'll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills,
I'll give you anything you want, hundred dollar bills,
I even let you watch the shows you want to see,
Because you married me, married me, married me...

When I was young I learned a game,
Where love and happiness were the same,
Now I'm older and I don't play,
I found out the hardest way,
I got wasted, she got mad, called me names and she called her dad,
He got crazy and I did too, wondered what I did to you.
I'll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills,
I'll give you anything you want, hundred dollar bills,
I'll even let you hear the songs I want to sing,
I'll give you anything, anything, anything...
I'll give you anything, anything, anything

Anything

Last New Music Post of 2007

There haven't been a whole lot of new music releases this month, as everyone has released their albums before the Christmas rush, but I have a couple tracks that are appearing on albums next year and some leftovers from 2007 to tide you over.  Enjoy.

• Download Bob Mould - "The Silence Between Us".mp3
  
  • New Bob Mould!!!  New album coming out in 2008!!!  Fucking awesome.

• Download Sigur Ros - "Hljomalind (instrumental)".mp3
  
  • This is an instrumental version of the new single from Sigur Ros.  It's pretty great.  And by the way, rent, Netflix, or buy their amazing concert video Heima, which is absolutely brilliant.

• Download Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - "Baltimore".mp3
  • New Stephen Malkmus!!! New album coming out in 2008!!!  And if there is one rule and only one rule about this blog, it is that if you are the singer of the song "Vague Space" and you release a new song from a new record, I'm posting it.  It's cool like that.

• Download Beach House - "Gila".mp3
  • New song from the new record Devotion, out in February.  Check out their myspace page.

• Download Sunset Rubdown - "Idiot Heart".mp3
  
  • Umm... last but not least is a little band that kind of, sort of lit my heart on fire this year.  That happens when they release my top 3 favorite songs of 2007.  And when you see them live.  And when you download every piece of music they've ever released with insane devotion.  This is a brand new track, the same one that has come out this fall from live performances titled "Icarus" or "Move Around."  The real title is "Idiot Heart" and it's awesome, as usual, like everything Spencer ever considers doing.  You can find it at their recent 2nd Daytrotter sessions, along with a slowed-down version of my favorite song of 2007 and a new version of one of Spencer's oldest songs, "Three Colors".