Also, you can keep up with our thrilling adventures in the world of knitwear design at our knitting blog, Yarneteria.
Oddly, it’s been the kind of day where I’m thinking about this very thing quite a bit.
Woah, this is also my 2000th post. I admit, when I saw that this milestone was approaching, I wanted to post something profound in this space. I guess this is rather profound. Even if it seems (possibly) mildly pretentious and moody.
This bit by Joe Tangeri from Pitchfork’s top singles of the 90s list made me wonder exactly who that list was supposed to be for, and how it was supposed to work:
Quick, what was Melody Maker’s album of the year in 1993? No, it wasn’t Suede’s self-titled debut or Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish; it was Tindersticks’ debut, a brave and spot-on choice.
…because, man, quick or not, I had no idea what Melody Maker’s album of the year in 1993 would be before he mentioned the candidates. I didn’t even have the kind of contextual knowledge that would’ve allowed me to come up with those albums, and I didn’t know why it mattered that it was Melody Maker.
Sorry to crop the rest of this rather good post (you should read the whole thing!) — but I’m taking a moment to remark upon my experience reading this: I have a former friend (oh, the drama!) who worked for Melody Maker during this period, and all I could think was “OMG, that was so [name redacted]’s doing!”
Naturally, I hadn’t listened to Tindersticks in ages because, though I don’t often ditch listening to certain kinds of music because of relationships or friendships gone awry, this person and another from my past (both Tindersticks superfans) have pretty much tainted my love of this band with their sociopathic lifestyles.
Anyway, the funny thing is, I would have totally suspected Suede or Blur to have taken top honors that year in Melody Maker! Because, obviously, I listen to both of those records way more than I listen to the first Tindersticks album. It’s kind of not an easy thing to do, you definitely need to be in the right mood for it.
So, of course, after I read this the other day, I thought ‘Oh what the hell, it’s time to put all that baggage behind me! I’m gonna listen to Tindersticks again!’ And — this is really embarrassing — I’d completely forgotten that The National pretty much cribbed a whole lot of their moves from Tindersticks’ playbook — at least in the early days of their career. Which I wish Tangeri had mentioned, actually. Not in that “Oh, The National, so derivative!” But for the kids, the ones reading this list who’d never heard of Tindersticks until that very moment. Which I suppose does come back to the didactic qualities of good music journalism. There’s a very fine line between this-thing-sounds-like-that-thing and true efforts to expand a reader’s knowledge through references to other bands — but this would have been a good place for the latter, I think — even given the space constraints.
Sorry this is from a janky questionable video site, but it was the only place I could find a clip of this moment? Just hit the play button twice …
My most favorite 90210-related thing ever. EVER.
Elliott Smith - Car (Built To Spill Cover)
Came across this while writing one of my blurbs that ran today in p4k’s 90s feature.
Oh. I kind of forgot this cover existed. This is my heart breaking all over the place. Dear mid/late 90’s, I really miss you sometimes.
Robyn
“We Dance To The Beat”This is not one of the best songs on the album, but it has one of my favorite lines:
We dance to the beat of bad kissers clicking teeth.
I love this line, too. I’m definitely all over Body Talk Pt. 2 lately. I know you won’t believe me, or maybe you will, but it’s in severely heavy rotation with The Stills’ Without Feathers, Queen’s Greatest Hits Vol 1 & 2, and the new Katy Perry record (yes, really).
I spend a lot of time thinking about how great it’s going to be to listen to all three Body Talk volumes in a row. Since I no longer download leaks or anything, I’m like really excited to wait for that experience!
Queen - Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy on Top Of The Pops, June 1977
(via New Kid - Dreamcore Boots at Gargyle.com)
Oh man, I hope these fit me. They look narrow-ish there in the toebox.
“Sheep, having no upper teeth, grip the grass between their lower teeth and upper gum then, with a quick move of the head, they pluck the grass. 100 plucking sheep are noisy.” (via Catskill Merino Sheep Farm | Hand-Dyed Merino Yarn & Pasture Raised Lamb)
Soap&Skin - Thanatos (by benjamin & stefan ramirez perez)
Wow, thanks for the heads up on this one, Austrian Cultural Forum!
My mom (!!!) is on a roll over at elchucostore. She’s documenting hand-painted storefronts in my hometown of El Paso, Texas. This is definitely one of my favorites.
