 The editors at Amazon.com, those arbiters of sales and profits (and in this one instance - great taste!) have just released their top 100 greatest indie (independent) rock albums of all time. I think that they got the first pick right. :-) After that things get very shaky - no Strokes? no Uncle Tupelo? no Andrew And The Pretty Punchers? no Silver Jews? no Decemberists - plus many, many others. And if you're gonna take the list all the way back to Husker Du and The Replacements (the mid-80s), there are even more bands/artists missing. I say - keep the #1 pick and start over on the other 99 albums.  1. Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices |
| 2. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel |
| 3. Spiderland by Slint |
| 4. Exile In Guyville by Liz Phair |
| 5. Imperial f.f.r.r. (Deluxe Edition) by Unrest |
| 6. Slanted & Enchanted by Pavement |
| 7. If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian |
| 8. Surfer Rosa by Pixies |
| 9. Either/Or by Elliott Smith |
| 10. Bakesale by Sebadoh |
| 11. 69 Love Songs Volume 1 by The Magnetic Fields |
| 12. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth |
| 13. Michigan by Sufjan Stevens |
| 14. We Have the Facts and We're Voti… by Death Cab For Cutie |
| 15. I See A Darkness by Bonnie "Prince" Billy |
| 16. No Pocky for Kitty by Superchunk |
| 17. Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney |
| 18. Give Up by The Postal Service |
| 19. Kill the Moonlight by Spoon |
| 20. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo |
| 21. Lifted Or The Story Is In The So… by Bright Eyes |
| 22. Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate |
| 23. Moon Pix by Cat Power |
| 24. Funeral by Arcade Fire |
| 25. Black Candy by Beat Happening |
(the remaining 75 albums can be viewed in the "Events And Features" section of Amazon.com) |
Below are the first lines from the first song from the first GUIDED BY VOICES song that I ever heard back in 1994:
"sitting out on your house
watching hardcore ufo's
drawing pictures, playing solos til ten
are you amplified to rock?
are you hoping for a contact?
i'll be with you, without you, again"
(R. Pollard "Hardcore UFOs")
That album was BEE THOUSAND and it has now been chosen as the #1 indie rock album of the past 25+ years.
As far as beans go, I think them are some pretty cool ones.
And just for the record - my answer to both of Robert's questions was, is, and always will be a resounding "YES!"
Yes - I was, am, and always will be "amplified to rock." And yes - I was, am, and always will be "hoping for a contact" - perhaps now even more than ever . . . for I reside, and suspect that I will always remain, seated comfortably on the rooftop inside my head, playing solos til ten (and then some). Speak to me. Show me a sign. I want to make contact. I want to believe and I want to belong. Hardcore UFOs indeed . . . "Permission to come on board . . . SUH!"
But I digress.
So a great big thanks to my fellow Daytonians Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, et. al. for BEE THOUSAND (and PROPELLER and ALIEN LANES and UNDER THE BUSHES, UNDER THE STARS and many others). And God bless Robert Pollard for sharing his substantial Muse with anyone who invests the time - not just to listen, but to hear. To hear, and then feel, the mystery of that evocative and majestic glory washing all over them again and again.
And don't forget. It's never too late because . . .
" . . . POLLARD's strong point - which is precisely where rock itself excels - is combining music and words to produce a distinctly third impression that's complex, unnameable and yet startlingly vivid"
(ROLLING STONE review of BEE THOUSAND 8/11/94)
" . . . POLLARD dazzles with his casual vocal virtuosity. He appears able to weave beautiful melodies over anything"
(Matt Diehl, ROLLING STONE)
"Music seems to come pouring out of some people: Mozart, the young Rossini, Paul McCartney, Prince, and now ROBERT POLLARD"
(Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES)
drawing pictures, playing solos til ten
are you amplified to rock?
are you hoping for a contact?
i'll be with you, without you, again"
(R. Pollard "Hardcore UFOs")
That album was BEE THOUSAND and it has now been chosen as the #1 indie rock album of the past 25+ years.
As far as beans go, I think them are some pretty cool ones.
And just for the record - my answer to both of Robert's questions was, is, and always will be a resounding "YES!"
Yes - I was, am, and always will be "amplified to rock." And yes - I was, am, and always will be "hoping for a contact" - perhaps now even more than ever . . . for I reside, and suspect that I will always remain, seated comfortably on the rooftop inside my head, playing solos til ten (and then some). Speak to me. Show me a sign. I want to make contact. I want to believe and I want to belong. Hardcore UFOs indeed . . . "Permission to come on board . . . SUH!"
But I digress.
So a great big thanks to my fellow Daytonians Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, et. al. for BEE THOUSAND (and PROPELLER and ALIEN LANES and UNDER THE BUSHES, UNDER THE STARS and many others). And God bless Robert Pollard for sharing his substantial Muse with anyone who invests the time - not just to listen, but to hear. To hear, and then feel, the mystery of that evocative and majestic glory washing all over them again and again.
And don't forget. It's never too late because . . .
" . . . POLLARD's strong point - which is precisely where rock itself excels - is combining music and words to produce a distinctly third impression that's complex, unnameable and yet startlingly vivid"
(ROLLING STONE review of BEE THOUSAND 8/11/94)
" . . . POLLARD dazzles with his casual vocal virtuosity. He appears able to weave beautiful melodies over anything"
(Matt Diehl, ROLLING STONE)
"Music seems to come pouring out of some people: Mozart, the young Rossini, Paul McCartney, Prince, and now ROBERT POLLARD"
(Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES)
For my recently departed sister Peggy I dedicate "The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory" from BEE THOUSAND. I hope and pray that you have found peace of mind on your goldheart mountaintop and that you are looking down upon me with an all-knowing smile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcUG_rXHeRM
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcUG_rXHeRM
.
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