The 11 Best Song By Stephen Malkmus

 This is the first "best of" list of 2014.  To kick things off there's a little self-promotion for myself and my book.  If you haven't picked it up...get it on Amazon here and Kindle here.  Only .99 cent on Kindle!  That's cheaper than a stamp...well two stamps.

In honor of our first list, here's the Stephen Malkmus chapter from the book.

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After spending the '90s fronting the indie rock sensation Pavement, Stephen Malkmus could have hung up his golden vocal chords and lived out the rest of his life as an asparagus farmer in Stockton.  He didn’t.  He went solo.  Though rabid anticipation surrounded his debut release, there was a lingering feeling that there was no way Stephen could match his previous musical apex without his former band mates.  When  Malkmus released his debut solo album, the critics were blown away. Not only did the album exceed expectations, many thought it was the best material Malkmus had done since Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.  Talent and creativity of this level are not found on a game show.  Malkmus may have only broken into the mainstream for one brief millisecond with Pavement’s "Cut Your Hair" but twenty years into the game, he is still putting out critic-proof material and musical masterpieces.  Take that, Jonas Brothers.

Fun Facts:  Stephen Malkmus was a college radio DJ at the University of Virginia, along with David Berman of the Silver Jews and James McNew of Yo La Tengo.

The 11 Best Tracks By Stephen Malkmus:

1. Jo Jo’s Jacket (Stephen Malkmus)
2. Phantasies (Stephen Malkmus)
3. Freeze The Saints (Face The Truth)
4. Dynamic Calories (Dark Wave EP)
5. We Can’t Help You (Real Emotional Trash)
6. The Hook (Stephen Malkmus)
7. Ramp of Death (Pig Lib)
8. Jenny & the Ess-Dog (Stephen Malkmus)
9. Real Emotional Trash (Real Emotional Trash)
10. Fractions & Feelings (Dark Wave EP)
11. Discretion Grove (Stephen Malkmus)

Buy Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks' new album, Wigout at Jagbags...now!

The 11 Most Exciting Acts to see at Coachella 2010

The lineup for the 2010 Coachella show is out. And some strange headliners. Jay-z the first night...okay, I can see it. Muse the 2nd night...yeah, I guess...may be too commercial for the show...but okay. Gorillaz the 3rd night. Gorillaz? Headliner? Aren't they just a novelty act? Considering you have Thom Yorke (a previous headliner) and the Pavement reunion on the same night...you went with Gorillaz as the headliner...okay...

These aren't necessarily the best bands playing at the show. These aren't the bands who might put on the best performances. And these aren't even the bands that I think everyone else would be excited about seeing. These are the bands that I, personally, am excited to see at the show. Some big reunions (Pavement, FNM, PIL, and SDRE)...and some of 2009's breakout sensations (Phoenix, the XX, Grizzly Bear). Should be an awesome show...too bad I can't go.

The 11 Most Exciting Acts I'm Most Excited to see playing at Coachella 2010:

1. Pavement (April 18)
2. Faith No More (April 17)
3. Sunny Day Real Estate (April 18)
4. MGMT (April 17)
5. Phoenix (April 18)
6. the XX (April 17)
7. Grizzly Bear (April 16)
8. Sly and the Family Stone (April 18)
9. Vampire Weekend (April 16)
10. LCD Soundsystem (April 16)
11. Public Image Ltd. (April 16)

Check out the entire list for yourself.

The 11 Best Pavement Bonus Tracks

There's no better example of America's gluttonous nature than observing people getting free food samples at Costco. Yesterday, I think I saw the pinnacle of greed when an old lady in a mechanized wheelchair ran over a 5-year-old in order to get first dibs at the cheese puffs. I mean, who do you root for in that scenario? And why the rush? It's not even a whole cheese puff. It's Costco. They barely give you enough of a sample to be considered a full bite. It was like a corner of a cheese puff...some flakes of the pastry with a hint of cheese essense. Are you really that close to starvation that it's worth trampling a kindergartener for that? And what about the mothers who bring their kids here for lunch? They line them up at the sample tables and keep demanding for second and thirds as if Costco sets this up for their benefit. I've seen people get in fights over trail mix. And I even once watched a man cough over an entire tray of pizza croissants, so he could enjoy it all to himself. If these people applied this ambition to their normal life...they wouldn't need to be so cutthroat when it came to the free stuff.

Today sees the 4th installment of the Pavement reissues. Brighten The Corners gets the royal treatment with almost 30 bonus tracks. Let's take a quick look back at the best of the bonus tracks from the previous 3 reissues.

The 11 Best Pavement Bonus Tracks:

1. Easily Fooled (Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels)
2. Sue Me Jack (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)
3. Texas Never Whispers (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)
4. Give It A Day (Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels)
5. Kennel District (Crooked Crooked Rain: La's Desert Orgins)
6. Unseen Power of the Picket Fence (Crooked Crooked Rain: La's Desert Orgins)
7. Greenlander (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)
8. Frontwards (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)
9. Secret Knowledge of Backroads (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)
10. I Love Perth (Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels)
11. Baptist Blacktick (Slanted & Ennchanted: Luxe and Reduxe)

Buy Pavement's Remastered Ultra Expanaded Edition of Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition. (free shipping too)

Buy the previous reissues here.