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 Anticipated Albums of Winter 2014

 

 Tonight, Florida State beat Auburn in the last BS (I mean BCS...actually, I really do mean bullshit) NCAA football championship game.  In 2014, we get the first ever college football playoff.  It's only 4 teams...but it's a start.  But college football isn't the only thing we have to look forward to.  Here's a look at the best new releases of the next three months.

The 11 Most Anticipated Albums of Winter 2014:

1. Broken Bells - After The Disco (Feb 4)
2. Beck - Morning Phase (Feb 25)
3. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Jan 21)
4. Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter (Jan 21)
5. Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans (Mar 4)
6. The Crystal Method - The Crystal Method (Jan 14)
7. Cibo Matto - Hotel Valentine (Feb 11)
8. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags (Jan 7)
9. Warpaint - Warpaint (Jan 21)
10. Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes (Jan 14)
11. Johnny Cash - Out Among The Stars (Mar 25)

The 11 Best Record Store Releases (Triple List)

I picked up so much vinyl this year...I'm not even sure how I'm going to pay rent.  And isn't that what good music is about?  Living in a van...down by the river.  There wasn't a release this year that I went in excited about...but I came out loving almost everything I purchased.  I've had the chance to listen to most of my purchases and have heard a lot of other stuff.  And the Calexico album...best release of the year...Period.

It was a crazy day...and I'm still reeling from it.  Some say Record store Day is Christmas for music fans.  It's better than Christmas...because on Record Store Day you get exactly what you want.

To celebrate such a momentousness day and with nearly 400 releases...there's no way to condense it down to a mere 11.  Instead, I've created 3 lists to give light on some on a lot of the material that you may have missed.  And by the way, many record stores still have a lot of product...so if there's something that was sold out at one store...I'd check out the store down the street...just in case.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day 7-inches:

1. Pornography (Ryan Adams)  - 7 Minutes in Heaven
2. Elliott Smith - Either/Or Demos 
3. Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
4. David Bowie - Drive-In Saturday Night
5. Hold Steady - Criminal Fingers
6. The Black Keys/Iggy & The Stooges - No Fun
7. Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - Live 1973
8. Old 97s & Waylon Jennings - Double Set
9. Superchunk - Void 
10. Iron & Wine - Next To Paradise
11. Husker Du - Amusement

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Reissues:

1. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
2. Porno For Pyros - Porno For Pyros (splatter vinyl)
3. White Stripes - Elephant (red, white and black vinyl)
4. At The Drive-In - Relationship in Command
5. Braid - Frame and Canvas
6. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
7. The Band - The Last Waltz
8. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (yellow vinyl)
9. Blind Melon - Blind Melon
10. Built To Spill - Live
11. The Zombies - The Zombies

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Releases:

1. Calexico - Spiritoso
2. Stephen Malkmus - Ege Bamyasi
3. A Place To Bury Strangers - Strange Moon
4. Soundgarden - King Animal Demos
5. Garbage - Because the Night
6. Willie Nelson - Crazy Demo Sessions
7. G. Love and Jack Johnson - Bloodshot & Blue
8. Mumford and Sons - Live At Bull Moose
9. Grouplove/Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit - Make It To Me
10. Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me
11. Deftones - Live: Volume 1

The 11 Best Solo Songs By Stephen Malkmus

This past week I took a vacation traveling the New England states on a needed vacation.  Besides being my first trip to many of these states and enjoying a "must-see" part of the US, I also tried out my Spotify mobile account for the first time.  It was a surreal experience literally having control of hearing any song I wanted at a moment's notice.  The possibilities were literally endless.  So, what did I take the most advantage of listening to?  Collector's Editions.  All those remastered albums with unreleased discs of b-sides and live tracks.  Most of these were the albums I wasn't willing to shell out $30 to re-buy an album I already had just to hear some songs that weren't good enough to make the album in the first place.  It was like opening a secret treasure chest that you found hidden up in your grandparents attic.  Though not every song was a winner, I felt a sense of victory knowing that I wasn't married to any of these tracks.  I had the freedom to disregard them any time I wanted...and re-listen with the same freedom.  There was one album missing for the search.  Pavement's much needed expanded edition to Terror Twilight.  With four down...it just seems cruel to make us wait for the final album.  And Pavement expanded edition are far superior to any others.  Let's hope after this solo outing...Malkmus helps gets us the TT special edition we deserve.

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 and 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, Mirror Traffic.

The 11 Best Stephen Malkmus Songs

This is my first post after shoulder surgery two weeks ago. It's amazing how we take for granted what we have. You can't even imagine how much your life changes with one arm incapacitated. Don't believe me...try making lunch with only one hand. You'll understand pretty quickly. Since I'm writing with one hand...this will be brief...

Here are the 11 Best Stephen Malkmus songs:

1. JoJo's Jacket (Stephen Malkmus)
2. Phantasies (Stephen Malkmus)
3. Trouble (Stephen Malkmus)
4. Dynamic Calories (Dark Wave EP)
5. Post-Paint Boy (Face The Truth)
6. Discretion Grove (Stephen Malkmus)
7. Fractions and Feelings (Dark Wave EP)
8. Dark Wave (Pig Lib)
9. Ballad of a Thin Man (I'm Not There soundtrack)
10. The Hook (Stephen Malkmus)
11. Church on White (Stephen Malkmus)

Buy Stephen's new album here.

Get two new Jicks MP3 songs free: Cold Sun and Baltimore