What a maddeningly awesome battle this turned out to be: awesome because these are two astounding debut albums of beautiful noise from uncompromising indie bands, and maddening because I hate to pick a winner…and, by extension, a loser.
“WHAT!?” I can hear the indie rock connoisseurs shout. “How is this even a contest?!”
I understand the outrage. Not many people even know about X any more. Meanwhile, the reputation of Pavement in general and Slanted and Enchanted in particular is unassailable. Many folks who know music better than most will tell you this is not merely one of the best albums of the 1990s, but perhaps THE album of the 1990s (you’ll have to take it up with Rolling Stone why it’s way down at #24).
And, yes, it’s amazing. A messy, wild collection of let’s-try-anything noisy sonic experiments that works extraordinarily well. Stephen Malkmus writes mind-bending tunes, can do anything on a guitar and sometimes sings exactly like Lou Reed, which I greatly appreciate. (I thought often about Lou and his Velvet Underground during this battle as it’s hard to imagine either of these bands without the influence of those 1960 pioneers of uncompromising beautiful noise.)
But then I put on X’s Los Angeles and oh boy.
I don’t like punk but I LOVE this – 28 minutes of propulsive punk perfection about the seedy underbelly of their home city, full of things you don’t expect from a punk band: poetic lyrics, rockabilly guitar, wacky boy-girl harmonizing vocals, and even organ courtesy of the Doors’ Ray Manzarek, who discovered the band and produced the album. It’s unbelievably fun, catchy and easy to listen to, even if it does get a titch disturbing at times with its matter-of-fact exploration of nasty subjects like sexual violence, racism and heroin addiction.
So am I really going to do the unthinkable and pick AGAINST Pavement? Yes.
I’m sorry, indie rock connoisseurs, I know it’s madness. Just please do me a favour: once you’ve scooped your jaw off the floor, spend some time banging your head to “Nausea” and “The World’s a Mess; It’s in My Kiss” and maybe you’ll understand a little tiny bit.
JG
WINNER: X, Los Angeles (3 points)
BATTLE TALLY
80s: 11
90s: 16
EARNED POINTS
80s: 20
90s: 31
Next week’s battle – #23: Black Uhuru, Red (1981) vs. The Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream (1993)
80s vs. 90s Music War 