Song Of The Day 22/03/2011: Pavement - Box Elder

Pavement were one of the most influential bands of the 1990s, with a roster of incredible songs that helped to separate indie rock from the dirge that grunge had become. However, in many people's opinions, they peaked on just the second track of their debut EP. 'Box Elder' includes everything that made Pavement great - the slacker ethos, the clean, cutting guitars, the ironic lyrics (I'm guessing that Stephen Malkmus wasn't really thinking of running away to Box Elder, MO - it looks like a fairly boring place), the lazy drumming, the fact that the tempo is ever-so-slightly too fast for them to keep up with it.

There have been many cover versions of this over the last 20 years, perhaps the most interesting coming from the Wedding Present, Los Campesinos! and Surfer Blood (with a very weird recent remix by Blackbird Blackbird also in the equation). The original is still clearly the best though.

Pavement – Box Elder

Song Of The Day 20/02/2011: Tindersticks - Here

This is a cover of Pavement's 'Here', my favourite track on 'Slanted...', by the Nottingham band Tindersticks. I got into them through the National, when many people started making comparisons between Matt Berninger and Stuart A. Staples - both have deep, tuneful baritones, and although I think the comparison is only really valid for a very narrow period of the National's career, I can see how it started. Tindersticks' first two, eponymous, albums really are excellent (and indeed excellent value for money, each running to around 20 tracks). This is a BBC session from the period, released on various rarities and best-of compilations since. A lot smoother than the original (which was one of the smoother Pavement songs in the first place), I think it's a really good, fairly faithful cover, which manages to uphold the spirit of both the original and the covering bands.

Tindersticks – Here

My Gigs of 2010

Here is a quick run-down of some of my favourite gigs I went to this year, in chronological order. There were a few near misses, such as seeing the National at the Royal Albert Hall on election night, which would doubtless have made the final list had I not only been able to get a ticket for the balcony, right up in the top of the venue surrounded by the famous acoustic mushrooms. Overall though I think this selection gives a fairly good representation of what was an excellent year of live music for me.

Pavement @ the Brixton Academy, 13th May

Pavement's unashamedly money-focused reunion had the potential to be fairly dull and pedestrian. Luckly, however, they'd lost none of their slacker charm, and they played a hit-filled set at the Brixton Academy, probably my favourite larger venue. They managed to fill the massive space (partly with sound, partly with massive inflatables), with Bob Nostanovich as crazy as 10 years ago and Malkmus showing that he really is a genuinely top-notch guitarist, despite seeming completely detached from his instrument. Even the weaker stuff from the later albums went down very well, and 'Here' provided one of my favourite live performaces of the year.

Indietracks Festival, 23rd-25th July

Aah, Indietracks. Probably the nicest place I've been all year. A collection of a couple of thousand twee-sters in a steam train depot in rural Nottinghamshire, with sets from some of the biggest and best indiepop bands of modern times (POBPAH, the Smittens, Ballboy, Allo Darlin') and the late 80s-early 90s heyday (the Pooh Sticks, the Orchids, the Primitives). Really felt like a proper community, in a way that bigger (worse) festivals can only dream ofThis was maybe due to the fact that such a high proportion of the people there were in bands, and enjoyed talking about themselves and about music in general, even if they happened to be queueing for an ice cream (Max from the Smittens is apparently a lecturer in Geography at Leeds University! Who knew?). Will definitely be going back for the foreseeable future.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart @ the Buffalo Bar, 1st August

‘Asked to describe their sound lead singer Chip said “USA! USA! USA! Touch my dong!” before falling over sideways.’

At the end of their UK stay, also encompassing a headlining slot at Indietracks and a London gig at Heaven, which was frankly slightly disappointing, POBPAH played a secret gig at a half-full Buffalo Bar under the name 'George Washington's Penis'. They played us a set crammed with both new songs and old favourites. Gave a sighting of that rarest of beasts, the indiepop moshpit, inches from Kip's microphone.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ the Troxy, 13th December

Outlined on this blog already. I'd been waiting for this gig for ages, and it really didn't disappoint. Definitely one of the most impressive live shows I've ever seen, despite the understandable lack of crowd interaction. Everything was exceptional, from the slightly quirky venue to the images projected behind the band. From a high-brow point of view, definitely my gig of the year.