Monday, December 20, 2021
if i told you you were wrong, i don't remember saying
2000 - Doves - Cedar Room
if i told you you were wrong, i don't remember saying
1996 - The Fugees - Fu-Gee-La
Lauryn has always kinda carried the Fugees, but also is there a better opening line than Wyclef's "we used to be number ten/now we permanent at one"? And Pras' weird flow just works here. I had this CD forever, but after getting rid of all of my CDs, I finally picked this up on vinyl and Liz had to endure me winding this one back about 3 times in a row.
These were close: Sleater-Kinney - I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, Manic Street Preachers - A Design for Life, Tom Petty - Walls (Circus), Nas feat. Ms. Lauryn Hill - If I Ruled the World, REM - Be Mine
1997 - Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space (Elvis Version)
It's probably cooler to say "Cop Shoot Cop" here, but the Elvis interpolating, love song opener of this record has always been my favourite.
A note on one of my other favourite songs of '97: when I was working in the now shuttered MusicWorld in Landsdowne mall, I remember putting on the Beta Band's "Dry the Rain" and mimicking a line from High Fidelity, "I will now sell three copies of the Beta Band's Three EPs".
First off, that was impossible, because it was a shocker that the Richmond outlet of Music World had one fucking copy, let alone three. But, my manager and I were briefly, pleasantly shocked when a young lady approached the counter.
Ready to respond, "I know" when she told us how great this song was, I was suddenly deflated when instead, she proclaimed "what is this? It's really weird."
Anyhow, that song aged really well and the movie didn't, but you probably already know at least the latter.
These were close: The Beta Band - Dry the Rain, Radiohead - No Surprises, Sleater-Kinney - Words and Guitar, Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph, The Weakerthans - Confessions of a Futon Revolutionist
1998 - Cat Power - Colors and the Kids
My favourite Cat Power songs have always been the most minimal. I don't really care whether that was out of necessity or not, but her voice has always been the thing that drew me in and the lyrics were always second. And while the big arrangements certainly work sometimes (see: "The Greatest"), I could listen to Chan Marshall sing over this plinking piano riff for hours.
A note on one of my other favourite songs of '98: I once got asked to write about a song of my choice for an upstart Vancouver weekly and chose "Kiss Me". I was never asked to write for them again, but I stand by my decision. Well, kinda. It probably would've been doing them a solid to write about something more current and it was definitely an opportunity to write about something local. Sorry again, Graeme.
These were close: Sixpence None the Richer - Kiss Me, Idlewild - Everyone Says That You're So Fragile, Pearl Jam - Do the Evolution, Pulp - Help the Aged, Ms. Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing), Black Star - Definition
1999 - Fiona Apple - I Know
1999 was the year I graduated high school and also I think this is the first year where "the song I love most now" and "the song I loved most then" match up, which is pretty weird, since my other hobbies at the time were: getting very high, trying to convince girls to let me touch their boobs, Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition Turbo, and playing my electric guitar very loud. Kudos to 17-year-old Quinn for mostly being a teenage boy piece of garbage, but also for some inexplicable reason recognizing that Fiona Apple is one of the greatest songwriters in human history (actual kudos for the latter only).
A note on one of my other favourite songs of '99: one of my most lasting live music memories ever is seeing ...Trail Of Dead at Richard's on Richards, where they closed the show and the tour with "A Perfect Teenhood", and then as per usual threw all their gear around. But since it was the last show on the tour, they kept throwing their gear around until some of it ended up completely trashed and some of it ended up out the back door of the venue. And then they came back on stage and sang "Sweet Caroline" a cappella.
These were close: Sleater-Kinney - Get Up, Wilco - She's a Jar, Pavement - Spit on a Stranger, Blur - Tender, Mogwai - Xmas Steps, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - A Perfect Teenhood
It's funny because my most lasting memory of Doves is actually showing up a little late for their opener at a show (also at Richard's) and being flabbergasted by some scruffy looking dudes called "The Strokes".
"Are these guys local?"
"I feel like we would've heard of them if they were local."
"Hi, we're the Strokes from New York!"
"Hi, we're the Strokes from New York!"
"Someday" shows up in the "these were close" category next year, but it's been two decades and I come back to this song more than anything off of Is This It?.
These were close: Primal Scream - Kill All Hippies, Idlewild - Actually, It's Darkness, Dead Prez - Hip Hop, Shellac - Squirrel Song, Cat Power - I Found a Reason
now playing: Le Tigre - Deceptacon
