Pie Driver PROPAGANDA

January 2003

Pie Driver 2002 Top Ten

Pie Driver Dave

So I didn't complete the assignment as assigned, but since I'm in charge I get to do whatever I want. The requirement for posting a Pie Driver top ten is that you must comment on each release, but then I did that and read back on my list and it struck me that I had not only said little about these bands and their releases, but that it would be pretty obvious to everyone that I just talk to hear myself talk (as if you didn't know that already). The truth is that, except for Flaming Lips and Imperial Teen, I've seen all of these bands perform live at least once in the past year or so, except for Tom, who I saw in 1999 and still ranks as one of my favorite shows of all time. What I'm saying is that seeing live music is really important to me because it bridges the gap between being able to listen to a great record over and over again but not being able to sit in the rehearsal studio, drink beer, and tell the band what songs to play. So here's my list of favorite records for the year, but what really matters is the shows I saw. All the ones I saw were really great, and except for the Peter Gabriel show, I got my money's worth all the way around. And while I agree with John that this year didn't have a ton of great stuff (Midnight Oil's album is pretty good, but doesn't rank with their best - yet now that they've called it quits it means so much more!), I still like having my favorite bands come out with new records. I mean, I got to see Rush twice in one week! And I saw Porcupine twice too! But aside from seeing them live, I've listened too all these records over and over again all year and if you think you'd like them you should buy them. Alright, I'm done. Yeah.

1. Skeleton Key, Obtanium
2. Sleater-Kinney, One Beat
3. Flaming Lips, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
4. Rush, Vapor Trails
5. Porcupine Tree, In Absentia
6. Peter Gabriel, Us
7. Imperial Teen, On
8. Guided By Voices, Universal Truths and Cycles
9. Tom Waits, Alice
10. Midnight Oil, Capricornia

Disappointments:
- Negro Problem, Welcome Black
- Ben Folds Live
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, By the Way
- Audioslave

Pie Driver Pat...

1) Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots" - The Lips deliver everything Wilco failed to. This album has great songs filled with great sounds and most importantly delivers a seamless running order. Wayne Coyne makes it look as if Jeff Tweedy
rides the short bus to the studio...

2) Zmrzlina "Katastrophe Vol.3" - Amazingly eclectic and timelessly beautiful. The best rock band to wield a violin since Camper Van Halen. An album that makes Wilco look like a bunch of sissies...

3) Sleater-Kinney "One Beat" - I never thought they would appear on one of my top 10 lists but this is great work. The song Light-Rail Coyote is easily the best song of
the year followed closely by Combat Rock. One of the only current bands I know of who are writing lyrics of such high quality. Jeff Tweedy on the other hand writes lyrics that suck much ass...

4) SushiRobo "Drawings And Garbage Structures" - These guys are purveyors of the coolest guitar tones I've heard in a gazillion years. The kind of guitar tones those chumps in Wilco wish Jim O'Rourke knew how to dial in...

5) Peter Gabriel "UP" - I can't believe it was worth the wait. It was! He even blessed us
with an amazing overpriced concert tour. Maybe if Wilco spent over a decade on a record it would be this good. I doubt it...

6) Midnight Oil "Capricornia" - Back when Jeff Tweedy was still wetting the bed and trying to cop Ace Frehley licks Midnight Oil was delivering some seriously ass kicking
rock and roll to drunk surfers down under. A while later when Jeff was covered in acne and feeling down on himself for not being able to cop Ace's licks Midnight Oil was putting out several of the best albums of the 1980s. In the late 1990s while Wilco were busy ascending to the heights of banal over-hyped alterna-country bullshit Midnight Oil were making challenging music that was far more experimental than Yankee Hotel Goose Step. Now it is 2002 and Midnight Oil gave us one last kick ass album before they retired. Capricornia harkens back to their sound of the early '90s yet adds a little something from every era in rock. The song Tone Poem is my pick for third best song of the year. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the worst songs on this album are still so much better than the best songs on Wilco's horrible album that it renders Jeff Tweedy completely flaccid...

7) Skeleton Key "Obtainium" - Truthfully I never thought there would be a new Skeleton Key album. After their brilliant major label debut sunk without a trace I figured that was it. But lo and behold Eric Sanko and his band of merry percussionists have delivered another awesome album. Imagination, Rhythm, Chops and Passion spill over every song of this beautiful cacophony. You know I might just have to give Jeff a copy...

8) Sonic Youth "Murray Street" - These rock and roll stalwarts have delivered their nicest collection of songs since Jet Set Experimental Butterball Trash. Maybe Jim
O'Rourke should stick to playing with these guys and forget about trying to make Jeff Tweedy's shitty little ditties sound good...

9) Imperial Teen "ON" - I don't know exactly what they were on. Perhaps a mixture of cocaine and bubble gum. Whatever it was it worked cause this record is sweet! More hooks than a commercial fishing boat. Hey that's a good idea! We can send Jeff Tweety up to Alaska next summer to work on a fishing boat. He can make a little extra money and practice writing songs in his free time...

10) Tom Waits "Alice" & "Blood Money" - Thank God I remembered Tom or Wilco might be on my list. Nah! Anyway what can one say about Mr Waits that hasn't been said? He is a pro who has long ago matured and reached journeyman status. Two great albums for the price of two. Whoopie. Just in case he reads this: Tom this is great work but If you pushed yourself you could do better. Seriously the man is a genius but seems too complacent with his sound. At least Wilco pushed themselves to evolve (or at least sound more like Radiohead). It just sucks that they're not that good. Although for the record I do enjoy Yankee Hostel Fuck Up and think Wilco is a way better band than Radiohead...

John Hallquist - Pie Driver Freelancer

Okay, here it is...
1. Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots-No other album caused this much excitement for me this year. The album picks up where the Soft Bulletin left off, but breaks new ground of its own. In a year full of boring and homogenous "garage rock" (not to mention all of the other boring and homogenous rock albums) at least the Lips offer something to return to.
2. Yo La Tengo: Sounds of the Sounds of Science- A soundtrack to some short films on marine biology that made its debut at the San Francisco Film Festival a few years back, this album is near perfect. An entirely instrumental album, the songs are lush and yet murky. Releases by the band themselves, it can be found at yolatengo.com or at finer records stores only.
3. Neil Halstead: Sleeping on Roads- Halstead (of Slowdive and Mojave 3 fame) really surprised me with this disc. I was expecting some really mopey and sparse tunes (which I would still have been happy with) but instead I got some mopey but lively songs. Kind of like a Nick Drake for the 21st century, or I suppose more likely a Bert Jansch (see track Driving With Bert). A great disc, which I am completely happy to recommend.
4. Doug Martsch: Now You Know- Okay...before I go any further, I should admit that of Doug put out a four disc set of his own snoring I would be first in line on that particular Tuesday. That having been said, after last years par Built To Spill album, Ancient Melodies..., Now You Know is a break through accomplishment. The songs are a departure from his normal work, but still have that touch that makes Built To Spill so incredible.
5. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot- I predict many lists will include this, but I also suspect that many of those lists will include other "darlings" like the new Queens of the Stone Age, the Hives, etc... But unlike all of those other (lesser) records, I would propose that Jeff Tweedy and co. out classed them all. I don't buy into this being an experimental album, nor is it groundbreaking in any way. The songs are just too good, they stand up by themselves.
6. Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Yanqui U.X.O.- While Yanqui lacks the punch that previous Godspeed albums have, it is a fine record that has grown on me more and more. It is (literally) the sleeper on my list, not quite as epic sounding as Lift Your Skinny Fists...but a beautiful album nevertheless.
7. Sleater-Kinney: One Beat- Hands down the best show I went to this year. After seeing them, I had a whole new context from which to enjoy the record. The album is full of punch and spark. Like the live show, One Beat captures the intensity of the band, something every fan of music should experience.
Note: the following 3 picks would otherwise not have made a Top Ten list in better years.
8. Clinic: Walking With Thee- Above par for '02, Walking With Thee is just a fun listen, it is kind of dancey and kind of quirky. Clinics other album and EP collection are better representations of the Clinic experience, but this new album is still worth owning.
9. Elf Power: Creatures- a truly fantastic pop record with catchy, singalong songs, something that can be expected from Elf Power (and something that they have done better).
10. The Mountain Goats: Tallahassee- Again, other albums in the Mountain Goats catalog are more deserving of recognition. Still, Tallahassee is worth checking out. It is simple and poetic and can still make you smile while listening.

And here is a list of disappointments...
1. The Breeders: Title TK- I waited 8 years for this? It even has old material on it. Total disappointment.
2. Sigur Ros: ( )- Wow it didn't take long for them to lose my interest. Boring.

And here's a few reissue type things that had me excited:
1. Do The Pop: The Australian Garage-Rock Sound 1970-87. Better than 100% of the "garage" crap that came out this year.
2. 20 Years of Dischord- 3 discs, $25, well worth it. great Dischord material and one disc full of rarities. Awesome.

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