Thought Things Sounded Better Slow

On Sunday, I listened to Brighten the Corners, as I often tend to do. I began to wonder when the re-issue for this album would happen. We know that Pavement have gone down the line and re-issued their albums one by one with some AMAZING bonus tracks (adding the Watery Domestic EP to the bonus material of Slanted and Enchanted was just one in a long series of genius/hugely appreciated moves,) and since the Wowee Zowee re-issue happened near the end of 2006, Crooked Rain Crooked Rain happened near the end of 2004 etc. deductive reasoning should lead us to believe that the Brighten the Corners reissue will happen towards the end of this year, 2008. Oh, and that it will be awesome.

However, there is no significant news about this particular re-issue. Other than the fact that there will you know, be one. Sigh.

Of course, there are important bands in the story of indie rock aside from Pavement. Some of them are just as re-issue happy, and doing just as good of a job of putting together highly worth reinvesting in, or investing in for the first time sets. Some of them have (ahem) reunited in their classic line-up forms and are touring! Some of them are even working their way through classic albums for All Tomorrows Parties... Yep, I'm referring to Sebadoh now.

Sebadoh will re-issue Bubble and Scrape with an additional disc of bonus tracks on July 8 via Domino Records. They will perform the record in it's entirety for the Pitchfork/All Tomorrow's Parties presented Don't Look Back Series on Friday July 18 as part of the 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival. It's fairly safe to assume that it will be varying degrees of awesome.

I saw Sebadoh as part of their classic line-up (Barlow, Gaffney, Lowenstein) reunion tour last year, and it was a good show. Although I hate to admit it, as much I like think of myself as a Sebadoh fan (I listened to an mp3 that I stumbled across of "Gimme Indie Rock" more times than I could ever count, "Brand New Love" still makes me cringe with it's alarmingly accurate description of what it's like to meet someone new who is even potentially exciting/terrifying, Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock is just a flat out great album title, Harmacy lived in my car stereo for months when I was 21 and had just found it on sale..., etc.) I don't spend all that much time listening to Sebadoh. I wasn't overly familiar with either III, or the Freed Man until those reissues happened within the past few years, and having them in my possession now, I don't listen to them all that much. Sebadoh, to me represents a very specifically male; funny/silly/sarcastic/angry/edgy/ultra observant/ultra revealing so perfectly male music that I'm quite simply not in the mood for all of the time. When I am in that particular mood though, nothing else will do. While watching Sebadoh last March at Spaceland I discovered that (though I recognized none of them) Gaffney's songs were most appealing to me in the live setting cause the abrasiveness was just so immediately satisfying. Recorded, I tend to like Lou's songs best because they tend to be so spot on lyrically, an he has such a good way of creating appealing pop melodies that retain a sense of weirdness. Then again, some of my favorite songs on Bakesale belong to Lowenstein, unassuming, and great. I should also take this moment to point out that I have never once had the occasion to listen to Bubble and Scrape. Needless to say I'm very excited to discover this album through the re-issue that is now less than a month away! This was the album where classic line-up Sebadoh were falling apart as a collective, and apparently Gaffney's songs on this record are his most angry and defiant. I only wish I was making the trip to Chicago in July to see how this newly reunited team translates this apparent transition album into a live show.

Trackilist for Bubble and Scrape Deluxe Edition:

1. Soul and Fire
2. Two Years, Two Days
3. Telecosmic Alchemy
4. Fantastic Disaster
5. Happily Divided
6. Sister
7. Cliche
8. Sacred Attention
9. Elixir is Zog
10. Emme Get Wild
11. Sixteen
12. Homemade
13. Forced Love
14. No Way Out
15. Bouquet For a Siren
16. Think (Let Tomorrow Be)
17. Flood

Bonus Tracks:

18. Reject
19. Sister
20. Bouquet For a Siren
21. Emma Get Wild
22. Flood / Ken
23. Messin' Around
24. Visibly Wasted II
25. You Are Going Down
26. Old Daze
27. Part 1 - Lou
28. Part 2 - Eric
29. Part 3 - Eric
30. Part 4 - Jason
31. Happily Divided
32. Soul and Fire (Acoustic Demo)

Now, seriously, about that Brighten the Corners re-issue...

~sqg marion