We’ve got music of course, and when you buy some we want to give you extra thing. HOOOORAY!
with your purchase of TV on the Radio’s Nine Types of Light CD $11.49 Deluxe CD $17.49 LP $15.97
You’ll be the proud owner of a MASSIVE ( and shiny) TVOTR poster.
Get yr copy of Those Darlins Screws Get Loose CD $13.97 LP $19.97
and get an equally massive and HANDSIGNED Those Darlins poster.
And when you grab the new Low C‘mon CD $11.49 LP $15.97
You’ll receive a bonus disc of 5 acoustic tracks.
And last but not least with Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi’s Rome CD $13.99
and you’ll leave Pure Pop with a brand spankin’ new poster (of a more manageable size).
Who says nothing’s free anymore?! We beg to differ.
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
In many ways, the album represents the band in a midlife crisis: the return of Pat Smear, the use of analog tape, and recording in a garage. It comes across as a general effort to get rid of the excesses of 2007′s Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace and 2005′s In Your Honor. So much of this story begins to sound a bit gimmicky: a return to the band’s roots in a DIY fashion with appearances from old friends, while quietly keeping the record label in the background. But really, it isn’t a gimmick at all. Foo Fighters are at the top of their game and got there in a no-bullshit way, so there wouldn’t be a point or need for that kind of facade. How do we know? Because even at the top, Dave Grohl really just wants to scream his balls off. Read the Full review on consequence of sound
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
However, as Nine Types of Light suggests, perhaps they just needed to get out of Brooklyn. The new album marks two significant changes in TVOTR’s methodology: It was made in the wake of a one-year hiatus following six years of non-stop recording and touring; and it was recorded in Los Angeles, where Sitek has been steadily building his celebrity clientele list over the past few years. Both factors seem to have influenced the sound and feel of the album: Nine Types of Light is unquestionably TV on the Radio’s most patient, positive recording to date, taking its cues as much from Dear Science’s serene ballads (“Family Tree”, “Love Dog”) as its brassy workouts. Each of the band’s albums has opted for a tone-setting opening salvo, and mission statements don’t come more concise and clear-headed than Tunde Adebimpe’s ecstatic, falsettoed hook on Nine Types’ first song, “Second Song”: “Every lover on a mission/ Shift your known position/ Into the light.” Read the full review on Pitchfork
Bob Dylan Live at Brandeis 1963
It’s the music that matters most. Alongside “John Birch” is the even more powerful and equally scathing “Masters of War.” A still-shocking commentary on the arms race set to a traditional folk melody (originating in the English folk song “Nottamun Town”), “Masters” was so plain-spoken in its venom that anyone could understand it. Like four of the concert’s seven songs, it would appear on Dylan’s second LP, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, released just a couple of weeks after the Brandeis concert. In that LP’s liner notes, Nat Hentoff recounted Dylan’s confession that “I don’t sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn’t help it with this one.” “Masters” was Dylan at his most startling as he attacked proponents of the miltary/industrial complex. Even listening this many years later, it’s no surprise that the song attracted so much attention with plainly-intoned lines like “even Jesus would never forgive what you do.” “Masters” makes the bile of “Positively 4th Street” seem quaint by comparison: “I hope that you’ll die, and your death’ll come soon/I’ll follow your casket in the pale afternoon/And I’ll watch while you’re lowered/Down to your deathbed/And I’ll stand over your grave/Till I’m sure that you’re dead.” The Brandeis performance is expectedly hair-raising. Read the full review on The Second Disc
So here’s the final list. We tried to go with titles that we’re both amongst the best releases of the year and reflective of the discriminating Pure Pop clientele. Remember, next year the voting will be open to the public, and all Picks are currently on sale in the store!
1980. The Clash - London Calling While it came out in the UK in December of ’79, London Calling was released here the following year. A milestone album whose reputation only grows as the years go by, it’s a perfect album to kick off this list.
1981. Black Flag - Damaged Many albums from SST Records incomparable catalog were considered for this list (Husker Du’s Zen Arcade, Dinosaur Jr’s You’re Living All Over Me), but we ultimately had to go with this release from Black Flag. It’s a searing album whose principled tone would inspire legions of bands and individuals.
1982. Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights Released at a time when the critically-adored Thompson’s were struggling to sell albums and find record deals, Shoot Out the lights would serve as both a commercial peak and a swan song for the pair. The couple’s tumultuous relationship finally caved, leaving a wake of brilliant albums.
1983. U2 – War It’s hard to remember the band U2 were 25 years ago given their current output, but they were great. War embodies all the qualities the Irish quartet used to earn their legendary status and emerge as one of the biggest bands of the world.
1984. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense This is the only live album on this list. 1984 was a rich year for fantastic albums. We had to pick this one over the stiff competition because of its enduring popularity amongst our staff and customers and the fact that it’s uniquely amazing.
1985. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash This album is as great as Shane MacGowan’s teeth are revolting. Blending the immediacy and intensity of punk with traditional Celtic music, the Pogues made a number of great albums, creating a niche that would evolve into a genre.
1986. The Smiths - The Queen is Dead What do you get when you combine a musical visionary, a charismatic vocalist with a razor-sharp wit and insatiable addiction to morbid introspection and one of the greatest rhythm sections of all time?
1987. Guns N Roses - Appetite for Destruction Axel Rose is a big dick with delusions of grandeur, but it’s okay. Appetite for Destruction is the rock album of the 80′s. It’s a decadent, nihilistic and excessive tour de force. Lightning in a bottle.
1988. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation In stark contrast to this list’s previous entry, 1988 gives us Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. A stunning collection of songs with incredibly inventive guitar arrangements. Anyone with any ambition to experiment with melody and distortion would do well to study this album carefully.
1989. Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique After establishing themselves as a tongue-in-cheek party band with Licence to Ill, the Beastie Boys reinvented themselves on their follow-up. Paul’s Boutique brought hip-hop production forward and established the Beastie Boys as one of the great groups of their generation.
1990. Depeche Mode – Violator A band so emotionally overwrought they make The Smiths sound like AC/DC shouldn’t be anywhere on this list, but Depeche Mode’s greatness can’t be denied. (Well, it can, but we won’t listen.) Nine tracks of warm analog synth greatness.
1991. Nirvana – Nevermind All of the albums featured here have had an impact, but there is something unique about popular culture’s love affair with Nirvana in the early 90′s. The trio became the centerpiece of the “grunge” movement but their musical legacy transcends genre associations.
1992. Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted Whereas Nirvana had an immediate, broad impact on popular culture, Pavement’s influence would be gradual, helping to shape the aesthetic of the emerging “indie rock” genre. Today as then, listening to this album is an absolute revelation.
1993. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream The Pumpkins were a quartet, but this album was essentially performed by Billy Corgan save for drum support from virtuoso Jimmy Chamberlain. Produced by Butch Vig and engineered by the legendary Alan Moulder, this album is the sonic equivalent of honey & melted butter on toast.
1994. Portishead – Dummy Members of Portishead may scoff at the concept of trip-hop, but the genre had a lot of fans in the mid 90′s. This is due in no small part to the band’s debut masterwork. Immaculately crafted and produced, it’s hard to believe a mere three musicians put this together.
1995. Bjork - Post Oh Bjork Guðmundsdóttir. your world-class vocals and aggressively avant-garde sensibilities. Any one of your first three albums could have been on this list. Post currently sells at Pure Pop for just under $7. There is no excuse not to own this one.
1996. DJ Shadow – Entroducing The only instrumental album on this list. With Entroducing, DJ Shadow showed us something we’d never heard before. Often imitated, never matched, Entroudcing hits most of the touchstones of the emotional palate over its all too brief 64 minutes.
1997. Radiohead - OK Computer Radiohead is one of the world’s most commercially successful and critically popular bands. OK Computer blew us all away when it came out, and it still does. Bold, broad and buoying, this album was an absolute shoe-in.
1998. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea ITAOTS didn’t make huge waves upon it’s initial release. In the decade since, it’s visibility has grown and its influence has become apparent. Warm, eccentric arrangements, superb deliveries of surreal lyrics. Unconventional, evocative, and highly moving.
1999. Beck - Midnite Vultures Mellow Gold and Odelay were the critical darlings, but Midnite Vultures was the party album of its time. Sounding like a coked-up Prince produced by James Brown, Midnite Vultures offers nonsensical anthem after nonsensical anthem before concluding with the falsetto masterpiece, “Debra”.
2000. Outkast - Stankonia Describing the pairing of Andre 3000 and Big Boi as formidable would be an understatement. After improving leaps and bounds with each of their first three albums, they found more room for growth with this dirty south opus.
2001. Daft Punk - Discovery An album with such longevity it would be nominated for a grammy in 2008, seven years after its release. Assembled from a vast array of samples, ingeniously rearranged and supplemented, Discovery brought the French House movement into the 21st century and further into the global spotlight.
2002. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Amid inner turmoil and trouble with their label, Wilco recorded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, considered by many to be their finest album as well as one of the best albums. The documentary I am Trying to Break Your Heart offers a fascinating portrait of the circumstances of this album’s creation.
2003. My Morning Jacket It Still Moves The major-label debut from this Kentucky outfit propelled them to well-deserved greater heights. My Morning Jacket blend seemingly disparate influences, country and psychedelic for example, and create a unique and compelling style that still moves (har-har) people to this day.
2004. Arcade Fire Funeral The face of indie rock has changed since the 90′s. It is no longer a fringe genre but a mainstream phenomenon as represented by album’s like this superb release from Canada’s Arcade Fire. Fans of rich arrangements and charged emotion shant be disappointed.
2005. Gorillaz – Demon Days Fronted by Damon Alburn, who was making contenders for this list in the 90′s with his band Blur, Gorrillaz are a uniquely great band. Ostensibly made-up of cartoon characters (created by comic legend Jamie Hewlett), Gorrilaz expose most bands who’d claim to blend hip-hop with modern rock to shame.
2006. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain Hailing from Brooklyn, TV on the Radio all but monopolized critical acclaim in 2006 with Return to Cookie Mountain. It’s a testimony to this album’s appeal that Pure Pop was selling out of import copies in the weeks leading up to its release.
2007. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha Former Squirrel Nut Zipper Andrew Bird has been consistently great in his solo career as exemplified in this wonderful release. Baroque with a gritty edge, Armchair Apocrypha has a broader appeal than one might expect from something so eccentric.
2008. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes took the world by storm in 2008 with this breezy, lush and listful album. The perfect compliment to everything from a cold winter drive to a warm summer afternoon, this is an album that measures up to anything on this list.
I seem surprisngly in-tune with the latest top 10 sellers at the store this week, so I thought I’d drop a line of knowledge on 6 that I’ve been rocking heavy.
Department of Eagles – In Ear Park – Featuring a couple of the guys from Grizzley Bear, it isn’t hard to get it mixed up with their other band, but the lengthy driftoffs are traded in for more concise tunes. Takes 3 listens to get hooked.
Ryan Adams – Cardinology – The guy releases friggin’ 17 albums a year so it’s definitely hard to keep up, but this one has some of the best tracks he’s released since Heartbreaker.
TV on the Radio – Dear Science - The most popular indie band in the world seems to have finally realized that people are paying attention and decided to batten down the hatches a little bit. I feel it lacks, but have gotten into serious debate about it. Definitely a must-hear.
Kings of Leon – Only By the Night – I don’t care if teenage girls think they’re dreamy and older fans bitch about them giving up their southern roots, this album is amazing. Huge, catchy, rock songs. They’re the biggest band in the world right now, except nobody in the U.S. has realized it yet. Probably in my year’s top 3.
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lampings – You’re either in or out with this band, and if you’re in then this album will only bring your passion deeper. Kevin Barnes is a nut, and has a way of turing his lunacy into logic. You gotta see em’ live, but this album is a good place to start.
Kanye West – 808 + Heartbreak - Ok, I haven’t heard it yet, but Herb’s poste intrigues me. My open minded love for music urges me to push past Kanye’s pompous b.s. and give it a shot. Hey, I finally stopped thinking about Chris Martin being in Coldplay, and now I love the new album! So anything’s possible. Except for my ability to post youtubes, let’s try again…
