Magnet's 75 Lost Classics

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archers of loaf: icky mettle
arcwelder: pull
seam: the problem with me
pond: pond
unrest: perfect teeth
seaweed: four
chokebore: anything near water
mazzy star: so tonight that i might see
swell: 41
velocity girl: copacetic
the dead c: operation of the sonne
drive like jehu: yank crime
swervedriver: mezcal head
small factory: for if you cannot fly
thinking fellers union local 282: strangers from the universe
cardinal: cardinal
zumpano: look what the rookie did
the bevis frond: son of walter
bailter space: wammo
the geraldine fibbers: lost somewhere between the earth and my home
spain: the blue moods of spain
thomas jefferson slave apartments: bait and switch
bowery electric: beat
butterglory: are you building a temple in heaven?
brainiac: hissing prigs in static couture
silkworm: firewater
come: near life experience
the lucksmiths: the green bicycle case
the frogs: my daughter the broad
godheadsilo: skyward in triumph
rachel's: the sea and the bells
chavez: ride the fader
versus: secret swingers
the spinanes: strand
trash can sinatras: a happy pocket
chisel: set you free
rollerskate skinny: horsedrawn wishes
the halo benders: the rebels not in
the dismemberment plan: is terrified
flying saucer attack: new lands
home: 13 - netherregions
number one cup: wrecked by lions
tobin sprout: moonflower plastic
jack drag: dope box
space needle: the moray eels eat the space needle
you am i: hourly daily
cornelius: fantasma
duster: stratosphere
grant hart: good news for modern man
caustic resin: the medicine is all gone
ganger: hammock style
quickspace: precious falling
beulah: when your heartstrings break
the go: whatcha doin'?
wheat: hope and adams
the delta 72: ooo
the waxwings: low to the ground
deltron 3030: deltron 3030
the azusa plane: america is dreaming of universal string theory
dusty trails: dusty trails
the glands: the glands
lifter puller: fiestas + fiascos
the webb brothers: maroon
papas fritas: buildings and grounds
neutral milk hotel: on avery island
tripping daisy: tripping daisy
royal city: alone at the microphone
ex models: other mathematics
beachwood sparks: once we were trees
the anniversary: your majesty
walker kong: there goes the sun
jerk with a bomb: pyrokinesis
the notwist: neon golden
the organ: grab that gun
antipop consortium: arrhythmia

I got tired of Magnet several years ago because of their narrow scope. This list reminds me why. On the other hand, there's some old favorites there, like Seam, Drive Like Jehu and Swervedriver. I haven't listened to any of that stuff in a long time.

― Fastnbulbous, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

Swell: 41 - YES
Most of the rest of it - NO, especially Chokebore: Anything Near Water.

― Matt #2, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:32 (eighteen years ago)

"Lost"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:32 (eighteen years ago)

"Classics"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:32 (eighteen years ago)

"jack drag: dope box"

Oh come on.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:33 (eighteen years ago)

75 Records We Played On Our College Radio Shows And Really, Like, Liked At The Time, But Haven't Held Up As Well As We Would Have Like Them To, But Isn't It Nice To Get All Nostalgic Over A Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments Album Since Now We Don't Have Albums Of Our Own To Feel Superior About Because Any 18-Year-Old Kid With A DSL Connection Can Hear That Skeleton And The Kings Of All Cities Album Two Months Before It Comes Out.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:38 (eighteen years ago)

PS - Many of these are OTM.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:41 (eighteen years ago)

Yay Chisel!

― Morley Timmons, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:58 (eighteen years ago)

fuck walter kong woah i haven't thought of him in forever.

i like a gang of those records.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Thursday, 26 April 2007 22:33 (eighteen years ago)

i really like Butterglory, but I think only their first record...

― tylerw, Thursday, 26 April 2007 22:35 (eighteen years ago)

Unrest is a good pick and as long as it remains out-of-print, it's a lost classic.

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 26 April 2007 22:40 (eighteen years ago)

Nice to see any attention lavished on The Glands.

― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 26 April 2007 22:57 (eighteen years ago)

i think i've sold about 63 of these at one point or another. could i have made more money if i had waited till now to sell them?

― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:00 (eighteen years ago)

(i did not however sell the frogs' kinda great "my daughter the broad," the last listenable thing they released)

― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:02 (eighteen years ago)

There's about 10 good records in here. Not bad for Magnet.

― call all destroyer, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:07 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, most of why I stopped getting much out of Magnet = this might as well be a list of "stuff I liked in college." Nice thing about getting older, though -- you can pass off random old albums you like as unremembered gems!

The ones of these I listened to the most, probably:

unrest: perfect teeth. It's strange -- this album's great, not really dated or time-specific, and used to qualify as kind of a huge indie touchstone. Robinson surely has the rights to it, and Teenbeat reissued Imperial last year, so I'm not sure why this isn't around or canonized!
velocity girl: copacetic. At the time I liked the pop stuff on Simpatico better, but I think the band's been put down as a jangly pop act enough that the whole indiepop/shoegazer thing on this one gets forgotten.
small factory: for if you cannot fly. Another kinda indiepop thing that's a lot fiercer and more, umm, vigorous than you'd expect!
versus: secret swingers. This is actually kind of my mental definition of what regular American 90s indierock sounded like -- it's also really solid, has a kind of feeling and passion to it that's hard to get in an environment where current indie bands seem to be doing a lot of "style" and "career" thinking. Probably the one I'm most likely to listen to these days.
trash can sinatras: a happy pocket. I never picked this one up, because I'm not sure it got US release, but I'll totally rep for the Trash Can Sinatras in terms of really great pop collections -- I've Seen Everything is probably best, Cake is like Geir Hongro heaven in terms of orchestrated many-chorded songs, and Frank Reader's voice and puns are both pretty terrific.
the halo benders: the rebels not in. (Oh geez c'mon, remembering their few really fun singles has got to be more than enough. Though I keep being reminded of "Don't Touch My Bikini" by those Blades of Glory commercials where Ferrell says "looking is free but touching's gonna cost you something.)
cornelius: fantasma. (Also geez c'mon, this is REALLY not unremembered, dude's getting plenty of press for his new one!)
beulah: when your heartstrings break. (Aka the album that convinced people Beulah were pretty good just so they could be disappointed in a couple years? I dunno, though, I suppose with some hits and better lucky they could just as easily have been the Shins.)
papas fritas: buildings and grounds. (I only remember one song from this -- or actually just the chorus -- but it was really awesome. That doesn't seem like qualification as a classic, but it was a damn good chorus. The Albermarle Sound delivers the same thing better, though.)
ex models: other mathematics. Eww.

― nabisco, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:07 (eighteen years ago)

Ha, I forgot to note the great Versus / Small Factory connection, which is that For If You Cannot Fly includes an old-school indie reference track called "Versus Tape" with totally 90s chorus lyrics and delivery:

I can't seem to get it straight
Stay up late and sleep all day
Listen to my Versus tape
It's so great ... YEAH

― nabisco, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:09 (eighteen years ago)

Magnet has only released four albums yet and there's no way he could possibly have produced 75 classics. Even though those albums are very great.

― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:14 (eighteen years ago)

http://espn.go.com/i/page2/photos/060725/cards_jefferies.jpg

― Andy K, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:16 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.mscl.com/pictures/brian/gummer.jpg

― Andy K, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:20 (eighteen years ago)

This the Magnet version of The Lost Generation.

― Andy K, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:22 (eighteen years ago)

This IS, that is.

― Andy K, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:23 (eighteen years ago)

Fact Checking Cuz - we're on the same wavelength, I've sold many of these as well!

I will stand behind two, though:

Versus - Secret Swingers. Still really works for me, "Lose That Dress" in particular. Still dig one of their offshoots, Plus Minus.

You Am I - Hourly Daily. Fantastic heart-on-your-sleeve record with equal bits of Replacements and XTC. They never came close to this again despite very good stuff up until their last few.

― Mr. Odd, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:29 (eighteen years ago)

there's a bunch of stuff i will own up to owning and enjoying in that list, lots of questionable stuff too (as mentioned previously: chokebore? seriously?). also, there's a few cases where i think the choice of album is a bit iffy (near life experience instead of eleven eleven? new lands instead of further?). but the main question that comes to my mind after perusing this list is "what, no swirlies?"

― spastic heritage, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:31 (eighteen years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002X7GE8.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:32 (eighteen years ago)

that's a pretty cruddy list if you're trying to compile a list of awesome albums from that era.

― Stormy Davis, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:33 (eighteen years ago)

meh. why put so much effort into something like *this*?!
a few of these are pepperidge farm, but most are wonder.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Thursday, 26 April 2007 23:47 (eighteen years ago)

I don't think that much effort was put into it. It's just a list!

I like some of these records.

― Jeff, Friday, 27 April 2007 00:27 (eighteen years ago)

ok, fair enough.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Friday, 27 April 2007 00:56 (eighteen years ago)

Looking over this reminds me of how pretty-good albums can just disappear completely, elbowed aside by the next thing. I have to think this is more common than it used to be (if only b/c there are so many more albums). But calling almost any of these classics is really pushing it.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Friday, 27 April 2007 01:02 (eighteen years ago)

Mark - you've just captured the essence of something that's been troubling me. I look at my shelves of CDs and sometimes feel guilty about all the "pretty good" music I'm not listening to. But then I put on something great and the feeling passes.

― Mr. Odd, Friday, 27 April 2007 01:24 (eighteen years ago)

Yes, but pretty-good music used to be pretty good! I listened to the first Bowery Electric album while making dinner the other night, first time I'd heard it in probably 7 or 8 years. Not sure it even made it to pretty good, but I should try Beat again.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Friday, 27 April 2007 01:32 (eighteen years ago)

Alternative Press should sue.

Also: no Lotion's Nobody's Cool, no indie cred.

― David R., Friday, 27 April 2007 01:45 (eighteen years ago)

Of course, this leads to the question of how much time should you put into music that doesn't rise to the top but that you still like. I don't have an answer to that, yet, though I tend to think that having it around so that it might come up when you put your MP3 player on random is a good thing.

― Mr. Odd, Friday, 27 April 2007 01:48 (eighteen years ago)

Also: I'm curious, Mike, at what lies between Pepperidge Farm & Wonder Bread (& what's on either end as well). Stella Doro? Archway? Entenmenn's? Freihoffer's? LITTLE DEBBIE?

― David R., Friday, 27 April 2007 01:48 (eighteen years ago)

Archway

I saw them with Prisonhead and Balloon Hump.

― Andy K, Friday, 27 April 2007 02:46 (eighteen years ago)

Out of all that (and copies of most of those are sitting in my basement in a box somewhere) the only one that seems worth putting any effort into celebrating is Perfect Teeth.

Also they picked the wrong TFUL282 album. And the wrong FSA album. Etc.

― dlp9001, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:02 (eighteen years ago)

These in particular seem to be a little too new to be lost yet and notwist and APC got plenty of love not so long ago:

the notwist: neon golden
the organ: grab that gun
antipop consortium: arrhythmia

It does seem Magnet exists these days only to push whatever passes as indie and to create retrospectives for things at least five years old. It seemed to start around 2001 or 2002 when they did the shoegazing retrospective and then the Minneapolis sound. Considering I was poured over the pages of this thing back in college, it was a sad day I let me subscription expire (from a nostalgia perspective). But I haven't thought about it in the roughly four years since.

― matt2, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:24 (eighteen years ago)

you missed a ton of bob mould and robyn hitchcock newsflashes.

― scott seward, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:26 (eighteen years ago)

and paul westerberg rumors. and teenage fanclub updates.

― scott seward, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:26 (eighteen years ago)

Should be: "I ONCE PORED over the pages"

But yeah, Archers of Loaf = love of my live from about 16 to 22. I don't regret that.

― matt2, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:27 (eighteen years ago)

xpost. Pretty much what I was getting the previous four years then.

― matt2, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:27 (eighteen years ago)

But those are good things, Scott!

― Mr. Odd, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:28 (eighteen years ago)

biggest lolz: deltron 3030 and that OTHER neutral milk hotel album.

lost somewhere between the earth and my home is seriously in my all-time top 10, though.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:36 (eighteen years ago)

These in particular seem to be a little too new to be lost yet and notwist and APC got plenty of love not so long ago:

the notwist: neon golden

That's thing thing though -- I think it pretty much is forgotten! Even though it's only a few years old. At least until there is something new from the band to compare it to. Another pretty good album I doubt many people are listening to.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:37 (eighteen years ago)

i think they probably use tracks from neon golden on csi. or applebees commercials. or in starbucks training videos. that shit never went anywhere. people still dig it. even me, and i hate everything.

― scott seward, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:50 (eighteen years ago)

Swervedriver and the Notwist are great albums. Mazzy Star, Flying Saucer Attack, and the very simple the Organ album are also pretty good.

― Bee OK, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:53 (eighteen years ago)

there is good stuff on that list. but it's still pretty boring. i started a thread about that space needle album, cuz i love it so. my fave grant hart album is the one about pompeii and werner von braun. i never knew anyone who liked that album as much as me. are come and archers of loaf "lost" already? where did the time go...

― scott seward, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:57 (eighteen years ago)

I have 18 of the albums on that list.

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 27 April 2007 03:58 (eighteen years ago)

its a good list

― JW, Friday, 27 April 2007 05:23 (eighteen years ago)

ex models: other mathematics

I adore this album.

― NYCNative, Friday, 27 April 2007 05:34 (eighteen years ago)

I have 18 of the albums on that list.

Same here. It's a good list, but I'd definitely leave out Notwist and Spain. Especially the latter, it only as one great song on it.

― nathalie, Friday, 27 April 2007 08:20 (eighteen years ago)

Caustic Resin is a GREAT call. Love that album.

― call all destroyer, Friday, 27 April 2007 15:18 (eighteen years ago)

a fair percentage of these bands are names which qualified as set-up-free punchlines fairly recently

― Hans Rott, Friday, 27 April 2007 15:37 (eighteen years ago)

I dunno if Yank Crime is in print or what but it seems like it's regarded as pretty much top of the pile for what it is, ie not exactly 'lost'

― DJ Mencap, Friday, 27 April 2007 15:44 (eighteen years ago)

this list begs for Jim Shepard

― QuantumNoise, Friday, 27 April 2007 15:53 (eighteen years ago)

four years pass...

hey! magnet is coming back! as a print magazine. kind of surprising.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 20 September 2011 22:58 (fourteen years ago)

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