I am listening to a cdr of ‘greatest hits’ by Pavement right now. When I made it, I was trying to make the best greatest hits compilation that could be made on one cd – all of the singles, popular tracks, and live favorites. It came out like this:

Box Elder/ Debris Slide/ Summer Babe/ Trigger Cut/ Here/ In The Mouth A Desert/ Frontwards/ Cut Yr Hair/ Gold Soundz/ Range Life/ Unfair/ Rattled By La Rush/ Father To A Sister of Thought/ Kennel District/ Grounded/ Give It A Day/ Painted Soldiers/ Stereo/ Shady Lane/ Date With IKEA/ Carrot Rope/ Spit On A Stranger/ Major Leagues/ The Hexx

Anyway, I stopped the flow of the cd and played “Unfair” several times in a row. I’m amazed by the fact that no matter how many times I hear this song, it still has that rush of sunny day excitement that it had for me the first time I ever heard it, when I was 14 years old… it just never gets old. From the verses about how “the south takes what the north delivers” to the chorus of “swinging nunchucks like you just don’t care” to the bridge…ah, and then the screaming explosion of “Yr my neighbor! You don’t need favors! Cos yr my neighbor! I don’t need favors, you Bakersfield trash!” Yes. This is what it’s all about, everyone. This is my rock and roll music.