We’ll Watch Our Heroes Trip And Fall

Archers of Loaf “Nevermind The Enemy” – No, I’m not posting this to complete the 90s indie trifecta along with Malkmus and Pollard, but it doesn’t hurt. I’m mostly featuring this track out of the realization that in the four years that I’ve been doing this site, I’ve never written anything about this song even though it’s a pretty big deal to me. For one thing, there’s a strong nostalgia factor – I bought this when I was 15, and I have a lot of vivid teenage memories tied in with it, almost all of them quite positive. On a lyrical level, this song and pretty much the rest of the Vee Vee album holds a strong appeal to me for its unabashedly competitive sentiment, even if it’s laced with cynicism and pessimism. Virtually all Archers of Loaf songs were about scrappy underdogs fighting for their fair share, and in retrospect, the 90s was the perfect time for them, at least much more so than the Goliath-favoring decades bracketing their era. More than any of that, my enduring love of this song is rooted in that it’s like a sort of Platonic ideal of indie rock guitar for me. With its casual artiness, raw exuberance and impressionistic effects, “Nevermind The Enemy,” illuminates exactly what I dislike about the drab, uncreative style and guitar tone of the overwhelming majority of contemporary rock bands. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Vivien Goldman “Launderette” – Unfortunately for the world, this brilliant a-side from 1981 accounts for a massive chunk of music writer Vivien Goldman‘s discography as a performer. It’s a shame given Goldman’s charismatic vocals and sharp lyrics about a love that begins, ends, and lingers on in an uncomfortable sort of afterlife at a tiny launderette. The bassline is particularly great, evoking both the churning of a nervous stomach and the gentle rumbling of a washing machine. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK.)