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Low fidelity is a fond memory. Sebadoh is one of the countless possibilities you might stumble upon sooner or later. Among those bands you mentally record and then instantly lose, ones you don't seek out but that eventually find you.
"Is Gigi there?"
"No."
"But we're Sebadoh."
"Ah, ok. Come on up."
Spawned in the early '90s from the excessively music-obsessed ego of a Lou Barlow capable of clashing with J Mascis, getting kicked out of Dinosaur Jr, and insisting on having the last word (see the commercial success of the parallel Folk Implosion ten years later), Sebadoh churned out an excessive quantity of good albums (with honorable mention at least for "Bakesale" and "Harmacy") establishing themselves as scruffy representatives of indie rock tout court. Several years pass, and the new century is at the doorstep.
Pause. Stop. Play.
Having abandoned the soft existentialism in rhymed couplets as well as the taste for lo-fi recordings, Sebadoh here tap into the more genuinely carefree and immediate aspect of their music. As if they suddenly felt the need to invigorate themselves with something simple and gratifying. An ice-cold beer on the most fun night of the week. Some healthy sex with the girl from the copy shop. What matters is not stopping. So the shapes of pop are to be recomposed by a renewed electric vein and set into an exceptional songwriting with a punk undertone: dirty, tense guitars, amplifier hums, electronic dissonances, frequency saturations in megahertz, and especially a rhythmic section as round as a steel bearing. And so it happens that bassist Jason Loewenstein, from an awkward supporting role, finds himself handling half of the tracks, and for the critics, it's as if they have the plague. "Disappointing self-titled return" will shoot the specialized magazines. In reality, the guy lashes his four strings like a force of nature and provides for the first time a perfect counterbalance to Lou Barlow's depressed genius. It comes out as an appealing mix halfway between goofiness and thoughtfulness: Husker Du and Pavement remixed by Steve Albini. The ambition is high, the album full of potential hits just over three minutes long. And a terrifying trio in the core of it: "Nick Of Time", "Flame" (whoa!!!), and "So Long" burn fast and leave their mark on the vocal cords. The recording's tone is clean, full-bodied, and highlights Sebadoh's great strength: the innate ability to use three chords with extraordinary melodic sense while also making the walls of the rehearsal room shake. The transversal ability to tinge their very personal rock with well-disguised post-punk, folk, and grunge riffs.
Only one flaw: placed in its time (the year is 1999), this album loses much of its charm as it’s now overtaken on the right and in triple lane.
But it still keeps its 130 kilometers per hour, and you can be sure it will arrive sooner or later.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Weird (03:26)
I’ve been thinking all day, but I’ve got nothing good to say
There’s a war on my mind, let me leave it all behind
Things we’ll never share are hangin’ heavy in the air
With all the weird on the way, let me have a perfect day
But paranoia’s contagious; I’m coming down with it, too
You better throw your trust on the fire first
Before I do
It’s a world of demand, it doesn’t stop to understand
And it’s of world in demands, doesn’t stop to understand you
If you’re waitin’ on me to tie you up, set you free
You’ll be waitin’ all day, all I wanna do is play
But paranoia’s contagious; I’m coming down with it, too
Better throw your trust on the fire first
Before I do
Before I do
And if we wanna be happy, it’s all here to be used
But settin' the world on fire burns, I thought you knew
You thought I knew
We never knew
We never ever knew
We never knew
We never knew
03 Bird in the Hand (01:36)
All washed down the drain, all washed down the drain Take it home with you I don’t know what to say to you But I know how it can be Drop to the whisper, and take it while you can It’s only a little bird in the palm of your big hand Racked my brain and now I’m confused as hell I don’t know what you want If it’s all the same, I think I’ll go on home Droppin' a whisper, and take it while you can It’s only a little bird in the palm of your big hand No one can change You can’t change
06 Nick of Time (02:52)
I guess when you met me, it was OK
‘Cuz you made an exception for a thousand ways
I’m sorry baby, yes, I was unkind
I'm beginning to forget you’re a friend of mine
Destroying us in destroyer world
We don’t need to know what you’re worth
Compare yourself to nothing and no one
You know it because you started out
[Repeat]
You started out
It was the nick of time, girl, you got it all right (X3)
07 Flame (04:54)
I don't want to be the one to ride flame
I don't know her name
And I don't want to go where the seekers all go
I dont want to know
And you can feel anything you wanna feel
And you can feel anything you wanna feel
And call it real
But I don't want to be the one who rides flame
I don't want to be the one who rides flame
I can't complain though im wrapped up in chains
I can't complain
Everybody's got the right to be free
But thats not me
And you can feel anything you wanna feel
And you can feel anything you wanna feel
And you can feel anything you wanna feel
And call it real
But I don't want to be the one who rides flame
I don't want to be the one who rides flame
Hit the flame burn a hole in my brain
Never be the same
I try to take it slow but she's pushing me to go
But I dont wanna go
And you can feel everything you wanna feel
And you can feel everything you wanna feel
And you can feel everything you wanna feel
And call it real
But I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
I don't wanna be the one who rides flame
10 Decide (03:42)
You give faith to deadly snakes, retain the need for names
Now burn your books for me
Confusion must end, jarred-up sympathy
I’ve been here, but you won’t hear, what have you to say to me?
Blood-crazed
Vampires wear a straight face
The love, hate
Expression of your dead weight
Oh, go back down and load up what you can’t sell
And you don’t sound the same
And there’s no one around who cares what you say
Oh, I wanna trust you; don’t do that to me
I’m right here without my fear
And all I need to be
Can’t take a switch-hitting twist in the name game
I made a mistake trusting you with what I make
Crowd control, assume the role
Mr. Pointy-shoes put a pen to your soul
Crowd control, assume the role
Mr. Pointy-shoes, put a pen to your...
Blood-crazed
Vampires wear a straight face
All the love, hate
Expression of your dead weight
Dead weight
11 Colorblind (02:51)
Time to fake a miracle, memorized emotion
Memorize lullaby; changin' the arranged deal
Tell me every reason why, cradle my confusion
Memorize lullaby; changin' the arranged deal
I wish we were colorblind, we could heal ourselves
I wish we were colorblind
I wish I were invisible, I'd sink into myself
Black and white and beautiful
Why'd they make it ugly?
Crackers in their camouflage, headin' for the hills
Now it's time to close your mind ‘cuz Mother Nature tells you to
I wish we were colorblind, we could heal ourself
I wish we were colorblind, kept it to ourself
Colorblind, lullaby, haunted ‘til I'm pacified
Think it to myself
I wish we were colorblind, we could heal ourself
I wish we were colorblind and kept it to ourself
Colorblind, lullaby, hold me ‘til I'm pacified
Singing to myself
14 Sorry (03:03)
No, I mean it, I’m really sorry; here I’ll say it again
I want you to know it, but the more I say it
The less it means in the end
Working for respect’s like climbing a mountain
And I think I’m losing my grip
Once I’m fallin’ and I think I’m fallin’
There’s no gettin’ back on pace
But my face makes that sorry shape
I know who I am, but I lost my grace
I'm gettin' a stick and I march for more
Now I was wrong, everybody knows
My mouth is moving but nothing’s changing
I just can’t leave it alone
Nervous defense that’s doubled to senseless
Milked it dry like a bone
I milked it dry like a bone
I just can’t leave it alone
I milked it dry like a bone
I just can’t leave it alone
But my face makes that sorry shape
I know who I am, but I lost my grace
I'm gettin' a stick and I march for more
Now I was wrong, everybody knows
Everybody knows
No, I mean it, I’m really sorry; here I’ll say it again
I want you to know it that the more I say it
15 Drag Down (02:50)
It’s what they call switching lanes
In the left hand driving in the right hand driving
And it all seems the same
I can’t get enough and you can’t set it up
A big omission and a thin disguise—oooohhhhhhh
And I was hoping for a nice surprise
Down on my knees
I was saying it and you wouldn’t listen and it all can’t go on
I was getting higher; I was trying hard
Oh, drag me down
I need it
Oh, drag me down
Those suspicions are a waste of time—oooohhhhhhh
And I was hoping for a nice surprise
Feed our trouble well
Learn to feel, I can learn to feel
I can hate it
Oh, drag me down
Those suspicions are a waste of time—oooohhhhhhh
And I was hoping for a nice surprise
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