OrthodoxEaster wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2024 1:26 pm Tough one. I don't really love what either of these bands became later on, after they sorta standardized their formulas into a more digestible, stoned indie-rock thing. Both lost something crucial when their resident eccentric quit and/or got fired. However, each one rocked my world until around 1994.

Very tough call between Eric Gaffney-era Sebadoh (including those murky duo albums) and Gary Young-era Pavement (including those murky semi-duo EPs). To be fair, I listen to Slanted and Enchanted way more often than I do Bubble and Scrape (probably the Sebadudes' finest hour). Plus early Pavement doesn't have anything quite as dreary as some of Barlow's lesser neurosis ballads. On the other hand, there's no way Malkmus could write anything as genuinely heartfelt but still powerful as "Two Years Two Days" or as completely psychotic as "As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger."

Both of these groups meant a ton to me during my late teens and to some extent, they still do.

Damnit. I'm leaning Pavement but also having second thoughts.

Can I vote for the first three Dinosaur albums instead? Although I guess they're a little earlier and there's nothing particularly "feeble" about them. Argh.

jfv wrote: Wed Jun 05, 2024 7:19 pm Biggest crime with live Pavement is that SM's screams are WAY BETTER than Bobby N's screams. But at least post 1993, SM didn't do any screaming live.