I heard that Matador Records, the label that somehow always stays cool, turned 21 this year and released a boxed set to celebrate. Sitting here with birthday gift credit good at a certain large web-based media retailer that happened to be offering the box at a reasonable price, I decided to get it. Matador at 21 just arrived. Six CDs, and I'm still working my way through disc five. So far, so good.
Buying a boxed set is pretty rare for me. I started buying music at a time when I could rarely afford to buy more than one album at a time. I've always had a bit of an album-format fixation anyway. This set seemed like a good time to make an exception. I only own a surprisingly small number of the songs already, and with any luck, I'll discover a new thing or two I like. Plus, it came with poker chips. Good ones, too.
The box and its contents
I can't say I'll review the whole box. Not now anyway. Can't really do that without a deeper exploration of the contents. Not the chips, just the music. I will say that the despite what many might think -- i.e., typical "indie rock" collection of songs with vaguely off-key singers and fuzzy guitars making rock with old-school pop sensibilities (e.g., Beach Boys, Beatles, etc.) -- this box is pretty diverse. Sure, it is loaded with songs that arguably fit into that category. But there's also some harder stuff, a little hip-hop, and some more experimental music like Cornelius' off-beat electronic pop. And nearly everything is worthwhile. Few clunkers here, partly because Matador played it a bit safe and loaded up on their heavy hitters like Pavement and Yo La Tengo.
Aw, pretty chips!
The added bonus is that the whole thing is priced pretty reasonably. And proceeds from the sales of both the box and a double LP also being released are going to some cool charities. See bottom of post for details on the charities involved. Despite any flaws in the contents, the box is an excellent collection and a powerful showcase of a proud record label's wonderful body of work. Things like Pavement's "Silence Kit" and Yo La Tengo's "Nothing to Hide" are essentials. Overall, there are many high points and no filler. Matador, now old enough to drink, deserves to be showing off the fruits of its labor. I, for one, am grateful they decided to share the celebration with the fans. If you are missing this music from your library, now's a good time to stock up.
DISC 1 – THE PRE-DAWN (1989-1992)
1. Teenage Fanclub – Everything Flows
2. H.P. Zinker – Dancing Days
3. Superchunk – Slack Motherfucker
4. Dustdevils – Throw the Bottle Full
5. Railroad Jerk – These Streets
6. Come – Fast Piss Blues
7. Bettie Serveert – Kid’s Alright
8. Chain Gang – Cut Off The Drug Czar’s Head
9. Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – More Glee
10. Unsane – This Town
11. Circle X – Compression of the Species
12. Toiling Midgets – Mr. Foster’s Shoes
13. Bailter Space – The Today Song
14. Pavement – Perfume-V
DISC TWO – THE YEARS OF MILK AND HONEY (1993-1995)
1. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Afro
2. Yo La Tengo – Big Day Coming
3. Railroad Jerk – The Ballad of Railroad Jerk
4. Helium – Superball
5. Pizzicato Five – Baby Love Child
6. Liz Phair – Mesmerizing
7. Pavement – Silence Kit
8. Guided By Voices – Game Of Pricks
9. 18th Dye – Whole Wide World
10. Chavez – Peeled Out Too Late
11. Come – String
12. Moonshake – Secondhand Clothes
13. Guitar Wolf – Midnight Violence Rock’n Roll
14. San Francisco Seals – Back Again
15. Bardo Pond – Rumination
DISC 3: DAYS OF WHISKEY AND TEARS (1996-2001)
1. Boards Of Canada – Telephasic Workshop
2. Spoon – Waiting For The Kid To Come Out
3. Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
4. Chavez – You Must Be Stopped
5. Silkworm – Tarnished Angel
6. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Flavor Part 1 (Beck)
7. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Flavor Part 2 (Mike D)
8. Pole – Fliegen
9. Cat Power – American Flag
10. Belle & Sebastian – We Rule The School
11. Mogwai – Helps Both Ways
12. Arsonists – Backdraft
13. Large Professor – ‘Bout That Time
14. Cornelius – Tone Twilight Zone
15. burger/ink – Flesh & Blood
16. Pavement – You Are A Light
17. Arab Strap – Blood
18. Matmos – L.A.S.I.K
DISC FOUR: DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK (2002-2007)
1. Interpol – Hands Away
2. Cat Power – He War
3. Yo La Tengo – Today Is The Day
4. The New Pornographers – From Blown Speakers
5. Dizzee Rascal – Fix Up, Look Sharp
6. Dead Meadow – Good Moanin’
7. Mogwai – Kids Will Be Skeletons
8. Mission Of Burma – The Setup
9. Early Man – Death Is The Answer
10. Belle & Sebastian – Dress Up In You
11. Pretty Girls Make Graves – All Medicated Geniuses
12. Cat Power – Love & Communication
13. Shearwater - Johnny Viola
14. Brightblack Morning Light – Everybody Daylight
15. Lavender Diamond – You Broke My Heart
16. Jennifer O’Connor – Tonight We Ride
16. Earles & Jensen – Just Farr A Laugh: The Yogurt Machine
17. Stephen Malkmus – Discretion Grove
DISC FIVE: MATADOR TODAY (2008 – )
1. Fucked Up – Son The Father
2. Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster
3. Kurt Vile – Amplifier
4. Yo La Tengo – Nothing to Hide
5. Jay Reatard – There Is No Sun
6. Times New Viking – Move To California
7. Harlem – Friendly Ghost
8. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Bottled In Cork
9. The New Pornographers – My Shepherd
10. Cold Cave - Youth and Lust
11. Interpol – Summer Well
12. Shearwater - Castaways
13. Esben and the Witch – Marching Song
14. Girls – Lust For Life
15. Magic Kids – Superball
16. Delorean – Stay Close
17. Cat Power – Metal Heart
18. Perfume Genius – Learning
19. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash
DISC SIX: UNRELEASED LIVE RECORDINGS FROM THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERTS, NEW YORK CITY, SEPTEMBER 1999
1. Pavement – Here (Live 1999)
2. Pavement – Trigger Cut (Live 1999)
3. Pavement – The Hexx (Live 1999)
4. Pavement – She Believes (Live 1999)
5. Pavement – Unfair (Live 1999)
6. Pavement – Zurich Is Stained (Live 1999)
7. Pavement – Debris Slide (Live 1999)
8. Pavement – Spit On A Stranger (Live 1999)
9. Come – New Coats (Live 1999)
10. Bardo Pond – Walking Stick Man (Live 1999)
11. Bardo Pond – Tommy Gun Angel (Live 1999)
12. Cat Power – Good Woman (Live 1999)
13. Cat Power – Naked, If I Want To (Live 1999)
14. Cat Power – You May Know Him / Sea Of Love (Live 1999)
15. Mogwai – Ex-Cowboy (Live 1999)
Matador Gives Back
According to the Matador Records blog:
Matador and the bands’ proceeds from sales of the box set and the double vinyl will be donated to:
The Jane Addams Hull House Association, a Chicago, IL non-profit that’s been assisting the city’s neediest families (child welfare, domestic violence prevention, literacy-advocacy, etc.) since 1889.
The Ali Forney Center (NYC-based provider of shelter and counseling for homeless gay, lesbian and transgender youth)
The Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (non-profit public hospital and a world leader in pediatric lifesaving)
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