Terminated for Reasons of Taste: Other Ways to Hear Essential and Inessential Music

Contents

• Acknowledgments xi
• Introduction. Sold a Decade at a Time 1
• 1. B.C.
• The Best Songs of 1930 11
• Depression Music 13
• Country Rap Prehistory 15
• Country Songs I 17
• Niela Miller: Songs of Leaving 25
• '60s Catholic Folk Mass 27
• Country Songs II 28
• CB Jeebies 39
• Can't Fool Mother Nature 40
• Prog on the Prairie: Midwestern Bands Roll Over Beethoven 41
• Past Expiry Hard Rock Dollar Bin 44
• Sonic Taxonomy: Fake New Wave 56
• Inventing Indie Rock 64
• Urinals No Age 67
• 2. 80s
• Sonic Taxonomy: Unsung '80s R&B Bands 77
• Country Rap: The 80s 85
• Sonic Taxonomy: Old Old Old School Rap Albums 87
• Public Enemy Do the Punk Rock 96
• Beastie Boys: Lay It Down, Clowns 98
• Aerosmith, Endangered No More 105
• Metallica: Kill 'Em All Turns 30 110
• Fates Warning and Possessed Open Up and Say . . . Ahh! 113
• Dead Milkmen vs. Thelonious Monster: Battle of the Lame 114
• Einsturzende Neubauten / Killdozer: The Graystone, Detroit, 11 June 1986 116
• New Wave uber Alles 118
• Frank Chickens M.I.A. 124
• Owed to the Nightingales 127
• Mekons Stumble toward Oblivion 130
• Mekons: So Good It Hurts 132
• Pet Shop Boys: 18 Shopping Days Left 133
• Billy Joel: It's Not His Fault! 135
• John Hiatt: Bring the Family 139
• John Anderson Serves the Doofus Majority 140
• Country Songs III 142
• The '80s: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back 145
• 3. 90s
• TLC and Kris Kross: Women and Children First 157
• Cause & Effect: Trip 160
• The Cure: Spectrum, Philadelphia, 16 May 1992 161
• SOS from the Metal of Nowhere 163
• Motoerhead UEberkill 164
• Pankow and Treponem Pal Ring in Desert Storm 168
• How Nirvana Didn't Kill Hair Metal 170
• Sponge: From Grunge to Glam 171
• Radio On Reviews I 172
• Travis Marries a Man! 178
• John Mellencamp: Dance Naked 179
• Sawyer Brown: Cafe on the Corner 181
• Patricia Conroy: A Bad Day for Trains 182
• Grupo Exterminador: Dedicado a Mis Novias 183
• When FSK Plays, Schnitzel Happens 184
• Radio On Reviews II 185
• Alanis Morissette: Addicted to Love 189
• 4. '00s
• Singles Again: Backstabs in the Material World 197
• Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream 202
• Frat Daze, Clambake, Anyways, It's Still Country Soul to Kenny Chesney 204
• Country Music Goes to Mexico 204
• September 11: Country Music's Response 204
• Battle of the Country Hunks 214
• Country Songs IV 217
• The Ladies of Triple A 222
• Anvil Won't Go Away 225
• Excellent Boring Metal from Germany 227
• The Many Ideas of Oneida 228
• Next Little Things 232
• 5. '10s
• Singles Jukebox Reviews 248
• The Dirtbombs: Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey! 252
• Redd Kross: Researching the Blues 256
• Mayer Hawthorne Robert Palmer 258
• Kanye West: VEVO Power Station, Austin, 20 March 2011 261
• Taylor Swift and Ke$ha: Not So Different 263
• Ke$ha: Warrior 267
• Strange Brew: Metal's New Blare Witch Project 269
• Metal's Severed Extremities 275
• Walking Dead: The Divided States of Metal 278
• Voivod: Target Earth 281
• Merchandise: Totale Nite 285
• Mumford and Sons: Babel 287
• The Gospel Truth 289
• Southern Soul Keeps On Keepin' On 293
• Jamey Johnson Sprawls Out 297
• Country Songs V 300
• Bro-Country Isn't as Dumb as It Looks 302
• Ashley Monroe and Kacey Musgraves Are What They Are 304
• When the Angels Stopped Watching Mindy McCready 308
• Conclusion. I Am the World's Forgettin' Boy 311
• Index 315