Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 21/22 - 2001

21
2001/12/03, Radio 1 Evening session
Johnny one take
Discretion grove
Jojo's jacket

The question is: if this is a cover why can't I find any other mention of it on the internet (wrong title maybe?), if it's an original why didn't they do anything with it? Record and release it for instance – that 's usually what you do when an effortlessly great breeze of a track like this ends up in your lap.

I'm not an expert on the Silver Jews (just never connected with me on that level) but the lyrics could be a Berman/Malkmus collaboration, no? All that 'parallel parking' stuff is pure Berman. The rest is a hilarious spoof on Leonard Cohen's 'Tower of song'. I like this guy with the golden voice better though. What's not to like – amazing melodies, groovy bassline, a commanding vocal take, solos swirling with joy and about a million jokes.

Lost gem. Rollicking versions of two album tracks too, played with abandon

22
2001?
Witch mountain bridge

I've got this undated, and unrelated to any other recording, version of 'Witch mountain bridge' which I can't remember where I got it from.

Does it really date from 2001 as I conject? I don't know. It's basically got the album version arrangement down pat, lyrics are complete, but there are a couple of rough edges, a couple of fumbles which suggest a band still getting to grips with the twists and turns. Those rough edges would be gone by the time of the april 2002 South American shows, so I'm guessing this one is earlier.

What a song! 'Pig lib''s crown jewel in my opinion.
I'm aways going on about guitar solos and instrumental sections – I know – sue me. But I want to point out the amazing long solo section on 'Witch mountain bridge'. Very different but every bit as wonderful as 'Church on white''s solo. To me they're both like really great architecture, the construction is so immaculate, so right. There's nothing crooked about it, you know, it's exactly the way it should be. The song just demands that there be an instrumental section exactly like this.

Over a sinister bass line (like ZZTop at a witches' sabbath) it twists and grinds, all occult meaning and suspense, hammering out single note morse codes and suddenly erupting in these flowing crescendos.

Stop me before I sound like a music critic! I just really dig it.