Swervedriver is the #1 band on the list of all-time greats that not enough people know about. writting this i get all excited and i've been typing out, and then deleting, all kinds of things like, better than the pixies, and better than my bloody valentine, and as much as i mean it , it's a pointless thing to say. But they were seriously an amazing band and it's a shame that as bands like the pixies and my bloody valentine have seen their legacies grow to a level they deserve, a band like Swervedriver, equally deserving has all their albums go out of print, relegated to a two disc best of on import only (saw it used at amoeba).
I'l admit that i had trouble getting into them initially, but i followed a friends advice and gave them another try while in a car at night. we were on a family vacation, on the freeway driving through denver when they finally clicked. i didn't get my drivers license till i was 21, and the #1 car experience i was looking forward to was driving up sunset blvd. starting at pch, at night, blasting their second album, and best, "mezcal head"
while it's not quite the same thing, here's a youtube video to accompany your listening experience (make sure and drop the video volume). i'm going to leave out anything from "mezcal head" (well, aside from an alt version of one of it's songs released as a b-side) cause it's too perfect an album to separate songs out of the whole. if you don't know swervedriver the first two songs you should hear are either "rave down" or "son of a mustang ford". I'm going to go with the more aggressive "...mustang ford" here as it goes better with the video, and follow with "rave down":
if you can't listen loud, or with headphones, the impact may be lost, so you know.
"son of a mustang ford" (from the album "raise")
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REMEMBER: DROP THE VOLUME ON VID.
"rave down" (from the album "raise")
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one of the things that made swervedriver so great was that, as amazing as the songs on their albums were, their b-sides were a lot of times just as good or better. they couldn't write throwaways. so, here's a few of my favorite b-sides:
"year of the girl" (b-side on the "duel" single). this is actually my favorite of their songs. i told that to the friend who introduced me, and he thought that was kind of a weird choice, but after playing it for him again and pointing out the layers they build on the outro where they repeat a phrase and then keep adding guitar on top of guitar, he at least saw my point.
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"cars converge on paris" (b-side on the "last train to satansville" single. i think this may have been on the promo-only version of the single)
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the lyrics are some of my favorites:
cars converge on paris
The Kremlin flies forever
In the face of expectation
Like sunshine seen through rain
I see American cars converge
On Paris Central Station
I came to mock
I left to pray
and finally, an alternative version to "mezcal head"'s "last train to satansville", "satansville revisited". in an interview i read they described "...satansville" as being part surf rock, part country song. this version makes the description pretty plain.
"satansville revisited" (b-side on the "last train to satansville" single)
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i've already uploaded a bunch more b-sides so i'll post those later.
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