In which we celebrate 20 years of one of the most important records ever (to me)
The New Pornographers’ Electric Version turns 20 today. If you recognize the title of my blog, you probably already know I am a massive fan of the band. Electric Version, their second album, introduced me to their music and captured my heart. It also opened the door for all of those marvelous early 2000s bands that made me recognize that maybe, just maybe, the music from my high school years wasn’t the pinnacle of the form.
In 2003, I was recently divorced. I’d also recently moved to Austin, having been laid off from my gig in Dallas after 9/11. These were difficult, but ultimately great times for me. Austin was still mostly “Austin” in those days. It was the era of online dating (pre-Tinder), which was probably the best scenario for me. I made loads of new friends, had good dates, had bad dates, got into LiveJournal, worked for a professional sports team, and found that my horizons had very much expanded.
My musical tastes at the time were not subtle. The four defining bands of my persona were Nine Inch Nails, Public Enemy, Bad Religion, and They Might Be Giants (no matter how much I try to be “hard,” I’ll always be a silly goose). But, for all the leather-wearing and dye-my-hair-blackitude I was doing, there was always a side of me that loved Beatle-esque pop, big choruses, memorable melodies, and…fun music. Those tastes didn’t fit my pose, but they were there.
Which brings us to one night at Casino el Camino. They always had the best jukebox in town (and the best burgers, and best bartenders and…you get the idea). I saw a record on there that I’d been meaning to listen to ever since I’d read about the band in Spin. I popped in a few bucks, played some songs, and went back to drinking my Shiner.
Even though I’d never heard their music before, I knew immediately when the title track came on. It was fast, it was fun, it wasn’t trying to rock harder than it needed to, and had immaculate harmonies. Love at first listen. I played the whole record on the jukebox and bought it at Waterloo the next day. It’s still in heavy rotation here.
I won’t go track by track, but the first four songs would make what might be the finest EP in psych-pop history. “Electric Version,” “From Blown Speakers,” “The Laws Have Changed,” and “The End of Medicine” are each perfect in their own right and mind-blowing when combined. The album also has the finest ode to teen celibacy ever written (“Testament to Youth in Verse“) with an incredible a capella/jingle bell-filled-out chorus. If that sentence doesn’t make you want to listen, then this probably ain’t the record for you.
The primary singers are A.C. Newman and Neko Case, both of whom are geniuses on their own. They take pride in their harmonies and polish their work to a mylar sheen. What keeps things from getting too sugary is the presence of Dan Bejar. You may know him from his solo band Destroyer (and if you don’t, you should because it’s great). Bejar brings a much looser, more jaded, and worldly tone to the band.
It’s a damn near perfect record start-to-finish and here’s the thing: They just kept making damn near perfect records and still do. If you like it, you’ll probably like Mass Romantic, Twin Cinema, Challengers, and so on. Electric Version remains my favorite, but I’m biased. They haven’t made a bad record, or even a merely good one, yet.
But wait, that’s not all! Not only did this record knock me on my buttocks in 2003, it also opened up my eyes to the fact that there was an incredible amount of great music being made at the time. Hell, just the Matador Records crew (Interpol, Cat Power, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and so many more). You had Metric, The Futureheads, Arcade Fire, Kaiser Chiefs, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Postal Service, Dresden Dolls, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Soundpool, Ladytron, Glasvegas, Longwave, Los Campesinos! (especially Los Camp!), MGMT, Rilo Kiley, The Hives, and my beloved Ambulance, LTD. I’m just scratching the surface here.
I know I’m grouping unlike things, but the point is that I literally couldn’t keep up with how much great new music was being made. I can’t remember anything like that outburst. It was Electric Version that opened the floodgates for me. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years now. I have to remind myself that those bands aren’t “new music” anymore because they all still feel new to me.
Thanks for hanging out with me for this. I’ve listened to the re-release (available digitally and on vinyl at Bandcamp) multiple times today and, in my semi-humble opinion, it holds up beautifully. I hope you like ’em as much as I do.
I just can’t believe it’s been 20 years.
-RK