Pavement: Live at Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO, October 14, 1999.

Given years of listening to and gushing over the brilliance of Pavement, allow me to posit that Pavement had two main musical sides: one showcasing their fantastic penchant for fractured dissonance and unusual song structures (Slanted & Enchanted, Crooked Rain..., although some might disagree with classifying the latter under this category) and a softer classic rock flavoured style that could be mistaken for conventional, but for the brilliance of Malkmus' weird lyricism (Brighten the Corners, Terror Twilight). This set at the Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri fits the latter profile, and is much recommended for Pavement fans. For those of you new to the band, you could start your introduction to their music by getting the albums which best match your musical leanings, but I must warn that this one-sided approach will in no way offer the best appreciation of the band's sound. If you must get one album though, make it the Crooked Rain reissue.

Grounded
Spit On A Stranger
Date with Ikea
The Hexx
Carrot Rope
Rattled By The Rush
Shoot The Singer
Stereo
Major Leagues
In The Mouth A Desert/Billie/You Are A Light
Here
Kennel District
Debris Slide
(encore)
Father To A Sister Of Thought
Folk Jam
Shady Lane
Unfair

Pulp: Peel Sessions, 12 August 2001

Firing off this post after spending the whole day at a stimulating workshop on biotech patents and policy, so don't expect much by way of idle chatter. Here is Pulp doing the Peel, at Maida Vale Studio 4, in 2001. Pulp is one of the band you guys voted for, so I assume most of you have at least one Pulp record. If you don't, I recommend Different Class.
Sunrise
Weeds
I Love Life
Duck Diving

Bob Dylan: Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fair Grounds, Acura Stage, April 28, 2006.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is an annual celebration of the music, culture and food of the city of New Orleans. For more gist on the festival, go to the wikiplace. This year's festival was held between Friday, April 28 - Sunday, April 30 and Friday, May 5 - Sunday, May 7, 2006. The powerful musical lineup included Fats Domino, Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Lionel Richie, Keith Urban, Yolanda Adams, Herbie Hancock, La India, The Meters, Allen Toussaint w/ Elvis Costello, Etta James, Dr. John, The Ohio Players, Irma Thomas, Ani DiFranco, Keb’ Mo’, Hugh Masekela, Angelique Kidjo, and many more. This is Mr. Zimmerman's set. Sit back, listen and learn kids.

Intro
Maggie's Farm
She Belongs To Me
Lonesome Day Blues
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
Highway 61 Revisited
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Watching The River Flow
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Positively 4th Street
Cat's In The Well
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Summer Days
(encore)
Like A Rolling Stone
Band Introduction
All Along The Watchtower

Visit the festival website.

Cat Power: Peel Session, 12th February 2003.

Chan is a regular on this blog so she needs no further introduction. Here's the 2003 Peel Session - sensational stuff. Enjoy.

Names
Funny Things
Evolution
I Don't Blame You

Fiona Apple: Live At The Brickyard Cafe, Hartford, 06/02/97

The only Fiona Apple album I don't own is Tidal. Not by design I assure you, as I don't give myself to design before I buy music. I am basically an "album listener" and would often buy an album from an artist I like, check it out, like it or hate it, play it till thy kingdom come (Crooked Rain Crooked Rain) or shelve it till I write a codicil to my will. Well, I became a fan of Ms. Apple from When The Pawn Hits..., and I very much enjoyed Extraordinary Machine. Hence I was all shivers when I discovered this early set featuring songs from Tidal. Musically, there is a hint here that the 19-year old Apple was still a bundle of raw talent lacking the prowess to nurture her songs to full bloom on a live set. Or it could just be some lousy sound recording (although I encoded these from lossless files). Either way I am getting a copy of Tidal tomorrow. Still an enjoyable set nonetheless.
Introduction
The Child is Gone
Sleep to Dream
The First Taste
Shadowboxer
Criminal
Angel

PJ Harvey: Live at the Forum, London, England, May 23, 1993

Truth be told, I got into PJ Harvey very recently and have only heard a couple of her songs, including the pretty amazing Royal Court Theatre set unleashed upon the world by Jennings at rbally, and the "soon-to-be-posted" Peel Sessions. I can definitely see what the buzz is all about, and must say I am quite impressed with her versatility, especially her ability to deliver hardcore sounds with melodic precision.

Banter aside, enjoy this prelude to the Peel Session post.

Man Size Sextet
Rid Of Me
Naked Cousin
Primed & Ticking
Highway 61 Revisited
O Stella
Dress
Rub Til It Bleeds
Missed
Victory
Sheela Na Gig
M-Bike
Me Jane
Snake
50 ft Queenie
Man Size

Explosions In The Sky: Two Peel Sessions

Explosions In The Sky bring their post-rock geekiness to these two amazing Peel Sessions. Kudos to all you that voted them top band to post (tied with the mysterious PJ Harvey). Enjoy.

Session 1, Maida Vale Studio 4, 15 October 2002

First Breath After Coma
The Moon Is Down
Memorial

Session 2, Maida Vale Studio 4, 11 February 2004

The Only Moment We Were Alone
The Long Spring
With Tired Eyes Tired Minds Tired Souls We Slept

Peel Sessions: Final Numbers

Explosions in the Sky (5 votes)
PJ Harvey (5 votes)
Pulp (4 votes)
Calexico (4 votes)
Thin Lizzy (3 votes)
Yo La Tengo (3 votes)
Electrolane (3 votes)
Black Keys (3 votes)
Broadcast (3 votes)

That's it folks-tallying votes can be a doozy so as much as I like hearing from you guys, I have to say the voting has come to an end. Posting starts tomorrow. For now, here's some mixed jams to help build your introspective abilities.

Gone Forever Ulrich Schnauss
L'Arc En Ciel (ft. Uberzone) Alan Parsons
Autobahn Kraftwerk
My 36 Favourite Punk Songs Jason Forrest
Subotnick Caribou
Sombre Detune Röyksopp
Yasmin the Light Explosions In The Sky

The Jam! 3 Live Sets! Now, That's Entertainment!

A brief detour this morning to examine a bloody good find...three live sets from the seminal English lads, The Jam. I find it hard to believe that anyone on earth has not heard of Weller, Bruce & Rick, but these things happen, that's why we have wikipedia (if you have money, wiki is one internet project you should donate to). Well, without much ado, here's the Jam.

Live in Utrecht, The Netherlands, December 1, 1980

Man in the Cornershop
Set the House Ablaze
Private Hell
But I'm Different Now
Start
Scrape Away
Liza Radley

Live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 13, 1981

David Watts
Going Underground
Private Hell
Butterfly Collector
Scrape Away
The Eton Rifles

Live, De Vereniging, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, April 26, 1982

Ghosts
In the Crowd
Town Called Malice
That's Entertainment
Tales from the Riverbank
Precious
Move on Up
Pity Poor Alfie/Hit the Road Jack/Fever
Funeral Pyre
The Gift

Keep voting on the Peel postes. Just updated the count.

Will Oldham a.k.a. Bonnie "Prince" Billy: Peel Session, 8th August 2002.

Starting off our John Peel retrospective is one of my favorite musicians ever, the enigmatic Will Oldham, otherwise known as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, or Palace, or Palace Music, or Palace Brothers. The session was recorded on April 24, 2002 at the BBC's Maida Vale studio and broadcast 8th August 2002, with backing instrumentation and vocals provided by David Heumann. The setlist includes the bleak delight, "Death to Everyone", one of the standout tracks on the utterly magnificent I See A Darkness, an album everyone should own.

Jolly Five
Arise Therefore
Death To Everyone
(I Was Drunk At The) Pulpit

Buy Will Oldham's music.

Peel Sessions: Current Numbers (Updated)

Thanks to everyone who left comments suggesting what they'll like to hear from the Peel Sessions. The gig is still on, so go to the original post to leave your thoughts and suggestions. Here are the current numbers:

Explosions in the Sky (4 votes)
PJ Harvey (4 votes)
Pulp (4 votes)
Calexico (3 votes)
Thin Lizzy (3 votes)
Yo La Tengo (3 votes)
Black Keys/Electrolane/Mogwai/Black Keys/Zwan/Tim Buckley (2 votes)

Keep voting, its gamely! I'll be putting up the first session in a few minutes, starting with good old Will Oldham a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.