TNG reader Rohan brings us the second in a three part series.

In 2009, while the record industry as a whole is faltering, a few independent labels are thriving. This year marks the twenty-year anniversary of not one, but three of the most important independent labels currently operating: Merge, Matador and Warp. These labels have all thrived by taking the right chances and making sound decisions. Hell, in the past three years each has even had their shot at Billboard success. Each houses some of the biggest “indie” bands on the planet and deserve all the praise they receive.

To celebrate these 20-year anniversaries, I’ve created three top 10 lists of my favorite records released from each label, which I plan to release over the next three weeks.

The rules are as follows: One record per artist per label, no compilations (unless it is a compilation of an artist on the label), and the record has to have been originally released on the label (no reissues). If you want to argue any of my choices please leave comments… or find me, and we can get a drink and fight it out. I always love an intelligent music conversation.

This week I celebrate my favorite label: Matador Records.

Matador Records got its start in 1989 by Chris Lombardi, who was later joined by ex-Homestead founder Gerard Cosloy. Matador houses one of the most unfuckwithable rosters of any independent label. Just check their Web site and see the many indie luminaries that were once, or are now, on the label. Matador also shares a lot of its history with Merge Records, as Superchunk, Spoon, Teenage Fanclub and Robert Pollard all put out records on Matador first. As a bonus, Matador has probably released the most records that are fun to drink to of any of the indies. Matador continues their quality streak in their new signings of current obsession Kurt Vile, Jay Reatard and Sonic Youth. So I present my top 10 Matador Records (to drink to) of all time:

1. Pavement – Wowee Zowee

Pavement are my favorite band. Wowee Zowee is their complicated, polarizing third record, that up until the 2006 reissue rarely got its fair share of praise. Because this is a list of my personal favorite albums, Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain—as awesome as they are—did not make the cut. Wowee Zowee holds a special place in my heart for its riskiness. This is a punk rock record, if for no other reason than it serves as a “fuck you” to fans of Crooked Rain. But it wouldn’t have been successful if the songs weren’t great, and boy—of the eighteen cuts, each one is a stunner. Kicking off with the one-two punch of “We Dance” and “Rattled By the Rush,” the record rarely lets up. “Grounded” is my favorite Pavment song off a proper LP. Wowee is Pavement at their most varied and crazy, trying different styles and nailing them in a way only Pavement can. “AT&T” shows Pavement’s pop side, while “Serpentine Pad” and “Best Friend’s Arm” are Pavement at their most loud and almost Nirvana-esque. Plus, if you check out the expanded edition, Wowee has the best B-sides (The Pacific Trim EP is choice; best lyric: “I’ve got all this Harvard LSD/Why won’t anybody fuck me?”). Pavement followed this record with their most clean record, Brighten the Corners. Although Brighten is incredible on its own merits, Wowee Zowee really was the last “great” Pavement record.

2. Guided By Voices – Alien Lanes

My co-worker is going to pick a fight with me for this not being number one (he did with my Merge list for leaving Robert Pollard off, I’m sorry Matt), but placing it at number two is just as good. Guided by Voices, the world greatest band to drink to, is my second favorite band, and it is just my luck that they were on Matador. (See why Matador is my favorite label?) Alien Lanes holds a Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain/Wowee Zowee relationship with its predecessor, GBV’s breakthrough Bee Thousand. Alien Lanes is a longer, more meandering record, compared to Bee Thousand’s straight ahead lo-fi pop. Bee Thousand is a fan favorite, but Alien Lanes is my favorite. It is rumored that Robert Pollard can write five songs on the shitter, and three of them will be good, but he’ll release all five. And with a discography as large as his, it seems that the rumor is true. Alien Lanes seems massive with twenty-eight tracks, but only one even comes close to the three-minute mark. Opener “A Salty Salute” is on my list with Teenage Fanclub’s “The Concept” and Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot” as best opening track ever. The hits keep rolling, as Alien Lanes contains such classic GBV songs as “My Valuable Hunting Knife,” “Watch Me Jumpstart,” “Game of Pricks,” “Motor Away,” and the 23-second (but awesome) “Hit.” Grab an ice-cold twelve pack of Miller Lite and kill it as you sing along.

3. Superchunk – On The Mouth

As I said in my Merge piece, Foolish was not my favorite Superchunk record, but my favorite Merge released record. On The Mouth is my favorite Superchunk record. Superchunk originally released their first three records on Matador, before moving to Merge. “Precision Auto” (also on the aforementioned best opening tracks list) is an energetic track that will leave you pogoing for hours. While the murky production may leave some cold, I think On The Mouth is a fun party waiting to happen.

4. Yo La Tengo – I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

The other day I spent a little time with the new Yo La Tengo record Popular Songs, and my co-worker (GBV) Matt asked if I had gotten to the loud, long, distorted track, a trademark of the band. Indeed I had, and then the revelation hit me—Yo La Tengo are predictable, even when they are trying not to be. I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the last record Yo La Tengo got experimental with. Honestly, YLT haven’t written a song like “Moby Octopad” in years, even though they’ve tried. They move between soft shoegazery and the aforementioned long distorted tracks (e.g., “Spec Bebop”). I’ve put the pop gem “Sugarcube” on so many mixes that I had to retire it. ICHTHBAO is an album Yo La Tengo can try to best time and time again, but they’ll still end up short. While the new record is supposed to be Popular Songs, it surely won’t be as popular, or enduring, as ICHTHBAO.

5. Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights

Who cares what the fuck Paul Banks is singing about (“The subway is a porno”—riiiiight)? Turn On the Bright Lights came as NYC was on the rise, when the Strokes were on the cover of Spin, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had balls—and I mean real balls—but somehow it was different from the “rock revival” taking place. Instead it was a Joy Division-rip-off-influences-on-its-sleeve, maybe formulaic but still brilliant, jolt of energy that justified all the hype. Much of the credit goes to Carlos D’s slick bass lines and Paul Banks’ cryptic, inane lyrics. From the moody guitars of “Untitled” to the funky dance vibes of “PDA,” TOTBL takes its cues from many places, but the music is so good that it doesn’t matter. Plus, “Obstacle 1” is so good that it justifies its equally as awesome sequel, “Obstacle 2.”

6. Chavez – Better Days Will Haunt You

I asked in my summary of Polvo’s Today’s Active Lifestyles if you liked indie rock. If you answered “no” to that question, skip forward to number seven, then quit this list, because past this is pretty much all indie rock. But none more than Chavez. Led by Matt Sweeny, who in later days has been a member of Zwan (yuck), and has toured/worked with Neil Diamond (good for you, Mr. Diamond, get the hipster demographic), Chavez released two records (Gone Glimmering and Ride the Fader), one EP (Pentagram Ring) and a song on that totally awesome School House Rock compilation. Their discography is so managably small, and handily compiled into this really cool remastered package, that having to choose between the two records is just unfair. (I do not own this compilation; I own all of their records separately.) I said no compilations, but this one is pretty much essential, because it contains the whole story (and their whole story was contained on Matador so it is fair game). I originally picked Ride the Fader but after thinking it over I realized I love Chavez so much that I just wanted to have it all. This is true indie rock, with quick shifting time changes, and anthemic guitars that can either coo you to sleep or pummel you in the face – more beer drinking music!

7. New Pornographers – Electric Version

The New Pornographers have managed to come together and release four records of great tunes. Electric Version contains some of the last truly brilliant songs the NPs will release. Forget about Twin Cinema (yeah, it’s got some good songs) and whatever the fuck that Challengers record was. Some may think they hit their high with Mass Romantic (which if you haven’t heard, go do so now), but Electric Version improved on the power-pop with stronger songs, and three of the most compelling Dan Bejar tracks on any of their records: “Chump Change,” “Testament to Youth In Verse” and “Ballad of the Comeback Kid.” Plus the best Neko Case song in the catalog, “All for Swinging You Around,” is included. Now the New Pornographers seem more of a vehicle for Carl Newman to mess around with, but listening to Electric Version, you couldn’t tell they were a collective. They sounded like a unified group.

8. Frogs – My Daughter the Broad

The best way to describe this record is just to run through some of song titles: “The Boys with the Boys,” “God is Gay,” “Grandma Sitting in the Corner with a Penis in Her Hand Going No, No,” “Which One of You Gave My Daughter the Dope?” and my personal favorite, the 11-second “Who’s Sucking on Grandpa’s Balls Since Grandma Ain’t Home Tonight?” Comedy? Maybe. Thought provoking? Yes. Seek this record out if you dare. You will probably lose friends, but you will definitely gain better ones.

9. Silkworm – Firewater

Putting this list together, I realized a lot of these records are good drinking records. There is also a hell of a lot of real “indie rock” on this list too. Firewater is just like most things on this list—an album made up of rollicking guitars and self-deprecating lyrics fueled by booze, drugs and women. The lyrics are also sometimes humorous (“Miracle Mile”), and sometimes depressing (“Nerves”). But there are still great rockers like “Drunk,” “Wet Firecracker,” and “Killing My Ass.” Silkworm are a heavily underrated band, who still don’t get all the respect they deserve. Unfortunately, the band called it quits after drummer Michael Dahlquist was tragically killed in a car accident in 2005. Hopefully, time will be forgiving to Silkworm.

10. Times New Viking – Rip It Off

This is the most recent album that will appear on any of my three lists, and sure it has only been a year since its release, but goddamn if it didn’t prove that Matador still has balls. The Columbus threesome’s third record, and first for Matador, is an instant classic. Things to note: 1. It is INCREDIBLY LOUD! Don’t believe me? Put this on at your normal listening volume and try to tell me you didn’t turn it down immediately. Everything is mixed in the red. 2. It is still lo-fi as hell. TNV didn’t take their advance and spend it on high production, instead they probably spent it on drugs. 3. It is super fun to sing along with. It contains so many classic sing along bits (e.g., “I need more money, ’cause I need more drugs”). Amazing.

Runners-up:

Because Matador is my favorite label, this was really hard for me. If I could, the runners -up would replace the entire list (except for Pavement, Guided By Voices, and Superchunk), but I do have varied tastes. This is the only list in which I will include runners-up.

11. Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

Because If You’re Feeling Sinister didn’t originally come out on Matador, and really…Boy With the Arab Strap is kinda crap.

12. Mission of Burma – On Off On

The only reunited band, aside from Dinosaur Jr., that proves you can still rock, even if you take 20 years off between records.

13. Cat Power – You Are Free

She was better when she was fucked up.

And Now The Mix:

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