Essential 2006: The Gaskets Loose Change

One of the best songs I've ever had the honor to post:
The Gaskets - Hold Steady Hot Weather

Previously my favorite song:
The Gaskets - Eiffel Tower

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When I first heard the full length album from the Gaskets, I quickly realized my high expectations probably weren't going to be matched. The first few songs were decent, but not on the same level as the demos I heard back in November. Even the venue's sound problems at their last showSaturday night didn't bode well. Once I re-ordered the tracks to better cohabit the same forty minutes, something popped back into place. At first I thought maybe the Gaskets write better singles than albums, but when I shuffled them, they all clicked together. It was magic. You cannot deny “Hold Steady How Weather” is the boogiest track.

That’s right, boogiest.

The only real quirk about the album is not the songs themselves, but the order in which they appear. But that can be fixed. I know I am destroying the “artists’ original vision,” but I don’t care. This is so much better, and some of the lesser songs actually improve.

Preferable track order (elimi-dating the unnecessary track “De Sunuke Sufain”); and my rough score of each track based on it’s new location:

1. Eiffel Tower 5.0 / 5
2. Motivation 5.0 / 5
3. End Game 4.0 / 5
4. Earthquake 5.0 / 5
5. Left Hand 5.0 / 5
6. Hold Steady Hot Weather 5.0 / 5
7. Cold Busted 4.0/ 5
8. The Easy Life 5.0 / 5
9. Pennies and Dimes 4.0 / 5
10. Deportees 4.5 / 5
11. A Movie About You 5.0 / 5


Here is the original order, which, don't be fooled, disguises it as only an above average album.: Deportees, End Games, Cold Busted, Left Hand, Earthquake, Hold Steady Hot Weather, Motivation, Eiffel Tower, Pennies and Dimes, De Sunuke Sufain, The Easy Life, A Movie About You