(2008)
Album: Real Emotional Trash

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ Real Emotional Trash starts off with a “dessert” song that’s really a meal in and of itself. Dense lyrics and layered guitars are the ingredients of “Dragonfly Pie,” the hazy, ambling album opener that features Sleater-Kinney’s Janet Weiss. Malkmus riffs in his usual style, and the individual lines of the song are simple enough—but when stacked on top of each other, they really give the listener something to chew on here. For my part, I’ve always interpreted “Dragonfly Pie” as an anti-war song.

Hear me out: There are “stoned digressions” that have “mutated into the truth,” which brings to mind a downtrodden vet who’s speaking out against future (or present) wars. A middle passage about kids named after jazz songs who are standing up to their high school principals sounds like it could fit into old protest songs, especially... (Continues)