Elisabeth Donnelly

perpetua:

Grant Lee Buffalo
“Mockingbirds”
Live on French television, 1994

I can’t help but feel that if Grant Lee Buffalo’s Mighty Joe Moon album came out in the past three years instead of 1994, it would’ve gone over much, much better. It is undoubtedly one of the great overlooked masterpieces of the era, released when it was either just a bit too late or ahead of its time. What a handsome voice, too — it has a heroic, “leading man” quality you don’t get too often these days.

“Mockingbirds” was used really nicely in an early Gilmore Girls episode, too.

The town troubadour thing in Gilmore Girls is worth parsing out, I’d suppose - when the Palladinos left the show, they left it with a Very Special Episode that had Sonic Youth, Joe Pernice, Sparks, and other bands all guesting in a goofy bit. I think because the music picks on Gilmore Girls were very specific to the taste of the people making it, they’re going to age nicely. (Whereas Veronica Mars - with its “new hot bands on the WB label coming out COPORATE SYNERGY” music picks, is really just loaded with generic pop and nothing sticks.)