Built To Spill - You Were RightAlbum: Keep It Like a Secret [1999]
one of the most popular indie acts of the '90's, built to spill found their middle ground between pavement-style pop and the spacious jamming of neil young. with their third album (and first to knock down the lengths of their often-epic songs), "keep it like a secret" did not keep them from being any less majestic. "you were right" is a song that delivers a powerful combination of urgent music with aching lyrics, soaked in regret. doug martsch's guitar work sounds like a symphony of stratocasters, and when the vocals start, their is instant gratification, with martsch's sweet, multi-tracked voice pleading the painful message of the song. the verse lyrics are addressed to "you", which turns out to be a pantheon of classic rock voices, and martsch goes on to tell pink floyd, jimi hendrix, and bob dylan (among others) how right they were in the assertions of their classic songs. "you were wrong when you said everything's gonna be alright" (a la bob marley), is the entire chorus, and it's a dismal outlook that turns one of music's most positive lyrics upside down. it's a ridiculously well-written rock anthem.
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