A handful of #longreads to help you pass the time this weekend…

This week marked the anniversary of several important albums, and there are of course tributes to these records for those who feel the need to revisit the past.   For instance, today marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Facelift, the debut album from Alice In Chains.  Loudwire has a recap of the history of one of grunge’s first big hits, an album that has held up surprisingly well after a quarter of a century.  There is a surprising amount of diversity on Facelift, especially on the second half of the record, and it is well worth revisiting if you have neglected listening to it in its entirety lately.

Another classic album that was released the same day was Jane’s Addiction smash hit Ritual de lo Habitual, and Rolling Stone has a track-by-track breakdown of the record with singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro.  If you have never listened to the album because you have heard “Been Caught Stealing” enough times in your life, you are missing out.

Rolling Stone also has an interview with Shirley Manson of Garbage, as she reflects on the twenty years since the release of the band’s self-titled debut.  Stereogum also steps in to provide a twentieth anniversary essay of Garbage that features an opening paragraph that is so wrong that you will probably spend hours looking for videos of The Clash on YouTube to help cleanse yourself.

A better Stereogum piece is the essay commemorating the twentieth anniversary of Rancid’s breakthrough album ..And Out Come The Wolves.  I am sure the guys in Rancid would agree with my previous point about The Clash.

The AV Club has a great piece looking at the history of the making of Jimi Hendrix’s one-off record with Band of Gypsys.  As someone who much prefers the work of the ensemble that made up the Jimi Hendrix Experience, it gave me a new-found appreciation of what the group was attempting to accomplish.  Plus, I learned that Hendrix once played guitar on a Jayne Mansfield novelty song!

Finally, as Deerhunter prepares for the release of their next album, you can help prepare for the group’s sonic shift with this Pitchfork interview with frontman Bradford Cox.