Sebadoh III

III
Studio album by Sebadoh
Released	August 16, 1991
Recorded	March 1991 at Fort Apache Studios
Genre	Indie rock, Lo-fi
Length	63:37
Label	Homestead
Producer	Sean Slade
Sebadoh chronology
The Freed Weed (1990) III (1991) Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock (1992)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	(*)
Pitchfork	(9.3/10)
Prefix	(9.0/10)
Stylus	B+

III (or Sebadoh III) is the third album by the American indie rock band, Sebadoh. It was released by Homestead Records in 1991.

III was the first full length Sebadoh album to feature Jason Loewenstein, who joined the band's two founding members Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney in 1989, and debuted on the "Gimme Indie Rock" single earlier that year.

Music

III features songwriting contributions from all three band members, with folky, melodic material by Barlow, noisy hardcore rock by Gaffney, and songs that bridged the gap between those extremes by Loewenstein. It opens with the electric Barlow-penned "The Freed Pig," an attack on Barlow's ex-bandmate J. Mascis, who fired him from his former band Dinosaur Jr. in 1989. However, the majority of Barlow material on III is acoustic, like the eponymous ode to his girlfriend and future wife, "Kath"

Gaffney's material includes the LSD-referencing album closer, "As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger," which addresses his dark family life.

Significance

III was released a month before Nirvana's major label debut, Nevermind, which brought alternative rock to the mainstream. In the wake of Nirvana's breakthrough, many other acts who emerged from the 1980s independent music scene, but remained signed to independent record labels, achieved modest success. Along with Pavement's 1992 debut Slanted and Enchanted, III is considered one of the "cornerstones of 90s indie rock," and helped establish the lo-fi subgenre.

"The Freed Pig" was covered by the American indie rock band The Breeders on the Head to Toe EP in 1994.

"Spoiled" was re-released on the Kids soundtrack in 1995, and can be heard during the film's closing credits.

Reception

The album has been included in various best-of lists in the years since its release, including Alternative Press' "Top 99 of '85-'99" in 1995 (#85) and Spin's "Top 90 Albums of the 90's" in 1999 (#41).

Reissue

III was reissued by Domino Records in 2006, featuring a second disc of extra material and new liner notes. The bonus disc includes the "Gimme Indie Rock" EP in its entirety.

Track listing

1. "The Freed Pig" - 3:08
2. "Sickles and Hammers" (Boon, Watt) - 0:50
3. "Total Peace" - 3:02
4. "Violet Execution" - 3:57
5. "Scars, Four Eyes" - 3:27
6. "Truly Great Thing" - 2:13
7. "Kath" - 1:52
8. "Perverted World" - 1:54
9. "Wonderful, Wonderful" (Edwards, Raleigh) - 3:13
10. "Limb by Limb" - 2:17
11. "Smoke a Bowl" - 3:02
12. "Black-Haired Gurl" - 2:12
13. "Hoppin' Up and Down" - 3:16
14. "Supernatural Force" - 2:43
15. "Rockstar" - 2:42
16. "Downmind" - 1:31
17. "Renaissance Man" - 2:19
18. "God Told Me" - 1:09
19. "Holy Picture" - 2:53
20. "Hassle" - 3:30
21. "No Different" - 2:20
22. "Spoiled" - 3:03
23. "As the World Dies, the Eyes of God Grow Bigger" - 6:49

Extra disc (2006 reissue)

1. "Gimme Indie Rock"
2. "Ride the Darker Wave"
3. "Red Riding Good"
4. "New King"
5. "Calling Yog Soggoth"
6. "Stored Up Wonder (supernatural force)"
7. "Melting Wall (holy picture)"
8. "Design"
9. "Attention"
10. "Stars For Eyes"
11. "Unseen Waste"
12. "Violet Execution (remix '04)"
13. "As the World Turns"
14. "Cranberry Bog"
15. "The Devil's Reggae"
16. "The Freed Pig (4-track)"
17. "Never Jealous"
18. "Showtape '91"