400 Blows, "The Ugly Are So Beautiful" There's a ruthless, efficient logic at the heart of 400 Blows. The find their groove, riff, or idea and just hammer away at it. It's not that they're robotic or...
Funkadelic, "Into You" The world is divided into two groups: those who think Mothership Connection is P-Funk's finest moment, and those who think One Nation Under A Groove is. (I'm ignoring Maggot Brain perverts.) My opinion largely rests on...
Soccer Mommy, "yellow is the color of her eyes" This seven-minute tune is the centerpiece of Soccer Mommy's record from last year, Color Theory. This record showed up on a lot of year end lists, and while I think it'...
The Arsonists, "Underground Vandal" The Arsonists' debut album, released in 1999, was very much a throwback record. Not just in sound, but in the way it was created. By 1999, hip-hop had moved into an era of producers being stars separate from...
The Chemical Brothers, "Where Do I Begin" We've talked before about how "Block Rockin' Beats" was (deservedly) a galactic scale hit. I have to wonder how people who bought the record thought about the rest of the album,...