Good one today!

Albert King, “Playing On Me”

This merger of King’s blues guitar with the Stax horns, with funk folded in, is just delightful. I need to find some more shit like this. You can add blues to the long list of music that I fundamentally know jack squat about. I’m starting to think I’m not qualified to write a music blog at all!

MU330, “Dropping The Ball”

If you’re going to combine ska and punk, you can’t half-ass it. Full tempo punk with horns, hell yeah! Yeah, this shit’s a laughingstock, but I don’t care. It’s fun! Screw y’all!

Here’s today!

Jeanne And The Darlings, “How Can You Mistreat The One You Love”

How sweet is that Memphis sound? This is a song from late in the Atlantic run for Stax/Volt, from 1967. That’s a tasty break in this song! Jeanne and the Darlings just ended up recording four singles in their career, so there isn’t a lot of followup to this tune.

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Bildbeschreibung”

There have been times in my life when I’ve bought a record that was intimidating, when I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. Buying this album, Strategies Against Architecture II, was one of those moments. I had heard of the band, in mostly hushed tones, and I wasn’t really sure I was up for it. So strange! So noisy! So German! I didn’t honestly know if I was up for it. And the album was, indeed, something pretty far beyond what I could have expected. But I certainly liked it!

I had to upload three of these tracks today. I know nobody cares.

Marvin Gaye, “Flyin’ High (In The Friendly Sky)”

I’m pretty confident I’ve posted my contrarian/asshole take on What’s Going On, which is that it has some seriously great tunes, but actually is kind of flabby as an album and as a consequence is a flawed record. This song is an example - it’s kind of meandering and doesn’t add much to the album.

And another one!

Aesop Rock, “No Regrets”

Aesop Rock’s Def Jux debut, Labor Days, is widely considered to be his best record. It’s the one where the beats really started keeping up with his complex, wordy flow. Rock can be a little exhausting to listen to at times, but in the right mood, he’s a lot of fun.

Bim Skala Bim, “For The Turnstiles”

This track, from How’s It Goin’?, is an example of Bim Skala Bim at its best. A warm, organ-driven groove, some fun trombone bits, a cheerful tune - it’s just super pleasant.

Here’s today!

Nickel Creek, “You Don’t Know What’s Going On”

This project has now gone on long enough that I can’t really remember which bands I’ve introduced and which ones I have not. And, honestly, it’s not reasonable to assume everybody has read/listened to every one of these. So, if I happen to repeat myself on anything, I apologize, but let’s just pretend that it’s because I felt like enough time had passed and not because I have a tenuous grasp on my marbles.

Let’s hope we do better today!

The Clash, “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad”

This is a repeat from, geez, a year and a half ago.

Bruce Cockburn, “If A Tree Falls”

Well, it’s been a good, long time, but we’ve got a completely unknown song here popping up. There were a handful of songs pre-loaded on some device of mine in the misty, distant past, and some automated scan swept them up into my library. I didn’t catch them, and now they’re sprinkled in among the songs I actually want to keep, and I haven’t been able to root them out. And now you have to deal with them too!

Short and Sweet today. Because it has Matthew Sweet! HAHA! (it’s not very sweet)

Matthew Sweet, “Smog Moon”

Sweet, during his peak period, was a reliably great power pop songwriter. But there were times when he’d kind of tip over into a cheesier territory, and this song is a prime example of that particular beast. You don’t want to evoke Billy Joel’s cornier moments, in general.

Kid Koala, “Pinballer”

This is one of the tunes from Kid Koala’s soundtrack to the video game Floor Kids, because he hasn’t tackled enough media yet. I wish I could say something about the game, but while I bought it, I haven’t tried it yet. I only have so much time, people!

We’ve got several folks here who are reaching high for art here.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “Peasantry or ‘Light! Inside Of Light!’”

Pretension is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. If you have the bombast and chops to pull it off, pretension really just turns into ambition. And Godspeed You! Black Emperor really do have the chops to make it work. Yes, their song and album titles are nonsense, but who cares when you get to listen to something like this. The brigaded violins, the sweep of guitars, the stately waltz of the whole thing, it’s just gorgeous. Also, this song is close to being as long as the entire playlist yesterday.

Tidy list today!

christian fitness, “love letters in the age of steam”

I really enjoy tom-heavy drum beats like this. Yeah, I wouldn’t want it for every song, but for the occasional tune, bring it on. Also, this song gets in and out in two minutes. Nice work!

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, “Third Finger, Left Hand”

I gotta say, you can count your fingers differently and really change the intent of this title by quite a bit! This isn’t the best song from Martha Reeves, when it comes down to it. It’s pretty predictable and a little too syrupy. Not unpleasant, but not great.

Back to Five Songs!

Don Drummond, “Jet Stream”

I was actually listening to this album (the excellent Don Cosmic, a compilation of a bunch of his Studio One tracks) in the car today, and was marveling at the warmth of the record. There’s an alchemy in the way this stuff is recorded, the ambient studio noise enhancing the intimate feel of it. It sounds like Drummond and his band are just playing for you, right in your room. Or head. Whatever. I kind of poke fun at vinyl guys, because how could you not, but there is a legitimate thing to having some of the organic noise of the recording come through as you listen.