Young Hunter, “Nothing Shakes the Void”

Doom. Dooooooooooooom. very slow headbang Dooooooooooooooooooooom.

June of 44, “Of Information & Belief”

You know, I wasn’t paying attention, and this song started seamlessly enough that I didn’t even notice we switched. That probably says more about me than it does about the bands, but I’m going to willfully choose to believe that it says we’ve got a good playlist cooking today. Yeah, that’s it! I’m not just quarter-assing my way through this thing! I’m a professional!

Bitch Magnet, “Navajo Ace”

I wanted them to keep going with that stuttering thing they had in the first thirty seconds, but the rest of the song is plenty fun as well.

They Might Be Giants, “You Probably Get That A Lot”

I think I’ve made this point before, but that was probably a long time ago. There’s a lot of Five Songs, and nobody is really paying much attention to it. That includes the staff of Five Songs. Anyway, just think of it like how when you know a friend long enough, you’re going to hear the same stories a lot and even start to take comfort in them.

Cursive, “Bad Sects”

Cursive followed up my favorite album of theirs with Happy Hollow, which probably isn’t really a step back or anything, but I always think more highly of albums that are a breakout. Domestica is arresting, an unflinching look into divorce that can be downright haunting, but The Ugly Organ was a leap forward in the songs that causes it to really stick out in my head. At any rate, this is also a great record, I’m probably just an idiot.

Chris Farren, “Red Wire Blue Wire”

In a fine concept for an album, Death Don’t Wait (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is a soundtrack for a non-existent spy movie. I’m already a sucker for spy music, so I enjoy this quite a bit.

Melvins, “Night Goat”

There are definitely moments on Houdini where the idea of the Melvins breaking big in the wake of Nirvana and Soundgarden didn’t seem quite so crazy. This song, for instance, would seem to me to be perfectly palatable to the grunge crowd. The record didn’t really break big, because even its most marketable moments are pushing the boundaries for a mainstream crowd, but at least you can kind of see the outline of an idea here.

Dead Kennedys, “Soup Is Good Food”

This is the song that let me finally crack the Dead Kennedys. I think there’s an adjustment, for me at least, as music gets faster and more challenging to find something you can pick out that lets you understand it. This song, as a relatively slow one and one where it’s easy to understand what Jello is singing, is the one that let me kind of get what they were up to. And from there, now that I had a rosetta stone for the band, I was able to catch up to the rest of their catalog.

Tackhead, “Ticking Time Bomb”

Is industrial funk a thing? There are bits and pieces of Tackhead that remind me of industrial, but it’s also very electro-funk. At the time I encountered this, I wasn’t sure of the combination, and it sounds incredibly of its time at this point, but I think I might be better inclined towards it today. I dunno, maybe I’ll spend some time with the record.

The Aquabats!, “Robot Theme Song”

Yup, that’s a robot theme song.

clipping., “Story 2”

CLPPNG, the first full record from clipping., was a record with the band still kind of piecing together what they had. It would be on the next album (Splendor & Misery) that everything would come together perfectly, but there are still times on this album where things still seemed a little awkward. The individual pieces, especially Daveed Diggs, were often spectacular, but the best was yet to come.

Yautja, “The Spectacle”

Yautja are chameleons with different styles coming to the fore in their albums, but this song is also kind of a chameleon. There’s some heavy noise rock here, some grind-y bits, but with those sections kind of distinct here, shifting between them easily.

Elbow, “Leaders of the Free World”

A rock song like this really needs to justify six minutes.

9353, “Famous Last Words”

I do think it’s pretty funny when American punk bands have accents like this. It seems particularly odd when it’s this far removed from the original punk scene.

The Mighty Mocambos, “The Spell of Ra-Orkon”

I really like song titles that sound like a D&D adventure. Especially when they’re instrumentals, as that means you’re not being subjected to lyrics that sound like a D&D adventure.

Love Battery, “Easter”

Love Battery’s Dayglo is one of the best albums from the grunge scene, a swirling psychedelic masterpiece that stood out at the time and only gets better with age. Before their masterpiece, many of the ideas were present in Between the Eyes, a record that featured many of the same wah-soaked moves that they would soon perfect. The bottom isn’t quite as firm, so the record isn’t quite as good, but it’s still an excellent listen.

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, “Tralfamadore”

One day, I will discuss this band without mentioning their name. Today is not that day. Hee hee!

The Ethiopians, “Give Me Your Love”

A thing that’s magical about good rocksteady is that it can make it feel like the sun is shining, even if it’s 10:30 at night, you’re tired, and your eyes are itching due to allergies. You know. Hypothetically.

The Regrettes, “Pale Skin”

There’s a very strong throwback feeling to the Regrettes’ first album. Everything in here reminds me of another band, even if I can’t always put my finger on what that band is. Exactly which band shifts pretty constantly, but there’s always something there. It’s kind of déjà vu, but music. Uh, déjà entendu?