Today’s music.

The Flaming Lips, “Stand in Line”

Prior to turning into the atmospheric, melancholy, fuzzed-out band they are today, the Flaming Lips were an experimental, drugged-out psych band that really didn’t know where things were going, but didn’t particularly care. They released a series of albums that you can charitably describe as “uneven” but most would probably categorize as “unlistenable”. They started going in the right direction with 1990’s In A Priest Driven Ambulance, which gives us today’s song. Somehow, Warner Brothers signed them to a major label based on this record. Anyway, I actually like it better than the immediately following album, and this albums is where to stop if you’re going backwards through the Lips’ discography.

Six songs today! Repeats are your best value here at Five Songs Incorporated!

Nitzer Ebb, “Higher (Barry Adamson Mix)”

This is from an obscure EP called As Is, a little four song thing with a grab bag of tracks on it. It was put out to precede Ebbhead, which was to be their major label debut, and was supposed to get people hyped up. It’s not a bad little EP, you know, if you’re into Nitzer Ebb.

Today starts out as slow as it gets, but don’t worry, that part doesn’t last long.

TV On The Radio, “Black”

Yes, it’s another 15 seconds of silence. TV On The Radio is, thus far, by far the clubhouse leader in “Most Annoying Contributions to Five Songs”.

(NB: I searched for “fifteen seconds of silence” and put that in the playlist instead of, you know, TV On The Radio’s fifteen seconds of silence. Think of it as a cover version.)

Maybe the most dangerous of the year-end roundups is Bandcamp’s, which always results in a lot of stuff for me. As for today’s music, well, I really like two of today’s songs an awful lot. The other three are a little…slapdash, let’s say.

The Skatalites, “Wood and Water”

We get a lot of third-wave ska acts around here, and usually, we make fun of them. Or, at least, a good percentage of them. We get enough of them that maybe a quick refresher is worth our time? When we talk about waves of ska bands, we’re referring to:

Another year-end roundup, this time from NPR. Meanwhile, another good set today. I feel like shuffle has been doing well for a little while.

Bim Skala Bim, “Shoes”

I’m surprised we haven’t seen Bim Skala Bim yet. One of the earliest bands of the third wave, arguably early enough to not be part of the third wave at all. They certainly reached their peak of fame during the third wave, though. With a stable lineup and an approach much like the 2 Tone second wave acts, they produced a solid series of records throughout the late 80s and 90s. This comes from Tuba City, their second album, which somehow got miscategorized in my collection with this album art:

Another year end roundup, this one from Allmusic. More will be coming! Today’s music.

Camper Van Beethoven, “Turquoise Jewelry”

You know, up until listening to this now, after listening to some Firewater earlier today, I’d never really made the connection between the bands. But I think there’s some similarity between them, especially with the last couple Firewater albums.

Wilco, “The Jolly Banker”

Back to Alpha Mike Foxtrot for a delightful little tune that basically sounds like an Uncle Tupelo number. That’s, of course, a good thing.

Yay for year end roundups! First one I’m looking at is The AV Club’s roundup and their ballots. So far, I’ve already picked up two records, Infinite Wave by Vagabon and The Incessant by Meat Wave. Fun! Today’s music!

Isaac Hayes, “Walk On By”

Oh my. With the untimely passing of Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes became probably the most important artist at Stax, writing and contributing to innumerable hits. He was also, of course, a tremendous performer in his own right, with songs like this being a great example. This appeared on the album Hot Buttered Soul, which is just tremendous.

Another fun set today.

Plaid, “New Bass Hippo”

As I mentioned last time, Plaid was around for a long time, but I only picked up a couple of albums. I feel like you can really only deeply know a few genres, and electronic stuff has gotten squeezed out of my brain for no good reason. I’m sure I’ll go on a binge at some point.

The Beastie Boys, “Pow”

I’ve always loved Mike D’s drum break in this song. I should try and play it. That’ll probably bug Megan proper!

Today’s set is a real barn burner.

Art Brut, “People In Love”

This song, from It’s a Bit Complicated, is a solid encapsulation of Art Brut’s unique brilliance. Art Brut only makes sense to someone that has consumed a ton of pop and rock, and internalized all the cliches from them. If you’re that person, Art Brut’s send ups of all that stuff will just hit squarely.

Blackalicious, “The Fabulous Ones”

We’ve had Gift of Gab as a solo artist, but here he is on the breakthrough Blackalicious LP, Nia. From the lush, jazzy beats to the incredible rhymes, Blackalicious immediately became one of the highlights of hip-hop. This record still sounds fresh, 18 years later (OH GOD I’M OLD), and it and the follow-up Blazing Arrow are one of the strongest one-two punches of any rap act ever.

Hey, the AV Club’s “The Year In Band Names” is out! Oh, and we have music for today.

Two Fingers, “High Life”

Side project of Five Songs favorite Amon Tobin, Two Fingers is a collaboration with another producer named Doubleclick, along with some assorted MCs. In particular, Sway appears on most of the tracks here, including this one. And, damn, but it all works great. Stuttery and spastic in all the right ways, with some fun vocal work, this is a very entertaining album.