At some point, I’m going to do a full writeup of just Amphetamine Reptile Records. I loved that label so much. Here’s today’s music.

J-Zone, “Caddy Coupe (Instrumental)”

Another J-Zone track, and another one that isn’t actually him rhyming. This is the instrumental of one of the better songs from Fish-n-Grits, his most recent hip-hop album. The original is a meditation on what his grandfather considered luxury, and what a Cadillac meant to him, along with Has-Lo contributing a verse on the same subject. Anyway, you can’t hear all that. Sorry!

Some serious immortals today! And, um, 17 seconds of silence.

Smokey Robinson, “Swept For You Baby”

We’re visiting 1967 with this song, with quintessential Motown artist and arguably the soul behind the soul, Smokey Robinson. It would be futile to list all the tremendous songs he’s been involved with, and I couldn’t really do him justice. Just enjoy this song.

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Partynummer [Live]”

This track comes from Strategies Against Architecture II, a roundup of singles, live tracks, and various unreleased music primarily from the late 80s. In a lot of ways, this documents the end of the first phase of their career, as after this album came out, their music trended away from the power tools and more towards ambient pieces and electronics. It’s a great collection, though, and one of the better entry points to Neubauten’s catalog.

Just missed “Scentless Apprentice” by Nirvana. I guess we’ll have to wait for another day for my indisputable Nirvana album rankings. Alas. Well, here’s today’s music, anyway.

Sleater-Kinney, “All Hands on the Bad One”

Sleater-Kinney is a little bit of a strange one. I always enjoy them thoroughly while they’re playing, and then everything disappears from my brain afterwards. Sitting here, I can’t really call up the tune for any of their songs, despite having listened to them a lot. I like them! I’ve listened to them a bunch! And yet, they’re still invisible inside of my brain. Strange.

New Melvins album! It’s a double album, a first for them. Word is that the first album is good, the second is ambient nonsense. I guess I’ll find out. Meanwhile, here are your tunes for today.

Also, I totally had this entry ready to go, and forgot to post over the weekend. Broke my streak!

Preston School of Industry, “Monkey Heart and the Horses’ Leg”

There are times when you can really hear the Pavement in Preston School of Industry. This is one of those times.

I had kind of forgotten about this Marnie Stern record, and I’m so grateful that shuffle pulled it up. Check out this song, and then go listen to the rest of the album.

Iron Maiden, “Another Life”

This song is from Killers, which pre-dates Bruce Dickinson joining the band. Overall, the band had a more raw sound during this time period, although the dual guitar attack and galloping bass is still present. I actually really like the album a lot, while recognizing that the band is a bit different of a beast without Dickinson around.

Usually, when I do one of these, I go and listen to a bunch of music by one of the artists that popped up. Today, that’s Sicko. Go listen to Sicko, people! Here’s one song of theirs!

Also, new record: I had to upload three of these songs myself. That’s annoying!

Surgery, “Mistake”

Every now and again, a band sometimes puts out a thing that’s way above their average. Surgery, a scuzz-rock Amphetamine Reptile band, managed that trick with their EP, Trim, 9th Ward High Roller, a release that was inexplicably far better than anything else they’d done. This song, however, is not from that record, but from the earlier Nationwide, which is only ok.

The 4th of July was excellent! I hope everybody reading this who had a celebration also had a great time. I want you all to party as much as you can! I have music for you! It might even be party music?

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “Drums and Chicken”

Yeah, OK, I can party to the Bosstones. This song appears on the Mashin’ Up The Nation: The Best of American Ska Volumes 1 and 2 compilation, which was indisputably a collection of American ska bands. I’ve never known if this was a misprint on the comp, as this same song is on Devil’s Night Out as “Drunks and Children”. Baffling. Anyway, the compilation is deeply inessential.

Happy 4th of July! A non-trivial percentage of my readership is probably at my house eating BBQ today. If you’re not here, next time, plan better! Your holiday playlist.

Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge, “An Unexpected Call (The Set-Up)”

Here’s one of the reasons why Ghostface is tops among the Wu MCs - projects like Twelve Reasons to Die, where he collaborated with film composer Adrian Younge on a concept album inspired by a comic book (which was published by the RZA). And the execution of the album carries it all off brilliantly with one of the most cinematic sounding rap albums around. Just a fantastic album.

Four day weekend? You know what that means around here at Five Songs? IT MEANS…HANG ON…TWENTY SONGS! HERE’S FIVE OF THEM! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL!!!

Chevelle, “Peer”

I was sure that shuffle was going to pull up something distinctly un-rock. Well, I bought this album (Point #1) based entirely on Steve Albini recording it. I thought it was fine, and didn’t really go any further. Imagine my surprise when reading a bit about this band to discover that they lasted forever and apparently became huge sellers. Huh. Wouldn’t have guessed.

Some all-time great bands in this go around!

Parliament, “(You’re a Fish And I’m A) Water Sign”

About time funk legends and intergalactic weirdos Parliament showed up around here. I’m never really sure if it makes sense to do a little potted biography of famous acts here or not. Parliament is one of the names that George Clinton and his ensemble recorded under, Funkadelic being the other primary one. The two names grew out of a legal dispute over the name Parliament, and even after it was settled, Clinton and company continued releasing records under both names. Despite the name, Funkadelic actually concentrated more on psychedelic rock, and Parliament was the outfit that mostly played funk, although there was plenty of crossover in both directions. Mostly, what they were, was restlessly creative, always trying new things.