Blackalicious, “World of Vibrations”

It wasn’t clear if there would be a follow-up to the masterful Blazing Arrow, but three years later, The Craft showed up. And while it’s not quite as good, that’s an unreasonable expectation. It’s an excellent record, Gift of Gab was a master, and the beats are urgent enough to provide a strong platform and not disappear.

Caspar Babypants, “Cotton Eyed Joe”

I think last time we had the Presidents of the United States of America on here, I mentioned that Chris Ballew was occupying himself with making kids’ records under the moniker Caspar Babypants. Well, here he is, and it’s a testament to his basic affability and deft hand with a tune that he managed to turn the curdled anthem of canned baseball stadium antics from a rancid abomination to a totally pleasant listen.

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study for Player Piano No. 3a”

Has anybody flipped Nancarrow into any beats? Seems like it would be a fun thing to hear.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, “Crime Pays”

What a lovely beat here. As someone who grew up listening to the radio in cars in the early 80s an awful lot, that late 70s vibe here just sparks something really primal in me.

Tame Impala, “Lucidity”

Another of my breaks with music critic orthodoxy (although I don’t really feel like I’m a real critic) is that I think Tame Impala is kind of boring. I’m not sure why that is - I like other psychedelic stuff just fine, I don’t have any problems with any elements that go into this. It just glides past my brain and nothing finds any purchase. It’s pleasant, but it’s like taking a nap.

Die Warzau, “Funkopolis”

Die Warzau mostly got lumped in with other industrial dance acts, mostly due to a name that looked like an industrial band and a vocal style that sounded like Nitzer Ebb after some vocal lessons. But in retrospect, there’s really very little that connects them to other industrial dance. There’s nowhere near enough noise, it’s not chilly enough, there’s no disaffection on display. This is just dance music that somebody has darkened ever so slightly.

The Flaming Lips, “The Sparrow Looks Up at the Machine”

They should have kept that noise from the first few seconds going throughout. Just go full abrasive. It would make me happy, anyway.

Mudhoney, “Burn It Clean”

One of the delightful bits of early Mudhoney is how often you can just hear someone yelling, belching, or otherwise making noise at the beginning or ending of tracks. It’s an excellent choice to leave that stuff in. The “hey jackass!” at the start of this really sets the tone.

I’m really wobbling here - I think at some point pretty soon, I’m going to stop updating this every day. It just consumes a little bit too much of my creative time, and I’d like to do something else.

400 Blows, “The Root of Our Nature”

The opener of Black Rainbow, and you know within seconds if this thing is going to be your jam or not. Some bands are growers and it takes some time to decide if something is for you or not. Others…are not.

Versus, “Shower Song”

Nice drums on this tune! This is from the second Versus record, and it’s a more muscular tune than I remember them putting out. I’ll be honest, I haven’t listened to Versus in decades (outside of the tracks that show up here), and it’s kind of interesting reflecting how bands collapse down into stereotypes in our memory. Versus is a pop band in my brain, but this is pretty rockin'.

Afghan Whigs, “Retarded”

Uh, yikes.

“Television’s gone / I’m alone with Lucifer / what a drag” is such an outstanding summary of Greg Dulli’s lyrical work with the Whigs. Shame about the slurs, though.

The Temptations, “I Wish It Would Rain”

A thing that gets a little lost about Motown is that a lot of it is reduced to just the same handful of the biggest hits these days. And those songs are great, sure, but there’s so much awesome stuff just a tiny bit deeper in their catalog. This was a decent hit back in the day, but has largely disappeared from people’s memory, and it’s a great tune.

The Skatalites, “Black Sunday”

I’ve mentioned it before, but Stretching Out is probably the best single Skatalites album. This is a double live album from 1983, during a time when all of the eight surviving original members were back together in the wake of the second wave reviving interest in ska. It catches the band at the top of their form, full of energy, playing many of their greatest songs. If not for the sad absence of Don Drummond, I’d say it catches them at the absolute height of their powers, a neat trick for a band that has played music across six decades.

Skinny Puppy, “Riverz End”

At this point, I find it charming when I find an edgy-z spelling. This was cutting edge stuff at one point. You saw a “z” instead of an “s”, and you knew you were in for some attitude.

Foetus, “Sick Minutes”

Limb is a compilation of un-released material from Foetus pulling from the very early years of the band. It’s an interesting historical document, showing where J.G. Thirlwell came from, but it’s largely going to only be interesting to fellow Foetus sickos.

Let’s Go Bowling, “Identity Crisis”

The final Let’s Go Bowling album, Stay Tuned, feels a little like they were finally letting the commercial winds blow them along towards rock. While their previous records had been pretty traditional, this one definitely feels more of a piece with the other ska bands who were hitting it big. But, of course, by 2000 the commercial appetite for ska was collapsing, so if it was a bid for fame, it didn’t really work out. My least favorite of the four records I have from them (there’s apparently a debut out there that I’ve never heard).