Palmistry, “In The Mountains…”

A mystery here. This is from a release just labeled Demo, and it doesn’t appear to be from Bandcamp. It’s from 2017 according to the metadata (and Metal Archives), but I don’t know where else I would have gotten it other than Bandcamp. Well, whatever. Let’s listen! Pretty basic doom here, not unpleasant, but not lighting me on fire either.

Hüsker Dü, “Something I Learned Today”

This opens one of the most impressive and important albums in all of hardcore, Zen Arcade. Hüsker Dü proved that hardcore could still be recognizable and even thrive in an environment of trying unorthodox things. That they pulled this off with a double album that was recorded in as much of a rush as the music itself makes it doubly impressive. Pound for pound, it’s probably not their best record, but for the ambition and impact, you can’t argue with it as a holistic piece of work.

Boldy James and the Alchemist, “Scrape the Bowl”

Boldy James and the Alchemist got together for a second record, The Price of Tea in China, seven years after the first record. They’ve got great chemistry together, something they must agree on as they subsequently went on to make a third record. It’s very good, and if this track strikes your fancy, you’ll definitely enjoy it.

Public Enemy, “Miuzi Weighs A Ton”

I was going to use the phrase “old school” in my description back there, but thought better of it because I’m not even entirely sure I know what old school means to people these days. Sometimes it seems to just mean “in a style I like”. Anyway, to me? This is what it means.

Pavement, “Stereo”

I dunno, I just love Pavement. Just hearing the intro to this song puts a grin on my face. I haven’t gotten sick of it yet, and I hope I never do. Pavement will probably be one of those bands that my kids will look back on fondly as reminding them of their old man, and maybe they’ll even listen to them occasionally as a result. I’ll still be distorting their taste from beyond the grave!

The Decemberists, “Mistral”

I wonder what’s next up for the Decemberists. The last three albums haven’t been very much like each other - The King is Dead is like R.E.M., What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is like Hazards of Love but without a theme, and I’ll Be Your Girl is like a bad record. How will they mix it up next time?

Man or Astro-Man?, “DNI”

Man or Astro-Man? were insanely productive in the early to mid-90s, cranking out basically two albums a year before arriving on Touch and Go records, where the recording budgets got a little shinier but the sound remained the same. The productivity slowed a bit, they were only doing an album a year at this point, but these years are probably a little more reliable, so this record (the first of them) is probably a good starting point.

Forest Swords, “The Weight of Gold”

Always nice to heart from Forest Swords! I’d like to hear a new album from him, actually, although I suppose the wait between the first two albums is about what we’ve waited since the second album. So maybe soon! I’ve convinced myself!

Negativland, “Either Or”

True False, the 2019 record from Negativland, is something of a return home for them, although without some dearly departed members. It’s based around the same kind of collage work that they used on their biggest albums, and the sound is in the same vein as those records. For people like me who have been listening to them for decades, it’s comforting in a way to hear it. But, of course, as befits Negativland, it’s not wholly comforting, as the material on the record is mostly downer stuff around the media’s negative effects on the well-being of society and our own minds. As always, it’s a thoughtful record, and the world would be a better place if something like Negativland was more prominent.

The Roots, “Make My”

Geez, it’s been more than a decade since undun was released. Every now and again, I go look up a band that pops up on here and discover that there are albums they’ve released that I was unaware of. Always a treat! But alas, I was unable to manifest any new Roots records I didn’t already have. I’m sorry I failed you all.

Big Boi, “Apple of My Eye”

Oh, and I am aware of …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, I just realzed that that might not be clear.

The Minders, “Pass It Around”

Have I done the zalgofied text gag before? Feels like I have. Look folks, I ran out of material about a thousand of these ago. And it’s not like it was good material back then.

The Mono Men, “I’m Hangin'”

Just pure garage rock from the Mono Men, with a tune that closed their second album Wrecker!, although it comes to us courtesy of the comp Back To Mono! Yes, they used a lot of exclamation points. This record collects the first two Mono Men albums into one release, with some minor changes in track order, so it’s a solid pickup. You know, if people still bought CDs or anything. Because it’s not like any of this stuff is available on streaming. Unless you’re in my house. Come on over! We have garage rock and Chex Mix!

Ex Hex, “Hot and Cold”

There’s an extremely 80s feel to Ex Hex. I get a false sense memory of sitting in the back of Monza when we pick up the college radio station at Washington State University, and being intrigued by hearing something a little different from the usual classic rock.

Weezer, “Butterfly”

Where are we at on the “the only good Weezer album is Pinkerton” cycle? Seems like we’re due for a reaction to it at this point.

NoFX, “I Wanna Be Your Baby”

A misfire from this record, I just really don’t want to hear Fat Mike singing this, you know?

Unsteady, “Breaking Up”

A real treat! Unsteady put up a handful of unreleased tracks onto the web in 2001 or so, and I managed to grab them and hang onto them for forever. They never released a followup to their masterful Double or Nothing, so these four tracks are the only things we have. More than I think anybody else in the third wave, they’re the band that I wanted to hear more from. Alas.

Dr. Ring-Ding & The Senior Allstars, “Bad Company”

I wonder what the Junior Allstars sound like?

The Orb, “Close Encounters”

I think last time, we talked about ambient, and how it doesn’t always work that well for me. Well, let’s see if anything has changed, because we have ten minutes of it to listen to together! I’ll see you on the other side, if I’m still awake.

Death Grips, “Spikes”

What’s the opposite of ambient? Anyway, I’m awake now!