Television, “See No Evil”

There have been bands as cool as Television was when they released Marquee Moon, but I’m not sure there have been any cooler.

SWANS, “In My Garden”

On Children of God, Jarboe’s contributions to the band were placed much more at the center of things. The transition from the sound of nihilist, crushing despair over to spooky, creepy despair was thus complete. This era of the band is probably my least favorite, but that’s mainly just due to how much I like some of their other periods. As always, SWANS are never less than interesting and frequently much more than that.

Richie Hawtin, “Aliens Don’t Boogie”

I’m never really sure how to credit this record. It’s Richie Hawtin putting together a mix record, so do I credit him? Or the artist that did the original track? I choose the former on purely utilitarian grounds, which is that if anybody listening to this wants to hear more, they’re going to do better looking up Hawtin than they will the original artist (Thor, in this case. Not the Norse god.)

Joe Lally, “Day Is Born”

The first track to Lally’s second record, giving a good idea of what sort of bass-forward tunes you can expect to hear from him. If you’ve listened to Fugazi’s instrumentals, you’ll have a decent picture in mind also, even though Lally does sing.

House of Lightning, “James Brown”

Part of the Floor family tree, House of Lightning shares members with Floor and, as you can hear, aesthetics. If you’re looking for more stuff in that vein, of really big riffs and melodies and some clean singing, you’re in the right spot.

Mule, “I’m Hell”

Hi Hell, I’m Dad.

Cannibal Ox, “Iron Galaxy”

It’s difficult to overstate how much this album sounded like the future when it came out. And while it sort of does represent a path not taken in hip-hop, at least by the mainstream, I suppose it did eventually find full flower with El-P’s work with Run the Jewels.

Atmosphere, “Stopwatch”

Mi Vida Local, Atmosphere’s 2018 record, continues their pattern of staying in the realm of the personal. Slug continues to mostly contemplate and explore his life in his lyrics. Supporting that, Ant’s production relies more and more on live instrumentation, giving again a more organic feel to things. It’s a decent album, but I’m not sure it stands out from their other 2010s work.

Skavoovie & the Epitones, “Blood Red Sky”

We had the Skatalites yesterday, and now we hear another take on the genre thirty years later. And you know what? This stuff whips also, horns rule.

Olivelawn, “Hate”

San Diego’s Olivelawn released a couple albums in the early 90s, with this one sounding like a Seattle record mostly because it was recorded in Seattle in 1992 by Jack Endino. Very, very grunge. Anyway, it’s pretty good stuff if you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path with those 1992 vibes. Half of this band would go on to form Fluf, who banged out four excellent records in the 90s also.

Steakdaddy Six, “Sweaty Betty”

Indie rock out of Champaign-Urbana, Steakdaddy Six released two solid albums in the early 90s before ending their run. This is from the second of those records, Houstonia, but they’re pretty comparable. The most notable thing about the band is that they featured an extra drummer in the lineup, which distinguished them from most of their contemporaries. Not very many bands roll with two drummers, but more should.

The Housemartins, “Flag Day”

I don’t want to profane this with my witless scribbling.

Panopticon, “Trauerweide II”

From a split release with Panopticon and Waldgeflüster, where the bands each contributed a long black metal song and a folk cover of a song from the other band. This is Panopticon’s cover, and I’m not familiar with the original, so I can’t really comment on how it differs. But it’s a nice listen, anyway.

Pussy Galore, “Handshake”

Somehow, Pussy Galore manages to sound greasy. Some of that is the trashy production - the clattering drums, the bullhorn vocals, the squalling guitars. But even beyond that, there’s a feel to things that kind of make you feel like you need a bath after listening to it. It’s great!

Killdozer, “Space: 1999”

There’s nothing more reliable in this world than Killdozer grimly pounding away. It’s always going to sound like power equipment being used improperly, and leave you feeling like perhaps you shouldn’t have listened to it.

Mastodon, “The Motherload”

Once More Around The Sun is definitely a Mastodon album, what with all their stylistic tics being present. But for the most part, it’s all packaged in a much more accessible way. Much of this song, for example, really is just a half-step away from something like Soundgarden. I, of course, prefer the denser and more elaborate songs of their earlier albums, but this is still a decent listen.

Cursive, “Big Bang”

Dang, friends, that’s a hell of a groove there. “Big Bang” indeed!

Bedouine, “Nice and Quiet”

This is not a groove. Too pretty.

De La Soul, “Drawn”

I wonder what the shortest Five Songs has been? I mean, five songs long, but in text.

Man or Astro-Man?, “The Sound Waves Reversing”

I’m absolutely not going to figure it out, mind you.

Union Carbide Productions, “Swing”

But I gotta figure this one is the “winner”. I’ll do better tomorrow!