Yo-Yo Ma, “Suite no. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010: I. Prélude”

These pieces, which come up occasionally, really don’t make a lot of sense in isolation. Shuffle is good at some things - surprises, shaking up your routine, serendipity - but is bad at an album like this.

The Meters, “Africa”

Rejuvenation is my favorite album from the second Meters phase of life. The grittier, mostly- or all-instrumental Meters of the first few albums had changed into a brighter sound, with vocals and more bounce. Still incredibly funky, of course, but a different feel. Generally, I lean towards the earlier sound, but this album is undeniable.

Iron Chic, “My Best Friend (Is a Nihilist)”

Had I encountered this when I was 17, I’m sure I would have adored it. As it is, I like it just fine, but I’m also far more likely to listen to the punk that I encountered when I actually was 17. It’s nothing personal, we just make emotional connections with this kind of thing when we’re young.

Alarmist, “Expert Hygiene”

squints Jazz fusion? Elaborate post-rock? Post-math-rock? Math jazz?

Lungfish, “My Fool Heart”

I’ve kind of run down Lungfish often enough here to make it clear that I’m not a big fan, so I won’t rehash it. I do wonder occasionally (usually whenever they come up here) if I’m missing something by not going for their later albums and seeing if my opinion would change.

And then I realize that I do have a couple later albums, and had just forgotten that they existed. Whoops! I already answered this for myself.

Kid Koala, “The Fundamentals”

Floor Kids is the game soundtrack that Kid Koala did, because it’s not enough for him to be a musican, composer, and artist, it was time to work on a game also. It’s a fun rhythm game around breakdancing, and I recommend it, and of course the soundtrack is a good time.

The Skoidats, “Running Riot (live)”

A cover of the song by Cock Sparrer, in case you couldn’t make out the intro. Uh, not a whole lot else to say here.

The Beautiful South, “Liars’ Bar”

Yeah, not the best choice here for a band where the delightful vocal performances are such an important part of their sound.

Madvillain, “Operation Lifesaver aka Mint Test”

A thing about Madvillain which is always impressive is that a lot of these tracks are pretty short, often under two minutes, but they feel fully realized and don’t at all feel skimpy. They’re just so packed with ideas that even a brief track is satisfying.

John Oswald, “Btls (Marco Integer)”

Chopping up the Beatles is really playing with fire, copyright-wise. It’s powerful source material, of course, so I’m glad he went for it. But you know, there’s a reason this stuff was so hard to find for a while.

The Minders, “Now I Can Smile”

An Elephant Six band, the Minders were very much, uh, an Elephant Six band. I mean, you can hear them. They were pretty good at it, but it’s kind of…I guess I’d rather just listen to the Kinks instead?

Spawn of Possession, “Where Angels Go Demons Follow”

I dunno, the vocals on this track are really amusing me tonight. Something about the cadence here is extra ridiculous.

Negativland, “Cityman”

Negativland, in their roles as cultural and social critics, were usually on their strongest footing when they took aim at consumerism. They would always have such rich vocal samples to draw from, and their pointed sarcasm always landed well. And it’s not like it’s super easy to nail this target. Yes, consumer culture in America is a giant blimp, but criticism can come across a smug or facile here because it is such a easy path. Negativland succeed because they mix the absurd in, and they also let our consumer culture speak for itself. The most powerful criticism can be just a simple mirror.

Madlib, “Pyramids (Change)”

This is from Beat Konducta, Volume 1 & 2: Movie Scenes, a record intended as a soundtrack to a non-existant movie as well as a companion piece to J Dilla’s revered Donuts. The thing that makes it a little different from Madlib’s usual work is that there are a lot of vocal samples, helping give it a little more of that cinematic feel. Among Madlib’s instrumental work, it’s not my favorite, but everything he does is interesting.

Germs, “Shut Down (Annihilation Man)”

An outlier on the one and only Germs LP, (GI), this is a live track that is triple the length of anything else on the record. A loose wander of a song, it’s all sneer and skronk, without a whole lot of direction. But the Germs were never really about having a point, so it fits in just fine.

Joey Bada$$, “Christ Conscious”

It’s impossible to not nod your head along here. I tried, I’ve done the science.

Touché Amoré, “Just Exist”

I sometimes find screamo to be a little bit tiring. Musically, it’s my jam, but the vocals wear me out sometimes. This seems like a stupid thing for someone who listens to as much metal with vocals that sounds like someone caught something important in a home appliance. But I am very stupid, so here we are.

Luscious Jackson, “LP Retreat”

You know, if Luscious Jackson had made this record another fifteen years later, I’ll bet they would have found a much bigger audience. It sounds pretty ahead of its time, and I’m not sure people in 1994 really knew what to make of it.