Grandaddy, “Now It’s On”

I think I’ve used this space before to kind of lament how Grandaddy hasn’t really connected with me. I can see the quality, but it’s just never really clicked. This is a fine tune, though.

American Music Club, “Outside This Bar”

American Music Club were still kind of finding their way with their second album, Engine. Musically, they would eventually open up some of the arrangements which would help give some more space to Mark Eitzel’s lyrics. But as you can hear on this song, the often harrowing storytelling was definitely there.

Valentine’s Day! Let’s do something special! How about a giant pile of Melvins, along with a survey of all their records? Breaks the formula, but who gives a shit! The Melvins are for lovers!

THE BONER YEARS

Not everything they released in this period was on Boner Records, but it’s a convenient way to label things. Buzz Osborne formed the band in 1983 with Matt Lukin (who would later go on to help found Mudhoney) and Mike Dillard (who actually rejoined the band for an album thirty years later). Dale Crover pretty quickly replaced Dillard and that lineup stuck around for at least a little while. The Melvins are kind of legendary in the Northwest music scene for how much of the ball they got rolling. Not only did Lukin help form Mudhoney, one of the pillars of grunge, but Crover was Nirvana’s original drummer (on Bleach). Not only THAT, but Buzz is the guy who introduced Dave Grohl to Cobain. It’s not like things wouldn’t have gotten going up here otherwise, but the Melvins family tree is pretty extensive.

Ice Cube, “No Vaseline”

Ice Cube ended the explosive Death Certificate with a savage diss track on N.W.A, one that N.W.A wasn’t able to remotely respond to. They kind of didn’t really even try. While the homophobia in the song makes it jarring to listen to these days, I still can’t help but admire how hard Cube went at his former bandmates.

Firewater, “Some Strange Reaction”

I was pretty bummed out by the dissolution of Cop Shoot Cop, another band that seemingly was destroyed by a major label contract. The marriage of the punishing rhythms and samples of industrial dance with Tod Ashley’s emotional lyrics and delivery was something pretty special. Luckily, Ashley didn’t wait too long to start up a new project which would quickly surpass Cop Shoot Cop. The first Firewater album, Get Off The Cross, We Need The Wood For The Fire, set the template for the rest of the band’s career. Borrowing bits and pieces from all sorts of music traditions, but centered around Ashley’s cynical world view, he described the band as a “wedding band gone wrong”. This is the first song on the first album, and what a way to kick things off.

Hot Hot Heat, “Le Le Low”

Victoria, BC’s Hot Hot Heat had a real moment in the 2000s, although I’ll confess, I don’t really remember how far they got penetrating the mainstream. I just remember that they were doing well there for a little while. That’s the kind of information you can’t get just anywhere! At any rate, this is from the beginning of their debut EP, so this is how they kicked it off. Not bad!

Foetus, “Red and Black and Gray and White”

Soak is the most recent Foetus album, from 2013. I sort of don’t believe it’s going to be the last Foetus album, but maybe I’m wrong. At any rate, it carries on in his late career form, a howling whirlwind of orchestration, noise, and barely constrained chaos. It’s like a big band possessed by a demon.

Shabazz Palaces, “When Cats Claw”

Shabazz Palaces went to record a few bonus tracks for their 2017 album Quazarz vs. the Jealous Machines, but the sessions ended up going so well that they turned it into an entire companion album, Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star. Given that both albums were recorded roughly at the same time, it’s hard to pick between them, so I’d recommend just listening to both.

Stevie Wonder, “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)”

Music Of My Mind was the album where Stevie Wonder found another gear. He was a one-man band at this point, and he had really mastered writing a complete record. From here through Songs in the Key of Life, there was nobody better, and that five album stretch might be the best anybody has ever made.

Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk”

I’m not going to say anything revelatory about this song or album, so lemme just say that this song is such a goddamn blast in Rock Band, both on the drums and singing. Both at the same time is fuckin’ hard, though.

Tilt, “Annie Segall”

This is from the last Tilt album, in 1999, and I’ll be totally honest: I’m not entirely sure why I picked all of them up. It’s not bad, it’s just that it’s not really any different from the other three albums.

SWANS, “Amnesia”

What Is This? is a record of demos that Michael Gira assembled to test out songs prior to cleaning things up for a full release (what would become leaving meaning.). It’s an interesting record, but very much for completists only. Which is good, because it was released in a very limited edition as a crowdfunding project to raise money for the new record. I’m glad I have it, but that’s because I’m a huge SWANS fan.

400 Blows, “The Ugly Are So Beautiful”

There’s a ruthless, efficient logic at the heart of 400 Blows. The find their groove, riff, or idea and just hammer away at it. It’s not that they’re robotic or simplistic or anything, but they recognize that repetition has a power of its own, and are unafraid to make use of it. It’s the sort of music you can disassemble an engine to.

Funkadelic, “Into You”

The world is divided into two groups: those who think Mothership Connection is P-Funk’s finest moment, and those who think One Nation Under A Groove is. (I’m ignoring Maggot Brain perverts.) My opinion largely rests on whichever one I’ve listened to most recently.

No, but seriously, it’s Mothership Connection.

Front 242, “Television Station”

Official Version is the first good Front 242 album, the one where the menacing synths and icy vocals really came together. And I have to say, this stuff has largely aged better than a lot of their peers. There are elements of it that kind of presage the *wave bands of today.

Soccer Mommy, “yellow is the color of her eyes”

This seven-minute tune is the centerpiece of Soccer Mommy’s record from last year, Color Theory. This record showed up on a lot of year end lists, and while I think it’s good, I’m a little lyric blind at times, so I’m not sure it’s grabbed me quite the same way it did others. But take a listen, if you like this, you’ll like this album.