Built to Spill, “Conventional Wisdom”

Probably the best song on You In Reverse, it’s also one of the longest. But Built to Spill were often at their best when they take the time to really elaborate on a melody and play around with it. The first half of this song sounds like a good Dinosaur Jr. track, and then it mutates into a very Built to Spill thing during the second half, and both halves are very enjoyable.

BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah, “Stark’s Reality”

This tune is very like David Axelrod, especially in the engineering of the recording and the strings. I would have loved to hear Ghostface actually rhyme on top of it.

Oranssi Pazuzu, “Uraanisula”

Looks like the first time we’ve had Oranssi Pazuzu around here - they’re a Finnish black metal band that plays around a lot more with psychedelic stuff than a lot of other bands. They can sometimes feel pretty spacey as a consequence, which can be fun, or maybe a little proggy. I guess you can just listen to this! There are many variations of people howling over guitars out there, folks.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “Hell of a Hat”

Let’s Face It is the album that broke through for the Bosstones, but I think their previous record (Question the Answers) is easily their best. The songwriting is both sharper and rougher, which suits them well. Take this song, for instance. The “sharpest motherfucker” stuff leading into the chorus is great, they aren’t afraid of some huge guitars during the chorus, they have a noisy breakdown to conclude things, and this song that could have just been a smirk is actually much more interesting than it initially seemed.

The Maytals, “Daddy”

The first Maytals album, 1965’s The Sensational Maytals, was later re-issued with a bunch of extras and alternate takes as Sensational Ska Explosion. The extra junk is unnecessary, but the album is a great view into the early career of one of ska and reggae’s great acts. As this was very early in the development of the style, there is a fair bit of R&B on the album, such as this track.

Ministry, “Just One Fix”

Psalm 69 represents the last time Ministry was fun and not just a repetitive mess. “Jesus Built My Hotrod” is the highlight, but the album is chock full of similarly punishing industrial metal. I think the way to approach Ministry is to probably start with this album and then work your way backwards until it stops appealing, and just pretend that this is their last album.

Earth Wind & Fire, “Help Somebody”

There are several bands that I really only knew from later radio hits that were on when I was a kid. So, to me, they were just these bands that had some corny hits that I didn’t think much about. Kool & the Gang are absolutely in that cateogry, and Earth Wind & Fire is another. This is both an unfair evaluation of the hits that they had on the radio, but also fails to account for the long careers of these bands. Take EWF’s first album! It’s a fantastic blend of funk, R&B, jazz, and rock, and is incredibly impressive for a debut.

Hey, a quick note here before we get to the main act - we went all of November with a post every single day! NOT BAD

Nickel Creek, “Somebody More Like You”

One of my favorite Nickel Creek songs, with the acid lyrics really carrying things, and of course the lovely harmonies are as fun as always. One of the things that I really like about Nickel Creek is how percussive the playing is, so you don’t even really notice that there’s no drums.

Belle and Sebastian, “I Want The World To Stop”

I’ve written before about how I don’t love Write About Love, so I won’t rehash that here. It’s fine, but it’s just a little too slick and it just doesn’t resonate with me. I think this song is probably a good example of what I think. All the moves are there for this to be an excellent song, some horns, some handclaps, sweet backing vocals - but it just doesn’t quite land. Stuart just doesn’t sound like he’s really throwing himself into it, there’s a little too much repetition in the lyrics, and it just doesn’t seem too inspired.

Morrissey, “He Knows I’d Love To See Him”

This is from the non-album single November Spawned A Monster, where he continued working with ex-Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, and is some of the better stuff from his solo career. It’s just three songs, but they’re good songs. You know, if you can stand Morrissey.

Sharon Van Etten, “Comeback Kid”

I haven’t followed Van Etten too closely, but her most recent album (Remind Me Tomorrow) got strong reviews based on having added a lot richer arrangements, and I picked it up. It’s pretty good! I should actually recommend it to my sister, she would like it (she does not read this blog).

Edan, “Emcees Smoke Crack”

Edan is one of my favorite hip-hop artists, even though he hasn’t released a lot of stuff. Primitive Plus was his first album, and is chock full of left-field stuff like this. Listen to that beat! That baseline is amazing, the scratching, the extra samples, and Edan is lots of fun on the mic - clever and with an excellent flow.

Priests, “Youtube Sartre”

We just had this song! SIX SONGS TODAY