Nine Inch Nails, “The Beginning Of The End”

Year Zero marked the fastest followup that Trent Reznor had produced to date, with the album appearing a mere two years after With Teeth. At least five years had separated studio albums up to this point. Perhaps as a result of the relatively short gestation of this album, it’s not a lot different musically from the predecessor. It’s a theme album of sorts, examining a dystopian United States in the near future. It was marketed with an augmented reality campaign, which was genuinely new in 2007. The music itself is solid, but isn’t one of NiN’s essential albums.

Hot Chip, “One Pure Thought”

Hot Chip is dance music, basically, with some nice melodies. But while this is perfectly nice, it’s never really clicked with me very much, and I just have the one album from them. I guess the closest thing I listen to regularly is LCD Soundsystem, and it’s not totally clear why I prefer one over the other.

Pond, “Perfect Four”

As always, a quick clarification that this is the rock band from Portland in the mid-90s, not the Australian band in the 2010s. Pond more-or-less arrived fully formed with their first, eponymous album. While their songwriting would get sharper, this album is still chock full of excellent rock. That they should be claimed by the anti-grunge vortex is one of the shames of the 90s.

Mastodon, “Black Tongue”

With Crack The Skye, Mastodon had kind of reached the end of an exploration, into very prog-y songwriting. In a lot of ways, it mirrored where Metallica had reached with …And Justice For All, and with both bands, the next album represented a real break in style. In Metallica’s case, it was driven by tragedy, with Cliff Burton’s tragic death. In Mastodon’s case, it seemed to be driven by just a desire to move in a new direction. The Hunter, the album in question, is not their best work. It’s still very good, but I personally find the epic stuff from their previous albums more engaging. It’s not until Emperor of Sand that I’m not back fully on board.

The Allstonians, “One Day”

The Allstonians produced two fantastic albums in the heart of the third wave, their self-titled record and Allston Beat. Both were fine, tuneful examples of what the third wave did well, horn driven tunes that borrowed liberally from ska history. There were a few moments when the lyrical approach was a little bit on the smug side (a common problem in the third wave), but overall, both are albums I still listen to frequently to this day. After the collapse of Moon Ska records, the Allstonians disappeared for six years, only to come back with a new record. Alas, the shine just isn’t there any more. We don’t get the fun solos, the horn playing is mostly just simple ensemble work, and the songs aren’t especially memorable.

Philip Cochran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, “Malcolm X”

This is from a compilation called Soul of a Nation: Afro-Centric Visions in the Age of Black Power - Underground Jazz, Street Funk & the Roots of Rap 1968-79, and, well…it’s pretty much that. I’m afraid I’m extra unqualified to talk about this album, but it’s outstanding.

They Might Be Giants, “Nanobots”

I always like it when TMBG build a chorus out of two distinct vocals lines like this. And the arrangement is lovely on this song, the horns adding a richness that really helps it stand out. Nanobots has too many only OK tunes for to be top-tier, but it’s still a good album. I’m going to create an album ranking for them one of these days. Multiple albums have been released since I started doing this!

Stereolab, “Changer”

Switched On collected a bunch of early Stereolab singles, before they had really developed their sound fully. It’s more guitar-forward and less drone-heavy than their later music would be. I think it’s not as essential as their later records, but it’s an interesting comp, and worth going back if you’re already a Stereolab fan. We’ll discuss thme more when they come up again.

Mr. T Experience, “Tapin’ Up My Heart”

In Dan Ozzi’s excellent Reply All newsletter, Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience ranks his own records, and places this album at the top of the list. I actually usually think the previous record (and #2 on the list) Love is Dead is their best work, but hey, who am I to argue?

Tilt, “Partial Birth”

Tilt started their career recording for Lookout Records and then moved to Fat Wreck Chords, which is going to create a picture for you if you know these labels. And that picture is completely correct with one minor detail - the woman singing, Cinder Block, is considerably different from the typical sneering dude. Other than that, this is straight ahead California punk.

Belle and Sebastian, “Slow Graffiti”

I’ve sung the praises of Belle & Sebastian’s early EPs here before, I’m pretty sure, but I’m going to do it again. Between the release of the standard-setting If You’re Feeling Sinister and the below-standard Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, the band released five EPs with new material, and they range from excellent to fantastic. Among that set, This Is Just A Modern Rock Song might be the best of them. This is the last song on the record, and is just a sweet little tune.

Pyrrhon, “Forget Yourself”

From Pyrron’s EP released after their second album, this is a good example of their hyperkinetic technical death metal. This is a short record, but they pack a lot into the thirteen minutes.

Common, “Go”

Common’s discography is uneven, but the high points are outstanding. I probably would take Be as my favorite, the Kanye West-helmed record which represented a bit of a comeback after the so-so Electric Circus. This was after Kanye West had become a star, but before he had become a megastar, and his ego didn’t get in the way here. The record is warm, full of soul, and has Common at the top of his form.

Pinkwash, “Gumdrop”

Legitimately don’t remember picking this up. Apparently this is a band out of Philly, and this is their only record.

[listening]

Not bad! I can see why I picked this up! It’s shame I’m getting dumber and more forgetful.

Farside, “I Hope You’re Unhappy”

This is probably the most likely Farside song to get big, a straightforward power-pop song about longing, one almost designed to get MTV play. I have no idea if it did so, because even by 1999 I was thoroughly unplugged from the zeitgiest. It’s a pretty good tune, though.

Quelle Chris & Chris Keys, “SUDDEN DEATH”

Quelle Chris has been on quite a tear. 2018’s collaboration with Jean Grae, Everything’s Fine, was one of the best rap records of that year. 2019? Guns was again one of the best. 2020 has seen him return to collaborating with Chris Keys, producing Innocent Country 2, another excellent record, this one featuring plenty of jazzy beats. This song will give you a taste of the beats on the record, but you’ll have to wait until some future date to hear Quelle Chris.