Anything On Your Mind?
As we move into 2019, my notes from 2018 still apply. Still have a crazy job, still have the same sense of cultural stagnation, still have things largely blurring together. And so, without further ado, let’s have a look at the RateYourMusic list from the year. I have five of them in my library, mostly rap records. Apparently, I had my head in the sand. Out of curiosity, I checked the next page, just in case maybe I had a bunch of those records. Nope: two. My self-image as a relatively “with it” guy for music has really suffered some damage in the course of writing these posts. They keep changing what “it” is!
What Are You Listening To, Josh?
A sampling of albums that I’m playing regularly, whether older ones or newer ones. Just the things that I think are worth highlighting, and maybe you’d enjoy.
Well, let’s have a look at what albums stand out to me from 2019 in my collection. You’re all sick of me blabbing about Andrew Bird so I’ll spare you that one, except to say that his 2019 record, My Finest Work Yet is a) not accurately titled but b) rules.
Playin’ On A Cloud, Pardoner
Pardoner’s first album just missed the cut for 2017, and I probably should have written it up then. But whatever, let’s do it in 2019, when their release was…not on a record label initially. Whatever, it’s on Bandcamp! Anyway, sometimes, you just want some indie rock. Well, I do. I can’t speak for you. I don’t know you! (Also not true: if you are reading this, I almost certainly do know you.) There’s a lot of abrasive nonsense that goes through here, a lot of galloping hardcore, plenty of stuff with horns, savage industrial, all kinds of shit that would make most people question my sanity. But sometimes, my ears want a little break. Some easy listening. And if I don’t go listen to some record from the 90s that I’ve listened to a billion times (Josh describes Randy describing eternity), something like this fits the bill. But that really kind of sells them short! There are lots of touches here and there that remind me of pillars of underground rock - riffs that sound a little like Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr., some bits of Yo La Tengo drone, some slacker sensibility that evokes Pavement, all that good stuff. And yes, that list of influences is probably down more to my ears and my taste than it is any actual influence on the band. But anyway, they’re very good, and more people should know about them.
Good for Nuthin’, The Good People
My album purchase history has been documented here, but the first album I ever bought with my own money was Raising Hell by Run-DMC, Three Feet High and Rising by De La Soul was the album that really set off my eternal search for new music, and Public Enemy was a huge part of the soundtrack of my teen years. That classic hip-hop sound is burned into my brain, and if you are ever in a totally quiet room with me and I’m not thinking about anything, you can probably hear faint sounds of boom-bap coming out of my skull. I have a weakness for this stuff, is what I’m saying. So, the Good People: it’s well-executed boom-bap. Put it on in your car with your windows rolled all the way down in the summer and bob your head. Feels good!
Sulphur English, Inter Arma
Probably should have had them in here before now. One of the most consistently interesting metal bands around, Inter Arma draw from a lot of different sounds and genres of metal to make their records. In particular, the willingness of the band to move between different tempos provides a way to navigate their albums that makes them feel like a journey. That’s something the best metal bands do, and something that can get lost with some folks who operate at one speed, no matter how impressive that speed is. This is their fourth album, and it’s more death metal than their previous work, but to describe it as a death metal record isn’t right. It’s a hefty record, and so it’s a commitment to put it on, but it’s worth your time if you’re open to something like this.
I’m Going To Skip New Releases Again
Look, it’s my blog, I’m going to do what I want with it. And there are some more 2019 records worth mentioning here. I probably should have done this with the other years!
Uspeh, TDK
One of the finest noise rock bands going today, TDK are from Bulgaria and I don’t think anybody has heard of them, unless they’ve been following Wolf Rambatz closely. That’s where I heard about them, anyway. Or, I suppose, if they’ve shared a Music League with me. Anyway, I’m certainly glad I found them, it’s excellent stuff. This is towards the more melodic end of noise rock generally speaking, but still very much working in that idiom. I of course have no idea what the lyrics are, but whatever, that’s fine. Genuinely one of my favorite discoveries of the last five or so years.
Changes, Neal Francis
Neal Francis makes no bones about his influences. He talks about a gift of a Dr. John LP being a big thing in his background, and yeah, Dr. John is the right lens to understand this stuff. Alongside other New Orleans giants like Alain Toussaint and the Meters, of course. Those are big footsteps to walk in, and judging this against that quality bar would be unfair. But it certainly puts you in the right frame of mind. How does Francis do in that company? Pretty well! It’s just a fun record. Yes, yes, some of that is the horns, I have said many times how much of a mark I am for horns. But it’s not just that, it’s a bouncy, fun record that is willing to let the grooves cook.
Morbid Stuff, PUP
I never really know where to pitch the obscurity of these entries. I don’t even really know how obscure anything actually is! Looking at the list of bands here, I imagine that TDK and the Good People probably aren’t well-known among my readers, Inter Arma more so, and…who am I kidding here. “Readers” indeed. Anyway, it’s hard to say sometimes what it is I’m doing here. Am I recommending records you might not have heard about? Documenting records that I love and/or are important to me? Reviewing records of consequence?
It’s clearly not the last of those, most of things I’m writing about here are not the most “important” albums from any given year, simply because I’m not particularly engaged with what are the important releases. So it’s some blend of the other two, I suspect. Or, maybe at base, it’s records I have something to say about. I’ve written about PUP plenty, including in the last two year-end roundups, where their previous two records got a mention. Well, their 2019 release is my favorite from them, and it’s one of my favorite punk releases ever by anybody. The self-deprecation and humor are fantastic and the real emotion and storytelling on display is riveting. Also, “Scorpion Hill” makes me cry every time.
Five Random Songs
Yes, it’s the “classic” five random songs format. It’s been told before on this blog many times, but basically, on an old forum, people would post the last five songs their shuffle pulled up. I liked it, so I made it into a blog. And now, here we are.
“Hraběnka”, Anurrn
This one comes from The Devil’s Mouth (see the footer!) but was recommended by Rennie from Starkweather (also in the footer), and I’ve barely had a chance to absorb it yet, so it’s fresh off the presses. Anurrn are from the Czech Repulic, Rennie compares it to Swans, and yeah, I hear that. Fun stuff!
“Barbara Allen”, Colin Meloy
That’s Colin Meloy, main guy behind the Decemberists, a fact that was immediately apparent to anybody who hit play on this. This is from an EP he put out called Colin Meloy Sings trad. arr. Shirley Collins, and…yeah, it’s what it says on the tin. Inessential, basically, but if you’re a Decemberists superfan, worth checking out (but then you’re probably already aware of it).
“3 Bit Blues”, Kid Koala
Really fun stuff from Kid Koala here, where he took a bunch of old blues, sampled them, messed with them, layered them, and then added scratching over the top. The layers of samples gives a pluderphonic feel to things, while Kid Koala is of course always great on the turntables. A unique turntablist record, and one I really recommend.
“Imaginary War”, Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker eventually became a flashpoint in the mid-90s in the “sell out wars”, to the point that it kind of ended up overshadowing their music for a while there. As the gold rush sparked by Nirvana rolled through the underground, lots of people got very upset with bands that chose to go to major labels. Steve Albini’s “The Problem With Music” for The Baffler is one of the most indelible documents of this whole era. Anyway, Jawbreaker’s decision to jump from the underground to DGC sparked a lot of discussions, a lot of arguments, a lot of magazine articles, and a lot of bad feelings. I remember distinctly a discussion of the economics of indie labels and majors specifically looking at Jawbreaker suggesting that staying with an indie, due to higher royalty rates, would have resulted in more money for the band even with lower sales. Anyway, after all this noise, the major label release, Dear You, never really recovered from the sellout discussion. What I think is a solid record got mostly buried and took the band with it.
But before all that huge thing, encompassing the breakout indie record and that first majors record, there were two underground releases that set the band in motion. This comes from the first, Unfun, where the band was already showing their signature sound: Blake Schwarzenbach’s literate, emotional lyrics and his indelible croak, combined with an excellent melodic punk sound. I bought this one in Philadelphia while visiting a friend, and listened to it on the Greyhound bus back to Pittsburgh on my Discman. As soon as I went through it, I ran it right back, staring out at the rain in the dark. If you really want to experience this record properly, that’s the way to do it: staring at nothing in central Pennsylvania while some guy next to you is sleeping off losing a bout to Cool Colt 40s. That’s how Blake would have wanted it.
“Everyday With You”, The Pietasters
The Pietasters, out of Washington DC, were Stephen Jackson’s outfit through and through. At their best, Ooolooloo, they combined classic ska sounds with some soul feeling, albeit with a juvenile sense of humor. Their immediate follow-up to that, Willis, was a rough listen because Jackson’s voice had become so rough in the meantime, and the band sounded like they were chasing the crossover sounds from the time. This record, 1999’s Awesome Mix Tape #6, sits somewhere in-between. Not quite at the same heights, but Jackson’s voice has come back enough and the band has returned to more of their classic sound that it’s a fun listen. Not the place to start, but an enjoyable record. (NB: this wasn’t the song that came up on shuffle, but the original wasn’t on YouTube, so I picked another tune from the record.)
Some Better Places To Learn About Music
Check these folks out, you’ll learn more for sure. In no particular order: To The Teeth, Wolf’s Week/Plague Rages, The Devil’s Mouth, Burning Ambulance, Lamniformes Cuneiform, Hex Records, See/Saw, Starkweather.