Anything On Your Mind?
Well, thank goodness that was over. I hope everybody had a lovely Halloween and only listened to records from the third of those posts. I’ll probably do just a single blog about Christmas music, honestly, because that’s a much better explored topic and there aren’t that many even remotely novel suggestions for that. Which doesn’t stop us here at Five Songs, where Nothing is Novel. Folks, there something like fifteen hundred blogs on this stupid site. There are limits to how many new things I can say!
And so, let’s talk about daylight savings time! On the day this posts, we thankfully will have returned to standard time, and a bunch of people will moan about why we can’t just stay on daylight savings time all year. And the answer to that is the simple fact that morning daylight is more valuable than evening daylight. Like, sure, it might not be as fun, but it’s more useful in getting your day going, in letting kids get to school when it’s not dark so they don’t get mashed by an F-150 piloted by a drowsy exurbanite having trouble waking up because it’s still dark, and just generally being more compatible with our biology. You might not like that, and I don’t like it either, but staying on daylight savings causes more problems than it solves. And the things you don’t like are actually things like work, school, and short winter days. Not standard time.
For the record, the US actually tried permanent daylight time. In 1974, during the oil crisis, the US switched to permanent daylight savings, with 79% of people supporting it. Within a year, support was down to 42% and the experiment was repealed early. As annoying as it is for it to get dark early, when confronted with incredibly dark mornings in the winter, people figured it out fast. It turns out that what you like isn’t daylight savings. It’s summer.
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.
God that was annoying. I’m sorry.
Anyway, I’ve been shuffling my 1993 playlist (which is just every record in my collection with a 1993 release date on it) in the car, and it’s been kind of fun. And it’s dug up some records that have re-entered my rotation, so score one for the shuffle. I don’t do a lot of shuffling, honestly, which is sort of a goofy thing to admit in a blog that is literally based on what shuffle coughs up. I contain multitudes.
The Lurid Traversal of Route 7, Hoover
I was actually reminded of this record when it showed up on the baffling emo album list I’ve mentioned a couple times. And then when it came up in my 1993 playlist, I started spinning it a bunch. And I’ll say this: I guess I can see why people are marking this as emo, even though it reads to my ears as very clearly post-hardcore. Anyway, this is Hoover’s one and only LP, which came out in 1994 according to Discogs (and 1995 according to Wikipedia), so my premise here is already in shambles. The mid-90s were a bit of a grab bag for Dischord, with a decent number of one-and-done acts and others with only a couple records, and it’s maybe not obvious that Hoover would have emerged from that to show up on lists thirty years later. But it’s an excellent record, willing to play with tempo and stretch things out (like the hypnotic “Electrolux” or the cathartic album closer “Cuts Like Drugs”) or even just insert an atmospheric instrumental like “Route 7”. The production is classic Dischord as well, perfectly preserving all the dynamics that are essential to post-hardcore. I don’t see a production credit on Discogs, but it sounds great. Tremendous record, and at this point enough people have pointed to it as a hidden gem that I don’t think it’s really hidden any longer.
(Hmm, the Bandcamp listing says it came out on Jan 1st, 1994, so I guess that answers that.)
Hum of Life, Dog Faced Hermans
Long time underground post-punk band out of Amsterdam via Edinburgh, the most obvious thing about the Dog Faced Hermans is the trumpet. It is, of course, a big attraction for me, a noted trumpet sicko. But the attraction here isn’t limited to just the unusual lineup. They also play a very bass-forward sound that actually reminds me some of the Minutemen at times, giving those jazzy, experimental kind of vibes (and again, even controlling for the trumpet). Plenty of bands take chops and some fancy non-rock instruments as an excuse for noodling, but this is a focused, propulsive record. There’s an urgency to all of their songs that really is fantastic. This record and the next one especially are really special albums. And in looking up the Bandcamp link below, I can finally replace my copy of the follow-up record, which went missing at some point!
Sport Fishin’, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
One of the all-time great rock bands here with their final studio record. They worked with Steve Albini on this record, so get ready for that classic Albini snare on this bad boy. It sounds great, and the Shadowy Men never did anything less than perfect. If this blog accomplishes nothing more than introducing one person to the Shadowy Men, it will have been a success.
Let’s Talk New Releases
Records come out every week, and there’s no way to stay on top of them. This isn’t a comprehensive look at everything, just a few things that have caught my ears out of recent releases. Any impressions here are very early!
Terminal With Benefits, Ritual Error
Still fall! Still noise rock season! Ritual Error’s second album is a lot of fun. Some of the things I like are that they’re willing to back off a little from the manic energy at times, providing a contrast when they crank things back up. And there are tons of fun moments in the songs when you really pay attention. Listen to the bass at 1:55 in “Domestic Pattern”, or the furious chiming tremelo picking at 2:25 in “Family Plot” or the meandering guitar and held chords of “Prospective Joke”. A serious banger.
Radio Galaxia, Cosme
Spacey punk from Mexico, the eggy vibes here don’t get in the way of ripping through the tunes. Sometimes it’s hard to pin down what distinguishes one fuzzy punk record from another, and what makes one click and another just sort of drift by. Here, the simple electronics are part of the appeal, the distant vocals are nice and atmospheric, and the whole enterprise just kind of has a cheerful vibe. I just think it’s neat.
SLAGROOM, tankerlow
I’ve said it before, but one of the coolest things about Bandcamp is that you can follow other users and see what they buy. It’s not super useful to follow me, due to the upsetting volume of purchases and the essential vacuity of my tastes, but there are plenty of other people that I do like following on there. This is one of those records, found by following my buddy Gil Hova’s feed. This is noise rock, I guess, but it is also pretty drone-y, has some industrial-ish touches, and just some plain ol’ noise in spots. It’s an interesting mix, and when it gets into a good hypnotic groove like on “PLASTICINE”, it really hits the spot.
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.
“No Intention”, Dirty Projectors
You know, I really liked this record back when it came out. There were the off-kilter songs and guitar parts, the strange crooning backup vocals, the sort-of, kind-of funky-ish rhythms. It’s a neat record. And I did not follow it up at all. I have none of their other records, don’t know what any of their other stuff sounds like (other than maybe the occasional track I heard and didn’t notice on KEXP), never really tried to follow along. Oh well!
“Beauty in Falling Leaves”, YOB
Hoo boy. Mike Scheidt suffered an attack of acute diverticulitis and nearly died, and then wrote this album while in the hospital, still unsure about recovery. It’s a reflection of the pain, uncertainty, and fear he was facing. And this song is the centerpiece of that record, a meditation on mortality that is a lot to take in. So, lean back and let it wash over you.
“Dynastic Carburetor”, Cause for Effect
Enjoy!
“Here Comes the Heartache”, Bobby Breen
Come for the absurd plays on brutal metal, stay for the syrupy, long-forgotten soul.
“Damo Speaks”, Akhavelli
Look, I enjoy a good DJ record as much as the next guy, and goodness knows we all love Endtroducing…, but this track seems an awful lot, structurally, like “Midnight in a Perfect World”.
Josh, What Are You Doing Here?
I’m just writing about music. A structure like this blog helps me get my thoughts out, and it’s a way for me to explore my own music collection through various lenses. My sincere hope is that some folks out there find some new music they love. That’s all I’m up to. Sincere thanks to everybody who sends me feedback, with news that they’ve found a new favorite especially fun for me. There’s no monetization, no metrics, no ads, no promos, no nothing. Just some static web pages, some links, and my scribbling. If you want to support it, just shoot me a note! Thanks for reading.
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, Treble Magazine, The Quietus, Stereogum.