Posts

I dunno, sometimes this stuff just is what it is.

The Beatles, “Octopus’s Garden”

I enjoy all of the songs Ringo sings. There, I said it!

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, “Naked Sun”

Listen to how shamelessly huge that drum beat is! This band is absolutely not afraid to throw a corny vamp like this on their album, and commit to it completely. Fearlessness is underrated in a rock band.

All over the map today!

Wu-Tang Clan, “Maria”

There were more of this sort of filthy song on Wu-Tang Forever than there were on their debut album. And, honestly, this song falls a little flat. It seems to think it can skate by on the explicit lyrics, but everybody’s rhymes here are really kind of by-the-books. Wu-Tang is always at its best when you have some contrast in styles. What’s the point of having this many MCs otherwise!

Here we are!

The Wedding Present, “I’m From Further North Than You”

One of the best songs from Take Fountain, the “comeback” album from the Wedding Present that was really them just renaming themselves. Gedge always sounds great in this kind of conversational/confession mode, and the extended outro is nice. This song could easily have been on Watusi, which is a high compliment.

The Microphones, “The Moon”

Well, this song certainly takes its time getting going, doesn’t it? And then it sounds like a couple different songs playing at the same time. Honestly, the wall of sound here is sort of the musical equivalent of mumbling really loud. But, I still kind of like it.

Good one today!

Albert King, “Playing On Me”

This merger of King’s blues guitar with the Stax horns, with funk folded in, is just delightful. I need to find some more shit like this. You can add blues to the long list of music that I fundamentally know jack squat about. I’m starting to think I’m not qualified to write a music blog at all!

MU330, “Dropping The Ball”

If you’re going to combine ska and punk, you can’t half-ass it. Full tempo punk with horns, hell yeah! Yeah, this shit’s a laughingstock, but I don’t care. It’s fun! Screw y’all!

Here’s today!

Jeanne And The Darlings, “How Can You Mistreat The One You Love”

How sweet is that Memphis sound? This is a song from late in the Atlantic run for Stax/Volt, from 1967. That’s a tasty break in this song! Jeanne and the Darlings just ended up recording four singles in their career, so there isn’t a lot of followup to this tune.

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Bildbeschreibung”

There have been times in my life when I’ve bought a record that was intimidating, when I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. Buying this album, Strategies Against Architecture II, was one of those moments. I had heard of the band, in mostly hushed tones, and I wasn’t really sure I was up for it. So strange! So noisy! So German! I didn’t honestly know if I was up for it. And the album was, indeed, something pretty far beyond what I could have expected. But I certainly liked it!

I had to upload three of these tracks today. I know nobody cares.

Marvin Gaye, “Flyin’ High (In The Friendly Sky)”

I’m pretty confident I’ve posted my contrarian/asshole take on What’s Going On, which is that it has some seriously great tunes, but actually is kind of flabby as an album and as a consequence is a flawed record. This song is an example - it’s kind of meandering and doesn’t add much to the album.

And another one!

Aesop Rock, “No Regrets”

Aesop Rock’s Def Jux debut, Labor Days, is widely considered to be his best record. It’s the one where the beats really started keeping up with his complex, wordy flow. Rock can be a little exhausting to listen to at times, but in the right mood, he’s a lot of fun.

Bim Skala Bim, “For The Turnstiles”

This track, from How’s It Goin’?, is an example of Bim Skala Bim at its best. A warm, organ-driven groove, some fun trombone bits, a cheerful tune - it’s just super pleasant.

Here’s today!

Nickel Creek, “You Don’t Know What’s Going On”

This project has now gone on long enough that I can’t really remember which bands I’ve introduced and which ones I have not. And, honestly, it’s not reasonable to assume everybody has read/listened to every one of these. So, if I happen to repeat myself on anything, I apologize, but let’s just pretend that it’s because I felt like enough time had passed and not because I have a tenuous grasp on my marbles.

Let’s hope we do better today!

The Clash, “Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad”

This is a repeat from, geez, a year and a half ago.

Bruce Cockburn, “If A Tree Falls”

Well, it’s been a good, long time, but we’ve got a completely unknown song here popping up. There were a handful of songs pre-loaded on some device of mine in the misty, distant past, and some automated scan swept them up into my library. I didn’t catch them, and now they’re sprinkled in among the songs I actually want to keep, and I haven’t been able to root them out. And now you have to deal with them too!

Short and Sweet today. Because it has Matthew Sweet! HAHA! (it’s not very sweet)

Matthew Sweet, “Smog Moon”

Sweet, during his peak period, was a reliably great power pop songwriter. But there were times when he’d kind of tip over into a cheesier territory, and this song is a prime example of that particular beast. You don’t want to evoke Billy Joel’s cornier moments, in general.

Kid Koala, “Pinballer”

This is one of the tunes from Kid Koala’s soundtrack to the video game Floor Kids, because he hasn’t tackled enough media yet. I wish I could say something about the game, but while I bought it, I haven’t tried it yet. I only have so much time, people!