Posts

We’ve got several folks here who are reaching high for art here.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor, “Peasantry or ‘Light! Inside Of Light!’”

Pretension is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. If you have the bombast and chops to pull it off, pretension really just turns into ambition. And Godspeed You! Black Emperor really do have the chops to make it work. Yes, their song and album titles are nonsense, but who cares when you get to listen to something like this. The brigaded violins, the sweep of guitars, the stately waltz of the whole thing, it’s just gorgeous. Also, this song is close to being as long as the entire playlist yesterday.

Tidy list today!

christian fitness, “love letters in the age of steam”

I really enjoy tom-heavy drum beats like this. Yeah, I wouldn’t want it for every song, but for the occasional tune, bring it on. Also, this song gets in and out in two minutes. Nice work!

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, “Third Finger, Left Hand”

I gotta say, you can count your fingers differently and really change the intent of this title by quite a bit! This isn’t the best song from Martha Reeves, when it comes down to it. It’s pretty predictable and a little too syrupy. Not unpleasant, but not great.

Back to Five Songs!

Don Drummond, “Jet Stream”

I was actually listening to this album (the excellent Don Cosmic, a compilation of a bunch of his Studio One tracks) in the car today, and was marveling at the warmth of the record. There’s an alchemy in the way this stuff is recorded, the ambient studio noise enhancing the intimate feel of it. It sounds like Drummond and his band are just playing for you, right in your room. Or head. Whatever. I kind of poke fun at vinyl guys, because how could you not, but there is a legitimate thing to having some of the organic noise of the recording come through as you listen.

Folks, I don’t know if I can keep up this pace. Seven songs AGAIN?

Dälek, “The Son of Immigrants”

As you’d probably imagine based on the stuff that shows up here, I’m 100% here for the merging of noise into hip-hop. There are a bunch of acts that are exploring this territory right now, and one of the better albums in the area is Dälek’s Endangered Philosophies. There’s an urgency that the noise adds to these songs that gives a pretty different feeling from more conventional hip-hop.

Overstuffed one today!

Steady Earnest, “Put It On”

Yes, this is the Bob Marley song. Yes, this song rules. Yes, this cover is probably pushing the tempo too much, but whatever, see point #2 above.

The Police, “One World (Not Three)”

Ghost In The Machine is easily the worst Police album, with neither of the energy and catchiness of the best of their early work, but not yet settled into the progressive pop of Synchronicity. It just doesn’t really hang together well for me, and I basically never listen to it.

Today!

Sam & Dave, “A Place Nobody Can Find”

Early stars on Stax, Sam & Dave are always super enjoyable to listen to, and this song is of course no exception.

Knxwledge, “Bodies[Totw]”

Knxwledge’s solo album, Hud Dreems, is all instrumental and most of the tracks are on the short side. In a lot of ways, it sounds like a portfolio rather than a proper album, with Knxwledge presenting his skill in making beats as an audition. It’s perfectly pleasant, but as with most abstract hip-hop, not super memorable.

IT STOPPED AT THREE DAYS, WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED? Eh, whatever, it’s not like I said I’m going to do these every day or anything. At least, not after I edit this place. NEW STREAK HERE!

Negativland, “Keep Rollin”

Negativland’s No Business is a meditation on copyright, art, and the nature of culture in general. Or, more succinctly, it’s a Negativland album. On the spectrum of experimental noise to something that could be described as music, it falls closer to the musical end, making it one of the easier Negativland albums to absorb. Which isn’t to say it’s easy listening. By the time they made this record, they had decades of experience in assembling these kinds of oddball things, so they had gotten very good at the sound manipulation required.

Three days, when will it stop? NOT TODAY! HIT IT, YOUTUBE!

The Microphones, “I Want To Be Cold”

There’s something almost shoegaze-y about this track from the Microphones, with the buried vocals and washes of noise. I love it when everything lays out about a minute in as well. It’s a short tune, but it packs a punch.

Kid Koala, “3 Bit Blues”

Kid Koala assembled the entirety of 12 Bit Blues out of layers and layers of samples of old blues, adding scratching over the top when everything was put together. It’s a fascinating experiment, as with just about everything he does, sounding ancient and dusty while simultaneously modern.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

The Roots, “Proceed”

While it wasn’t really their debut album, Do You Want More?!!!??! feels like it SHOULD be their debut album. Organix feels more like a practice run or a demo, a band trying to find its voice, and several of its songs appear on the next album in re-worked forms. Anyway, this is the first full song on Do You Want More, and it really sets the template for the album and indeed their first couple albums, with the jazzy groove of the band revolving around Scott Storch’s keyboards and ?uestlove’s drums. I think Black Thought is better on the subsequent albums, but he’s certainly good on this record. Basically, this is where to start with the Roots in exploring their early career.

Five Songs is back from the holidays! I’m going to try and keep to a more regular posting schedule around here, rather than the very erratic one from the last several months. It would be nice to get three or four a week at a minimum, anyway. Let’s hear what we get for the first one of 2019!

Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”

I’m sure I’ve posted this sentiment multiple times, but I’ll suggest it again: this might be the biggest hit we’ve had on here (a mere 2.7 billion views on YouTube!). I trust I don’t need to really introduce this song. But this is what an infectious pop song should sound like, and it’s delightful.