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Today!

Queens of the Stone Age, “You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire”

This is one of those songs where that little opening background riff will just pop into my head and stay there for hours and hours, just looping. It’s not unpleasant! This album just smokes, front to back.

Gorilla Biscuits, “(Untitled Hidden)”

I think I’ve introduced this old-ass straight-edge hardcore band before, so instead, I’ll just mention that they contributed personnel to Quicksand, which we heard from yesterday. As for the track itself, on my copy of Start Today, there is a series of little sub-10 second “songs” which are indistinguishable and unnamed. And, because of stupid tech limitations, I can’t tell which one this is. So, I’ll do another song today.

Fantastic list today.

Melvins, “Holy Barbarian”

This all has gone on long enough that I can’t really be certain any more which albums and songs I’ve talked about, so I’m just going to assume y’all can’t remember either. This comes from the great Freak Puke album, where the Melvins (calling themselves “Melvins Lite”) made an album with Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) on bass. Upright bass. The texture that he provides with all the variety of sounds he cranks out makes for one of the most unique albums in the Melvins’ very long discography, and I highly, highly recommend it.

Lots of good stuff today!

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, “Niño Diamante”

Oh, hell yes. The piano! The swinging drums! Those horns! Goddamn, y’all.

The Police, “Tea In The Sahara”

I have a pretty simple opinion on the Police: first three albums yes, last two, no. It’s really kind of that simple. The energy of the punk-influenced early stuff had finally dissipated entirely by the final album, which was chock-a-block with Dad Rock. That’s not to say that I can’t enjoy bits of it, but I just don’t find myself wanting to listen to it either.

Today!

Run-D.M.C., “Dumb Girl”

This song is so stripped down that there aren’t even any keyboards on it. Unless you count them putting “dumb” into a sampler and using that. It’s proof that the alchemy of a drum machine and rapping really didn’t require anything else.

Black Tusk, “Bleed On Your Knees”

Sludge metal in the vein of Mastodon or Baroness, Black Tusk do a nice job on their second album of keeping up the energy and making sure the tunes are appropriately propulsive. While maybe not as memorable as the heights of those bands, it’s still fun stuff.

It’s not great today.

Ghostface Killah, “Woodrow the Base Head”

I like the way that the music keeps coming in and out of this interstitial. That’s about the best I can say.

Jean Grae, “Fade Out”

The last track from her debut record, Attack of the Attacking Things (which is an amazing name), this album established Grae as an excellent new artist in hip hop. Her rhymes were really interesting, often twisty things, and it made for a pretty different record from most of what you could hear at the time. The only problem with her is that she just hasn’t made very many records. And this song is kind of short.

Six songs today!

Belle & Sebastian, “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John”

From Write About Love, a mostly forgettable album, but this is one of the songs that sticks with me from it. There’s not a whole lot to it, musically, but it’s certainly pleasant.

Jr Walker And All Stars, “Cleo’s Mood”

You don’t find that many instrumental soul tracks like this in the Motown catalog, but here we are with a sweet little tune from 1965.

Today!

The Perceptionists, “Breathe In The Sun”

A side project of Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, and DJ Fakts One, the Perceptionists are a good band to check out if you’re a fan of any of the individual artists. Since I like Mr. Lif a lot, that’s what brought me here. I think the star of this album is really Fakts One, who does a great job on the beats. This is the closer to their first album.

Some nice stuff today.

Hot Snakes, “Think About Carbs”

Listening to just the right channel on this song is kind of magical. Just Rick Froberg howling along with the drums except for the occasional burst of guitar until you get to the end. Just listen to those toms! Hell yes! Hot Snakes wooo!

Foetus, “The Ballad of Sisyphus T. Jones”

From Hide, this is Foetus at his bombastic, ridiculous best. I like this mode of Thirlwell’s, of making over-the-top songs that sound like songs from corny movies, but through a funhouse mirror.

Excellent one today.

Alex Chilton, “All of the Time”

Alex Chilton, of Big Star, is one of the leading influences on a ton of later rock bands in the underground. Here, for instance, you can really hear the Replacements. This song was on his solo record Bach’s Bottom, but this actually comes from the excellent Ork Records: New York, New York compilation.

Slapstick, “The Geek”

This is what ska-punk should sound like when it’s done well. Lots of speed, lots of energy, it gets in and out without hanging around too long. For your “Operation Ivy substitute”, you really can do so much worse.

Does it seem like I’m getting flakier with this things? I think I’m getting flakier. Whatever. I’m back!

Floor, “The Key”

This song is only 46 seconds. I really wish it were longer.

Crimpshrine, “Rearranged”

Crimpshrine didn’t last long as a band, producing only one album and a smattering of EPs, singles, and compilation appearances. All of that latter material got collected into a single comp, The Sound Of A New World Being Born, which is an excellent document of the early Bay Area punk scene. As that scene would end up being hugely influential over rock, and Crimpshrine would be one of the key bands to help form that scene, this album is kind of like a glimpse into the future. Well, the past now. Whatever.