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Superchunk was great! I can’t believe I didn’t see them until about 25 years after I first listened to them, but whatever, at least I got the chance. I’m really pleased that their second act has gone well. Today’s music!

Flop, “Sorry Henry Maartens”

Well, we’ve now gotten a song from all three of their albums. This one, Whenever You’re Ready, sort of is a classic demonstration of the “troubled second album” idea. It’s unfocused, and just doesn’t snap the way their debut album did. It’s not bad, exactly, but it just kind of feels diluted compared to the sugar rush of the debut.

Going to see Superchunk tonight, pretty excited about that! Here’s today’s music.

Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators, “A Perfect Kind Of Love”

Hey, I asked for more soul yesterday, and shuffle delivered! Nice. OK, uh, uh, how about…some mid 90s indie rock?

Marvin Gaye, “You Sure Love To Ball (Single Mix)”

Yeah, more soul, that’s what I said!

One of the things that you can really appeciate about old soul is how subtle it all was. Just sly innuendo and clever wordplay.

Fun set today!

Foetus, “Take It Outside Godboy”

We’ve encountered this song before, but last time it was a live track. Instead, we’ve got the studio version here. So, this isn’t a repeat from where I sit. At any rate, Gash is an excellent album, if you’re into Foetus’s thing.

DJ Vadim, “Who The Hell Am I?”

Another track from DJ Vadim’s debut album, U.S.S.R. Repertoire (The Theory Of Verticality). As usual, I think it’s fine, but it’s not really super engaging.

I could get used to sets like today.

Hayaino Daisuki, “Aka”

A delightful EP from a Hydra Head grab bag, this is just pure speed. It doesn’t quite sound to me like grindcore, more like thrash being played extra fast. It’s sort of comical, but also kind of charming.

What is wrong with me that I find this charming?

The Grifters, “Hours”

This song is from the Grifters’ last album, Full Blown Possession. By the time they wrapped things up, most of the truly ramshackle stuff had been worked out of their sound. They no longer were a lo-fi band that sounded like they were recorded in a basement. To be totally honest, I kind of preferred more grit in their sound, but they also never made a bad record.

Solid set today.

Two Fingers, “Not Perfect”

Another track from the self-titled Two Fingers album, featuring another collaboration with Sway. As before, this is just delightful.

Modest Mouse, “Tundra/Desert”

I wonder what Isaac Brock sounded like as a kid. Did he sound like, well, himself? Did he warble when he yelled at his siblings? Does he have siblings? I wonder if his parents thought “damn, listen to this kid, he’s gonna be a rock star, just listen to that!”

Stick with this, it gets good.

Negativland, “The Copyright Law (Part 2)”

The opener to the second disc of the bootleg/semi-official Negativconcertland, and while I think live albums are mostly pointless, a live album of Negativland (which had a big mixed-media audio/visual show) is extra pointless. Feel free to skip this one, y’all.

Snoop Dogg, “10 Lil’ Crips”

The Blue Carpet Treatment had multiple moments where Snoop didn’t sound totally sleepy, which means it’s one of the better late career albums for him. And then I looked, and he’s had, like, a billion albums since that one. So, this is now kind of mid-career.

Hey! I think everybody reading this probably knows that I also design games. My most recent game got a glowing review from Shut Up & Sit Down. Pretty neat! Oh, we have music, also.

Unwound, “All Souls Day”

I just kinda want to hug the drums from this song. And then the guitars kick in, and goddamn, you guys, this is what I want in my ears.

Matthew Sweet, “Sick Of Myself”

This is from 100% Fun, his second best album after the magnificent Girlfriend. As with that album, he’s breaking no new ground here at all, but it doesn’t matter when you have just a shamelessly huge pop song like this.

Still haven’t missed a day yet this year!

Ghostface Killah, “Ghost Is Back”

I think Ghost’s skits just kept becoming less comprehensible as time went on. They’re not even really skits any more. There appears to be no bottom to the gibberish. Anyway, this is from More Fish, which isn’t as good as Fishscale. But still a decent album. Good song once it actually gets going.

The Mortals, “Hangin’ On”

The Seattle grunge scene wasn’t really the only game in town at that time. While those acts became nationally famous, there were other robust rock scenes in town at the same time. Estrus Records was at the center of a garage and surf revival, including bands like the Mono Men, Gas Huffer, Man Or Astro-man?, and today’s act, the Mortals. This is pretty nuts-and-bolts rock, but played with plenty of energy, so that’s welcome. The second Mortals record, Bulletproof, is probably their best.

Today’s songs.

Bim Skala Bim, “At Wo’s (Live)”

Mostly, ska bands are really fun live. Dancing is fun! But, you know, live albums are mostly pretty lame. This one is no exception. It took me a depressing number of years to finally figure out that I don’t really like live albums.

(NB: The song in question is at 21:12 in the linked track.)

People Under The Stairs, “Hit The Top”

From Carried Away, a typically solid album from the act. Gotta love this kind of party rap. The lyrics in a typical PUTS song don’t amount to much, but it doesn’t really matter.

Playlist is here.

Dr. Dre, “Talking To My Diary”

Depending on if you count the record The Aftermath as a Dr. Dre album or not, Dre has either made either two or three albums in the 24 years after The Chronic was released. That level of output has rendered each of those records an event. What makes it even stranger is that Compton, the most recent of those records, was supposedly made in just a year. While nothing has ever matched The Chronic, Compton is excellent, and this closing track finds Dre in a meditative mood. Given how brief his solo discography is, and how important he is to the development of the genre, all of his work is worth listening to. But, you know, not right now, because apparently this track can’t be posted on YouTube. I guess we’ll do six songs today.