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I shared the blog at work. I fully expect my readership to…well, probably stay where it is. Welcome, purely hypothetical extra readers! The music is over here!

Wilco, “The Jolly Banker”

It’s another track from Alpha Mike Foxtrot, the rarities collection that they put out. Here, we have Wilco basically operating in Uncle Tupelo mode, which is totally OK with me. It occurs to me that when I put up my INDISPUTABLE RANKING of their albums last time, I actually omitted this album. That’s because I usually skip compilations in those sorts of rankings, but I’d put it somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Just to be clear, when I joke about a lack of readers or whatever, it’s just poking fun at myself. I’m doing this project as a fun exercise in going through my own music. The presence or absence (mostly absence) of reader/listeners doesn’t change my desire to do it.

There, that should clear things up for both of you! Let’s listen to some tunes!

Beastie Boys, “Ricky’s Theme”

This song seems like a long, long ways from the snotty party rap of their first record. Always slow to make music, the mere two years between Check Your Head and Ill Communication turned out to be the shortest gap between records in their entire career. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the two records are probably the most similar of any two in their discography. I prefer the former record, both for being more groundbreaking but also more fun, but both are very strong.

Something special for today! Our first Reader/Listener Q&A! All of the questions here are actual questions from reader/listeners of Five Songs! Let’s get started!

Q:

OK, that was great! If you’ve got a question for me, eh, that seems unlikely. Here’s some music, though.

Richie Hawtin, “User (02)-A2”

This is one of the most irritating albums (Decks, EFX & 909) in my collection. Not because of the music, mind you - it’s techno, sometimes pretty minimal, mixing together a whole bunch of stuff. No, because of the tags on the songs. Because this is kind of a compilation (and kind of not), the tags on the songs on the album are credited to something like 20 different artists, instead of just Richie Hawtin. In particular, the featured artist on a track is listed as the primary artist. It’s really annoying, and because of how Amazon handles it, means I essentially cannot listen to this album in one go.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve listened to “!!!!!!” by The Roots, which is the song I get if I go to all my songs and hit play without turning on shuffle. I’ll probably get really confused if and when I ever hit it legitimately. Here’s today’s tunes.

Johnnie Taylor, “I Ain’t Particular”

I kind of wish I was a better historian of these old soul records. I’m mostly familiar with the big names, but I can’t tell you anything much about a lot of these folks. It’s a shame, as I’m sure there’s some great stories for many of them. Well, at any rate, this is from the first Stax/Volt collection, coming at the very end of the Atlantic run (this is actually the last track from that set).

Some unrepresentative tracks today. I’m always tempted to link out to other songs for bands, but I usually restrain myself, telling myself that they’ll come up again. This is probably a dumb policy! Music is over here.

The Dillinger Escape Plan, “*#..”

This track, with the ominous intro and escalating drums, is really designed to lead into the ferocious “Destro’s Secret”. Standalone, like this, it’s all foreplay and no climax. Oh well.

I think it’s been a bit since I’ve mentioned tools, so I’ll bring them up. The key thing I’ve been using to upload music is this MP3 to FLV converter. There are a bunch out there, but the others I’ve tried have been flaky or slow. This one has the tremendous advantage of pulling the cover art from the tags on the MP3, which saves a step of finding separate cover art. It also has the advantage of not being flaky or slow.

I’ve been rumbled! If you look at my YouTube profile, you can often see the playlists for upcoming days, because I’ll write some of these ahead of time. It’s the only way to make sure I reliably have stuff on the weekend, for instance. I figure, hey, it’s not like these things are timely. WHAT ABOUT THAT CURRENT EVENT I TOTALLY KNOW ABOUT, HUH?

Oh, right, music.

Run the Jewels, “MEOWRLY (BOOTS Remix)”

Run the Jewels are, after Kendrick Lamar, my favorite rap artists working today. All three of their proper albums (and, in fact, Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music which was more or less Run the Jewels 0) are amazing. Meow the Jewels is not, however, on that list of proper albums.

Will we get a repeat artist again? I’d figure out the odds, but seriously, nobody has time for that. Will we get five songs? PROBABLY!

Mr. Lif, “The Unorthodox”

Boston MC Mr. Lif was one of the highlights of the early 2000s rap underground, along with others like Edan, who collaborated on this release, Emergency Rations. Concentrating on political and social commentary at a time when that was pretty rare, Mr. Lif was a breath of fresh air. After a long hiatus, he returned last year with another strong album and EP, which was a welcome development. I’d start with I Phantom for a first record, but he’s been strong all throughout.

More news about Fox in the Forest: official street date is July 19th! I’m so excited! Let’s listen to music!

Public Enemy, “I Stand Accused”

There’s always been a paranoid streak going through Public Enemy’s music, reflected in the claustrophobic beats and siege mentality lyrics. It goes back all the way to their first album, and certainly hasn’t eased off with later work. This is from the uneven Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, an album rife with that paranoid feel, and which at least still had Chuck sounding authoritative in his rhymes.

Final rules are available for Fox in the Forest, if anybody wants to check them out. Reviews have started coming in and they’re very positive so far. I’m sure I’ll get clobbered soon, but it feels good right now.

Oh, you came for music?

Steady Earnest, “Wear You To The Ball”

Steady Ernest is a side project of an assortment of Boston-area area ska musicians, most notably Dan Vitale of Bim Skala Bim on vocals. Overall, with Vitale’s involvement, it sounds a lot like Bim Skala Bim - pretty straightforward ska patterned after two-tone bands like The Specials. I think Bim Skala Bim is great, and Steady Earnest is where you go after you’ve gone through their discography. Out Of Line is the album to start with for this band.