Posts

Logic, “The Glorious Five”

I’m old, so I’m out of touch with music. Keeping up with the latest artists and releases requires a lot more hustle than I can really perform. Not to mention that my own personal network just doesn’t dig up stuff for me as much as it used to. It’s a natural thing, and it’s just a fact of agint. Music is a young person’s game. But I’m relatively more in touch with some scenes and genres than others. Hip-hop? I’m hopeless. I’ll just randomly come across artists, and I have no idea of how big they are or aren’t, or their reception. So, Logic - I have this record, I like it. He has a billion records though. How is he perceived? How is the rest of his body of work? No idea! It didn’t used to be this way.

David Mead, “Girl on the Roof”

I picked up this record because it was produced by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and…uh, yeah, you can tell. As Fountains of Wayne light, sure, why not? I have a limited appetite for this kind of pop rock, but hell, I can’t say anything bad about it either.

Skavoovie & the Epitones, “Cat Juice”

I can’t say for sure, but I believe that Skavoovie & the Epitones are the only band in the ol’ library featuring a euphonium. Skavoovie are one of my favorites from the third wave because the horns are so fat and up front, the tunes are bouncy, and while they’re not serious, they’re taking the music seriously. They also tend towards the more traditional sounds of ska rather than a ska-punk hybrid, which has always appealed to me more. Of the three albums, the first two are my favorites, with Ripe probably the pick of the litter.

The Sound Stylistics, “Get Ya Some”

From the Mocambo Funk Forty Fives, a comp collecting, uh, funk forty fives from Mocambo Records. The label is a reliable source for this kind of stuff, so this collection is a very fun time. Listen to this, the flute lead is delightful.

J Church, “Violent Motions Created”

This is a darker palette than J Church usually work with, both in the music and the vocal delivery. But, as always with them, their instincts for not letting a song drag on serve them well. Get it out there, get the point across, get on to the next thing. You want more? Listen to it again!

Downtown Boys, “Wave of History”

It’s official Five Songs policy to say that more bands should have horns. Everybody, no exceptions! So, yes, of course we love this stuff. Punk rock, but with a couple saxophones thrown in? Hell yeah! This is how the album opens, which is a great way to get our attention, that’s for sure.

They Might Be Giants, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”

I sometimes think about what song I’ve listened to the most in my life. I suspect strongly that it’s either a song from Flood or maybe a song from It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect strongly that they’re the albums I’ve listened to the most. Given that this song had a single released for it, has showed up on various live albums and things, and that my kids like it, this is as good a bet as any song I can think of off the top of my head.

Polyrhythmics, “Lord of the Fries”

A repeat!

New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, “Call Me”

It seems like a concept that would be kind of evergreen - ska up some jazz standards, add a few originals, off you go. But somehow, it had diminishing returns? Each album worked a little less than the previous one, and by the third, it was down to just “fine”. It’s fine! But that’s all.

The Meters, “Can You Do Without?”

Goddamn!

The Mighty Mocambos, “The Spell of Ra-Orkon”

Well, isn’t that just a party? Those horns, baby. And the bari sax solo!

Sleater-Kinney, “All Hands on the Bad One”

A thing I just noticed: I own four Sleater-Kinney records, and it’s the four Kill Rock Stars ones. Is that because of some label affinity or something? I think it’s a coincidence, but if I were more of a bullshitter, I’d spin some yarn here about that label giving them the right support and freedom to be at their best. But, no, it’s just dumb luck. OR IS IT

Alleged Gunmen, “Showdown at Sundown”

I don’t remember getting this, it’s apparently from 2004, so it wasn’t some random Bandcamp find. They don’t seem to have any links to other bands in Discogs, despite sounding very familiar. And, I’m sad to say, it’s a depressing thing to search for right now, so I guess I’ll leave it at that.

Common, “Be”

Be didn’t break open new ground, not really. But it’s such a good album from start to finish. It’s my favorite from Common because everything is just dialed in perfectly. This is just the intro song, and it goes incredibly hard thanks to that upright bass and the sweet strings, and Common just relaxing into it and slinging his verses. I listened to this twice while I was making this list.

Cobalt, “Gin”

Gin, that’s a very good idea.

Television, “Friction”

Forever the song before “Marquee Moon”.

The Beatles, “I Me Mine”

We’re skewing old today, which is fine, because I am old. So old.

Fine, I’ll say something more: Let It Be has some memorable songs, but there’s a lot of wankery on it and it’s kind of a shame that their discography ends with this instead of Abbey Road.

Steady Earnest, “Skin It Up”

Steady Earnest is an all-star band of Boston ska bands, most importantly featuring Dan Vitale of Bim Skala Bim on vocals. Because he fronts it, Bim is the closest comparison, and if you like one band, you’ll like the other for sure.

James Brown, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”

After complaining about not being able to remember if we’ve had songs before, I can say: we definitely had this one. It’s too distinctive to not remember.

Fifteen, “The End of the Summer”

Fifteen is one of the descendent bands of the legendary Crimpshrine, one of those bands that helped spawn an entire scene. Fifteen is where Jeff Ott ended up, and they kept going in the same vein, playing the melodic pop-punk that the Bay Area would soon become internationally famous for. If you love the style, you should check them out as one of the early bands in the scene.