Posts

Zeke, “Action”

Fuck yeah garage rock! Spending a bunch of flowery words on this seems anthithetical to the spirit of things, so, again: fuck yeah!

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, “Black Motorcade”

Kind of a horror-themed psych band, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats mostly trade in atmosphere. When it’s effective, it’s creepy and unsettling. But they miss as often as they hit for me, and when it misses, it’s just kind of meandering. This album (The Night Creeper) doesn’t work for me as well as the other album I have (Blood Lust).

Camper Van Beethoven, “One of These Days”

I think my tolerance (or even enjoyment) of the violin has been more or less a straight line upwards. I used to think that the violin was an obnoxious affectation in Camper Van Beethoven, irritating and not rockin’. Now, of course, I think it’s probably the best part of the proceedings.

The Kinks, “Animal Farm”

Even more broadly, my tolerance (and enjoyment) of folk inspired stuff has also increased over time. So something like this from the Kinks also hits me better. Am I mellowing as I get older? Well, I also listen to more extreme metal, so who knows?

East of the Wall, “Naif”

Hmm, some research shows that I bought this five years ago…and I don’t really remember it. It’s easy to see why I picked it up, though. Seems kind of up my alley. I guess it probably slipped through the cracks, and I should give it an honest spin.

Has-Lo, “Everything Is”

A delicate song here from Has-Lo, in a contemplative mood. He’s good in this mode, though.

Nots, “Rat King”

Their 2016 album, Cosmetic, is a relatively short record, but it makes up for it with the energy it has. I’m always down for some noisy punk, especially if it’s willing to get kind of strange, so of course I was always going to like this.

J-Zone, “Edit These”

Well, I would have played this on the radio for my audience of, like, four.

Ghostface Killah, “Mighty Healthy”

Supreme Clientele is widely regarded as the best Ghostface solo album, which I guess I have trouble arguing too much with. It also demonstrated that Ghostface could thrive even without the RZA doing all the beats, as he only had a few songs on the record. It’s still an extremely Wu-Tang-sounding recording, which of course is a good thing, but on later albums Ghostface would explore his sound more. But still, it’s just a great record, and still sounds fantastic today.

My music server died the other day, and I kept going. Now, my laptop died. Still here!

Boris, “Tu, la la”

From Heavy Rocks, the 2011 version, and is a good example of Boris at the more tuneful end of things. It’s a very solid record, definitely worth listening to if you like Boris.

Prefuse 73, “7th Message”

I think I like Prefuse 73 the best when he’s at his most hip-hop influenced. That’s one of the reasons his first record is still my favorite, and this song is a great example of what I love. The samples and cuts here are very hip-hop, and add a lot to the tune.

The streak is alive!

New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, “Low Blow”

This is from the second New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble record, Low Blow. To recap, the NYSJE was assembled from a bunch of folks from various bands in NYC, including the Toasters, the Scofflaws, and one member of the Skatalites. They play a mix of originals and compositions by other people, with this being one of the originals. All three albums are solid, and I recommend them.

Jawbreaker, “Boxcar”

After Jawbreaker broke up in the wake of their sole Geffen record, there were a couple more releases to tie up the band’s catalog. In addition to a live record we got Etc., a collection of rarities, outtakes, and singles. Jawbreaker were great enough that even though this collection of stuff isn’t coherent, it’s still a good overall release. Some things I could probably do without, like this alternate take of “Boxcar”, but I’ll forgive those sins to have the rest of the material all in one place.

Big Boys, “We Got Soul”

An early hardcore band in Austin, the Big Boys inspired a bunch of bands that followed them, including folks like the Butthole Surfers. It’s also where Rey Washam (Scratch Acid, Rapeman) and Tim Kerr (Poison 13, The Monkeywrench) got their start. All of the Big Boys’ catalog was helpfully compiled into two discs, with The Skinny Elvis comprising the first half of their career and The Fat Elvis (which gave us today’s track) the second half. Among other things that made them great, they were totally unafraid to just straight up play some funk, which is delightful.

Propagandhi, “Resisting Tyrannical Government”

Less Talk, More Rock is such a good name for a Propagandhi record. I can only imagine how many knuckleheads brayed at them something along these lines. Anyway, it’s a delight.

Flop, “Act 1, Scene 1”

After Flop’s one record for Sony was a commercial failure, Flop went back to Frontier Records and banged out a third stone-cold pop classic. It’s tighter than the first record, and maybe sliiiiightly less catchy. But it’s still a ton of fun, and it’s sad that we only got three albums from them.

Cheetah Chrome, “Still Wanna Die”

It’s been a while since we’ve had a track from this record. This is from the Ork Records: New York, New York compilation from the Numero Group, which captures the early punk label Ork and the early New York punk scene. There’s a ton of really strong material here, and even the stuff that’s not great is at least energetic. Just a tremendous compilation.

Consolidated, “You Suck”

Proudly communist rap group Consolidated did everything they could do to try and piss off the troglodytes. In this case, pulling in the Yeastie Girls to guest on the track and rap about oral sex was a move that was pretty far out of the norm for 1992. Given how stiff they usually were on the mic, the guests make this one of the more memorable songs on this record.