Posts

Superchunk, “Mower”

Unlike with OutKast, I have a lot of trouble picking my favorite Superchunk album. No Pocky For Kitty was the first album I bought, and it’s top notch, and it’s a sentimental pick. Here’s Where The String Come In has Superchunk at their best blend of their energy and more mature songwriting, and it’s a fantastic record. And then there’s On The Mouth, today’s album, which is just rock solid back-to-front. I think it’s probably my most frequent pick, but I really do swap around quite a bit.

Mombu, “Orichas”

Mombu!!! [honking intesifies]

Bedhead, “The Unpredictable Landlord”

You know, a thing I do very little here is look at the lyrics of songs. That’s largely because I don’t really pay any attention to them. I like that they’re there, and I even learn to sing along to songs, but I don’t really pay any attention to what they’re saying mostly. Is lyrics blindness a thing?

Russian Circles, “Kohokia”

So, whatever! Let’s lose the lyrics! Thanks, Russian Circles! This song is about…uh, [googles Kohokia] a Russian Circles song.

Glorior Belli, “The Great Southern Darkness”

Glorior Belli are a black metal band out of France, but they fuse in a lot of other things to their sound. Like, for instance, the opening of this is really kind of a Soundgarden song. But, I’m not sure it all works. Like, when they pivot to the metal vocals here, it seems really forced. This album doesn’t really do it for me.

Whiskeytown, “16 Days”

Ryan Adams’ first foray into country, the first Whiskeytown record is alt-country only in the sense that it wasn’t made for pop-country radio. Other than that, it’s a country record in every sense. It’s a pretty good record, but I don’t find it as compelling as other alt-country acts, so it doesn’t get played very often.

The Du-Rites, “The Mean Machine”

Among the many reasons to love the Du-Rites is that they produce a steady stream of singles, which all consistently smoke. This is the a-side to one of those 7"s, and come on, that’s tasty.

The Orb, “Blue Room [Edit]”

The Orb’s U.F.Orb was a big hit for ambient house, which is still a relative measure, but still. Like all electronic albums that got big, there were a host of remix singles and things that were put out. This comes from one of those singles, and is a tidy 3:12 mix of the song. This same single includes a 40:00 mix of the song, in case you wanted more. You can simulate it by playing this track thirteen times in a row.

Neutral Milk Hotel, “Song Against Sex”

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is a record that sort of became a shibboleth among indie dorks, the sort of thing you had to pledge allegience to in order to fit in among certain crowds. Or make fun of, to piss off those indie dorks. But mostly, people don’t talk about the first Neutral Milk Hotel record, On Avery Island, which to my ears is pretty comparable. Sure, the second album is better, but I don’t think it’s so MUCH better to explain the different reputations.

Run the Jewels, “Early (feat. BOOTS)”

I still think Run The Jewels 2 is the best album from them. In fact, let’s do this!

Run The Jewels 2 RTJ4 R.A.P. Music (aka RTJ 0) Run the Jewels 3 Run the Jewels Meow the Jewels

Broham, “Nothing In Common”

Oh man, that is sweet. Listen to that bass! The horns!

Baby Elephant, “Turn My Teeth Up!”

Baby Elephant is eccentric genius Prince Paul teaming up with funk legend Bernie Worrell for an album of off-kilter funk. Worrell is incapable of not sounding like a million bucks, and Prince Paul is, as mentioned a sentence ago, a genius. So, this album rules.

The Flaming Lips, “Turn It On”

I tend to listen to the albums from Soft Bulletin on more than anything, but that’s kind of a mistake. The Ronald Jones albums (he left after Clouds Taste Metallic) are a different beast than the more symphonic stuff later, but that extra crunch goes really nice. This is a great tune! Now, if you go prior to In A Priest Driven Ambulence, you’re really getting some dodgy stuff, but this era (this is the opener to 1993’s Transmissions From the Satellite Heart) has lots to recommend it.

Astronoid, “Resin”

We’ve frequently talked here about the blurry space between black metal and shoegaze, and some of the bands occupying that liminal space. There’s a fair bit of distance to travel between My Bloody Valentine and Bathory, mind you, but because they do exist on something of a continuum, most of the spots in-between are viable. So, today, we have Astronoid: those drums and rhythms are pretty metal, but the dreamy vocals and triumphant tilt to the music is very shoegaze. This record really very much sits at the midpoint, I’d say.

Crudbump, “My Dick’s On The Phone [Explicit]”

I don’t normally include the “[Explicit]” tags on songs, but I think you all need that warning when we’re facing something as nasty as Crudbump.

Has-Lo, “Got My Mind”

This is from Has-Lo’s tribute to Prince Paul, The Paul Tape, an instrumental record in the style of the legendary producer. And if anybody hasn’t encountered it yet, Open Mike Eagle’s podcast, What Had Happened Was, is tremendous and has an entire season with Prince Paul.