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fIREHOSE, “Blaze”

fIREHOSE’s swan song was Mr. Machinery Operator, their second major label release and one produced by J. Mascis. And I think you can really hear Mascis’s influence on the record, especially on this track. It’s still fIREHOSE, but it’s much rougher, much muscular in an obvious way. I have to suspect that the grunge movement had to have had some influence on the band as well. To my ears, it’s not an entirely comfortable pairing. fIREHOSE always sounded so agile, and the fuzzier, more rugged production seems to conceal a little of that agility. I don’t know if the band felt the same, but this was it for the band. Overall, to my mind, they have two great albums and three good ones, which is a good tear by anybody’s standards.

Kvadrat, “Αποκοπή”

This is from Ψυχική Αποσύνθεση, the EP released in 2021 from this Greek black metal band. Here’s what I know about them:

• They’re Greek.
• They released this on the magnificent Total Dissonance Worship label out of Portland, who have quickly become one of my favorite labels.
• That’s it.

This is the stuff, though - unpredictable and relentless black metal where I cannot understand anything that’s going on, but do not care at all. I cannot even verbally recommend this to anybody, I haven’t the foggiest how any of that would be pronounced. I suppose I can fake the band’s name. Anyway, I hope they release a full-length at some point!

Quicksand, “Thorn in my Side”

Post-hardcore might be the genre that I enjoy the most that I’ve lost the most touch with, if that makes sense. There was a time when I listened to more or less all the post-hardcore that there was, devouring it all and staying on top of the scene and bands. When I kind of became dislocated from music a bit in the early 2000s, I lost track of a lot of things, and then as I gradually found ways to stay on top of music in the post-Usenet-and-magazine/pre-social-media era, I just never got traction with any of this stuff again. Is it still being made? Are there still post-hardcore bands out there kicking ass? I’m sure there are, and I’m equally sure I’m unaware of them. Well, you know, other than Quicksand’s reunion record.

The NY Citizens, “Brooklyn’s On Fire”

That is some Saturday Night Live-ass horn work on this tune.

Oh, this is the first time we’ve had them, huh? The NY Citizens were a pretty early band in the third wave of ska, so this was all before some of the genre boundaries had settled down. As a result, they were much more English Beat than anything else, which wasn’t a popular referent for most of the other bands in the third wave.

The Atlas Moth, “Smiling Knife”

I’ve just got this one record from the Atlas Moth, Coma Noir, their most recent. And I guess I like it just fine - this track is kind of fun, with the slippery movement between genres, sounding like noise rock at times, like sludge at times, a bit of post-metal or maybe metalcore here and there. The blend doesn’t quite hold up for the whole record, though, and it ends up being the sort of thing where you want a bit more evolution or edge or something. It wasn’t quite enough for me to hunt down their previous records.

NoFX, “Please Play This Song on the Radio”

I did, in fact, play this song on the radio, which is the sort of thing you can do when you’re holding down the 3 AM-7 AM slot on a Tuesday for a grand total of, like, four listeners. Safe harbor, baby! Anyway, 17yo Josh thought this was a hilarious bit, and absolutely worthy of inflicting on the poor bastards cramming for their thermodynamics final and were just hoping for something to keep themselves awake. I hope hearing the word “shithead” on the radio gave them just a little bit of a jolt.

Deerhoof, “Department of Corrections”

I don’t buy every Deerhoof record, because that would probably be too much Deerhoof. But I do own five of them, because it’s all delightful stuff that I enjoy listening to. It’s a balance, and I feel pretty good about where I landed.

Whiskeytown, “If He Can’t Have You”

This is good. I like this. I should listen to more country.

Descendents, “Good Good Things”

While I know that people mostly love and remember the hyper-caffeinated juvenile stuff, which of course I enjoy as well, I think that I might enjoy when they recorded more serious songs more. Yes, part of that is just the contrast, but they really could do melancholy quite well.

Waxahatchee, “La Loose”

I went and checked what I’ve said about Waxahatchee in the past, because sometimes I try and avoid repeating myself too much. Sometimes. It was then I discovered that this is the third time we’ve had this exact song. Still good! Go read what I said the last two times! Or not, it’s your time.

Madness, “Razor Blade Alley”

Mostly, the third wave of ska was following in the footsteps of the Specials, but I think that the Madness was also an important ingredient in the mix. In particular, the irreverence of Madness is something that a lot of the third wave really picked up on. The attitude, more so than the music, is one that they borrowed and extended.

Japandroids, “Young Hearts Spark Fire”

This was the song that launched the Japandroids, rattling around enough on blogs to get the band the attention that would make their career. It’s a solid capsule of their sound, all fuzzy guitars, propulsive drumming, and catchy shouting. It’s easy to see how people got excited for this, and the excitement would pay off with Post-Nothing and to a greater extent Celebration Rock.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “Lap Dance”

This comes to us from one of the leftovers records that JSBX put out, this one collecting miscellany from Acme. The leftovers records are actually not bad, generally, even if they are kind of shaggy. The truth is that peak JSBX was just fun to listen to, even if maybe they weren’t doing their best material. Anyway, this record is Xtra-Acme USA, and it’s not something to pick up until you’ve worn out the proper albums, but if you’re a JSBX freak you should absolutely listen to it.

Elvis Costello & the Attractions, “New Amsterdam”

Costello was in the middle of his 10/10 run of albums (ignoring the covers record), with Get Happy!! being maybe the most distinctive of the lot. It’s not my favorite (that’s probably This Year’s Model followed by Imperial Bedroom), but the soul focus of the record means that it stands out a bit more from the rest of the group. Although Imperial Bedroom is also pretty distinctive, with the lush, orchestrated songs. I’m really not strengthening my point here. Anyway, good record.