Five Songs, 2/7/2019

Here’s today’s menu.

Leviathan, “-”

This is the intro to Scar Sighted, Leviathan’s 2015 album, a fearsome black metal album. Leviathan is the solo band of Jef Whitehead, who is also notable for starting one of the premier metal labels around, Profound Lore. This track is really just a build up to the start of the of the record, so I guess we’ll tackle it properly next time it comes up, along with maybe the controversy surrounding him.

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Five Songs, 2/5/2019

Six songs!

Lostbone, “Destroy What Destroys You”

uhhhuhuhuhhuhuh…lostbone

Pretty sure I ended up with this as a result of a grab bag of some variety or another. Among all the ways of discovering music, grab bags are certainly one of them. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually discovered a band I love from one of them. I suppose I should try a bunch more just in case.

Also, this appears to be a repeat. Onward!

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Five Songs, 2/4/2019

One of the most important songs in my personal history today.

Run-D.M.C., “Walk This Way”

Run-D.M.C. had already declared themselves the Kings of Rock before 1986’s Raising Hell was ever released, but it took “Walk This Way” being a massive hit on both the radio and, more importantly, MTV for Run-D.M.C. to really actually take that throne. This crossover song not only brought rap into countless homes in America for the first time, it also was responsible for resurrecting Aerosmith’s career, so it also has a lot to answer for.

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Five Songs, 2/3/2019

Here’s today!

Skankin’ Pickle, “Hit My Brain”

Yes, the band is named Skankin’ Pickle. No, there are essentially no depths that the third wave wouldn’t sink to in terms of naming themselves. Yes, this kind of sounds like an outtake from an early Chili Peppers album. But, you know what? They had some good tunes! They really did! One day we’ll get them (today is not that day).

Mike Park of the band also went on to found Asian Man Records, who are, somehow, still going. So have some respect! Or at least as much as you can muster for an outfit named “Skankin’ Pickle”.

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Five Songs, 1/31/2019

I dunno, sometimes this stuff just is what it is.

The Beatles, “Octopus’s Garden”

I enjoy all of the songs Ringo sings. There, I said it!

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, “Naked Sun”

Listen to how shamelessly huge that drum beat is! This band is absolutely not afraid to throw a corny vamp like this on their album, and commit to it completely. Fearlessness is underrated in a rock band.

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Five Songs, 1/30/2019

All over the map today!

Wu-Tang Clan, “Maria”

There were more of this sort of filthy song on Wu-Tang Forever than there were on their debut album. And, honestly, this song falls a little flat. It seems to think it can skate by on the explicit lyrics, but everybody’s rhymes here are really kind of by-the-books. Wu-Tang is always at its best when you have some contrast in styles. What’s the point of having this many MCs otherwise!

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Five Songs, 1/29/2019

Here we are!

The Wedding Present, “I’m From Further North Than You”

One of the best songs from Take Fountain, the “comeback” album from the Wedding Present that was really them just renaming themselves. Gedge always sounds great in this kind of conversational/confession mode, and the extended outro is nice. This song could easily have been on Watusi, which is a high compliment.

The Microphones, “The Moon”

Well, this song certainly takes its time getting going, doesn’t it? And then it sounds like a couple different songs playing at the same time. Honestly, the wall of sound here is sort of the musical equivalent of mumbling really loud. But, I still kind of like it.

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Five Songs, 1/26/2019

Good one today!

Albert King, “Playing On Me”

This merger of King’s blues guitar with the Stax horns, with funk folded in, is just delightful. I need to find some more shit like this. You can add blues to the long list of music that I fundamentally know jack squat about. I’m starting to think I’m not qualified to write a music blog at all!

MU330, “Dropping The Ball”

If you’re going to combine ska and punk, you can’t half-ass it. Full tempo punk with horns, hell yeah! Yeah, this shit’s a laughingstock, but I don’t care. It’s fun! Screw y’all!

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Five Songs, 1/25/2019

Here’s today!

Jeanne And The Darlings, “How Can You Mistreat The One You Love”

How sweet is that Memphis sound? This is a song from late in the Atlantic run for Stax/Volt, from 1967. That’s a tasty break in this song! Jeanne and the Darlings just ended up recording four singles in their career, so there isn’t a lot of followup to this tune.

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Bildbeschreibung”

There have been times in my life when I’ve bought a record that was intimidating, when I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. Buying this album, Strategies Against Architecture II, was one of those moments. I had heard of the band, in mostly hushed tones, and I wasn’t really sure I was up for it. So strange! So noisy! So German! I didn’t honestly know if I was up for it. And the album was, indeed, something pretty far beyond what I could have expected. But I certainly liked it!

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Five Songs, 1/24/2019

I had to upload three of these tracks today. I know nobody cares.

Marvin Gaye, “Flyin’ High (In The Friendly Sky)”

I’m pretty confident I’ve posted my contrarian/asshole take on What’s Going On, which is that it has some seriously great tunes, but actually is kind of flabby as an album and as a consequence is a flawed record. This song is an example - it’s kind of meandering and doesn’t add much to the album.

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