American Music Club

Mogwai, “Remurdered”

I dunno about this, man. I want some fury with my Mogwai, some big dynamics, something should howl. This is pretty cerebral and isn’t what I’m generally looking for from them.

Jean Knight, “Mr. Big Stuff”

A repeat of an all-time jam.

American Music Club, “If I Had A Hammer”

“Gratitude Walks” is the opener of this album, but this beautiful slice of melancholy in the second position was what got me sold on American Music Club. I bought this album and listened to it on the walk back to campus, and it was such a change of pace from what I was listening to at the time that it really stuck with me. It’s good to have some things in your music diet that aren’t just noise and wrath.

The Queers, “I Like Young Girls”

There are a lot of questions raised by this blog, most of them unanswerable. Foremost among those questions is “why do I have so many damn albums from the Queers?”

American Music Club, “Patriot’s Heart”

After ten years apart, during which Mark Eitzel pursued a solo career, American Music Club got back together in 2004 for a new album, Love Songs for Patriots. Not only did they pick up where they left off, they really picked up earlier than that. I like it better than San Francisco, and maybe better than Mercury. I think it has a little more vigor than those two albums, although that’s always kind of a relative thing with a band this downbeat.

Mary Wells, “My Guy”

Another classic Motown tune. I wish I could set up all my music streaming to just inject periodic Motown songs into whatever I’m listening to. Having a Four Tops song pop up in the middle of some Neanderthal death metal record would be pretty excellent.

Shenandoah Davis, “Gold Coast”

I like the choral bits in this, and the well placed additions to the piano. It’s a lovely piece.

Foetus, “Ramrod”

This track was originally the A-side of a single, and it was later pulled onto the compilation Sink. It’s a fantastic example of the mid to late 80s stuff that Foetus was up to, this kind of noir-inflected, orchestrated industrial noise stuff. There’s something familiar about this song, with gestures towards obsolete but recognizable types of music. But it’s all arranged in disquieting ways, like a musical Frankenstein’s monster, all bolts and dead flesh arranged in a groteque parody of life.

Beastie Boys, “The Sounds of Science”

My freshman year roommate couldn’t stand this track, and would insist on skipping it when we listened to this record. Which was often, it was an album we could agree on. I thought I lost that copy of Paul’s Boutique when it was in his car when the car got stolen. But! They found it, and he got the car back! The song that came on when he started it up? “Car Thief”.

American Music Club, “Nightwatchman”

Speaking of night watchmen, we watched Night at the Museum with the kids last night, and I was kind of pleasantly surprised that the effects didn’t look too janky. I mean, sure, the whole premise was ridiculous, but I thought there was a good chance that it was going to look so stupid as to totally jar me out of things. But no, held up just fine as a family movie.

Grandaddy, “Now It’s On”

I think I’ve used this space before to kind of lament how Grandaddy hasn’t really connected with me. I can see the quality, but it’s just never really clicked. This is a fine tune, though.

American Music Club, “Outside This Bar”

American Music Club were still kind of finding their way with their second album, Engine. Musically, they would eventually open up some of the arrangements which would help give some more space to Mark Eitzel’s lyrics. But as you can hear on this song, the often harrowing storytelling was definitely there.

Leatherface, “Scheme of Things”

UK punk band Leatherface play it pretty much straight ahead, but they do a nice job with it. The thing that’s hard to adjust to is Frankie Stubbs’s voice, which is rough, to put it mildly. But, this entire album (Mush) is pretty good overall, and it’s worth giving it a try if you like this song.

Screeching Weasel, “Claire Monet”

Sure, why not. Apparently it’s Punk With Vocals You Really Have To Adjust To Day around here.

Today!

The Flaming Lips, “Be Free, A Way”

On 2013’s The Terror, The Flaming Lips were using their psychedelia to explore not shiny wonder but the depths of despair. With Wayne Coyne’s romantic life falling apart and Steven Drozd again struggling with substance abuse, the Lips were not in a good place in their personal lives, and it comes through in the stark bleakness of their music. Piercing and melancholy, The Terror is one of their best records, although it’s not always a whole lot of fun.

Here at Five Songs, we never stop working for you, the tiny handful of people who put up with this, day in and day out. So, today, we’re going the extra 20% with six songs! Such generosity!

Johnny Too Bad And The Strikeouts, “Nineteen Fifty Two”

If you look at that band name and say to yourself “that sounds like a fourth-tier third-wave band”, congratulations! You’ve probably consumed too much Five Songs!