Bear vs. Shark

Logic, “The Glorious Five”

I’m old, so I’m out of touch with music. Keeping up with the latest artists and releases requires a lot more hustle than I can really perform. Not to mention that my own personal network just doesn’t dig up stuff for me as much as it used to. It’s a natural thing, and it’s just a fact of agint. Music is a young person’s game. But I’m relatively more in touch with some scenes and genres than others. Hip-hop? I’m hopeless. I’ll just randomly come across artists, and I have no idea of how big they are or aren’t, or their reception. So, Logic - I have this record, I like it. He has a billion records though. How is he perceived? How is the rest of his body of work? No idea! It didn’t used to be this way.

The Decemberists, “Mistral”

I wonder what’s next up for the Decemberists. The last three albums haven’t been very much like each other - The King is Dead is like R.E.M., What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is like Hazards of Love but without a theme, and I’ll Be Your Girl is like a bad record. How will they mix it up next time?

Man or Astro-Man?, “DNI”

Man or Astro-Man? were insanely productive in the early to mid-90s, cranking out basically two albums a year before arriving on Touch and Go records, where the recording budgets got a little shinier but the sound remained the same. The productivity slowed a bit, they were only doing an album a year at this point, but these years are probably a little more reliable, so this record (the first of them) is probably a good starting point.

Hayaino Daisuki, “Haiiro Ikotsu Gakidou”

A side project of Discordance Axis’s Jon Chang (that’s him howling), Hayaino Daisuki translates to “I like speed”. And, you know, fair enough. Personally, I enjoy the thrash rhythms and the flaming guitar solos. It’s not meant to be anything other than a lark, but it’s an excellent lark.

Bear vs. Shark, “What A Horrible Night For a Curse”

I’ll spare you all my questioning if this band really exists again, and just listen to it along with you all.

Vampire Weekend, “Unbelievers”

Vampire Weekend’s third album was a return to form to my ears. Contra was a little bit too scattered, and sounded a little bit tired, and just didn’t quite hang together. But Modern Vampires of the City had some of that ineffable charm back, with this song serving as a good example. This could easily have gone on the debut album, and that’s a high complement.

Flying Saucer Attack, “Rainstorm Blues”

Hmmm. I wonder what I’ve said about Flying Saucer Attack in the past? I’m sure I had opinions. I am also not going to look. I shouldn’t have to do all the work here! I tag these things, go look it up yourself!