Bedouine

I missed yesterday, which is going to happen. Unlike when I was trying to maintain a perfect streak of daily posts as long as I could, this go around, I’m going to write when I feel like it. Which should be most days, I think, but not every day. I’m doing this for fun!

Bedouine, “Nice and Quiet”

(track 1!) Nice and quiet, indeed. Bedouine is a Syrian folk singer who drew a ton of critical attention with this record, which is what led me to pick it up after appearing on a couple of year-end roundups. I don’t remember which ones exactly. It wasn’t Pitchfork or Stereogum. Nor The Quietus. Well, who knows. Anyway: this isn’t really in my wheelhouse, musically. But every now and again I do try and sample from well-regarded stuff from this end of the pool, because sometimes I’ll latch onto it. Did this one take? Ehh, not really. It’s fine, it’s pretty. I just don’t find myself seeking it out.

Cursive, “Big Bang”

Dang, friends, that’s a hell of a groove there. “Big Bang” indeed!

Bedouine, “Nice and Quiet”

This is not a groove. Too pretty.

De La Soul, “Drawn”

I wonder what the shortest Five Songs has been? I mean, five songs long, but in text.

Man or Astro-Man?, “The Sound Waves Reversing”

I’m absolutely not going to figure it out, mind you.

Union Carbide Productions, “Swing”

But I gotta figure this one is the “winner”. I’ll do better tomorrow!

The Baseball Project, “Don’t Call Them Twinkies”

There’s a Venn diagram you can draw, with “Baseball Nerd” as one circle and “Seattle Music Nerd” in the other. In that fantastic overlap sits The Baseball Project and your faithful Five Songs correspondant. Where else can you go for a lovely rock song that name checks Zoilo Versalles? Just the best.

Uniform, “Habit”

And from that piece of charm, we move to the menacing Uniform, sounding like Thaw-era Foetus here. All growling noise and lyrics spit through gritted teeth. The sort of song with a relentless pursuit of “ugly” as an aesthetic.