Five Songs, 8/11/2023

Pixies, “Dead”

I was going to make a “ooh, another Lost 90’s Gem” joke here, as if anybody has ever forgotten the Pixies. And then I remembered, no, this album came out in 1989. Time is an illusion.

Jamire Williams, “Dos Au Soleil”

This is so good. It reminds me of nothing so much as Einstürzende Neubauten, in the way it approaches rhythm and the use of open space in the song. I should really look up more work from Williams.

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Five Songs, 3/9/2022

The Beautiful South, “Liars’ Bar”

Yeah, not the best choice here for a band where the delightful vocal performances are such an important part of their sound.

Madvillain, “Operation Lifesaver aka Mint Test”

A thing about Madvillain which is always impressive is that a lot of these tracks are pretty short, often under two minutes, but they feel fully realized and don’t at all feel skimpy. They’re just so packed with ideas that even a brief track is satisfying.

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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, 1/7/2019

IT STOPPED AT THREE DAYS, WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED? Eh, whatever, it’s not like I said I’m going to do these every day or anything. At least, not after I edit this place. NEW STREAK HERE!

Negativland, “Keep Rollin”

Negativland’s No Business is a meditation on copyright, art, and the nature of culture in general. Or, more succinctly, it’s a Negativland album. On the spectrum of experimental noise to something that could be described as music, it falls closer to the musical end, making it one of the easier Negativland albums to absorb. Which isn’t to say it’s easy listening. By the time they made this record, they had decades of experience in assembling these kinds of oddball things, so they had gotten very good at the sound manipulation required.

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Five Songs, 5/9/2017

I listened to yesterday’s songs again with Megan on the couch, and it was kind of a lackluster set. Not that some of those artists haven’t done good things, but it sure didn’t hang together. I guess that’s the hazard of this thing, but here’s hoping today’s songs rock!

Oh, I’ve also added a tasty treat to the front of the playlist today for those that don’t follow me on Twitter. LINK! HE COME TO TOWN!

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Five Songs, 4/24/2017

Big day at Five Songs Inc.! We’re…ok, that’s a lie. It’s just me, and I’m just doing the usual. But I have music for you, so I can’t be all bad, right? Not our best playlist today, though.

Eagles of Death Metal, “Bag O’ Miracles”

Sadly, most people will only recognize the Eagles of Death Metal due to the tragic terrorist attack at their concert in Paris. EoDM is one of Josh Homme’s (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age) side projects, playing a booze-soaked bluesy hard rock with an aggressively skanky edge to things. It’s music that really wants you to have a good time, and by god, it’s going to define “good time” for you! Truth be told, after about half an album, I’m usually done, but it’s fine in smaller doses.

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