Boss Hog

MC Paul Barman, “UNDOING ALONENESS”

Back when MC Paul Barman was just getting going, I remember a lot of thinkpieces coming out about him. Lots of descriptors for him describing him as smart or whatever in a way that in retrospect just strikes me as gross. To his credit, he never seemed to try and court that reputation or try and turn himself into a savior or anything. He just made his debut record, popped up on guest spots every now and again, and mostly kept a low profile. His output wasn’t fast, with his first record in 2002 and this, his third, in 2018. But, overall, it’s fun stuff - off-kilter but entertaining, and worth looking into if you read the hype back in the day but never actually tried it.

The True Loves, “Kabuki”

Soul band from beautiful Seattle, this was one of those occasional finds from when I found myself trapped in a vehicle without Bluetooth and heard something good on KEXP. (Specifically, a U-Haul I was driving from Kingston to Bainbridge Island.) It’s a delight, of course, and I wish I had some way other than just serendipity to find something like this. Oh well!

The Slackers, “And I Wonder?”

In my mind, The Question is my least favorite Slackers album. I’m not really sure at this point exactly why. I adored Redlight (it’s still one of my favorite ska records), and I was super geeked for the follow-up. And something about it didn’t quite sit right with me. And I just kind of didn’t listen to it much and filed it away. It’s not that I fell off the band, mind you. The next studio record, Wasted Days, is ALSO one of my favorite ska records. I still eagerly buy everything they put out, love a bunch of their records, have seen them multiple times…but I’ve never really gone back to try this album again. Just one of those blind spots. I should really fix that!

Scratch Acid, “She Said”

In the mid-80s, Scratch Acid helped for the noise rock scene in America, taking the racket that the Birthday Party was kicking out and taking it another step further. Scratch Acid also provided half of the Jesus Lizard, which is certainly notable enough for any band. All of Scratch Acid’s work (one LP and one EP) are collected on The Greatest Gift, which is a must for any noise rock fan.

Another month in the books here! NOT BAD.

Boss Hog, “Winn Coma”

Straight-ahead rock from the most straight-ahead record Boss Hog made.

Krallice, “Inhume”

The third Krallice album, Diotima, was the last they did with Profound Lore before striking out on their own. It contains the usual elaborate black metal craziness, and while it’s good, it’s maybe the Krallice album that sticks with me the least.

Ulthar, “Undying Spear”

Shuffle is in a metal mood these last couple days. This is from the 2020 album Providence, and if you were wondering what black metal vs. death metal was like, these two tracks might help. The pounding riffs here are very death metal, as opposed to the tremelo picking madness of the Krallice song. The vocals here are kind of black metal, though.

Bell Witch, “Suffocation, A Burial: I - Awoken (Breathing Teeth)”

First things first, that is a MAGNIFICENT name for a metal song. A roman numeral, a parenthetical, just all kinds of extra junk. Spectacular.

At any rate, the other day I referred to Pallbearer as the standard bearers for doom metal, but I think that’s maybe not quite right. They’re probably the most popular, but Seattle’s duo of Bell Witch is probably more critically acclaimed. A lot of that praise comes more from their 2017 release (Mirror Reaper), but this from 2015’s Four Phantoms gives a good idea of what the band is about. The microgenre they play in is called funeral doom, and you can see why.

Well, it starts out pretty well.

Boards of Canada, “Smokes Quantity”

A little bit ago, when Seattle was pretty snowed in, I trundled in to work, and my travel mug popped open in my bag. Everything was soaked, ruining a nice deck of cards, a notepad, and, oh yeah, my work computer. Most of the IT offices were closed, due to snow, but I found the closest open one and headed down. The three guys in there seemed kind of bored and happy for something to do. I mentioned that I liked what they were listening to, mentioning Boards of Canada by name, and they lit up. Next thing I know, I’m included in their joking around, we’re talking about music, and I had a pleasant little afternoon instead of what could have been a lousy day. Thanks, Board of Canada! You made me seem almost kinda cool for a brief period!

Today!

Bob Marley, “Fussing and Fighting”

I find myself listening to early Bob Marley more than his later, better produced stuff. Something about the raw nature of these recordings really appeals to me.

Buzzkill, “Me”

Are Buzzkill sending up Slint here? I think they might be sending up Slint. We haven’t had Slint yet. I used to sit around in the dark in my dorm room in college and listen to Slint’s Spiderland and just feel so goddamn sorry for myself. It’s really good, y’all!

I don’t have a ton to say about these tracks, although there are a couple of truly great songs on the list. I figure, if I don’t have a ton to say, better to keep these things simple.

Kendrick Lamar, “The Blacker The Berry”

To Pimp a Butterfly was my favorite album of 2015, and this track is one of the hardest hitting songs on it.

Boss Hog, “Gerard”

Another scuzz rock track from Cold Hands, full of the same kind of distorted churn that that record is populated with.

I’m considering doing the occasional “Five Songs Special”, where I choose an artist I love and pick five songs from them that best tell that artist’s story. Good idea? Bad? Totally fail to let me know! Today’s music is over here.

Another note: when we have an artist that has appeared before, I’m going to skip basic background stuff. I think that makes sense, because I provide the “previously” links if anybody jumps into the middle and wants to know more about an artist.