Can

DJ Q-Bert, “Two”

This is a track from Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik, where Q-Bert pretty much goes out of his mind. Some of the finest turntable work around, I highly recommend this whole record.

Atmosphere, “Yesterday”

Goddamn, I’m a sucker for a loop built on a piano riff. Here, “Love Finds Its Own Way” by Gladys Knight & the Pips is the source, and the resulting beat is a thing of wonder. I just can’t get enough of this.

Can, “Mushroom”

Can is the sort of band that intolerable rock dorks will never shut up about, but frustratingly, they’re also right about them. Tago Mago is a double-album, stuffed full of hypnotic rhythms, oddball sounds, plenty of shout-singing, and stretched out compositions. This is one of the founding documents of Krautrock, but that’s not really an argument for the album as Krautrock itself was mostly an influence on other things. So don’t focus on that, focus on the fact that the album is still a great listen. Sometimes even rock docks are worth listening to.

Can, “Mother Upduff”

I still kind of lament Unlimited Edition being the first record I ever heard from Can. It’s so scattered, as befits an outtake compilation, that it’s hard to really appreciate it without the context of already loving the band. I decided to just ignore Can for another couple decades at that point, and I could have been listening to them that whole time. Big mistake!

Knxwledge, “kometostai.aintreallynootherwaytoputitro”

Yes, I copied and pasted that from Plex. I ain’t typin’ all that!

Jan Jelinek, “If’s, And’s and But’s”

I honestly think that Jan Jelinek might be the artist I can consistently identify the fastest in my collection. That glitch is just so recognizable. Also, love the grocer’s apostrophe’s here!

Crunt, “Unglued”

Been a while since we’ve had them here. (checks) We’ve never had them here! Crunt were a side project of Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), Russell Simins (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), and Stuart Gray (Lubricated Goat). They produced one album, which rips, but that was it unfortunately. It’s basically totally forgotten at this point, but it’s a good time.

Ghost Bath, “Golden Number”

There’s a continuum in music that relies heavily tremelo picking going from black metal at one end to shoegaze at the other end. The placement of any band on this spectrum kind of comes down to the vocals, the use of dissonance, the melodies (if any), and the production. And bands can move around on the spectrum (Alcest, for instance). Ghost Bath isn’t pure black metal, so they’ve moved along that spectrum some. “Blackgaze” is sometimes used for these sorts of bands, and I can’t decide if that’s a good name or not.

It’s Thanksgiving! I wrote this way ahead of time! Happy turkey day! I hope everybody gets stuffed and your families do not fight!

Fugees, “Fu-Gee-La (Sly & Robbie Mix)”

The Score is a masterpiece, one of the great records in rap history, but I do find the remixes of “Fu-Gee-La” at the end of the album largely unnecessary. I’d rather just listen to the original of it instead.

Snoop Dogg, “Imagine”

More or less every Snoop album after Doggystyle has been kind of, uh, shaggy. He often sounds like he’s mailing it in at least a little bit (and sometimes more than a litte), and Tha Blue Carpet Treatment is no exception. That said, it’s still one of the better albums he’s put together. It would probably be even better cut down to half its length, but Snoop is still very charismatic, so it’s a pleasant listen.

Jay Farrar, “Different Eyes”

If you’re wondering what the difference is between a Son Volt record and a Jay Farrar record, the answer is “not much”. This album (Sebastopol) was recorded after the very good Wide Swing Tremelo, and honestly, you could scramble up the track listings between the two and not really think anything was off. That makes this album also very good, just so I’m clear.

Deerhoof, “Son of Sorn”

You can see where Deerhoof earns the name “noise pop” on a song like this. It’s about a third aimless noise, a third pounding rhythm, and a third sweet but fractured pop song. They don’t always explore all three of those in the same song, but this is a compact little package of what Deerhoof is about.

All over the map today.

Common Market, “Slow Cure”

It’s been a while since we’ve had Common Market, so a little re-introduction: this is a Seattle duo, featuring Sabzi (more famously known as half of the Blue Scholars) and RA Scion. Given that it’s Sabzi on the beats, it’s going to share a certain feel with the Blue Scholars, but Scion is different enough from Geologic that they don’t sound totally the same.