Downtown Boys

The Beatles, “Let It Be”

When I find myself with no ideas / struggling to write a blog / I fall back on dumb jokes / mail it in

TWRP, “Only the Best”

OK, I don’t love those lyrics there, but in the spirit of of mailing it in, I’m not going to take another run at them. Pulling aside the curtain a bit here at Five Songs Agglomerated, I pretty much just write these entries in stream-of-consciousness as I listen to the music, go back and just do a quick edit pass to fix typos or any really duff wording, and then call it good. Revising the joke goes agains the spirit of the thing, I think.

Downtown Boys, “Wave of History”

It’s official Five Songs policy to say that more bands should have horns. Everybody, no exceptions! So, yes, of course we love this stuff. Punk rock, but with a couple saxophones thrown in? Hell yeah! This is how the album opens, which is a great way to get our attention, that’s for sure.

They Might Be Giants, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”

I sometimes think about what song I’ve listened to the most in my life. I suspect strongly that it’s either a song from Flood or maybe a song from It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect strongly that they’re the albums I’ve listened to the most. Given that this song had a single released for it, has showed up on various live albums and things, and that my kids like it, this is as good a bet as any song I can think of off the top of my head.

Chuck D, “Generation Wrekkked”

In 1996, Chuck D released his first solo record, Autobiography of Mistachuck, which differs from a Public Enemy record primarily in that Flavor Flav wasn’t involved at all. Because Chuck D was always part of the Bomb Squad, and therefore was involved in putting together the beats, and of course his stentorian voice was always the driving force behind PE, the record really just kind of fits in with the other mid-90’s PE records. Probably better than He Got Game, maybe not quite as good as Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age.