Eagles of Death Metal

David Mead, “Girl on the Roof”

I picked up this record because it was produced by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and…uh, yeah, you can tell. As Fountains of Wayne light, sure, why not? I have a limited appetite for this kind of pop rock, but hell, I can’t say anything bad about it either.

Skavoovie & the Epitones, “Cat Juice”

I can’t say for sure, but I believe that Skavoovie & the Epitones are the only band in the ol’ library featuring a euphonium. Skavoovie are one of my favorites from the third wave because the horns are so fat and up front, the tunes are bouncy, and while they’re not serious, they’re taking the music seriously. They also tend towards the more traditional sounds of ska rather than a ska-punk hybrid, which has always appealed to me more. Of the three albums, the first two are my favorites, with Ripe probably the pick of the litter.

The Beatles, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, blog goes on!

The Du-Rites, “Bite It”

A thing that must be a delight about being an instrumental funk band is coming up with song titles. “Bite It”, that’s outstanding!

Eagles of Death Metal, “Secret Plans”

Heart On finds the Eagles of Death Metal not exactly taking things seriously, but taking things more seriously than the previous records. The previous albums sounded totally like tongue-in-cheek satires, albeit well-executed ones. This one feels more like it’s a genuine love letter to glam rock than it is a send-up of it. I’m not sure I like it better, though.

Eagles of Death Metal, “Anything ‘Cept The Truth”

The opening track of Heart On, the third Eagles of Death Metal album of greasy rock before they went on hiatus. For me, I think that the previous album is a little better - a little scuzzier, a little less slick. Love the handclaps here, though. Five Songs is very much a pro-handclaps space.

Dawnbreed, “Volvoteen”

This album is from 1997, from Trans Solar records out of Koblenz. Dig the CompuServe email address on the back of the album! At any rate, this is a Very Josh sounding album, certainly for that time period. Thing is - I don’t remember it! Might have bought it at a show? Might be an album that Megan bought? Did I buy it in a big batch and forget about it? Who knows?

Here’s today.

Benton Falls, “Trail and Terror”

I’ve always been a little fuzzy on the genre “emo”. I’m old enough that it’s come around multiple times as a genre label, being applied to bands ranging from Rites of Spring to Touché Amoré. And it seems like the only thing really tying all these various scenes is some kind of punk sensibility married to heartfelt lyrics. Benton Falls usually gets described as emo themselves, but to my ears, this is pretty much just post-punk. But it’s good post-punk! If this is emo, so is Jawbox, is what I’m saying. And I don’t think anybody has described Jawbox as emo. (OK, somebody certainly has.)

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.