Cursive followed up my favorite album of theirs with Happy Hollow, which probably isn’t really a step back or anything, but I always think more highly of albums that are a breakout. Domestica is arresting, an unflinching look into divorce that can be downright haunting, but The Ugly Organ was a leap forward in the songs that causes it to really stick out in my head. At any rate, this is also a great record, I’m probably just an idiot.
[Read More]Unfortunately for me, I’m exposed to probably an unhealthy amount of what would be described as geek media. That’s largely a consequence of being as into tabletop gaming as I am, and staying on top of new releases and things will inevitably lead to reading about adjacent culture stuff. I’m not proud of it. At any rate, at some point, I had read enough about the existence of nerdcore hip-hop that I decided I should probably listen to at least something. The lead nerdcore guy was MC Frontalot, so I picked up what was his latest album at the time.
[Read More]After yesterday, it’s nice to get some noise rock in here to offset that kind of thing. Variety is the spice of life, after all, and around here, loud rock is salt. Uh, or something like that. I’m saying it’s a lot of what we do get around here? So it’s salt, the biggest component of the spice mix? I think analogies work best when they’re laborious and opaque, how about you?
[Read More]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.
[Read More]The minimal beat here really works well. Not every song can get by on something like this, but Has-Lo pulls it off.
A thing I sometimes wonder about is the extent to which I contradict myself in the archives here. After writing as many entries for songs and bands, I’m sure I’ve said stuff in the past that can’t be reconciled. And I thought to myself, “hey, this is from the Touch & Go records, the last good ones they made, but this isn’t their best record”. I checked the archive, six articles with them, and you know what? 100% consistent! I call the album before this one my favorite from them, twice, and mention that the last Touch & Go record is their last good record. From this sample of one, I can conclude that I’m totally consistent.
[Read More]My music server died the other day, and I kept going. Now, my laptop died. Still here!
From Heavy Rocks, the 2011 version, and is a good example of Boris at the more tuneful end of things. It’s a very solid record, definitely worth listening to if you like Boris.
I think I like Prefuse 73 the best when he’s at his most hip-hop influenced. That’s one of the reasons his first record is still my favorite, and this song is a great example of what I love. The samples and cuts here are very hip-hop, and add a lot to the tune.
[Read More]This is the opener of Twelve Point Buck, a pounding exercise in downtempo noise that really is a statement of purpose for the band. It can be a bit much in extended doses, and my copy of this album is actually a double album with Little Baby Buntin’, which is a lot of Killdozer at once.
Extra Width was truly mind expanding for me, a record that I played over and over, and one of the sole things that kept me sane during one stretch of a summer job that involved pulling staples from telephone poles 40 hours a week for an entire month. And when I got Orange, slapped it on, and this thing melted my face? I couldn’t believe that they managed to top it. Thank YOU very much, JSBX!
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