Eels

The Avalanches, “The Divine Chord”

A thing I admire about Johnny Marr (who guested on this song) is that he’s cheerfully helped on about a zillion things in his post-Smiths career, and they’re pretty all over the map. And he seems happy to do it. Good for him!

Mastodon, “Stargasm”

I’ve tried on multiple occasions to love The Hunter, and I just haven’t gotten there. It’s not that it’s bad or anything, but I dunno, I just want them to be more elaborate than this. Although it’s pretty funny to call this tune as not elaborate.

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.

Eels, “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)”

Hey man, have you ever tried to write something interesting about five random songs every single day? Now you’re really living!

Foo Fighters, “My Hero”

I like this album just fine, sometimes I just want something tuneful and energetic. But I don’t really listen to it that often…on a stereo. On Rock Band? I’ve heard these songs a ton. I can just see the little colored lights if I close my eyes.

P.D.Q. Bach, “Six Contrary Dances, S. 39: VI. Moving right alongo”

P.D.Q. Bach, the parody composer, makes truly dumb music that can largely only be appreciated by smart people. Or, maybe more accurately, culturally educated people. The truth is, I sort of catch only a subset of the gags in it, because I’m nowhere near knowledgeable enough in Western classical music to get all of it. But even if you don’t catch all the jokes, the music itself is pretty fun even without them.

Astronoid, “Resin”

We’ve frequently talked here about the blurry space between black metal and shoegaze, and some of the bands occupying that liminal space. There’s a fair bit of distance to travel between My Bloody Valentine and Bathory, mind you, but because they do exist on something of a continuum, most of the spots in-between are viable. So, today, we have Astronoid: those drums and rhythms are pretty metal, but the dreamy vocals and triumphant tilt to the music is very shoegaze. This record really very much sits at the midpoint, I’d say.

Flamingosis, “Those Eyes”

Discogs describes Flamingosis as “chillwave” and “disco”, and, sure, whatever. There’s some synth pop here, some electro-funk, some straight up pop - the sort of thing that sounds nostalgic without actually really evoking anything specific. In this song, there are actually some Soul II Soul vibes going on here. Which, in turn, brings me to two memories of Soul II Soul. The first is that they were weirdly one of the contemporary (at the time) bands that my dad and I both really liked. He bought his own copy of a couple of their albums, we used to listen to them in the car, it was great.

Today!

Dave Hillyard & The Rocksteady Seven, “Someone Else’s Love Song”

Dave Hillyard has been in a bunch of ska bands during his time, most notably as part of The Slackers from the beginning. He has his own solo project where he plays his own compositions and sings. He put out a new record this year, The Giver, and this song gives you an idea of what you’re in for.