‘Scuse me while I fuck this blog!
Didn’t we just have Steady Ernest? I wonder what the most frequent ska band we’ve had show up here is? Seems like it should be the Slackers, just going off the number of albums I have from them. 22 tracks from the Slackers. Geez. I don’t remember them showing up that much. I guess I’ve been doing this for a while.
[Read More]Greatest hardcore band during the 80s has been a common argument through the years. A lot of the time, it comes down to a preference between the east coast (Minor Threat), the west coast (Black Flag or the Dead Kennedys), or the midwest (Hüsker Dü). I know I first encountered this argument on Usenet in 1991, and it hasn’t really stopped. But if you asked for the best hardcore album, there was often an extra one that people would mention. I Against I didn’t exactly fit the mold of those other bands, and given how many other genres get blended in here, I’m not sure it totally qualifies as a hardcore album. Kind of the same way I’m not sure that the Minutemen qualify. Nevertheless, it’s a hell of an album, and I can understand why people put it in the company of so many other classics from the 80s.
[Read More]Switched On collected a bunch of early Stereolab singles, before they had really developed their sound fully. It’s more guitar-forward and less drone-heavy than their later music would be. I think it’s not as essential as their later records, but it’s an interesting comp, and worth going back if you’re already a Stereolab fan. We’ll discuss thme more when they come up again.
In Dan Ozzi’s excellent Reply All newsletter, Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience ranks his own records, and places this album at the top of the list. I actually usually think the previous record (and #2 on the list) Love is Dead is their best work, but hey, who am I to argue?
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