Felt

Squarepusher, “Tundra”

Feed Me Weird Things is Squarepusher’s debut record, where he still hewed closer to jungle than he later would on subsequent albums. But even at this early date, when he was still working to define his approach, the fusion elements still shine through pretty distinctly. In the end, there’s nothing really very standard about this, one of the stronger tracks on the record.

Vaz, “Chartreuse Blues”

Vaz is two-thirds of noise rock legends Hammerhead carrying on with tunes very much in the same aggressive vein. All growling guitars and pummeling rhythms, this is the good stuff. Starting on this record, Chartreuse Bull, they added a second guitarist, giving a more layered sound than they’d ever had, either as Vaz or Hammerhead, so this is probably the record to start with. Or go back and listen to Hammerhead’s Into the Vortex first. I’ll always recommend that record.

Can, “Mother Upduff”

I still kind of lament Unlimited Edition being the first record I ever heard from Can. It’s so scattered, as befits an outtake compilation, that it’s hard to really appreciate it without the context of already loving the band. I decided to just ignore Can for another couple decades at that point, and I could have been listening to them that whole time. Big mistake!

Knxwledge, “kometostai.aintreallynootherwaytoputitro”

Yes, I copied and pasted that from Plex. I ain’t typin’ all that!

Felt, “Bass For Your Truck”

Repeat!

The Smiths, “Is It Really So Strange?”

I really need to get to the point where my kid can have visitors again, because I really want to try and mortify them by singing along to the Smiths really loud.

Belle and Sebastian, “Electronic Renaissance”

It’s tracks like this one that really demonstrate that Belle and Sebastian were still very much learning how things worked with their first album, Tigermilk, which was literally a university project. Luckily, they didn’t convince themselves that this sort of thing was their future.

Hayaino Daisuki, “Haiiro Ikotsu Gakidou”

A side project of Discordance Axis’s Jon Chang (that’s him howling), Hayaino Daisuki translates to “I like speed”. And, you know, fair enough. Personally, I enjoy the thrash rhythms and the flaming guitar solos. It’s not meant to be anything other than a lark, but it’s an excellent lark.

Bear vs. Shark, “What A Horrible Night For a Curse”

I’ll spare you all my questioning if this band really exists again, and just listen to it along with you all.

Mary Timony, “Poison Moon”

This is Mary Timony’s first solo record, and you can kind of hear some pointers towards where here work would head, both with Wild Flag and Ex Hex. There’s more of a new wave feeling to some of this, and less of the indie feel of things. It’s a transitional record, but still very good.

LCD Soundsystem, “call the police”

LCD Soundsystem noisily retired in 2011, making a big deal out of their last show at Madison Square Garden and then riding off into the sunset. Until, of course, they returned in 2017 with a new album. New York, I Love You, But You’re Getting Ripped Off.

Yet another year-end roundup! This time from Pitchfork, so prepare to be enraged! And [here’s today’s music].(https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLexe714An2QjMniBJQbnevydhM3HcuMaL)

Flop, “Asthenia”

Lost among all the other Seattle bands of the early 90s, Flop was never the slightest bit grungy so they never broke it big. They did, of course, end up on a major label, but the majors were signing every band who had even toured through Seattle in those days, so that’s not that surprising. Instead of being grunge, Flop evoked the power pop bands of the Pacific Northwest, bands like the Posies and the Young Fresh Fellows. With Kurt Bloch (The Young Fresh Fellows, the Fastbacks, tons of producing credits) behind the boards, they even had some real continuity with all the other great bands in that tradition. And their first record, & The Fall of the Mopsqueezer, is an absolute gem, one of the best power pop records in my entire collection, a fuzzy piece of genius.

Soul, a couple rap songs, some metal, and an electronic artist cutting up Fugazi. What could be better?

The Olympians, “Pluto’s Lament”

I don’t think we’ve talked that much about Daptone Records around here. Daptone is a retro soul label out of Brooklyn, releasing records by Sharon Jones, The Budos Band, Charles Bradley, and many others. While most of the artists on the label are very retro in sound, it usually still sounds pretty fresh in no small part because a lot of these types of music kind of disappeared from the music scene for a while.