The Wedding Present decided to release a single every month for 1992, cranking out originals and covers during the series. They were collected into two records, Hit Parade 1 and Hit Parade 2, and both are great. The band was at their absolute best in the early 90s, and so getting this many tunes from them at that time is great. There’s no real reason to pick between them, both are outstanding.
[Read More]If you’re a longtime reader/listener of Five Songs, first, I deeply apologize. But second, you’re probably tired of me moaning about how Flop was unfairly ignored when they were active. Well, guess what? They were! I’ll keep saying it, because dammit, the world needs to know.
Also, I thought the name of this album was & the Fall of the Mousesqueezer for a really long time until someone on Usenet corrected me.
[Read More]Once More Around The Sun is definitely a Mastodon album, what with all their stylistic tics being present. But for the most part, it’s all packaged in a much more accessible way. Much of this song, for example, really is just a half-step away from something like Soundgarden. I, of course, prefer the denser and more elaborate songs of their earlier albums, but this is still a decent listen.
[Read More]Less Talk, More Rock is such a good name for a Propagandhi record. I can only imagine how many knuckleheads brayed at them something along these lines. Anyway, it’s a delight.
After Flop’s one record for Sony was a commercial failure, Flop went back to Frontier Records and banged out a third stone-cold pop classic. It’s tighter than the first record, and maybe sliiiiightly less catchy. But it’s still a ton of fun, and it’s sad that we only got three albums from them.
[Read More]I sometimes think about what band I would wave a magic wand and just make famous. The bands that have the widest gap between my love for them and the wider perception of the band. At this point, if you’re a close student of Five Songs, first: what are you even doing? Why? But, you can probably guess some of these bands. Hammerhead, for instance. Pond (the one from Portland). The Slackers. Bands that I adore that never really moved the needle. Well, add to that list Flop, who tossed off pop rock as effortlessly as anybody ever has.
[Read More]Sumney’s Aromanticism pivots around “Lonely World”, a song that goes from gauzy and shimmery and gradually ramps up to a frenzied finish, reflecting the inherent duality in this album. It’s an album that sounds like a love album but is all about not being capable of experiencing romantic love.
J-Zone has had multiple musical lives in his career. His early career, as a producer/rapper, ended with a miserable tour, a retirement, and a memoir recounting his struggles. His second act began with this album, Peter Pan Syndrome, where he came back as a rapper but added the drums to his skill set. He sounds energized on this album, doing something new, but full of the same types of sophomoric (but funny!) gags as his first go-around.
[Read More]By the time the Grifters arrived at this record, album number five, they were recording for a mid-major (Sub Pop), in a real studio, and they were sounding like a real full-on band instead of the ramshackle act they used to sound like. There are some bands that get exposed as boring when you shine them up, but happily the Grifters are not one of them. This is their slickest album by a lot, but their country/blues/rock songs sound great, and it’s a shame that their ride ended here.
[Read More]It occurred to me that I didn’t explain who Plexasaurus Rex is. That’s my music server! As you might have guessed, I’m using Plex, and I have to say: so far, it’s pretty good! Did a good job organizing my music, interface seems solid. No complaints thus far. And, of course, I gave it a dumb name, the same dumb name that every other sad nerd who thinks they’re funny gives their server. Anyway, here’s today’s tunes,, now that we have today’s sad exposition out of the way.
[Read More]Superchunk was great! I can’t believe I didn’t see them until about 25 years after I first listened to them, but whatever, at least I got the chance. I’m really pleased that their second act has gone well. Today’s music!
Well, we’ve now gotten a song from all three of their albums. This one, Whenever You’re Ready, sort of is a classic demonstration of the “troubled second album” idea. It’s unfocused, and just doesn’t snap the way their debut album did. It’s not bad, exactly, but it just kind of feels diluted compared to the sugar rush of the debut.
[Read More]We’ve had Mos Def, we’ve had Talib Kweli, but now it’s time for their collaboration. Black Star loomed large over the later careers of both men, and for good reason: this is easily one of the greatest hip-hop records ever made. Off the top of my head, there are only a very small handful of records I’d put ahead of it. The spare, precise, jazz-inflected beats married perfectly with the impossibly deft rhyming from Mos and Kweli. This album is basically perfect.
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