Fluf

It’s a big day here on Five Songs. Exactly two years ago, I started updating this thing every day. Through vacations, work getting busy, moving twice, dealing with the fallout of a pandemic, I kept hitting my updates. I’m not sure why exactly I decided to do so. More than anything, it was to convince myself that I could commit to a grind like this and keep on top of it. Could I be a daily blogger? Could I keep a creative project going even when it got tough?

Fluf, “RK Wins”

At some point, I stopped being able to keep track of which songs have already appeared in this thing. It’s been five years? 6,000+ songs, anyway, and I’ve just lost the ability to be sure if we’ve heard something. Part of me thinks this was a repeat, but I don’t want to check. So we’ll just enjoy it again. Or for the first time?

Run the Jewels, “Call Ticketron”

One of the things about Run the Jewels 3 is that it sometimes feels a little more distant than some of the other records, 2 and 4 especially. Both of those feel visceral and immediate, and 3 seems a bit more cerebral and chilly. Still a great record, of course, but it’s just not quite at the same level as those two.

Matthew Sweet, “Divine Intervention”

When someone says “power pop”, this is the song that pops into my head. I know that there are plenty of other bands that really defined the genre, and that I should be thinking of them. But I don’t. It’s this song.

Juggaknots, “Liar, Liar”

I found the Juggaknots after falling in love with Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves, where Breezly Brewin just kills it. So I went to track down more of his stuff, and sure enough, the Juggaknots also rule.

Danny Brown, “Greatest Rapper Ever”

I love the hubris in naming the first track on your debut album “Greatest Rapper Ever”. It’s a little like the now forgotten Cinder Block naming their first LP Greatest Hits, something I think about a lot even though I’m probably the only person who ever thinks about Cinder Block. Including, likely, the members.

I’m sure other bands have done the same bit, but that one sticks with me.

Five months in a row of a daily updates every single day. I can’t keep this up forever, but I’m hoping the consistency is nice for folks out there. (looks at analytics) Well, a few of you, anyway.

Gauche, “Pay Day”

Gauche is a supergroup featuring members of Priests and Downtown Boys, playing new wave music in what sounds like nothing so much as an updated B-52s. I’m not really a huge new wave guy, but it’s hard not to have fun listening to rhythms this infectious.

Obits, “Spun Out”

Who is making music with this kind of reverbed out surf guitar these days? Honest question, I have no idea, and I like it a lot. Comment down below! Or don’t! I’m not the boss of you.

People Under The Stairs, “Montego Slay”

This song is actually assembled out of a bunch of micro samples of music from commercials for Jamaican tourism, which is pretty impressive given how coherent it all sounds. This sort of careful, detailed assembling is something that always impresses the hell out of me.

Today!

Ashanti Afrika Jah, “Onyame”

One of the tremendous things about today’s music scene is that we have so many quality reissue labels that are looking through the past and finding great stuff to bring back to light. This comes from the Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump compilation which is just a delight to listen to all the way through.

De La Soul, “Church”

De La Soul seemed pretty done after the second Art Official Intelligence record came out. However, The Grind Date turned out to be an excellent record, proving they still had plenty left in the tank. First Serve was also good (although, technically, it was only two-thirds of De La Soul), so they ended up having a bit of a late career renaissance.

Today!

Buck-O-Nine, “Voice In My Head”

We like to mock the third wave of ska here at Funf Songs, because it’s eminently mockable. But, there’s a reason why we have so much of the damn stuff, and that’s that when it’s done well, it’s sprightly and charming and summer-y. In the winter, it reminds of long, bright, warm days. In the summer, it just ups the mood to another level. Buck-O-Nine weren’t amazing, but they were pleasant and good and it’s worthwhile to just listen to some pleasant and good things sometimes.