Foetus

The Toasters, “Dub 56”

We’re mid-career with the Toasters here, with the Toasters basically having found their sound with Dub 56. They’d further refine it a bit on the next couple albums, but this is more or less where they ended up. You can very much hear their debt to two-tone ska here.

Foetus, “I Hate You All”

After Flow and Blow in 2001, J.G. Thirlwell didn’t release another record under the Foetus moniker until 2006, releasing Damp. When he came back, he was in a very strange place. Like, I’m not even sure what to call this? Deranged big band, I guess? There’s nothing else really like it, and I love it.

The Toasters, “East Side Beat”

Your first instinct might be to think that Rob “Bucket” Hingley’s accent here is a terrible put-on. But no, Rob was born in England, so he earned this. At any rate, this is from the first Toasters album, and it captures a band still developing their sound.

Foetus, “Mandelay”

One of the centerpieces of Flow, an album where J.G. Thirlwell ramped up the cinematic nature of his music to another level, while making sure that the perversion of that sound was also present. The noise, the disturbing sounds, the strange interludes - it all combines to a disorienting song that really takes you on a journey. To somewhere. This is one of his very best albums.

Logh, “The Smoke Will Lead You Home”

Absolutely no recollection of buying this record! Let’s listen together!

…This sounds like something I would have been really into circa 1994.

Cobalt, “Pregnant Insect”

OK, you ready for some shit? Cobalt is a duo! Listen to this! Goddamn!

Sleep, “Nain’s Baptism”

Hell yeah, metal today! Sleep’s Holy Mountain is one of the absolute untouchable classics of doom/stoner metal, a record that inspired countless imitators, proving that there was still plenty of creativity in the old Black Sabbath formula. It still sounds great today in the same way that peak Sabbath records sound great, because it’s just so elemental.

Today!

Atmosphere, “Next To You”

On one hand, I think it’s admirable that Atmosphere is willing to experiment with their music and stray very far from the hip-hop that they originally made their names with. On the other, though, when they do too much of this kind of thing, it can get pretty old. This song, from Fishing Blues, is fine, but isn’t really why I listen to Atmosphere.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Apache Rose Peacock”

OK, let’s take a moment to step back and just admire the production job on this. Not because it’s great, or adds a ton to the music, or anything like that. No, just listen to how immaculate it is. It’s squeaky clean! Every sound is perfectly isolated, perfectly recorded. There’s not an iota of accidental noise anywhere in this. You could perform surgery inside this song, as long as you got the boys to, I dunno, put surgical masks on their junk or whatever.

Some nice stuff today.

Hot Snakes, “Think About Carbs”

Listening to just the right channel on this song is kind of magical. Just Rick Froberg howling along with the drums except for the occasional burst of guitar until you get to the end. Just listen to those toms! Hell yes! Hot Snakes wooo!

Foetus, “The Ballad of Sisyphus T. Jones”

From Hide, this is Foetus at his bombastic, ridiculous best. I like this mode of Thirlwell’s, of making over-the-top songs that sound like songs from corny movies, but through a funhouse mirror.

Today’s list!

Gang of Four, “5.45”

Entertainment!, from 1979, is one of the keystones of post-punk, a wiry, edgy blast that countless followers would attempt to mimic. The sort of vaguely dance-y rhythms, the bursts of guitar, the monotone singing, these would become hallmarks of bands even down to today. As a consequence, it’s an album that still sounds pretty fresh.

Gang of Four would keep coming and going, with hiatuses of various lengths, but I’ve never really listened to anything beyond the first two albums.

All frequent fliers today!

Public Enemy, “Lost In Space Music”

This comes from Man Plans God Laughs, which is deep into the long run of somehwat undifferentiated albums that Public Enemy has been making for years and years now. They’ve lasted long enough and produced enough records that they have way more non-peak albums than they do peak albums. Which is kind of a bummer. It’s also hard for me to fairly evaluate most of these these records. They’re competing with such indelible memories.

Fun set today!

Foetus, “Take It Outside Godboy”

We’ve encountered this song before, but last time it was a live track. Instead, we’ve got the studio version here. So, this isn’t a repeat from where I sit. At any rate, Gash is an excellent album, if you’re into Foetus’s thing.

DJ Vadim, “Who The Hell Am I?”

Another track from DJ Vadim’s debut album, U.S.S.R. Repertoire (The Theory Of Verticality). As usual, I think it’s fine, but it’s not really super engaging.

METAL WOOOOO \m/ \m/ \m

Deathspell Omega, “Sola Fide I”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deathspell Omega turn out to be Nazi shitheads, and you should not in any way patronize them. I’m leaving the original text here, but fuck these guys.

One of the attractions of extreme metal is the virtuosity that bands can display. A talented band like Deathspell Omega can really make you wonder exactly how they can manage to create that kind of racket. But it’s not just the spectacle with this band. Deathspell Omega is incredibly adept at evoking a mood, and they create songs that go to very interesting places. This track, from Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice (“if you seek his monument, look around”, from an inscription on the grave of Sir Christopher Wren inside St. Paul’s Cathedral), is a good example of the drama that they can create within a song.

I’m a little surprised that shuffle will permit two songs from the same artist in a row. I guess we all learned something today? Something totally useless. Here’s your music.

Zumpano, “Let There Be Girls”

Rap albums have skits. The rock equivalent is the fuckin’ around track, like this one.

Foetus, “Kreibabe (Pan Sonic mix)”

Blow is an album that’s just filled with remixes of Foetus by various producers. Bucking the tradition of most guest remixes, this version of the original “Kreibabe” (from Flow) is actually a lot shorter than the original. It also bears very little resemblance to the original track. Overall, Blow is inessential.