G. Love and Special Sauce

They Might Be Giants, “Ana Ng (Live)”

I adore this song, but damn, I have a lot of TMBG live material. But, I suppose I have 49 distinct releases from TMBG in the library (and two CDs upstairs that need to be ripped), so I just have a lot of stuff from them in general.

Inter Arma, “Bumgardner”

The opener to their magnificent Sulphur English, this song sounds like it’s gasping for breath. It’s struggling to stay above the water, gulping air, before a wave comes in to send it down to the bottom for good.

The Aislers Set, “Chicago New York”

No, this isn’t some Belle & Sebastian tribute band. Chicago’s Aislers Set do play pop very much in that vein, uh, obviously. But there’s more variation on this album than this song might suggest, as this is probably the most B&S song on the record. It’s a solid set of tunes, so if you’re looking for some new pop, it’s worth a go.

Rilo Kiley, “A Better Son/Daughter”

Turn of the millennium indie bands represent!

The Range, “1804”

The Range makes electonic pop, mostly, but the interesting bit is that the vocals are sampled off tracks from YouTube. It gives the entire album a little bit of a strange feel, but one that is welcome to offset all the shiny, shimmering music.

Ruder Than You, “Skahall Connection”

So, yeah, this is from an album called Horny for Ska. The management would like to apologize.

Clinic, “Welcome”

A cut from Clinic’s second album, it retains the same chilly, distant tone that the first record had, while kind of cleaning things up a little bit. It’s still a strange, off-kilter record. Especially the use of those vintage keyboards, which always lends an otherworldly feel to their songs.

I’m pleased to announce that I managed to post an entry for every day this month. Not bad! I can’t imagine I’ll manage to keep it up for the whole year, but still: solid work, me! Here’s our final entry for January.

Danny Brown, “Generation Rx”

It seems like just yesterday I was saying I liked it when electronic music met rap, and this beat here is a fine example of that kind of thing. This is from Detroit rapper Danny Brown’s debut album, The Hybrid. I haven’t had this album long, and damn, there’s some bad shit in these lyrics. Hadn’t noticed that before.

I have a new sweatshirt! I’m sort of really excited for it. Also, I come bearing music.

Fishbone, “End The Reign”

Fishbone played a mix of funk, punk, and metal, coming out of the same Los Angeles scene that birthed the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And for a while, until the Chili Peppers became one of the biggest bands on the planet, you really couldn’t mention one band without mentioning the other. I was never really that big into either of them, truthfully, although I gave them both a try. Anyway, this comes from Give A Monkey A Brain And He’ll Swear He’s The Center Of The Universe, an album that skews more towards the metal end of Fishbone’s sound (as you can hear).

Just to be clear, when I joke about a lack of readers or whatever, it’s just poking fun at myself. I’m doing this project as a fun exercise in going through my own music. The presence or absence (mostly absence) of reader/listeners doesn’t change my desire to do it.

There, that should clear things up for both of you! Let’s listen to some tunes!

Beastie Boys, “Ricky’s Theme”

This song seems like a long, long ways from the snotty party rap of their first record. Always slow to make music, the mere two years between Check Your Head and Ill Communication turned out to be the shortest gap between records in their entire career. And, perhaps not surprisingly, the two records are probably the most similar of any two in their discography. I prefer the former record, both for being more groundbreaking but also more fun, but both are very strong.