The Adjusters were a ska/soul act out of Chicago, who managed a couple albums before the ska scene imploded, but hung around with a couple more albums with much more narrow distribution. They also wore their left politics on their sleeve, and brought a lot of genuine passion to things. This tune comes from their most effective album, Before The Revolution, where their eclectic influences came together well.
[Read More]I praise Gaunt pretty shamelessly on here, because they’re one of those bands (along with yesterday’s Hammerhead) that click perfectly with me. That, combined with the fact that they’re mostly forgotten today, makes me want to really push them on folks. But, I can’t make a better argument for Gaunt than what they’re making here today. This is just pure energy and tunefulness, and every bit of it makes me happy. I hope you love this song, I certainly do.
[Read More]Every time Gaunt comes up, I say more or less the same thing. But, dammit, I’m write. Gaunt should have been huge! This song is such a beast.
A minute and a half of just pure punk rock, this is plenty enjoyable. Just going to rip through five tunes today apparently!
Or not! The Cinematic Orchestra are a jazz/orchestra that married cinematic tunes with, uh, jazz and some of the rhythms of dance music. It sounds like a soundtrack as created by a Ninja Tune band, which is pretty much exactly what it is. Very cool stuff.
[Read More]Year Zero marked the fastest followup that Trent Reznor had produced to date, with the album appearing a mere two years after With Teeth. At least five years had separated studio albums up to this point. Perhaps as a result of the relatively short gestation of this album, it’s not a lot different musically from the predecessor. It’s a theme album of sorts, examining a dystopian United States in the near future. It was marketed with an augmented reality campaign, which was genuinely new in 2007. The music itself is solid, but isn’t one of NiN’s essential albums.
[Read More]The formula is so simple. Just big guitars, big choruses, and a fun tune. It’s Cheap Trick, basically. But, dammit, it’s still delightful, and I can’t get enough of this. I miss Gaunt, y’all.
The formula is so simple. Just big guitars…aw, fuck it.
The formul[gunshot]
One of the things I always liked about Crackerbash is is how rubbery their bass always sounded. It’s so propulsive, especially when it separates a little from the main guitar line.
[Read More]Does any song ever need to be longer than the 1:36 of this song? Yeah, of course, why would you ask that question? But damn, this shit is EFFICIENT at getting the rock into your face. Gaunt ruled, y’all.
This song features the legendary George Clinton as a guest, which is fun. And honestly, this beat sounds like something from The Streets, and now I kind of want to hear a collaboration between Gift of Gab and the Streets for real. And maybe George Clinton? Why not!
[Read More]More of this California punk band, I’m not sure there’s a lot to say about it.
Yeah, now we’re talkin’! Compare these two tracks. There’s just more energy, more interesting guitar work, just…more with this song. Gaunt could sure write a punk song.
Another live track from another deluxe reissue of a different Devo record. By virtue of having “Whip It” on it, Freedom Of Choice is the Devo album most people will have heard of. But the album is great even outside of that, with a full-on synth pop sound running through the whole thing. Devo’s control of their aesthetics are impressive across the board.
[Read More]A b-side on the “Why Does The Sun Shine” single, I’ve always loved this song. I don’t think they’ve put it on anything else, so this counts as a little bit of a rarity.
A very early song from Green Day, this originally appeared on the “Slappy” EP, and was later included on 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, the compilation that combined the LP 39/Smooth with “Slappy” and another EP, “1,000 Hours”. It’s a solid collection of songs, one that really showed the potential for the band that later turned into massive stars.
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