Ghost Funk Orchestra

The Beastie Boys, “Pass The Mic”

Probably the most Beastie Boys song on Check Your Head, this is the kind of thing that anybody who parodies the band is kind of gesturing towards. Given that it was deliberately constructed to be kind of an update of the sound from their first album, it does make sense.

Screeching Weasel, “Falling Apart”

Have I expressed the opinion that I think Anthem For A New Tomorrow is the best Screeching Weasel record? They had a couple albums to refine the pop-punk/Ramones-knockoff sound they were going for, and there are moments that almost sound sincere on this album that work pretty well. Past this point, they kind of got snottier and snottier and it wasn’t pleasant, and before this, the sloppiness can sometimes get in the way.

Palace Brothers, “You Will Miss Me When I Burn”

A repeat, but remains a lovely tune.

Fuck The Facts, “Shadows Collide”

Long running Canadian grindcore artists Fuck the Facts cranked out Desire Will Rot in 2015, producing an album that is interesting not just because of the stretches of blast fury, but thanks to the interludes in-between. I find grindcore more interesting when it provides those moments of contrast, it helps the crazy tempos stand out even more.

Eddie Purrell, “The Spoiler”

There’s that early Stax sound here. Dig those Memphis Horns!

Otis Redding, “Let Me Come On Home”

Hell yeah! Stax/Volt forever, y’all!

Ghost Funk Orchestra, “Fuzzy Logic”

Staying super cool today, I see. Ghost Funk Orchestra play around in that funk/soul space, with their spin being a fair bit of psychedelia and jazz folded into the mix. It’s not a totally unique formula, but they handle it well, and there are some real cinematic elements to their sound that is super appealing.

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.