M83

The Wisdom of Harry, “Unit One”

I will look up little biographical details on acts when I’m doing this, to make sure I’ve got years right, or to spell names correctly, or whatever. And in the process, I’ll see some of what others have written about bands sometimes. When I did that for the Wisdom of Harry to check when this album came out (2000, which was earlier than I remembered), I noticed that the writer there compared this band to Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine, and Catherine Wheel. Uh.

Wolves in the Throne Room, “Face In A Night Time Mirror - Part 1”

All four of the songs on the debut album from Wolves in the Throne Room go over 12 minutes. Although it’s very black metal, even from the beginning there were a lot of non-standard moves. The clean vocals on this track, for instance, not to mention the pastoral interlude. Metal has always played around with folk, and there have been other bands that have merged the sounds, but Wolves in the Throne room do a better job of that sort of thing than most.

Touché Amoré, “To Write Content”

Touché Amoré is a bit of a genre Rorschach test: emo? Hardcore? Post-hardcore? All of them, I guess, and maybe folks will identify in whatever way that fits them into their tastes. Not me! I’ll identify them as whatever genre fits best with whatever through line I’m desperately trying to spot on any given day.

Krallice, “Wastes of Ocean”

Like…uh…maybe I could talk about the distinction between the speed of hardcore versus that of extreme metal, and how to my ears one of the distinctions is that the drumming often becomes almost unmoored from the guitars in extreme metal for long stretches, while hardcore is usually more locked in. Which is all kinda bullshit, but this blog is all just bullshit anyway. Moving on!

Back! Caught you lookin’ for the same thing!

M83, “Go!”

I don’t really know what to think about M83. At times, it’s kind of bland, emotionally manipulative but forgettable post-rock. But there are times when it’s energetic and nostalgia driven fun. Junk leans into the past especially hard, which makes it my favorite M83 album. This song, corny as it is, is a blast.

Tortoise, “Learning Curve”

Uh, speaking of post-rock. Well, nobody would describe this as “energetic”. Or “fun”.

Solid set today.

Two Fingers, “Not Perfect”

Another track from the self-titled Two Fingers album, featuring another collaboration with Sway. As before, this is just delightful.

Modest Mouse, “Tundra/Desert”

I wonder what Isaac Brock sounded like as a kid. Did he sound like, well, himself? Did he warble when he yelled at his siblings? Does he have siblings? I wonder if his parents thought “damn, listen to this kid, he’s gonna be a rock star, just listen to that!”

Today’s music.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “Come On Do The Jerk”

Smokey Robinson here with the official anthem of red pillers everywhere.

Slick Rick, “The Ruler’s Back”

Slick Rick’s classic debut, The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick, was tremendously influential. While there’s nothing super special about the beats, Rick’s flow (complete with odd delivery) and storytelling were groundbreaking at the time. You can see his influence just by listening for how many great rappers pay homage to him, ranging from Ice Cube, to Snoop Dogg, to Black Star, among many, many others.

Post-rock, rap, stoner rock, whatever the hell the Flaming Lips are…this is a good cross-section of the kind of music I listen to. Check it out!

M83, “Let Men Burn Stars”

Fitting alongside bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor in the “post-rock” bucket, M83 plays mostly instrumental music that always sounds like the soundtrack to something. In some ways, this stuff is kind of shameless emotional manipulation, but if you just ignore that and let yourself be manipulated, it can be fun. This is a bit of a throwaway track, though.