Matt Pond PA

Japandroids, “Young Hearts Spark Fire”

This was the song that launched the Japandroids, rattling around enough on blogs to get the band the attention that would make their career. It’s a solid capsule of their sound, all fuzzy guitars, propulsive drumming, and catchy shouting. It’s easy to see how people got excited for this, and the excitement would pay off with Post-Nothing and to a greater extent Celebration Rock.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “Lap Dance”

This comes to us from one of the leftovers records that JSBX put out, this one collecting miscellany from Acme. The leftovers records are actually not bad, generally, even if they are kind of shaggy. The truth is that peak JSBX was just fun to listen to, even if maybe they weren’t doing their best material. Anyway, this record is Xtra-Acme USA, and it’s not something to pick up until you’ve worn out the proper albums, but if you’re a JSBX freak you should absolutely listen to it.

matt pond PA, “Measure 3”

I ran out of interesting (?) things to say about matt pond PA a couple tracks ago. So, as per the standard Five Songs Style Guide, that gives me license to just blather here.

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Turns out I don’t have anything interesting to say that’s not about matt pond PA either. Oh! The new Belle and Sebastian is pretty good! That’s almost relevant to this band.

Anti-Flag, “A New Kind of Army”

Love that anthemic punk rock sound. This is a classic winning formula here, and it feels wrong to be listening to it on an earbud instead of through loud speakers.

matt pond PA, “Bring On The Ending”

Been a minute since we’ve had matt pond PA around here. This is from 2004’s Emblems, a glossy, shiny pop album full of gentle but catchy songs. There’s a real Shins feel to this, which is definitely a compliment. Anyway, they aren’t exactly breaking new ground here, but it’s a pleasant listen.

Well, the Public Enemy intros were fun for a while. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t summon any PE. Oh well. Here’s today!https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLexe714An2Qj2ckZ0tlku3JJQbEgfzSmQ

Death Cab For Cutie, “Little Fury Bugs”

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Sorry, dozed off for a second there.

Whores., “I Am Not A Goal-Oriented Person”

Fuck yeah noise rock! If I had started this thing in 2009, I’d probably have a Tumblr called exactly that. But this is not that world, so I just have to resort to blurting it out here for my reader/listeners. Who I suspect would all agree with the sentiment! Also, “I Am Not A Goal-Oriented Person” is an excellent song name.

Kind of a mess today.

Negativland, “Proud To Be An American (Lip-Sync)”

Yes, we’ve hit a new low here. This live track is mostly Negativland lip-syncing to this song, which of course, we can’t see. Five Songs International apologizes for the inconvenience.

Crystalized Movements, “Close Your Eyes”

And let’s follow that up with 9+ minutes of psychedelic guitar wankery. The biggest problem the Crystallized Movements always had was that their vocals were mixed weird, often far too high in the mix. Also, this album has some of the worst cover art ever inflicted on the record buying public.

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.

Another good one, as Five Songs continues its roll.

matt pond PA, “It Becomes Night”

A charming little pop song from matt pond PA.

Presidents of the United States of America, “Volcano”

Here’s a delightful song off that second album that the Presidents made that nobody really paid attention to. The loose charm is still present, the hooks are solid, and the wordplay is fun. Basically, this album is a goofball winner.

Six songs today! Repeats are your best value here at Five Songs Incorporated!

Nitzer Ebb, “Higher (Barry Adamson Mix)”

This is from an obscure EP called As Is, a little four song thing with a grab bag of tracks on it. It was put out to precede Ebbhead, which was to be their major label debut, and was supposed to get people hyped up. It’s not a bad little EP, you know, if you’re into Nitzer Ebb.

At some point, these things are just going to be wholly unrelated to the music. I wonder if I’ll have the good sense to stop? Who knows? MUSIC

Freeway & Jake One, “Money”

As we talked about last time, Freeway’s always had good taste in producers. For The Stimulus Package (great name!), he teamed up with Seattle’s Jake One, and the result was my favorite album of his.

Why yes, I am kind of a Seattle homer, why do you ask?

Back from the holiday weekend, let’s see what kicks off the work week for me!

Minor Threat, “It Follows”

Our first Ian MacKaye track! I don’t think it’s any big secret that Fugazi is my favorite band (says the guy who has a daughter with the middle name “MacKaye”), but Minor Threat is obviously great as well. Originators of the entire straight edge scene (“don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t fuck”), and hardcore punk pioneers, Minor Threat inspired so many earnest young people to start bands and make a racket. For that alone, they should be commended. They only put out one album and an assortment of singles, and they’re all collected on Complete Discography, which is an essential release if you’re into punk at all. I kind of want to stop here and just listen to this whole album. But I won’t, because I’m a pro.