Next to the bass / turn up the radio!
Cat Food is a quickie album that J Church threw together by recording some songs in a day, adding in a couple compilation tracks, and calling it good. But punk never really suffers from being a little slapdash, and the resulting album is pretty entertaining. Basically, Lance Hahn is good enough that most everything he does is worth listening to. This is how the album opens. It’s good! Listen to that solo!
[Read More]I was actually listening to this album (the excellent Don Cosmic, a compilation of a bunch of his Studio One tracks) in the car today, and was marveling at the warmth of the record. There’s an alchemy in the way this stuff is recorded, the ambient studio noise enhancing the intimate feel of it. It sounds like Drummond and his band are just playing for you, right in your room. Or head. Whatever. I kind of poke fun at vinyl guys, because how could you not, but there is a legitimate thing to having some of the organic noise of the recording come through as you listen.
[Read More]From a later EP from the band, No One’s First, And You’re Next, these are songs that were largely left off of Good News For People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. If you’re looking for more songs that would have fit into those albums, this EP is worth looking into.
Another good song from Sleater-Kinney which I will undoubtedly totally forget the tune for after the song has finished.
[Read More]Another track from the self-titled Two Fingers album, featuring another collaboration with Sway. As before, this is just delightful.
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!”
[Read More]Does it seem like Five Songs has been kinda punk lately? I think we’ve been kinda punk. No objections here!
Part of the indie rock underground, We Were Promised Jetpacks remind me of a bunch of other bands, like Band of Horses, say. There are some post-rock-ish elements to their music as well. It adds up to a formula that should probably grab me more than it does, but I find all their songs kind of slippery in my brain. Pleasant enough while they’re going, but I can’t pull up the tune later.
[Read More]Every now and again, I catch myself thinking, “geez, this playlist really sounds like something I’d love!” And then I think, come ON brain, what are you thinking? But my brain has already moved on. Well, anyway, today’s playlist is pretty indie rock-y. And Haggard-y, I suppose.
I’ve always really liked the Wedding Present’s slower numbers. The contrast with the usual hyperactive pop really centers David Gedge’s lonely, weary lyrics. And sometimes you want that extra bummer, you know? This comes from Saturnalia, the last album from their first incarnation, before Gedge recorded with Colorama for a while. It’s an excellent album, as is everything that that version of the band put out.
[Read More]Some titans of the rock underground today! I really like this set a lot. Shame it didn’t go one more song, Einstürzende Neubauten popped up next with “Vanadium-I-Ching”, which would have been a fun addition to the list. Oh well, can’t go changing the rules any time I like!
Here, we’re getting a track from the last pre-breakup Pixies album, Trompe Le Monde. At the time, I was pretty disappointed in Bossanova, for whatever reason, but really liked this one. At this remove, it’s not clear what my beef was with Bossanova and it’s pretty similar to Trompe. While both records are off from the peak of their first records, they’re still both excellent and well worth having.
[Read More]It’s eclipse day! I hope everybody had a chance to check things out. I did here, and I thought it was pretty neat, but the boy didn’t seem to care very much. Ah well. In honor of the event, we have our first Five Songs Special! I searched for “moon” in my library, giving 261 tracks. I then used random.org to generate five numbers, picked those tracks, and got us this list! Enjoy it along with me, won’t you?
[Read More]This is ostensibly a game blog still, so I’ll just mention that copies of Fox in the Forest are in people’s hands! We had a limited number available for sale at Origins, and people seem pleased so far. And by people, I mean my friends who have played it. Still, it’s a good start! Here’s today’s music. For the first time ever, every entry has a “previously” associated with it.
The Wedding Present arrived as a more-or-less fully formed band, with all the frenetic pop and downbeat lyrics that would be their signature for years. This song is from their first album, George Best, which is fantastic. I first encountered it when a listener made a request on my radio show, and I picked a track randomly to play. I loved it instantly.
[Read More]In most of these playlists, I try and find the actual version of the song I’m listening to. But, if I can’t find it exactly, I’ll go with something close, because I don’t think it’s necessarily that important that it matches exactly, and I don’t want to go through the hassle of uploading if I don’t have to. I hope that’s OK with folks! Here’s today’s playlist, which does feature one of those “close enough” tracks.
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