Mogwai

Mogwai, “Friend of the Night”

The other day, I mentioned that Rave Tapes wasn’t my favorite iteration of Mogwai. Mr. Beast is more my speed - it’s more conventional in a lot of ways, but it’s more lyrical. You know, in an instrumental kinda way.

The Fall, “Clear Off!”

Folks, this is the accessible version of The Fall.

Lustmord, “Dark Awakening”

There are two Lustmords on Metallum, neither of which appear to be this band. Looking closer, this is on Hydra Head Records, and so this must have been from the big grab bag that I bought from them. There was a lot of stuff in there, which I faithfully ripped, but there was so much of it all at once that I know I didn’t pay attention to all of it. So, no, I’m not certain I’ve listened to this before.

Mogwai, “Remurdered”

I dunno about this, man. I want some fury with my Mogwai, some big dynamics, something should howl. This is pretty cerebral and isn’t what I’m generally looking for from them.

Jean Knight, “Mr. Big Stuff”

A repeat of an all-time jam.

American Music Club, “If I Had A Hammer”

“Gratitude Walks” is the opener of this album, but this beautiful slice of melancholy in the second position was what got me sold on American Music Club. I bought this album and listened to it on the walk back to campus, and it was such a change of pace from what I was listening to at the time that it really stuck with me. It’s good to have some things in your music diet that aren’t just noise and wrath.

fIREHOSE, “Sometimes”

I know I bang on the drum every time fIREHOSE comes up, but I don’t care: it’s such a shame that people didn’t seem to give them a fair shake after the Minutemen. This is such a good tune! This album is really good (If’n)! fIREHOSE’s first three albums are all flat-out great.

Mogwai, “Heard About You Last Night”

Compare this to the Radiohead track from yesterday. Yeah, both contemplative, almost meditative. Plenty of space in both compositions. But this one feels like it has a point, like it’s going somewhere, not just an unfocused noodle.

Little dodgier today.

Starlight Mints, “Irene”

You know what? I remember this band being very, very Pavement-ish. Like, if you had asked me what they sounded like, I would have said something like “imagine Pavement, but shittier” or something equally facile. But, let’s face it, this isn’t Pavement-y at all! I mean, this is giving off some Robert Palmer kinda vibes here. Maybe I should listen to this album again? Maybe I should stop being a dipshit?

WOAH. Kinda blacked out there for a little bit. But we’re back! We’re using a new service! This time it’s all running on all our own shit so it should be solid! I’m only at the mercy of the software! And the device it’s running on! And my home network! And…hang on, I’ll come in again.

Aw, who cares? The rock stopped, and now it’s going again. I think I even have most of my own music back. Let’s do this! HIT IT, PLEXASAURUS REX!

Nice one today!

Yautja, “for naught”

Kind of math-rock, kind of death metal, this kind of hybrid makes me happy. Which it probably shouldn’t! This comes from the EP Songs of Lament, the followup to their excellent Songs of Descent. Both are worth looking into.

Bathory, “Shores in Flames”

Bathory were black metal pioneers, with the singer Quorthon’s strangled croak setting the template for black metal vocalists that persists today. The primitive recording and washes of guitar noise also formed one of the pillars of the genre. But, not content to provide some of the building blocks for one type of metal, Bathory re-invented themselves. The album prior to this one started experimenting with breaking out of the template, but Hammerheart showed that the template was gone. This song is the opener of that album, featuring Quorthon actually singing, and the songwriting now was focused on the epic rather than the squalid. And, indeed, Bathory had now invented the subgenre of Viking metal which, yes, is a thing. Bottom line: there aren’t very many bands that have ever been as metal as Bathory, and there aren’t very many bands more influential on the genre.