Motown

I was at Shut Up & Sit Down Expo over the weekend, and it was fun, although I think that that was mostly because it was a getaway weekend for Megan and I. But, it was a good pretext to get out of town! Also, somebody asked me for my autograph. Super cool!

Today’s tunes.

Ministry, “I Prefer”

We’ve now gone back in Ministry’s catalog far enough to reach their first good album. The flaccid synth-pop of With Sympathy and stilted semi-aggro synths of Twitch had finally metastasized into the aggressive Land of Rape and Honey. This, arguably, is the most industrial of their albums, with less of the metallic riffing of their later stuff but all of the mechanical pounding you might want. I haven’t listend to this in ages, I should give it a spin.

Six songs today!

Belle & Sebastian, “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John”

From Write About Love, a mostly forgettable album, but this is one of the songs that sticks with me from it. There’s not a whole lot to it, musically, but it’s certainly pleasant.

Jr Walker And All Stars, “Cleo’s Mood”

You don’t find that many instrumental soul tracks like this in the Motown catalog, but here we are with a sweet little tune from 1965.

Don’t have a ton to say today!

The Goats, “The Boom”

The Goats were an underground rap act out of Philadelphia, notable for using a live band during their second album, from which this song comes. Musically they would have fit in with the Tommy Boy acts of the time, such as House of Pain. Overall, the first album was pretty charming, and the second one kind of dragged. Honestly, I can’t remember listening to this stuff for probably 20 years.

Today!

Dale Crover, “Hillbilly Math”

Here we find Dale Crover playing one of the most straightforward rock songs that he’s probably ever been involved with. I guess you can see how this might not really be a Melvins song, and I’m not sure it’s really necessary, but whatrever, it’s totally fine.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “Such Is Love, Such Is Life”

We’re in 1963 with this song today. Frankly, Smokey is sounding a little Chipmunk-y on this song, making this a little less than the best from him.

Six songs today! I should probably just automatically skip everything with Jay-Z in it.

The Slackers, “Real War”

I don’t listen to Close My Eyes very much. Primarily because the second song on it, “Old Dog”, really kind of upsets em. It’s a good album, though, and I really should listen to it more often. Here, we catch the Slackers going into dub some, which they do every now and again.

Skip track 3.

NoMeansNo, “You’re Not One”

I was just listening to Wrong today, and was reminded of how awesome it was. Folks, check it out! In the meantime, here’s NoMeansNo kicking off the In The Fishtank project, which was a project where an independant label invited bands to record an album in just two days in the studio. Occasionally a couple bands at the same time! NoMeansNo are pros, so of course it sounds great.

Do you love Five Songs?

Screeching Weasel, “You’ll Be In My Dreams Today”

It probably says something about me that I own a lot more Screeching Weasel than I do the Ramones. Specifically, it says how old I am.

Jay-Z, “I Know”

One of Jay-Z’s strengths is how he has a bunch of different flows that he uses on different songs. Unlike some rappers, including plenty of famous ones, he always seems to change things up to really play along with the beat. And Pharrell Williams put together a great one here.

Today!

Melvins, “Skweetis”

This is how Stoner Witch opens. I put this on when it came out, and just thought “holy shit, this is going to crush my head”. And it did. My head remains crushed to this day.

Chris Clark, “Don’t Be Too Long”

And then my head became uncrushed. Thanks, Motown!

Deathspell Omega, “Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deathspell Omega turn out to be Nazi shitheads, and you should not in any way patronize them. I’m leaving the original text here, but fuck these guys.

Here you go!

TV/TV$, “Ignorance Is Not Bliss”

More of this California punk band, I’m not sure there’s a lot to say about it.

Gaunt, “Jerkin’ Yourself Around”

Yeah, now we’re talkin’! Compare these two tracks. There’s just more energy, more interesting guitar work, just…more with this song. Gaunt could sure write a punk song.

Devo, “Girl U Want (Live)”

Another live track from another deluxe reissue of a different Devo record. By virtue of having “Whip It” on it, Freedom Of Choice is the Devo album most people will have heard of. But the album is great even outside of that, with a full-on synth pop sound running through the whole thing. Devo’s control of their aesthetics are impressive across the board.

Some titans today.

Crazy Baldhead, “Funky Drummer”

A repeat! No regrets! Bring on the juice!

Rob Swift, “Hip Hop On Wax”

A member of the X-Ecutioners, Rob Swift is a turntablist from New York who has had a long solo career as well. Always rooted in the traditions of hip-hop, his records feature his pyrotechnic scratching, which is worth seeking out just on its own. The overall quality of his albums often tends to be driven by the quality of the guests he’s working with, with this being an example of one of his better tracks. If you like the sound of this, try out one of his early albums (this is from Sound Event).