Napalm Death

Gift of Gab, “Rat Race”

You know a song is banging when I’m nodding this hard along with it, even just listening to it on one shitty earbud.

Wilco, “Either Way”

The opener of Sky Blue Sky, and it’s one of my very favorite Wilco songs. There’s that breezy organ in the background, the little chord change going into the chorus, there’s kind of a fakeout after the second chorus where he drags it out and it seems like it’s going to crescendo to a huge bit but turns into just a pleasant solo. It’s a bright, optimistic sounding song, but there’s so much subtlety to it, it rewards a close listen.

Lily Allen, “Not Big”

Huh, there are two Lily Allen albums that I’ve never heard. I should fix that.

Kanye West, “Slow Jamz”

Always really enjoyed the chorus on this song.

I guess I’m full of insight today!

Ugly Duckling, “Einstein Buys a Monkey”

The guitar loop immediately makes this recognizable as an Ugly Duckling song. I’m not sure I really needed a 6:24 DJ track from them, though.

Napalm Death, “M.A.D.”

OK, now I’m really not going to say much. Wouldn’t be right with this.

I’ve now posted almost five hundred playlists on this thing. This is indisputably one of them.

DJ Krush, “Intro”

Uh, yup, that’s an intro.

Danny Brown, “Juno”

Danny Brown kicks off The Hybrid with a song called “Greatest Rapper Ever”, which is exactly the kind of hubris I like to hear from rappers. The album followed several mixtapes, and put Brown towards the front of Detroit’s rap scene. The album itself is plenty of fun, carried forward by Brown’s relentless energy.

Today!

Preston School of Industry, “Blu Son”

This is some straight-up They Might Be Giants shit right here.

The Fiery Furnaces, “Guns Under the Counter”

Indie duo the Fiery Furnaces were a sister/brother act, dedicated to playing singular art rock. Employing a wide range of instrumentation, often within the same song, and rife with literate, obtuse storytelling, the Fiery Furnaces could be equal parts fascinating and exasperating. This comes from one of their more challenging albums, Rehearsing My Choir, which is their collaboration with their grandmother. Centered around her memories of growing up in Chicago, it’s a meandering look into one family that can be interesting if you’re paying attention but isn’t something that you can just kind of throw on in the background.

Another day of all bands we’ve had before. I think that’s fun! Here are your repeat offenders!

Napalm Death, “Moral Crusade”

Even though it sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a murky pond, you can still hear what stunned people about Napalm Death’s debut. It sounds so extreme, so otherworldly, that it’s pretty hard to comprehend at first. Mick Harris’s drums, in particular, sound almost incomprehensibly fast.

Farside, “I Hope You’re Unhappy”

Farside here are operating in sort of a mid-tempo alternative rock mode, but I still find it enjoyable despite that. I also enjoy it when bands break the fourth wall like this.

I already know the first record I’m going to buy tomorrow: new Pyrrhon album! WOOOOO! Pyrrhon makes totally insane atonal noise, which I adore. Super fired up about it! Here’s today’s noise!

Ghostface Killah, “Theodore”

This track is from Bulletproof Wallets, which stands out among Ghostface’s discography as a bit of a misstep. It mostly feels pretty flat, and while his next album would be quite a bit better, this is one that you can pretty easily skip.