Public Enemy

Jay Farrar, “Different Eyes”

If you’re wondering what the difference is between a Son Volt record and a Jay Farrar record, the answer is “not much”. This album (Sebastopol) was recorded after the very good Wide Swing Tremelo, and honestly, you could scramble up the track listings between the two and not really think anything was off. That makes this album also very good, just so I’m clear.

Deerhoof, “Son of Sorn”

You can see where Deerhoof earns the name “noise pop” on a song like this. It’s about a third aimless noise, a third pounding rhythm, and a third sweet but fractured pop song. They don’t always explore all three of those in the same song, but this is a compact little package of what Deerhoof is about.

You know, now that I’m not linking out to YouTube, I suppose I don’t have to do these intros, do I? I mean, I don’t have to do any of this, I suppose.

Oneohtrix Point Never, “Same”

Our first go-around with Oneohtrix Point Never, with a track off his best album since Replica. Rather than diving deep on a time period and exploring all the sounds from there, Age Of draws widely from whatever noises Daniel Lopatin wants to use. The result is unpredictable, but always interesting, and not a bad spot to start listening to OPN.

TWO DAYS IN A ROW

The Roots, “Proceed”

While it wasn’t really their debut album, Do You Want More?!!!??! feels like it SHOULD be their debut album. Organix feels more like a practice run or a demo, a band trying to find its voice, and several of its songs appear on the next album in re-worked forms. Anyway, this is the first full song on Do You Want More, and it really sets the template for the album and indeed their first couple albums, with the jazzy groove of the band revolving around Scott Storch’s keyboards and ?uestlove’s drums. I think Black Thought is better on the subsequent albums, but he’s certainly good on this record. Basically, this is where to start with the Roots in exploring their early career.

A bit scattered today.

Dog Faced Hermans, “Love Is The Heart Of Everything”

“Anarchist” is always kind of an interesting descriptor when applied to a band. For whatever reason, there are some bands where that’s called out for them, and I’m sitting here thinking that I’ve pretty much liked every band I’ve ever encountered that has been described as anarchist. The Dog Faced Hermans, for instace. I’m looking at this list of anarchist-punk bands from Wikipedia (of course there’s a list on Wikipedia), and it’s pretty bitchin’, even if I question the inclusion of some bands. Black Flag! The Dead Kennedys! Napalm Death! NoMeansNo! Propagandhi! That’s some good shit, y’all.

Pretty good one today.

Public Enemy, “Give It Up”

Pretty sure I’ve talked about how uneven Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age is, and it really is. It’s the album that marks the sharp decline of PE from the legendary band to the often baffling outfit that’s still out there still making stuff. But the album really has some peaks. This is one of them. The beat is dense and bouncy, Chuck kicks several different flows, and they basically capture their glory days. The verse that kicks off “I never did represent doin’ dumb shit” is one of my favorite verses from him ever.

All frequent fliers today!

Public Enemy, “Lost In Space Music”

This comes from Man Plans God Laughs, which is deep into the long run of somehwat undifferentiated albums that Public Enemy has been making for years and years now. They’ve lasted long enough and produced enough records that they have way more non-peak albums than they do peak albums. Which is kind of a bummer. It’s also hard for me to fairly evaluate most of these these records. They’re competing with such indelible memories.

Another year-end roundup, this time from Heavy Blog. I love this time of year. And here’s today’s music.

Outkast, “Infatuation (Interlude)”

A skit from Idlewild, a shaggy album that has some highlights, but is a mess and is the worst of Outkast’s career.

Public Enemy, “Son Of A Bush”

Somehow, anti-George W. Bush songs sound quaint these days. And he was a deeply terrible president! This is a track from Revolverlution, another later album from a Hall of Fame rap group that is also a mess.

Here at Five Songs, we never stop working for you, the tiny handful of people who put up with this, day in and day out. So, today, we’re going the extra 20% with six songs! Such generosity!

Johnny Too Bad And The Strikeouts, “Nineteen Fifty Two”

If you look at that band name and say to yourself “that sounds like a fourth-tier third-wave band”, congratulations! You’ve probably consumed too much Five Songs!

More news about Fox in the Forest: official street date is July 19th! I’m so excited! Let’s listen to music!

Public Enemy, “I Stand Accused”

There’s always been a paranoid streak going through Public Enemy’s music, reflected in the claustrophobic beats and siege mentality lyrics. It goes back all the way to their first album, and certainly hasn’t eased off with later work. This is from the uneven Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age, an album rife with that paranoid feel, and which at least still had Chuck sounding authoritative in his rhymes.

I think there’s something goofy about the shuffle algorithm they’re using at Amazon. I’ve seen it pick the same song from the same band multiple times, and for now, I’m treating that as a glitch and reloading things. I don’t consider that cheating. I have to bring you all novel stuff!

Forest Swords, “Panic”

Hey, something pretty new! This was released less than a month ago. Forest Swords makes atmospheric music that invariably sounds like a soundtrack pretty much at all times. I haven’t had that much time to delve too deeply into this new album yet, but I like what I hear so far. The horn at the end of this song in particular sounds great.