Quicksand

Quicksand, “Thorn in my Side”

Post-hardcore might be the genre that I enjoy the most that I’ve lost the most touch with, if that makes sense. There was a time when I listened to more or less all the post-hardcore that there was, devouring it all and staying on top of the scene and bands. When I kind of became dislocated from music a bit in the early 2000s, I lost track of a lot of things, and then as I gradually found ways to stay on top of music in the post-Usenet-and-magazine/pre-social-media era, I just never got traction with any of this stuff again. Is it still being made? Are there still post-hardcore bands out there kicking ass? I’m sure there are, and I’m equally sure I’m unaware of them. Well, you know, other than Quicksand’s reunion record.

The Meters, “Funky Miracle”

Mostly, when we get a funk track on here, I just pull the textual equivalent of a stink face. “Goddamn,” I’ll say, or “holy shit” or some other incoherent blurt. It conveys nothing about the music other than my elemental appreciation for it. I’d like to apologize for my limitations as a writer here. I don’t really know what I’m doing, or even why I’m doing it. I just like being connected to my music a little bit more, and this blog is a way to do that. And, if I may add: godDAMN.

Happy birthday to me! I’m…more than 4 years old.

Labradford, “S”

There’s a lot I like about Labradford, and Mi Media Naranja in particular. And then it kicks of with “S”, that beautiful reverbed out guitar…and then you get that high pitched tone. And it drives me crazy. I wish it weren’t there! It’s unpleasant!

clown core, “flat earth”

I came across clown core through their absolutely insane videos (here’s the one for “flat earth”). But honestly, this kind of thing is really right up my alley. Sure, it’s avant-garde as hell, but it’s also goofy, the drumming is extreme, it’s noisy. Good stuff!

Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “Hell of a Hat”

Let’s Face It is the album that broke through for the Bosstones, but I think their previous record (Question the Answers) is easily their best. The songwriting is both sharper and rougher, which suits them well. Take this song, for instance. The “sharpest motherfucker” stuff leading into the chorus is great, they aren’t afraid of some huge guitars during the chorus, they have a noisy breakdown to conclude things, and this song that could have just been a smirk is actually much more interesting than it initially seemed.

New verison of Ghost! So far, I don’t like it. Whatever. Still basically works. I have music for you!

Lungfish, “Reveal Me”

I have a very distinct memory of listening to this album while wandering around Wean Hall at my college, and paying a lot of attention to it, and deciding that I just didn’t really like it very much. I’m not sure what set me off about it, but I very much decided that Lungfish weren’t for me. This is from their debut album, and apparently they lasted for a long time, and I stuck to my guns. I haven’t heard anything else from them. Maybe they were good! I don’t know!

Fantastic list today.

Melvins, “Holy Barbarian”

This all has gone on long enough that I can’t really be certain any more which albums and songs I’ve talked about, so I’m just going to assume y’all can’t remember either. This comes from the great Freak Puke album, where the Melvins (calling themselves “Melvins Lite”) made an album with Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) on bass. Upright bass. The texture that he provides with all the variety of sounds he cranks out makes for one of the most unique albums in the Melvins’ very long discography, and I highly, highly recommend it.