Radiohead

Hüsker Dü, “Divide and Conquer”

A thing that is easy to forget about Hüsker Dü is how ridiculously productive they were in their salad days. Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, and Flip Your Wig all came out within a 14 month period, a rate of output that’s even more impressive when you remember that Zen Arcade was a double album. Adding to the awe here is that all three records are bangers, with New Day Rising being my favorite hardcore record (which I’ve definitely never said about any other album!). Flip Your Wig somehow is the weakest of the three, and it’s great! It’s a little lighter, a little poppier, but it’s still full of energy and is probably a bit easier to get into than the other two.

Gob, “Cleansing”

This song sounds weird in only one earbud.

Green Day, “Nice Guys Finish Last”

nimrod. is the Green Day album I listen to the least. It’s not because of the songs that break out of the pop punk mold, but because the punk songs on it just sound kind of worn out. This song, for instance, sounds like a third-generation xerox of a thing from Dookie. Even on their final record, American Idiot, they brought more energy to the tunes.

Radiohead, “True Love Waits”

Hmm. I guess maybe Radiohead used Conlon Nancarrow?

Elvis Costello, “(I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea”

A friend used to do a bit where he’d refer to song titles or whatever with synonyms or just slightly wrong words, and it always killed me. Two of his titles from This Year’s Model always stuck with me. “Inflate It” and this one, “Chelsea (Fuck It)”.

Report Suspicious Activity, “Goldstein”

Yup, that’s J Robbins in yet another one of his bands that put out a couple albums before calling it good. It’s a good one, but that’s kind of redundant. Where does it rank in the list of bands? Probably below Burning Airlines and Jawbox, but probably above Office of Future Plans and Channels.

Japandroids, “Younger Us”

Lots of music gets described as “anthemic”, and I’ve sometimes wondered what people mean by it. I think for me, it describes something that you want to shout along with, preferably with other people. Not sing, mind you. Shout. That’s an anthem, something to get you pumped up. The song has to ring, you know? Japandroids, of course, perfectly fit that template. How could you not want to shout along with this?

The True Loves, “Kabuki”

Soul band from beautiful Seattle, this was one of those occasional finds from when I found myself trapped in a vehicle without Bluetooth and heard something good on KEXP. (Specifically, a U-Haul I was driving from Kingston to Bainbridge Island.) It’s a delight, of course, and I wish I had some way other than just serendipity to find something like this. Oh well!

The Slackers, “And I Wonder?”

In my mind, The Question is my least favorite Slackers album. I’m not really sure at this point exactly why. I adored Redlight (it’s still one of my favorite ska records), and I was super geeked for the follow-up. And something about it didn’t quite sit right with me. And I just kind of didn’t listen to it much and filed it away. It’s not that I fell off the band, mind you. The next studio record, Wasted Days, is ALSO one of my favorite ska records. I still eagerly buy everything they put out, love a bunch of their records, have seen them multiple times…but I’ve never really gone back to try this album again. Just one of those blind spots. I should really fix that!

Wolves in the Throne Room, “Permanent Changes in Consciousness”

This is what counts for an interstitial track for Wolves in the Throne Room. Only 1:54!

Gino Parks, “Don’t Say Bye Bye”

Meanwhile, Gino Parks cranks out an entire song with an actual structure in a tidy 1:51. It’s actually kind of funny to think about how far music has gone from 1960, and to think that you can actually draw a lineage between these two songs without much backtracking on the family tree.

Hepcat, “Marcus Garvey”

Y’all, it’s ska weather right now in Seattle. It’s still sunny, but not oppressive, and some breezy tunes to go with it is just perfect. I’ve had Hepcat on while making dinner a few times recently, and it’s going down niiiice. Right On Time is my favorite record from them, but Scientific (which provides this song) is excellent as well.

Mudhoney, “Twenty Four”

Mudhoney’s singles were pretty great, kind of across the board. They’d pretty consistently turn in either bruising performances, excellent covers, or fun larks. As a result, March to Fuzz, a collection of those singles, is a very good time. The guitar tone is just all-time on this song.

A rare double clueless day!

Radiohead, “We Suck Young Blood”

1. A carefully placed comma makes this song title pretty funny.
2. Handclaps are bitchin'.
3. The recording on this is beautiful.

Summerlands, “Lost My Mind”

Power metal, as a genre, usually features lethal amounts of cheese. By and large, I don’t mind some cheese with my music every now and again, but it has to be a rare treat, and I usually don’t myself craving it. But beyond the inherent corniness of the genre, the songs usually don’t appeal to me that much, being kind of heavy on wailing (both from the singer and lead guitarist). As a result, I mostly tend to avoid power metal. So, I’m not sure how I ended up with this. I must have read a good review somewhere? Or sometimes, I like to sample records from genres that I don’t love just to see if maybe my tastes have changed.

Pretty much a mess today.

The Gabriel Construct, “Arrival In A Distant Land”

At what point does a prog rock album cross the border from rock into something else? How far can you stretch rock before it breaks? These aren’t questions being asked directly by Gabriel Riccio, who is the force behind this album, but those questions are certainly present. This is a concept album about…something, I dunno. It’s all very high concept. Let’s put it this way: this is the opening track to the album. This is how it kicks off. So clearly, he’s not going for accessible here.

Fantastic one today!

J-Zone, “Zone For President”

More old shit from J-Zone! I mentioned his persona last time, but here you can really hear the cheapass side of things. Also, dig that circus beat! And the shots at internet losers. All good stuff!

Pond, “Forget”

Pond’s third and final record, Rock Collection, came out on a major label, which probably did it no favors. While Sub Pop would know what to do with a band like this, when Pond didn’t hit it big quickly with this record, Sony basically just forgot that it existed. It’s a shame, because it’s a an excellent album full of rock gems like this, all of them at least a little off-kilter. There’s also some really touching songs on here as well. Overall, a lost gem.