Samiam

Polvo, “The Fighting Kites”

Polvo’s final album from their first run, Shapes, had kind of a cool reception as I recall. I know personally that I felt like it was a step back from the previous couple albums. But now, a couple decades later, I find myself listening to it more than the rest of their records. So, is it just a more subtle, more challenging record that requires more maturity and sophistication to appreciate? Was I just a dumbass back then? The answer is: I am not more sophisticated and I’m still a dumbass, so I suspect it’s just novelty? Relative novelty, anyway.

L’altra, “Slow as Cake”

Is cake slow? I don’t think of cake as a particularly slow food. I suppose it takes a while to pre-heat the oven, bake the thing, let it cool, and then decorate it. So…maybe they are slow. But they’re not what I think of when I think of slow food. Beyond the obvious molasses, I think of, say, smoking things as slow.

The band Cake isn’t really slow either.

The Queers, “I Like Young Girls”

There are a lot of questions raised by this blog, most of them unanswerable. Foremost among those questions is “why do I have so many damn albums from the Queers?”

American Music Club, “Patriot’s Heart”

After ten years apart, during which Mark Eitzel pursued a solo career, American Music Club got back together in 2004 for a new album, Love Songs for Patriots. Not only did they pick up where they left off, they really picked up earlier than that. I like it better than San Francisco, and maybe better than Mercury. I think it has a little more vigor than those two albums, although that’s always kind of a relative thing with a band this downbeat.

Torche, “Reverse Inverted”

For how often I mention Torche, it’s nice to actually get the band in here. Always loud, always delightful.

Samiam, “Factory”

Just going full-on big rock today. With luck, everything we get will soar, and it’ll be a rare feel-good Five Songs list. But, knowing my library, we’ll probably get Einstürzende Neubauten mic-ing up a construction site and hammering on it with a ladle instead.

The Slackers, “Wasted Days”

Well, it doesn’t exactly soar, but it’s still a summery thing, so I’ll count it. The spare guitar in the opening, the gentle unison of the sax and the trombone, all leading to Vic Ruggiero’s plaintive question is one of my favorite moments by the Slackers. They’re willing to just let this languid bouncer cook, resisting the temptation to layer on too much, and it’s such a great tune as a result. The hottest it gets is Hillyard’s solo, but even there, the extra ornamentation is really just limited to some “oooooohhhs” in the background. And bonus points for Ruggiero’s tremendous delivery of the word “sober”. Great tune.

No Age, “Life Prowler”

As always, Five Songs is a pro-duo place, which is something we feel compelled to mention every single time one comes up. It’s just one of our loveable quirks, like not knowing shit about jazz or using the royal we, but only inconsistently! Shoddy, rushed writing, or deliberate, stylistic choice? Nobody knows!

Solids, “Cold Hands”

Another duo! Solids only made this one album, 2013’s Blame Confusion, but it’s a ripper. If you like what you hear, you’re in for a treat!

Kid Koala, “The Fundamentals”

Floor Kids is the game soundtrack that Kid Koala did, because it’s not enough for him to be a musican, composer, and artist, it was time to work on a game also. It’s a fun rhythm game around breakdancing, and I recommend it, and of course the soundtrack is a good time.

The Skoidats, “Running Riot (live)”

A cover of the song by Cock Sparrer, in case you couldn’t make out the intro. Uh, not a whole lot else to say here.

Samiam, “Blank Expression”

Samiam, the melodic punk band from Berkley, came out of the gate more or less fully formed. While I think their mid-career albums would be stronger and more refined, their first album still was solid work. I think Samiam was a little too early to catch on to the emo revival that would happen later, and so they’re kind of forgotten today.

Mustard Plug, “Away From Here”

I told my only real Mustard Plug story already, and I don’t want to tell it again. It’s sad! I think it’s understandable that I stopped listening after that, but I gotta say, this is a good little tune. It’s pretty Bosstones, but I like that sound. It’s not their fault they were part of the soundtrack to one of the worst nights of my life.

YACHT, “I Love A Computer”

Aww, the computer loves you too, YACHT.

The Band, “I Shall Be Released”

The Band’s Music From The Big Pink seems like a super impressive debut album, but of course, they had been Dylan’s backing band, so they were not rookies. There’s been far too much written on the music of the 60s, and I was nowhere near existing, so I have nothing fresh to say. Good record, though.

Samiam, “Head Trap”

Samiam were part of the punk scene that would eventualy spawn Green Day. As the labels moved in, hunting for the next big thing, Samiam found themselves on Atlantic Records for a single album, which is as close as they got to breaking through. I always felt like they deserved a bigger audience, and it was a little sad that they didn’t connect. At any rate, this actually comes from the album right before their major label record, Billy, which is my favorite album from them.

Modest Mouse, “So Much Beauty In Dirt”

This comes from the 2001 EP Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks, which in turn pulls a few songs from an earlier EP and adds a few new ones. This is from the peak Modest Mouse period, from their three album run from The Lonesome Crowded West through Good News for People Who Love Bad News, so it’s good stuff.

Mudhoney, “Here Comes Sickness”

If there’s one album I’d point to that defines grunge to me, it’s not Nirvana’s Nevermind. Sure, that’s the commercial breakthrough, but I’d instead point at Mudhoney’s first, self-titled record as really being the heart of grunge. It marries the energy of punk and the power of metal, with a certain grime that really sets the genre off. This is basically the sound that so many bands were chasing in their own way before grunge got huge and changed into sour grunting.