Sturgill Simpson

Boldy James and the Alchemist, “Scrape the Bowl”

Boldy James and the Alchemist got together for a second record, The Price of Tea in China, seven years after the first record. They’ve got great chemistry together, something they must agree on as they subsequently went on to make a third record. It’s very good, and if this track strikes your fancy, you’ll definitely enjoy it.

Public Enemy, “Miuzi Weighs A Ton”

I was going to use the phrase “old school” in my description back there, but thought better of it because I’m not even entirely sure I know what old school means to people these days. Sometimes it seems to just mean “in a style I like”. Anyway, to me? This is what it means.

Benton Falls, “Sad Like Winter Leaves”

We don’t get a ton of emo around here. Not because I dislike it, but I think mostly because when emo has had its various peaks, I was kind of listening to other stuff, and sort of missed out on a lot of it. I’m definitely the target audience! I’ve sat in a completely dark room listening to Slint’s Spiderland, which is extremely My Emotions Are Hard To Handle. At any rate, I generally like emo, and Benton Falls’ two albums are really very good. And: special shout-out to that song title. That is TREMENDOUS hustle right there. Primo sad boy shit.

Seam, “Shame”

I love EPs! I miss rooting around in record stores and coming across them, because they were often a surprise. It doesn’t happen very much any more, or at least, I don’t come across them very often. Probably just means I’m out of touch. I’m very old!

Anyway, this is from the Kernel EP, but this song is just an alternate take of a song from Headsparks, so this EP is pretty inessential. Buuut, I do miss EPs.

Shuffle’s kind of been killing it lately.

Marvin Gaye, “Your Unchanging Love”

Marvin Gaye, here on a single from 1967. It’s impressive to listen to the difference between this and what he’d make a mere four years later with What’s Going On.

Mephiskapheles, “Plan B”

I went to go compare the hi-hat intro here to the bit in “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” (at 8:01), and then realized the bit I was thinking of wasn’t just on the hi-hat, and then I got caught up listening to that song. And then I kind of got lost for a bit.

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!