As someone who actually lived through the 80s, I have a real mixed opinion of stuff like this. Yes, there’s a nostalgia that tugs at me, and some of these sounds are genuinely fun. At the same time, it also evokes a lot of boring, dreary stuff from that period. I suppose that nobody is really trying to recreate the lame stuff, but a whiff of that stink still clings to it in my memory. Well, anyway, I do enjoy listening to stuff like this sometimes.
[Read More]Music is Rotted One Note is such an incredible album. I am always blown away by it. I recognize that’s not insightful, but it’s where we are.
I think I’ve mentioned before my early 90s experiment of finding a band like They Might Be Giants (there’s no such thing). Trumans Water was one of the bands mentioned sometimes on Usenet (that’s one of the places people yelled at each other about their opinions before Reddit and Twitter existed) as being broadly similar, so I picked up Spasm Smash XXXOXOX Ox & Ass. And, it’s not really anything like TMBG. I suppose I can sort of squint and see some of the same restless experimentation, but without the eclectic arrangements, good natured pop sensibility, and gentle humor, it’s not really at all the same thing.
[Read More]Well, not our best list from recent days.
Another cut from Long Tall Weekend, this is kind of a fun song, although I like the live version on Severe Tire Damage a lot more. You know you listen to a band too much when you have favorite renditions of songs.
Ozomatli made a kids’ album. I bought it, because I was curious. Um, that’s about all I have to say.
[Read More]See, this batch of tunes is a good example of the kind of thing I wanted. Obscure Seattle ska band! Old-ass straight edge hardcore! More of that stuff! Here’s your eclectic bunch of tunes for today.
The third wave of ska even reached Seattle. There aren’t really any bands other than Easy Big Fella that I listened to back in the day that were part of that scene here, but they were a good one. The last two albums in particular, Eat At Joey’s and Tasty Bits and Spicy Flicks (both on Moon Ska) were very strong, and good examples of what the third wave could do well when it was on.
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