SWANS

Swans, “Better Than You”

The late 80s/early 90s vesion of the band is probably the one that is most different from the other iterations. The period began with Burning World, the first (and last) Swans major-label release, which was a commercial disaster and an artistic mess. The other albums of that period (White Light From The Mouth of Infinity, Love of Life, and Ten Songs For Another World which was technically from World of Skin but who cares) were better artistically, but this is kind of the “pretty” Swans period. The albums all went out of print, and stayed that way for a while.

Tilt, “Annie Segall”

This is from the last Tilt album, in 1999, and I’ll be totally honest: I’m not entirely sure why I picked all of them up. It’s not bad, it’s just that it’s not really any different from the other three albums.

SWANS, “Amnesia”

What Is This? is a record of demos that Michael Gira assembled to test out songs prior to cleaning things up for a full release (what would become leaving meaning.). It’s an interesting record, but very much for completists only. Which is good, because it was released in a very limited edition as a crowdfunding project to raise money for the new record. I’m glad I have it, but that’s because I’m a huge SWANS fan.

Monobody, “Raytracing”

Monobody is an instrumental math rock band from Chicago, with a couple of albums so far. This is from the second, Raytracing. Their music has more than a little bit of jazz fusion going on in things, and is definitely more towards the cerebral end of math rock.

Coalesce, “Cowards.com”

Hey, it’s the other end of math rock! Always enjoyable when songs from the late nineties have web references in them.

Swans, “Stay Here”

Filth is maybe the best named album ever made. Belching forth from the no-wave scene in New York City, it’s just 36 minutes of pure punishment. Grinding, scraping, the nihilism is palpable on every part of the record. From Roli Mossimann’s relentless pounding on the drums, to Norman Westberg’s doom-laden guitar work, and especially Michael Gira’s howling vocals, the Swans are operating in a primal mode here that would inspire countless other noise bands. They would tune their attack, add in a lot more variation and complexity, and would end up as one of the most majestic bands ever. But when they started? They were the avatars of everything murky and gross.

IT STOPPED AT THREE DAYS, WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED? Eh, whatever, it’s not like I said I’m going to do these every day or anything. At least, not after I edit this place. NEW STREAK HERE!

Negativland, “Keep Rollin”

Negativland’s No Business is a meditation on copyright, art, and the nature of culture in general. Or, more succinctly, it’s a Negativland album. On the spectrum of experimental noise to something that could be described as music, it falls closer to the musical end, making it one of the easier Negativland albums to absorb. Which isn’t to say it’s easy listening. By the time they made this record, they had decades of experience in assembling these kinds of oddball things, so they had gotten very good at the sound manipulation required.

Good set today.

Modest Mouse, “Autumn Beds”

From a later EP from the band, No One’s First, And You’re Next, these are songs that were largely left off of Good News For People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. If you’re looking for more songs that would have fit into those albums, this EP is worth looking into.

Sleater-Kinney, “Oh!”

Another good song from Sleater-Kinney which I will undoubtedly totally forget the tune for after the song has finished.

Spastic noise punk, power pop, third wave ska, rap, bombastic post-rock: this is just about the full gamut for Five Songs!

UFO Or Die, “0 Or 1ers”

Uh, yeah. UFO Or Die isn’t exactly random noise, but it’s not THAT far from it, either.

The New Pornographers, “Centre For Holy Wars”

We’ve heard from A.C. Newman before with Zumpano, but here he is with the band he’s best known for, the New Pornographers. Started as something of a supergroup with Newman, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and Neko Case (all of whom we’ll hear from with their other acts), the New Pornographers took a while to turn from a lark into a real band. But, they finally put out their debut album, Mass Romantic, and it’s a corker. Fully embracing power pop, it’s one of the catchiest and most fun albums in my collection. And, sorry, if you don’t love “Letter From An Occupant”, you’re dead inside.

Today’s music. And, I recognize that people bitching about redesigns is the worst, but can I just say I hate the YouTube redesign? There, that’s out of the ol’ system.

The Sunshine Fix, “Everything is Waking”

The Olivia Tremor Control was a legendary indie pop band, producing Beatles-esque psychedelia that was beloved of basically every music critic. Will Hart retired from music to focus on art, and Bill Doss started The Sunshine Fix to continue in the same vein. And yeah, it’s very, very Beatles-y.

I recognize that saying you listen to everything is kind of a lame move. It’s a refusal to put a stake in the ground and express your preferences, and mostly seems to be used by people who aren’t really that into music. What this project really brings home, though, is I really am kind of into everything. I feel good about that. Today’s tunes!

Kool and the Gang, “Jungle Boogie”

If you’re my age, there’s a good chance the first thing you think of when somebody says “Kool and the Gang” is “Celebration”. And that’s a damn shame, because for years, Kool and the Gang were an amazing funk band. Records like Live at PJ’s, Spirit of the Boogie, and this one, Wild and Peaceful, were just filled with incredible tunes. This song is actually the one that really brought Kool and the Gang to my attention, as it was used in Pulp Fiction, and I had to figure out what it is. It took some time before I could find some of their albums, but it was worth the wait.

Today’s entry is probably the most divided one we’ve ever had. Two songs of pure pop (separated by over 40 years), two disparate slabs of uncompromising noise, and one song of old, yet futuristic sounding hip hop. That’s the stuff.

Lily Allen, “Him”

Lily Allen’s first album, Alright, Still is thoroughly charming, pure pop delivered with wit and tons of catchy songs. One of those albums that’s hard not smile your way all the way through. Her followup album shares at least some of those same attributes, but I never found it as bouncy or memorable as the first record.