Tame Impala

Conlon Nancarrow, “Study for Player Piano No. 3a”

Has anybody flipped Nancarrow into any beats? Seems like it would be a fun thing to hear.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, “Crime Pays”

What a lovely beat here. As someone who grew up listening to the radio in cars in the early 80s an awful lot, that late 70s vibe here just sparks something really primal in me.

Tame Impala, “Lucidity”

Another of my breaks with music critic orthodoxy (although I don’t really feel like I’m a real critic) is that I think Tame Impala is kind of boring. I’m not sure why that is - I like other psychedelic stuff just fine, I don’t have any problems with any elements that go into this. It just glides past my brain and nothing finds any purchase. It’s pleasant, but it’s like taking a nap.

Tame Impala, “Desire Be Desire Go”

Innerspeaker seemed universally beloved, so I went ahead and picked it up. And I like it fine, but it doesn’t really blow me away. It doesn’t really stick with me particularly, so I like it while it’s on, and then totally forget about it later. Like, this song: it sounds good, but it also kind of sounds like a billion Elephant 6 bands.

Polyrhthmics, “Lord of the Fries”

Track from the most recent Polyrhythmics album, Caldera, which is excellent as always. The compositions are getting more ambitious as they go along, which you can really hear on this song.

Some good stuff today.

Pond, “Wheel”

My favorite bands to highlight here are those that haven been largely forgotten, maybe because they were on the periphery of their scenes, and never really left the kind of critical mark that makes future listeners discover them among the thousands of bands of the past. Portland’s Pond is a great example of that. Pond began making records for Sub Pop during the height of grunge, with their first album coming out in 1993. It was a great time to get discovered, yes, but it was also a hard time to stand out among all the bands chasing fame. Like Flop, Pond just got lost in the suffle, and they deserved better. Their first, self-titled album was, yes, pretty grungy, but it was also tuneful in ways that hinted something greater to come. And their second album, The Practice of Joy Before Death, fulfilled that promise. Fantastic songs, great, jagged guitars, just an amazing record. One of my very favorites to come out of the entire grunge scene. They recorded one more fantastic record, Rock Collection, for a major label before breaking up. All three albums are worth your time.

Big day at Five Songs Inc.! We’re…ok, that’s a lie. It’s just me, and I’m just doing the usual. But I have music for you, so I can’t be all bad, right? Not our best playlist today, though.

Eagles of Death Metal, “Bag O’ Miracles”

Sadly, most people will only recognize the Eagles of Death Metal due to the tragic terrorist attack at their concert in Paris. EoDM is one of Josh Homme’s (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age) side projects, playing a booze-soaked bluesy hard rock with an aggressively skanky edge to things. It’s music that really wants you to have a good time, and by god, it’s going to define “good time” for you! Truth be told, after about half an album, I’m usually done, but it’s fine in smaller doses.