Five Songs, 7/30/2022

Hepcat, “The Secret”

The first Hepcat record found the band hitting their first-wave ska sounds right out of the gate. They’d keep moving in this direction with later records, growing more assured as they went, and creating lusher arrangements. But all that said, every one of their records is a good one, even if I might go for them in reverse release order. I guess you can compare this to the version from Right On Time to see how they developed.

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Five Songs, 12/26/2017

Back to the usual thing around here, with our usual random playlist.

Johnny Cash, “Darlin’ Companion”

I engaged in my self-flagellation about my Johnny Cash collection last time, so I’ll spare you all. This is from Live at San Quentin, and is a lovely duet with June Carter Cash.

Discordance Axis, “The Inalienable Dreamless (Complete)”

I have a friend who says The Inalienable Dreamless is one of his favorite albums (maybe his favorite), so I ended up giving the band a try. It’s very extreme and virtuosic grindcore, which means it’s incredibly fast and the changes come at whiplash speed. Just to make things more confusing, this song is NOT from that album, it’s from Our Last Day, which was a compilation of odds and ends of related projects. And just to make things even MORE confusing, this is a cover of the entire The Inaliable Dreamless album by Merzbow. So, you know, buckle in for sixteen minutes of total noise freakout! I, um, understand if people skip this.

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Five Songs, 10/24/2017

Every now and again, I catch myself thinking, “geez, this playlist really sounds like something I’d love!” And then I think, come ON brain, what are you thinking? But my brain has already moved on. Well, anyway, today’s playlist is pretty indie rock-y. And Haggard-y, I suppose.

The Wedding Present, “Big Boots”

I’ve always really liked the Wedding Present’s slower numbers. The contrast with the usual hyperactive pop really centers David Gedge’s lonely, weary lyrics. And sometimes you want that extra bummer, you know? This comes from Saturnalia, the last album from their first incarnation, before Gedge recorded with Colorama for a while. It’s an excellent album, as is everything that that version of the band put out.

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