The Ethiopians

Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, “Tralfamadore”

One day, I will discuss this band without mentioning their name. Today is not that day. Hee hee!

The Ethiopians, “Give Me Your Love”

A thing that’s magical about good rocksteady is that it can make it feel like the sun is shining, even if it’s 10:30 at night, you’re tired, and your eyes are itching due to allergies. You know. Hypothetically.

The Regrettes, “Pale Skin”

There’s a very strong throwback feeling to the Regrettes’ first album. Everything in here reminds me of another band, even if I can’t always put my finger on what that band is. Exactly which band shifts pretty constantly, but there’s always something there. It’s kind of déjà vu, but music. Uh, déjà entendu?

Alejandro Escovedo, “Chelsea Hotel ‘78”

Escovedo is one of those artists that has had a long recording career, and someone whose name I’d seen in a bunch of places, but I didn’t really know anything about him. I picked up what was, at the time, his latest record…and still don’t really know much about him. It’s good, but didn’t really grab me all that much either.

Wilco, “One and a Half Stars”

Ode to Joy is the latest Wilco album, from 2019. It comes after two solo Jeff Tweedy records, which I thought were better than the previous couple Wilco records. So, is it more like Warm (good) or Star Wars (bad)? More good than bad, I think? It’s not top-tier, but it’s a solid record.

Hell yes.

Less Than Jake, “Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin”

Less Than Jake, especially during their heyday, put out tons of singles and compilation appearances. They’ve collected those on various comps, which are usually worth looking into. This is an alternate take of “Scott Farcas Takes It On The Chin” (which originally appeared on Hello Rockview), this time showing up on the comp Goodbye Blue & White.

Son Volt, “Satellite”

I have an idea that Son Volt’s range is not as wide as Wilco. (Before you say anything: no, you’re not allowed to discuss Son Volt without a comparison to Wilco, it’s part of the Universal Music Critic And Adjacent Commentator Standard Contract and Practices that we all have to sign before we get our blogging license.) Anyway, that notion is probably horseshit, but it’s my horseshit. And now it’s yours?

Just wall-to-wall rock today, except for the bonus track. These things are going to happen! On another note, I stuck in some analytics to see how many of you are reading this. Something like a dozen. Not bad! As always, listen along with me, won’t you?

An admin note: the Dillinger Four track has been excised from YouTube on copyright grounds before, and when I tried to upload it, they rejected it again. Because of that, I’ve done a sixth song here, so there’s still five in the playlist.