The Goats

John Coltrane, “Naima”

I often feel inadequate on this blog. My words are woefully insufficient to describe so many of the beautiful songs we get on here. Writing about music is hard, even for somebody good at it. Writing about it for an idiot like me is basically impossible. I’m just banging rocks together here and ooking at the moon.

And then something like Coltrane comes up, and I really vanish. What can I possibly say that’s going to add to one of the true artistic triumphs any of us are likely to encounter? You either feel this in your heart, or you don’t, but it’s not like I’m going to be able to awaken your soul with my typing.

Fifteen, “Petroleum Distillation”

Fifteen is the successor band to Crimpshrine, who were one of the seminal bands of the entire Gilman/Lookout scene in California. Crimpshrine splintered, yielding Operation Ivy, the legendary Cometbus zine, and Fifteen. As you can hear, this is very much right in the middle of that Lookout sound, all melodic punk in the vein of Stiff Little Fingers. Quite enjoyable if you’re into this style.

Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, “Good Cop Bad Cop”

The Shadowy Men would become famous as the band who provided the theme song and much of the music for the Kids in the Hall. But to me, they’ll always remind me of my friends Drew and Alex in college, and specifically Alex’s dorm where I first encountered them. They were really the first instrumental band I fell in love with, and one of the key ways I started broadening my taste. I’m glad that it still sounds great to me, and cherish the ability of this album to transport me back to that time.

The Regrettes, “Hot”

The Regrettes’ debut record from 2017, Feel Your Feelings Fool!, is a delightful slab of garage rock. Like any good garage rock, it’s full of energy, hooks, and attitude. This kind of record is perpetually welcome as far as I’m concerned, and I really recommend it.

The Birthday Party, “Figure of Fun”

Groundbreaking post-punk band The Birthday Party, featuring a young Nick Cave, in a lot of ways set the template for noise rock. While there are plenty of bands after them that kind of sound like them, or tried to, there aren’t really any predecessors that I’m aware of. One of the truly inspirational bands in music history, at least for the kind of stuff I listen to.

Here’s today, but check out the bonus song I link down below.

The Goats, “Rumblefish”

The second Goats album seemed like it was chasing the trends of early 90s rap, with plenty of stabs towards rock, jazz, and other types of hybrid styles. It doesn’t hang together particularly well, and it’s mostly forgettable. There are some fun moments on the album, but overall, it’s a miss.

They Might Be Giants, “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair”

The opener to the second side of Flood, the album that really put the group on the map. And while it has some truly great tunes on that first half, my HOT TAKE here is that the second half is only so-so. It’s that second half that puts this album nowhere near the top of my favorite albums from TMBG.

Finished a big thing at work, so let’s celebrate Five Songs style! (sitting in a basement, drinking, listening to music through one headphone) HIT IT PLEXASAURUS REX!

TV/TV$, “Liberal 4 Me”

One day, I’m gonna put together “Screeching Weasel or Not Screeching Weasel?” as a quiz, and it’s gonna be fuckin’ hard.

Violent Femmes, “Kiss Off [Live]”

Violent Femmes is one of the grand treasures in all of modern rock, the purest distilled essence of teenage frustration, captured and frozen in amber for all time. “Kiss Off” is, of course, one of the highlights of that record (an album composed almost entirely of highlights), with its instantly memorable count-up section that everybody loves singing along to. It sincerely gives me chills.

Don’t have a ton to say today!

The Goats, “The Boom”

The Goats were an underground rap act out of Philadelphia, notable for using a live band during their second album, from which this song comes. Musically they would have fit in with the Tommy Boy acts of the time, such as House of Pain. Overall, the first album was pretty charming, and the second one kind of dragged. Honestly, I can’t remember listening to this stuff for probably 20 years.