The Minus 5

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Haus der Lüge”

As the wave of industrial dance started to crest in the late 80s, Einstürzende Neubauten’s 1989 record Haus der Lüge was released with a couple of songs on it that, if you squinted hard enough, kind of fit in. This song, while being far more interesting than a lot of stuff under that industrial dance umbrella, nevertheless shares some of the same groove and had some crossover potential. They even released “Feurio!” as a single with remixes. I have no idea if it succeeded, my little bubble found Neubauten and gleefully dove into the back catalog. But I like to think that maybe some Nitzer Ebb fans got Neubauten-pilled by this album.

Mary Wells, “My Guy”

Another classic Motown tune. I wish I could set up all my music streaming to just inject periodic Motown songs into whatever I’m listening to. Having a Four Tops song pop up in the middle of some Neanderthal death metal record would be pretty excellent.

Shenandoah Davis, “Gold Coast”

I like the choral bits in this, and the well placed additions to the piano. It’s a lovely piece.

Archers of Loaf, “Web In Front”

This is the version from Seconds Before the Accident, the posthumously released live album. Archers of Loaf always toiled in Pavement’s shadow, relentlessly drawing comparisons to them. But they were not imitators, and their four studio albums are all excellent work. “Web in Front” in particular is a masterpiece, just a tremendous rock song, and one of those songs that I need to listen to sometimes and nothing else will do.

Quasimoto, “Don’t Blink”

Quasimoto is one of Madlib’s many aliases, and probably the most unhinged of his various projects. The production in particular is spastic, with sounds popping in and out in unpredictable ways, giving the proceedings a lurching feel that is diquieting. Combine that with his disaffected, helium-accented flow, and it’s just a very strange record. Really good, though.

Tortoise, “Spiderwebbed”

The first Tortoise record is a landmark in post-rock, representing an approach to making music with guitars and drums that would help inspire lots of following bands. I don’t think it’s their best record, but it’s excellent stuff, and it’s easy to see why this album got people excited.

Sleep, “From Beyond”

While doom metal in general traces back to Sabbath for inspiration, a lot of modern doom looks to Sleep’s Sleep’s Holy Mountain, along with a few other influences like the Melvins’ sludgiest work. This album really set the template though, which its ethos of staying exactly as slow and pounding as it wants to be. Much of metal had been getting faster and faster over the years, and the proof that you could be heavy while not trying to set any speed records really sunk in to a lot of bands. But even ignoring the influence, this stuff still smokes. But slowly.

Mary Timony, “Poison Moon”

This is Mary Timony’s first solo record, and you can kind of hear some pointers towards where here work would head, both with Wild Flag and Ex Hex. There’s more of a new wave feeling to some of this, and less of the indie feel of things. It’s a transitional record, but still very good.

LCD Soundsystem, “call the police”

LCD Soundsystem noisily retired in 2011, making a big deal out of their last show at Madison Square Garden and then riding off into the sunset. Until, of course, they returned in 2017 with a new album. New York, I Love You, But You’re Getting Ripped Off.

Fugazi, “Intro”

There’s not a ton to say here, other than The Argument is a tremendous swan song for the band, and I really wish that there were more records after it.

The Jam, “That’s Entertainment”

One of the crowning achievements of mod, Sound Affects is chock full of great songs, and this one is one of the sweetest of the bunch. It’s straightforward, but it sounds fantastic, and certainly still sounds totally fresh.

Christmas Eve! This is all pre-recorded, so I hope you all are enjoying your holidays! Here’s your decidedly non-Christmas playlist for today!

The Minus 5, “The Town That Lost Its Groove Supply”

Another song from Down With Wilco, a thoroughly charming album that I heartily recommend everybody pick up right now. Why right now? Scott McCaughey, one of my personal musical heroes and somebody I’ve been listening to for the last 27 years, suffered a stroke a few weeks ago. Given how much trying to recover from something like that costs, he’ll need every cent he can get. So, buy a great album, and help a great musician. If you’d like to contribute directly, there’s also a GoFundMe.

I’m excited to see what comes up today! After yesterday’s contrasts, what twists and turns can we expect?

Toots & the Maytals, “Reggae Got Soul”

One of the great bands of the first wave of ska, Toots and the Maytals delivered some of the most memorable songs of that period, including the oft-covered and incredible “Pressure Drop”. Toots Hibbert is also credited with coming up with the term “reggae”. Like a lot of his peers, his discography can be a little confusing to follow, as a lot of his stuff was spread out across a bunch of places and there are innumerable compilations that you can find, with overlapping track lists. The Very Best of Toots & the Maytals is an excellent compilation as a starting point, though.

Sorry about six songs yesterday. I don’t know what I was thinking! I was intoxicated with power, I guess. It won’t happen again! At least, until next time. Y’all just missed “Cop” by Swans here, by the way. I’m sure they’ll be back soon, though. In the meantime, enjoy today’s selection.

They Might Be Giants, “Stuff is Way”

I divide They Might Be Giants into five eras: pre-Elektra, the Elektra years, post-Elektra, the kid album years, and the current era. Note that even during the kid album years, they put out a couple of non-kid albums (2004’s The Spine and 2007’s The Else), so things aren’t really that neatly divided here. But, personally, I saw something of a creative renaissance after those years of mostly kid records (which are mostly very good, by the way), starting with 2011’s Join Us and continuing to the album this song is from, 2013’s Nanobots. If you fell off the TMBG train a couple decades ago, those two records are something to look into.