The Queers

Throbbing Gristle, “Walkabout”

As I was getting further into industrial and noise, around 1991 or so, a key thing I used to help out was Usenet. As I read newsgroups and learned more about bands, Throbbing Gristle would come up a lot as one of the critical pioneers of industrial. And I’m not sure why, as I was listening to Einstürzende Neubauten and Foetus and the like, but I found the idea of Throbbing Gristle really intimidating. I think I thought maybe I wouldn’t get them, that I would reveal myself to be an uncultured oaf incapable of appreciating a truly original band.

The Queers, “I Like Young Girls”

There are a lot of questions raised by this blog, most of them unanswerable. Foremost among those questions is “why do I have so many damn albums from the Queers?”

American Music Club, “Patriot’s Heart”

After ten years apart, during which Mark Eitzel pursued a solo career, American Music Club got back together in 2004 for a new album, Love Songs for Patriots. Not only did they pick up where they left off, they really picked up earlier than that. I like it better than San Francisco, and maybe better than Mercury. I think it has a little more vigor than those two albums, although that’s always kind of a relative thing with a band this downbeat.

Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators, “Light Years Ahead”

With the strings here, this is reading very “late Stax” to me, or perhaps Curtis Mayfield. Interestingly, it’s an era of soul that for the most part hasn’t seen as much of a revival as earlier Stax or Motown. I’m not sure why that is, exactly, although perhaps the lusher arrangements are just harder to put together for independent artists.

The Queers, “Drop The Attitude Fucker”

You first, the Queers!

Yo-Yo Ma, “Suite no. 4 in E-flat major, BWV 1010: I. Prélude”

These pieces, which come up occasionally, really don’t make a lot of sense in isolation. Shuffle is good at some things - surprises, shaking up your routine, serendipity - but is bad at an album like this.

The Meters, “Africa”

Rejuvenation is my favorite album from the second Meters phase of life. The grittier, mostly- or all-instrumental Meters of the first few albums had changed into a brighter sound, with vocals and more bounce. Still incredibly funky, of course, but a different feel. Generally, I lean towards the earlier sound, but this album is undeniable.

The Queers, “Too Many Twinkies”

Eh. Next!

Guzzard, “Deaf Ears, Gamma Rays”

As the world moved on from Amphetamine Reptile once Helmet was no longer there, the later bands never got much attention even from the alternative press. But there were some real gems from the mid-90’s releases, with the third Guzzard record (The Alienation Index Survey) being one of my favorites. They started as a pretty straightforward punk band, but evolved over the course of their three albums to something more interesting. Maybe they just refined their songwriting, but this thing totally slams and is one of my favorite releases from the back half of AmRep’s fertile period.

Danny Weinkauf, “Champion of the Spelling Bee”

After the success of the They Might Be Giants kids albums, which included a few songs written by bassist Danny Weinkauf, he set out on his own and recorded a couple records in a similar vein. They’re pleasant enough, but by the time they were out, I didn’t really play them for the kids and so they’re just kind of in my collection.

L’Orange & Mr. Lif, “A World Without Music”

As is his penchant, Mr. Lif’s 2016 album was a concept record, this one based around the idea of a society that had stamped out culture completely. As with his other concept albums, it connects better on some tracks than others, but I appreciate the ambition. Meanwhile, the collab with L’Orange on the beats is all great, so overall, it’s another great record.

The Toasters, “Dub 56”

We’re mid-career with the Toasters here, with the Toasters basically having found their sound with Dub 56. They’d further refine it a bit on the next couple albums, but this is more or less where they ended up. You can very much hear their debt to two-tone ska here.

Foetus, “I Hate You All”

After Flow and Blow in 2001, J.G. Thirlwell didn’t release another record under the Foetus moniker until 2006, releasing Damp. When he came back, he was in a very strange place. Like, I’m not even sure what to call this? Deranged big band, I guess? There’s nothing else really like it, and I love it.

New Bomb Turks, “Double Marlon”

Garage punks out of Columbus, OH, the New Bomb Turks exploded (heh!) onto the scene with their brand of aggressive rock, and they kept it rockin’ for a while. However, they did eventually fell off, and this EP (Beruhren Meiner Affe, “Touching My Monkey”) is kind of where the dividing line is. It’s a perfectly good five songs of their Stooges-esque stuff, but after this, it seemed like the were just kind of tired.

The Queers, “From Your Boy”

We’ve been over this, but it’s been a while: yes, this is shameless Ramones worship. Yes, it’s incredibly sophomoric. Yes, you can do much better.

The Decemberists, “Rox in the Box”

After The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists stepped back from the increasingly elaborate prog-folk thing they had going on and made a much more straightforward folk-rock album with The King is Dead. As a fan over that super ornamented stuff, I found the record a bit of a disappointment. It’s pleasant enough, and I’m not sorry to listen to it, but it’s not one I seek out often.