The Slackers

Today!

Buck-O-Nine, “Voice In My Head”

We like to mock the third wave of ska here at Funf Songs, because it’s eminently mockable. But, there’s a reason why we have so much of the damn stuff, and that’s that when it’s done well, it’s sprightly and charming and summer-y. In the winter, it reminds of long, bright, warm days. In the summer, it just ups the mood to another level. Buck-O-Nine weren’t amazing, but they were pleasant and good and it’s worthwhile to just listen to some pleasant and good things sometimes.

Six songs today!

Belle & Sebastian, “Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John”

From Write About Love, a mostly forgettable album, but this is one of the songs that sticks with me from it. There’s not a whole lot to it, musically, but it’s certainly pleasant.

Jr Walker And All Stars, “Cleo’s Mood”

You don’t find that many instrumental soul tracks like this in the Motown catalog, but here we are with a sweet little tune from 1965.

Six songs today! I should probably just automatically skip everything with Jay-Z in it.

The Slackers, “Real War”

I don’t listen to Close My Eyes very much. Primarily because the second song on it, “Old Dog”, really kind of upsets em. It’s a good album, though, and I really should listen to it more often. Here, we catch the Slackers going into dub some, which they do every now and again.

Took a little break there. No worries, we’re back in business!

Wiccans, “Pageantry”

I mentioned last time that Wiccans kind of sound like an old Amphetamine Reptile act, and they really do. This kind of sounds like maybe old Cows, or perhaps something like the Cosmic Psychos.

UFO Or Die, “Kendo Machine Smokin'”

Well, uh, that’s a thing, huh?

Botanist, “Gleditsia”

The closer to VI: Flora, this is the coda to an excellent album, but this song doesn’t have a lot to say.

Rockin’!

Wiccans, “Witches”

A hint for anybody trying to sell records to Five Songs International: get somebody to drop “noise rock” somewhere in your review, and I’m all over it. Wiccans fit that category. And yeah, they basically sound like a vintage Amphetamine Reptile band. Maybe a little shoutier than some, AmRep bands often had the vocals buried in the mix, but musically it’s very much in that tradition. So, of course I like it!

Should I mention when I buy albums here? I probably should. Maybe I’ll do that on future Fridays. Today’s music.

Andrew Bird, “Pathetique”

The first couple of Andrew Bird albums (officially credited to Andrew Bird and His Bowl of Fire) were more affected and more self-consciously arty than his later work. In a lot of ways, you can hear a lot of Squirrel Nut Zippers in this stuff. You can also hear some of the hallmarks of his later work, especially in the way he uses his violin to provide several different types of sounds, but the early stuff is definitely the sound of an artist finding his way.

No intro today, just tunes.

De La Soul, “Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge)”

I remember being pretty baffled by a lot of the slang that De La Soul used on Three Feet High and Rising. This is mainly because I was a sheltered 14-year-old boy living in Spokane, and the internet didn’t exist to sort things out for me (or misinform me, to be fair). I worked out the general gist of a fair bit of it, and it never really bothered me or stopped me from listening to the music, but I was nevertheless baffled. I think it was an album designed to baffle folks.