The Toasters

Lots of server maintenance this weekend - if anything seems off, let me know! (There’s nobody reading this.) Anyway, I think things are working properly. Mostly, it shouldn’t affect this blog, it’s primarily my discord bots today, which I think are all operational again. So let’s have some tunes!

Turnstile, “Glow On”

You know, a mystery I never got around to really solving is whether or not Plex’s randomizer has a preference for track ones. It probably doesn’t, I probably mostly just notice when it happens as opposed to some other random track. Especially because track ones have a stronger tendency to be intros/skits/other types of non-real songs. Plus, of course, every record on here has a track one, while they’re not guaranteed to have any other tracks. That said? It sure seems like they come up more than they should. Which is just proof that I’m a big, dumb idiot.

We Be The Echo, “Shredder of Wheat and Souls”

I have no recollection of getting this record, but I can say: that is a very funny song title.

Unrest, “Firecracker”

On Imperial F.F.R.R. (that stands for “full frequence range recording”), Unrest not only delivered an excellent album of jangly indie pop, but also managed to sneak in some fun experimental stuff. Like this bad boy. This whole album very much does not sound like this, but it’s nice to break things up.

Bim Skala Bim, “Wandering Soul”

Yeah, let’s hear it for 90s ska! Hey, what are you doing with that tomato?

Bim Skala Bim’s Bones is the one where they really cemented their sunny sound, sort of a pop/ska approach that they would more or less carry through the rest of their records. I think I’ve listened to their version of “Brain Damage” more than Pink Floyd’s original.

Elf Power, “Upside Down”

That’s a pretty tough sound for Elf Power! I’d like them better with more of this kind of thing.

Koenjihyakkei, “Angherr Shisspa”

Koenjihyakkei is a band led by Tatsuya Yoshida, the drummer/lunatic in Ruins. It’s an off-kilter take on prog, inspired by Magma, and it’s every bit as unhinged as Ruins ever was. Just with a bigger band. I mean, I suppose I don’t really need to describe it, you can hear it just fine. How would I go about describing this, anyway?

The Mars Volta, “Askepios”

Oh, is this what we’re doing today, shuffle?

Dead Kennedys, “Moon over Marin”

The closer to the second Kennedys album, Plastic Surgery Disasters, it’s one of those anthemic songs that the Kennedys would occasionally turn out. This is actually about as accessible as they ever got, although there’s still Biafra’s strange warble to contend with.

The Toasters, “T-Time”

I think the Toasters were at their strongest in their instrumentals (or near-instrumentals). This is just a groove, horns, and some soloing, and ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Jurassic 5, “Gotta Understand”

Feedback is one of the most disappointing albums I can remember buying. I adored the first couple LPs from J5, and then this album just kind of thudded to the ground. It seemed so leaden and joyless at the time that I just listened to it a few times and shelved it. Honestly, it’s due for a re-visit, and this track is pretty good. Maybe I’m just a dope?

The Toasters, “New York Fever”

I’d have to go back and listen to a bunch of early Toasters records to confirm this, but in my memory, New York Fever is the record where the Toasters’ sound kind of accelerated. There’s a more frantic pace to their work from here going forward, which kind of presages the ska-punk to come along in a few years.

UFO Or Die, “Old Cold Meat”

UFO or Die is a side project of Boredoms leader/genius/lunatic Yamatsuka Eye. It’s just pure experimentation, all sound collages, weird squawky noises, random hiss, and just general messiness. Is it good? I don’t think that’s really a sensible question to ask of something like this. Is it fun to listen to? Every now and again, sure.

Claw Hammer, “Gut Feeling”

One of the things that we rail against around here are pointless covers. Especially in an age when so many of the originals are easily accessible, a cover really needs to add something. This is doubly true when it’s something truly beloved or original. However, it is possible to wrap around on the pointlessness scale of things and loop back around to cool. Claw Hammer turn that neat trick by covering the entirety of Devo’s landmark Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, playing it pretty straight. Jon Wahl’s oddball strangled wail is the primary distinguishing factor, but otherwise, it’s Devo’s record. Just listen to Devo! And yet…there’s a strange attraction. It’s pretty bizarre alchemy.

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.

The Toasters, “East Side Beat”

Your first instinct might be to think that Rob “Bucket” Hingley’s accent here is a terrible put-on. But no, Rob was born in England, so he earned this. At any rate, this is from the first Toasters album, and it captures a band still developing their sound.

Foetus, “Mandelay”

One of the centerpieces of Flow, an album where J.G. Thirlwell ramped up the cinematic nature of his music to another level, while making sure that the perversion of that sound was also present. The noise, the disturbing sounds, the strange interludes - it all combines to a disorienting song that really takes you on a journey. To somewhere. This is one of his very best albums.