The Wedding Present

NoFX, “Please Play This Song on the Radio”

I did, in fact, play this song on the radio, which is the sort of thing you can do when you’re holding down the 3 AM-7 AM slot on a Tuesday for a grand total of, like, four listeners. Safe harbor, baby! Anyway, 17yo Josh thought this was a hilarious bit, and absolutely worthy of inflicting on the poor bastards cramming for their thermodynamics final and were just hoping for something to keep themselves awake. I hope hearing the word “shithead” on the radio gave them just a little bit of a jolt.

The Wedding Present, “Let’s Make Some Plans”

The Wedding Present decided to release a single every month for 1992, cranking out originals and covers during the series. They were collected into two records, Hit Parade 1 and Hit Parade 2, and both are great. The band was at their absolute best in the early 90s, and so getting this many tunes from them at that time is great. There’s no real reason to pick between them, both are outstanding.

Hot Snakes, “Plenty For All”

Hot Snakes! Hot Snakes! Hot Snakes!

The Wedding Present, “Flying Saucer”

Compare this tune with the Cinerama song from yesterday. It’s a simpler arrangement, but fundamentally the same type of song. But this feels so much better because the focus is where it belongs, on Gedge’s voice and guitar. This comes from Hit Parade 2, which documented the second half of the Wedding Present’s 1992. They put out a single every month, collecting all the tunes on two records. While a bit uneven compared to the albums from that time (as you might expect), they still have a bunch of great material on them and are both worth your time.

Gang Starr, “Take It Personal”

DJ Premier is one of the best to ever do it, and Daily Operation captures him near the top of his form. His beats are spare but bracing, with everything having a purpose, which is to hit hard. Guru is similarly direct, without a lot of embellishment, leading to a record that sounds almost businesslike. That’s not a complaint or anything, it’s nice to hear something that takes itself seriously and has the chops to back it up.

Eminem, “Guilty Conscience”

I am amused at Dr. Dre playing someone’s guilty conscience.

Bitch Magnet, “Motor”

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff. That late 80s/early 90s production really just connects to me, because of how old I was during that time. Anyway, this is how Bitch Magnet’s first album (Umber) kicked off, and it’s a good record. Ben Hur is probably a little better, but that’s not a knock on this one.

Forest Swords, “The Weight of Gold”

Always nice to heart from Forest Swords! I’d like to hear a new album from him, actually, although I suppose the wait between the first two albums is about what we’ve waited since the second album. So maybe soon! I’ve convinced myself!

Negativland, “Either Or”

True False, the 2019 record from Negativland, is something of a return home for them, although without some dearly departed members. It’s based around the same kind of collage work that they used on their biggest albums, and the sound is in the same vein as those records. For people like me who have been listening to them for decades, it’s comforting in a way to hear it. But, of course, as befits Negativland, it’s not wholly comforting, as the material on the record is mostly downer stuff around the media’s negative effects on the well-being of society and our own minds. As always, it’s a thoughtful record, and the world would be a better place if something like Negativland was more prominent.

The Magnetic Fields, “Meaningless”

Pretty sure this is a repeat!

The National, “Afraid of Everyone”

This is also a repeat!

(That’s a lie, I just don’t want to figure out anything to say about the National. Don’t want to make people mad!)

La Gritona, “Jack Passion”

La Gritona were a noise rock band out of Boston, active in the second half of the 90s, who put out one album and some EPs before ending things. And they smoke, all heavy skronk and yelling, exactly the kind of stuff that’s up my alley. But I had no idea they existed, because by the time their album came out in 1997, I was out of college and slowly losing touch with music. Luckily, their entire catalog was compiled together into a re-release in 2010, where a postiive review brought it to my attention. And maybe this will bring them to someone else’s attention, because this stuff rules.

Lambchop, “The New Cobweb Summer”

Aw, I just want to enjoy this. I’m not going to say anything!

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “She Said”

Plastic Fang is an album that feels a little bit unfocused to me. They’re experimenting with tweaks to their formula in a few different ways on the album, and I’m not sure it all totally works out. But that said, Spencer still writes some bangers on it, and this is one of the highlights of the record. Just a roaring groove in the mold of Orange.

The Wedding Present, “Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm”

The first Wedding Present album is a perfect gem, full of the best kind of frantic jangle pop. And, of course, David Gedge’s heart breaking about every two minutes.

Emperor, “A Fine Day To Die”

Looks like this is the first time we’ve had Emperor on here, so we get to go over the history of yet another important and deeply shitty bunch of Norwegians. The lineup that produced In The Nightside Eclipse featured Ihsahn and three dudes who wound up in prison, for burglary, arson (of a historic church), and murder respectively. The album reflects a lot of that ugliness, reveling in horrible sounds and dark lyrical themes. But, for all that, it’s maybe the most influential black metal album of all time. Maybe because of all that. Many following bands cribbed their style from this record, with its chilly darkness and bleak relentlessness.

Pop Will Eat Itself, “Bulletproof!”

After the anarchic fun of Cure For Sanity, which got some popular attention particularly on dance floors, their followup (The Looks or the Lifestyle) came out the next year trying to cash in on the popularity. But while there was a surface similarity, it all felt kind of pro-forma. Lots of chanting, repetitive lyrics gestured at being anthems, but nothing really lands on the record, and it should really be ignored.