They Might Be Giants

Here’s today’s music.

Bola Johnson & His Easy Life Top Beats, “Ezuku Buzo”

This song comes to us courtesy of the compilation Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump, an exploration into the funk and afrobeat coming out of Nigeria. I don’t really know that much about the scene, but this compilation is excellent.

Mule, “Mississippi Breaks”

Midwestern band Mule were veterans of several previous bands, and came together to play something that sounds something like Midwest punk combined with Southern rock. I like most of the music on this album, but never really got along that well with the vocals, so I never really listened to it all that much. Oh, and looking at this record, the second song is called “What Every White Nigger Knows”, so, yeah. Didn’t remember that.

Back and forth between cerebral stuff and straightforward things. It’s the Five Songs way!

The Jam, “Boy About Town”

From Sound Affects, this is just a great song. I could listen to this stuff all day long.

Negativland, “I Believe It’s L”

Negativland’s 1997 album Dispepsi was all about advertising, with a focus on the “cola wars” between Coke and Pepsi. Constructed out of bits of found sound and with a fair number of things that might actually pass for songs, it’s one of the most accessible Negativland albums, along with Escape From Noise and Free. It’s still not normal, mind you, but I’m grading on a curve here. I doubt that this record would resonate with anybody who didn’t grow up surrounded by these ads.

Where else can you get a TMBG kids’ song and a wordless Negativland piece?

De La Soul, “De La Orgee”

So, uh, 14-year-old Josh was PRETTY BIG into this song. I actually greatly preferred the second half of 3 Feet High and Rising, and would usually play it over and over again. Not just because this was on it, of course, but the second half also started with my favorite song from them (“Say No Go”), had “Plug Tunin’” and “My Myself and I”, and, um, “Buddy”. I’m just saying, I was 14.

METAL WOOOOO \m/ \m/ \m

Deathspell Omega, “Sola Fide I”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deathspell Omega turn out to be Nazi shitheads, and you should not in any way patronize them. I’m leaving the original text here, but fuck these guys.

One of the attractions of extreme metal is the virtuosity that bands can display. A talented band like Deathspell Omega can really make you wonder exactly how they can manage to create that kind of racket. But it’s not just the spectacle with this band. Deathspell Omega is incredibly adept at evoking a mood, and they create songs that go to very interesting places. This track, from Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice (“if you seek his monument, look around”, from an inscription on the grave of Sir Christopher Wren inside St. Paul’s Cathedral), is a good example of the drama that they can create within a song.

Just to clarify the stance of us here at Five Songs Amalgamated: if it’s a single track, it counts as a song for the purposes of providing you with five of them. You’ll see why that’s relevant today.

Beck, “Round the Bend”

I’m not really sure I’m on board with sad Beck. I mean, Sea Change is clearly a good album, but I don’t really enjoy listening to it very much. Give me prankster Beck any day of the week.

I already know the first record I’m going to buy tomorrow: new Pyrrhon album! WOOOOO! Pyrrhon makes totally insane atonal noise, which I adore. Super fired up about it! Here’s today’s noise!

Ghostface Killah, “Theodore”

This track is from Bulletproof Wallets, which stands out among Ghostface’s discography as a bit of a misstep. It mostly feels pretty flat, and while his next album would be quite a bit better, this is one that you can pretty easily skip.

Was camping this weekend with no network access, so I deprived everybody of music. Sorry! It’s a shame there’s no other way to listen to music! Anyway, here’s your relief.

Outkast, “Take Off Your Cool”

Outkast, at the top of their game, was breathtaking. Up through Stankonia, they were just incredible. At then, 2003 saw them release Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, two solo records just packaged as one release under Outkast. And for the first time, they were really showing some cracks. Big Boi’s Speakerboxxx was outstanding, while Andre 3000’s The Love Below was uneven at best. He delivered the standout hit (“Hey Ya!”), but most of his album is frankly a mess, wandering around too much for me to truly love it. This song, a collaboration with Norah Jones, is a good example - it doesn’t really go anywhere.

I had kind of forgotten about this Marnie Stern record, and I’m so grateful that shuffle pulled it up. Check out this song, and then go listen to the rest of the album.

Iron Maiden, “Another Life”

This song is from Killers, which pre-dates Bruce Dickinson joining the band. Overall, the band had a more raw sound during this time period, although the dual guitar attack and galloping bass is still present. I actually really like the album a lot, while recognizing that the band is a bit different of a beast without Dickinson around.

It’s D-Day! Let’s listen to music!

Samiam, “You Looking At Me”

Bay Area pop-punk that was part of that lively scene, best known for producing Green Day. At their best, during the Billy/Clumsy/You Are Freaking Me Out peak, they wrote great anthem-like songs that were just flat out fun to listen to. This is a song from their first album, before they were really fully polished, but you can hear their later potential.

I recognize that saying you listen to everything is kind of a lame move. It’s a refusal to put a stake in the ground and express your preferences, and mostly seems to be used by people who aren’t really that into music. What this project really brings home, though, is I really am kind of into everything. I feel good about that. Today’s tunes!

Kool and the Gang, “Jungle Boogie”

If you’re my age, there’s a good chance the first thing you think of when somebody says “Kool and the Gang” is “Celebration”. And that’s a damn shame, because for years, Kool and the Gang were an amazing funk band. Records like Live at PJ’s, Spirit of the Boogie, and this one, Wild and Peaceful, were just filled with incredible tunes. This song is actually the one that really brought Kool and the Gang to my attention, as it was used in Pulp Fiction, and I had to figure out what it is. It took some time before I could find some of their albums, but it was worth the wait.