US Maple

U.S. Maple, “Rice Ain’t Afraid of Nothing”

U.S. Maple more or less perfected devolved rock, where the songs are recognizable as being rock songs, but the form of them is perverted to the straining point. Any more mutated, and it probably ceases to be something you could credibly describe as being in the same genre as, I dunno, the Dave Matthews Band (to choose a band that was popular when U.S. Maple made this record). We need these sort of tricksters, as they set the boundaries of what is acceptable by pushing them further out.

Pardoner, “My Sorry Ass”

We’re unabashed Pardoner fans here at Five Songs, who do a great job of bringing that 90s indie rock aesthetic into our ears. Go listen to them! They’re really good!

John Oswald, “Btls (Marco Integer)”

I think that’s the chord from “A Day in the Life” getting deconstructed. Fun!

The Exceptions, “Circles”

I generally like it when ska is mixed like this, with kind of an intimate mix putting the vocals forward and sounding like it’s in a small room. It’s nice!

Run-D.M.C., “Raising Hell”

I’m sure I’ve told the story before, but Raising Hell was the first album I remember buying for myself. I heard “Peter Piper” on the radio while we were driving to Pullman, WA, and I was entranced. I didn’t know exactly what that was, but I memorized the name of the act, and later found the cassette tape and bought it for myself. There was a certain excitement in buying a record with a bad word in the title, as well as just the unknown of not really knowing what to expect from it. I loved it, of course, and I still listen to this album to this day. While I didn’t become a music hound right away, this was my first step down that path, and will always hold a special place for me.

U.S. Maple, “Rice Ain’t Afraid Of Nothing”

A thing about U.S. Maple is that they frequently sounded like they were playing three different songs at the same time. It legitimately sounds like they got their wires crossed while playing, but then it kind of comes into focus and you realize it was all deliberate. It’s very difficult to sound this chaotic on purpose.

Metallica, “Confusion”

Metallica’s throwback to their heyday began with 2008’s Death Magnetic, but 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct is the record that really brought things back. There’s no way for Metallica to really capture the fury of Master of Puppets at this point in their career, but they can certainly try and write songs in that vein. It’s certainly a decent album, but it kind of lacks a spark. There’s monster riffage all over the album, but it just doesn’t sink its hooks in.

Today!

Creeper Lagoon, “Naked Days”

At first, I thought this was one of those random tracks that got sucked up into my music collection by an overly aggressive upload process in my past. But no, I appear to have this entire album. And, uh, I have no recollection of this record. Zero. It kind of sounds like somebody was trying to write an album to try and smuggle it into the rotation of a classic rock station. Also, Creeper Lagoon? Like, a reboot of Gilligan’s Island, only the tour was just Reddit users?

I really like this set a lot.

Live Human, “Quick Eleven”

We just had DJ Logic a few days ago, and Live Human is a similar premise: a trio of a bassist, drummer, and DJ. There’s the same kind of loose, jazzy, improvisational feel to the proceedings. DJ Logic tends to be more towards the jazz end than the hip-hop end compared to Live Human, but they’re really very similar bands.

Shudder To Think, “Rag”

Goddamn, listen to that song. Shudder to Think, where have you gone? (looks) Apparently Craig Wedren did some soundtracks, cool.

There’s nothing special about today. Sorry about that, after yesterday being our first special and all. Just some tunes for you.

JD And The Evil’s Dynamite Band, “My Beach, My Waves, Fuck Off!”

Funk revivalists on Soul Fire records, you’ll encounter few artists quite as dedicated to re-creating the feel and experimentation of the original funk scene as these folks. There’s only one album from them, though, and I don’t really know much more about them than that.