Vince Staples

Downtown Boys, “Wave of History”

It’s official Five Songs policy to say that more bands should have horns. Everybody, no exceptions! So, yes, of course we love this stuff. Punk rock, but with a couple saxophones thrown in? Hell yeah! This is how the album opens, which is a great way to get our attention, that’s for sure.

They Might Be Giants, “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”

I sometimes think about what song I’ve listened to the most in my life. I suspect strongly that it’s either a song from Flood or maybe a song from It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect strongly that they’re the albums I’ve listened to the most. Given that this song had a single released for it, has showed up on various live albums and things, and that my kids like it, this is as good a bet as any song I can think of off the top of my head.

Chuck D, “Generation Wrekkked”

In 1996, Chuck D released his first solo record, Autobiography of Mistachuck, which differs from a Public Enemy record primarily in that Flavor Flav wasn’t involved at all. Because Chuck D was always part of the Bomb Squad, and therefore was involved in putting together the beats, and of course his stentorian voice was always the driving force behind PE, the record really just kind of fits in with the other mid-90’s PE records. Probably better than He Got Game, maybe not quite as good as Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age.

Today’s list.

Pavement, “Krell Vid-User”

I’ve complained about the total lack of quality control on Pavements non-album material. For every “Texas Never Whispers” or “Unseen Power of the Picket Fence”, there were a dozen songs like this one lurking in the wings. But hey, at least we’ve got basically every studio dropping ever put on tape by the band lovingly preserved in deluxe editions! That way you can listen to that junk once and never again!

Good stuff today.

Foo Fighters, “New Way Home”

Every now and again, we get a huge band around here, and I’m never really sure what to say about them. I mean, sure some random-ass Canadian punk band, I can give a little capsule biography, talk about their discography. The Foo Fighters, though? Everybody knows them. Or, probably everybody reading this. So, I guess I’ll just say that I only have this album, The Color and the Shape, which I like just fine. But I never got around to picking up other albums.

Today’s music.

Mr. T Experience, “A Weekend In Hogboro”

There’s something sort of Young Fresh Fellows-y about this track, particularly the drumming. Anyway, a nice little instrumental here, proving that the Mr. T Experience’s appeal isn’t all about the often goofy lyrics.

Vince Staples, “Yeah Right”

Big Fish Theory showed up on a lot of year-end lists, and for great reason. In a year without a Kendrick Lamar record, it would have been a real contender for the best rap album of the year. And, would you look at that, this track is actually a collaboration between the two. It is, of course, magnificent. One of the things to love about this album is how Staples worked with a bunch of electronic artists on the production end, adding some really interesting noises to the beats.