Wu-Tang Clan

Good set today.

Hepcat, “You And I”

Hepcat could really straddle the line between ska, rocksteady, and even something like soul. This song is just a low-key delight.

Wu-Tang Clan, “Shame On A Nigga”

I love it when rappers deliberately use a bogus word and correct themselves in their rhymes, like Method Man does in his verse. This song, of course, comes from Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), one of the revolutionary records of rap, and one of my very favorites. I listened to this song a second time when I put together the play list. And then YouTube pulled up “Da Mystery Of Chessboxin’”, so I listened to that too.

Today is not the most coherent set.

Wu-Tang Clan, “The M.G.M.”

A repeat! Six songs today, people!

Gorguts, “Nostalgia”

This comes from Obscura, a landmark album in death metal where Gorguts explored how dissonant and downright strange they could make a metal album. This kind of unhinged musical exploration is where I’ve always found my favorites in death metal, and this kind of spastic noise really has as much in common with the avant garde as it does with traditional metal. This kind of thing can take a bit to absorb, as it’s disorienting to listen to at first, but I find it all really interesting.

Some all-time great bands in this go around!

Parliament, “(You’re a Fish And I’m A) Water Sign”

About time funk legends and intergalactic weirdos Parliament showed up around here. I’m never really sure if it makes sense to do a little potted biography of famous acts here or not. Parliament is one of the names that George Clinton and his ensemble recorded under, Funkadelic being the other primary one. The two names grew out of a legal dispute over the name Parliament, and even after it was settled, Clinton and company continued releasing records under both names. Despite the name, Funkadelic actually concentrated more on psychedelic rock, and Parliament was the outfit that mostly played funk, although there was plenty of crossover in both directions. Mostly, what they were, was restlessly creative, always trying new things.

Just narrowly missed “Buffalo Soldier”, as played on a xylophone today. Dodged that bullet! Here’s what we do have today.

Taylor Swift, “Style”

I try to not be totally ignorant of current pop music, but let’s be honest: I usually am pretty ignorant. Every now and again, though, I’ll just pick up an album that’s been getting really good reviews, and I’ll often enjoy it as a break from the usual grim frowny stuff we typically have around here. All of which is a long way of saying that, yeah, this album is pretty good.