Yo La Tengo

The Mr. T Experience, “I’m Like Yeah, but She’s All No”

Seems like we’ve had a lot of East Bay stuff recently. Or am I just imaginging things? Anyway, it’s welcome. I might have that impression because I was listening to Operation Ivy in the car earlier today, I guess. I’m highly suggestible.

R.E.M., “Half a World Away”

Folks, do you really want to hear my thoughts on the archetypical “college rock” band? You do not. They are vapid. My thoughts, not R.E.M.

Tiny Moving Parts, “Warm Hand Splash”

This is good! I bought this on Bandcamp, and I don’t remember listening to it. I still can’t decide if that’s sad of me or not. It probably is.

Yo La Tengo, “Barnaby, Hardly Working”

The first Yo La Tengo song I ever heard! I read about them and eventually picked up a combo CD of President Yo La Tengo/New Wave Hot Dogs, and from the moment I heard Ira Kaplan’s calm, peaceful vocals married to that little repetitive figure of guitar squall, I was hooked. That push-and-pull, between noise and peace, is at the heart of Yo La Tengo, and it’s kind of all here in capsule form.

Squarepusher, “Iambic 5 Poetry”

Budakhan Mindphone is an EP that was released just a few months after Music Is Rotted One Note, where Tom Jenkinson broke free of the gravity of drum’n’bass and moved into really doing his own thing. The lever that broke him free was fusion, but this EP is really more of an experimental thing than pure fusion. It’s a worthwhile companion to the album, well worth looking up if you like this period of his music.

It’s July 4th! Doesn’t feel right to celebrate anything, though.

Fugees, “Ready or Not”

This album was really huge, driven by a rapturous critical reception (and, of course, some seriously bangin’ singles). It represents a little bit of a path not taken for hip-hop at large, though, as the Bad Boy Records era was really taking over around this time, which didn’t leave a lot of commercial space for other approaches. That it didn’t generate a lot of followers is no comment on the quality, of course, as it remains a classic.

Television, “See No Evil”

There have been bands as cool as Television was when they released Marquee Moon, but I’m not sure there have been any cooler.

SWANS, “In My Garden”

On Children of God, Jarboe’s contributions to the band were placed much more at the center of things. The transition from the sound of nihilist, crushing despair over to spooky, creepy despair was thus complete. This era of the band is probably my least favorite, but that’s mainly just due to how much I like some of their other periods. As always, SWANS are never less than interesting and frequently much more than that.

Skavoovie & the Epitones, “Blood Red Sky”

We had the Skatalites yesterday, and now we hear another take on the genre thirty years later. And you know what? This stuff whips also, horns rule.

Olivelawn, “Hate”

San Diego’s Olivelawn released a couple albums in the early 90s, with this one sounding like a Seattle record mostly because it was recorded in Seattle in 1992 by Jack Endino. Very, very grunge. Anyway, it’s pretty good stuff if you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path with those 1992 vibes. Half of this band would go on to form Fluf, who banged out four excellent records in the 90s also.

Another month in the books! Still hanging in there on the daily grind, but it’s definitely been a little more wobbly.

Leprous, “Alleviate”

Like clockwork, Leprous puts out a record every other year, and with each passing album, they just get more and more theatrical. Is this even metal any more? I don’t think so! This is some serious theatre kid rock at this point. Doesn’t stop me from buying each of these records, mind you.

Freddie Gibbs, “Careless”

Freddie Gibbs came off the triumphant Piñata, an album-length collaboration with Madlib, riding high. For his follow-up, Shadow of a Doubt, he worked with a variety of producers, and while the production is solid, it’s really all about Gibbs and his rhymes. I’m not the first to say it, but Gibbs comes across kind of like 2Pac, only with much more variation in his flow. I think this album really kind of demonstrate it, as there is so much focus on his delivery. While I think his work with Madlib is his best work, this is a very good record.

The Decemberists, “Billy Liar”

I think I still like Her Majesty, the Decemberists the best of their records. At least some of that is the halo effect of it being the first album of theirs that I picked up. I had skipped Castaways and Cutouts when it came out, but I was wandering in Sonic Boom records in Fremont (RIP) and was sufficiently charmed by the cover art to give this one a whirl. And from the moment I first heard that ship creaking, I was hooked. I think that probably Picaresque or The Crane Wife might be better, but whatever! This is my favorite!

Bell Witch, “Suffocation, A Burial: I - Awoken (Breathing Teeth)”

First things first, that is a MAGNIFICENT name for a metal song. A roman numeral, a parenthetical, just all kinds of extra junk. Spectacular.

At any rate, the other day I referred to Pallbearer as the standard bearers for doom metal, but I think that’s maybe not quite right. They’re probably the most popular, but Seattle’s duo of Bell Witch is probably more critically acclaimed. A lot of that praise comes more from their 2017 release (Mirror Reaper), but this from 2015’s Four Phantoms gives a good idea of what the band is about. The microgenre they play in is called funeral doom, and you can see why.