album shorts

The Clash - London Calling (1979)

Alarmingly loose, fun and effortless, while sweeping through various genres...the sound of a "punk" band maturing without sounding stale or letting go of their roots. Undeniably great songwriting all around, remarkably consistent for a double album. A classic that makes making classics look easy.

Hüsker Dü - Zen Arcade (1984)

A sprawling slab of experimental punk&roll dispersed through various methods - whether it be pop song mastery, anxiety-ridden anthems, sloppy pre-grunge thrash attacks, mantras or interludes; it all adds up to a major work that is also their most determined, strung out, and idealistic. Not bad for an album full of first takes.

Guided by Voices - Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996)

Though its aim is more complacent and polished than usual, you still get the charming collection of 20+ seemingly half-thought out songs you'd expect from GbV. It is a much longer listen than their previous two albums, with less obvious hits and quirky misses to perk your interest - but like its predecessors, grows on you with repeated listens.

Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)

Yo La Tengo takes their previous experimenting with drony, ambient-ish mood music and emphasizes it into a very long, full work here, alternating between creepy and cutesy most of the way. The catchy and upbeat moments are sparing, just enough to make the album not too lopsided. A nice change-up in their discography that puts a big focus on atmospherics rather than a guitar-oriented sound.

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels (2013)

From start to finish, at nearly a non-stop pace, this album is like being in the gnarliest, angriest nightclub ever. It gets in your face and simply stays there. Short and to the point, and all 10 tracks are great - I wouldn't hesitate to call any one of them my favorite. It's also deceivingly complex, the aural beatdown it delivers can distract you from noticing at first.

now songs

The Fall "Rebellious Jukebox"

from Live at the Witch Trials

Probably one of the most straightforward Fall songs I've heard. Even the production is oddly polished. Catchy, a classic & silly chorus, simply enjoyable. Of course, it has its own unique touches: kiddie keyboard, laughably whiny guitar hook chorus, odd sounding drums, it's a song about a rebellious jukebox, Mark E. Smith, etc.

Link

Talking Heads "Animals"

from Fear of Music

Wonderfully strange, funny and hard-hitting. Sinister verses, playful choruses, satirical human vs. animal-way-of-life lyrics with temper tantrum vocals that fit perfectly. I love the change up-part at 2:11 and the build up that follows, so awesome and well-done. Obviously, given the musicians involved with this album, all around excellent instrumentation and production.

Link

Ferron "It Won't Take Long"

from Shadows on a Dime

Gotta thank my boi Christgau for this one. Nothin' like some good ol' fashioned folky female defiance with lengthy poetic verses aplenty. Killer violin and percussion. Epic heavy-handedness balanced with bouncy punk-esque fun, complete with a singalong chorus.

Link

Public Enemy "She Watch Channel Zero?!"

from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

An attack on television/soap opera worshippers backed by a Slayer sample and a great chorus ("Shewatchshewatchshewatch…"), doesn't get much cooler than that. It also features some of Flavor Flav's best ad libs: "I'm gonna take all your soaps, and then I'm gonna hang 'em on the ropes!" "Look - don't nobody look like that! Nobody even look like that!" "Yo, why don't you back up from the TV - read a book or somethin'!"

Link

Yo La Tengo "The Story of Yo La Tango"

from I am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

Just in case you needed another 10+ minute track by Yo La Tengo. This one's an album ender of epic proportions. The lyrics could or could not be a vague autobiography of the band, but musically this represents them quite well. Classic drawn out structure that starts slow & sparse and leads to thick layers of everything you may expect and desire when listening to YLT - keyboards, squealing guitars, big chords, low-key vocals, etc.

Link

now songs

Helmet "Bad Mood"

from Strap it On

A misprint that is on many copies of this album (including mine) titles this song as "Bad Moon" which I find pretty funny for some reason. "Bad Mood" is a much more sensical name for a Helmet song I think. This one's a classic and definitely sets itself apart from the rest of the tracks. It's fast, heavy, angry, short and to the point; the relentlessly chugging stop n go riff is instantly memorable. The "solo" is great and ups the energy for the end. I love the almost-mechanical feel to it - just helps imbed the image of these dudes as just a well-oiled alt/metal machine, circa 1990, just grinding away.

Link

Wilco "That's Not the Issue"

from A.M.

I'd say this is a moment during the album that might polarize listeners a bit. Whereas during the first 6 tracks there is a noticeable country influence being softened by polite alternative rock, here they let banjo-strumming madness do most of the talking. Is it safe to assume Conor Oberst was probably listening to this stuff? This to me is the ultimate driving-through-rural-Vermont song.

Link

Alice in Chains "Whale & Wasp"

from Jar of Flies

Awesome instrumental track using just guitars and violin I believe. I love the guitar tone, the 'howl' is especially haunting, just an overall very creepy, sad, epic feel to it. Kinda reminds me of some of those old Black Sabbath instrumentals ("Fluff", "Orchid", "Laguna Sunrise"). Goes great with an autumn hike at sunrise.

Link

Pere Ubu "Dub Housing"

from Dub Housing

Honestly any of the tracks from Dub Housing could be in this spot, each one of them has so much resonance and unique charm. The title track is fittingly excellent though - a simple and goofy hook ("We know-ohh") carries it, typical crazed vocals that sound like they're coming through the wall, sax-gone-haywire, randomly uttered syllables, mystery noises. 1:38-2:42 is a stunning musical break that starts off like an aimless shamble only to stumble upon a twisted culmination.

Link

Kendrick Lamar "Money Trees"

from good kid, m.A.A.d city

From the candidate-for-possible-overnight-sensation repetition of "ya bish" to a spittle-soaked and stressed out Jay Rock verse, an exceptional highlight from an album where you get your choice of them.

Link

album shorts

Swell Maps - A Trip to Marineville (1979)

Artsy punk that starts to transform into punky art around track 8, and by track 12 it delves into some sort of other undeclared realm of sound. A post-punk album that collects all that is chaotic, noisy, humorous and dark; where slammed piano keys, popping balloons, blowing bubbles and vacuum cleaners are all welcome.

Earl Sweatshirt - EARL (2010)

If nothing else, this makes me remember high-schoolers CAN matter. Matter of fact, this makes me even MISS high school. It perfectly captures that feeling of weirdo-homemade-Eminem worship, with tons of original character and standout lyrics that are equal parts complex, smart, 'uber-offensive' and memorable. Given their age groups, all that 'uber-offensive' stuff is most likely just natural instinct.

Sunny Day Real Estate - LP2 (1995)

This album has this big, mysterious, whatever/nonchalant thing going for it - the songs, the song titles, the (lack of) album title, the artwork, the liner notes - especially noticeable when compared to their more focused first album, Diary. It works both good and bad - while it may not be the big gamechanger that is their first album, it's obviously not supposed to be - LP2 does a good job showing the band being looser, but not slacking.

Ancient Chinese Secret - Caveat Emptor (1999)

Sounds like the culmination of a woman who, fed up after a long day at a customer service-oriented job, comes home and makes music with a couple powerviolence legends. A little oddball project with innocent/inexperienced female vocalist charm and an instrumental limitation of bass/drums/keyboards, refreshingly unique for the genre. For those who sometimes like their thrash domestic and experimental.

Yes - The Yes Album (1971)

Proudly boasts the essence of the era like a badge of honor, and it certainly adds charm here - the long, proggy songs with multiple sections, out of nowhere transitions, production somewhere between shoddy and trippy - but above all, this is simply a very fun, enjoyable listen.

now songs

Throwing Muses "Hazing" and "That's All You Wanted"

from University

During the summer, I found a copy of University in what I thought was a very unlikely spot. It was in a decrepit cardboard box given to me by an 58-year old ex-co-worker, alongside a plethora of mostly terrible demo tapes and scratched-to-hell CDs which he had amassed while doing sound for a living. Having only recognized the band name, I decided to save it from being donated/tossed into a dumpster. What I recovered happened to be one of the best albums I had gotten in months. I don't think there really is a bad track on the disc, but I decided to highlight two songs that showcase their different talents and sounds. 

"Hazing" is scorned and brooding all around with simple yet effective bass-heavy stop-n-go riffs aplenty. It is a track I would consider the epitome of female-led 90's alternative rock power trio greatness. Much like the rest of the album, this song is just super tight-sounding. 

"That's All You Wanted" is a softer, catchier side to this band you don't see as often on this album. A minor complaint is that it's a little repetitive. Now that that's out of the way -- how can one resist those vocals?!? and just a great little song. This song not only truly shows the range of Hersh's singing, but the band as a whole. The cello here helps give it a touch of sadness.

Link

Link

The Rolling Stones "Hey Negrita"

from Black and Blue

Like many of the songs from Black and Blue, this one can stand on its guitar riff alone. This particular one could easily go on forever (it kinda does) and I wouldn't mind much. This one happens to throw in some great coked out Jagger singing/jibberish/hollering/purring that is more unintelligible as it goes on, well-placed sloppy barroom piano, and one hell of a fun jam out to end it.

Link

Yo La Tengo "Let's Be Still"

from Summer Sun

The guitar and vocals are few and far between, in the meantime it stuffs your ears with layers of horns and flutes, live drumming, a 4-note piano melody and spacey keyboards stuck on repeat, and other unidentifiable sounds going in every direction. It's busy with no bombast and no build-up, with a kind of classy subtlety this band can achieve far too easily. Sure, it basically becomes noodling after a while, but it's some damn pleasant noodling. I listened to this a lot while taking lunch breaks in a park during the beginning of autumn -- it did well.

Link

Alice in Chains "Down in a Hole"

from Dirt

I try to exclude singles -- especially ones you can still often hear on the radio -- from these lists. Why highlight songs that have already been chosen for the public ear to be proverbial examples when I can dig up and showcase the oft-more intriguing underdogs? However, singles are picked out of the lineup for a reason, and exceptions are inevitable. Dirt boasts quite a few tracks that fall under this category, but for me the standout is the most single-y single of them all: "Down in a Hole". 

It is the ballad of this album, maybe of their career, and certainly one of their most genuine and powerful songs. It sounds absolutely great, and Layne Staley's vocals of course, are especially effective. Especially given the history of his heroin addiction, and what would come of him, this song is downright goosebump inducing. It carries a weight and tone that his/their troubles are a bit more serious than feeling a little down and out, having some trouble with the gf/at the job pettiness. If nothing else though, the guitar slide at 2:15 rules.

Link

now songs

The Magnetic Fields "All The Umbrellas in London"
from Get Lost

Just awesome. A perfect second-to-last track for this album, possibly my favorite from this album as well. Catchy, depressing, pathetic, what more could one want from this band? Cool intro/matching outro, great instrumentation, and all sortsa wonderfully sad lyrics that are equally melodramatic and memorable.

Link



R.E.M. "Green Grow the Rushes"
from Fables of the Reconstruction

I got this LP some time ago and as of right now have only given it a couple listens. It's noticeably more subtle than Murmur and Reckoning and although I like it, it hasn't really caught my fully grasped attention yet. This gem is as low-key as the rest of it, however, it stuck out right away - it almost feels haphazardly thrown onto Side B of the album. Its guitar-hook chorus is not only immediately likable, but irresistible. The rest ain't bad either.

Link



OutKast "Da Art of Storytellin' (Part 1)"
from Aquemini

This is probably one of the more basic songs (half-song?) from an epic album chock-full of complexity, but that beat, man. That beat. And those raps, too. Hits ya immediately. R.I.P. Sasha Thumper.

Link


The Jesus Lizard "Monkey Trick"
from Goat

Scary, pummeling and awesome all the way through. Vocals that vary from ramblings that are buried in the mix to abrupt, bloodcurdling screams. The bass line, the scathing guitar, the production.

Link


Bjork "Unison"
from Vespertine

Bjork knows how to end an album on a memorable and fitting note  - "The Anchor Song", "Headphones", "All is Full of Love" - the final song from Vespertine continues that tradition. Bjork stubbornly succumbing to the idea of choosing marriage over an independent loner lifestyle comes off as incredibly endearing, especially with verses like this: "I thrive best hermit-style/With a beard and a pipe/And a parrot on each side/But now I can't do this without you". I love how it starts at a quiet, tiptoe pace and enjoys a long, excellent buildup. Excellent vocals all around. It's cute without being cheesy and slowly becomes more and more epic.

Link