Sicko, "An Indie Rock Daydream"
We all have those bands that are special to us. We discovered them on our own, at the exact right time in our lives, and that connection carries them with us always. Sicko is one of those special bands for me. I hit them at the perfect time, I never get tired of listening to them, and I probably never will.
Andrew Bird, "Capsized"
Are You Serious, Andrew Bird's 2016 album, found him introducing some new sounds to his palette to go along with a new home, Los Angeles. This song could almost be described as slinky, with the sort of soul sounds that are rarely heard earlier in his discography. Some of that comes from some new collaborators as side players, and I'm sure some of it is just conscious decision to change up his sound. It's not a full reinvention or anything, but it's different from the preceeding albums, which were gradually getting more and more stripped down and folky.
Centuries, "Wooden Hands"
Gentle guitar intro notwithstanding, this is pretty pure hardcore, with maybe some crust mixed in. I've never really gotten tired of hardcore, it's sort of comfort food for me, so this is just nice to listen to. They would be annoyed with me describing this as nice, probably.
Throbbing Gristle, "Still Walking"
It's not entirely clear to me how they made their music sound sly, but they did. There's a certain playfulness to a lot of sounds here that makes it clear that Throbbling Gristle is kind of putting you on. You can see how this would be so inspiring to later industrial bands, though.
R.L. Burnside, "Snake Drive"
Jon Spencer paired up his band with bluesman R.L. Burnside to make A Ass Pocket of Whisky, taking the rollicking JSBX approach to blues and proving it could work in a slightly less irreverent form. Highly recommended if you enjoy JSBX.