Another year-end roundup, this time from Heavy Blog. I love this time of year. And here's today's music.
Outkast, "Infatuation (Interlude)"
A skit from Idlewild, a shaggy album that has some highlights, but is a mess and is the worst of Outkast's career.
Public Enemy, "Son Of A Bush"
Somehow, anti-George W. Bush songs sound quaint these days. And he was a deeply terrible president! This is a track from Revolverlution, another later album from a Hall of Fame rap group that is also a mess.
The Pilfers, "Legal Shot Pam Pam"
Side project of a bunch of veterans of the third wave scene, including members of the Toasters and Bim Skala Bim, the Pilfers were pretty forgettable, as so many side projects are and were.
Boy, today is really looking like a barn burner, eh?
The Toasters, "Johnny Forsake Her"
As if summoned by their name! I don't have a lot to add what I said last time about the Toasters, which is that they were a solid but often uninspiring third wave act.
Otis Redding, "Don't Leave Me This Way"
Oh thank you, Otis! The leading light of Stax in the Atlantic years, Otis Redding was both a tremendous performer as well as the man who wrote a lot of the hits for other acts, along with being a producer and talent scout. An immensely talented musician in every way, Otis was taken from us all far too early, at only 26, in a plane crash. You occasionally see people asking the question of which musician who died young you most miss, and the correct answer is Otis Redding.
On a personal note, he was a favorite of my father, and every time I listen to Otis, I'm taken back to the day I was helping my dad renovate a house, and we took a break while "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" came on the radio. As I said yesterday, music is the easiest way for me to transport myself in that kind of Proustian way, and it's such a special thing to me. I miss my dad very much, but things like Otis help bring part of him back.
I think a lot about what songs will bring me to my kids' minds.