Mr. T Experience, "A Weekend In Hogboro"
There's something sort of Young Fresh Fellows-y about this track, particularly the drumming. Anyway, a nice little instrumental here, proving that the Mr. T Experience's appeal isn't all about the often goofy lyrics.
Vince Staples, "Yeah Right"
Big Fish Theory showed up on a lot of year-end lists, and for great reason. In a year without a Kendrick Lamar record, it would have been a real contender for the best rap album of the year. And, would you look at that, this track is actually a collaboration between the two. It is, of course, magnificent. One of the things to love about this album is how Staples worked with a bunch of electronic artists on the production end, adding some really interesting noises to the beats.
Guided By Voices, "Sot"
Always ramshackle, early Guided by Voices songs especially sounded like fifth generation cassette copies. It's a shame they were so often in their own way.
De La Soul, "Pain (Radio Edit)"
And back to the rap, featuring De La Soul in their elder statesman roles, and a sleepwalking Snoop. We've actually had this song before, sort of - it was not the radio edit last time. Different song? I'm calling it a repeat, so it's Six Songs today.
(NB: I don't think the linked song is actually the radio edit. It doesn't matter.)
Baklavaa, "Gold Candier II"
Picked up after somebody said "noise rock" about them, this is indeed as advertised. I know basically nothing about this band, mind you. They seem to be from Baltimore? But they're good with me, I love this kind of thing.
System Of A Down, "Prison Song"
System of a Down were pretty big shit back in the day. When this album came out, in 2001, I was still pretty big into ska, and hadn't really been paying much attention to alt-metal, nü-metal, or whatever else you wanted to call it. This album got some positive press attention, and I gave it a whirl. And it didn't do that much for me. What gets me going in heavy music of all varieties is noise and chaos, not precision, so this entire genre wasn't ever really going to click with me.