I was at Shut Up & Sit Down Expo over the weekend, and it was fun, although I think that that was mostly because it was a getaway weekend for Megan and I. But, it was a good pretext to get out of town! Also, somebody asked me for my autograph. Super cool!
Ministry, "I Prefer"
We've now gone back in Ministry's catalog far enough to reach their first good album. The flaccid synth-pop of With Sympathy and stilted semi-aggro synths of Twitch had finally metastasized into the aggressive Land of Rape and Honey. This, arguably, is the most industrial of their albums, with less of the metallic riffing of their later stuff but all of the mechanical pounding you might want. I haven't listend to this in ages, I should give it a spin.
Mary Wells, "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right"
I mean, sure, let's follow that up with some Motown! That won't be jarring at all! Yo shuffle! These two SONGS don't make a right! Am I right? UP TOP, PLEX! (holds up hand forever)
Calexico, "Trigger"
Yay, been a while since we've had Calexico in here. This song comes from The Black Light, the first great Calexico album, and their best work until Feast of Wire. This is just such a rich album, and it's a pleasure to listen to. If you like this song, you really need to check out the album.
M. Ward, "Epistemology"
Not a bad pairing and/or contrast with Calexico, M. Ward is another folk-rock artist, this time from Portland. And he's one of these guys where I usually enjoy him while he's playing and immediately cannot recall a single detail of any of his songs after they end. Just slides right past me. I know I've listened to this album multiple times, and I have no recollection of this song. It's pretty good!
Baroness, "Mtns. (The Crown & Anchor)"
On Yellow & Green, the double-album follow-up to, um, Red and Blue, Baroness stretched out their formula. A lot of the songs on these albums aren't really metal at all, this one for instance. This sounds really more like prog or psychedelia than anything else. It's an interesting change of pace for a band that seemed like it might be just Mastodon Jr.