J-Zone, "Zone For President"
More old shit from J-Zone! I mentioned his persona last time, but here you can really hear the cheapass side of things. Also, dig that circus beat! And the shots at internet losers. All good stuff!
Pond, "Forget"
Pond's third and final record, Rock Collection, came out on a major label, which probably did it no favors. While Sub Pop would know what to do with a band like this, when Pond didn't hit it big quickly with this record, Sony basically just forgot that it existed. It's a shame, because it's a an excellent album full of rock gems like this, all of them at least a little off-kilter. There's also some really touching songs on here as well. Overall, a lost gem.
Radiohead, "Sail To The Moon"
I didn't love Amnesiac, which never really sat right with me, coming across as it did as just leftovers from Kid A (which, it kind of was). Thus, it was nice to hear them come back to form with Hail To The Thief and not just keep slouching into experiment after experiment forever.
Fugazi, "Facet Squared"
The opener of my favorite album by my favorite band, this is one of my most listened to songs across my collection. I bought this, put it in my Discman, fired it up, and knew instantly that Fugazi had blown away their previous record. From the slow build up to the fury, this song promises that Fugazi were going full slash-and-burn on the album. And, sure enough, they did - the album manages to deliver on the promise of this song and then some.
So many favorite moments from this song. Brendan Canty's first whipcrack of a snare. The tremelo picking two minutes in. Joe Lally coming in at :24. Goddamn, I love this song.
Sloan, "I Can Feel It"
Yeah, Sloan were good, whatever.
OK, I went back and listened to "Facet Squared" again. Sorry.
I'm back now. This really is a good album, and I'm going to call out the hand claps here. Love me some good hand claps!