Therapy?, "He's Not That Kind Of Girl"
Therapy? were kind of an industrial metal band, kind of an alt-metal band, kinda punk at times, I guess, sorta grungy...I guess they were just kind of heavy, you know? They were often pretty sardonic, which again sort of aligns them towards industrial metal, like the Revolting Cocks or Ministry. I guess there's some Butthole Surfers here too.
Well, whatever - this is from a singles collection released in 2000, pulling together the usual grab bag of stuff. It's not bad, but also pretty unnecessary.
Pinegrove, "Portal (acoustic)"
Pinegrove's third album, Skylight, was kind of snuck out almost under cover of darkness after the lead singer confronted accusations of "sexual coercion". While he did seem to work to make amends, the band ended up self-releasing the record with essentially no promotion, and donated the profits from the album. Eventually, they released an acoustic version of the record, Skylight II, containing acoustic renditions of the songs. While I prefer the full arrangements, the acoustic versions (this is one of them) are also pretty nice.
Negativland, "Scolding Box"
Negativland, from the beginning, were more art project than they were a band. Most of their stuff is audio collage, and is intended as atmosphere, or to make you think, but they aren't very many songs in any real sense. They got more musical as their career went on, but this track from their second album (Points) gives you an idea of what their early stuff is like.
Brand Nubian, "Slow Down"
Associates of the Native Tongues movement (whose most famous members were De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest), Brand Nubian's debut record, One For All, is one of the stronger albums associated with those groups. They displayed impeccable technique, and the resulting record is still appealing all these years later.
Kool and the Gang, "Funky Stuff"
Goddamn, that tight horn ensemble, fuckin' a, man.