The Gabriel Construct, "Arrival In A Distant Land"
At what point does a prog rock album cross the border from rock into something else? How far can you stretch rock before it breaks? These aren't questions being asked directly by Gabriel Riccio, who is the force behind this album, but those questions are certainly present. This is a concept album about...something, I dunno. It's all very high concept. Let's put it this way: this is the opening track to the album. This is how it kicks off. So clearly, he's not going for accessible here.
Michael Jackson, "Baby Be Mine"
Thriller was the first album that I ever owned, having recieved it for Christmas the year it came out. And I have strong memories of listening to it a lot, but there are some songs on it that I had totally forgotten existed until going back and listening to the album recently. Like this one. And this is a good tune!
Ice Cube, "The Drive-By"
Oh skits. I had missed you. Wait, no, that's not right.
Yo La Tengo, "Cherry Chapstick"
Yeah! Guitar freakout! Gimme that noise, Ira! At only 6 minutes, this isn't one of the truly extended Yo La Tengo wanks, but nevertheless, I appreciate it. Without the songs like these mixed in, this band just wouldn't be the same.
Radiohead, "Skttrbrain (Four Tet Remix)"
For reasons I'm not sure I understand, I got the Hail To The Thief Collector's Edition. For the price of this sin, I'm now cursed with an entire extra disc of miscellaneous stuff I never listen to. This is one of them.
(NB: this video was blocked on YouTube, so we're doing a sixth song today.)
The Mae Shi, "Party Politics"
I'm not sure I've ever typed "The Mae Shi" without first rendering it as "The Mae Shit". Even typing that sentence, telling myself to not do it, I still did it.
Anyway, the spastic noise pop here is working for me. A nice little palette cleanser. And I love the close of this song.