J Church, "Lines"
One of the great things that punk is able to do when it's on is produce a short song that nevertheless is complete and satisfying. This thing clocks in at 1:40 and you'd hardly notice that it's not the usual three minute pop song. Lance Hahn was able to pull this off time after time, in way that should shame so many people out there writing rock songs.
The Pogues, "London Girl"
I told the story about my youngest singing a murder shanty to herself on the toilet the other day, and you know what? I'm thinking she'd really enjoy the Pogues. That makes sense, right? I should play her the Pogues?
Less Than Jake, "Jay Frenzal"
Yeah, 1:16! Fuck yeah, punk rock!
Primus, "Hail Santa"
I think Frizzle Fry is a tremendous album: inventive, weird, strangely catchy, and one I still very much enjoy listening to today. Sailing the Seas of Cheese made it seem like Primus would be able to keep to their odd niche, continuing to mine out their off-kilter take on funk rock and producing plenty of gems. However, by the time we got to Pork Soda, the cracks had started to show. It's of course hard to really attribute why things changed, but as just a fan of the band, it seemed like they had read their press and decided to dial up the stuff emphasized in their press: the wackiness and the virtuosity. There's a lot that I like about Pork Soda, but it also edged a bit too far into prog territory at times for my taste. I basically got off board after this album, and stopped paying attention to the band. I've actually grown more tolerant of prog as I've gotten older, a common aging hazard, so it might pay to revisit the later albums.
This song is just a throwaway, though.
Eddie Holland, "I Couldn't Cry If I Wanted To"
Oh shit, y'all. That little organ figure that keeps popping up? Those brassy, trombone-led horn parts? Joyous.