It's the end of the year, and the end of a second full month of Five Songs hitting every day. NOT BAD. I'm not sure how long this all will keep going, as I'd like to resume blogging about other stuff over on Game and Tonic, and it's hard to keep both of these going. Not to mention the fact that if illegal streaming becomes a felony, uh...
Anyway, it's a special today! I searched for "new year" in the library, which matched 21 tracks, and randomly picked five of them.
Prefuse 73, "The New Year"
This is from Sacrifices, the most recent Prefuse 73 album. It's less chopped up, less frantic than some of his earlier work, as you can hear on this album. The vocal contributions are also pretty limited on the record. Both of those head away from some of the things I love about Prefuse 73, so it's not my favorite record from him.
The New Year, "Newness Ends"
The New Year is a descendent of slowcore legends Bedhead, featuring the Kadane brothers leading both bands. The New Year is a little more accessible, a little brighter, but only a little. If you liked Bedhead, you'll almost certainly like The New Year as well.
Lootpack, "New Year's Resolution"
I haven't really thought about New Year's resolutions for 2021. It feels extravagant to really consider such a thing. It's kind of hard to see through all the fog around us. I guess I'd like to get a game to the point that I can show it to other people. That seems modestly possible.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "New Year"
This comes to us from Extra-Acme, the companion piece to (of course) Acme. JSBX released these things after each of their proper studio albums for the first several, bringing together leftovers, remixes, alternate taxes, and all kinds of stuff that didn't make the album cut. These collections are mostly only for completists - there's always some decent stuff on them, but there's a reason this stuff was cut. Still, second-rate JSBX stuff is not a bad thing to listen to.
Seam, "New Year's"
This is from the first Seam record, Headsparks, which was formed in the dissolution of Bitch Magnet, making this one of the albums in the extended Squirrel Bait family tree. This album is notable for featuring Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, only on drums here. Mac would leave after this album, and Seam would get quieter and more contemplative on later records.
Well, that's it for Five Songs in 2020. Thank you all for checking out my rambling here, I sincerely appreciate every note and acknowledgment on this project, and look forward to writing some more next year.