X (Australia), "Suck Suck"
This is a punk band named X, but not THAT one. This one is from Australia, which is why Amphetamine Reptile credited them this way after re-issuing the record. This album came out in 1979, actually pre-dating the first album by the Los Angeles X, although the latter had already formed. Parallel evolution! Anyway, as you can hear, this is pretty aggressive stuff for the time, and is a solid early punk record. This is one of those records that was more inspirational than it was popular but is worth hunting down to listen to.
Wu-Tang Clan, "As High As Wu-Tang Get"
I'm alarmed at the concept of being as high as Wu-Tang can get.
Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Suits Are Picking Up The Bill"
I mentioned the other day that the most popular Zippers album (Hot) isn't my favorite. It's actually this one, Perennial Favorites. By the time it came out, the strange fever among the public had broken, and it was mostly ignored. But their songs had gotten stronger, and the performances were a little less affected, which helps things along. This is how the album opens, and honestly, thinking that this is a less affected performance than usual is kind of funny. But it's true!
Silkworm, "The City Glows"
Silkworm found themselves on Matador Records for Firewater, after putting out several records on smaller labels. That album was their first as a trio, with Joel Phelps departing prior to the record. As a result, it ends up feeling pretty different, and the songs were still kind of strange. They then followed that up with Developer, an album that got quieter at a time (1997) when rock music was mostly getting louder and/or faster. It's a lovely album, one of my favorites, and this track is a great example. The public reacted with stony indifferences, and they were dropped to go back to making smaller records for smaller labels. They continued to be great, though.
Rocket From The Crypt, "Short Lip Fuser"
RFTC's first record (Paint As A Fragrance) was pretty good, but they hadn't really hit their formula yet. For the follow-up, Circa: Now!, the band added Apollo 9 on sax, and it made all the difference. This is the opener of the album, and it showed that this band had figured it out. The songs are huge, the sax adds a ton of texture, and it's just a delight from front-to-back.