Yesterday, I actually briefly had six songs in the post. I only discovered it when I was going to put the entries in the index. I have one job! I only need one hand to count! Anywhere, here's today's random count of songs (hopefully five!).
Preston School of Industry, "History of the River"
When Pavement broke up, Stephen Malkmus went solo (later adding a backing band called The Jicks), and Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg founded Preston School of Industry. He put out two records under that name, neither reaching anywhere near the heights of Pavement (but, to be fair, neither has Malkmus). They're both decent records, but they're missing the spark that really elevated Pavement.
They Might Be Giants, "2082"
I really cannot recommend Join Us highly enough. It stands with the best of their work, probably in the top three of albums from them as far as I'm concerned (along with Lincoln and Factory Showroom).
Herman Griffin & Band, "Uptight"
Paralleling the Stax/Volt collections of singles are the Hip-o-Select collections of Motown singles. With a set for each year, you can hear the evolution of the Motown sound happen through them. This is a pretty early track, from the second collection, covering 1962. Honestly, it sounds more like a Memphis track than it does Motown, but hey, what do I know? Coming across forgotten songs like this is always a delight.
Zion I, "Peppermint Patty"
Here, we actually get to hear a more normal Zion I song, instead of just the meandering track we got last time. I do like the really spare beat on this song.
Nas, "Halftime"
Illmatic is one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made. Nas's agile rhymes were paired perfectly with a set of immaculate beats from a series of top-notch producers, including DJ Premier, Q-Tip, and Pete Rock. Nas never really came all that close to matching Illmatic on his later records, although some were good albums.