I continue to love this project for digging up things that I just forget to listen to. I should really just devote a certain percentage of my listening to shuffle all the time. Like, maybe a few songs a day? Five sound good to anybody? Music ahoy!
The Housemartins, "Step Outside"
Jangly pop band from Hull, the Housemartins played beautiful songs, driven by Paul Heaton's singing. They especially were known for witty, often sarcastic lyrics, as well as their leftist politics. They released two proper albums, both fantastic, and later had a singles/rarities collection, Now That's What I Call Quite Good, which is where this song comes from. I recommend all three records heartily. Paul Heaton would go on to form the Beautiful South, whose first album stands with the Housemartins albums, and Norman Cook would later be known as Fatboy Slim.
SUMA, "beef"
Somewhere in the stoner rock continuum lies SUMA, who feature overdriven sludgy guitar, and vocals buried pretty far in the mix. This stuff often sounds like sitting inside of a poorly functioning piece of machinery, which is sometimes what you really want.
Cloud Nothings, "I'm Not Part of Me"
I'm not really entirely sure why I like the Cloud Nothings so much. But there's just so much that's right about them. No wheels are getting reinvented here, it's just straight ahead rock, but they nail it. Here and Nowhere Else is the album pick
The Dead Science, "Black Lane"
Avant garde rock/jazz/weird band from Seattle, The Dead Science have some of the most affected vocals around. If I'm honest, they often drive me crazy, so I don't listen to this album very much. When I'm able to get past them, I do like the record.
Silkworm, "Three Beatings"
When I first heard Silkworm (their second album, In The West), I thought they were just a Pavement clone. How wrong I was! Silkworm were working in a similar area, but their sound really was their own, far more contemplative and emotional than the skewed pop of Pavement. They also featured a way more interesting rhythm section. I think their discography is very strong across the board, but sadly, the band was ended prematurely when drummer Michael Dahlquist was killed in a car accident. My favorite record of their is Libertine, but it's hard to pick between them.