Will I figure out how to schedule posts for this, a Saturday post written ahead of time? Probably not! At least music doesn't really expire.
Ice Cube, "Record Company Pimpin'"
At his peak, Ice Cube was the best. Lyrical content aside, his rhymes were amazing, and his first three solo albums (and the Kill At Will EP) are all essentials. Things fell off pretty fast for Cube, though, with essentially everything from Lethal Injection on being skippable. This is a late-period track, with an interesting message, but is otherwise a pedestrian song.
The Crownhate Ruin, "Tornado Season Finale"
A one-and-done band for Dischord Records, The Crownhate Ruin played post-hardcore that fit in right alongside the rest of the Dischord roster at the time. This record is actually pretty interesting, even though nobody really seems to remember it. This song in particular seems to owe more than a little to Slint, which isn't a bad thing.
Skinny Puppy, "First Aid"
Industrial synth band Skinny Puppy was a pillar of my high school experience, with many spins of VIVIsectVI and Too Dark Park accompanying games of bridge (PARTY TIME!). At their best, the menacing synths and disturbed vocals were very effective in creating the atmosphere of a horror flick. At their worst, it all came off as kind of cheap and clownish. They were also partially responsible (along with Godflesh) for one of my least pleasant concert experiences, where a combination of out-of-sync strobe lights and a far too trebly sound mix gave me one of the worst headaches I've ever had.
This song, from Cleanse, Fold and Manipulate, is reasonably representative of what you'll get from the band, although the album as a whole is pretty unevent.
M.O.P., "Follow Instructions"
Street rap out of Brooklyn, I picked up this album because I really like DJ Premier. This track is a good example of this group at their best. This is the only album of theirs I have, though.
Elvis Costello, "Lipstick Vogue (Live)"
The version that I have is from the bonus tracks on the Armed Forces reissue, but I selected a different live version from among the many available on Youtube, simply because I couldn't find exactly the same version.