Japandroids, "The House That Heaven Built"
Everything about Celebration Rock is just unabashedly turned up to 11. It was impossible for me to not be absolutely charmed to death by it. It was deliberately written to be full of songs that would be massive played live, so the songs were kept simple and pumped just full of big moments. It's not sophisticated, but it absolutely works.
Neurosis, "Grey"
Maybe the most incongruous record on Lookout Records, certainly the one I think of when I think of something standing out. After a pretty standard hardcore record on Alternative Tentacles, Neurosis put out this album that finds them really transitioning from that hardcore band into the progressive metal powerhouse that would help shape the metal world in the mid 90s. It's something of a curiosity, but if you're a big fan of the band and are wondering where you first see their potential, it's on The Word As Law.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Jungle Man"
We've covered Freaky Styley here before, but just to catch up, it's a way different record than the rest of their catalog. It's basically just a straight up funk record, complete with a Maceo Parker appearance. It also doesn't have much of the stadium rock moves that would eventually define the band.
Negativland, "Dear Mary"
Prior to the relative coherence of Escape From Noise, which sounds like an actual album (if very, very strange), Negativland made three self-released albums. The third of those, A Big 10-8 Place, found the band really finally mastering their techniques and producing an early masterpiece. But some of that was Don Joyce joining the band (?) full time. This track comes from Points, the second of those albums, when they were still kind of figuring things out. There's intriguing stuff here, of course, and their found-sound abilities were strong even this early. But it's just not quite there, in terms of a coherent piece of art.
Elvis Costello, "Stella Hurt"
By and large, I stop listening to Elvis Costello around Imperial Bedroom. It's not that he hasn't made other good records, it's that I don't know about them. And I've got to admit, I'm not super interested in figuring out if that's true or not.
That said, I picked up 2008's Momofuku, for reasons that escape me. It's fine?