Introduction
Five Songs, 6/5/2017
Five Songs

Five Songs, 6/5/2017

Sorry I get sloppy on the weekends sometimes. I need to figure out the automated post capability on this thing. Or, not. Nobody looking through the archive is ever going to notice! And nobody is going to look at the archive! Whatever, here's some songs.

Superchunk, "Not Tomorrow"

The attributes that made Superchunk one of the truly great bands were all present on the debut album. The catchiness, the energy, the tight songs, and the sheer fun were all there, and showed what the band would turn into. But it's all just a little sloppier, and a little muddier, and just not quite firing on all cylinders yet. The next album would be the big step up, but the debut album is still a worthy listen.

Dillinger Four, "Let Them Eat Thomas Paine"

Melodic punk band Dillinger Four returns, and I won't waste a lot of words here - you can't listen to it because the bozos at their record label are blocking it on YouTube. Maybe it's on other streaming services? As with last time, I'm going to do an extra song, so there's still five songs in the playlist.

Negativland, "Happy Hero (Remedia Remix)"

I'm not really sure where to start with Negativland, honestly. More performance art than band, Negativland worked primarily with found sounds, odd noises, snippets of dialog, and other bits and pieces to make what amounted to sound collages. Usually, their art was informed by their politics, and Negativland tackled everything from intellectual property, to gun control, to freedom, to everything else they could think of. They also famously got into a legal scrap with U2 and Casey Kasem thanks to a prank cover of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".

Making suggestions for Negativland is similarly hard. They've left behind a vast body of work, much of it thought-provoking, but a lot of it is also a mess. Some of their stuff would count as a proper album, with Escape From Noise probably being their most conventional work, but I actually think Free is their best album overall. This is from the EP Happy Heroes, which is built around a song from Dispepsi, but doesn't otherwise overlap. I do like Dispepsi, but Happy Heroes is pretty uneven.

The Microphones, "Headless Horseman"

Lo-fi pop band from out of Washington, The Microphones are really known primarily for this album, The Glow, Pt. 2, which is as fine example of indie pop as you're going to find. I haven't actually explored the rest of their discography at all, though.

Ween, "Little Birdy"

Deliberately obtuse band Ween made random-ass, demented music that is hard to characterize as anything other than "weird". Bits and pieces of great songs would wander in and out, and they made fun of everything on the planet, usually in a really sophomoric kind of way. Mostly you either thought this stuff was hilarious or incredibly stupid, with nobody really in between. I fell on the latter side of the line, personally.

The Mae Shi, "Run To Your Grave"

Is noise pop a thing? I think it must be. Anyway, since it's a thing, that's what the Mae Shi play. It's all pretty clearly pop, but it's informed by a noisier approach on a lot of songs, and an often frantic attack. Most of their stuff is more hyperactive than this track, although you can really hear the drums ramping up towards the end of this song.

Joshua Buergel
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