Cap'n Jazz, "Little League"
Analphabetapolothology gathers together Cap'n Jazz's one LP with their non-album releases onto one delicious record, capturing the entire work of one of the great but forgotten bands of the mid-90s underground. Like Squirrel Bait, they're more known for their successor bands than their actual work, as both Joan of Arc and the Promise Ring came out of Cap'n Jazz. But also as with Squirrel Bait, ignoring the parent band's output would be a huge mistake, as it's bursting with ideas and energy. This comp really is one of the highlights of the 90s, and if you haven't listened to it, my goodness, you're in for a treat.
Jay-Z, "Encore"
I know I've clowned on the whole "this is my final album" thing about The Black Album, but nevertheless, it's extremely funny. Depending on what you count as proper albums, this is getting very close to being the midpoint of his career, instead of the end of it. Good album, though.
The Story So Far, "Growing On You"
At some point, I just lost track of the punk and emo scenes. It's not that I stopped listening to music in that style, it's just that I mostly stuck with the stuff I already knew (like, say, Cap'n Jazz). I suppose each generation creates its own stuff like this, so it's not really for me. It hasn't stopped me from picking up essentially random records at times, like this one, and there's nothing wrong with any of them. But mostly I just go back to my standards. It's because I'm old.
Primitive Man, "The Lifer"
"Knuckle dragging" is the sort of thing you read a lot in descriptions of metal. It implies a certain caveman approach, a hammering lack of subtlety, a band that just bashes until things stop moving. But if you're wondering what the actual sound of knuckles dragging is, well, here you go.
Bitch Magnet, "Valmead"
God, I want to just take off all my clothes and roll around in that rhythm section.