Fifteen, "Petroleum Distillation"
Fifteen is the successor band to Crimpshrine, who were one of the seminal bands of the entire Gilman/Lookout scene in California. Crimpshrine splintered, yielding Operation Ivy, the legendary Cometbus zine, and Fifteen. As you can hear, this is very much right in the middle of that Lookout sound, all melodic punk in the vein of Stiff Little Fingers. Quite enjoyable if you're into this style.
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, "Good Cop Bad Cop"
The Shadowy Men would become famous as the band who provided the theme song and much of the music for the Kids in the Hall. But to me, they'll always remind me of my friends Drew and Alex in college, and specifically Alex's dorm where I first encountered them. They were really the first instrumental band I fell in love with, and one of the key ways I started broadening my taste. I'm glad that it still sounds great to me, and cherish the ability of this album to transport me back to that time.
Bim Skala Bim, "Good Dog Ska"
Well, it's a live album. It functions as a decent sampler of Bim Skala Bim's music to that point, but is otherwise totally inessential.
The Pietasters, "Told You The First Time"
I was just saying that the later Pietasters albums suffered from Stephen Jackson's singing getting really rough, and you can hear that here. He's not able to really pull off this funk track. And, truthfully, the band doesn't really wear the funk particularly well here either. The track just kind of feel a little off all around.
The Goats, "Rumblefish"
This track, from the second (and final) Goats album, is really a time capsule of the early 90s. In the wake of success from Cypress Hill and House of Pain, you heard a fair number of bands kind of trying to occupy the same sort of territory. But I'm not really sure the Goats quite pull it off.