Back in town, so hopefully I'll be able to start posting these during the day again. Today's tunes!
Melvins, "Your Blessened"
What gives a band longevity? How are some bands able to just keep going for forever, while most flame out after only a few albums (or even one)? It's not just creativity, although the Melvins certainly have shown plenty of experimentation. They also have a certainly Melvins-y formula that they've applied plenty. Tt still manages to sound fresh and interesting. You listen to a song from Bullhead and a song from, I dunno, Hold It In, and you hear so many things that are similar. But I'm still happy to listen to them. What is the formula that King Buzzo and Dale Crover have discovered?
At any rate, it's worth mentioning that Bullhead is a tremendous album, one of the greatest chunks of rock ever mined.
The Clash, "Cheapskates"
As mentioned before, Give 'Em Enough Rope is unfairly ignored by people. Part of the reason is the somewhat slick sounding production. You can really hear it on this song, with the big drums and classic rock sound to the guitar parts. But this is still the Clash, and it's still such a strong song.
Royal Headache, "Love Her If I Tried"
Garage rock from Australia which harks to the sound of the original punk bands. Extremely well done, and I recommend them. This band is one of those discoveries that come from participating in a forum for a long time. A friend living down under that I never would otherwise have met recommended the band, and it's connections like that that occasionally make the internet magical.
Hammers of Misfortune, "The Prophesy Has Two Meanings"
John Cobbett, genius behind Ludicra and Vhol, here is playing over-the-top cornball metal with ridiculous fantasy and folk trappings. It's all played pretty straight, which makes it all somehow even funnier. Cobbett is a talented enough player and songwriter to make even this, his corniest stuff, worth listening to. This album is called The Bastard! Great!
Prince, "Take Me With U"
Growing up, Prince was an artist that my sisters loved, so of course, I mostly ignored him. But I couldn't help but notice that he was also pretty awesome, and eventually got over my youthful idiocy. And what can I say? He was a genius, one of the most original artists we've had, and he was justly hugely famous.
(NB: I put in a live version of this song instead of the studio version I actually got. I'm assuming there's no friggin' way YouTube will let me upload the original, and a cursory search didn't find it.)