Waxahatchee, "La Loose"
I went and checked what I've said about Waxahatchee in the past, because sometimes I try and avoid repeating myself too much. Sometimes. It was then I discovered that this is the third time we've had this exact song. Still good! Go read what I said the last two times! Or not, it's your time.
Madness, "Razor Blade Alley"
Mostly, the third wave of ska was following in the footsteps of the Specials, but I think that the Madness was also an important ingredient in the mix. In particular, the irreverence of Madness is something that a lot of the third wave really picked up on. The attitude, more so than the music, is one that they borrowed and extended.
Bedhead, "Haywire"
Is post-grunge a thing? Maybe it's a thing.
(It's not a thing.)
Stevie Wonder, "Ebony Eyes"
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but I've used up my "looking back at previous 5S entries" tokens for the day, so: my writing here is wholly inadequate to capture how good Stevie Wonder was, how great these albums are. So I'll just offer a specific memory: I was sitting in the very back of a station wagon, going through a McDonalds drive thru on a summer day with my mom to get drinks, and "Sir Duke" come on the radio. And it was arresting. I stopped whatever I was doing, and just sat and listened to the horns. The melody instantly became stuck in my head, and it was just like a lightning bolt through my brain. It might be the earliest memory I have of a song, and it's Stevie's magic that he's able to write a song that can captivate a 5yo or a, uh, whatever I am.
Amy Winehouse, "You Know I'm No Good"
Back to Back is, of course, at this point a melancholy listen, knowing it was to be her last album. But at the time, it sounded so fresh, at a time when the neo-soul revival hadn't yet fully blossomed. Hearing the Dap-Kings backing Winehouse is such a treat, and the record still sounds great. Timeless, even. I just wish I could divorce it from the context of her life.