Noisem, "Birthing the Bestial"
A lot of what I like about thrash are when you've got really chunky, memorable riffs and some pyrotechnic squalling solos. So I ought to love this, right? But I dunno, it's fine. I don't really reach for it. I think I have a hard time falling in love with new thrash. Although this isn't new any more, so maybe I'm just a bozo.
The Joykiller, "What It's Worth"
This apparently is an LA supergroup, but I didn't know that at the time. I ended up grabbing it because it was on Epitaph, the cover art was strange, and it was in the new release rack at Easy Street. By and large, I never regretted just buying random records, sometimes I found some great stuff. And sometimes, you end up with this record. Can't win 'em all!
Soccer Mommy, "bloodstream"
...
Sometimes, I write this while doing something else, and I'm listening to a tune while the TV is on. OK, often. Anyway, a particularly ridiculous sequence was rolling on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I wasn't paying attention to the song. Anyway, you know, I hope you enjoyed the tune. I ain't going back to play it again. One way trip through the music around here.
They Might Be Giants, "Whole Lot of Glean"
This is a Dial-a-Song tune, and sometimes those songs are kind of just an idea that's stretched out across a whole track.
Tar, "Solution 8 (Live)"
Tar made their way from Amphetamine Reptile Records to Touch & Go, bringing their noise-tinged post-hardcore to a new label. Tar was always very consistent, never as pummelling as some of their AmRep peers, but the tunefulness was a pleasant difference from theose same peers. Really they were always more like bands like Jawbox than they were the other AmRep bands. Anyway, this is from an EP they released before their first record on the new label, Clincher, which features four new songs, a re-work, and a couple live tracks. "Solution 8" was an early single from them, so I guess this is a sample of their earlier AmRep sound. Even though it was on Touch & Go.
Now I'm confused.