It occurred to me that I didn't explain who Plexasaurus Rex is. That's my music server! As you might have guessed, I'm using Plex, and I have to say: so far, it's pretty good! Did a good job organizing my music, interface seems solid. No complaints thus far. And, of course, I gave it a dumb name, the same dumb name that every other sad nerd who thinks they're funny gives their server. Anyway, here's today's tunes,, now that we have today's sad exposition out of the way.
The Streets, "Same Old Thing"
There's something really delightfully pedestrian about a rap song where the narrator is worried about his football club being relegated. Are those the right terms? I'm a total soccer oaf. Football oaf. Whatever! Oafery abounds!
Apathy, "The Grand Leveler"
Pretty sure I've never heard this before. Don't even remember picking it up. Well, I guess some mysteries survived the trip up and back from Amazon's cloud! Looks like I bought this three years ago. I'm sure I had good intentions to listen to it later. And I did, I guess!
Nine Inch Nails, "Wish"
I kind of wish I could go back in time and see what my face looked like the first time I listened to Broken, on the bus ride back from the record store in Pittsburgh. I remember listening to this song, and when the first burst of guitars blast in, my face just melted completely off. It was clear that Reznor had no intention of just remaking Pretty Hate Machine, which I was honestly pretty happy with. Reznor had gone through a sustained legal battle with his label after Pretty Hate Machine, and the three years of frustration apparently boiled over in this EP. Pound-for-pound, it's some of his best work.
Flop, "Sister Smile"
I've sung the praises of Flop before on this blog, but I think it needs to be said again. Flop & The Fall of the Mopsqueezer is one of the true lost gems of the 90s Seattle scene, a perfectly charming pop rock exercise that has had far more staying power with me than the grunt und drang of so many of their grunge contemporaries. That Flop never made a dent in the larger music consciousness or even in the undergound is a real shame.
Steady Earnest, "Fine Line"
And now some third wave! NOW Five Songs is back! Steady Earnest is Dan Vitale's (Bim Skala Bim) side gig, featuring a bunch of folks in other Boston area ska bands. And it's solid stuff, but probably only for folks who have already exhausted Bim Skala Bim's (very good) discography.