Friday Random 10, one-day-late edition
Between working on my essays for both philosophy and political science and the Tribal committee party last night, I didn't get around to a FRT. Here's the compensation.
1. Japanther - Second Hand (Wolfenswan, 2006): Weirdness from one of the more amusing bands I saw at ZXZW. While this track shows their odd mix of lo-fi garage rock and recorded noise, it's lacking in substance and rather dull even for its short duration. A shame, really. 4/10.
2. Pavement - Price Yeah! (Westing (By Musket and Sextant), 1993): Super-early pavement, at their most listener-unfriendly era. Sounds like early Sonic Youth put through a college-rock blender, which is a good thing. And behind all that abrasiveness, the guitar line is very good. 7/10.
3. Dead Kennedys - Funland at the Beach (Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, 1980): The last of of three consecutive, basically interchangable songs, the least interesting of the songs on a classic album. Still solid, but a bit boring, considering its company. 5/10.
4. The Skatalites and King Tubby - Fugitive Dub (The Legendary Skatalites in Dub, 2001): One of the best reggae producers and one of the great ska ensembles, united to creat an incredibly groovy dub with wonderfully unusual instrumentation in the flute lead. Very enjoyable. 8/10.
5. Elvis Costello - No Dancing (My Aim Is True, 1977): Elvis is king, and this is great if slightly soppy song from his classic debut. The lyrics are particularly great, even for Elvis, and Clover are in their element on the backing instruments. 8/10.
6. Black Flag - Damaged II (Damaged, 1981): How many versions of "Damaged" did they make anyway? This is the midtempo one, with Greg Ginn's grinding guitar taking the forefront with Rollins' black-lung growl as usual. Typical Black Flag, which is a good thing, but not terribly special. 7/10.
7. Ramones - You're Gonna Kill That Girl (Leave Home, 1977): Semi-sappy Ramones, with particularly half-assed vocal harmonies. Worse than most Ramones songs, though the dynamics are good. Still solid, as the Ramones never made a bad song, even in the 80s, but below average for them. 6/10.
8. Sonic Youth - Shaking Hell (Confusion is Sex, 1983): The best thing about early Sonic Youth is that the songs really sound like the insane titles attached to them. The intro to this song, in particular, is guitar-based onomatopoeia at its finest. Kim's vocals are weird, and the lyrics even more so, but they're also incredibly evocative, particularly combined with the creepy dynamics in the background. I'm not so sure about her playing backup vocals to herself though. 8/10.
9. King Tubby and Soul Syndicate - Ethiopian Version (Freedom Sounds In Dub, 1996) - More Blood & Fire dub, and some of Tubby's best production. He layers on the production while avoiding overproduction somehow, and on top of Soul Syndicate's fine musicianship provides an incredible dub track. 8/10.
10. The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes (The Velvet Underground, 1969): DO I really have to explain why the Velvets' best downtempo song is just that? Lou Reed's voice, so heartfelt he sounds like he's really about to cry, does a far better job. A clean-cut 10/10.
Overall: 6.3 average. Slightly less than usual thanks to the lackluster Japanther and DKs songs, but still solid.
1. Japanther - Second Hand (Wolfenswan, 2006): Weirdness from one of the more amusing bands I saw at ZXZW. While this track shows their odd mix of lo-fi garage rock and recorded noise, it's lacking in substance and rather dull even for its short duration. A shame, really. 4/10.
2. Pavement - Price Yeah! (Westing (By Musket and Sextant), 1993): Super-early pavement, at their most listener-unfriendly era. Sounds like early Sonic Youth put through a college-rock blender, which is a good thing. And behind all that abrasiveness, the guitar line is very good. 7/10.
3. Dead Kennedys - Funland at the Beach (Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, 1980): The last of of three consecutive, basically interchangable songs, the least interesting of the songs on a classic album. Still solid, but a bit boring, considering its company. 5/10.
4. The Skatalites and King Tubby - Fugitive Dub (The Legendary Skatalites in Dub, 2001): One of the best reggae producers and one of the great ska ensembles, united to creat an incredibly groovy dub with wonderfully unusual instrumentation in the flute lead. Very enjoyable. 8/10.
5. Elvis Costello - No Dancing (My Aim Is True, 1977): Elvis is king, and this is great if slightly soppy song from his classic debut. The lyrics are particularly great, even for Elvis, and Clover are in their element on the backing instruments. 8/10.
6. Black Flag - Damaged II (Damaged, 1981): How many versions of "Damaged" did they make anyway? This is the midtempo one, with Greg Ginn's grinding guitar taking the forefront with Rollins' black-lung growl as usual. Typical Black Flag, which is a good thing, but not terribly special. 7/10.
7. Ramones - You're Gonna Kill That Girl (Leave Home, 1977): Semi-sappy Ramones, with particularly half-assed vocal harmonies. Worse than most Ramones songs, though the dynamics are good. Still solid, as the Ramones never made a bad song, even in the 80s, but below average for them. 6/10.
8. Sonic Youth - Shaking Hell (Confusion is Sex, 1983): The best thing about early Sonic Youth is that the songs really sound like the insane titles attached to them. The intro to this song, in particular, is guitar-based onomatopoeia at its finest. Kim's vocals are weird, and the lyrics even more so, but they're also incredibly evocative, particularly combined with the creepy dynamics in the background. I'm not so sure about her playing backup vocals to herself though. 8/10.
9. King Tubby and Soul Syndicate - Ethiopian Version (Freedom Sounds In Dub, 1996) - More Blood & Fire dub, and some of Tubby's best production. He layers on the production while avoiding overproduction somehow, and on top of Soul Syndicate's fine musicianship provides an incredible dub track. 8/10.
10. The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes (The Velvet Underground, 1969): DO I really have to explain why the Velvets' best downtempo song is just that? Lou Reed's voice, so heartfelt he sounds like he's really about to cry, does a far better job. A clean-cut 10/10.
Overall: 6.3 average. Slightly less than usual thanks to the lackluster Japanther and DKs songs, but still solid.
posted by Sasha at 11:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home