The Best Song You'll Hear All Day | Page 3

Ambient

“Articulate Silences Part Two”

Stars of the Lid
And Their Refinement of the Decline, 2007

I don’t think there’s a more fitting title in the Stars of the Lid canon. The song itself embodies the name: a succession of droned chords, occasionally accented by cello, each interrupted by a brief pause. The effect is profound but fleeting, music as still-life, mental flash cards that flicker and recede. Those seeking total immersion are encouraged/dared to take the entire 2-hour journey. This is music for yoga, for people who don’t do yoga.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/1-03%20Articulate%20Silences%20Part%202.mp3]

Tagged Articulate Silences, Kyle Bobby Dunn, Riceboy, Sigur Ros, Stars of the Lid, Texas

Blues

“Moanin’ At Midnight”

Howlin’ Wolf
The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection

One of the best blind buys I’ve ever made – and as a high school music nerd on a fast food salary, I made many – was this Chess Records Howlin’ Wolf compilation. And one of my fondest musical memories is hearing the first few seconds of “Moanin’ At Midnight” — which dates to 1959 if my Wikipedia sleuthing is correct — for the first time. The sinister fade-in, the way the mics distort as the band builds energy, the fact that dude is literally howling at you from an era long past. Unbelievable, chills-down-the-spine stuff. Chester Burnett was a force of nature; there’s no blues artist living or dead I’d rather listen to. As Sam Phillips was quoted, “When I heard Howlin’ Wolf, I said, ‘This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.’” I can do no better.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Moanin’%20At%20Midnight.mp3]

Tagged Chess Records, Howlin' Wolf, Sam Phillips, The Wolf of Wall Street

Electronic, Hip-Hop

“The Jig is Up”

El-P
Cancer 4 Cure, 2012

I would not wanna spend a day in El-P’s head. The Brooklyn-born underground hip-hop icon has built an impressive career out of oppressive materials. His dense, obsessive, caustic production has been a fixture on the scene for close to two decades, so singular I can honestly say I’ve never even heard an imitator. That goes for the wordplay too: agitated and rife with sci-fi paranoia, he belongs to that rare breed of hip-hop lyricist devoted almost exclusively to world-building. As in all art, it’s hard to tell where the persona ends and the person begins, but I suspect “The Jig is Up” betrays more than a hint of autobiography. “Why don’t you just admit the truth/That you’ve been trained to withstand pain/And that’s the only way my crazy is not killing you,” he pleads with a would-be lover. “I wouldn’t wanna be a part of any club that would have me/You must out of your goddamn mind.” If you think consuming an entire album pitched at this same level of self-loathing is too much to ask, imagine what it feels like to live there permanently.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/08%20The%20Jig%20Is%20Up.m4a]

Tagged Company Flow, Def Jux, El-P, Killer Mike, Run the Jewels

Indie

“The Tears of Music and Love”

Deerhoof
Offend Maggie, 2008

Deerhoof is just an insanely consistent band. At this point, despite their experimental tendencies, they’re a known quantity. They’re ready, willing and able to bend their sound any number of ways from album to album, but the core elements — crunchy/catchy guitars, Greg Saunier’s drumming, Satomi Matsuzaki’s high-energy, childlike vocals — remain unchanged. Every album is good and a little different, but there’s so much music to choose from that it’s easy to take them for granted. It was the same way with Sonic Youth: we’re not truly gonna miss these guys until they call it a day. Offend Maggie shares the raw, live sound of the band’s earlier work with the more accessible songwriting of Friend Opportunity. Taken in small doses like this one, I’m hard-pressed to name a better or more original rock band.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20The%20Tears%20Of%20Music%20And%20Love.mp3]

Tagged Deerhoof, Greg Saunier, Offend Maggie, Satomi Matsuzaki, Sonic Youth

Folk, Jazz

“Alice”

Tom Waits
Alice, 2002

Tom Waits’ songs, as the man himself has identified, typically fall into one of three buckets — they’re either “bawlers,” “brawlers” or “bastards.” This adherence to form, this tacit nod to tradition, a willingness to identify one’s debt to and position in the Great American Songbook, is how we know Tom Waits, like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen before him, belongs in the canon. Or something. What I know is that “Alice,” a bawler if ever there was one, is a damn fine song. Ostensibly an outline of Lewis Carroll’s obsession with a certain young woman in Wonderland, the song skates the same thin ice as its narrator: knife-edged jazz ballad, tender pedophillic paen, suicidal mash note. So compelling it makes you feel for a guy who knows he’s being a creep. Just like Gershwin, right? Right? Wait, why are you making that face?

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Alice.m4a]

Tagged Alice, Alice in Wonderland, Bob Dylan, Gershwin, Leonard Cohen, Lewis Carroll, Tom Waits

Pop, Rock

“Bright Pavilions”

Superdrag
In the Valley of Dying Stars, 2000

Superdrag was one of those bands that just never got the timing down. Early on, when they were firing on all cylinders — the stretch from 1996 major-label debut Regretfully Yours to this album — the band could never quite drum up the attention needed to make a real splash, MTV’s embrace of the “Sucked Out” video aside. By the time they’d been around long enough to be missed they were already gone, and when they did finally come back with 2009’s Industry Giants, well, it was clear more than the industry had changed. I’ll posit that despite the tendency in later years to wear their influences on their sleeves, the band’s early sound was truly original: shoegaze guitars, Zombies-worthy songs, snarl on loan from God-knows-where and the inimitable vocals of John Davis. “Bright Pavilions” is one of the finest examples of the band’s craft, arriving late enough to know exactly what it’s doing and early enough to be truly great.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/07%20Bright%20Pavilions.m4a]

Tagged Bright Pavilions, In the Valley of Dying Stars, John Davis, Regretfully Yours, Shoegaze, Sucked Out, Superdrag, The Zombies

Folk

“The Swimming Song”

Loudon Wainwright III
Attempted Mustache, 1973

This is cheesy, but I’ll say it anyway: if you’ve never heard “The Swimming Song” before, it is my God’s-honest pleasure to make the introduction for you. Play it today and there’s a good chance you’ll remember it forever. As a cult-favorite folkie in the 1970s, Wainwright’s droll wit and breadth of subject matter got him pegged “the next Dylan,” but the mainstream couldn’t adapt. Today he’s best known as the father of Rufus, Martha and Lucy … and the guy who wrote “The Swimming Song” (by me anyway). So innocent and carefree you could play it for your kid, “Swimming” is a litany of youthful, nostalgic boasts set against an easy summer-banjo backdrop. For 2-3 minutes, wherever you are, no matter the time of year, you’ll swear it’s still summer at the swimming hole.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20The%20Swimming%20Song.m4a]

Tagged Attempted Mustache, Knocked Up, Loudon Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Rufus Wainwright, Strange Weirdos, The Squid and the Whale, The Swimming Song

Electronic, Hip-Hop

“Bite the Thong”

JJ DOOM
Keys to the Kuffs, 2012

Some days you cry in the car, some days you “bite the thong.” I’m pretty sure Robert Frost said something similar once. The underthings supplicant in question here is MF DOOM at his MF DOOMiest, spitting slow over a nauseated soundscape from TV on the Radio collaborator Jneiro Jarel. DOOM’s been exiled in England for years thanks to some unidentified immigration drama. In 2012 he funneled his frustration into a full-album collaboration with Jarel, and it’s arguably the strongest thing he’s done since Madvillain. JJ’s synth-heavy, future-fearing production proves to be a worthy match for hip-hop’s weirdest vocab whiz. For maximum impact, see also: “Gov’nor,” “Rhymin’ Slang” and “Winter Blues.”

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/04%20Bite%20The%20Thong.mp3]

Tagged Bite the Thong, JJ DOOM, Jneiro Jarel, MF Doom, Robert Frost, TV on the Radio, U.K.

Folk, Indie

“Lost Verses”

Sun Kil Moon
April, 2008

Time for some TBSYHAD #realtalk: I cried the first time I heard “Lost Verses” the whole way through. I was stuck in L.A. traffic on my way to work, nothing but time to kill, and decided to wait out the entire 10 minutes. Something happens near the end of the track — I won’t spoil it here — that flips the entire thing on its head and … God knows what was going on in my life at the time (I don’t remember now), but I broke down and started bawling right there on the freeway. Eventually I made it to work and did my best to act like nothing had happened. When I think about Mark Kozelek in 2014 — the cranky email interviews, the weird diss track aimed at less prominent musicians — I have to remind myself of the reason I ever cared in the first place. One time the guy wrote a song this good.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Lost%20Verses.m4a]

Tagged Benji, Mark Kozelek, Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon, The War on Drugs

Ambient, Electronic, Jazz

“Hands”

Four Tet
Rounds, 2003

“Hands” is the sound of Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, playing to his strengths as a composer and found-sound stylist. Building up from a child’s heartbeat to blurry, chopped cymbals and simple piano, this quiet song surprises with its capacity to hold our attention. Eventually a direct drumbeat enters, the perfect foil. And while I’m sure the process of locating and shaping these sounds was anything but, the end components are fairly simple and easy to identify. Naturally occurring, organic sounds that have been electronically manipulated; a robot approximation of free jazz, as conceived by someone who’s never actually heard the music before. I can’t say I like everything Hebden puts his name on, but when he’s on he’s on.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Hands.m4a]

Tagged Beautiful Rewind, Fabric, Four Tet, Free Jazz, Hands, Kieran Hebden, Rounds

Soul

“Stoned Love”

The Supremes
Single, 1970

It was never supposed to be “Stoned Love.” Songwriter Kenny Thomas first coined the phrase “stone love” to describe an unshakeable bond; a typo during the production phase added the weird “-d,” obscuring the song’s meaning at first pass. Rather than the drug culture celebration many feared it to be at the time, the song was intended as an open-hearted plea for forgiveness and reconciliation, specifically timed to the Vietnam War. It would still live on as one of only two top-10 Supremes singles recorded without Diana Ross (Jean Terrell had taken over lead vocals by this time). Today, more than anything else, what stands out for me is the undeniable Funk Brothers groove that kicks in after the intro, a joyous musical affirmation of the song’s inspiring message.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/09%20Stoned%20Love.m4a]

Tagged Diana Ross, Forrest Gump, Jean Terrell, Kenny Thomas, The Funk Brothers, The Supremes, What Supremes song was in the movie Forrest Gump?

Ambient, Electronic

“Jacquard Causeway”

Boards of Canada
Tomorrow’s Harvest, 2013

Unlike many Boards of Canada devotees, I didn’t lose my shit over Tomorrow’s Harvest, last year’s comeback album from the influential, Edinburghian ambient outfit. My interest in the group skews more toward their warmer, earlier work; Harvest ran a little too ‘80s-horror-flick cold for my blood. But BoC are too in command of their form for the entire project to be a wash, and “Jacquard Causeway” still sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. As a failed drummer in a former life, I’m a sucker for weird, fucked-up drum patterns; you could lock me in a room with the “Causeway” beat on repeat for hours and I’d be happy as a clam. BoC know what they’ve got here, taking plenty of time to build and contract repeating synth phrases around that plodding, irregular heartbeat. It’s the album’s longest and most replay-worthy song.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/04%20Jacquard%20Causeway.m4a]

Tagged Boards of Canada, Jacquard Causeway, Tomorrow's Harvest, Warp Records

Indie, Pop

“Closer at Hand”

Field Music
Tones of Town, 2007

Delightfully catchy, determinedly British and deceptively simple, Field Music are a band you don’t hear much about in the States. Whether or not the Northern England pop duo — whose supporting cast has included members of The Futureheads and Maximo Park — are still a going concern, they made a mark in their home country’s indie scene over the last decade. This is sophisticated pop music for listeners who still go for that sort of thing; if the Kinks had sprung up 40 years later they might’ve sounded something similar. “Closer at Hand” is a breezy, instantly memorable tune, simple and shiny enough that it takes a few spins to decode the melancholy hiding underneath. Like the album that surrounds it, repeated listens yield deep rewards.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/09%20Closer%20At%20Hand.m4a]

Tagged Field Music, Maximo Park, Ray Davies, The Futureheads, The Kinks, Tones of Town

Hip-Hop

“3000”

Dr. Octagon
Dr. Octagonecologyst, 1996

No measure of backstory can prepare you for the first time you hear Dr. Octagon, the time-traveling surgeon and “lady doctor” from another dimension. The debut album from one of the many outlandish personas of rapper Kool Keith pairs scatological, rapid-fire non-sequiturs with Dan The Automator’s stellar old-school-as-new-school production. Groundbreaking for its time, Dr. Octagonecologyst is credited in part with helping popularize the underground hip-hop movement, paving the way for the MF Dooms and Tylers of today. And even though it’s been nearly 20 years, shit still sounds like the future.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/02%203000.m4a]

Tagged Dan The Automator, Dr. Octagon, Kool Keith, MF Doom, Odd Future, Tyler the Creator

Rock

“Treasure Plane”

Oneida
Secret Wars, 2004

Brooklyn’s Oneida live by no code. Anchored by the manic playing of drummer/singer Kid Millions, they’ve devoted their recorded output to exploring the furthest reaches of rock music, pushing the traditional band lineup about as far as anyone could reasonably expect. They’ve incorporated electronics, psych-rock trappings, krautrock jams, improvisation and more, and the breadth of their catalogue might be intimidating for the casual listener. While they’ve certainly released more experimental albums than Secret Wars, it remains their most open and accessible recording. “Treasure Plane” opens things up with vintage keys, warm distortion, and actually-quite-lovely, Lou Barlow-esque vocals. For a moment you might even be fooled into thinking you’re listening to Sebadoh, if Sebadoh recorded in a rusty dryer.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Treasure%20Plane.m4a]

Tagged Jagjaguwar, Lou Barlow, Oneida, Sebadoh, Secret Wars, Treasure Plane

Reggae

“So Much Things to Say”

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Exodus, 1977

Bob Marley’s Legend is one of the best-selling albums of all time, a posthumous greatest-hits collection carefully curated not only to ensure maximum airplay but myth-building as well. That Marley truly became a legend in the years following its 1984 release is no coincidence, focusing as the album did on his most melodic, most peace-affirming tendencies. But Marley’s activism was rooted in real anger, and you don’t have to look hard to find examples on the albums released in his lifetime. For my money, “So Much Things to Say” is one of the catchiest, most pleasing songs in his catalogue, but I understand why it was kept off Legend; the first verse name-checks Marcus Garvey and Paul Bogle, the chorus points a finger at forces of oppression at work in physical and spiritual realms. A bit heavier than “Could You Be Loved.”

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/02%20So%20Much%20Things%20To%20Say.mp3]

Tagged Bob Marley, Legend, Marcus Garvey, Paul Bogle

Folk, Indie

“Ghost of David”

Damien Jurado
Ghost of David, 2000

I’m no musicologist, but I’m pretty sure “Ghost of David” only has two chords. They’re enough. When you’ve got a voice like Damien Jurado’s, simplicity is the highest virtue. The Seattle singer-songwriter has built his entire career – 13 solo albums and counting – on the discipline of less-is-more. While of late he’s been working in a full-band context with producer Richard Swift, many of the best songs in his catalogue feature little more than guitar and vocals. And rightfully so — this is a musician who commands attention even in the quietest moments.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/06%20ghost%20of%20david.mp3]

Tagged Damien Jurado, David Bazan, Ghost of David, Richard Swift

Ambient, Rock

“Fuzzy Reactor”

Boris & Michio Kurihara
Rainbow, 2007

What to say about “Fuzzy Reactor” that can’t already be explained by that title? It sounds like what it is: a swirling, psychedelic jam with a krautrock engine. This is my favorite track off “Rainbow,” the collaborative album from experimental Japanese band Boris and guitarist Michio Kurihara. Like the best ambient/incidental music, it has the power to make you forget you’re listening.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/07%20Fuzzy%20Reactor.m4a]

Tagged Ambient, Boris, Fuzzy Reactor, Incidental, Jim Jarmusch, Krautrock, Michio Kurihara, Psychedelic, The Limits of Control

Hip-Hop

“Long Burn the Fire”

Beastie Boys
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, 2011

Look, it’s the Beastie Boys, which means for the most part the rhymes here are a solid B. You know that going in, you deal with it. Occasionally on Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, the group’s final album, you hear a line that makes you want to hit rewind — and usually it’s Ad-Rock — but for the most part we’re dealing with the typical off-time brags and boasts here. But that production, man. Holy shit, is this album underrated. Handling behind-the-board duties themselves, the Boys found a way to successfully update their sound for the 21st century: keyboards that crunch and slip out of meter, samples that enter the bloodstream, mics that distort without warning and killer guest appearances from Nas and Santigold. And yet after decades as hip-hop royalty with a commercial track record, nobody paid attention when the album came out. Nobody. Of course the public spoke up when MCA passed a year later, but Hot Sauce remains the least-respected record in the band’s storied career. Long burn the fire; reappraisal is due.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/08%20Long%20Burn%20The%20Fire.mp3]

Tagged Ad-Rock, Beastie Boys, Hot Sauce Committee, Long Burn the Fire, MCA, Mike D, Part One, Troll 2

Folk, Indie

“Italy”

Akron/Family
Akron/Family, 2005

That mix though! Listeners who fear compression are advised to steer clear of Akron/Family’s 2005 debut album, though not for the usual reasons. Far from the typical “Loudness War” salvo where extreme manipulation is used to shove an outdated radio rap-rocker’s hot verse right-up-in-your-fucking-face, the production on A/F boosts the levels on songs that would otherwise sound intimate in a natural setting. With this approach, “Italy’s” quiets get loud and its louds approach deafening. Again, not for everybody, but there’s something to be said for way those boosted lead vocals grab the listener on the early verses. This kind of thing used to be called “freak-folk;” for our purposes, it’s simply The Best Song You’ll Hear All Day.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/04%20Italy.m4a]

Tagged Akron/Family, Compression, Freak-Folk, Italy, Loudness Wars, Rap-Rock, The Best Song You'll Hear All Day

Blues

“The Things I Did for You”

Clifton Chenier
Bayou Blues, 1955/1970

“Standing in the shadow of Clifton Chenier, dancin’ the night away…” For about two decades, this lyric from Paul Simon’s Graceland was my only exposure to Chenier, “the King of the Bayou” and one of the most prominent Zydeco musicians of all time. Shifting through a stack of used records last year, I took a chance on “Bayou Blues” and fell instantly in love. This take of “The Things I Did For You” was recorded in 1955, early in Chenier’s career, and serves as a perfect introduction to his sound. There’s the traditional blues structure; the soulful, Creole-inflected, top-of-lungs vocal; the confident ride/snare shuffle. The lyrics may be mournful, but taken on its own the music tells a different story. We should all be so lucky when we get the blues.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/02%20The%20Things%20I%20Did%20for%20You%20(Take%201).m4a]

Tagged Blues, Cajun, Clifton Chenier, Creole, Graceland, Louisiana, Paul Simon, Swamp, Zydeco

Hip-Hop

“Progressive Three”

Vince Staples
Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2, 2014

What impresses me most about Vince Staples’ music is Vince Staples himself. The 21-year-old L.A. rapper isn’t just fierce on the mic; he demonstrates wisdom and substance that put most of his elders to shame. I was particularly affected by a recent Pitchfork profile where he went on record against the glorification of violence and commercialism in hip-hop culture: “A lot of music comes from a selfish place, but there’s no sense of self within it.” That same sophistication is evident not only on quote-unquote conscious material like recent single “Hands Up.” It’s just as obvious on low-profile mixtape cuts like “Progressive 3.” As a blog-buzzed, much-hyped Odd Future associate, Staples could be spending his moment trying to shock or stun the audience into submission. That he’s chosen to spend his capital building something more is inspiring.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Progressive%203.mp3]

Tagged Earl Sweatshirt, Hands Up, Odd Future, Pitchfork, Shyne Coldchain, Vince Staples

Folk

“Summer Noon”

Tweedy
Sukierae, 2014

After years of being derided for his “dad-rock” tendencies, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy has done the critics one better and recorded an album with his son. The result, a sprawling double record called “Sukierae,” is the most interesting music Tweedy’s made since the criticism started. We’re really coming full circle here. Many of the tracks share similarities with Loose Fur, his great mid-aughts side project with Jim O’Rourke and Glenn Kotche. Others sound like folky outtakes from “Mermaid Avenue” or recent Wilco albums, as you might expect. The difference is Spencer Tweedy’s drumming, which lacks Kotche’s precision but shares his experimental tendencies. Fittingly, dad records the drums at near-demo quality and builds the music around them to match. Plaintive ballad “Summer Moon” best sums up the album’s gentle melancholy.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/2-03%20Summer%20Noon.mp3]

Tagged A Ghost is Born, Born Again in the U.S.A., Dad Rock, Glenn Kotche, Jeff Tweedy, Jim O'Rourke, Loose Fur, Spencer Tweedy, Sukierae, Wilco

Rock

“Take You on a Cruise”

Interpol
Antics, 2004

I don’t know if it’s intentional, but Interpol sure have a knack for terrible opening lines. “If time is my vessel, then learning to love might be my way back to sea,” and “Touch your thighs, I’m the lonely one,” are two of my personal favorite WTF lyrics in any band’s catalogue. And there are howlers like these all over Antics, the band’s sophomore album. “I’m timeless like a broken watch/I make money like Fred Astaire” kicks off “Take You on a Cruise” with a thud, but the music is so convincing the song succeeds anyway. This was the band’s great strength in their decade-gone heydey – instrumentals that shook even when the words were an afterthought.

Tagged Antics, Carlos D, El Pintor, Interpol, Paul Banks

Rock

“Wharf Rat”

The Grateful Dead
Skull and Roses, 1971

The Grateful Dead’s studio output is almost unfit for consumption — by me or anyone else. Despite their extracurricular proclivities, they were just about the whitest, squarest-sounding band in history, and studio sterility did them no favors. As I’ve gotten older though (I’m 33 now), I’ve developed a taste for their live recordings. Onstage they were squirmy, hardly controlled, often downright sloppy. And somehow that lack of discipline is what made them so appealing. Listening to albums like Europe ’72 or Skull and Roses, I sometimes feel like I’m hearing 5 or 7 or 9 dudes each playing in a different band at the same time. It’s the ultimate engagement, music as participation for both listener and band. That whole Deadhead thing makes a lot more sense now.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/10%20Wharf%20Rat.m4a]

Tagged Europe '72, The Grateful Dead

Country, Electronic, Rock

“The Wanderer”

U2 w/ Johnny Cash
Zooropa, 1993

History will prove there was nothing wrong with the albums U2 made in the ‘90s. Not just Achtung Baby but Zooropa and Pop too — nothing wrong at all. Sure, each album bore with it attendant overhype, ambition bordering on the unseemly, a too-healthy dollop of ego and of course … Bono, always Bono. But those who complained should’ve saved it. The real reputation damage would come later, as anyone who’s heard their last three albums can attest. No, ‘90s U2 had balls, and after scaling the pop world the decade prior, they’d earned the right to care more about art than charts. Take Zooropa closer “The Wanderer,” a synthy, quasi-Western spiritual with Johnny Cash on lead vocals, struggling to survive in an apocalyptic world without God. This was before American Recordings, before it was chic to love The Man in Black again. Historical proof of a time U2 when wasn’t afraid to take a risk — days that are long gone now.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/10%20The%20Wanderer.m4a]

Tagged Achtung Baby, Bono, Johnny Cash, Pop, Songs of Innocence, U2

Electronic, Hip-Hop

“Me Yesterday//Corded”

Flying Lotus
Until The Quiet Comes, 2012

Flying Lotus, a.k.a. Steven Ellison, is hands-down my favorite producer right now. His work touches on multiple, seemingly disparate corners of the exploratory musical universe: the bass and drive of post-Dilla hip-hop; the energy and fuck-it attitude of free jazz; the precision and programming chops of IDMers like Aphex Twin. “Me Yesterday//Corded” opens with muffled vocals, plodding keys and what sounds like a hydraulic chassis for a drum bed. At the halfway point, the whole thing explodes into the kind of woozy, beautiful beat science Ellison built his name on. As in his best work and that of the artists who’ve inspired him, any semblance of coherence is an afterthought.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/17%20Me%20Yesterday__Corded.m4a]

Tagged Aphex Twin, Dilla, Flying Lotus, Friday, You're Dead!

Blues, R&B

“Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles”

Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
Clear Spot, 1972

To call the Captain Beefheart catalog “intimidating” would be an understatement. I can’t think of a more imposing 20^th-century popular artist; even those who adore Trout Mask Replica surely need a little time off between listens. It’s not them, it’s him – dude was brilliant, insane and avant to the end. Except for the handful of times he pretended not to be. On Clear Spot, he brought in the guy who produced The Doobie Brothers – those Doobie Brothers – to hammer his songs into a more commercial shape. It mostly worked, except for the fact that the album only reached #191 on the Billboard Top 200 (back when that mattered). Time has a way of sorting these things out though. “Her Eyes…” would prove to be one of the more durable, commercial songs in the Beefheart songbook, showing up on The Big Lebowski soundtrack and eventually landing the dubious honor of a Black Keys cover. You’ll be surprised how much you like it.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/10%20Her%20Eyes%20Are%20a%20Blue%20Million%20Miles.m4a]

Tagged Billboard, Captain Beefheart, The Big Lebowski, The Black Keys, Thursday, Trout Mask Replica, True Detective

Indie, Rock

“Unmade Bed”

Sonic Youth
Sonic Nurse, 2004

Never was a huge Sonic Youth fan, at least not in the way many are. I was too young to hear the band in their critical prime, and when I finally decided to care, records like Daydream Nation and Goo felt dated to me. Perhaps enough time had elapsed for the group’s influence to be fully absorbed by guitar culture (and me). But I hold a soft spot in my heart for the Jim O’Rourke era, 1999-2005, when SY opened up its sound to incorporate cleaner, leaner, classic rock tropes. “Unmade Bed” would be a relatively tame showing for this band in any era, but that restraint works in the song’s favor; these are guitars that know exactly when to stand and when to stay seated. Daydream is in the Library of Congress, but Sonic Nurse is the album I’ll always remember.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/02%20Unmade%20Bed.mp3]

Tagged Daydream Nation, Jim O'Rourke, Sonic Youth, Wednesday

Indie

“Temecula Sunrise”

Dirty Projectors
Bitte Orca, 2009

For those unfamiliar with Dirty Projectors, “Temecula Sunrise” may take a few spins to coalesce. At first, the elements don’t add up: double-time acoustic guitar that sounds like it’s being played by King Sunny Ade; hazy, half-time drumming that threatens to fall through at any moment; Dave Longstreth’s soothing vocal offset by searing female harmonies that attack from out of nowhere. But after several listens a picture emerges, and you realize you’re hearing some of the most adventurous pop music since Talking Heads. The songwriting is as clear and colorful as the cover.

[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/02%20Temecula%20Sunrise.m4a]

Tagged Dave Longstreth, Dirty Projectors, Talking Heads, Tuesday

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