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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 12, 2023 3:14:30 GMT -5
I've been Mari Kondoing my domicile, cleaning out random boxes of junk I haven't touched in years. Anyway this past weekend, squirreled away in a random box of crap I found an external hard drive chockablock with random MP3 downloads from the early to mid-2000s. These were not full albums I snagged from Kazaa or Limewire or anything like that but rather singular downloads from sites like epitonic or Pitchfork when they'd have like a MP3s of the Week deal or various circa 2000 indie or punk record labels. The audio fidelity is largely shit; 64kbps to 128kps more often than not though there seem to be a handful of 192kpbs in there as well and the songs are very disorganized (there are a couple "track3.mp3" type files in the mix). I have decided that I am going to start going through these files and writing little reviews of them on a weekly basis looking for forgotten early aughts gold among all the chaff.
I'm going to start with doing 10 songs a pop but might adjust that number if listening to ten different bands who sounded like 1997 Modest Mouse that no one remembers proves to be too taxing (or similarly might increase the number if 10 songs that all sound like "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" leaves me with little to write about here). So watch this space to read my thoughts about random 764-HERO tracks and bands that sounded a little bit like Bikini Kill that put out maybe a single EP before calling it quits. I'll probably have stuff about the first random-ass batch of songs up here within the next 24 hours.
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 12, 2023 21:35:11 GMT -5
Week 1Here, dear readers, is my first batch of tunes. I have added all* the songs from the hard drive to my iTunes with a unique genre tag. I then set up a "Smart" playlist to grab 10 songs from that genre. After listening to the song and writing about it I either delete the song or give it a proper genre tag so that it's not going to show back up in the randomized 10 song playlists. This is what I was given to work with this week. When possible I've included audio of the song in question so that you too can enjoy the bullshit I was listening to between the ages of 20 and 25. *Songs where it is not immediately clear who the artist is or what the song is titled have been put to the side for now since those will require additional work to determine who and what I'm listening to.Lanemeyer - "With or Without You" (1998)A late 90s pop-punk cover of the U2 song of the same name by a band named after a character in an 80s movie. This one is one of the songs I have no idea where it came from or why I ended up downloading it. It's not a particularly inspired cover but that is to be expected. I mean is any pop-punk cover from the 90s truly inspired? Hella - "Song From Uncle" (2005)Hella were a couple of weirdos that played...I don't know prog indie? The drummer's in Death Grips now the other guy had a Nintendo cover band called The Advantage that will 100% show up in one of these song reviews if I continue beyond this week. I was never super into Hella but this was probably the closest I got to digging them. I guess this was off a double album where much like Outkast did with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below each dude got their own album to fuck around with. I'm pretty sure I downloaded this off the Suicide Squeeze website whenever the album came out. Anyway this song comes from the guy that was in The Advantage album and sounds like a song out of a Nintendo game albeit with wild jazzbo drumming. It's enough to make me go and give at least this album a shot and see if they're less annoying than I initially found them to be. Frankenixon - "Posers" (2002)This feels almost like a proto Kristeen Young. It's a lady singing sad songs and banging on a piano while there's all sorts of fuzzed out guitar noise and bludgeoning drums happening behind her. I have no idea where I downloaded this from or why but I'm kind of glad that I did because this kind of rules. I'll probably look into this band and at least give the album this song originated from a listen to see if this was just an outlier or if their entire deal was playing grungy piano ballads. Tree Wave - "May Banners" (2004)I guess their gimmick is that they were doing chiptune before chiptune was really a thing that people talked about. Their lore (no idea if it's true or not) is that all the music is made with the guts of an Atari, a Commadore 64, and an Epson printer. It's a lot of farting synths and bleeps and bloops while a lady sings all ethereally over it. As a random band to have a single song by on an MP3 player I guess it's okay but I could see the gimmick of what the band is wearing out its welcome pretty quickly were one to dive deep into their discography. mewithoutYou - "Paper Hanger" (2004)I got the first mewwithoutYou album [AβB] Life back when I was in college. It was the perfect album for a scumbag 90s hardcore kid like me that was I guess growing up and getting into somewhat more musically sophisticated stuff than Bane and Earth Crisis since it kind of bridged the gap between those bands and let's say stuff like Death Cab For Cutie. There were still really heavy parts to it but also sad sack vocals and delicate melodies in other parts of the song. This song's off their second album which I never owned, largely because by the time it came out I was all in on sad sack mid 2000s indie stuff and had packed my Strife records away as stupid kid stuff. Like their first album this song does the same "Is it hardcore? Is it 2000s indie?" balancing act with bad coffee shop spoken word verses over twinkly guitars and then chugga chugga riffs and bellowing choruses. Also between the fact that this came out on Tooth & Nail and the lyrics about turning water into wine in this song, I'm pretty sure these cats are Jesus guys which might also be why I stopped fucking with them after their first record. Communique - "The Best Lies" (2004)I'm not too far into this project and one of the fun things about this is coming across bands I have absolutely no memory of and then having to research the band and try to figure out why I would have made the effort to even download the song. Case in point: Communique who I'm guessing I downloaded at some point because before they were Communique and doing early 2000s Interpol-esque New Order inspired synth rock shit they were the Lookout! Records punk band, American Steel. This is honestly more interesting than anything American Steel ever put out but still, if I want to listen to an early 2000s indie band with synthesizers I'll probably just listen to Interpol...or maybe Hot Hot Heat. Compass - "Never Live Forever" (2006)There are too many goddamn bands called Compass. This took me way too long to figure out which one I was actually listening to and it honestly wasn't worth it. I kind of think this song sucks. It's poorly recorded (possibly intentionally so) and melodically there's nothing interesting going on here. Lyrically too it's all very repetitive and dull. 31 Knots - "Played Out for Punchlines" (2003)Too busy Pinback-ass guitar lines all over the shop here. I think my buddy in college was really into this band circa 2002 but maybe I'm confusing them with 36 Crazyfists and that's the band he was into. Who knows? This was fine I guess if you want indie rock by guys that probably had subscriptions to Guitar Player magazine. Glitter Mini 9 - "Dreamstalker" (2000)soundcloud.com/user-999278962-956534192/glitter-mini-9-dreamstalkerI love this song! It sounds like some sort of Veruca Salt outtake which is maybe the greatest thing a song could possibly sound like. I'm definitely going to check out more stuff by them. The Halo Benders - "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain" (1998)This was likely downloaded off the K Records website at some point between 2000 and 2002 (I think there's going to be a pretty sizable chunk of mp3s I downloaded from that site in the weeks to come). Doug Martsch is a national treasure but I cannot for the life of me take Calvin Johnson's voice seriously. Luckily this is largely Doug Martsch's show so it just sounds like Keep It Like a Secret era Built to Spill with occasional too low groan-singing from ol' Calvin Johnson. It's good but Built to Spill is better.
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 18, 2023 23:22:29 GMT -5
Week 2
I'm back with another 10 songs chosen completely at random from the external hard drive of songs I randomly downloaded from various webpages in the early to mid 2000s.
764-HERO - "Sunburnt" (1997)
This is the first song I've encountered where I actually ended up buying the album that the downloaded mp3 originated from so this 64 kpbs mp3 is getting trashed since I have a better rip. I was really into 764-HERO back in college and to this day think that they should have been the late 90s Pacific Northwest indie rock band to have broken big instead of Modest Mouse. They had a similar vibe to Modest Mouse and actually put out a collaborative EP with them at one point (songs of which could very well show up here in the future) but I always thought they had better tunes. Part of it might just be that I think John Atkins has a less annoying voice than Isaac Brock or maybe it's because 764-HERO does "loud" better than Modest Mouse does but regardless I love them. This is not the greatest 764-HERO song ever but it's a pretty good representation of what they were all about.
Like Knives - "The Unlincoln Tunnel" (2005)
Some They Might Be Giants-ass weirdo pop. There are glockenspiels and shit and wonky synth noises and a random horn section and vocal harmonies singing about the Lincoln Tunnel. I have no idea where this came from or why I would have downloaded it but if I want weido pop songs I'd probably just listen to They Might Be Giants and if I wanted a song about the Lincoln Tunnel I'd listen to The Pulsars' "Tunnel Song."
Smile - "This Freaky Slow Dance" (1998)
Love me a grunge song with a phaser pedal! This shit fuckin' rules so hard. I don't know where I got this but I need more songs to sound like this. It's just good-ass power pop with grunge trappings and more bands should do that shit.
Oxford Collapse - "Please Visit Your National Parks" (2006)
This song's not terrible or anything but it's also not anything that 102 other circa 2004 jangly indie bands didn't already do better. Also I think the singer sounds like a Muppet.
The Shins - "Australia" (2007)
The Shins were one of those bands that Pitchfork would always rave about back when I regularly read Pitchfork but they never did anything for me. I think this song's off their third album and was likely downloaded from Pitchfork or maybe Sub Pop's website. "Maybe this time I'll get what all the hubbub is about." I didn't get the hubbub when I downloaded the song in 2007 and I don't get it now as I unearth this ancient-ass mp3 like an archaeologist descending into a tomb of indie rock.
Royal City - "Is This It?" (2003)
Mellow-ass acoustic cover of the Strokes song of the same name. I don't know which I hate more the ironic pop-punk cover of a 80s pop song or the overly earnest acoustic guitar and banjo cover of a 2000s rock song but this is the latter and it's awful.
Keepers of the Carpet - "Entitled" (2001)
When this started playing I legit thought it was that Nerf Herder "Van Halen" song. It has the same sort of dorks playing pop punk vibe that Nerf Herder did or any number of bands that opened for Weezer in the late 90s.
Hint Hint - "Long Branch, New Jersey" (2004)
Creepy organs, vague fake British accents, and one of the women from Pretty Girls Make Graves being here aren't enough to make this interesting to me. I don't really have anything to say beyond this sounds exactly like you'd expect some circa 2004 indie rock band you downloaded an mp3 from off some random-ass record label's website in 2004 and then forgot about until 2023.
Snowden - "Anti-Anti" (2006)
We've finally gotten to the "dance punk" part of the random mp3s I downloaded in the mid 2000s. For a while there it seemed like every other indie rock band was putting out songs where their drummer went H.A.M. on a disco beat while their singer sang about doing E at dance parties. This is one of those songs and you know what? I kind of dig it. It's not an all time great song about doing E at a dance party or anything like that but if you were super into Interpol it's a pretty decent thing to also listen to.
The Soviettes - "Thin Ice" (2003)
I don't know if this was something my younger brother sent me via whatever the instant messenger of the time was or something I downloaded myself off the Fat Wreck Chords website but this fuckin' rules! Lady punks playing a fast, upbeat punk song about how much George W. Bush sucked and how he used 9/11 as an excuse to "finish (his) daddy's war." I love everything about this. The band name is tremendous workplay. The song slaps. The lyrics are actually about something. They are definitely a band I'm going to look into more because of this stupid project.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Sept 19, 2023 8:51:52 GMT -5
Viking, you forgot to mention that Zach Hill from Hella also drummed for Marnie Sternβs first three albums.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Sept 19, 2023 9:30:55 GMT -5
764-HERO - "Sunburnt" (1997)This is the first song I've encountered where I actually ended up buying the album that the downloaded mp3 originated from so this 64 kpbs mp3 is getting trashed since I have a better rip. I was really into 764-HERO back in college and to this day think that they should have been the late 90s Pacific Northwest indie rock band to have broken big instead of Modest Mouse. They had a similar vibe to Modest Mouse and actually put out a collaborative EP with them at one point (songs of which could very well show up here in the future) but I always thought they had better tunes. Part of it might just be that I think John Atkins has a less annoying voice than Isaac Brock or maybe it's because 764-HERO does "loud" better than Modest Mouse does but regardless I love them. This is not the greatest 764-HERO song ever but it's a pretty good representation of what they were all about. Modest Mouse was one of my brother's favorite groups in that era of "sad, literate boys with guitars" indie rock that he loves but I mostly detest. I'll say that MM was actually one of the few of his bands to consistently hold my attention for the very reasons you call out: Isaac Brock's spiky and aggressive weirdness and the off-kilter arrangements. However, you make a good case for getting a similar hit from a band like this and I wonder what might have been had he gravitated to something more conducive to, you know, pleasure.
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Post by ganews on Sept 19, 2023 10:12:31 GMT -5
Mostly I just want an excuse to post in this thread so it will show up in the "participated" dashboard...
Nudeviking, I haven't delved into the Shins beyond their biggest two albums or so, but they are easily the most successful band yet that has come up here, far more than Pitchfork darlings
Also, mid-2000s dance punk? Looks like I will be investigating Snowden!
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 19, 2023 19:02:03 GMT -5
764-HERO - "Sunburnt" (1997)This is the first song I've encountered where I actually ended up buying the album that the downloaded mp3 originated from so this 64 kpbs mp3 is getting trashed since I have a better rip. I was really into 764-HERO back in college and to this day think that they should have been the late 90s Pacific Northwest indie rock band to have broken big instead of Modest Mouse. They had a similar vibe to Modest Mouse and actually put out a collaborative EP with them at one point (songs of which could very well show up here in the future) but I always thought they had better tunes. Part of it might just be that I think John Atkins has a less annoying voice than Isaac Brock or maybe it's because 764-HERO does "loud" better than Modest Mouse does but regardless I love them. This is not the greatest 764-HERO song ever but it's a pretty good representation of what they were all about. Modest Mouse was one of my brother's favorite groups in that era of "sad, literate boys with guitars" indie rock that he loves but I mostly detest. I'll say that MM was actually one of the few of his bands to consistently hold my attention for the very reasons you call out: Isaac Brock's spiky and aggressive weirdness and the off-kilter arrangements. However, you make a good case for getting a similar hit from a band like this and I wonder what might have been had he gravitated to something more conducive to, you know, pleasure. There were a mess of those bands in the late 90s and for whatever reason Modest Mouse was the one that sort of caught on with a lot of folks. I feel like I'd probably appreciate them more now than I did when I was like 18 years old and sort of weening myself off an adolescence spent listening to grunge and then 90s hardcore. They were a bit too "weak" sounding to really grab hold of me whereas 764-HERO had some songs you could at least kind of jump around to.
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 19, 2023 19:04:42 GMT -5
Viking, you forgot to mention that Zach Hill from Hella also drummed for Marnie Sternβs first three albums. He also drummed on Chino from Deftones side project, Team Sleep's sole album. Dude was all over the place for awhile there and might still be for all I know.
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 19, 2023 19:10:55 GMT -5
Mostly I just want an excuse to post in this thread so it will show up in the "participated" dashboard...
Nudeviking , I haven't delved into the Shins beyond their biggest two albums or so, but they are easily the most successful band yet that has come up here, far more than Pitchfork darlings
Also, mid-2000s dance punk? Looks like I will be investigating Snowden!
Regarding the Shins it's totally possible they became huge beyond the confines of Year 2000 Pitchfork hype but that's where I first heard about them and what I still sort of associate them with largely because nothing by them ever did it for me so they pretty quickly fell off my radar. As for Snowden I feel like I should probably give warnings with a lot of these songs. Outside of very specific instances like with 764-HERO this week where I have actually heard their entire discography including the song featured or mewwithoutYou where I've heard at least an album's worth of tunes by them a lot of these songs are the sole song I've ever heard by the artist in question so it is entirely possible that the song featured here is not indicative of what the artist in question regularly sounds like. So if you go and listen to Snowden on Spotify and it turns out they had one early 2000s dance punk type song and the rest of their discography is boring-ass acoustic guitar strumfuckery let us know.
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Rainbow Rosa
TI Forumite
not gay, just colorful
Posts: 3,604
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Sept 21, 2023 6:26:50 GMT -5
Also, mid-2000s dance punk? Looks like I will be investigating Snowden! --the NSA
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Post by ganews on Sept 21, 2023 8:25:24 GMT -5
Also, mid-2000s dance punk? Looks like I will be investigating Snowden! --the NSA I definitely looked it up. Looks like the band predated the leak by seven years and only ever produced one album of note anyway.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Sept 21, 2023 11:28:29 GMT -5
Viking, you forgot to mention that Zach Hill from Hella also drummed for Marnie Sternβs first three albums. He also drummed on Chino from Deftones side project, Team Sleep's sole album. Dude was all over the place for awhile there and might still be for all I know. Hella never did much for me but I did happen to catch a show in the mid-2000s. That guy performing is a sight to behold.
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Post by Jean Luc de Lemur on Sept 21, 2023 15:54:28 GMT -5
The Shins got a truly massive boost from Garden State and were absolutely inescapable if you were in high school in the mid-aughts. That and my dislike of βsad, literate boys with guitarsββa few people in my first-year dorm heavily into themβessentially negatively polarized my taste in music. I knew of a lot of the better (particularly New York) indie, but Garden State and Modest Mouse really cast a pall over the whole genre for me (and forced me to play catch-up when I had a cool, good Indie-girl girlfriend a couple years ago). Some They Might Be Giants-ass weirdo pop. There are glockenspiels and shit and wonky synth noises and a random horn section and vocal harmonies singing about the Lincoln Tunnel. I have no idea where this came from or why I would have downloaded it but if I want weido pop songs I'd probably just listen to They Might Be Giants and if I wanted a song about the Lincoln Tunnel I'd listen to The Pulsars' "Tunnel Song." lol one of my college friends was exactly the sort of guy whoβd be all over that. Heβs also the person who introduced me to Kraftwerk, and through that the most important musical influence of my life, despite his adoration of music with βglockenspiels and shitβ (was also a big Andrew Bird guy, went to a concert with him and he was so into it that I found myself receding into the crowd).
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 21, 2023 18:42:37 GMT -5
He also drummed on Chino from Deftones side project, Team Sleep's sole album. Dude was all over the place for awhile there and might still be for all I know. Hella never did much for me but I did happen to catch a show in the mid-2000s. That guy performing is a sight to behold. Dude is probably as close as we will ever get to a real drummer playing drums like Animal from the Muppets.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Sept 24, 2023 16:40:29 GMT -5
Hella never did much for me but I did happen to catch a show in the mid-2000s. That guy performing is a sight to behold. Dude is probably as close as we will ever get to a real drummer playing drums like Animal from the Muppets. Do you think that in the Muppets, Animal has ever written the title of one of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhemβs albums in Sharpie on his erect penis and then taken a photo of it and then made that photo the cover photo of said album, the way Zach Hill did on one of Death Gripsβ albums?
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 24, 2023 18:48:14 GMT -5
Dude is probably as close as we will ever get to a real drummer playing drums like Animal from the Muppets. Do you think that in the Muppets, Animal has ever written the title of one of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhemβs albums in Sharpie on his erect penis and then taken a photo of it and then made that photo the cover photo of said album, the way Zach Hill did on one of Death Gripsβ albums? If any Muppet's ever written stuff on their dick in permanent mark it's Animal...maybe Cookie Monster too.
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 25, 2023 2:38:06 GMT -5
Week 3
It's week three of my excavation of long forgotten mp3 downloads and I've got another batch of randomly selected songs to listen to and write nonsense about.
My Chemical Romance - "Cemetery Drive" (2004)
I am 100% sure this was something my younger brother sent me over AIM or that Microsoft Messenger deal back in 2004. He was super into My Chemical Romance and was constantly preaching the good word about them to me. I will say that my brother knows my tastes pretty well because I've since heard other My Chemical Romance songs and none of them hit quite the same way this balls to the wall "I'm sad about a girl but am going to drive a car real fast and/or fight ninjas right now," song does and if anything is going to make me dig deeper into a band's back catalogue it's a song that I could drive 1,000,000 mph to or serve as the soundtrack to a karate fight with a ninja.
Everybody Uh Oh - "Champaign's Too Bright" (2002)
I miss the sort of indie rock offshoot that was like one or two dorks with a guitar and a Moog synthesizer and some shitty 80s drum machine that we get in the opening moments of this song before it turns into a more straightforward Big Muff fuzzed out rock anthem with the singer wondering how will folks know that he's rock n' roll and playing perfectly terrible and great dueling garage band solos. This rules ass.
These Arms Are Snakes - "Big News" (2004)
Some percentage of this band used to be in Botch. As a reformed 90s hardcore scumbag I love me some Botch since they did a lot of the same kind of shit that I listened to bands like One King Down or Hatebreed for but they were also fuckin' weirdos that covered The B-52s' "Rock Lobster," and put out an EP where all the song titles were names of countries with any letter N being replaced by an M ("Micaragua" and "Framce" are both funnier to me then they really have any right being). This song is a lot more straightforward and less weird than Botch ever was. It kind of reminds me of all those 90s Amphetamine Reptile bands like Chokebore and Jesus Lizard and Hammerhead and shit like that. I dig those bands so this is fine.
The Magic Magicians - "I'm On Your Side" (2001)
I have to confess listening to this made me feel like an idiot. I have zero memory of this band but as I listen to it I'm like "What band does this remind me of? It sounds just like some indie band I like a lot but I can't put my finger on which one..." Dear reader it's the dude from 764-HERO doing 70s soft rock inspired indie with the drummer from Modest Mouse. It's way mellower than a lot of the 764-HERO output but it's decent in a lazy, dreamy sort of way.
No Knife - "Flechette" (2002)
You know what's not lazy? This fuckin' song! This is a song that has somewhere to be and it's already running late so it's going to haul fuckin' ass to get there! This is another one where I actually went and bought albums by this band off the strength of this Epitonic dot com download. The version I ripped from the CD I bought is still in my top 25 most played songs of all the times (by which I mean since whenever my computer last died and I had to rebuild an iTunes library). Another absolute banger.
Enon - "Natural Disasters" (2002)
This is another one where I ended up buying the album because of how dick-fuckin' awesome this random-ass mp3 I downloaded was. Killer boy/girl vocals, bad synthesizers, more baller deluxe five note garage band guitar solos. All shit I love.
Born Against - "Movin' On Up" (1995)
A terrible hardcore cover of the Jeffersons theme song. 40 some odd seconds of barfbag vocals, a drummer that can't keep time, and shit production values. This was the first dud of this batch of tunes.
The Mae Shi - "Born For a Short Time" (2005)
This fuckin' guy sounds like a Muppet on helium. This is that sort of boneheaded bullshit that people who think they're smarter than they actually are will try and tell you is somehow more intelligent than a bad hardcore cover of the Jeffersons theme song sung by a guy who sounds like he's in the process of puking up his dinner of 14 Natty Ices. These cats probably went to music school and have opinions about the works of John Zorn or some bullshit but they're making music that's just as stupid and annoying as Born Against. Another dud.
Hot Water Music - "Seein' Diamonds" (2004)
I think this was another song my brother sent me back when we used to send each other random-ass mp3s. It sure is a Hot Water Music song! Like if you're into Hot Water Music you'll probably like this but if you don't care about them or think they suck this is not going to change your opinion of them.
MxPx - "Lonesome Town" (2001)
Generic early 2000s pop punk song #4039. I don't really have anything interesting to say about this song in specific or MxPx in general. I mean even at the height of my pop punk fandom MxPx were just kind of there. They were fine but not really anything any of my punk friends were super into. Maybe for Christian kids whose parents wouldn't let them buy Green Day or Offspring records they were more important but my parents didn't give a shit what CDs I listened to so I had no real use for generic-ass pop punk songs that sometimes sang about "Him" and not in the same subversive way that Pansy Division was singing about "him."
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Post by ganews on Sept 25, 2023 8:51:44 GMT -5
Week 3It's week three of my excavation of long forgotten mp3 downloads and I've got another batch of randomly selected songs to listen to and write nonsense about. My Chemical Romance - "Cemetery Drive" (2004)
I am 100% sure this was something my younger brother sent me over AIM or that Microsoft Messenger deal back in 2004. He was super into My Chemical Romance and was constantly preaching the good word about them to me. I will say that my brother knows my tastes pretty well because I've since heard other My Chemical Romance songs and none of them hit quite the same way this balls to the wall "I'm sad a girl but am going to drive a car real fast and/or fight ninjas right now," song does and if anything is going to make me dig deeper into a band's back catalogue it's a song that I could drive 1,000,000 mph to or serve as the soundtrack to a karate fight with a ninja. 100% percent the most successful band yet, and surely the last gasp of emo before mainstream success and "being emo" wore out. Not just indie cred crossover and MPDG Natalie Portman saying they'll change your life like the Shins, but serious success. "Welcome to The Black Parade" from their next album was absolutely everywhere. It was so big that Beyonce had to cover it over a decade later (I kid, I kid).
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Post by Nudeviking on Sept 25, 2023 18:55:59 GMT -5
Week 3It's week three of my excavation of long forgotten mp3 downloads and I've got another batch of randomly selected songs to listen to and write nonsense about. My Chemical Romance - "Cemetery Drive" (2004)
I am 100% sure this was something my younger brother sent me over AIM or that Microsoft Messenger deal back in 2004. He was super into My Chemical Romance and was constantly preaching the good word about them to me. I will say that my brother knows my tastes pretty well because I've since heard other My Chemical Romance songs and none of them hit quite the same way this balls to the wall "I'm sad a girl but am going to drive a car real fast and/or fight ninjas right now," song does and if anything is going to make me dig deeper into a band's back catalogue it's a song that I could drive 1,000,000 mph to or serve as the soundtrack to a karate fight with a ninja. 100% percent the most successful band yet, and surely the last gasp of emo before mainstream success and "being emo" wore out. Not just indie cred crossover and MPDG Natalie Portman saying they'll change your life like the Shins, but serious success. "Welcome to The Black Parade" from their next album was absolutely everywhere. It was so big that Beyonce had to cover it over a decade later (I kid, I kid). I have a feeling that there's probably not going to anyone more famous then them unless there are some other stray tunes that got sent to me by my brother in here since the mp3s in question are mostly stuff that got downloaded off random indie record labels' websites. Like there might be some American Idiot era Green Day songs in here or other circa 2004 Warped Tour shit but I very much doubt a Beyonce or anyone actually famous is going to show up in these here reviews.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Oct 4, 2023 11:15:26 GMT -5
MxPx - "Lonesome Town" (2001)Generic early 2000s pop punk song #4039. I don't really have anything interesting to say about this song in specific or MxPx in general. I mean even at the height of my pop punk fandom MxPx were just kind of there. They were fine but not really anything any of my punk friends were super into. Maybe for Christian kids whose parents wouldn't let them buy Green Day or Offspring records they were more important but my parents didn't give a shit what CDs I listened to so I had no real use for generic-ass pop punk songs that sometimes sang about "Him" and not in the same subversive way that Pansy Division was singing about "him." I grew up in the Bible Belt (both the Assemblies of God mega-church chain and John Ashcroft are from my hometown) and I can confirm MxPx were a constant presence. I would hope they were a gateway band into something like, I don't know, Rites of Spring, but I suspect more often than not it was the end of the line for many before they started pumping out little Warriors for Christ. Regarding Enon, a good friend from college grew up in a bar in Athens, OH and was absurdly possessive of the cool Ohio bands of the era. Both this band and Blonde Redhead derive from a group you may already know: Brainiac, which my friend evangelized to the hills. They were good, I'll say.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 5, 2023 2:18:46 GMT -5
Week 4I'm frankly a bit surprised I've kept at this as long as I have but here's another chunk of songs I amassed and then moved to an external hard drive at some point around 2007 or 2008. This week's offerings feel a bit weaker to me than previous installments have as there wasn't really any moments that made me be like "HOLY SHIT THIS FUCKIN' RULES!" the way at least one or two songs in every prior installment did but maybe you all will find something here that you like way more than I did. So here we go! The 101 - "Dancing" (2006)Pretty generic early aughts indie rock. A driving rock beat. Power pop riffs. Twinkly guitar parts. It's got everything a fan of early to mid 2000s indie could possibly want just done slightly worse than a dozen other bands you probably are more into. OOIOO - "Right Hand Ponk" (1997)If memory serves correctly OOIOO was a Yoshimi P-We (of Boredoms and getting a Flaming Lips record named after her fame) side project. The song here is weird and noisy and oddly catchy in the same way that the best Boredoms songs before they become weird sun worshipping hippies that only played 900 hour long drum circle "songs," were weird and noisy and oddly catchy. Swearing At Motorists - "Northern Line" (2006)This is kind of boring. Sluggish, minimalist "rock" with double tracked vocals. If I had to guess I probably just downloaded this because I think the band's name is pretty funny. 2Cell - "κΈ°μ΅μ λͺ" (2004)There was a while in the late 90s and early 00s where you could actually hear Korean rock bands on the radio and see them play alongside your favorite ensemble of beautiful K-Pop boys and girls on the weekend music shows but that kind of stopped being a thing in 2005 when the punk band Rux played on one of those shows and some of their entourage got their cock out on live TV. You'll still sometimes see some of the legacy rock bands on TV and there are of course indie bands out there but it's not the same. Anyway 2Cell was one of those bands from the before times. This song used to be on the radio and on MTV and shit the first year I was in Korea. Like OOIOO this too was a side project, this time being the guitarist from the band N.EX.T. Musically it's not the sort of thing that I generally fuck with as it's way more Guitar Institute of Technology guitar prowess than drunk guy that kind of knows 4 guitar chords in terms of its musically proficency but I'd be lying if I didn't say that it bums me out that this sort of thing no longer really has a place on the airwaves anymore here in Korea. Sick Bees - "Paint My Apartment" (2005)Another one of those late 90s/early 00s indie bands from the Pacific Northwest that is maybe two people playing really poorly recorded songs about twee bullshit. Another one I don't know where I downloaded it from or why and one of the rare songs that didn't inspire a desire to seek out more stuff by the artist. Pookey Bleum - "The House" (2003)pookeybleum.bandcamp.com/track/the-housePerfectly fine power-pop about a house that's "just an apartment with no chairs." I kind of dig this for some reason. Maybe it's the boy/girl vocal harmonies or the bit that kind of borrows the opening bit to "Jailhouse Rock," or the terrible 4 note garage band solo or that a glockenspiel randomly shows up at the end. Fuck it...this is pretty good. The Rock Tigers - "Come On Let's Go" (2003)In the early 2000s Korea also had rockabilly bands. The Rock Tigers actually hold the distinction of being the first Korean band I actually saw in concert (they were the openers for a band that I actually wanted to see). They're fine but not my cup of tea. Like if you're into rock n' roll piano or like The Stray Cats or Social Distortion you might dig 'em but I do not have a single flash tattoo and I doubt my wife even knows who Bettie Page is let alone aspire to look exactly like her so I am very much not the audience for this. Elkland - "Apart" (2005)It's time for our Dance Punk Also-Rans Song of the Week! Fart synths! Frantic disco beats! Whiny boys singing about girls! Drum machine handclaps! Theremins? This song has it all and I kind of don't hate it. Som2 - "True Blue" (2003)A lot of times with these songs I know exactly where I downloaded them from and can recall the exact reason why. Sometimes I don't remember where or when I got the song but I do remember the song or at least the artist. This one? This one I have no idea why I would have downloaded the song. It's a K-pop that was on the soundtrack to an AstroBoy movie from 2003 or some shit. I don't remember the singer who at some point apparently changed her name to Meilin (who I also don't know shit about). I don't remember the song at all though it's apparently a cover of a song by a Japanese band known as Zone. I don't remember anything about a 2003 AstroBoy movie. The song very much feels like an anime theme song. Som2 or Meilin or whatever she's calling herself is a decent enough singer but I don't really give a shit about anime theme songs or triumphant synth trumpets or AstroBoy. Rooney - "Blueside" (2003)It was only a matter of time before a random Rooney song showed itself here. They were fucking inescapable if you trawled mp3 blogs in the early to mid 2000s (or watched The Princess Diaries apparently). I don't think it's bad but I also don't really have any use for it. There are a ton of other bands that do this exact thing but way better.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 11, 2023 2:20:17 GMT -5
Week 5
I am still on this bullshit so here are ten more random indie songs from the late 90s and early 00s that absolutely no one remembers.
Three Mile Pilot - "On a Ship to Bangladesh" (1997)
I miss when alt-rock bands would have bummer rock organs and bargain basement trip-hop drum machine beats. This is mellower than 90% of the shit I listen to but I kind of dig it.
Mary Timony - "Friend to JC" (2005)
Mary Timony might lowkey be one of the best guitarists of the 90s indie/alt-rock scene. I mean there aren't many other folks who could go from something that sounds like a medieval times troubadour lute riff to the best 90s alterna-rock power chord progression you've ever heard on a single song. I don't think this is her best song or anything like that but it's still pretty darn good.
Pilot to Gunner - "We Got Games at High Speeds" (2001)
Weird start and stop riff rock. Vocals that are mostly just a guy talking about some bullshit. I don't hate it.
Evening Lights - "In a Day" (2003)
Twee as fuck. It's got two women singing and guitars with zero distortion. If you like The Softies you'll probably like this.
Bangs - "I Want More" (2002)
Punk as fuck. It's got two women yelling and guitars with total distortion. If you like Bikini Kill you'll probably like this. This is another mp3 download where I actually ended up buying the album in question.
Heros Severum - "From Foot to Foot" (2002)
Pretty generic early 2000s indie rock. They've got boy-girl vocals which I think are good and some of the riffs in this are pretty alright but this is not really anything special. It sounds like hundreds of other bands I've heard before.
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes - "End of the Road" (2003)
A surprisingly straightforward punk cover of the Boyz II Men song of the same name. Like the only "ironic" bit is during the instrumental interlude someone doing a California surfer dude voice talks about drinking a 12 pack of beers and getting a sunburn but other than that it's just the song that was on the Boomerang soundtrack with a faster drum beat and guitars.
Pony Up! - "The Truth About Cats And Dogs (Is That They Die)" (2006)
Kind of splitting the difference between Evening Lights and Bangs on the two women singing and playing guitars scale. It's not a bit more oomph than Evening Lights did but is not as ramshackle as the Bangs song was. There's an "Oooh ahhh oooh" vocal part and frantic drums towards the end. I would definitely listen to other songs by this band.
The Thermals - "No Culture Icons" (2003)
Another one where I ended up buying the record this mp3 originated from. I don't like the album in question (More Parts Per Million) as much as the latter albums Fuckin' A and The Body, The Blood, The Machine but this song's not bad.
The iOs - "Neveright" (2006)
This is just good-ass power pop. Good riffs. Wild synths. Boy-girl vocals. The only thing it's missing is a 4 note garage band guitar solo (it has a 4 note garage band synth solo instead) and it would be a perfect song. Greatest Song of All Time of the Week!
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Post by Desert Dweller on Oct 15, 2023 16:47:58 GMT -5
Pretty sure that Bangs song and at least one other got some play on XM's indie or underground channels, pre-Sirius merger. I know I've heard it before.
The Thermals also got some play, though I hadn't heard that song. The ones I'd heard were off those later two albums that you cited. This must also have been on XM's indie/rock channels. They used to have some great channels pre-Sirius merger. After the merger the playlists hugely decreased in numbers and variety. And the indie/underground channels that XM had mostly disappeared. Sadly.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 17, 2023 19:56:29 GMT -5
Week 6How is this the dumb project I've stuck with? Perhaps it's the simplicity of it or the fact that it's random enough that I'm not going to get burned out the same way I do with other similar projects I've attempted to undertake. Anyway here's 10 more songs. Kind of mediocre batch this week. I don't think there are really any songs or bands that will begot a lot of "Oh shit ____ were great!" replies but I've thought that about other weeks and been wrong so here we go. Rocket Diary - "Tonight" (2007)Rocket Diary were a Korean punk band. They might still be but I haven't kept up with them for a decade or so at this point. They released an EP of melodic as shit skate punk that I absolutely loved but this is from their follow up. It's more mature than the boneheaded fun that was their debut EP and I kind of like it less because of it. Like it's still fine if you like overwrought mid-00s emo inspired pop punk with pianos and string ensembles and shit but there's something about idiots with shitty guitars bashing out 3 minute pop-punk anthems that resonates with me way more. Mew - "The Zookeeper's Boy" (2005)Proggy Danish pop-rock with too high singing about ostriches and climbing giraffes and shit. There are some good ass arena rock riffs during the chorus. I could see this shit appealing to both folks that like the pummeling arena rock stylings of Muse and then weirdos that are super into Sigur Ros equally. Transplants - "Tall Cans In The Air" (2002)LO MOTHERFUCKIN' L! Remember when Tim Rancid had a shitty rapcore band? I had blocked this shit from my mind. This is hilariously bad. Like if you were trying to create a soundtrack for early 2000s dirtbag boys in a lab using science and shit this is what you'd come up with. The more I listen to this the stronger my desire to buy knives out of a mail order catalogue and hurl M-80s at shit in a quarry grows. Juno - "When I Was In ________" (2001)Time for some 2001 indie rockin'. This is very much the sort of shit I was all about in the early 2000s but there were also 90,000,000 bands doing this emo/indie guitar-centric rock shit and there's nothing that Juno's bringing to the table here that dozens of other bands were also doing. The Microphones - "Ocean 1,2,3" (1999)When I was a chronically depressed teenager I had burned a CD-R with "SUICIDE MIX" scrawled on the CD in blue Sharpie marker. "Ocean 1,2,3" was the lead off track on that mix. I'm not really depressed anymore and the ol' "SUICIDE MIX" has long since been sent to the dump but I still kind of dig this song. This is another one where I wound up buying the album proper based entirely on the strength of this downloaded off the K Records website in 1999 mp3 and honestly nothing else on the album hit quite the same way this did. I mean there are some other songs for sad boys that are decent enough but none of them can quite compare to this bummer masterpiece. Bonfire Madigan - "Scraps" (2000)bonfiremadigan.bandcamp.com/track/scrapsI'm pretty sure that I first heard Bonfire Madigan on a Pixies tribute album where they did a pretty rad cello rock cover of "Monkey Gone to Heaven." This song is far more subdued than that wild-ass cover was and seems more like the sort of thing I'd hear at a coffee shop one of the witch girls I was friends with in college would have brought me to. This does not live up to the promise of that Pixies covers I first heard and probably is the reason why that's the only Bonfire Madigan thing I ever spent money on (unless they showed up on some other comp I'm forgetting). The Life and Times - "Coat of Arms" (2005)Verses that remind me of Interpol's first album. Choruses that remind me of Chris Cornell's solo output. I will 100% forget I ever listened to this song by the time I find videos or Spotify links for all these songs and post this list. Sick Of It All - "The Future Is Mine" (1999)As a New Yorker that was a hardcore kid in the 90s I feel like I probably should like Sick Of It All more than I actually do. I mean I owned Just Look Around and Scratch the Surface and would go and see them when they came to town but my regional hardcore band loyalty hewed closer to the bands out of Upstate and Western New York for whatever reason...One King and Earth Crisis and Snapcase and Stigmata and shit like that. Anyway with that overlong preamble out of the way let's talk about the song. There's gang vocals and pick slides and screaming. It feels closer to the pop-punk stuff my younger brother liked than the chugga chugga floor punching hardcore nonsense I listened to in the 90s. As is often the case with punk and/or hardcore bands there's nothing here that isn't identical to stuff that bands I love do but for whatever reason I'm still not that into this. Sahara Hotnights - "Alright Alright (Here's My Fist Where's The Fight)" (2001)I'm pretty sure this came out in the post-Donnas afterglow if it wasn't the Donnas specifically that caused the Sahara Hotnights to end up on my radar then it was all those Hives/Vines/Strokes circa 2001 bands that were going to "save rock n' roll" that allowed a band of Swedish ladies playing garage rock to put out a major label release in the US. Regardless of how they ended up having songs on the radio in America in 2001 I'm kind of glad that they did because this song kind of rules. I'm pretty sure I heard the rest of at least the album this came from but don't remember anything on it being 1/10 as great as this song which I'm going to go ahead and declare the Greatest Song of All Time of the Week. Maritime - "A Night Like This" (2004)The dude from Promise Ring's other band that isn't Cap'n Jazz. This is another one where I actually own the CD this came from but definitely not because of this song which is boring as fuck. Molassess slow as acoustic guitar strumfuckery and mopey-ass lyrics. It's very much cut from the same cloth as Promise Ring's final and in my opinion worst album, wood/water, in a way that the rest of this record isn't and was always one of my least favorite tracks on the record. I have no idea why this was the mp3 they posted to try and get people amped for a record by the dude from Promise Ring.
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monodrone
Prolific Poster
Come To Brazil
Posts: 2,551
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Post by monodrone on Oct 24, 2023 20:01:49 GMT -5
I've been Mari Kondoing my domicile, cleaning out random boxes of junk I haven't touched in years. Anyway this past weekend, squirreled away in a random box of crap I found an external hard drive chockablock with random MP3 downloads from the early to mid-2000s. These were not full albums I snagged from Kazaa or Limewire or anything like that but rather singular downloads from sites like epitonic or Pitchfork when they'd have like a MP3s of the Week deal or various circa 2000 indie or punk record labels. The audio fidelity is largely shit; 64kbps to 128kps more often than not though there seem to be a handful of 192kpbs in there as well and the songs are very disorganized (there are a couple "track3.mp3" type files in the mix). I have decided that I am going to start going through these files and writing little reviews of them on a weekly basis looking for forgotten early aughts gold among all the chaff. I'm going to start with doing 10 songs a pop but might adjust that number if listening to ten different bands who sounded like 1997 Modest Mouse that no one remembers proves to be too taxing (or similarly might increase the number if 10 songs that all sound like "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" leaves me with little to write about here). So watch this space to read my thoughts about random 764-HERO tracks and bands that sounded a little bit like Bikini Kill that put out maybe a single EP before calling it quits. I'll probably have stuff about the first random-ass batch of songs up here within the next 24 hours. History Lessons by 764-HERO is in my folder of randomly downloaded mp3 files from 2004-07. Decent song.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 25, 2023 1:39:21 GMT -5
I've been Mari Kondoing my domicile, cleaning out random boxes of junk I haven't touched in years. Anyway this past weekend, squirreled away in a random box of crap I found an external hard drive chockablock with random MP3 downloads from the early to mid-2000s. These were not full albums I snagged from Kazaa or Limewire or anything like that but rather singular downloads from sites like epitonic or Pitchfork when they'd have like a MP3s of the Week deal or various circa 2000 indie or punk record labels. The audio fidelity is largely shit; 64kbps to 128kps more often than not though there seem to be a handful of 192kpbs in there as well and the songs are very disorganized (there are a couple "track3.mp3" type files in the mix). I have decided that I am going to start going through these files and writing little reviews of them on a weekly basis looking for forgotten early aughts gold among all the chaff. I'm going to start with doing 10 songs a pop but might adjust that number if listening to ten different bands who sounded like 1997 Modest Mouse that no one remembers proves to be too taxing (or similarly might increase the number if 10 songs that all sound like "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" leaves me with little to write about here). So watch this space to read my thoughts about random 764-HERO tracks and bands that sounded a little bit like Bikini Kill that put out maybe a single EP before calling it quits. I'll probably have stuff about the first random-ass batch of songs up here within the next 24 hours. History Lessons by 764-HERO is in my folder of randomly downloaded mp3 files from 2004-07. Decent song. That's probably my all-time favorite song by those cats. It was at one time my top played song on iTunes but that was many iTunes/Computer borks ago so that is no longer the case though if that original total plays was still recorded it probably still would be in the top 25.
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monodrone
Prolific Poster
Come To Brazil
Posts: 2,551
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Post by monodrone on Oct 25, 2023 6:41:59 GMT -5
Some notes on reading this thread properly:
Hella are very much a Math Rock band and I'm in agreement with everyone else that Zach Hill Rules.
These Arms Are Snakes are a band that I got into thanks to an entry in the random mp3 folder and ultimately led me to Botch, who I now love, via Russian Circles who also features Brian Cook on bass. The song that hooked me was not this one or one from this album but listening to it again here it was probably an early entry to the world of noise rock that I wallow in regularly nowadays.
Mary Timony is a guitarist I'm familiar with but I didn't realise she had all this solo work behind her. I know her from the band Ex Hex (I had no idea the band was named after one of her albums) who were pretty great and worth checking out if you haven't already.
I still listen to Transplants sometimes, a remnant from way back when Travis Barker playing on something would make me interested. I'm cool. I've got this.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 25, 2023 21:09:52 GMT -5
Some notes on reading this thread properly: Hella are very much a Math Rock band and I'm in agreement with everyone else that Zach Hill Rules. These Arms Are Snakes are a band that I got into thanks to an entry in the random mp3 folder and ultimately led me to Botch, who I now love, via Russian Circles who also features Brian Cook on bass. The song that hooked me was not this one or one from this album but listening to it again here it was probably an early entry to the world of noise rock that I wallow in regularly nowadays. Mary Timony is a guitarist I'm familiar with but I didn't realise she had all this solo work behind her. I know her from the band Ex Hex (I had no idea the band was named after one of her albums) who were pretty great and worth checking out if you haven't already. I still listen to Transplants sometimes, a remnant from way back when Travis Barker playing on something would make me interested. I'm cool. I've got this. If you haven't dug too deeply into the discography of Mary Timony go check out Helium. Their shit rules so hard.
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Post by Nudeviking on Oct 26, 2023 3:04:38 GMT -5
Week 7
Another week, another 10 random songs from 2004! There's a couple of legitimate bangers, a couple of absolute duds, and a song that I cannot find streaming (or available for download) anywhere on the internet. Join us won't you?
Anyway - "Homeboy" (2002) This marks the first time in nearly two months of doing this that I have been unable to find a streaming copy of the song in question anywhere. I tried the Wayback Machine too but again came up with nothing so you can't listen along at home unless you happen to own this album which I'm going to guess is unlike since they're a random Czech band. Musically they're doing kind of noisy Amphetamine Reptile style indie rock I guess. They sing in English on this particular song but I have no idea if that's the norm for them or not. This isn't awful but also isn't good enough to warrant the amount of time I just spent looking for YouTube rips or Bandcamp sites in order to post a copy of the song here.
Lodger - "I Love Death" (2005?)
I actually remember this song and how I first discovered it. It soundtracked a Newgrounds Flash animation video of stick figures killing each other that I saw in the early 2000s...or maybe the actual music video for this song was designed to look like a Newgrounds Flash animation video. The song is the most early 2000s British indie rock band sounding shit ever but honestly I kind of dig it but of course I would because I'm an idiot that owns multiple Gwenmars and Feeder albums.
The Von Bondies - "C'mon C'mon" (2003)
This song fucking rules! Gold standard mid-2000s rock nonsense right here! Boy/girl vocals in the chorus! 3 note garage band guitar licks! A temp that's gotta be near 150bpm! Legitimately everything I want out of a song. I'm giving this one the coveted Greatest Song of All Time of The Week Award.
Zebrahead - "Surrender" (2003)
I have no knowledge of or attachment to this band but I'm going to assume that this was downloaded in one of my random download every mp3 that appears when I search for "SONG TITLE" + "cover" fits of drunken interneting (if I cheated and hand selected songs I'm pretty sure I could get a week at least out of covers of Nirvana's 'Drain You" I've downloaded over the years). Anyway this is of course a punk cover of the Cheap Trick song. The punk rock cover irony is pretty low here but there's nothing here that would ever make me decide to listen to this over the original version which is pretty much a perfect song.
Hellogoodbye - "Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up On Me)" (2006)
The fuck is this bullshit? It's all auto-tuned vocals and singing lyrics that seem like they got lifted from a band that had a song on Emo Diaries Chapter III but musically it's all drum machines and weird squeally Eurodance synth shits.
Groundwork - "Past" (1994)
Screamy 90s hardcore shit. Reminds me of sophomore year of high school. If you liked 90s hardcore this is fine but it's not exactly unique or something I'd go for now if I were in a 90s hardcore mood.
Witches - "λ³λ€!! κ·Έλ
!!" (2002)
In a previous installment of this stupid project I mentioned punkers getting their dicks out on network TV back in 2005 being kind of the end of everything but pop songs and ballads in the musical mainstream in South Korea at all. You can add ska to the list of sub-genres that at one time were actually played on the radio and TV that more or less faded into obscurity in the backlash. Witches were alright if you liked horn sections. I think I saw them at one of those random 5 bands for 10,000 won all ages shows I used to go to before I was married and downloaded this off their website (MySpace page?) afterwards. It's fine if you like ska I guess. I mean I kind of tolerate ska at best and I don't hate this so if you're super into Reel Big Fish or Five Iron Frenzy or some shit you might like this.
The Ghost - "Death By The Bay" (2002)
In spite singing about Halloween in this here song, this is not the goofy "too spooky for you" Swedish "Satanic" rock n' roll combo but rather some turn of the millennium post-rock band from gods know where. I kind of like it but it's not anything special.
Black Kids - "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" (2007)
Were these guys and gals the first band where Pitchfork raved about a single and then absolutely shit all over the album proper when the album got released or does Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah hold that honor? This was the single that Pitchfork raved about and I can see why. This song fuck rules. Again it's got nearly everything I want from a song (see the review "C'mon C'mon" for a complete list and then add goofy synths to said list). I don't think I ever listened to the album proper because the review was so terrible I figured there wasn't any point since I already had an mp3 of the only worthwhile song on that album but maybe I'll go check it out because there's no way a band that came up with something this good don't have at least a couple more pretty good power pop songs in their discography.
Harvey Danger - "Cream and Bastards Rise" (2005)
This isn't off Flagpole Sitta or that follow-up album that had "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" on it but their third album that I don't think anyone gave a single fuck about. It is a Harvey Danger song. It sounds like every Harvey Danger song on the album(s) you might have owned in 2000. Their singer sings twitchy, nervous sounding lyrics over pretty boilerplate late 90s alt-rock. I mean there's some rock organ in there to make it a bit different from whatever other 90s alt-rock guitar guys were still out there plugging along in 2005 when this came out but it's not different enough to make this worth seeking out over, I dunno, whatever Nada Surf was doing if you wanted some "How are these cats still releasing albums?!" 90s alt-rock shit in 2005.
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Rainbow Rosa
TI Forumite
not gay, just colorful
Posts: 3,604
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Post by Rainbow Rosa on Oct 26, 2023 13:25:02 GMT -5
Oh, I actually recognized a lot of these songs just by the band name + titles and could hum the choruses of a bunch of them, which is a first here.
I did NOT know the Lodger track, but in the interest of contributing to this thread I would like to ask Nude if he's heard a song by a group called "The Outline" titled "Shotgun," which I came across in the 00s watching Xiao Xiao-style "stick figure gangbang" videos with my brother and which apparently was the soundtrack to many, many, MANY an AMV back in 2006 and which I randomly get stuck in my head once a month.
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