Week of January23, 2012

1. "Who Stole the Soul"--Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet:
This album is the last one I really listened to by Public Enemy. They were one of the first rap bands that got my attention. My friend Bill put their first tape in on the way to school back in 1987, so I was actually ahead of the curve for once. While I prefer the first two albums, this one had some strong stuff. This song is not a particular standout for me. However, I should take this opportunity to brag about meeting Chuck D. He was a speaker at my grad school around 2006, and I got the opportunity to meet him. It was just a handshake and a hello, but it was awesome! He is an amazing dude and very down to earth. NO SHAME.

2. "Glamourpuss"--Hoodoo Gurus, Magnum Cum Louder:
I believe this is the second appearance by the Hoodoo Gurus on the blog. I listened to this album a lot when it came out but, except for the single "Come Anytime," the album has not stood the test of time. I find that on each album, the Hoodoo Gurus would have one or two strong singles and the rest of the album would do little for me. MEH.

3. "Perfecting Loneliness"--Jets to Brazil, Perfecting Loneliness:
The title track here is one of the stronger ones on this album. This second album by Blake Schwarzenbach's second band (formerly of Jawbreaker) was less interesting to me. Jets to Brazil's first album was better for me. I was a huge Jawbreaker fan in their day. I saw them live a couple of times, and they never disappointed. Years later I learned that they were considered "emo," which was not a term in my day. Jets to Brazil never lived up to Jawbreaker for me. Recently, Schwarzenbach has had a couple of projects go bust, most recently the forgetters, which recorded an e.p. but apparently broke up before completing a full length album. We'll see. NO SHAME.

4. "The Lie and How We Told It"--Annie Hayden, SCORE! 20 Years of Merge, Volume 4:
I enjoy box sets. SCORE! was a subscription box set the year that Merge Records celebrated its 20th birthday. Every 2 months I received 2 cds in the mail. Each cd in the box set was curated by a "special guest" who selected songs from the Merge catalog to make a mix cd. It was a brilliant idea. Lots of cool people curated. This particular volume was curated by Georgia Hubley, the drummer of Yo La Tengo. All of that being said, no matter how cool the box set, I do not necessarily love all the songs. This one by Annie Hayden just does not do much for me. MEH.

5. "LockDown"--Fugazi, Live Series Volume 16 (Disc 2): New York, NY:
These live series discs are all amazing. I give the link every time a live Fugazi song comes up, so go here if you want to get some live Fugazi, just like their live shows back in the day, only $5 apiece. Great song, great live version. NO SHAME.