A new series has arrived in the form of Grab Bag, a fun monthly list that finds me listening and reacting to ten random songs from the depths of music's annals. There's no prerequisites, no regulations self-imposed. Anything can make this list if the site I'm using to discover these songs, RateYourMusic's random release generator, spits them out. This is a great way to discover new music with no attachment to something in your catalogue. Or, a dark reminder that truly horrid music exists in droves.
The positioning is based on the order in which I discovered them. The rating system similar to what DoD already enforces, in that 5 / 10 is average, not bad.
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There's a reason PVT's Indietronica sounds so ethereal, and that has to do with their previous incarnation; Pivot. Foremost known as a Post-Rock outfit, for the new decade they dropped the vowels and modernized their approach. 'Nightfall' has still features that looming dread, even though the output is poppier and more ergonomic. Here, the drums are moody and power-poised, benefited by selected kitchen appliances used as secondary percussion. The chorus, which brings in a guitar-driven drone, is 'Nightfall's' peak, both for the instrumentation and vocals, as Richard Pike's efforts in the verses are a little spotty. Still, PVT's sound feels like a combination of The National and Suuns. I can dig that.
7.5 / 10
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The Latest Menace To The Human Race! | Garage Rock | 1995
Equal bits as childish as it is irreverent. I certainly wouldn't be able to endure an entire album of The Neanderthals' kooky monster anthems, but hell if this isn't a perfect song for Grab Bag. While Garage Rock on the surface, and I mean that literally as the poor mixing and mastering makes it sound as hollow and metallic as possible, there's an underlying vintage Surf Rock to 'Werewolf From Outer Space.' With the zany screaming, excessive growls, and overall corny nature taken into account, The Neanderthals really accentuate that era of B-list monster movies. You know, with the desperate and ditzy blonde belching out falsettos as she runs from the monster who's able to maintain proximity to her while walking. It's so silly you can't help but laugh.
6 / 10
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Last Grab Bag we landed our biggest band yet; Black Sabbath. This month that record quickly ran aground with The Rolling Stones. Unbeknownst to me at the time of discovery, I've totally heard 'Angie' before. Almost certainly by virtue of second hand, either through a car radio or movie soundtrack, Mick Jagger's immediately felt familiar. Dissecting the song through a critical lens and, despite being towards the tail end of The Rolling Stones' significant run and my general apathy towards Piano Rock, I'm actually quite fond of 'Angie.' The pacing is eloquent, Jagger's vocals easy to appreciate, and the subtle strings towards the end really brings about the melancholy. Considering this was one of their weaker hits in an otherwise stacked catalogue, my intrigue for The Rolling Stones has gone up substantially.
6.5 / 10
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The consistent level of quality this Grab Bag has offered thus far is stunning. Four tracks in and each one has had appealing facets, one way or another. All formed from different backgrounds too. The Two Gallants' is Folk, served up with a side of Punk, Rock, and Blues. At times, the lyrics of 'Steady Rollin' do get cheesy and overly sentimental, meaning What The Toll Tells likely won't be entering my rotation anytime soon, but for a one-off single the passion and heartache really comes across well. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of emotionless love songs have entered my brain without trying to convince me of their genuineness. Adam Stephens' vocals work well at being frank, with that wavering gravel and Pub Rock influence. While Two Gallants' Folk origin is clear, the upbeat trot and complex instrumentation take 'Steady Rollin' to the next level, finding familiar footing in mid-2000's Indie Rock.
6.5 / 10
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You know how you form stereotypes on genres? From the lyrics to the hooks to the production, patterns and philosophies emerge with the top songs being those who utilize them the best or stand out the most. Tom Brock's 'I Love You More & More' is not that song. It is a cliche-riddled abomination of art. Bland, boring, banal. To me, based on this song, Brock's version of Smooth Soul boils my blood in the same way Jazz fans' does when listening to Kenny G. There is absolutely nothing original about 'I Love You More & More.' Nothing. The lyrics ride Brock's single into the ground though, as lines like "nothing seems to interest me since you've been on my mind" and "every moment you are away seems like eternity" are treated with total earnestness, not like the eye-rolling prosaism's that they are.
1 / 10
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Talk about excessively beating an idea into the ground. I was initially interesting in Bleu's 'B.O.S.T.O.N.' because I'm from Massachusetts and always find a special form of nostalgia in songs about my state. Pixies' 'U-Mass' being a textbook example considering the University Of Massachusetts, where the band was formed, is 15 minutes from my childhood. However, I can now see why people not endowed to the Masshole ideology despise the Dropkick Murphys. Bleu's overcompensating Power Pop is grating, the backing vocals are cheap and tacked on, and the lyrics are child's play. 'B.O.S.T.O.N.'s' a corny ass song that features multiple Power Pop cliches, including structural irregularities, Rock generic progression, and obtuse extra elements. Don't get me started on the stray funeral eulogy that reiterates the bridge in clear-cut spoken word before Bleu himself "leaps from the casket and screams from the top of my lungs...Boston!"
2.5 / 10
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The first artist who I'm quite familiar with to appear on Grab Bag. Miguel's 'Do You...' Is featured on his most popular, and critically-acclaimed record Kaleidoscopic Dream. Along with his debut All I Want Is You, it's the only record of his I haven't heard, with Wildheart being a standout Contemporary R&B record, War & Leisure a disappointing and conflicting follow-up. 'Do You...' features all of Miguel's idioms, with longing vocals that liken himself to The Weeknd. The simplicity of the hook is somewhat catchy, unfortunately, even with its 3 1/2-minute duration, the single feels like an interlude. His lyrics don't help matters, as "do you like drugs, yeah well me too ... / Do you like love? Yeah, well me too" never lends itself to investing time beneath the surface. It's very pro bono for R&B. Decent but nothing special.
5 / 10
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Truth be told, I've totally heard 'Californication' before. I really just wanted to watch the incredible 90's music video again, ripe with terrible Playstation 1 graphics and the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing shirtless against a stock cloud background. Musically speaking, 'Californication's' not really special, as I'd presume the majority of RHCP's made-for-radio Alternative Rock is. There's a tenuous grasp of the soft/loud dynamics that played a large role in 90's Grunge, but with softer tones and hums in the hook that distinction really diminishes. I do feel there's some intrigue set to Anthony Kiedis' lyrics however, dealing with the concept of California ideals branching out and consuming others around it. Predominantly through Hollywood, which is an interesting theory to delve into. It also splits up the otherwise rudimentary Alternative Rock stereotypes present in 'Californication.'
5.5 / 10
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Two firsts here on a Grab Bag filled with them. Somehow, despite four Grab Bag's now in tow, this was my first Hip-Hop find. And it's also the first song recent enough to appear in the streaming age, accessible only via PNKBLNKT's Soundcloud. If the name wasn't indicative enough, PNKBLNKT does indeed wear a pink blanket draped over his body. All the time. Schtick much? Regardless, his quirkiness falls right in line with the prominent feature on 'Almost There;' Kevin Abstract, or Brockhampton fame. This was 2016, the year before he blew up, and his sole verse here bears some of that middle class emotional weight. Here, he raps about lost friendships, relying on a similar line ("I use my imagination to build a motherfucking friend") as seen on 'LIQUID.' Abstract's verse is the best part of 'Almost There' however, as PNKBLNKT the producer struggles to make the rest of the five-minute duration engaging. It's typical adolescent sentimentality feed through a decompressed atmosphere.
4 / 10
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As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls | ECM Style Jazz | 1981
A delightfully pleasant listen. Before today I hadn't heard of ECM Style Jazz, an off-branded reaction to the various Free Jazz, Jazz Fusion, and Third Stream movements in the late 60's. On "It's For You," Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays unite for an instrumental journey down sunburnt dirt roads through rustling green pastures. Utilizing potentially-corny elements such as whistling keyboards and posterized synthesizers, the two Jazz musicians somehow make it work. There's a lot to unearth and appreciate over the eight minutes, as Metheny and Mays include certain Western Classical elements along with guitar work associated with Traditional Folk Music. '"It's For You"' is, in some regards, an Ambient piece, one that could easily be positioned in the background for an easy listening experience. Unlike most Ambient though, it's engaging and detailed upon inspection. Best of both worlds.
7 / 10
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