After a lengthy hiatus, Grab Bag returns to Dozens Of Donuts. Here, we'll find and react to completely 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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Trip To The Mars | Jazz | 1968
It's cute, though a tad bland and inoffensive. But such is the nature of middling Jazz from the 60's. Here, I was hoping for more, if only due to the thematic nature of Trip To The Mars; 'Blue Dance's' space-faring album. As always, it's fascinating to hear some semblance of retrofuturism in the midst of it being created, as the cover matches that clueless, carefree tonality perfectly. 'Blue Dance' itself though, apart from an introduction that incorporates some light, starlight mystery, dissolves quite distinctly into your run-of-the-mill Jazz. The saxophone in particular strays from any cosmos sound by ingratiating itself in human dawdling.
3.5 / 10
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La Bohème | Chanson à Texte | 1966
From a distance, I've become quite enamored in Chanson - or at least the concept of it - due almost entirely to a France vacation I'm planning for next year. It maintains all the characteristics of Paris; chic, astute, and uptight. Unfortunately, the key aspect of Chanson is the poetics, as the music's meant to trail the emotion put in by the singer. Do I speak French? Not in the least. So, while that aspect was lost on me, Charles Aznavour's 'La Bohème' still found grace and finesse elsewhere; namely the aforementioned production. 'La Bohème' flows like a Noir film on the cusp of ignition. It's intensely operatic, with scaling strings descending from the rafters and moseying piano plucks drifting between the pomp and circumstance. Fascinating really.
7 / 10
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Lazy Karaoke | Synthpop | 2017
Aesthetically, Human Leather's 'Nail In Coffin' accentuates all that intrigues about Synthpop. A plodding, rhythmic groove dominates the foreground, similar to Future Islands, while obscured vocals provide a sense of mystique. Subtle horn and electric guitar inclusion, much akin to Destroyer or M83, helps vitalize the chorus, but I can't help but think 'Nail In Coffin' lacks progression. In other words, it ends where it began, and this is mostly attributed to the passive lyrics only half-interested in acclimating to Human Leather's breakup emotion. Focusing on the production, instead of non-existent lyrical growth, will certainly result in a better experience of 'Nail In Coffin.'
5.5 / 10
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Miss You | Alternative Dance | 1993
So the first question is: Does it warrant 14 and a half minutes? The fact that this is the extended mix of 'Miss You' would declare that as a "no." Is it worth your time? It entirely depends on what context one views State Of Grace's mega Alternative Dance mix in. As I did, slumped on the couch playing a game on my phone as the minutes ticked by? Probably not. An LSD trip in a basement that's turned those drab concrete slabs inside out? Absolutely. Don't let State Of Grace fool you otherwise; the lyrics are vapid. You're here for the excursion of psychedelic guitars, intermingling over sweaty garage drums and incoherent yelps. As for me, I'm straight edge. So, yeah.
4 / 10
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Vixen | Glam Metal | 1988
Aesthetically, it doesn't get worse than the sewer of 80's Glam Metal. When I see tatty leopard-print duster's, lion mane's done up by cans of hairspray, and makeup that disfigures humans into plastic dolls, I am glad I'm a 90's baby. Vixen is that personified. Worse yet, for they're clearly a marketing ploy meant to entice a pride of men who already worship AOR. Besides a decent, stadium-oriented guitar solo to send things off, 'Edge Of A Broken Heart' falls to the clear-cut cliches riddling this era. It's montage music for a cheesy romance movie best left forgotten. Is it a response to 'Living On A Prayer,' cause it sure as hell sounds like it.
1.5 / 10
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Kind Of A Drag | Pop Rock | 1967
Ah yes, the British Invasion. Wait, what? They're from Chicago? Needless to say, it's clear where The Buckinghams influence lies. Hell, even their name pucks itself from British royalty. Like a slew of mid-60's Pop Rock, 'Kind Of A Drag' is decidedly chic, relying on chivalric behaviors and swooning boy band harmonies. Inoffensive to say the least, 'Kind Of A Drag' maintains a fine and dandy attitude despite the heartache captured in the lyrics. This is due to their Baroque Pop style, echoing Beach Boys' wall of sound invention. The horns are boisterous and pair nicely with the hook's concluding section, but 'Kind Of A Drag' rarely does anything special beyond that.
6 / 10
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Africa | Avant-Garde Jazz | 1968
I only know of Pharoah Sanders from his profuse feature spot on Alice Coltrane's Journey In Satchidanada, an album - like most of Jazz - I just couldn't get behind. Though 17 years have passed between then and Africa, not much has changed. If anything, that gap puts 'You've Got To Have Freedom' in the category of homage, since Avant-Garde Jazz was a long-dead concept by the late 80's. This is inspired though, and if you hadn't told me the year, the cusp of the genre's invention would've been my likely guess. Sanders' saxophone in the opening passage is aggressive and ferocious, some of the most clamorous I've heard from the genre. This returns, albeit briefly, to cool things down on the ten-minute track's winding downturn. While I can appreciate the spirit, it's still not for me.
4 / 10
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Sunday 8PM | Progressive House | 1998
It's dedicated, entrenched, moody Progressive House, what's not to like? Well, for starters, the repetitious lyrics needn't be sustained across the eight minutes, though it is quite apt for the era of Big Beat. Fatboy Slim would go on to do similar, Gospel-related praising of House on 'Song For Shelter,' a fantastic exodus by the way. But I digress. Here, Faithless worship at the alter of 120 BPM's, using that leverage to send 'God Is A DJ' to the heavens. It doesn't wow me, doesn't help me find this elusive god like Fatboy Slim's other comparative track, 'Praise You,' does, but one can't deny its passing qualities. It represents House quite elegantly, stretching ecstasy past its typical, ephemeral feeling.
7 / 10
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Take A Picture | Sunshine Pop | 1968
Instant wishlist add. Yes Margo, you go girl! Admire the sun that'll burn your eyes out, blister across your skin from the inevitable burn, it don't matter. All that matters is shimmering, hippie-inundated 60's Sunshine Pop, and 'Sun' has that in spades. There's so much life here, such unbridled glee. The type one experiences but once a year, when winter gives way to spring. That precarious heatwave week before normality resurfaces. Though their inspirations were more far-reaching, Margo Guryan's 'Sun' sounds ripe for the Elephant Six's Lo-Fi Indie pickings. Bands like Beulah, Gerbils, and Essex Green can all find a home basking alongside Guryan as the grass tickles her back. Despite the passing of fifty years, 'Sun' hardly feels aged.
8.5 / 10
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