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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Rain Plans | Americana | 2013
Hmm, what to make of 'Rain Plans.' Regrettably, not a whole lot. Though Nash has ties to Country Rock - expected given his rural upbringing in Missouri - there's certain modern elements that spice up this seven-minute excursion. The production quality alone is reminiscent more of Art Rock, just with a gentle, earthy touch. Americana's the name of the game, with gravely acoustics and rolling percussion. At times, 'Rain Plans' tethers itself to Progressive Rock, bearing resemblance to Pink Floyd in the middling section. Quite an ambitious cut, Nash's endeavor doesn't really wow in ways it intends. Despite checking off all the boxes, the lack of originality and creativity proves difficult when assigning praise.
6 / 10
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Eclipse | Darkwave | 1988
Italian 80's Darkwave. Given the schmaltzy tendencies rampant in that era - with New Romantics and what not - I wasn't expecting much from Kirlian Camera's 'Christ.' However, the melodic grooves, moody strings, and despondent tone work exquisitely together. A tired saxophone even winds itself into the fold with caressing care by track's end. The entire piece has an overbearing Twin Peaks feel, with lush drapery, religious inferences, and amorous vocals drawing comparisons to Julee Cruise and, even, Beach House's Victoria LeGrand. Best of all? The highly-influential cult show wouldn't debut for another two years. 'The Christ' finds comfort in bleak 80's fandom while simultaneously appeasing future crowds with aesthetic-driven sorcery.
8 / 10
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Heart Skips Beat | New Wave | 1982
It's cute, innocent, yet hardly worth discussing. Borderline teeny-bopper Pop by a man nearing his 40's. The production manages to be both amateur and progressive, with addictive Synthpop rhythms ping-ponging back-and-forth. 'Louise' is hectic, barely controllable, held together by cheap, 80's romanticism. At one point there's a bleating saxophone, because why not. At another, female background vocals seemingly out of nowhere. It's bred on naïveté, an adorable mishmash that's delicious to the touch. Like store-bought sweets at the checkout line. Satisfying, nosy, entirely unhealthy for you.
7 / 10
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Single | Chicago Soul | 1964
There are some definite curiosities featured in this month's Grab Bag, Major Lance's 'Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um' included. The attention-grabbing title takes a bold, obtuse stance at harmonizing Soul music. You know, the kind that vocalizes some sing-along sound that's essentially meaningless. Melody without the effort to attach words. Here, Major Lance takes that idea and runs with it, creating a solid Chicago Soul two-step that tapers the criticism of its creation with curt self-awareness. Even the intersecting verses reference this feeling humans experience, to just sit back and relish in simple chimes. "He just moaned and he made no sense / He'd just go um, um, um, um, um, um." Tell it like it is, Major Lance.
5.5 / 10
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Rockin' Soul | Disco | 1974
Killer hook, killer bridge, killer Disco. Even the pedantic verses featured on 'Rock The Boat' know how inferior they are, terminating before they even get in second gear. It's clear where The Hues Corporation's talents lie; dazzling concord disguised as communal celebration. It's so inclusive, with a playful spirit shared by each singer, that I struggle to find criticism. Sure, it's not very artistic - Disco never cared for subtlety - but in terms of entertainment value, 'Rock The Boat' has it in spades. It's like those revelatory experiences people speak of whilst dancing in pews at predominantly black churches. Gospel's intrinsic here, just for a generation becoming okay with convivial tolerance.
8.5 / 10
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Have I Got Blues For You! | British Blues | 1996
Sometimes, it's best not to try. Today I learned British Blues exists. And for what? It should be of no surprise that Blues was built on the back of the black man, most predominately in America. There are roots here, tethered deep within the trenches of slavery. Not Britain, in the 1990's, by fair-weather artists leeching on ideas their emotional state has no right hypostatizing. Maybe there's tongue-in-cheek humor I'm missing here, a potential given Have I Got Blues For You!'s leopard-print cover and obsessive commitment to the word "Blue," but within 'Blue Blood' I hear none of it. Just an aging white singer devoid of artistic resolve, pantomiming a genre decades removed, for reasons unknown.
1.5 / 10
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Promises & Smiles | Sunshine Pop | 2018
Situated somewhere between The Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian, 'For A Rainy Day' wilts under the pressure of modernism whilst still passing the enjoyability test through sheer sensibility. There is absolutely nothing original here, as Golden Teardrops proudly frolic around Sunshine Pop and Chamber Pop, with opening chords highly reminiscent of Beach Boys' 'Wouldn't It Be Nice.' The on-the-nose lyrics also draw comparisons to Margo Guryan's Take A Picture, just one such example of 60's hippie affinity with weather. It's playful, light, but ultimately inessential. Especially for the year 2018.
4.5 / 10
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Naturally | Blues Rock | 1971
J.J. Cale's 'After Midnight' sports that cool, calm, collected style of confidence. It's sleek, simple, and impossibly-refined. Not typically descriptions you'd attach to Blues Rock, but here they work wonders through a stripped back groove that rewards pleasure and patience. Sure the hook and lack of variability in Cale's vocals prove redundant come song's end, but that's a fair price to pay given its quaint two and a half minutes. Though they don't evolve, there's still no discrediting Cale's vocals and how ripe they are for the picking. Parched in the southern heat, Cale and his slight acoustics find sublime agency that's takes in the pleasures of rural life.
8 / 10
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écran | City Pop | 1982
Rounding out the most successful Grab Bag to date is Yuko Kanai and her brand of City Pop. It's a genre, rooted almost exclusively in Japan circa 1980, that I've always been intrigued with. There's a certain revitalized mystique, as if capitalism took such a hold on the culture there that it rewired classic Japanese traditions. 'I'm In Love With You' does an excellent job representing the genre (or at least what I imagine it is), though what wins me over particularly is how closely it resembles Twee Pop during the same era overseas. Switch languages and one could easily see this appearing on a Talulah Gosh record. You could even stretch the parameters a bit and reach for New Zealand's Dunedin Sound, as The Bats' relaxed bliss feels apt here. Dare I mention The Smiths too? Bear in mind, Kanai predates all of these acts, further solidifying the polished state of 'I'm In Love With You.'
7.5 / 10
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