Thursday Random Eight (01/08/2009)

Material Issue - London Girl: Not much more to add about this band than what I said a few weeks ago. If you like bouncy, mindless pop music, then you can do much worse for yourself than these guys.

Pigface - Methylated: A New High in Low is my favorite incarnation of Pigface, using Meg Lee Chin to accompany beats somewhere between rock and industrial.

Beequeen - On the Road to Everywhere: A psychedelic rambling of tunes and noise.

Butthole Surfers - Hey: The surfers put up a bunch of live recordings on their website, probably ripped from bootlegs they captured over the years. They vary in quality, and I'm not sure a live recording really captures how crazy this band can be. But these are much more raw than the studio releases and worth giving a listen to if you are a fan.

Talking Heads - Love - Building on Fire: Another live recording that makes me like songs I generally don't care much about on the original releases.

The Books - Take Time: From The Lemon of Pink, this is probably the most catchy tune from the album...if you can call their music catchy.

Hum - Mr. Lazarus: 90's - indie'ish rock at its best, right down to the egotistical collapse of a good band in its prime. Although people tend to like You'd Prefer an Astronaut, I think Downward is Heavenward, from which this song comes from, is stronger.

Cheer Accident - Dismantling the Berlin Waltz: Enduring the American Dream was the first CD I bought from this band and it remains my favorite nearly 10 years later. They've been labeled everything from progressive to alternative to experimental; I'm not sure I hear the prog in their songs but the label gets them invited to progfests, so it probably isn't a bad thing. I'd call it wacky music with a good piano used throughout; to me, you can never go wrong with a good piano.