Thursday Random Eight (05/07/2009)

Atari Teenage Riot - Not Your Business: Never short on mania, this is a typical hardcore noise and scream fest ATR is famous for.

Rush - Distant Early Warning: I guess with hockey playoff season in full swing, it is hard to not go a day without hearing a Rush song as Tom Sawyer is likely to be aired during play-stoppages in the arenas. That said, I think I've heard a Rush song every day this week, all without specific intention, from said Hockey games to a random remote control landing on VH1 showing the R30 concert to this random shuffle track. Weird.

Siamese Temple Ball - Untitled: All tracks on the release are untitled, actually. This is a mysterious collection of traditional Thai music with no indication of the musicians performing the songs or the dates recorded. It is very enjoyable percussion-led music and worth exploring if there is any interest in Asian-cultural musicians.

Cabaret Voltaire - Walls of Jericho: From a period of strange music from the band, this is a somewhat upbeat song with lots of electronic random noise bursts.

Sonic Youth - James Run Free: The Rather Ripped release has a way of just skirting the edge of my memory, so every time I hear a song from it, it is kinda like I never heard it before. That said, if I were playing Name That Tune, it would have taken me two notes to recognize this as a SY song, so I guess there is something to be said for consistency.

The Byrds - Eight Miles High: At some point I'll just get these songs off my iPod. That said, I'll probably leave this 16 minutes of stoner hippy diatribe as it is comical to me.

Alpha - First Day: From the recent The Sky Is Mine release, this is a synth-driven mellow track, albeit a bit faster than many Alpha songs. In their calmness, Alpha has been an exceptional band for years.

The Books - If Not Now, Whenever: A typical Books song with quiet beats and many random samples fitting into the flow.