photo: @Dante.Lamb
Joey asked me to pick 5 records to talk about and thankfully didn’t say it had to be a “top 5” or anything. I absolutely could not pick a top 5 ( I pondered this for days). So here’s 5 records that I’ve been real into the past few months, weeks, or whatever.
Is This Real? by Wipers
Wipers were way ahead of their time and have the best pop-oriented punk songs of their time. Every song on this record rips, especially the title track, “D-7” and “Mystery”. This record has been on repeat for like 2 years now and it’s not old yet and had become a heavy songwriting influence.
Fresh Fish Special by Robert Gordon w/ Link Wray
I have to thank my girlfriend Jess for this one, she sent it to me out of the blue one day and it’s been in my recently played since. Robert Gordon is the best byproduct of the Elvis-wannabe era, and I wasn’t terribly familiar with Link Wray before this (something I’m kicking myself for). “Fire” and “ I Want to be Free” are my favorite tracks on this one, also a killer version of “The Way I Walk” for all y’all Cramps fans. This album is cheeky as fuck, super produced, but the guitars are perfect and it makes you feel like you’re in Mystery Train.
Melissa’s Garage Revisited by Oblivians w/ Walter Daniels, Monsieur Jeffrey Evans
The Oblivians are always in my recently played, but this one I just started listening to heavily. This one has all the best elements of the Oblivians but it hits a lil’ different. Put on “We’re Not in it to Lose” if you’re having a shitty day.
Time Bomb High School by Reigning Sound
Of course there are two records on this list featuring members of the Oblivians. Reigning Sound has become one of my favorite bands in recent years. Literally every song on this record is a hit and it doesn’t make any sense. Greg Cartwright is the ultimate songwriter, and “Reptile Style” is one of the best songs ever.
Not much else I can say about it!
Alien Lanes by Guided by Voices
I’ve solely been listening to Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices for years, it’s a comfort record and I find myself putting it on whenever I can’t think of something to listen to. Recently I decided to dig through their endless discography and I’m kicking myself in the ass hard for taking this long to do that. There’s so much good shit. Every record has something new to offer whether it’s songwriting or production but also still hits you with 4 or 5 of those comfort food tunes that sound like they were recorded in a bathroom and make you wanna watch for UFO’s and play solos ‘til 10. Alien lanes has easily become my new favorite, and since I’ve already said a lot about Guided by Voices I’m going to just say that all you need to know about this record is that “Game of Pricks” is on it and that’s enough said.
Go listen to it.