School's out for summer! Apparently even for people studying to get their PhD in Philosophy. With his newfound free time, Andy turned to making this playlist on the bygone Welsch rock trio Mclusky. Check it out and discuss in the comments.
The first time I heard Mclusky was when a friend of mine sent me the first two albums, My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours and Mclusky Do Dallas, with the message, "This band sounds kinda like the Pixies. Except not at all." And I can see what he meant. This band sounds nothing like the Pixies, at all. If anything, they are indebted to the Albini sound (Albini even having produced their last two albums), yet there is something to the band's crass delivery and penetrating guitar sound that at least conjures up a passing thought of the Pixies. But any references aside (as none will really fit), most of all, when listening to Mclusky's three albums and handful of EPs, you get the feeling that, really, the band doesn't like you, personally, and certainly doesn't give a fuck if you like the music they play.
But that doesn't mean they're not having fun. With track titles like "The World Loves Us and Is Our Bitch," or "Dave, Stop Killing Prostitutes" (neither of which are included here), there's certainly a sharpened, caustic humor that comes with the band's abrasive rock. But, with all this introduction, all I can really cogently say is that this band is fucking amazing.
This playlist is not quite as comprehensive as I might have liked it to be - gone are a couple of B-sides that didn't really fit the mold, and a few album tracks that are favorites of mine, but just don't need to be included here. That being said, I still failed at getting any sort of flow going with this mix, hard as I tried. I've also ignored the two bands that came out of the now-defunct Mclusky, those being Future of the Left and Shooting at Unarmed Men. We'll save that mix for another day. But for now, enjoy Mclusky.
1) Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
2) That Man Will Not Hang / The Difference Between You and Me Is That I'm Not On Fire / 2004
3) Friends Stoning Friends / My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours / 2000
4) Whoyouknow / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
5) There Ain't No Fool In Ferguson / There Ain't No Fool In Ferguson EP / 2003
6) 1956 And All That / The Difference Between You and Me Is That I'm Not On Fire / 2004
7) Why I Don't Believe In You / Joy EP / 2000
8) To Hell With Good Intentions / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
9) Flysmoke / My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours / 2000
10) Gareth Brown Says / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
11) She Comes In Pieces / My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours / 2000
12) Rock Vs. Single Parents / My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours / 2000
13) Collagen Rock / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
14) She Will Only Bring You Happiness / The Difference Between You and Me Is That I'm Not On Fire / 2004
15) Icarus Smicarus / The Difference Between You and Me Is That I'm Not On Fire / 2004
16) No Covers / To Hell With Good Intentions EP / 2002
17) Without MSG I Am Nothing / The Difference Between You and Me Is That I'm Not On Fire / 2004
18) What We've Learned / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
19) Alan Is a Cowboy Killer / Mclusky Do Dallas / 2002
20) Medium Is the Message / My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours / 2000
Total Time: 53:03
Pretty great. For some reason I had it in my head that these guys were much more straight up punk than they actually are. I love how much this is full of good ol' fashioned heavy rock riffage. To me, Mclusky is like the indie rock AC/DC and that's A VERY VERY GREAT THING. Duderock in the best possible sense.
ReplyDeleteHighlights:
-Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. I mean the name alone makes it an instant classic. But toward the end when everything dies down and it's nothing but vocals and drums, I just want to freak out. Also love how it stops on a dime at the end.
-That Man Will Not Hang. Sounds like a rip off of a Fall song. A super duper Fall song, with a rumbling, floor-scraping bassline.
-Their Ain't No Fool in Ferguson. Right now Art Brut sounds just like this when they're at their best. Heavy, fun and massively catchy. I only wish more of Mclusky's songs were this accessible.
-To Hell With Good Intentions. Please God, reincarnate me as a the lead singer of Mclusky so that I can tear this song up live. Or, at the very least, have Mclusky get back together so that I can lose my shit when I see them play this live.
-Medium Is the Message. Great closer. The Pixies reference you mention makes sense almost to a fault in this song.
I guess my only negative comment is that they can occasionally veer dangerous close to Korn-esque shitrock territory when they get too harsh for their own good (like in MSG I Am Nothing). Unfortunately, for me those dirge detours that make me track skip a bit on this mix I think kill any chance that I'll get into any of their full albums. But I predict that I'll revisit this mix plenty.