Day 0504 - The Nightfly

Donald Fagen "The Nightfly" (1982)

Following the breakup of Steely Dan, Fagen set out to record this solo album.  The album dabbles in soul, funk and jazz, but the early digital recording equipment used (one of the first albums to be recorded entirely digitally, apparently) combined with its perfectionist engineers seemed to serve to suck out a lot of the spontaneity and humanity that those genres usually embody.

That being said: these do work just nicely as good catchy pop songs.

Day 0406 - Duckstab/Buster and Glen

The Residents "Duckstab/Buster and Glen" (1978)

I've listened to quite a few Residents' albums. A friend of mine got really into them a few years back, and every time I admitted to having listened to and enjoying one of their albums he'd give me another recommendation... not that I was complaining.

The Residents are one of the original oddball acts. They made music that utilised a cut and paste approach and dwelled in the obscure, with elements of world music, musique concrete, sound effects, pitch-shifted vocals, soundtrack, pop, ambient music and so many different flavours of experimentation all colliding with each other. The band are still going strong some 50 or so years since their inception, and in that time (though they have been tentatively identified) they have managed to successfully hide their identities for years.  Rumours flew around that the band consisted of everyone from Zappa and Beefheart through to Lennon and McCartney.

I hadn't actually listened to this one, despite it being one of their better known releases, but it certainly doesn't disappoint, equal parts fun, creepy, and genius.

This band is also a very clear influence on two bands that I enjoy greatly: Primus (who've covered at least three of the tracks here), and Ween.