The History of Rock-n-Roll

...in 100 guitar riffs. All in one take. This is very cool.

Happy Birthday, America

Celebrate America's 236th with Mojo Nixon's 1989 take on "This Land is Your Land". I can't think of a better way to improve the USA than to put barbecue sauce in waterslides. Good call, Mojo!

Blur Returns!

This Discordant's favorite band are back. That's right, Blur -- with Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon reunited -- are out with two new songs available now, "Under the Westway" and "The Puritan".

My quick take: "Under the Westway" is grand and sweeping, and very clearly Damon Albarn. It opens with a Gorillaz beat and adds an almost Pachelbel Canonesque keyboard riff.

"The Puritan" is much different -- it's bouncy and up-tempo. And it leans heavy on the synths but still maintains Graham's rock-oriented influence. My first impression is it's the better of the two tunes. Either way, what better way to celebrate the 4th of July with two new Britpop gems. Thanks, Blur!

"Greatest Hits"

Here's a perfect pop song by the English band Mystery Jets. It's "Greatest Hits" -- a breakup song about splitting up a record collection. And yes, Mark E. Smith of the Fall is name-checked. It's only July, but this song is bound to make my best of the year list. Pay special attention to the little homages they do after some of the albums -- like The Village Green Preservation Society, Country Life (with the tribute to "The Thrill of it All" and Band on the Run (with the  tribute to "Jet".)  Enjoy!

By the way, a few years back, Mystery Jets released a catchy singalong called "Two Doors Down" and the video is a pure time machine back to 1983, both musically (sax solo?!?) and visually.