Short Bits

I've been listening to some shorter things: EPs, 7 inch records, singles and the like. I'm not going to talk about all of them, but there are some stand outs:
Baroness just put out a video for one of the three best songs from their Yellow and Green LP, March to the Sea. It's a melodic thumper about drug addiction ( the trope is addiction as intentional drowning) with some of the sweetest riffing to come out of the whole Southern Sludge thing.
Also, I've been listening to the Aeges 7 inch "Southern Comfort b/w Stars". It's pretty amazing- it features some truly whacked out guitars playing very melodic riffs. Seriously, there's a point during "Southern Comfort" where the guitars are so distorted the notes are merely suggested under the noise. It's like a Pelican  track with vocals. The B side "Stars" has lyrics that, at first blush seem like Everclear type homespun homilies, so plainspoken that you might miss the poetry, but there is a twist; "distracting us from this boring life", the end result with the heavy, but pop-structured melodies reminds me of late 1990's great Hum. Then, it breaks up the rhythm in a twist, like a skipping record. Pretty awesome...
We cannot forget Torche with Harmonslaught, a crushing return to the Bomb string ( no that is not a bass, that is a guitar tuned as low as it will go. It sounds like an explosion) in service to a pop-metal-punk grinder that might just be the encore they'll play if you see 'em live. The B side has a funny title "Rock N Roll Mantasy" but this pop metal nugget is no joke. Both songs are classic ( read "first album Torche") and both rock very hard.
Then, Today, I heard the new Coliseum track "Black Magic Punks", and it just rules. It rules so very much that it's worth hearing on Pitchfork's website....

Sometimes trendy stuff has soul...

I don't care if you hate the Beatles, this should melt your heart. A flash mob does a Beatles song in a Spanish Unemployment office, just to bring some joy. Revolutions are made of this.