Bitchtapes: Sax Positive
“Think of it as saxophone exposure therapy.”
“Love Is All - “Aging Had Never Been His Friend” This roving band of post-punk Swedes use the sax to crank out some cathartic energy throughout this peppy number.
LiLiPUT - “Hitch-hike” Not only did LiLiPUT jump on the sax train before anyone else, they predated the mYsPaCe capitalization technique by almost three decades.
Sleater-Kinney - “It’s Enough” A saxophone’s presence adds some guttural tones to the blink-and-it’s-goneDig Me Out track.
Fucked Up - “Baiting the Public II” I know Damian Abraham’s meathead screaming can be a major turnoff to some, but the beauty of Fucked Up really lies in their compositions. Case in point: the second part of the “Baiting the Public” seven inch, which careens from a solo-filled straight up HxC number to a horn section takeover (yes, sax included) in the end.
X-Ray Spex - “Identity” X-Ray Spex wouldn’t be X-Ray Spex without their infectious saxophone lines. Here’s of a case of a band taking something unfashionable and showing everyone how it’s done.
Tom Waits - “Anywhere I Lay My Head” I lead a pretty strict Tom Waits-free life, but the horn-laden conclusion to Rain Dogs always brings a little tear to my eye. I’m sure there’s a saxophone somewhere in that horn section, right?
Pretty Girls Make Graves - “Pictures of a Night Scene” Here’s a rare track with Graves guitarist J. Clark taking the lead vocal. Listen all the way through for a special appearance from tonight’s guest of honor.
Yo La Tengo - “Mr. Tough” I don’t even know if there’s a saxophone in this track, but the horn section absolutely destroys in this loving number from the brutally named I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. I couldn’t help but include this one.
Xiu Xiu - “I Do What I Want When I Want” Found in the files of “unclassifiable, with sax solo,” “I Do What I Want” teases the listener with hints of a bombastic catharsis. In typical Xiu Xiu fashion, the tension builds and builds but only comes to a fizzing head before dropping the listener.
Electrelane - “Gone Darker” Verity Susman flaunts her ridiculous instrumental prowess on the centerpiece to Electrelane’s third album, Axes. I love how the band acknowledges any apt comparisons of their lumbering, churning sound with a recording of a literal freight train.”
