Five and Alive

1. "Dr. L'Ling" (Planet of Ice) I believe the first time I heard "Dr. L'Ling," I was hooked by Knudson's pedal effects. For some reason it reminded me of his Botch-esque guitar skills on Quaaludes. Match that to a parallel mix of Tate's drumming and Snider's vocal rhythms, and the song is infectious to the core. Once Rose's keyboard lines toward the mid-section come in - well, it's over at that point. You're simply lost in it.

2. "Fine+2pts" (They Make Beer Commercials Like This) Less Minus the Bear, and more along the lines of the latter day Passion Pit or Ghostland Observatory, the track's upbeat keys by former member Matt Bayles are rowdy and worth an unannounced dance party for an afternoon car ride in Spring.

3. "Michio's Death Drive" (Menos El Oso) The guitar riffs on this one are quick and grabbing to the central nervous system. With the building intro into Snider's vocals, it's a mid-album pick me up after things calm down for a bit. The best part is the outro of instrumental cut in's and out's on the final 30 seconds of the track. Definitely a work day pick me up.

4. "Women We Haven't Met Yet" (Highly Refined Pirates) I still feel that Highly Refined Pirates is the band's slowest album to date. I enjoy the smooth ride at times, compared to the in your face down beats of most of the band's catalog. The guitar lines and quick pace of this track certainly separates it from the crowd that is the majority of the album. The bridges' drumming and guitar counterpoint may sum up where the band have always teetered the perfect line of being a bit of a jam band, yet making their song writing flow in accessible and conventional structures.

5. "Double Vision Quest" (Planet of Ice) - Whether it's the lure of the song name itself or just the fervent psychedelic vibe, something about "Double Vision Quest," jumps out at me like few other songs Minus the Bear has ever recorded. From the angular riffs to the spacey, rhythmic swells and the sweetly hypnotic verses, the song has the kind of gravitas and charisma that is far too hard to ignore. Whether it's the bands effortless ability to paint a lush palette of breezy, midtempo sunniness, or just the group's inherent charm shining through, "Double Vision Quest," has an unassuming warmness that is truly superlative . Me oh my, this song slays me. (Gregory Robson)

MTB is one of my favorite bands of all time. Omni is on top of the list of albums im looking forward to this year.

you cant forget The Fix, or Hooray.

lemurs, man, lemurs

Originally Posted by rickmo

MTB is one of my favorite bands of all time.

you cant forget The Fix, or Hooray.

This

Awesome guys, awesome live show. I don't think words can describe how stoked I am for Omni.

You know.. i cant think of any other band where you could pick ANY five songs from their catalog for this. And they would all be the best choice. But with that said.. the riff in killer game of crisco twister really cannot be ignored.

Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo is the best MTB song...straight up.

I think they have too many jams to limit to just 5. The Fix is definitely up there. Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse is killer too. Good choices overall though.

what a fuckin great band.

Memphis and 53rd is one of my favorite songs by these guys.

Can't wait to hear OMNI!

Solid song selection....and really nice article....

Um, "When We Escape" really needs to be on this list

Haha. You picked my least favorite song of Menos El Oso. It would be hard for me to choose five of their songs, but "Hooray" is probably my all-time favorite.

I feel the need to warn people not to get their hopes up for this. It's not terrible, but I don't think it's up to par for them. I'm not sure all this hype is really a good thing.

Great list, great band.. i agree that absinthe should be on here.

Originally Posted by Jeremy Aaron

Haha. You picked my least favorite song of Menos El Oso. It would be hard for me to choose five of their songs, but "Hooray" is probably my all-time favorite.

I feel the need to warn people not to get their hopes up for this. It's not terrible, but I don't think it's up to par for them. I'm not sure all this hype is really a good thing.

thanks for the heads up, but I cant get enough of Into the Mirror and Broken China as it is! I cant help buying into and contributing to the hype a bit

I can't imagine picking five Minus the Bear songs to showcase, but I feel like this list could have been much better.