Friday, October 28, 2005

The long and the short of it.

Another .zip mp3 mix here

Heavenly Music Corporation Brian Eno and Robert Fripp

A long and drony one from Fripp and Eno, rumoured to simply be an Eno album played backwards.

Siren Old Time Relijun

I hated the first Old Time Relijun track that I heard (and thought their name was hokey), but this one is delightfully weird. It has a dark and primative feel to it, like a backwoods revival. If the rest of their music is like this, I should find more.

FUTURE LANGUAGE VON LMO FUTURE LANGUAGE

When I first saw an interview with Von LMO in Motorbooty magazine, I thought that it was a made-up band. I mean, these were the Stooges Museum folks. But here it is, and it's fantastic.

Agitated (orig) Electric Eels the eyeball of hell

I'm glad I finally tracked these guys down. The blunt lyrics and juvenile rhymes really elevate this into genius-stupid territory for me. And it's so damn catchy.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner Iron Maiden Powerslave [Limited Edition]

Fuck yes, I love Iron Maiden. My parents were both surprised when I played this for 'em, with my father considering himself too much a music snob to get behind it and my mother... Well, not a lot of people's moms like metal, I'd say. Which is too bad. Weighing in at 13 minutes, this is full of bombast (cotton wadding) and bomb blast. "The albatros begins his revenge" may be the most fun line to sing along with in a falsetto. This is Iron Maiden's magnum opus, and they make it work.

LESBIANS! Rev. Willie Wilson

An Indiana? Ohio? preacher tells us what's wrong with the kids today. Lesbians, strap-ons and prom all make an appearence.

Snapshot The Art of Noise (Who's Afraid of?) the Art of Noise!

A minute long interlude from Art of Noise. I've been loving the shit out of this album lately. I'll be all like, damn, Art of Noise, you lookin' fine tonight. I think I'll toss you into another mix.

Roundabout The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band The Incomparables

Michigan marching band makes good by funktifying Yes's greatest pop hit. How can you not love this groove?

Deep Soul Pt. 1 Ron Buford Wheedle's Groove: Seattle's Finest In Funk and Soul, 1965-75

Speakin' of the groove, this is one of the few tracks off of the Wheedle's Groove coms that actually delivers. Deep, soulful, an answer for James Brown from the Space Needle.
Revenge Rondelles

On K records, some great girl pop.

Israelites Desmond Dekker Israelites - The Best Of Desmond Dekker

My mom also thinks this is "weirdo music," despite enjoying it. "You're weird, Josh," she keeps saying while it plays. It's weird awesome maybe, the roots of ska and reggae.

Dawn Is Breaking Dry & Heavy Full Contact

I forget where I found this, but I love it. I remember it being mentioned as a cover, but I have no idea what the original sounds like. Help me, internets!

The Truth Shall Make You Free Mighty Hannibal Feed Your Head

What I love about this track is the echo behind his voice when he's doing the chorus. I wish more soul was like this, with a foot in psychedelia, but that seems to only happen when people are talkin' 'bout kickin' drugs.

Slow Death The Flamin' Groovies Feed Your Head

Speakin' of which, somebody else put this on their metachat mix too. I've loved these guys since I heard a Camper Von Beethoven cover of Pictures of Matchstick Men, and went out and ended up with Teenage Head. Thing of beauty, it is. More than the Stones or the Kinks, most garage rock bands want to be the Flaming Groovies.

Shaped Like A Gun Verbena Souls For Sale

This was the best boy/girl stoner rock band in history for one album. Then they let Dave Grohl produce, and found out that they just couldn't sling Foo style powerpop. They went away for years, came back and sucked. Their first album, Souls for Sale, is still a revelation though.

Love will Freak Us Apart d s i c o spasticated

I love goofy mashups. I don't even mind how out-of-water Missy sounds.

Der Mussolini DAF Troubled Diva Old Curiosity Box

You'll notice, German Speakers, that "Tanzen Adolf Hitler/Tanzen Mussolini" is in the imperative form. After all, that's what German's best at.

Optimo Liquid Liquid New York Noise: Dance Music From The New York Underground 1978-1982

Love this track, love this comp. You'll probably hear more off of it if you keep reading...

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Pendulum Clock

Right on, TexasDude. Pendulum clock indeed.

New weekend mix!

As usual, a You send it .zip here. Good music? Yea, verily.
Here's the tracklist:

Ghetto Rebels DJ Vadim U.S.S.R.: The Art Of Listening

Who says Russia doesn't have a hip hop scene? Well, sure, these rappers are clearly Yanks, but so what?

Give it to You (Screwed) Screwpy

This is what Jordan Knight sounds like when "sippin' 'zzurp." Mmm, 'zzurp. Screwpy has a Myspace page that I stumbled onto and now have lost again, but he does mostly UK chop and skrew mixes. My girlfriend Amy hates this song, both because she thinks the voice is incredibly creepy and because the original was pretty much a daterape song ("I'll hold you down/ you don't have to move/ I'll do the work"? Yeah, I like sex, but man, I can't stand all the work.) I like it because it sounds creepy, and the beat is just so damn crisp.

Don't Make Me Wait Peech Boys Classic Electro Mastercuts Vol.1

Another thing to blame Amy for. See, I hated electro when I first started dating her. Then, inevitably, she wore me down and I learned to love it. Then I kept going, plunging into unspeakable desire for simplistic dance beats and Italian disco. I remind her of this every time she rolls her eyes while we're listening to music. "It's your own fault! It's your own fault!"

RM #026. Surgery World Class Wreckin Cru SOMBie Lists

And speaking of electro, we can't forget about Dre. Before he did that whole no-one-can-stop-me-from-stealing-all-the-Pfunk-basslines-gangsta thing, he was in the World Class Wreckin' Cru. Here he is, young and sassy.

Rubber Glove Seduction (12" Version) PTP WaxTrax! Black Box: The First 13 Years (Disc 3)

My copy of this is scratched, so I'm lucky that someone went ahead and posted it to teh intarweb, thus allowing me to steal it. It's an Al Jourgenson joint, one of the dancier things that he did.

Cold Life Ministry Situation 2 12"

Speaking of ol' Al, this is what he sounded like when Ministry started. My father put this on a mixtape when I was a kid, along with Laurie Anderson and Shriekback. Aww, dad. And now he wonders where I get my love of goofy anglophilic post-punk...

Rapp Snitch Knishes Feat. Mr Fantastik MF Doom MM Food-(Explicit Retail)

You just cannot fuck with MF Doom. You cannot fuck with this man. A lazy, blazy track full tasty hooks. Whenever I hear MF Doom, I think of a guy from the Priceless Edge internships named Mad Mark (Schiff, I think was his last name). He was the prototypical indie kid who got into hip hop. It was through him that I learned to love Ludicris, who was just bubblin' outta the south then. Hope he runs across this...

A Time for Fear (Who's Afraid) The Art of Noise (Who's Afraid of?) the Art of Noise!

And back in, what, '81 or so, Art of Noise were doing cut-ups that still sound fresh 20 years on. Some of the first instrumental hip hop anywhere.

"B" Movie Gil Scott-Heron Reflections

On the other hand, and the reason why this mix won't fit on one CD (suck it, haters), there's Gil Scott-Heron. Despite battling a crippling crack addiction, the Reagan years were some of the best for Scott-Heron. And fuck this talk of a mandate, yo. Someday, I'll put Whitey on the Moon up here, since it's, like, my other favorite Scott-Heron joint. Another musician that was on mix tapes my dad made 20 years ago.

Ain't Nobody Chaka Khan 4

And to combat all that liberal horseshit, here's Chaka Khan, the soulful Republican booster. I'm not sure why Chaka Khan Chaka Khan does Bush rallies, but it doesn't bother me as much as, say, Toby Keith or Britney Spears. Maybe it's because she doesn't have the media clout, or because I really do like her music. And she has a better '80s track record than Aretha.

Monsterous Shinin Directors Cut Ep

Man, I don't know a damn thing about these guys. I found this on a promo sent by a cryptic label with a bunch of crap on it. While the second (white?) guy is a little stifled in his flow, there are just points where it clicks beautifully.

Slowdive (XFM Session) LCD Soundsystem Disco Infiltrator

Haha. I'm a dork. Where have you gone, Souxie Sioux, a nation turns its tired eyes to you... I always really liked her singles, not so much the album tracks, and LCD Soundsystem do a pretty solid cover. So... once he got Daft Punk out of his house, he invites some goths over? Ok by me.

Goddess Minny Pops Dolphin Spurt 7"

I got no idea about this one either, except that it's pretty gnarly. Help me out, internetters?

Clear Cybotron Electro Breakdance - CD 1

But electro breakdance? That's what I'm all about. I hope that you have a party going while you listen to this mix, and that when they start saying "clear" in their little robot voices that you feel compelled to bust a move.

Sucker D.J.'s (I Will Survive) Dimples D. Street Jams: Hip-Hop From The Top - Part 1

Sucker MCs took a lot of heat, and Dimples D. was there to fight back for the good of America. What, she asks, about the sucker DJs who so plague our nation? Should they not also be held accountable to the party population? You go, Dimples.

Murder Rap Above The Law GTA: San Andreas RIPPED Soundt

Yeah, I got this from some You Send It swap, and I'm repurposing it, because it's awesome. That beat, with the incessant sirens? This'll either inspire the hottest dancing of the night or clear the room. Either way, really.

bionic girl dj skeletor gwen stefani vs south rakkas crew
And another one that Amy rightly mocks me for. This shit IS bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s. But DJ Skeletor knows to mix her low. Anyway, so ends the mix.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Freaky Trigger does a good job with Banksy

Read it here.
I like his discussion on the ups/downs of subversion. Good to think about in the morning, yes.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Friday Mix-off!

This is the order in which to listen.
And here's the .zip file of about 45 minutes of AWESOME MUSIC!

Such A Spiv 3:30 School Meals

God, what a catchy tune, eh? Swiped shamelessly from the good folks at Strange Reaction. Apparently, a "spiv" is a well-dressed coniver, with con man and pimp undertones.

Drive My Car 2:45 Nasty Facts

Also from Strange Reaction. I feel a bit bad about using the same source twice, but he puts up such stellar stuff. This is an excellent bit of New Wave fluff.

Miracles 2:50 The Rants

Local boys done good. I found this on a Suburban Sounds sampler, and it was put out just before the band had a personelle shift, so it won't show up anywhere else. Oh, and don't bother with the SubSounds link right now, they've shuttered in a weird way. Hopefully they'll come back soon. The Rants are still around and still good, and I advise you to look for more of their stuff.
Snake Pussy 1:10 Je Suis France

What can I say, I loved the title of the track, and they sent me a promo years ago that I only recently re-listened to. It was surprisingly good! I think I didn't listen to them because that was when we were only reviewing local stuff or something. Anyway, it's become a favorite.

Dirty South 3:29 Orenda Fink

Sometimes you hear a song and think: Damn, this should be a hit. That's what this tune was like for me, though I'm not influential enough to guarantee it (and it's not really up my alley anyway), but it can't hurt to spread the word, y'know? If you like Sarah McLaughlin, this is a good thing to listen to.

This month, day ten 3:41 CanseiDeSerSexy

Brazillian breakup pop. Tasty, fun, with a weird cold stop that I apologize for...

Eating Noddemix 2:05 Young Marble Giants

I go back and forth on these guys. Sometimes I love 'em, other times they drive me up the wall. Probably the least aggressive post-punk band out there though.

The Consumer 2:20 Mechanics

More from Strange Reaction. That guy can't go wrong, y'know?

S.I.B. (Swelling Itching Brain) 4:29 Devo

But it plays into Devo so well. Off of Duty Now For The Future, a strangely underrated Devo album, SIB is one of the tightest freakouts that they've done.

Lazers 3:21 Danse Asshole

I've told you that I love Bulb Records, right? Well, they're having some trouble right now, and their main website has been taken over by a shitty casino. FIGHT THE POWER! BUY BULB RECORDS! Please, Pete Larson has a kid to feed and needs your hard earned money to keep making weirdo music availible for all of us. Help him! This track will explain why!

Girl, Kill Your Boyfriend 2:56 The Figgs

From a Pop Culture Press sampler, something from The Figgs, a Boston band that got signed then dropped during those "alternative" days in the early '90s. They've gone on to release several albums, all of them good but pretty much the same. If you like this track, you'll like The Figgs. I saw 'em with Marshall Crenshaw and they blew him off the stage.

Anglo Girl Desire 3:09 Radio Birdman

In Australia, down is up and up is down. Also, they're felons. Rock and roll felons. Just another goddamned great track from Radio Birdman.

Rock 'n' Roll Submarine 3:01 The Submarines

What the fuck is a rock and roll Submarine? I dunno, but I kinda wanna be one. Don't you?

Nine O' Clock 2:46 Snips

This came from the Little Hits, who have some of the best pop music around on a regular basis. I only like about half of the things they put up but damn, when they go, they go. This track is up there with the Mekons "After 6" or Blondie's "Waitin' on the Telephone." I might just sandwich those together on a different mix...

9 to 5 3:00 Dolly Parton

What can I say? I love Dolly Parton. Fuck off.

Since I posted this elsewhere...

I might as well do it here too.
Pommeri by Moonram Pirai off of the Filmsongs from Bollywood comp.
What I like is the sexy disco stylee to it, y'know. And it's catchy as hell. Bit overlong, but what can you do? The rest of the comp is good too, but I end up putting this on mixes more than anything else...

Thursday, October 13, 2005

What, no Anal Cunt?

This is why great records can't be decided by democracy: because most people have shitty taste. Most people believe that they have good taste, but then they do things like vote for Coldplay or Genesis in their top ten albums ever.
And while there's an argument to be made for the subjectivity of lists, and maybe one of those people first had sex to the melifluous sounds of Phil Collins chirping susudio while they humped away, but picking any Genesis album is wrong. Even if it was a Peter Gabriel one and all stupid proggy.

So here's the title track off of what should be in, well, at least the top 20, but I didn't see it nominated even once: Alice Coltrane's Ptah the El Daud.

It's got a fantastic bass groove behind some of the most sweeping and beautiful '70s jazz around. Music to march to.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Great Rough Guide to Ghostly International

Here
Yancy (which makes me think of Futurama) gives a fair-minded review of the Ghostly label, and writes up what would be an amazing comp.
Too bad Ghostly won't send me any promos or schedule interviews because I "made fun of their friends."

Friday, October 07, 2005

It's Friday

And this is the first in the series of Weekend Mixes. You've got a week from You Send It. Download and enjoy.
The Mix. It's in zip form, then mp3s, but import it and make it a playlist. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself. I'm going to try to do this every Friday.

Tracks:
Khalid Of Space Pt. 2 12:31 Larry Young

I love the explosive feeling of this track, the centerpiece of Young's album Lawrence of Newark. It's got this insane drive to it, this feeling of drunkenly swerving behind the wheel of a car. It's too crazy for my girlfriend; it drives her up the wall.

Better Than That (Live) 8:39 Nomo

Local afrofunk from The Local Music Show. Absolutely fantastic to see live, this track is one of those that I have a hard time imagining life without, like it seems that it should always have existed and was always part of my experience.

Unknown 6:08 Tokyo Kid Brother

Like insane Japanese showtunes from the '60s or something. I picked up this album about a year ago from a friend, and since I can't read any Japanese, I have no idea what the tracks are or anything. All I know is the title and that this is the first track on there. Anyone wanna help me out?

(Open Up) The Crab 0:56 The Many Moods Of Marlon Magas

Magas was the co-founder of Bulb Records with Pete Larson. Larson says that the internet is killing him and he may have to shutter Bulb. Do us all a favor and support this sort of genius by buying something at Bulb Records.

White Boys 2:37 The Cast Of Hair

It's a fun song, innit? Yeah, I love cheese as much as the next guy. And what's wrong with white boys? The song has this funky bassline that you only get from the movie soundtrack. The musical recording's pretty weak, frankly, but the film has it goin' on.

Last House On The Enchanted 1:50 Black Moth Super Rainbow

These guys sent me a promo with about 20 songs on it, which sounds like a speak and spell and analogue synths on a dying tape machine. It's good and bad in equal doses, but this is a pretty good song to move things along.

Aum Shinri Kyo 1:58 DJ Sushi

Part of the Japanese dubplate subculture, DJ Sushi put out a series of insanely great 12"s and then jumped in front of a subway train right after he was discovered by an American on tour in Japan. Odd and sad, but great music.

I Need A Beat 4:33 LL Cool J

It's odd how electro rap used to be. Oh, and this is a burner forever, y'know? You can't not like this and have any soul.

DJ Dangermouse 2:42 Encore

The best album to come out last year wasn't anything original; it was the mashup of The White Album and The Black Album into this juggernaut of catchiness. Really, if you haven't heard this already, you need to. And here it is!

Things Could Be Better 3:05 Ernie And The Top Notes (Featuring Raymond Winfield)

From the Peanutbutter Wolf 45s collection, this is an under-represented soul gem. I've looked all over for more info on Ernie and the Top Notes, but couldn't find any anywhere. Little help?

Beast With A Gun 2:50 Animal

Lo-fi pop from Aaron Nemik, on the "Executive Bird on a Judicial Branch" label (which, I believe, only puts out his stuff). I don't feel bad about sharing this track, because it's on his website, but you should go ahead and give him some cash for his other stuff. It's fantastic, and he needs more press.

Rhyme Scene / Rhyme Dream 2:07 El Guapo

El Guapo has a plethora of infectious electro-meets-free-jazz weirdness and this is one of the best. Their album Super/System is their best, though the Geography of Dissolution (where they play a lot of these songs accoustically) is awesome too.

Hey Lord 3:25 Suicide

Off of a Ze Records Christmas compilation, this Suicide track is great for any time of the year.

Nous Sommes Bi-Bi Ba-Ba Baum-Baum 2:59 Les Lunaurs

Bi-bi-ba-ba-baum-baum is so catchy... Bi-bi-ba-ba-baum-baum... Bi-bi-ba-ba-baum-baum... From the Freak Out Montreal comp.

Everyday 5:22 Saturday Looks Good To Me

Off of one of their earlier albums, this SLGTM really sums up the best of their sound: Dubby weirdness connected with Phil Spector wall-of-sound soul. Amazing. I'm not a huge fan of where they've gone, but they've been some fantastic places.

Take Me As I Am 2:37 Denise & Co.

She's gonna fuck your friend and you'd better like it, or she'll kick your ass. From the Girls in the Garage vol. 1 comp.

Down Home Girl 2:31 Demolition Doll Rods

The Demolition Doll Rods can be either brilliant or crap, and here I think they're brilliant. Also from Bulb. You should really buy more from Bulb. That's your new mantra.

America 5:21 The Au Pairs

The Au Pairs were one of those post-punk bands that everyone loves to cite, but not too many people listened to. Here's a blistering (and topical) indictment of America. Since Bush seems determined to bring back the '80s, at least we'll get the good, angry music, right?

El Barrio 7:14 Joe Henderson
More jazz, because you can't have too much, can you?

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

We're gonna try this again.

The Chairmen of the Board were a Detroit soul group who mostly stuck to the slick stuff, aside from one album: The Skin I'm In. A raucus burner produced Jeffery Bowen, the Chairmen gave up their polished crooner sound for one more influenced by Parliament and George Clinton.
The band had no idea what Bowen was up to and hated the album when they heard it. One member even credited the album's electric pianos directly for their breakup (which happened during the tour for the album).

What does this prove? That musicians can't always be trusted to judge their own music.
Here's the title track. You can buy the album through Dusty Groove America