Albums they missed

From the MeFi thread. Someone asked for brief descriptions about each of these "influential" albums.

Suicide— s/t

This, along with the Silver Apples, was one of the first "synthesizer" albums, and definitely the first "New York" synthesizer albums. Urban, dark, decadent and, well, dancy. Without this, no Joy Division.

Lou Reed— Metal Machine Music

Noise kills record contracts dead. The first noise album on a major label, and a huge influence for people constructing cacophonics. Without this, no Einsturzende Neubauten.

Christian Marclay— Record Without Grooves

Vinyl played wrong. Without this, many people wouldn't see the turntable as an instrument all unto itself.

Miles Davis— Bitches Brew

People like to talk about the studio as instrument and laud The Beatles and Beach Boys. This is where you could take it if you weren't trying to accomodate a bunch of music hall bullshit.

John Coltrane— A Love Supreme

Coltrane's influence in saxophone players is a hard thing to quantify, in that a lot of people would love to play like him but can't (me, especially). This album is both accessible and mindblowing, and solidified a lot of the ideas of modern/free jazz while not being Om (which is great, but is not for passive listening).

La Monte Young— Well Tuned Piano

Young's drone work was an important influence on Krautrock and all minimal avant garde, including Phillip Glass.

John Cage— 4'33"



Karlheinz Stockhausen— Kontakt

One of the first compositions to combine live performers with electronics and tape loops, Stockhausen laid some of the foundation for things like DAT triggering. It's also good to listen to.

Edgard Varese— Poem Electronique

More avant electronics. Le Corbusier commissioned this tape piece from Varese as part of an architectural multimedia installation, and it pushed the conceptual boundaries of electronic composition. Varese was aided by Le Corbusier's assistant Iannis Xenakis, who became one of the most famous of the electro-minimal composers.

Raymond Scott— Powerstation

Raymond Scott's Looney Tunes work permeated the dreams of a generation. Maybe not as influential in terms of, well, being an album, but his use of odd instrumentation and experimental effects can be traced down to bands as diverse as the Mothers of Invention to Lighting Bolt.
Charles Mingus— New Tijuana Moods

The American middle ground between Modern jazz and Latin jazz.

Thelonius Monk— Brilliant Corners

I said s/t when I was running through things from the top of my head, but I should have said this one. Syncopated, abrupt, jarring, nimble, quick. Art Blakey's the sax and this 1956 disc is another that changed how composition was considered.

The Raspberries— Fresh

Power pop started around here somewhere, and the 1972 Rasberries wanted to be the 1969 Nazz (or maybe Badfinger). Either way, they got close enough.

Big Star— #1 Record

This album is probably the biggest omission. Without it, no REM, no Cheap Trick, no power pop as we know it.

Minor Threat— Minor Threat

xxstraightedgexx! Hardcore punk's best and most influential album.

Rites of Spring— End on End

I don't really like emo, but this is where it comes from.

Fugazi— Repeater

Once upon a time, emo was really more "post-hardcore." This is post-hardcore at its finest. Another one of those "without them, no Lightning Bolt" sort of bands.

Husker Du— Zen Arcade

More post-hardcore. But seriously, without them, no My Chemical Romance or any of the other soft post-emo bands. (Don't let that count against Husker Du...)

Wire— Pink Flag

Post-punk at its tightest. These guys were huge influences on REM and most of indie rock.

Wire— Chairs Missing

And they kept changing. The indie-meets-electronic stuff they're doing here (which had been preceded by Suicide above) is just now starting to crest. No Franz Ferdinand, no Futureheards, no Bloc Party without this album.

Gang of Four— Entertainment

The funky side of post-punk. No TV on the Radio, no Franz Ferdinand, no Bloc Party.

I'll get to the rest of them later...

For the AskMes

These take a little bit of self-assembly, in that I haven't found a good Mac (free) program to make .m3u files with.
As such, here's the "correct" order:

"Another Offload*FIXED* (hopefully)

Esp Black Mass
Cars Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Punk Under Pressure Kadie Red
I Need A Freak Sexual Harrassment
Closet Freak Cee-Lo
Don't Lose Control Material
(Just Like We) Breakdown Hot Chip
Do Ya Electric Light Orchestra
Affentanz Abwärts
a1-limited entertainment Glaxo Babies
I Bet You Funkadelic
Dark Skin Girls Del Tha Funky Homosapien
Needy Girl (Bloc Party Remix) Chromeo
Heavy Rotation Cobra Killer
Where You Headed? DJ Jubilee
Game Over (Feat Jay Dee And Phat Kat) Dabrye

"Jazzbo Wrong"

04 1 Baroque Jazz Trio
01 Merry-Go-Round TERUMASA HINO
My Very Own Sweetheart Heavy Balloon
Track 10 Embermen Five
Minikillers I Johnny Teupen
A Hidden Trap Cosmos Factory
What's The Name Of Your School? DJ Jubilee
Corn Fish Dub Lee "Scratch" Perry
Dom (Electricity Elects The Rain 39 Clocks
Happy Girl Who Made Who
Program Me Bruce Haack With Ed Harvey
Killer Man Jaro Dillinger
Don`t Take Another Man`s Life Ranking Dellinger
Deshominisation (I) Alain Goraguer

Memorial Day Party.

gigantor
Her_story Flying Lizards
Saturday Night Langley Schools Music Project
Bored [1978] Destroy All Monsters
Skin Tight Skin Suzi Quatro
Bad Reputation The dB'S
Hearts In Exile Homosexuals, The
Dub It (Nice and Easy) Upsetters
Cool Stroker Prince Buster & The All Stars
Handa Wanda Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian Band
50 Ways Kool Moe Dee
Neck, the Kent And The Candidates
Dance This Mess Around B-52's, The
Back Seat Love Nikki and the Corvettes
Hey Girls The Avatars
11 59 Blondie
I Know You Love My Synthesizers Charlie Slick
Eric B. Is President Eric B & Rakim
Poney Part 1 Vitalic
Are Friends Electric Gary Numan

OH NO ITS BEEN A MONF!

Hey y'all, both of ya.
I'm working for cousinsvinyl now. Not a whole lot up there, but at least a little. Boom!

Prop shop!

Amy and I are doing Prop Shop tonight on 88.3 WCBN (.org).

Listen live on teh intarweb for Old Skool Hip Hop.

Long time, no see...

I'll be back to regular blogging soon.
In the meantime, maybe you could enjoy this leak of Thom Yorke's Eraser.

I'll talk about it in some, I'm still listening to it. And the nice thing about Radiohead fans is that they can be trusted to buy the album after they've downloaded it...

I've been lax.

Have a job at a record store now, but an online one. Creating a website. Should be interesting. Rare vinyl stuff.

I've got a new computer that I need to fix, and decide what to do with the computer that I have... Probably semi-cannibalize it. Maybe put it on the network as a purely storage computer.

Interesting discussion at Metafilter about Sasha Frere-Jones and Stephin Merritt.

I started thinking about the discussion in terms of the arguments about pornographic taste. I mean, that's one of those things that's assumed to have root causes, yet has a very powerful sensory reaction. Does your taste in music stem from exposure, disturbances, whatever?

Ed Sanders

Well, I got a request for the Ed Sander's Truckstop album, and in particular two songs (which took me forever to find when I first looked for 'em since the requester and I made the same mistakes about what should be named what). But, with little ado, and minus a few songs that wouldn't fit on the 25mb storage space that I have, here's Truckstop. If you want the other songs, get ahold of me...

The Plaster Song

Popularized by Red Dorkus and his band, this is the tragic lament of the deliterious effects that plaster casters can have on a relationship.

Jimmy Joe the Hippybilly Boy

The awful tale of a boy misunderstood by his neighbors, but lauded after death. It also drives Amy up the fucking wall, and so I secretly enjoy it.

Maple Court Tragedy

Better known as "Polaroid Spread Shots," this is a classic of love and loss.

Heartbreak Crash Pad
Who hasn't had a special place that becomes impossible to return to due to the weight of memories?

The Illiad, a theme for America, would go here, but I had it up for a while and no one seemed to want it. Maybe I'll put it back up and take down some of these other ones soon.

The ABM Machine

Better known as "Are you a vampire, Melvin Laird," this song questions the evil within all of us.

Homesick Blues

Ed Sanders tackles the problem of the recently released poet prisoner returning home with his characteristic delicacy.

Banshee

An Irish love song.

Breadtray Mountain

A sequel to "Hardrock Candy Mountain"? The plaintive fiddle sets this apart...

They're Cutting my Coffin at the Sawmill

Pretty self-explainitory.

Pindar's Revenge

The old country school is now a crashpad. If that doesn't break your heart, nothing will.

The Yodellin' Yippie is the other missing track that would prevent you from assembling the full album. It's another that I've put up before, but might be convinced to re-up.

PWNED!

Look to the bottom for my new soundtrack to video game playing.
(The delightfully silly 'PWNED' by Baby Boy.)

Nature's Hated

So, I'm vaguely curious about Romo, after hearing it described in glowing terms on ILM, and I'm listening to Nature's Hated by Orlando. I think it's OK, a little too Manic Street but no big deal.

Amy comes in and "What the hell is that SHIT? I can't even think, it's that bad!"

So... take it as you will.

1977

It's been a classic MOR day here at the Honest Engine pagoda. What does that mean? Well, it means that I've given my first listen (ever!) to two albums widely reputed to be "classics" that somehow my punk affinities had led me to overlook— Aja by Steely Dan and Hermit of Mink Hollow by Todd Rundgren.

First, the Steely Dan. I found a vinyl copy of Aja in my girlfriend's crates and stuck it on.

Maybe the problem is that I'd been listening to real jazz right before it (Archie Shepp's brilliant Choral Rock), but the smoove was overpowering. Pleasant, and I don't have any hate for it, but like baby food. Like jazz pre-chewed.
I liked Deacon Blues OK, and I thought Josie was pretty cool. I like the bass sound that they've got, warm and mid-'70s. But things like the disco-ish beat on Black Cow and the endless vapid crooning (I know, I know, everyone loves the lyrics. But Home At Last is pretty damn empty, at least to me). Too much pretention in this yacht rock. If I'm going to listen to smoov, I want something a little more fun and a little less late night AM radio. Too much REO Speedwagon. Too much Hall and Oates ballad. And I know, I know, those guys didn't do it as meticulously (or something). And Steely Dan passes on the practical scale— you can tell that they succeeded at putting out albums that sounded like they wanted them to sound, even if that meant saxophones so slick that they glisten like slug trails. And if the argument is going to be that you simply need to be a musician to comprehend their consumate skill, well, I'll cop to feeling a little more populist on that front (while acknowledging the contradiction between that and eschewing 'smooth,' 'accessible' music).
I'm not even going to bother with the real/memorex distinction about whether or not the crushing on Steely Dan that I see a lot of places is genuine/backlash, except to say that the endless hype did make me expect something more. Sorry, I'll take my Sex Pistols album over Aja any day, and rating the other way seems to be more contrarianism than conviction (and I've seen a lot of people now rate it the other way).
Weirdly enough, the "slick disco" isn't as much of a problem for me as the slick jazz. I've been tussling with my dad over Donna Summer and my growing appreciation for her this last week, but he loves Steely Dan in a way that I don't get. It sounds too much like the theme from 'Taxi.'
And, given the choice of studio lunacy, I'll take 10cc any day. At least they seemed like they were having fun, rather than placing a coke-fueled chrome polish onto Randy Newman song suites. Out of 10, I'd put it Aja at 5.5 or so, a bit above "I'm Your Captain." Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe I'll listen to it again in five years.

As for Rundgren, I'm a big Nazz fan but never really knew anything from his solo career outside of Bang on a Drum... Hermit of Mink Hollow is apparently about his breakup with Bebe Neuworth (or whatever her last name is), the relationship that spawned Liv Tyler (kinda). But listening to it really just crystalizes why punk must have been so exciting, and why saxophones have totally dropped out of the rock lexicon. It's not that the sax is a bad instrument, or unsuited for rock, it's just that folks like Rundgren used it as a patina of soulfulness over extremely white licks. Of course, I hate the E Street Band, so whaddo I know? But this album is so packed with self-indulgent pap that it makes Steely Dan sound positively lean and populist. The tortured rhymes of "Lucky Guy" ('And when there's pain he never minds it/ when it's lost he always finds it') sound like they were written as theme songs for angsty tv shows about blondes with teased hair. Despite the Big Star theme of That '70s Show, this is the MOR shit that sums up their aesthetic. For anyone reading, I'm listening so you don't have to. Even the 'rockers' like "Out of Control" sound more like wanky Paul Sabu than, say, KISS. Where did the Rundgren that was so beautifully psychadelic in The Nazz go? When Rundgren threatens to go 'totally out of control,' his rampage means having a couple of beers and maybe letting the air out of his neighbor's tires. And the ballads are one of the strongest arguments for that now-dismissed canard that 'music sucked during the '70s.' If I heard this on the radio, I can only imagine that heroin, safety pin jewelry and nihilism would seem like the only acceptable answer.

So, today's score is two "classic" albums that I'd never heard and now vaguely wish I hadn't. At least the Steely Dan seems like it might be worth listening to again, sometime when I'm going to have totally shitfaced sex with a girl I don't like very much. I can't imagine ever having sex to Rundgren.

Mixology

Jon Moody, a pal of mine, challenged me to make him a mix that was only 25% guitar rock.
Here's what I came up with:

Moody (Spaced Out) ESG
Handclapping Song The Meters
spin the impossible dreamers
Deep Soul Pt. 1 Ron Buford
Mama Too Tight Archie Shepp
Trance Space Flying Rhythms
Oui Oui Pulsallama
Chinese Black The Neon Judgement
The Rat Kissed the Cat Funkadelic
stand on the word the joubert singers
It's A Nice World To Visit (But Not To Live In) Ann-Margret
break the ice at parties tesco bombers
'Guys are not proud (7'') (Red Sweater) The Anemic Boyfriends
up and above dub P1/E
Good As Gold - Flexible Skulls Tiga
They Don't Want Your Corn They Want Your Kids Liars
Second Song Afrirampo
The Taster Wild Man Fischer
No You Can't Take Them Stuart Hyatt
College Grad The Mutants

Only one of the tracks is guitar rock per se, but there's a fair balance there... His mix was pretty good too.
Lemme know if anyone wants this posted as a .zip

They sing the news so you don't have to

Topical ditties in doggerel from The Aural Times, including a barbersop quartet about Isaac Hayes's departure from South Park and a lovely triffle about Stanislaw Lem.
Look it up, folks.
Similar, but with better musical sense, to Songs to Wear Pants To.

I stumbled on to it it it it it it it it it...

Some of you may know that I'm an inveterate dope smoker. Which is OK, but too much dope smokin' music tends to be pretty fucking boring (jam bands, I'm looking at you).
But... A good dub out does everyone good. Check out Hearwax for some amazing dub sides. Yeah, it's another one of those intermittently updated rapidshare blogs, but his Perry A to Z is a tight mix, and he's got good taste.
So get on already!

Found

I got this promo from the band The Destroyed, who were a punk band in Boston that reformed. The new album's pretty worthless, as it's guitar/drums/vocals (no bass) freeform jam sorta crap. Occassionally, it gets interesting in an antimusic way, and the drummer really does sound like a drunk Keith Moon (though arguably no records exist today with a sober Keith Moon).

But by digging at their site, I found a couple of really great old chaotic punk tracks. I particularly enjoy We Got It and War Planes.
There's also kinda noisey electronic/new wave My Dad is Dead with Anti-Socialist.

Bringin' Back that ol' Hardcore Rap

Cloak N Dagga— Def Con Zero: The Last Tour On Earth (Head Trauma, 2005)
headtraumarecords.com

Canibus, one half of Cloak N Dagga, might best be remembered as the also-ran MC who dissed LL Cool J with “Second Round K.O.,” which LL answered with “The Ripper Strikes Back,” way back in 1998. He’s done more since then, but Canibus has failed to make any music worth owning after going down as one of the first rappers to have their solo debut ruined by a post-Fugees Wyclef.
With that being the last noteworthy blip in his career, it’s fitting that Def Con Zero starts with a loudspeaker announcing the rules for existence in a post-apocalyptic bomb shelter. Those three diktats, that the sex in the shelter is for procreation only, that no rhymes from outside their jurisdiction will be recognized, and that it’s “not about who sells the most albums, but who sells the last album” explain all of Def Con Zero.
First off, while there are occasional tracks that celebrate the pimpin’ proficiency of our protagonists ancillarily, this is a strictly hardcore album with the blunt, flat beats and compressed cymbal hits that requires. This album is not for cruising strip clubs so much as strip malls and looking hard. Occasionally exhilarating, rarely exciting.
Second, while there are undeniably good moments in rhyme (“I’m the walkin’, talkin’ Stephen Hawkins”), there’s no doubt that the lyrics are dated. On the last track, there’s even another dis on LL. By refusing to recognize rhymes from outside, Cloak N Dagga handily insulate themselves from both being called out and having to justify their fairly monotonous flow.
Which brings us to the third point— there doesn’t seem to be any forward motion on Def Con Zero. There’s a lot of hardcore posturing, some deft boasting, and that’s about it. The theory seems to be that by remaining unchanged, they’ll sell the last album and thereby vindicate their long sojourn in the bunker.
Too bad that by remaining sequestered, they’re only likely to sell those albums to each other.

The High Strung

Part of what I like about the '70s in rock is that there's this great sense of future and purpose in the music of bands like Big Star and Mott The Hoople. Even at the downturns, even when the girls are September, even when hangin' out is a chore, there's this sense of motion forward. Perhaps it's because there's such longing, and any longing you have has to be connected with a future, possible or impossible. But how can All The Young Dudes promise anything other than a better future?

There's enough of a connection between The High Strung and '70s power pop that when I first started listening to the album Moxie Bravo, I thought of all of the places that I loved '70s rock, the places where it fit and comforted. And I kept thinking of places like the long drive down Washtenaw, out of Ypsi, back to Ann Arbor, where at night it's an endless spread of chrome dealerships under halogen, where everything is blue-lit and harsh. I think back to working in restaurants, and turning on the classic rock radio as I drove home, and how it was always a call to get the hell out.

What makes this work is the immaculate sense of flourish over fundamentally good structures— the drum roll that runs alongside the verses in "Seems it's One Thing" gives singer Josh Malerman the room to create a long-suffering character without feeling like you're suffering through a message set to music. Their predecessors in power pop should be known for this too, especially one that gets too much ink for the wrong reasons. Malerman can hit an alto that's not too far away from Jack White's, and Jack should probably be better known for his fantastic pop chops than his blues vamping, but we'll leave that aside. (We'll also leave aside how much of a kiss of death it can be here in Southeastern Michigan to invoke White in any comparison). Still, for the traditional X-meets-Y of rock reviews, you could do worse than "Pop Jack White" and "Big Star."

This isn't to discount the rest of the band. Malerman's a major factor, but one of the High Strung's strengths is their economy. In this post-Arcade Fire world of indie rock, I see bands like the Descent of the Holy Ghost Church and Canada (on the indie rock tip, Coke Dick Motorcycle Awesome on the pop metal tip) with enough members to staff a White Castle up on stage, but without the ability to write a single decent melody line for any of them. There's this belief that by mass of numbers, somehow an interesting song can be clumped together out of shifting dynamics. Instead, the High Strung are a trio, and a robust trio at that. Derek Berk's drumming is a high point of "Seems It's One Thing," with thunderous rolls like hilly giants falling down a flight of stairs. And having a bassist in Chad Stocker who's able to both play unobtrusive rhythm and provide a hook as thick as Rocky's forearm. Mallerman trust the rhythm section enough to give them the space to make a great song.

And more than anything, the virtue of Moxie Bravo is that it's infectious. I couldn't get to sleep last night because I had "A Real Mealticket" stuck in my head. It was three, maybe four in the morning before I finally dozed off. With great power pop comes great responsibility?

Anyway, there are three mp3s up on their site, the aforementioned mealticket, "N over C," a glammy single that's about the middle of their album quality wise, and "Truce," which is really about as influence-laden as they get. It's vaguely a shame that they're not putting some of my favorites up for free (like "Deck The Boy" which is going on every mixtape I make for the next year or so), but in contrast to my general demeanor, I'd like you to buy the goddamned album, you yobbos.

Anyway, I know that I get about 12 readers a day. About half of those should be random googlers who I frustrate by taking songs down even as I remain the top google hit. The rest of you? Well, take a listen. I really like this band. Would it kill you to comment?

From the google-ad gutter

Man, this is an example in how not to make a music site.
Not only is the color hideous, but the mission statement is long and convoluted (and you should be able to tell what the mission of a site is without having to read a goddamned statement), the links a poorly-rendered (here's a hint- if it says mp3 link, I don't want a .asf file asking me how to open it), and the overall thrust of the site is too broad. It's lovely to dream of changing all of the music industry, but I'd rather read a well-written niche site than one that's trying to do everything and succeeding at nothing.

(There were a couple of decent songs there though).

Which one of the Osmonds was a little bit country?

When I was a kid, I remember with a little bit of shame, I hated country music. I, frankly, blame my mother. Well, and society. I had this image of country music as something backwards and retarded, something that would somehow make me physically inbred just by playing it. If I wasn't ever vigilant, I'd end up sodomized on some rafting trip yet enjoying it. Anyway, in those days I was all about industrial music anyway, even to the point of refering to myself as a "rivethead."

Right. Well, I'm glad I got over both of those preoccupations. The country thing might have had something to do with Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks, or with my mom's combination of strong opinions and narrow taste, but I was an ass, and I've grown out of it (well, with regards to country, anyway).

With that in mind, here are a handful of tracks that I've learned to love over the years that I would've loudly decried had my dad put 'em on the stereo as a kid. They're still not proper Country, per se, but hell, you get enough of that with the Cash movie, right?

Lawn Dart by Ed's Redeeming Qualities.
A powerful ballad of love and loss, from ukelele-slingers to the K-Mart. I first heard this song on a CMJ Certain Damage comp back in the early '90s, and I spent years looking for it. The album showed up randomly on the internets, so I downloaded it and couldn't be happier. I've since bought it (though used, so the band still didn't get any money off me. You should buy it to make me feel better).
I swear that if you play this song during the summer, you will think of it every time you play any lawn game. Even croquet.

We Will Retake Saigon by Buddy Holocaust.
Great name, innit? Buddy Holocaust? Just the one guy, and this is one of those songs that no one knows whether it's a parody or not. Buddy died in a car crash that might have been a suicide soon after it was recorded. I think it's tongue in cheek, but I think that even if it were serious it would be hilarious.

The Illiad by Ed Sanders
As the astute can tell, Ed Sanders was part of The Fugs, one of America's most uplifting bands. But he was also a writer (of terrible poetry, really) and a recording artist in his own right. For some reason, his solo album Truckstop has never been reissued, despite it being, well, awesome. I had a hard time deciding what to upload, but I finally went with 'The Illiad,' which gives a pretty good indication of the tone of the album— funny, weird, but well-played. My father used to quote lines from this all the time while I was growing up, and I'm glad that I tracked it down.

Bad Blood by the Bonzo Dog Band
In fact, a lot of what I'm putting up today is stuff my dad used to sing to us, even though he'd lost his copies years ago. This one's the Bonzos, who should be known to everyone who likes Monty Python or Death Cab for Cutie. I like how far back the vocals are in the mix, it gives it an ominious feeling, even as he's singing about eggstains. Luckily, this is one that is pretty easy to find, if you look for it. It's also a song that for some reason my FTP program refuses to upload, so that's why it's a YSI link today.

Monkeys versus Donkeys by Wildman Fischer
And closing us out is another rarity, from the album "An Evening With..." which hasn't ever been reissued. There's kinda an epic disagreement between Frank Zappa, who recorded it and whose label issued it (and who was a famous asshole) and Wildman Fischer (who's crazy). There's even an apocryphal story about WMF pulling a tampon out of Frank's wife (who now controls the back catalogue) in a bathroom. You're unlikely to see this anywhere else, really. I had to go looking all over to find it last Christmas, and finally ended up patching together a bunch of different versions of vinyl rips into a cohesive album's worth. Still, it's so incredibly catchy that you can't turn away...

The handsome structure

Supersystem's New Album.

When Amy and I were just first dating, she made me these great mix tapes that had a couple of tracks from El Guapo's Super/System on 'em, and I loved the music. It was, in fact, one of the big reasons that I fell for her— she had great taste. And people with great taste have to be awesome, right? Well, in her case, that worked out. El Guapo was even going to play live in Detroit, and we thought about going to see 'em for our third date. Instead, we stayed here and she took me to her room to show me her 'zines. I maintain that it was a cunning plot to lure me up there, but she doesn't like it when I talk like that.

Anyway, she moved away for a year, and while she was gone, El Guapo put out a pretty mediocre follow-up called Fake French, which played into the worst tendencies of the nascent electroclash "movement." I picked up an older album, which had some of Super/System's songs done without the electronics, and really liked 'em. We've since seen them live a couple of times and found out that their very first album is a pretty boring emo-core drudge. So, it seems like they're a group that's only going to have one great album ever.

Anyway, a thread on Metafilter comes up, and I mention 'em. Somebody else lets me know that they've changed their name and some of the personelle. I track down the whole album, streaming, which is above. It's, well, y'know how they kidna jumped the electroclash bandwagon? Yeah, well, they're kinda at the tail-end of the post-punk/dancing-indie wagon now. Which is a shame, because the album is decent but not spectacular, and the weirdness is pretty well relegated to side corners. Which, honestly, should make them as popular as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, but whatever. I give it a 6/10. Good, but not great, and not really worth buying.

Anyone wanna disagree?

Rock 'n' Roll

I'm a huge fan of Led Zepplin, and found this set of songs that influenced them pretty interesting. A lot of it I'd already heard, but some of it was new to me. Included is the fabled original Dazed and Confused.

New music!

If you've been following the audioscrobbler scrawl above (and I know that all of you have what I listen to on your RSS feeds), you'd notice that I have a LOT of new music right now. Woo.

Partial List:
Erkin Koray— The Electronic Turkuler
EK's the big man of Turkish psych, and I'm looking forward to this album. All I've heard from him have been comps, but this looks pretty solid and is supposed to be his most psychedelic album.

Nautical Almanac— Rejerks vol. 1
Nautical Almanac are part of the second wave of noise artists, and this is a set of "songs" that were pulled from their albums as not being up to snuff or whatever. Still, it's pretty great stuff, with heavy Nurse With Wound overtones and a fair amount of random bleeping. Much less abrasive than most noise, this is more skittering and thudding.

v/a- Simla Beat
Indian Psych comp. Haven't listened to it yet, but looking forward to it.

v/a- Garage Beats Vol. 1-4
Once you start down that Nuggets rabbithole, it's hard to stop. There's always more and more and more and more garage stuff, and this seems like a fairly good collection of it. Lots of the same songs that appeared on the Nuggets comps, but with shittier recording usually. What I do like is that there's a lot more trippy weird shit, and there are a lot more women represented.

Lady Sovereign— Vertically Challenged
I've heard good things about this 19(!)-year-old grime MC, and I liked The Broom and Cha-Ching (and the reply song to Bad Ass Stripper that she did). I like that she's unafraid of dis tracks, and usually has good production. Still haven't heard this one.

Nation of Ulysseus— The Embassy Tapes
I was in Wazoo with a limited amount to spend a couple years ago, and was wondering whether I should get the Young Liars ep or Plays Pretty For Baby. The clerk looked at me and said, "Well, TV on the Radio's pretty good, but Ulysseus are a fucking weapon, man." I went with the Ulysseus (though I later picked up the ep), and I haven't been disappointed. I haven't gotten around to this, a later recording made at the "Embassy," but I'm looking forward to it.

Six Finger Satellite— The Pigeon is the Most Popular Bird
I had been hearing about these guys, well, since a classmate had a poster in his locker of them in high school (though I later found out that he didn't like their music at all, just the silver poster, and that it came with a Zumpano album in mail order). But I finally got around to finding one of thier albums, their first one, and I love it. Totally the missing link between Gang of Four and Brainiac. Spazz guitars, angular funk bassline, squalling electronics. I really need to find the rest of their albums, and I feel like a schmuck for sleeping on them the first time around.

Destroyer— Your Blues
In seeking to write some interview with Dan Bejar for Current (which, becuase of deadline stuff, never came through) I got a copy of Rubies, their latest album, and really dug it. So the next step was to go one back, to an album referenced on Rubies, Your Blues. I've only listened to it once, and vaguely liked it (though not as much as Rubies), but will give it another shot sometime soon.

Metal Urbain— Anarchy in Paris
More weird-ass electropunkery, this time from French anarchists. I had loved their track Ultra Violence for a while, having found it on some sampler or another, but this album throbs and thrumms in all the right places. God bless 'em. I look forward to listening to this again.

Red Krayola— Fingerpainting
Red Krayola— God Save the Good Ship...
While at 'CBN, helping with their fund drive, I burned this and another Red Krayola album outof curiousity. I've heard their Hurricane Fighter Plane and liked it, heard their 'singles' album and thought it was OK, and was willing to give them another shot (you know, since I was basically getting 'em for free). Haven't listened to Fingerpainting, have listened to God Save. I expected a little more 13th Floor Elevators on God Save, but it's really quiet, quick pop tunes, more a template for 1/2 Jap than anything else. I did find out that Frederick Bartholme, the author, used to play with them. He's the brother of one of the best metafiction authors, Donald Bartholme.

Dog Faced Hermans— Hum of Life
God, I had no idea. I have an Ex singles comp and thought of them as kinda bland political hardcore, but this side project from the mid-'80s is fucking fantastic. Skronk sax, post-punk bass, yelping, cooing. Yes! Have to get more.

Dead C— Trapdoor Fucking Exit
I've been curious about these noise folks for a while, and liked the album a lot. Fairly flush and drony, but well-balanced. I'll have to give it a few more spins to sink in.

Asa-Chang & Junray— Jun Ray Sung Chang
Asa-Chang is apparently the #1 tabla player in Japan, an honor that no doubt makes his parents very proud. In addition to being the studio musician to call if you're recording in Japan and need tablas, he also has released a couple of solo albums of him and electronic programming. Odd, open and spacy, I've put the song Hana on mixes before and really enjoy the sparse percussion married to the heavily treated vocals.

Animal Collective- Sung Tongs
Animal Collective- Feels
I could only hear so much hype about this band before breaking down and erm... burning their record from 'CBN. Why? Because while I had heard plenty of things that intrigued me (like comparisons to psych workouts from the '60s and Faust), I mostly heard them from jerks who only like indie rock. I've listened to Feels and enjoyed the first half a lot, and by the middle was wishing that I'd actually paid for the album and bought it sooner, but then the second half of the album was pretty boring. Maybe my high was wearing off. I'll get to Sung Tongs later.

Sly and the Family Stone— There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly's dark and drugged out album seemed to be a good enough place to start, and I like it a lot. I can see how it might be disappointing for fans, as it's a lot denser than some of the other stuff I've heard from him, and it does rework a fair amount of material that he'd already recorded, but I've liked it on first listen. I'll give it another shot later.

Dr. John— Gris Gris
Really, just look a little below. I already covered this. Jeez.

The Ethiopians— Stay Loose
Amy's parents wanted some reggae because they're going to Jamaica for vacation. Well, I don't really like much reggae (though I like a lot of dub), as the production tends to be bright and cheesy, and I had too much Bob Marley in the home growing up. But it meant raiding my dad's collection, and so I picked up this and a couple other albums that I vagely remembered being good. I know that somewhere, there's supposed to be a good African Head Charge album, but I keep finding the mediocre hit and miss ones.

Broadcast— Tender Buttons
Another album that I had heard about with psych and krautrock overtones. Except that this one sounds like a glitchy Stereolab, which is OK, I guess, but kinda boring for a full album.

Guru Guru— UFO
Now, this is what I'm talking about. Huge, explosive krautrock with a fuzzy feeling. I'll listen to this more in a bit.

Jay Dee— Welcome to Detroit
I'd been meaning to pick up more from Jay Dee, including the new Doughnuts album. Then he died. Ahh well. Great production album, you can tell that Jay Dee really took a lot from Prince Paul, but some of the rhymes are weak. Still, a lot of fun.

Magma— Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh
Fuckin' prog frogs, with their choirs and their rounds. Good stuff. A lot like Gong, which makes sense.

Slick Rick— The Great Adventures of Slick Rick
His first and best solo album, apparently. Kind of a disappointment, especially because I didn't look to see if La-Di-Da-Di was on there, which is my favorite track from him. Still, some good stuff (Child's Story), some stuff that'd be good if it weren't so fucking misogynist (Treat Her Like A Prostitute, Indian), and some stuff that's just boring. Ahh well, they can't all be perfect.

Delorean— some ep that I forget the title of
Apparently Delorean are usually an alt-country band, but these are mostly remixes that dance it up. Decent stuff, and I'll give it another listen later. Hopefully, I can figure out exactly what it is...

Disco Inferno— DI Go Pop
Along with Dog Faced Hermans and Six Finger Satellite, I really dig this album a lot. It's in Amy's car now, otherwise I'd be playing it. Described by the 'CBN review as "boring Kraftwerk-meets-Blur," it's lucky that I had already been looking for it otherwise I would have missed a great album. Too bad the reviewer had no frame of reference outside of those two, as it's really a lot closer to post punk or a poppier version of 6FS.

There are a few more, but I can't lay my hands on 'em right now. And soon enough, I'll update this with music from these albums. Lemme know if there's anything you're curious about.

Dr. John

What I like about Gris Gris, an album that I'm listening to for the second time right now, is how spacious the arrangement is for all that's packed in there. The drums are spaced back, and while there is often more than one melody line running, they rarely step on each other. It's a direct antidote to the compressed sound of a lot of rock, especially rock from the last 10-15 years.

I like how open this all sounds, and how weird it gets. I've grown up with Dr. John as one of those canonical figures that I never really get around to listening to, but can pluck from midair without expending any energy. He's turned into a phone-it-in type, who if I recall without thinking I have a hard time telling from Wolfman Jack.

Another part of why Gris Gris feels so successful is that Dr. John stays the hell out of most of it, or at least his voice does. It's so distinctive that it's like tumeric or cardemom, exotic and instantly recognizable but something that requires a fair amount of dish around it to make worth eating. The weakest moments, then, are ones like "Jump Sturdy," which is lots of John and some backing singers. The best moments are ones like "Danse Fambeaux," a roiling swamp of flutes and bongos, ehtereal voices and funk bass. It's something that if done by lesser musicians, like jam bands or even Dr. John later on, would be fucking interminable.

But instead, it's spacy and relaxed and has the feeling of somewhere dark and moist.

What it makes me think of is the difference between swamps in the North and swamps in the South. Most of Michigan is fucking swampland, or was before it was drained, and swamps here bring to mind the clammy feeling of a dead hand or the sweats you get after vomiting, on your way to shivering. The swamps in the South feel fecund, lush and rich. Sure, there are horrible animals that will kill you with poisons that make you feverish and the blood explode from your eye sockets, and if you die you'll be either eaten or rotted under in a day, but they also feel like out of control fertility. I remember once standing on the side of a road, next to the rusted-out hulk of a car, taking a piss. While I was standing there, the kudzu that I was knee deep in clung to my jeans and felt like the grasping invasion of alien vegetation.

That's what Gris Gris makes me think of.

We all know Dick Cheney has a soft spot for the rock of the Upper Midwest. Four brief selections from his huge collection, reflecting his current state of mind— Or 'Dick Cheney's Ann Arbor EP'

All My Friends Must Be Punished by The Dirtbombs

Beast with a Gun by Animal

Shotgun Cain by Dabenport

Boom Bang by Cornish in a Turtleneck.

Anyone got any others?

Re: The Blind Pig schedule

Is it just me, or does Duncan Sheik sound like a yuppie condom?

Six months in a leaky boat

Mixotheque.

Have you seen these guys? They're fantastic.
Every month two themed mixes presented one track at a time, one of intro material and one for the crate diggers. It's a thing of beauty, really. This month's been New Zealand, and I've found new love for those kiwi bastards.

For example, I saw The Clean opening for Yo La Tengo, but never really delved deeper. Mixotheque has made me curious enough to make a trip to the used store. And while there's no Radio Birdman (a favorite around these parts), I did cop a couple tracks for Amy's Valentine's Day mix off of there. Shh. She doesn't want to know that I break copyright law to win her love.

But, like the Priest played backwards sez: "Do it, do it..."

Alice?

Huntington Ashram Monastery is the last one of the classic Alice Coltrane albums that hasn't been reissued on CD. The middle of her Monastic trio ("A Monastic Trio," HAM, "Ptah, the El Daoud"), this is the type of music that I love, that I grew up with.

I'll probably write a bit more about it later, as my computer's having issues now.

IF YOU LIKE IT, COMMENT.
(Jeez, it's been quiet here lately).

Pop will eat itself?

Start with Iron Woman and work backwards.

Indie pop, like you love...

I'm in a dreamy indie pop mood today. What can I say? Maybe I've reached that certain age...

No. 1 Fan was Majesty Crush's best single, arguably. It's odd to think of them as an Ann Arbor band, but they were, back when the early '90s were full of dreamy Anglophilia. I really feel for those bands that existed on the alternative scene before grunge exploded, sucking the rest of the air from the room. Still, this wafting bit of confection is a pretty good testament to the band. Today we have Wolf Eyes and Saturday Looks Good To Me. Then we had Majesty Crush and Big Chief.

I also dug out a sampler from Pop Culture Press; their first, in fact, from 2006. The Great Summer Pop sampler included a couple of tracks that I haven't seen elsewhere and that heralded great things for the mag. Tracks like Snowly by Boyracer, which is really excellent strummed pop (and a sound that I don't think many pop bands today have surpassed like you might have expected). Also included was Irrigation Man by Spoon, off of the All The Negatives ep that I don't think is still in print. Shame, really. This, along with a mixtape from a co-worker and finding their first album for $3(!!!) at Encore within a week of its release made me a fan. Sure, they've hit on thinner times (I didn't think Gimme Fiction was all that good), but they've got a fairly decent store of excellent albums. The last track that I'm gonna feature from the sampler was one that ended up being the source of a lot of disappointment: Cherry Bomb by Magnapop. It's this fantastic girlpop burner, replete with a great hook and sharp drums, but a) despite being promised as included on their album, it was available as an import only track, and b) the actual album kinda blew. Tuscadero wiped the floor with 'em then... But still, Cherry Bomb is a favorite of mine still, especially on mixtapes where I lay it in right next to Joan Jett's congruently titled (though quite different) song.

And the final track? Well, the girlfriend and I saw this movie called Hard Rock Zombies, featuring a band called Holy Moses. Apparently, there's a German band with the same name, but that's not them (and Holy Moses is only their name in the movie. The band was actually called Silent Rage, one of the dumbest buttrock names ever). Through the magic of the internet, someone had ripped the tracks, including the Satanic chant recorded on 4-track that turns everyone into hard rock zombies. The quality's poor, and the song is goofy, but here you go: Morte Ascendere (which isn't just the title, but also the whole words to the song).

Bored?

Not a day goes by when a commentor doesn't ask me for insanely limited releases of Boredoms acetates. Well, not really. I'd bet that even most hardcore Boredoms fans haven't heard these. Tracked down and ripped by a fanatic on ILM, here are four songs from The Boredoms that were made on Eye's home vinyl cutting machine, which he bought at a flea market.
Handily served up as a .sitx archive, here they are:

More info here.

Side A1— Car ABC; Eat Is Anarchy
Side A2— Surfing JahJah
Side B1— Surfin' Bird
Side B2— I Am Johnny Rotten

Unfortunately, I think that instead of Surfin' Bird, it's actually a cassette-only track called "inc boretronix 2 side 2," so that's what I've got it labelled as.

All of the tracks are noisy (duh), and kinda hissy. This is before the Boredoms found their krautrock groove, and they tend to go more for punky start-stop stuff that reminds me of Prehensile Monkeytail Skink, a band on Bulb records. Out of all of them, Car ABC seems to have the most going for it as a cohesive song, and I think it's my favorite. Surfin' Jah seems to be mostly bursts of noise tossed together through tape splicing, and is OK. I Am Johnny Rotten sounds like The Boredoms doing hair metal, and comes out about like you'd expect.
Only 20 copies of these singles were pressed, so if you're curious, this is your best shot.

Destroyer's Rubies

This is the first album I've heard from this band, which includes sometimes New 'Nogs writer Dan Bejar. Good stuff, mostly, and one that should appeal to the larger shambling ensemble fans (especially of folks like the Great Lakes Myth Society or Descent of the Holy Ghost Church). It's also a veritable clinic for large bands who need more melody lines in their ensemble arrangements (I'm looking at you, Canada). Sophisticated, springy and light, the album is fun to listen to, though I don't know if the insane hype (see ILX boards for pronouncements of "timeless classic," which, you know, usually at least wait until it's released) is justified. But really, I kinda hope that it won't hamstring the release, as it's solid and worth buying.

Here's a track that reminds me a lot of a Giant Sand song called 'Yr Ropes.' (In fact, the whole album reminds me a lot of that period of Giant Sand, though it may just be because Bejar's voice is similar).
Destroyer's 'Your Blood'

Keep your head down

Luckily, the RIAA doesn't bother coming around here. I mean, I get 10 views on an average day!
So, here's not only something that's leaked, but then screwed with (derivative work?).

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs got Diplo to remix their first single, Gold Lion, for their new album. Problem? It sounds all chipmunky, really. So what happens at -8?
Listen for yourself. (Sounds to me like classic Madonna, really). Much better than the faster "official" version.

Like Roger Daltry Says

"Whoooooo are you! Whoo-oo oo-oo!"

I really wanna know.

Some garagy muffin or another singing a song called "Five past 12" which is really excellent. I know it's from around Ann Arbor/Detroit or a band that played here in the last couple months, and it's not the High Strung.

I'm not Lisa

Scratch Acid has announced a reunion. What does that mean? I dunno. Want some Killdozer?

Feel the Zeigeist!

The Knife are one of my favorite new pop bands, and on their latest album while the last track is credited to them, it's actually a band called Zeigeist. The song is F as in Knife. And I like it, but just try listening to it and then listening to Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush.
Hopefully Ms. Bush's check is in the mail.

From the 7" file

Gondolier: High C Idiot Note b/w New #11 (Makoto, date unknown)

The a side takes its title from a David Foster Wallace line, and is some fine emo, if I do say so. Petulant, minor key, chugging along... It actually sounds a lot like Crush, Kill, Destroy, who was also on Makoto, though they don't seem to share any members. The b side has even more of the CKD feeling, as it sounds like the bastard child of Slint and Nada Surf.

From the 7" file

Slide Off Saturn: Alien Convention + Strap on Love Sheep b/w Pauline and Redeemer (Prozak & Tonic Records, date unknown)

While the a side is kind of boring '90s Melvins-ish rock, the b side is a sprawling Sonic Youthy wash of feedback and dreamy lyrics. Clocking in at 18:36, it's a little pinched sounding on the 7", but still a fantastic find. Pick it up if you see it, since it'll probably be in a cheap vinyl bin.

How'd you get here?

The best part about SiteMeter is reading the referrals. Some searches that have led you here:

"Fred Thomas"+"Big Ten Burrito" [FIRST RESULT!!]

with+child+fuck gives you Jansen's comment. I'm on the second page, five down. What the fuck could someone have been looking for?

Dave+Mason+Torrents. Not here, I'm afraid. Who's Dave Mason?

And the ABSOLUTE BEST SEARCH: are white folks inbred albinos?

Yes, yes they are. Thank you for letting me solve that for you.

From the 7" file

I grabbed a bunch of random 7"s from the office, stuff we've had lying around forever, but since I'm the only one with a record player (what the fuck?), it falls to me to review it, so I'll be doing that off and on. These will probably be the only mentions on the entire internet of these albums...

Marlon Cherry: 970-Jack b/w Hope (Fang Records, 1996)

There are two notable things about 970-Jack and its b side: The first is how Marlon Cherry pretty well predicted the ongoing funk-rock hybrid that's still at least moderately popular today (311). The second thing is that even though it's a 33rpm 7", it sounds infintely better at 45 rpm, taking a fairly benign power funk ballad and turning it into an insane burner. Shame about the chipmunk vocals, but that's life.

Feisty!

To: The people who went to the Feist show at the Blind Pig on Tuesday
Re: The Feist show

Where the fuck are you people when any local band plays the Pig? You're all well-dressed, and obviously care about somewhat hip music.

Are you in Detroit? If so, I can understand that. I don't drive down there very often for shows, and I can't expect you to come out here. Especially when the weather is shitty.

But Jesus, the "shush" when she comes on? It's a fucking bar, you pansies. And gawd, what flouncers you are.
Her voice is good, I'll give you that. But the band is mediocre, the songs are boring, the lyrics are cliché (if they were just a little more emotionally cloying, I'd make a "foist" dig). The most interesting thing is the amount of DAT overdub to allow studio sounds into a minimal set.
But then she's hassling the audience! Fuck you, Feist, you have to earn the right to rag on us standing at the back. You can't just assume that because you've got a face that most male hipsters see when they come that you're at the level where you can berate your audience. Just because these sycophants enjoy it doesn't mean it's right.

It is like being in another world there, and all of the people in the audience seem like better looking versions of my friends. Or at least better looking versions of people at the Hard Lessons show. My straight friends would still probably fit in, even though they'd be the ugliest ones there.

(A jot in the notebook: Maybe I'll regret this someday, but it's more fun to write about people here than to listen to the music.)

And c'mon, Feist, "How are you doing, Ann Arbor?" Might as well "Cleveland, are you ready to rock?" And describing the opening musician as a "master of the low flow guitar solo"? DOes that mean he positively flushes with talent?

(Another jot: I think my girlfriend and I shouldn't get married because my last name is really long and her parents might give her shit if she doesn't take it. Man, that's a mental thought to have. God, it's hard to focus on the band.)

The last song proves that she really does do better with the big ensemble rhythm section behind her, though she veers into jam band territory. And she didn't even play my favorite song, the one that made me think she might be worth catching: Inside Out. (which is great, by the way).

Ah well.
Sincerely,
Josh

This is the universe...

Big, isn't it?

Curious about Arabic Music?

I am. Well, to some extent. I'd like to find weird psych or noise or rock stuff, which I know must be happening somewhere, but for the pop stuff: "Mazikana lets me delve in without the erm... trouble of buying anything. Relaxed view of the copyright, they take, dontchaknow. Sure, the webmaster'll probably get their hands cut off sometime soon, but what's that in the way of me getting new music for free?

Anyone out there wanna delve in and lemme know what's the best?

Tonight... Classics in Internet Mentalism.

From the comments, down the page:

josh,
fuck you. thanks for the pathetic "i have no idea what i'm talking about write-up". you're right, we are just like great lakes myth society, except i'm going to fuck you in your mouth. you are impossible. also, my space is very very logical. you are a child in a puppet's body. correction (yes, this is for dramatic effect), you are a child.
fuck off (forever and ever),
jansen p. swy
the descent of the holy ghost church

From email (and someone else):

hello i just wanted to respond to "dose ann arbor need
any more garage bands,we have the avtars.well no we
dont because they all suck!the avatars are
shit.chris'box'taylor is the biggest asshole jerk i
have ever met.i my self an a guitarist and play heavy
metal and would notplay the clubs,because i rather get
signed
i woul hate to be 30 somthing and be in a local band
think in cool ha.as for you mr.stechmann you looke
like a compleat jerk and whom i would say have little
to go.
sincerly christin j.smith

My favorite part of this missive, this (if I may be Donovan) Epistle from Dippy? "Compleat." It feels like I'm being flamed by Shakespeare.

After a terse 'Good luck with that, Ace,' and vague notions that A&R men love people who don't play out, I get back:

ya send demo's i dont have a band im solo.the local
clubs suck and i rather sit at home and watch paint
dry .as 4 my spelling i type to fast but u i hope u
and the rest of the ann arbor local band get kicked in
the ass
i hope you all what s comung to you a kick in the
balls i spit on you and your crew fuck you and that
child molester box

How awesome is this? He thinks I have a CREW!

No way is this real

Michael Jackson's "Give Thanks to Allah (via here).

By the way, on the subject of the "via", I'm what you'd call Fake Jewery. Everyone assumes I'm of the chosen people, but I'm not really. So if any of you legit yids out there can tell me what the name of the page is, or even translate some, it seems to be a pretty decent mp3 blog...

It's elsewhere too...

From a leak on the ILM forums: Britney Spears and DFA.

The demo's rough, with Brit doin' some "la la love you" stuff over the crunchy DFA beat #5. Still, even as an artifact, it's pretty interesting. Give it a listen (it'll be gone in a flash, I'd imagine).
The word from the record company? "Too hip" in a rueful voice. The word from DFA? Brit didn't bring a thing to the sessions, and they usually work by listening to music with the artists they're producing. Spears knew nothing of the bands they were into, and didn't offer anything herself, so it's unlikely that this will get an official release or that DFA will do more work with her.

For both of you dear readers

I missed my deadline for Current in December, so I'd like to help you out with your four or so shopping days (Meijer is open even on Christmas Eve...) with a post on the other vestigial blog Ann Arbor/Ypsi Music.

I'll post my own list here, but it's gonna be mostly things I've discovered, not things that were released this year. Why? Because I say so.
(Oh, and the hold-up on putting out more of those giant dumps of mp3s is that I've run out of hard drive space to store the .zip files. If anyone wants to buy me a new computer, I'd gladly accept it...)

New Year, New Bands

Wrote my January column, featured Descent of the Holy Ghost Church, Canada, Woodward, Tyvek, and The Pantones

I thought about mentioning 9volt Hotel, but they're from Cleveland and don't seem to have much going on, and The Pizzazz, who I really like, but also have no shows coming up...

To the bands I did mention: GET THE FUCK OFF OF MYSPACE! AARRRRRG!

Just in time for Xmas

Aside from the silliness of yesterday's survey, it's time to get back to the whole point of this blog: Silly music.

Starting here, the idea of a Christmas sandwich sounds terrible.
Until you think "But what if the song was so weird an infectious that you couldn't turn away?"

From Metafilter's PinkStainlessTail, here comes the #1 Christmas hit with a bullet: Jingle Rock Bell.

Incest, incest, it's the best.

It starts here, or maybe here, and the hipsters try to get enough critical distance to tell who's who.

While some of the questions are good, they're lacking in very basic way: they're not actually hip. Oh, and they don't have a Sassy-esque grading scale.

So I'm here to add new questions, make it multiple choice, and ride herd.


1: Without looking it up, can you fill in the blanks in this sentence: “The Technology Center is on _______ between _______ and _______, but why are you going there? That place sucks now. Oh wait, I mean, it burned down.”

a. Liberty, Ashley and First
b. Washington, First and Third Ave.
c. Huron, Chapin and Fourth Ave.

(a: 0 points; b: 10 points; c: 5 points)

2. You’ve seen Davy Rothbart and [enter favorite member of Pas/cal here] at a bar, but you didn’t make a big deal out of it, right? After all, they’re just dudes hanging out.
For true hipster cred though, what's Davy's little brother's name, the one that's following him on tour with his band:

a. Robert
b. John
c. Peter

(a&b: 0 points. c: 10 points.)

3. Have you been in a photo, even in the background of a photo, published on the inside front page of the Ann Arbor Paper?

Take 10 points for yes, 0 points for no.

4. Did you consider opposing the couch ban to be being "politically active"?

Ten for yes, zero for no.


5. In the past six months, have you been to two Madison House shows? (anybody can luck into one).

Ten for yes, zero for no. Take an extra five if Jason Voss was playing.

6. In the past year, three Encore employees have been mentioned in the UK magazine WIRE. Take 10 points for each one you can name, and an extra five for their band name/alter-ego.

(Aaron Dillaway, Wolf Eyes; Fred Thomas, Saturday Looks Good To Me; Tadd Mullinix, Dabrye/James Cotton)

7. How much is a Deluxe Big Ten Burrito?

a. $3
b. $3.95
c. $4

(a&b: 0 points; c: 10 points.)

8. Dorky D has what?

a. An STD
b. A Promising Local Band
c. A Blog

(a: 10 points; b&c: 0 points. For a five point bonus— who's Dorky D?)

9: The Halfass is in what UM building?

a: West Quad
b: East Quad
c: The Michigan League

(a&c: 0 points. b: 10 points. Bonus five points if you know the real name for the Halfass or the group that puts on the shows there.)

10: Put these bands in order, based on number of current members (touring size):
From most to least

a: Nomo, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Funkelligence
b: Saturday Looks Good To Me, Nomo, Funktelligence
c: Nomo, Funktelligence, Saturday Looks Good To Me

(a: 10 points; b&c: 0 points. Funktelligence broke up.)

11: You get your coffee at—

a: Starbucks
b: Cafe Ambrosia
c: Espresso Royale

(a: 0; b: 10; c: 5)

12: Fred Thomas's label is—

a: Polyvinyl
b: Ypsilanti Records
c: Bomp

(a: 5; b: 10; c: 0)

13: "The 8-ball's all right, but it can never compare to":

a: Leopold Bros.
b: Bab's
c: The Del

(a: 5; b: 0; c: 10)

14: From North to South, the show houses ran:

a: Bad Idea, Totally Awesome, Madison House
b: Madison House, Totally Awesome, Bad Idea
c: Totally Awesome, Bad Idea, Madison House

(a: 5; b: 0, c: 10)

15: At Leopolds, you order:

a: Their top shelf gin, neat
b: A "Red Wing"
c: a Labatt

(a: 5, b: 10, c: 0)

16: The Kiwannis thrift store is open when?

a: Saturdays, 9am to noon
b: Saturdays and Sundays, 9am to 4pm
c: Weekdays from 9am to 5pm

(a: 10, b&c: 0)
Now, subtract 1 point for any of these things:

Going to Scorekeepers, Good Time Charlies, or Touchdown Cafe.
Remembering what the Necto used to be called (either name). If you can do that, you're too old to be hip.
Shopping in Nichol's Arcade (Henrietta's gone).
Can afford to eat at The Roadhouse.
Have ridden the Link but don't have a bus pass.

Subtract five for any of these things:
Going to Cafe Oz, Studio 4 or Live at PJs
Knowing who Todd Mundt is
Wearing new clothes.
Cheering when the Pig has a no smoking show (five points returned if you can name the last no smoking show at the Pig).

200-180: You're a hipster dreamboat. Your vintage clothing sparkles as you bat away advances from waifs and bloggers trying to chat you up.

179-150: You're almost there! You may not know everything hip to know about the town, but you can look down on jerks who make quizzes.

149-100: Ah, the vast unwashed middle. Time to affect a NY accent or start memorizing grafitti in the Fleetwood bathroom.

99-50: Where are you from? Charlevoix?

50-1: You're blessed. Leave now before you start posturing.

Below zero: Liar. You've looped yourself back into hipsterdom by denying it. Your ironic sorority/fraternity pose impresses no one, and your secret Death Cab collection is for naught.

9volt Haunted House

A Gift Freely Given is the type of noise that I like: atmospheric, spacey, and pretty warm. Imagine Lightning Bolt without the drums...
You can always buy their stuff here.
(Vaguely via here, as I fished around in their offsite links...)

Wölfbait!

Wölfbait's Broadsword is one of the finest metal experiences you can have, aside from their "Dawning of the Robot Age," which is unfortunately only on my work computer (and they've removed the link). So what should you do? Go to their site and buy their damn EP.

GRATE LOOKS GIRLS!

Well, so even though no one ever comments, I added that site meter thing to the page, and I can see where people are coming from. That was why I put the Google Ads on there in the first place (since I'm never gonna make any money off of them. I keep 'em because I get a perverse kick out of seeing that I've raised 2¢ in a month).
This week's top referring search has been "girls look grate," which has returned an entry I made on the spammy comments I was getting. It's the circle of life.

So, in order to bring in more mislead searchers, here's The Mau Mau's Sex Girls in Uniform.

A festive punk burner, Sex Girls In Uniform is the kind of thing that I enjoy, yet feel constrained about putting on mix tapes for people I don't know all that well. Kind of like DOA's Tits on the Beach. Ah, where is the misogyny of those early punk rockers? Bikini Killed, I'd imagine.

20 Jazz and Funk Greats

Weekend Mix.

I was thwarted in my attempts at MeCha Radio, so I'm posting what I would have played here.

Canceling Stamps At The University Of Ghana Post Office Postal Works - Univ. of Ghana Post Office

An ethnographic recording from the happiest office in the world, these clerical workers stamp and whistle. And stamp and whistle. And make me hate my office.

spin the impossible dreamers

Recommended by an internet friend when asked for funk on a YSI ILM thread. I haven't been able to dig up anything about them, but maybe I'm just less curious now. It's great, sounds like it came from the early '80s, and should make you dance. If I DJed The Bang, this is what I'd play.

Rock It Up Equinox

Remember when I was talking about the Muncie Sampler? There's still more great stuff on it. What I like about this track is the tape distortion that takes a regular weekend rocker track and turns it into this surreal, otherworldly transmission. It's beautiful.

Your Talk Sunshine, I Breath Fire (Bonus Track) The Amboy Dukes

Y'know, Ted Nugent used to claim that he didn't know any of these songs were about drugs. It's just a shame that he went the other way, away from being a great (straight) pysch guitarist into being some sort of juvenile pussy goon. Even though I assume he's gotten plenty of groupie girls in his day, songs like Wang Dang Sweet Poontang just make him seem like a high school virgin. Didn't have to be that way, Ted...

romantic rights jesper dahlback mix Dfa 1979

Y'know, this band is one of the most over-rated sacks to come out in the last couple of years, yet all of the dance remixes that hit 'em come off as masterful. I like the New Wave vocals on the track, and the squared-off bass.

Cely Le Super Etoile de Dakar

It means The Superstars of Dakar, which is in Senegal. Like the Equinox track above, it's really about the distortion for me. This time, on the thumb piano, which gives it an otherworldly quality.

Robin's Theme Sun Ra & The Blues Project

Yeah, that Sun Ra. Did you know that he did an album of Batman Themes? Weird-ass motherfucker. This, and more than a few tracks from the next mix I post, come from the Bubblegum Machine, which takes an expansive view of "bubblegum."

Riboflavin-flavored, Non-carbonated, Polyunsaturated Blood 45 Grave

I was sent this track on a mixtape years ago, and finally found another copy of it. Well, not quite. This one's from an earlier, out-of-print EP. Halloween's only over for the SQUARES, man.

Yaye Boul Ma Bayi Guelewar

More Music from Senegal. I like how stretched out this one is, a long and easy journey. And a little calming for the middle of the mix.

No More Ghettos in America Stanley Winston

This was one of hte 45s that John Peel kept in a stash next to his bed, ever ready to carry it out in case of a fire. It's beautiful, both in sentiment and exectution. I have another version of this, taped off the radio, where Peel says it's one of the songs that never fails to make him cry. You can hear his voice choked up and gulping even then on the radio. That's the type of love for music I like.

Way Down The Old Plank Road Uncle Dave Mason

Uncle Dave Mason comes to us via the Smithsonian's American Folk Anthology. Recorded by Alan Lomax, this is what American music sounded like for many years— a tale of drunken repentance. Much better than the fake history peddled by "conservatives," this is a bite of how things used to be.

Lawn Dart Ed's Redeeming Qualities

And then there's this. A story rooted in my childhood, I do remember when they took the Lawn Darts off the shelves at the K-Mart. Rarely have turf tragedies been so lovingly rendered.

Up All Night Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats

Just the Live Aid guy? No way! Geldof deserves more credit than he gets for his pop music. And dig how much he wants to sound like a late-'70s Bowie on this track!

Rubber Bullets 10cc

It's the narrative that I love on this song, though the whole bubblegum production is fantastic as well. The open politicism, riffs on famous rock songs of the past, and the idea of a dancing riot of prisoners all make this a great pop track. Thanks for the folks at MetaChat for turning me onto it.

A New Year's Promise Mischief

Speaking of which, there's a poster there that asked for a critique of this song. I like its simplicity and the catchy klein-Kraftwerk sense of it. It's like a bit of fennel after an Indian meal...

Boogie Down Bronx (Rap Version) Man Parrish & Freeze Force

And it led us nicely into Man Parrish's old-school bid for electro cool. He's not from Queens, where Boogie Down Productions was, but he loves their sound.

Return The Gift Gang Of Four

And around the same time, there were post-punkers Gang of Four. I just found Entertainment last week finally, so you get to share in my current love for them. A lot of people think that post-punk somehow means no pop hooks, but their plea for evenings and weekends couldn't be catchier.

Waking The Witch Kate Bush

Bush has a new album out now, after 10 or so years. She put this one out when at the top of her career, yet this track is hard to imagine on a pop album. Creepy, powerful and present, this was also something that I remember my parents playing often when I was a kid. Worth revisiting.

Paradiso Konono nr. 1

And let's lead it out with Congotronics, the amplified music of The Congo. Homemade instruments and confident grooves give this veteran group (led by a 70-year-old man) a shot at global success. I'm still bummed that I missed them when they came here live, but what can I say? I found out about it too late. Don't let the same thing happen to you.

(Oh, and the picture was just one that I thought would make for a good cover pic if I printed this out...)

Looks better now don't it?

Like the color change?

Belle and Sebastian

Fluxblog posts the first Belle and Sebastian track that I've liked in YEARS. It's got that synth clavier funk behind it that reminds me of Chairmen of the Board, and while the vocals are a bit over-slick, it's still gorgeous pop. Check it out.

Oh yeah...

And, if that's not enough, we here at Honest Engine live through the doctrine of SYNERGY! That's right, more for your money. Here's American electro musician Maxx Klaxon doing The Internationale, everyone's favorite communist pop tune.

SYNERGY!

By popular demand

As you may well know, I'm always getting requests for more Italian Communist Skate Punk music.
"Josh," they say, "When are we finally going to get to hear a strident call to arms in a language we don't understand over squeeling guitars?"

Now.
The band is called Klaxon, and I recommend Piazza as my current favorite.

Give 'em a listen, then comment here...

Given the choice

Between Prussian Blue [direct mp3; hosted at National Vanguard. Beware] and crazy creationists, I'll take the creationists every time [WFMU mp3 link].

At least the Monkey Song is catchy. I can hear myself humming it in the middle of the day as I go about my, I dunno, praying or whatever. Repudiating evolution or screaming at abortion clinics, cursing idolitors. Whatever.

But the Prussian Blue girls? Man, if that ain't the most bored-soundin' studio band they got behind 'em. And the reworking of Kipling's The Stranger? Ol' Rudyard was saddled with one of the worst first names in the history of white people (say it slow... "Rud-yard" and see if you can keep from smirking), so his resentment towards the Nehrus and Mahatmahs is kinda understandable in a perverse way.
I know, I know. Everyone's supposed to be so scared of Prussian Blue (well, us liberals is) because they're young and innocent. But if that's the best those inbred albinos can whip up to captivate the youth, they've already lost the war. Those girls'll be double-dicked by the mongrel races before they hit 18, I tell you what.

(Speaking of which, I'll have a new YSI mix up in a little bit, full of afropop sure to twist the titties of any SS types that might stumble across this board in their random googling...)

Small changes

Been without the internet for a little bit, then doing some changes once I got back.
NOW WITH SIDEBAR FEED! IT'S AWESOME!

Also, now with Haloscan comments, so that I can stop getting "GRATE BLOG TRY MINE V!AGRA IS SEXXXXY" in my email.

All of your comments are still there, but they're hiding. So leave some new comments so I know this is working.

And I'll give you some music.

Holiday Music

It's Thanksgiving, which means that it's OK to post Christmas music. You know, to be festive.

Speaking of festive, here's Suicide's Hey Lord.
It's a rip from out of print vinyl, so the sound quality is a little muddled. On the other hand, I like that as it makes it seem more reverent. It's a beautiful song and one that reflects my general emotional state around the holidays.

Give it a listen, then comment.

I am the loneliest blogger

I know that at least one person reads this, though I don't know who. If you do read it, please, drop me a comment so that I may feel the basking warmth of your love.

I even turned off the thing that makes commenting kinda a pain in the ass but prevents most spammers under the vain hope that someone out there is reading this, but those verification things in the comments are just a little too much.

To sweeten the deal, there'll be a song hidden in the comments.

Hope this finds you

Probably my favorite Dabenport song. Finds You Well. Buy their album at Dabenport.com

This one always reminds me of a trip I took to St. Louis, missing my girlfriend and standing around in the airport.

Mohammed's Radio

Something sweet and soulful? No Warren Zevon though.

The Traxxorz—

Keleya Moussa Dombia

This comes from the Luaka Bop World Psychedelic Classics 3: The Fuzzy Funky Sounds of West Africa, as does a previous selection (which had the name and the artist transposed on the tags, and me being an ignorant honkey didn't even notice— though I suppose I can be forgiven since the album has the wrong band billed. "Guajira Van" is the name of the song, performed by the Star Band Number One). It's long and varied, like an endless James Brown vamp. There's a little digital noise in there, so maybe you should Buy the album.

College Girl I Love You Bappi Lahiri

From WFMU's On the Download page comes a tale of love and funk. Universal, really. We all love a college girl. By the way, the familial testing of this song (played in front of parents and girlfriend) reveals that I'm the only one that I know who likes it. Help me be not the only one! (No links to buy, as this doesn't seem to exist on any western album, and both All Music and Amazon mock me...)

Get The Lead Out Greg Guffey

From Bob Chaos records in Muncie, Indiana, comes a fantastic bit of power pop, layered with the slow warp of tape noise.

Shape Of Things To Come Les Baxter

Apparently, there was this movie in the '60s called "Wild in the Streets." It was about lowering the voting age to 14 or so, and the subsequent election of a 16-year-old congressboy. The shape of things to come? From Denny, Esq.

Alone Again Biz Markie

Gilbert O'Sullivan doesn't want you to hear this song! All copies were ordered destroyed, yet Illegal Art has copies. Hmmmm...

Straight Outta Compton Kid606

I first heard this song in the glory days of Napster, and had a slightly different version. Alas and alack, that song's gone now and what I have comes from the Wire magazine. It's just a fucking assault though, this massive explosion. And it's still by far the best thing that Kid 606 has ever done.

Flying Turns Crash Course In Science

Track recommended by ILXors. Apparently post punk from Pennsylvania. It just fit really well with the 606.

Trance Kwaku Baah & Ganoua

From the No Condition is Permanent folks. You read that, right? Fuckin' fantastic, innit? Yeah.

Baby Talk (Lost '77 Mix) Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers

There's a reissue of LAMF that's just come out, but this isn't it. It's a vinyl rip from the original album, which was decried for having a shitty, impenetrable mix at the time, but now sounds just fine. Since I think that the guy who runs Regnyouth and I listen to the same music, I got this album about two days before he put it up to download. Tasty stuff, it sounds like the music that the Rolling Stones should have been making in '77, and should be in any well-formed record collection.

I Love You Too Much Michael Dracula

A Scottish band signed to the newly reformed ZE Records, it's No Wave like your moms used to make.

It All Falls Down Band Of Fun

More from Muncie. Go, Muncie, Go! There's a great pop song deep beneath the muck and samples, one that reminds me of The Dirtbombs more than anything else. Fuckin' fantastic. Where is the Band of Fun now?

Say Dub Errol Brown & the Sky Nations

Er.. um... More No Condition is Permanent, only this time some amazing dub. You should really check his site out, as he does a better job of making you love this stuff than I do.

George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People The Legendary K.O.

It was topical a couple of months ago, so I know that a lot of you have heard this song. But what I like about it is that it still carries weight outside of the context of the Katrina disaster. The sample's catchy (even though it's a little weird to use Jamie Foxx riffing on blind Mr. Charles), and the flow is impeccable. Let the rediscovery of George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People commence.

I'm Gonna Run The Fiery Furnaces

A couple years ago, these guys were indie darlings. Their debut album, the Gallowsbird Barks, is a catchy mishmash of indie rock, blues and pop, and this is about the best track on there. The next to albums they've put out have been more and more self-indulgent and "cute," but their first really does bear relistening. Unless you're my girlfriend, at which point you just declare that "She sounds like a man!" and refuse to listen to it.

The Christian Life (Rehearsal--Take) The Byrds

An alternate take from the extended reissue of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the beautiful album when The Byrds stopped being a second-rate hippy Dylan knock-off and became a gorgeous country ensemble. Again, my mother hates it. I've yet to play it for any Christians, but I plan on needling my friend the Pastor with it...

May The Earth Open Here Gallon Drunk

From the album "Tonight... The Singles Bar." Years ago, I picked up this sampler called Volume that had a cd with it (and a weird early 90s booklet full of Bomb the Bass and EMF). On it was a live version of Gallon Drunk doing a Silver Apples cover ("Ruby"). At the time, I didn't know who either band was, but for 50¢, the sampler was worth it (YEAH CUT OUT BIN!). I loved their version of Ruby, sounding like hell in a swamp, and about a year later saw a compilation of their singles in a free bin, so I swooped down upon it. Fucking great, deranged country/western doom, like Nick Cave meets 16 Horsepower. Apparently they were considered Nick Cave knock-offs, but I'd listen to them over that dingy Aussie any day. May The Earth Open Here is a fantastic, fatalistic end to any night of drinking and sobbing. Oh, and the albums are as cheap as 94¢ on Amazon.

Long songs in the morning

We all listen to WJLB's strong songs in the morning, right? Right? Yeah, of course. I love Coco and Foolish.

On the other hand, you need a way to start your work-a-day off right: A long song in the morning. As with everything else on this blog, it'll be an intermittent feature.

Today we start with Can's Bel Air from Future Days. A 20-minute album-ending sprawler, Bel Air features the softer side of Can. I'd like to think that this is how they thought of California, sprawling and warm. The slow intro is the sun coming up, with Damo Suzuki mumbling under the mix.
The last song on the last album that Suzuki recorded before leaving the band, Bel Air transitions from beachfront morning to a soft goodnight.

One more shot

Breakdancing Creationists?
via banananutrament.blogspot.com/

To help you at home: One More Shot by C-Bank.

Amazing blog

It's rare that I find a blog that I fall in love with nearly instantly, but No Condition is Permanent is one of them. From dub to afrobeat to just plain oddities, it's the sort of place that I feel like I can download anything and trust them. Add to that top notch writing, with a sense of narrative and place, and solid music, and you can't go wrong.
It's already been highlighted by The Wire, apparently, but I found it through an ILM link. Enjoy. I know I have been.

Happy Birthday, Chris

Well, his birthday was last Thursday, really, but I made him this mix for his party. It's mostly pop from around the world, which I hope he enjoys.
I had given him another mix about a month ago; it was initially made for this girl he was dating named Nikki. She'd come with him to a party of ours, and asked for a copy of a mix that I made. I didn't have any handy, but when I knew Chris was coming over, I gave him a copy of one that I had just run off. He said that he'd just broken up with her (because he's going to be moving at the end of the year), so I told him not to give the mix to her, but to enjoy it himself. He went ahead and gave it to her anyway. Which I think is pretty lame.
It was funny, getting stuck in conversation with her about the mix and being too polite to be like "I don't care if you like it, it was for him..."

Anyway, here's the new mix I made for Chris. Y'all get to enjoy the run-off.
Chris Birthday Mix.zip. EDIT: ALL THOSE LISTED AS SWEDISH ARE REALLY NORWEGIAN. THAT'LL TEACH YOU TO LISTEN TO ME.

The House On The Hill Armando Piazza

I found a copy of his album up on a noise board that I lurk on. I'm not sure why it was there; it's an acid folk album. What I really love is that squared-off overdriven guitar that runs just below the song.

no 1 de no 1 Guajira Van

Off of The Fuzzy Funky Sounds of Africa, someone sent this to me saying that I might get a kick out of it. I do. I wish I could find the comp, but it seems to be out of print. Maybe if I had more money, I could dig it up...

Are You The One? The Presets

Electropop! I remember Chris as liking Technotronic, so I kinda hope that he can still dig the unrepentant pop. He gave me a mix when I showed up at his birthday, but it was all Spoon and Arcade Fire and like that. I fear that he's begun the long, slow decline into the Moderate Rock that 93.9 the River used to play.

Aluminium The Thing

Pitchfork did this Big Outside article, and the comp got posted on the ILM boards. About three quarters of it was absolute crap, but this jazz track and a couple of the pop tracks were really tasty. The opening bass line sounds like Seven Nation Army.

Space For Rent [The Rapture/HUSH HUSH Remix] Who Made Who

MORE DANCE POP! My father, while we were cleaning out my basement of all my parent's and grandma's crap (so that the city could dig) put on New Order's Substance and then turned it off when he thought that I was mocking him for enjoying the synthpop ("homo music"). I thought he was finally coming back around after having made fun of me for listening to stuff like that for so long. Alas, we're still working on musical raproachment.

Second Song Afrirampo

I helped Amy with a Radiozilla show, and asked for Asian pop. Somebody sent this to me, and I love it. Girls in a garage in Japan.

Fake Your Beauty Bertine Zetlitz

More Norse pop. Bouncy.

Single Girl, Married Girl The Carter Family

After years of vaguely feeling that I should buy that damned Smithsonian folk comp ("Anthology of American Folk Music" that Alan whassisfuck field recorded) but not feeling like paying the government for music that wasn't going to go back to the artists, I found it online and downloaded the whole damned thing. Say yeah for the Carter family.

Fa-Fa-Fa Datarock

What's that? More Norwegian pop!

FRENZY! Screamin' Jay Hawkins

I got a Screamin' Jay Hawkins album on my last trip to New York (or maybe Boston, I don't remember). Most of it was disappointing, sounding like it had been smoothed out and having backing vocals added. But Frenzy is still wonderful.

Go Tones on Tail

Always been curious about these guys. Finally hear this track and think "Hey, I know that one!" It was unlabeled on my harddrive, and I have no idea where I originally got it.

Hearts In Exile The Homosexuals

One of the 142 singles that John Peel had in a box that he wanted to spirit out of the house if it caught fire. I love the echo on it, most punk didn't get that psychedelic. And I vaguely hope that Chris's straight-laced parents see the artist name, since I know that it'll mean disapproving looks. My parents aren't very easily freaked out by my music anymore, so I have to hope for havok elsewhere.

Surfs Up Ungdomskulen

Norweeeegish. "I tried to bribe the Deceptocons" is the first line. I often wonder if they know what they're singing in English...

In League With Satan Venom

For days, the "Eeeevil, in leage with SAY-TAN" has been stuck in my head. Metal isn't supposed to be this catchy.

Who Is It (Vitalic Mix) Bjork

Back to the dance pop. More and more, I tend to dig the remixes of Bjork over the actual album tracks. This is a good one.

Bucky Skank The Upsetters

Lee Perry plus skankin'? Classic.

Nausea (restructured) Adult

This sounds so cheerful, it's hard to believe that it's Adult. And yet, it is.

Jellycones The Unicorns

I hate the Unicorns, but I love this song. It's one of the few times that their quirkyness doesn't override the tune they're playing with. And how did Vice magazine end up championing something so fucking twee?

I sent it elsewhere, I might as well send it here

My Last Xmas by The Dirtbombs, Detroit's finest rock band. A reissued 7" off of their new(ish) If You Don't Already Have A Look. Dirtbombs site here. This is one of those rare times when I just say to buy the goddamned thing. Just do it. You'll thank me.
Terrorized by The Posies. Good jangle pop from the Pop Culture Press Summer Sampler from, what, like 1999? 2000? I think from the summer of 2000. I'm sure with a cursory amount of research you could find somewhere to buy this track from, but the sampler was really awesome...