tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20971781149122074782024-03-14T03:22:56.708-04:00Shelf LifeA hop, skip and a jump along the shelves of the Randolph library. Ah, memories...Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-56710509115081098252011-03-10T21:18:00.002-05:002011-03-10T21:24:33.407-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 5 Mar 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i><b>The Beatles</b></i>, <i>1962-1966</i><br>Just picked up the red album at Beautiful World for $5; quite a steal. Granted, I have most of these tracks already on other records, but I was missing a couple of the early singles.<br><br />Side one is absolutely mind-blowing. Granted, the Beatles' career got of to a bit of an inauspicious start: "Love Me Do" is bland, lethargic and derivative. But from there the next half a dozen singles are just amazing.<p><br /><i><b>The Besnard Lakes</b> Are the Dark Horse</i><br>I like both of this band's records a lot. I've had them at the apartment for a while now and I just brought this one home. Another one of those Canadian bands with like eight-plus members. I have a theory that they all do that to save on heat in their rehearsal spaces. Y'know, with body heat.<p><br /><b>David Bowie</b> – <i>Hunky Dory</i><br>His last hippie record, before he went glam. Mark Spitz considers this the most essential of the bunch, but I'd put at least three before it. Not that it's not great, mind you. Is that a double negative?<p><br /><b>Tim Buckley</b> – <i>Starsailor</i><br>Supposed to be his furthest out-there record, but I think <i>Lorca</i>'s much weirder.<p><br /><b>Alice Cooper</b> – <i>Love It To Death</i><br>Fucking awesome. If you don't know about early Cooper, it's time to learn. I'm talking Alice Cooper the band, mind you, before the singer went solo and kept the name. This is the one with "I'm Eighteen" on it. It also has "Long Way To Go" and "Sun Arise", which are even better.<p><br /><b>Daft Punk</b> – <i>Discovery</i><br>I'd really love to cover this album in its entirety with a three-piece band. I think the first several songs would all translate really well. Problem is, this one crashes hard toward the end. Probably just could have been shorter.<p><br /><b>Marvin Gaye</b> – <i>What's Going On</i><br>Supposedly Berry Gordy hated this record, partly because he didn't know what "ecology" means.<p><br /><i><b>Glasvegas</b></i><br>New one coming out in April. They look a little glammed up in the photos. Not sure how I feel about this.<p><br /><b>Guided By Voices</b> – <i>For All Good Kids</i><br>Bob and the boys are pleasantly hammered for this one, circa 1995 or so. Includes some song from "Clown Prince" I've never heard before.<p><br /><b>Hüsker Dü</b> – <i>Land Speed Record</i>, <i>New Day Rising</i>, <i>Flip Your Wig</i><br>Just picked these up along with Andrew Earles's new bio. Probably read that next. Working on Nick Kent's memoir now.<br><br />God bless SST, by the way, for keeping these in print on vinyl. They deserve some kind of citation for that invaluable public service.<p><br /><b>Led Zeppelin</b> – <i>[runes]</i><br>I've listened to this record a million times and I still can't tell you what "Four Sticks" sounds like. Most useless filler track on a great album ever?<p><br /><i><b>The Mekons</b> Rock 'n' Roll</i><br>Just ran into P—, whom I hadn't seen in about 15 years, at a funeral the other day. I asked him if he was still collecting records. He said yes, occasionally, and had just picked this one up on eBay. Good find.<p><br /><b>The New Bomb Turks</b> – <i>!!Destroy-Oh-Boy!!</i><br>P— recommended this one to me the other day while he was reading the lead singer's new book. P— rarely steers me wrong.<p><br /><b>The Only Ones</b> – <i>Special View</i><br>I had this on CD years ago and just picked up a vinyl copy a couple weeks ago. Man, does this hold up well. I remembered it being just the hit and a bunch of lesser tunes, but there's a ton of good tracks on here.<p><br /><b>Syd Barrett</b> – <i>The Madcap Laughs/Barrett</i><br>If you wrote a song called "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives", you'd probably go to jail too.<p><br /><b>The Pretty Things</b> — <i>S.F. Sorrow</i><br>The first rock opera! Pre-dates <i>Tommy</i>! So they say. Reputed to be a lost classic. Might be.<p><br /><b>The Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Exile On Main Street</i><p><br /><b>Steely Dan</b> – <i>Can't Buy a Thrill</i><br>S— brought a date to dinner last week, and he was way into the Dan. I think he was pretty pumped when I pulled this one out. He also recommended I check out Lou Reed's <i>Street Hassle</i>, but I haven't found a copy yet.<p><br /><i>1969 <b>Velvet Underground</b> Live With Lou Reed</i><br>The one with the butt on the cover. There was a request for some Lou at the party, and it turns out <i>MMM</i> is the only one I have. This sufficed.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-4817379980901876582011-02-23T23:09:00.002-05:002011-02-23T23:16:03.721-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 20 Feb 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Depeche Mode</b> – <i>Music For the Masses</i><br>Reputed to be a lesser effort, but I rather like this one. Peters out a bit towards the end, but the first half is excellent. "Never Let Me Down" really needs a guitar-heavy cover. Smashing Pumpkins did a version years ago for a Mode tribute album that reinvents it as quiet and menacing, but I think you can play this pretty literally, with booming drums and power chords for the main synth riff and it would really rock.<p><br /><b>Fishbone</b> – <i>The Reality of My Surroundings</i><br>Definitely their masterpiece, and a flawed one at that. Fishbone never made a great album, but this one came closest. I just realised I keep writing two-clause sentences with "but" in the middle. The muted power chords, crisp production and super-pro rhythm section sound very dated and very L.A., but the energy and manic ideas shine through.<p><br /><b>Buddy Holly</b> – <i>The Crickets 20 Golden Greats</i><br>Did I say last week that this one really needs an apostrophe in the title?<p><br /><b>The Jesus and Mary Chain</b> – <i>Psychocandy</i><br>I love that there's a song on side two with the exact same intro as "Just Like Honey". They found a riff that worked, so why not use it twice? These guys did not give a fuck. Shameless and brilliant.<p><br /><b>Janelle Monáe</b> – <i>Suites II and III: The Archandroid</i><br>All the hits are frontloaded, but it doesn't flag a bit in the second half. Solid.<p><br /><b>OutKast</b> – <i>Speakerboxxx/The Love Below</i><br>Now that <i>Chico Dusty</i> has met with universal praise, can we all just come out and say what we've been thinking all along but were afraid to say for fear of seeming like we just don't get it? <i>Speakerboxxx</i> slays <i>Love Below</i>.<p><br /><b>R.E.M.</b> – <i>Up</i>, <i>IX</i><br><i>IX</i> is a lot better than I expected, with a few real standout tracks. The title's still the best part, though. Get it?<p><br /><b>Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band</b> – <i>Night Moves</i><br>Buckets of hits on here, plus a terrific back cover photo. I don't know who did their wardrobe, but s/he deserves some kind of special citation.<p><br /><b>Swirlies</b> – <i>They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days In the Glittering World Of the Salon/Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music</i><br>Is it cheating to reissue two old albums as a double-LP in order to claim the prize for longest album title? If not, then I think they passed Marnie Stern, but I'm pretty sure Fiona Apple still has them beat.<br><br /><i>Wild Youthful Days</i>, by the way, might be <i>the</i> great forgotten indie rock album of the 90s. That or <i>August Revital</i>. Doesn't even have their best song on it, but it's astounding start to finish. Still in print, too!<p><br /><b>Times New Viking</b> – <i>Dig Yourself</i><br>I wonder if Bob Dylan's heard this record. He's on the cover, presumably without permission. I bet he'd like it.<p><br /><b>Stevie Wonder</b> – <i>Looking Back</i><br>A triple album of early hits from before he even peaked, and it's <i>still</i> unstoppable.<p><br /><b>Neil Young</b> – <i>Le Noise</i><br>I feel like this one got kinda overlooked last year, and it's his best in a long time.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-50758006440761588552011-02-20T00:15:00.001-05:002011-02-20T00:18:32.922-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 13 Feb 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Alien Sex Fiend</b> – <i>Too Much Acid?</i><br>"Totally live: no overdubs"<br><br />I have no idea if these guys are still around, but I can't imagine what else they might be doing. What else do you do if you're Nik Fiend other than make this music?<p><br /><b>The Cure</b> – <i>Kiss me Kiss Me Kiss Me</i><br>Robert Smith really is such an underrated guitarist. The solo in "The Kiss" stands alongside anything by the great British rock guitarists of the sixties (Clapton, Page, Green).<p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Clouds Taste Metallic</i><p><br /><b>Godspeed You Black Emperor!</b> – <i>lift yr skinny fists like antennas to heaven</i><br>It should be "antennae", really. They're French.<p><br /><b>Guided By Voices</b> – <i>Under the Bushes, Under the Stars</i><br>K— recently defended <i>Mag Earwhig!</i> to me by saying that this album is sonically akin to that one, and that this one really represents the first album in the next phase of GBV. Not sure how I feel about that. Perhaps I'll listen to <i>Mag</i> next week. I've actually been considering putting it <a href="http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?seller=cspanw74">on the block</a>.<p><br /><b>Buddy Holly</b> – <i>The Crickets 20 Golden Greats</i><br>This is the one with the cover photo of a brick wall with the graffito reading "BUDDY HOLLY LIVES". Basically all you need. Totally unstoppable.<p><br /><b>Elvis Presley</b> – <i>Elvis' Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits, Vol. 1</i><br>I challenge anyone who says Elvis's greatness began and ended in '56 to listen to this and try to resist "Little Sister", "Kissin' Cousins" and "If I Can Dream". And like a dozen others. Elvis rules.<p><br /><b>Primal Scream</b> – <i>Vanishing Point</i><br>One of the weird things about being a fan of both vinyl and experimental electronic music is that sometimes I don't know the correct speed for certain 12" singles. And I have so many that aren't marked either way. I actually own a couple of records which I honestly cannot figure out whether they are supposed to be played at 33 or 45 rpm. This album is clearly labeled as a 33 rpm pressing. It's right there on the record label. And it's a 45. Fuck you guys.<p><br /><b>Prince and the Revolution</b> – <i>Around the World In a Day</i><br>A lot of people don't realise that there's actually a Prince song called "Paisley Park". It's not just his label/studio name. These people also, for obvious reasons, don't realise that it's a seriously awesome song. Their loss.<p><br /><b>Linda Ronstadt</b> – <i>Greatest Hits</i><br>Her vocal performance on "Different Drum" is so sexy it hurts. Have you seen photos of her in the 70s? So hott. Think about this: at one point Jerry Brown was the governer of California <i>and</i> he was banging Linda Ronstadt. Simultaneously. What have <i>you</i> achieved in your life?<p><br /><b>Spacemen 3</b> – <i>The Perfect Prescription</i><p><br /><b>Spiritualized</b> – <i>Lazer Guided Melodies</i><br>Off topic, but I just scored a copy of <i>Pure Phase</i> and I'm thrilled. Actually, I got an email alert saying somebody had posted a copy on GEMM and I ordered it right away, but a few more have come up since, so I think it may have just been reissued. About time.<p><br /><i><b>Van Halen</b> II</i><br>Not a great album overall, but it has "Dance the Night Away" on it, so the whole thing's worth it.<p><br /><b>The Who</b> – <i>Live At Leeds</i><p><br /><b>Neil Young</b> – <i>On the Beach</i><p><br /><b>Zoroaster</b> – <i>Matador</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-4224102885455659582011-02-09T22:09:00.003-05:002011-02-09T22:27:33.640-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 6 Feb 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Dinosaur Jr.</b> – <i>Beyond</i><p><br /><b>Dirty Three</b> – <i>She Has No Strings Apollo</i><br>I remembered this one being not so great, but I had never listened to it much, so I pulled it out. Yeah, not that great. The songs don't really go anywhere, and a lot of the performances just feel really uninspired.<p><br /><b>Explosions In the Sky</b> – <i>The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place</i><br>The new one comes out in April, and I've got high hopes even though the last one was kinda weak. This one remains their masterpiece, the only one on which they found their own sound and mined it for all it was worth.<p><br /><b>Guided By Voices</b> – <i>Crying Your Knife Away</i><br>Where the fuck is Mike Hummel?<p><br /><b>Jimi Hendrix</b> – <i>The Cry Of Love</i><br>The frustrating thing about Hendrix is that his best work was the stuff he really worked over in the studio, adding layer after layer of psychedelic effects. The outtakes just don't cut it because, after you've listened to <i>Ladyland</i> enough times (properly altered), everything else just sounds unfinished.<p><br /><b>Iron Maiden</b> – <i>Powerslave</i>, <i>Somewhere In Time</i><br>So the other night after the Super Bowl party B— and his new girlfriend Br— stuck around late after the game to rip a few more beers before hitting the road. At one point someone asked the time and I looked at my watch and it said 23:58 so I said, "Almost midnight. Two minutes to midnight, actually." Then I realised what I'd just said and was like, "Yo, do we need to listen to "Two Minutes To Midnight" by Maiden <i>right now</i>?" and Br— was like "<i>Hell</i> yeah." So I ran down and grabbed <i>Somewhere</i>, ran back up and realised it was the wrong record, then ran back down and grabbed <i>Powerslave</i> and we rocked out. The next day, since I'd already brought it up anyway, I listened to <i>Somewhere</i> while tidying the house.<br><br />Maiden rules.<p><br /><b>Kool Keith</b> – <i>Matthew</i><br>Keith must have been going through some really bad shit with his label when he made this one, because all the lyrics are really pissed-off rants about the music industry. But whereas the similar stuff on <i>First Come</i> is much funnier, here he just sounds angry. Decent record, but the attitude kinda wears you out as a listener.<p><br /><b>Kyuss</b> – <i>Welcome To Sky Valley</i><br>P— and I were talking about this record at work the other day, and we agreed that it transcends love of the band or even genre: every household really <i>needs</i> to have a copy of <i>Sky Valley</i>. It's just necessary.<p><br /><b>Lightning Bolt</b> – <i>Hypermagic Mountain</i><br>Probably the weakest Bolt record (although I've never heard the first one with the vocalist from Black Dice), and it's still pretty strong. Are these guys even capable of making a bad record?<p><br /><b>Led Zeppelin</b> – <i>[runes]</i>, aka <i>IV</i><br>I went to see <i>Green Hornet</i> in 3D the other day. Yeah, yeah, I know. Is being a Gondry completist a valid excuse? Anyway, after the regular trailers the screen told me to put on my glasses and then they showed the 3D trailers. The first one was for some weird teenage-chicks-kicking-fantasy-monster-ass movie called <i>Sucker Punch</i>, and the trailer opened with "When the Levee Breaks". Then the next two were for <i>Thor</i> and something else I can't remember, and they both had an "original" score that was clearly written to sound like "Kashmir" without having to pay rights. Don't know what this means, really.<br><br />Some great songs on this album, but too much filler for it to really be their best.<p><br /><b>Meat Puppets</b> – <i>"Huevos"</i>, <i>Monsters</i><br>I know the first couple Pups records are supposed to be the keepers, but I think these two are awesome. <i>Monsters</i> in particular is wildly underrated; so many great tracks on here.<br><br />Do you think the quotation marks in the title of <i>"Huevos"</i> are an intentional reference to Bowie's <i>"Heroes"</i>?<p><br /><b>Charles Mingus</b> – <i>New Tijuana Moods</i><p><br /><b>OutKast</b> – <i>Stankonia</i><br>Still haven't picked up the Big Boi record yet. Yet.<p><br /><b>Pink Floyd</b> – <i>A Nice Pair</i><br>Cheapo repackaging of their first two records, complete with naughty cover art to complete the titular pun. I just got a copy of Clinton Heylin's book about <i>Sgt. Pepper's</i> in which he apparently argues that <i>Piper</i> is more historically important that <i>Pepper's</i>. Looking forward to reading it. I really like the contrarian revisionist streak Heylin's been mining recently. Check out <i>Babylon's Burning</i> to see what aspects of accepted punk history he thinks are bullshit. Long, but a good read.<p><br /><b>Sparks</b> – <i>No. 1 In Heaven</i><br>I went through a phase a few years ago where I was listening to this record obsessively, several times a day, back to back to back. Completely addictive record. I love that these guys didn't just a make a token disco record, they went through a several-album-long disco phase.<p><br /><i><b>The Stone Roses</b></i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-2391408705044053062011-02-04T23:55:00.002-05:002011-02-09T21:20:04.089-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 30 Jan 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>The Beatles</b> – <i>Early Years (1)</i>, <i>Please Please Me</i>, <i>Hey Jude</i><br>Just started reading the Bob Spitz bio from a few years back, so I'll be going through a lot of these in the next few weeks. I had the weirdest revelation looking through my Beatles records the other day: I don't have a copy of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on any album. I don't even know what it's on, other than probably the red album. WTF?<p><br /><i>Catching Up With <b>Depeche Mode</b></i><p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots</i><br>Just had occasion to listen to "Do You Realize?" a bunch of times in a row the other day. Brilliant single, but I think the rest of the album's a little overrated. Some interesting arrangements by Drozd, but Coyne kinda phoned a lot of this one in.<p><br /><b>Fleetwoof Mac</b> – <i>Tusk</i><br>Has a strong cult following that considers it some sort of misunderstood masterpiece (including, but not limited to, members of Camper Van Beethoven), but I'm not buying it. This is just a self-indulgent mess.<p><br /><b>Ghost</b> – <i>Lama Rabi Rabi</i><p><br /><b>The Housemartins</b> – <i>London o Hull 4</i><br>I love that a jangle pop band with overtly communist lyrics and a gay lead singer titled their debut record with a reference to a soccer rivalry. Ah, England.<p><br /><b>LCD Soundsystem</b> – <i>This Is Happening</i><br>Gave this one another shot since it made just about everybody's year-end top ten list, but I'm still not convinced. This is just not a great album, and this is coming from a thirty-something ex-New Yorker aging-hipster-type, clearly Murphy's primary demographic. Weak year overall for critic-oriented records, sure, but still. The first two are better.<p><br /><b>Mastodon</b> – <i>Crack the Skye</i><br>Please, please, please let this actual-singing by metal bands catch on and become a new trend. I just don't know how many more four-band bills I can sit through with one doom-growler after another. This could be the album that helps metal reinvent itself for the new decade, and I really hope it is. Oh, also, sick riffs, sick drumming. Just a fantastic album all around, one of my favourites of the past several years in any genre.<p><br /><b>Bonnie 'Prince' Billy</b> – <i>I See a Darkness</i><br>Why the fuck is my copy of this record so worn out? Did I really listen to it <i>that</i> much? Do I need to just break down and find another copy? The title track is so crucial, and it's really quiet and thus highly susceptible to vinyl wear. Best lyrics about platonic friendship-love between two men ever written.<p><br /><b>Pink Floyd</b> – <i>Meddle</i><p><br /><i><b>Santogold</b></i><br>I bought this because the wife really liked the single, but I put it on the other day and she didn't comment. Wonder if she recognised it, or if its appeal has faded already. Whatever, I think it's holding up quite nicely.<p><br /><b>Saviours</b> – <i>Into Abbadon</i><p><br /><b>Public Image Ltd.</b> – <i>Second Edition</i><br>Every time I've ever gone into the studio with a band in which I'm playing bass, I always tell the recording engineer I want my bass to sound like the second PiL record, even when it's completely inappropriate to the music. Most of the time they have no idea what I'm talking about. What a damn shame. Look, if you're an engineer and you're reading this, go listen to this album right now. Now. <i>Now.</i> Pay attention to the bass.<p><br /><b>Silver Jews</b> – <i>American Water</i><br>I've been listening to a lot of Stones records lately, and I think Jagger's a terrific, underappreciated and really under-examined lyricist. Keef thinks so too, based on what I read in his new book. His lyrics seem simple and obvious, and I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean like they seem to have just been born with the song, like they're perfect and nothing else would fit there, so natural. When I listen to them, I think, "Man, I wish I could write like that."<br><br />On the other hand, when I listen to the Jews, I don't think that at all, because I could never, ever write like that. Instead, I think, "Man, I wish my brain worked that way."<p><br /><b>Smog</b> – <i>Wild Love</i><br>Oh Prince, you are so alone...<p><br /><b>TV On the Radio</b> – <i>Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes</i><br>I really hope these guys don't stay on haitus too long. Indie rock needs them. Needs more of them and fewer Arcade Fire knockoffs.<br><br />Terrific title, by the way.<p><br /><b>The Velvet Underground</b> – <i>The Quine Tapes</i><br>Sundazed Records really deserve a special Congressional commendation for releasing this set on vinyl. I know it's $100, and that's a pretty penny, but this is truly a valuable public service.<br><br />You can talk all you want about how much more avant garde they were with Cale in the band, but this phase is where they peaked as a live act. Even the 17 minutes of "Follow the Leader", which is barely even a song, are awesome.<p><br /><i>The <b>Yes</b> Album</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-53890534323623658982011-01-26T23:10:00.002-05:002011-01-26T23:21:38.010-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 23 Jan 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i><b>Bad Brains</b></i><br>It's amazing how fierce this sounds. It's <i>thirty years</i> old this year. The Brains top my list of bands I would go back and see in their prime if I had a time machine.<p><br /><i><b>The Besnard Lakes</b> Are the Dark Horse</i><br>Finally brought this one back to the house after a long and successful run as a going-to-bed favourite at the apartment. One of my current I'll-preorder-anything-they-put-out bands, and that list gets shorter all the time.<p><br /><i><b>Bee Gees</b>' 1<sup>st</sup></i><p><br /><b>Dom</b> – <i>Sun Bronzed Greek Gods</i> EP<p><br /><b>Envy</b> – <i>Insomniac Doze</i><p><br /><b>Guided By Voices</b> – <i>Jellyfish Reflector</i><br>I love live GBV recordings from this era. It's amazing to listen to a show from start to finish and see how they seem to get tighter and more in tune as they get drunker.<p><br /><i><b>Krallice</b></i><p><br /><b>Lightning Bolt</b> – <i>Ride the Skies</i><p><br /><b>Franz Liszt</b> – <i>Eine Faust-Symphonie</i> (Leonard Bernstein, Conductor)<p><br /><b>Nirvana</b> – <i>Nevermind</i><br>This is the 2008 European reissue from Universal's "Back To Black" vinyl series. I got it to replace my 2009 Simply Vinyl issue because I read that the mastering's better (and because I have the "Back To Black" edition of <i>In Utero</i> and it's <i>awesome</i>), but I wound up keeping both. Why? The Simply Vinly one has "Endless Nameless" on it; the Universal one doesn't.<br><br />But the Simply Vinyl one <i>doesn't</i> have "Lithium". This makes no sense whatsoever. I understand why "Elephant Stone"'s not on the recent <i>The Stone Roses</i> reissue; it wasn't on the original UK version, and that's the real album. But what version of <i>Nevermind</i> ever came out without "Lithium"? If it wasn't on early European issues then I've never seen one.<br><br />To make things weirder, Simply Vinyl's done more than one pressing of the album, and some of them have "Lithium". Was this a mistake? Anyway, I have the song now on the Universal version. Oh well, whatever, never mind.<p><br /><i><b>R.E.M.</b> Live</i><br>For a contract-closing greatest-hits-live album with little or no surprises in the setlist, this one's actually pretty good, assuming you like recent R.E.M., which I do. Live albums seem especially unnecessary from bands that don't improvise much, but here the band is tight and energetic, and the appreciative crowd really adds a lot.<br><br />Interesting note about buying R.E.M. albums: generally speaking, if you want stuff on vinyl, nowadays you have to buy it within a year or two of its release (or in the case of certain very annoying metal labels, within about a month). The market is resilient but small, and very little catalogue is kept in print. Once the album is gone, its value rises on the used market and you have to pay more for it.<br><br />Not so with R.E.M. While their core fan base remains loyal, demand for their work on vinyl must be pretty minimal, because they're the only band I can think of whose vinyl tends to devalue over time on the used marketplace. New releases can be quite expensive, but if you're willing to wait about two years, R.E.M. records can usually be had for two-thirds to a half of their original retail value. Peter Buck, a known collector, weeps, I'm sure.<br><br />But hey, works for me. Their more recent monster live set (also, curiously, recorded in Dublin) was about $90 retail when it first came out, but I've seen it hovering in the mid-$50s recently. I'll probably pick it up soon enough.<p><br /><b>The Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Let It Bleed</i>, <i>Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out</i>, <i>Exile On Main Street</i><br>Just about done with the Keef book. Not bad, not great, too long. Kind of worth sticking it out because the parts about what a douchebag Mick is are all towards the end, and they're pretty funny. Actually, scratch that, Keef's assessment of Mick's solo work is downright hilarious.<br><br />It's weird, Keef (predictably) goes on about how awesome <i>Exile</i> is, as he's been doing for years. Most of the Stones diehards I know consider that album to be Keef's triumph. And Mick's expressed some skepticism about its greatness over the years. But after reading <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/arts/music/23stones.html?_r=1&sq=exile%20reissue&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=1&adxnnlx=1296093875-rGPtQA43eydw22dG/NeVKQ">this</a> Ben Ratliff piece, written on the occasion of the album's recent re-re-(re-?)issue, it starts to sound more and more like Mick is the one who really holds this one together. As strong as the material and overall momentum are, the individual arrangements can be pretty meandering. When I listen closely to "Shine a Light" it sounds disorganised and underrehearsed, like everyone's kind of soloing at once. But it doesn't sound that way to the casual listener, and I think it's Mick's powerful performance that pulls it together and makes it sound like everyone's on the same page. There's a bunch of songs like that on there.<br><br />Of course, what makes the album truly great is that this debate could go back and forth for days. Everyone does a great job here, and it all just happens to fit together just right. You can't make an album this perfect on purpose; it just happens.<p><br /><b>Run-D.M.C.</b> – <i>Raising Hell</i><p><br /><b>Roni Size/Reprazent</b> – <i>New Forms</i><br>Once jungle started turning into drum'n'bass on its way to IDM, everybody had to make their double-CD magnum opus. And of course it has to get stretched out on vinyl to about a song a side. <i>New Forms</i> checks in at <i>nine</i> records, all 45 rpm, most of them two songs each. Was this necessary? Were DJs really going to buy this set, or were they going to buy the 2x12" set of "Brown Paper Bag" remixes? I'm going with the latter here.<br><br />This was a point in the development of the style when a lot of artists were talking about making music for listening and/instead of dancing. Lots of talk of "from the dancefloor to the living room", lots of invoking jazz as an inspiration in a very non-specific manner (as in, I never read interviews where dudes were like, yeah, early 70s Miles, "On the Corner", that's my jam). So if that's the case, why not format the vinyl for the listener rather than the DJ? Even a double CD could fit easily on four records at the most, maybe even three.<p><br /><b>Sonic Youth</b> – <i>Sister</i>, <i>Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star</i><br>So psyched that Sonic's 80s LPs are all getting reissued, <i>finally</i>. <i>So</i> psyched that my <i>Sister</i>'s on black vinyl (the purple's actually <i>more</i> expensive!). A little bummed that it's the censored cover art with no Mickey Mouse, but I guess Disney's lawyers don't miss a trick.<br><br />Listening to <i>Sister</i> has been an interesting experience, because I hadn't heard it in many years. I always thought of it as Sonic's first accessible, sort-of-approaching-pop album. But that's mostly because what stuck in my head through the years were the vocal melodies in songs like "Schizophrenia", "Cotton Crown" and especially "Tuff Gnarl". But when you go back and listen to it, the guitar sounds are still really harsh. "Stereo Sanctity", for instance, barely even has any notes in it, just rhythmic noise. Even an anthem like "Tuff" devolves into an atonal noise jam that must have been off-putting to all but the most open-minded listeners back in 1987.<br><br />Still, it's the balance that makes this one such an important breakthrough. Just when the noise starts getting you down, another great vocal melody cuts through to pull you back up.<p><br /><b>Justin Timberlake</b> – <i>Futuresex/Lovesounds</i><br>Look, say what you will about Will.I.Am; I like a few of the BEP's pop hits, but not enough to passionately defend them from the legions of haters out there. They're not that bad, but I could take or leave 'em. But the guy's got some terrific production work for other artists on his resumé. "Damn Girl" sticks out like a sore thumb on this record, mostly because of the organic drum sample contrasted against Timbaland's plastic-sounding rhythm machines on all the other tracks, and it's terrific. Shoulda been a hit. Definitely shoulda been picked as a single over "What Goes Around".<p><br /><b>Kanye West</b> – <i>My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy</i><br>OK, first things first: yes, it's that good, believe the hype, etc. The occasionally juvenile and vulgar lyrics (sorry, I'm old) can't hope to derail the majestic production here. It's amazingly solid start to finish, and doesn't even flag toward the end.<br><br />Now that we've covered the music: this is probably the worst vinyl mastering job I've ever heard. Right from the start, when the third layer of vocals comes in in the opening seconds, it sounds like there's a chunk of lint the size of a golf ball on my stylus. It sounds like it got mastered for CD in classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war">loudness war</a> fashion, and that version just got pressed to vinyl. This is, and I can't say this firmly enough, unacceptable.<br><br />One of the reasons vinyl has grown so expensive in the past ten years is that albums have to be mastered separately for the format, and with fewer copies being sold, the cost is passed on to a smaller pool of buyers. Fine, I accept this and I pay it. But if you're not going to bother doing it right, just don't put it out. Don't release a vinyl version with special packaging (which, by the way, looks fabulous), charge me the usual vinyl premium for it, and hand me a shitty-sounding copy of the music. The sound is the whole reason I'm buying this format; the elaborate packaging is just gravy.<br><br />And the worst part is I keep listening to it anyway. I can't stop myself; the music is that good! But the sound quality will probably keep me from going back to it over the years, and that sucks. I expect better from you, Kanye. Surely a guy who uses that many old-school samples can appreciate the sound of vinyl. Have you even listened to this?<p><br /><i>03:00am Eternal</i><p><br /><i>Macro Dub Infection – Volume One</i><br>I can't tell you how thrilled I was to finally find this one on vinyl. This might be <i>the</i> defining album of a certain musical moment in the mid-90s when electronic music and (post-)rock were discovering both dub reggae and each other at the same time. It's ostensibly a survey of the far-reaching influence of dub into all musical styles at the time, but it's really just a survey of all cutting-edge electronica and post-rock of the era. Because, let's face it, none of it was left untouched by dub.<br><br />I've actually been looking for a vinyl copy for several years now, and it's always over $30. By chance I came upon a cheap copy for sale on discogs.com from a seller called "philadelphiamusic". So I emailed them to find out if they had a storefront and it's Beautiful World, about a dozen blocks from my front door. So I went and picked it up and didn't even have to pay shipping. Score!Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-57035910935309176382011-01-19T23:20:00.002-05:002011-01-19T23:35:27.393-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 15 Jan 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><b>Acetone</b> – <i>York Blvd.</i><p><br /><b>Elvis Costello and the Attractions</b> – <i>Get Happy!</i><br>My fave Elvis record after the big three? This one or <i>Blood & Chocolate</i>. Kind of a toss-up.<p><br /><b>Creedence Clearwater Revival</b> – <i>Bayou Country</i><br>Such a tasty opening riff. Just four notes, but with just the right touch of discordance. Wish I could come up with something so simple and so perfect.<p><br /><b>The Decemberists</b> – <i>The Hazards Of Love</i><br>It's growing on me. A little late for that now, I suppose; they've got a new one coming out soon. I may or may not buy it.<p><br /><b>Explosions In the Sky</b> – <i>All Of a Sudden I Miss Everyone</i><br>Wow, so did these guys just flat run out of ideas or what? The formula was clearly wearing thin on this one, and it hasn't aged well, in case you were wondering. I guess we'll always have <i>The Earth Is Not...</i><br><br />By the way, I was going to note how long it's been since they released any new material, but I looked over everything and can't find a copyright year anywhere on the packaging.<p><br /><b>Girls</b> – <i>Album</i><br>They've got a new one out and I haven't heard it yet. I'll probably get it. This one holds up great so far, and I've heard good reviews for the EP.<p><br /><b>Led Zeppelin</b> – <i>Physical Grafitti</i><br>Weird record. You'd think that if any act from their generation had what it took to sustain a killer double album it'd be these guys, but this thing is a mess. The first record is awesome, and even includes one of their few extended blues jams that I actually like ("In My Time Of Dying"). The second record is a mess; every track sounds underdeveloped and half-baked. Really, considering the roll they were on at the the time this should have been a pantheon double, we're talking <i>Exile</i>-level greatness, and they blew it in such a strange way.<p><br /><b>Charles Mingus</b> – <i>Mingus At the Bohemia</i><p><br /><b>Mogwai</b> – <i>Young Team</i><br>Hadn't listened to this one in a while. Awesome. Interesting to note how many songs I recognise from seeing them every few years when they tour the States, but forgot which record they were on. They're all here. I tend to think of <i>CODY</i> as their masterpiece, but maybe it was this one all along.<p><br /><b>Pavement</b> – <i>Westing (by musket and sextant)</i><br>I used to bag on people who said they stopped liking this band after <i>Slanted</i>, then invariably proceeded to reminisce about how they heard the early EPs when they first came out. I think a lot of people who might have really liked them in their heyday resented Pavement's hipster shibboleth status and never really gave the band a chance. But really, this stuff is absolutely amazing. Had I heard it before all the other stuff, would I have forever pined for the early years too? Impossible to say.<br><br />"Perfect Depth" remains my single favourite Pavement ballad, maybe favourite song overall. And "Internal K-Dart" is the best pure guitar riff Malkmus ever stumbled upon. Eat your heart out, Kurt Cobain.<p><br /><b>Photek</b> – <i>Modus Operandi</i><br>Holds up better than you might remember. This seemed directionless and overblown when it first came out, and was reviewed as such, but it sounds much leaner now. This guy's stuff was all deceptively minimal. He made it sound like complex "scientific d'n'b", but it's really simple stuff with just a tricky rhythmic turn here and there to keep you on your toes. Not to go all Wes Welker on you.<p><br /><i><b>The Rolling Stones</b>, Now!</i>, <i>Aftermath</i>, <i>More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)</i>, <i>Sticky Fingers</i>, <i>Metamorphosis</i><br>Yup. Readin' the Keef book.<p><br /><b>Souls Of Mischief</b> – <i>93 'Til Infinity</i><p>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-5036054700659551062011-01-13T01:17:00.001-05:002011-01-13T01:20:00.945-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 8 Jan 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Ferruccio Busoni</b> – <i>Doktor Faust</i> (Ferdinand Leitner, conductor)<br>Busoni died before completing his final work, leaving notes from which an assistant would finish it. <i>Faust</i> is reputed to be one of the more surprisingly minimal of the major works of this period of Italian opera, which... I don't really know anything about opera, that's just what I've read. This is intriguing, but far to dense for me to get much of an impression of after just a few listens with other things going on in the room.<p><br /><b>Grooverider</b> – <i>Mysteries of Funk</i><br>I can remember reading a profile of Grooverider written by Simon Reynolds for some magazine (<i>The Wire</i>, maybe?) back when this album was just coming out. It was his debut after a few killer singles and a lot of hype, and Reynolds, as is his wont, was ready to anoint yet another subgenre with which to classify Grooverider and the maybe two other artists who sounded like him. Reynolds proceeded to spend a significant chunk of his given column inches explaining the subtle differences that distinguished "neurofunk" from dozens of other subgenres within the larger spectrum of drum'n'bass, seemingly spending quite a bit of energy trying to get the term to catch on. My reaction at the time was something along the lines of "Nice try, Reynolds," figuring this one would never stick.<br><br />So the other night I'm cruising eBay for lots of used DJ records, and I come across a listing for a couple dozen described as jungle, drum'n'bass, breakbeat and, wait for it...<br><br />Neurofunk. After all these years. Score one for Reynolds.<br><br />By the way, it sounds like I'm bagging on Reynolds here, but it's more like a good-natured ribbing. Let me add that <i>Rip It Up and Start Again</i> is one of my favourite music history books of the past few years.<p><br /><b>Junior Boys</b> – <i>So This Is Goodbye</i><p><br /><b>Lightning Bolt</b> – <i>Earthly Delights</i><p><br /><b>Mono</b> – <i>Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined</i><br>This or the one after it is probably <i>the</i> Mono record to own. You don't need too many. Very proud of myself for resisting the urge to buy the new triple live LP.<p><br /><b>Pavement</b> – <i>Wowee Zowee</i><br>Holds up nicely. No longer seems as weirdly dated as it did five years ago or so. I know that seems illogical, but back then we were in the grip of this wave of overt sincerity in indie rock, and this one just seemed so detached.<p><br /><b>Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Beggars Banquet</i><br>There really ought to be an apostrophe in that title. Unless they're eating beggars.<p><br /><i>History Of Rhythm & Blues Volume 1: The Roots 1947-52</i><br>Any comp with "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" on it is OK in my book.<p><br /><i>Headz</i><p><br /><i>We Are Reasonable People</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-82736455914901682802011-01-06T21:30:00.002-05:002011-01-06T21:34:55.199-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 1 Jan 2011<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Sunday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i><b>The B-52's</b></i>, <i>Wild Planet</i><br>Just picked these up recently (at <a href="http://www.cheaporecords.com/">Cheapo</a> in Cambridge), figuring I might as well check 'em out. The big singles from each ("Rock Lobster" and "Private Idaho", respectively) hold up remarkably well, both boffo new wave dance numbers that make you wanna shimmy.<br><br />But the rest of the albums didn't blow me away. I think the most surprising and disappointing aspect was how low-energy they felt, in particular the debut. These guys are supposed to be like one of the all-time great party bands, but I kinda wasn't feelin' it. Maybe I need to listen to 'em some more.<br><br />Both albums recorded in the Bahamas, incidentally. Maybe they shoulda just done a live EP in Athens to start with.<p><br /><i>History of <b>Eric Clapton</b></i><br>Pretty solid comp that stretches from the Yardbirds through the Dominoes. The Delaney & Bonnie tracks are particularly good. I think Clapton's at his best when he's in someone else's band, rather than out front. Don't get me wrong, he's got a few great solo tracks, but the overall body of work favours his sideman stuff, whether he's in a band with another frontman (Cream) or just a hired gun (Delaney & Bonnie).<br><br />What's really weird about this record is that it's a double LP with sides one and three on the first record and two and four on the second. I don't think I've seen another album like that, and it makes no sense whatsoever. You have to switch records after every side to listen to it in order. Even the more common 1-4/2-3 split makes some sense, because you can just flip the whole stack on a multi-record turntable. Heck, that Sinatra box I have is six records, and it goes 1-12/2-11/3-10/etc. But this one's ridiculous.<p><br /><b>Culture Club</b> – <i>Kissing To Be Clever</i><br>The wife was a Boy George fanatic in their heydey, and has all the albums. She even has an old VHS tape on which she used to tape any and all of their TV appearances. Anyway, when I put this on she said it doesn't really hold up that well. I think I was even more disappointed than she was. I can't really say why. I hate listening to stuff I loved when I was a teenager and realising it's just mediocre.<p><br /><b>Flying Saucer Attack</b> – <i>Chorus</i>, <b>The Third Eye Foundation</b> – <i>Ghost</i><br>"Feedback Song" still totally pwns, and remains FSA's finest moment.<br><br />The liner notes say it's the end of FSA Phase One. The next couple albums were indeed pretty different. Lots of drum n' bass beats. Basically sounded more like Third Eye.<p><br /><b>Isis</b> – <i>Wavering Radiant</i><br>Kind of unnecessary. If you have <i>Oceanic</i> and <i>Panopticon</i> you're pretty set with these guys. Another one of those bands like Mono, where I like their general aesthetic enough to keep buying their albums, which inevitably feel extraneous upon listening.<p><br /><b>Jay-Z</b> – <i>The Black Album</i><br>How come no one's ripped off this idea yet? This is basically a compilation of the dozen-or-so hottest producers in the game each contributing a track and Jigga rhyming over them. It's terrific, was an instant classic when it came out that still sounds great now, and an idea just waiting to be replicated.<p><br /><i><b>John Kongos</b></i><br>So psyched I finally found this. I only knew the two songs the Happy Mondays covered, but the whole thing's pretty solid. Drags a little on side two, but closes strong with "He's Gonna Step On You Again".<p><br /><i><b>Mastodon</b></i><br>Pulled out the box to listen to <i>Leviathan</i>. One of my daughters was pretty into it, and into headbanging in general. Maybe she'll be a metalhead.<p><br /><b>Radiohead</b> – <i>OK Computer</i><br>My copy of this is pretty worn down, which is weird because I certainly own other albums I've spun more times that sound fine. It's a bummer because it's such a great album and I know I'll keep returning to it for years to come. Still, it's hard to justify dropping $25 on a new copy when this one's not <i>that</i> bad.<p><br /><b>Saint Vitus</b> – <i>The Walking Dead</i> EP<br>These guys are famous for being one of the first slow-metal bands, but I actually like the faster stuff on here. They hadn't really perfected their doom sound this early, so the slow stuff just sounds like a regular metal song played way too slow.<p><br /><b>Sigur Rós</b> – <i>Međ suđ í eyrum viđ spilum endalaust</i><br>Quite a workout for the ol' character map on that one, but we pride ourselves on our accuracy here at the Shelf.<p><br /><b>Sonic Youth</b> – <i>Murray Street</i><br>Holds up well. Give it a listen.<p><br /><b>Tanner</b> – <i>Ill-Gotten Gains</i><br>So psyched I found this one on vinyl, and it's just as strong as it was when I used to listen to it back in the 90s. They sound like most San Diego bands from their era, but the vocals and guitar work give them a melodic edge that still sticks out. No idea why they never caught on, they were a great live act as well. I think the frontman wound up in Hot Snakes for a while. If you see this one, pick it up, it's great.<p><br /><b>Tortoise</b> – <i>TNT</i><br>I always think I haven't listened to this one enough, then I throw it on once a year or so and am surprised to find that I recognise just about every song.<p><br /><b>Grenadine</b> – <i>Goya</i><br>Sorry Jenny Toomey, but I'm filing this one under Unrest.<p><br /><b>Wire</b> – <i>Object 47/Read & Burn 03</i><br>Wow. I can't get over how awesome last decade's Wire output was. Between this album and the three EPs (one of which is packaged together here) they didn't have a single weak release. These guys can reunite as often as they like and I'll be listening.<p><br /><b>XTC</b> – <i>Go 2</i><br>This is one of those bands I always read was good but I never got around to checking them out. I knew them from their late-80s/early-90s stuff and wasn't crazy about it. So I finally got this one and... not so into it. Maybe I need to listen to it more, but I can't foresee making time for it. I've got a lot of records. The one after it's supposed to be really good, so maybe if I see that I'll pick it up.<p><br /><i>Return Of the DJ Vol. I</i><br>Hadn't listened to this in a while. Surprised to see how many names I recognised. This really was an impressive all-star lineup.<p><br /><i>Metalheadz Presents Platinum Breakz II</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-78261859287062707312010-12-29T23:08:00.003-05:002010-12-29T23:18:16.286-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 26 Dec 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Beastie Boys</b> – <i>Check Your Head</i><br>I'm gonna go way out on a limb here and say this might have been the defining pop album of the 1990s.<br><br />It was the last decade before the rise of iTunes, file sharing, mp3s, etc., and therefore the end of an era in which the music to which one listened functioned as a prominent self-defining factor socially. Nowadays kids listen to all kinds of music, partly because it's all free anyway if you want it, and partly because you only have to buy individual tracks, and partly because you can hear whatever you want without having to buy it first. Before that you were an indie kid, you were a hiphop head, you were a jam-band hippie, or you just listened to whatever mainstream alt-rock was on MTV that week. MTV used to play music back then.<br><br />The Beasties, specifically with this album, transcended all that. <i>Everybody</i> liked the Beasties. This was the album that rescued them from the fate of eternal one-hit novelty status to which their massive breakthrough album and its poorly-selling follow-up had seemingly consigned them. All of a sudden they were at the forefront of popular culture, and not just musically. I don't think any other album from the era, not even <i>Nevermind</i>, galvanised as wide a swath of America's youth. It wasn't some important generational statement, everybody just dug it.<br><br />Also, it holds up really well. It's a little long (a byproduct of the CD era), but remains a delight from start to finish.<p><br /><b>Black Moth Super Rainbow</b> – <i>Dandelion Gum</i><p><br /><b>Dan Deacon</b> – <i>Bromst</i><br>The best album since the first Black Sabbath album on which all the songs basically sound the same.<p><br /><b>Dinosaur Jr.</b> – <i>Beyond</i><br>I continue to be amazed at how much I keep returning to this album. In the last couple years I've found myself pulling this one out even more often that the old SST ones when I feel like listening to J shred. Beats out the <i>Read & Burn</i> EPs as best reunion album ever, and they're pretty damn good.<p><br /><b>Fennesz</b> – <i>Endless Summer</i><br>Just reissued by Warp in the UK and the first time I've been able to find it on vinyl. If you can find a copy of the original issue, believe me, you're a bit more resourceful than I. Also, this version's got all the bonus tracks from the 2006 reissue.<br><br />This album stands as a terrific example of how important separate sides can be in understanding an album. First off, I'm not arguing that sonically this album is "supposed to be heard on vinyl, man"; it's clearly a CD album. But it's a difficult album, and hearing it broken up like this really helped me wrap my head around it. I had it as mp3s and could never really get into it. It's too subtle, and I would get distracted and miss a lot of detail. But just the action of having to flip the record after every few songs forces me back into it, and I've come to appreciate it on a level I never could before. If you've heard of it but never listened to it, the answer is yes, it really is a masterpiece.<p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Telepathic Surgery</i><p><br /><b>Neutral Milk Hotel</b> – <i>In the Aeroplane, Over the Sea</i><p><br /><b>Saint Etienne</b> – <i>Foxbase Alpha</i><br>How come last year's reissues of all the early Etienne albums aren't coming out on vinyl? I've had a hell of a time trying to find a copy of <i>Tiger Bay</i>.<p><br /><b>Frank Sinatra</b> – <i>The Sinatra Touch</i><br>You can probably guess what I'm in the middle of reading right now. Believe the hype, it's every bit as good as you've heard.<br><br />By the way, reading this over before posting I just caught a funny typo: I wrote this title as <i>The Sinatra Tough</i>. Frank himself would probably agree, but by most accounts that's bullshit: he was all bark and no bite, no matter what Lee Mortimer would have told you.<p><br /><i><b>Squarepusher</b> Presents <b>Shobaleader/One</b> – d'Demonstrator</i><br>Not sure how to categorise this one. Oh, who am I kidding, it's a Squarepusher record. But apparently he really has a "band" now. He plays bass, natch. Not sure how much creative input the other guys had on this one.<br><br />Look, God bless Jenkinson, I'll continue to buy everything he puts out for as long as he keeps releasing stuff, but it's reached a point now where every like fifth album or so is any good. Still, they're <i>so</i> good that I do't mind slogging through the other four or so. I've listened to this a bunch and really tried to get into it, but, to return to my old habit of drawing debatable career analogies, I think this might be his <i>Tin Machine</i>.<p><br /><b>Swell Maps</b> – <i>A Trip To Marineville</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-702932799531536952010-12-18T02:04:00.003-05:002010-12-18T02:10:05.382-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 12 Dec 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.<p>I was away for the better part of a few weeks, so this is about three weeks worth of in and out of town for a day or two at a time.</i><p><br /><b>Cat Power</b> – <i>What Would the Community Think</i><p><br /><b>Cheap Trick</b> – <i>In Color</i>, <i>Heaven Tonight</i><br>Picked these up a few weeks ago at <a href="http://www.turnitup.com/">Turn It Up!</a> in Northampton. I have a bunch of early CT records now, all pretty good but none of 'em are great. I really like the production, though. Great drum sound, great mix. A couple other observations:<br><br /><ul><li>The original studio version of "I Want You To Want Me" stinks. Really flacid arrangement, limp tempo, nothing like the swingin' rocker they would turn it into on <i>Budokan</i>. I can see why it wasn't a hit until the live version came out.</li><br /><li>"Surrender" has a terrific chorus, but the <a href="http://www.lyricsdepot.com/cheap-trick/surrender.html">lyrics</a> are absolutely baffling. If you can figure out what's going on there you're one up on me.</li></ul><p><br /><b>DJ Swamp</b> – <i>Never Is Now</i><br>This guy makes great battle discs, but I'm not so high on his album. Too much rapping, not enough scratching.<p><br /><b>Eluvium</b> – <i>Life Through Bombardment</i><p><br /><b>Grand Funk Railroad</b> – <i>Live Album</i><br>Believe it or not, this is a concert recording. And believe it or not, there are excessive guitar solos. There's even a track with an extended <i>drum</i> solo. It's just full of surprises.<br><br />It's also really early, so they're still pretty young and hungry performers, but there aren't any well-known hits on here. Solid record overall.<p><br /><b>LCD Soundsystem</b> – <i>Sound Of Silver</i><br>The best of a spotty three, as far as albums go. Murphy's a peerless singles artist, but his albums will probably always be a little inconsistent. Still, this one comes closest, and it's got the highest highs.<p><br /><b>Lo Fidelity Allstars</b> – <i>Kool Roc Bass</i> 12", <i>Ghostmutt</i> EP<br>I wonder how these guys would have turned out had they stuck around. The early singles were pretty strong, but half of them quit right after the first album came out, and, based on the results, the others probably shouldn't have bothered trying to press onward.<p><br /><b><i>Misfits</i></b><br>I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say best best-of-type compilation of all time. For the casual 'Fits fan, this one's really all you need. The consistently high quality here is just phenomenal.<p><br /><b><i>Pretenders</i></b><br>This is one of those bands I always read I should like and never bothered. Their hits just never really blew me away. So I picked it up recently for a few bucks and it's terrific. I was surprised at how many songs I knew from it (I didn't know <i>any</i> of the titles), and by how much better they sounded in context. This is one of those bands of actual musicians that got inspired by punk, rather than artsy amateurs, and their skills really take the songs to another level. Hynde sounds tough and unapproachable, so you listen from afar in awe as she mutters "Fuck off." Awesome.<p><br /><b>Queen</b> – <i>A Dat At the Races</i>, <i>News Of the World</i><br>I think that we as a society often underestimate the awesomeness of Queen. Yes, the first five albums are excellent, but beyond that? <i>News</i> is best known for its two big sports anthems (if you don't know which songs I'm talking about you probably don't know who Queen is), but have you listened to "Spread Your Wing" lately? Unstoppable.<p><br /><b>Spank Rock</b> – <i>YoYoYoYoYoYo</i><br>As much as I'm strongly in favour of reforming copyright law in order to accomodate sample-based artists like Girl Talk, Spank Rock are an interesting example of how more restrictive laws can actually foster creativity. The band, inspired by a Baltimore club sound that relies heavily on flagrantly illegal sampling, had a minor underground hit with "Put That Pussy On Me", which features the unauthorised accompaniment of both the Beach Boys and Snoop Dogg. While the track appeared on this album's advance copies, it's not on the official release. And instead of pop samples, the album is full of completely original and extremely phat analogue synth riffs. Would this have happened if the band were allowed to simply sample whatever they pleased? Impossible (for me) to say, but the results are <i>nasty</i>. Necessity, once again, the mother of invention.<p><br /><b>Kanye West</b> – <i>Late Registration</i><br>The new one hits vinyl next week. Mine's already pre-ordered. Super psyched.<p><br /><b>Hank Williams</b> – <i>Country & Western Classics</i><br>A three-LP box set from... Time-Life Music! And it has everything the casual Hank fan wants.<p><br /><b>Zola Jesus</b> – <i>Stridulum</i> EP, <i>Valusia</i> EP<p><br /><i>We Are Skint Sampler2</i> EPBjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-33925841179109913052010-11-04T12:57:00.003-04:002010-11-08T17:44:23.663-05:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 31 Oct 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Black Flag</b> – <i>The First Four Years</i><br>Best pre-Rollins Flag singer? I'm going with Ron "Chavo" Reyes, who was with them when they filmed <i>Declined Of Western Civilization</i>. Sorry Dez. I think what hurts Cadena's candidacy the most is that he sings a couple of songs Henry would later sing better, especially "Damaged I".<p><br /><b>sunn0))) & Boris</b> – <i>Altar</i><br>I'm filing this under Boris because I have a bunch of Boris records, and they're why I bought it, and I don't have any sunn0))) records. Not sure why I don't have any sunn0))) records. This album's awesome, by the way.<p><br /><b>Cat Power</b> – <i>The Covers Record</i><br>Just got a copy of the Residents' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" single, so I pulled this and a few other records out to listen to other versions of "Satisfaction". This one's good but... do the Residents win? Close, but no. Winner below.<p><br /><b>The Church</b> – <i>Gold Afternoon Fix</i><br>Not a huge Church guy. Not sure why I pulled this one out. I hadn't listened to it in years. I really like the amount of attention they pay to their guitar tone. It's different in every song. And it's subtle, not like they just crank a different effect pedal all the way up for each song. It sounds like they spend hours EQing the lead guitar for a slightly different sound to fit each song.<br><br />Having said that, their songs aren't that great, and I probably won't listen to this again for another ten years. Want it? You can have mine. <a href="http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/29590409?ev=bp_rel_det">Seriously.</a><p><br /><b>Circle Jerks</b> – <i>Group Sex</i><br>Awesome. It's kind of amazing how well this album holds up. My copy's pretty worn down, but who cares? It probably sounded like shit brand new. I got on a real hardcore kick one day last week. Good times.<p><br /><b>Devo</b> – <i>Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo</i><br>Another version of "Satisfaction". Probably the most famous, but also probably my least favourite. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome, the others are just even better. I don't think you can do a bad version of this song, it's just bulletproof.<br><br />By the way, Terry Gross <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130722581">interviewed Keith</a> on <i>Fresh Air</i> a week or two ago and it's great. The way he interacts with her is hilarious. It's also funny hearing him talk because he's fucking <i>Keefe</i>, this totally raw dude, but he's gut this upper-class English public school accent.<p><br /><b>Bob Dylan</b> – <i>Blood On the Tracks</i><p><br /><b>Otis Redding/The Jimi Hendrix Experience</b> – <i>Historic Performances Recorded At the Monterey International Pop Festival</i><br>And we have a winner. Otis's cover of "Satisfaction", hands down. Everything on this record by both acts is fantastic. It turns up in used shop all the time for like five bucks. If you see a copy, do yourself a favour.<p><br /><b>Hüsker Dü</b> – <i>Zen Arcade</i><br>I hadn't listened to this in a while and was surprised at how well I remember every song. I think I used to listen to this a <i>lot</i> in high school. I'm not sure I really loved it so much as I was in awe of it and really respected it, but it scared the shit out of me, and I think sometimes I was forcing myself to listen to it. Does that make sense? What the fuck, I was a kid.<br><br />By the way, the difference in sound between the CD and the record is immeasurable. I had the CD in high school, and it sounds like shit. The record is so much better. It's still in print, too. You can order it from SST for like $15.<p><br /><b>Minutemen</b> – <i>Double Nickels On the Dime</i><br>There's a great story about the sequencing of this record in the 33<sup>1</sup>/<sub>3</sub> book about it (which, by the way, is one of the best in the series). Supposedly they each took a side, then held a fantasy draft where they took turns picking songs for their side. The leftover stuff went on side four (labeled "side chaff"). Then they put the songs in the order they were picked, figuring the better songs should be toward the outside of the record because the grooves sound better there. Cute story, but "History Lesson - Part II" and "This Ain't No Picnic" are both near the end of their respective sides, so I'm not sure it's entirely true. In the book, Mike Watt makes a big deal about how the other two couldn't believe George Hurley picked "You Need the Glory" first, because the other two thought it was just a throwaway. All the stuff on George's side is kinda weird. George is kinda weird.<p><br /><b>The Ramones</b> – <i>Leave Home</i><p><br /><b>The Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Hot Rocks 1964-1971</i><br>Had an urge to listen to "Jumping Jack Flash" after listening to that aforementioned Richards interview. Great arpeggiated guitar riff in the chorus.<p><br /><b>Frank Sinatra</b> – <i>The Sinatra Touch</i><p><br /><b>Sly & the Family Stone</b> – <i>Dance To the Music</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-67828253250723418632010-10-29T23:53:00.002-04:002010-10-30T00:05:38.794-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 24 Oct 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Ozzy Osbourne</b> – <i>No Rest For the Wicked</i><br>This is his first one with Zakk Wylde, his best guitarist since Randy Rhoads. It's not a great album overall, but it opens with "Miracle Man", one of my favourite Ozzy songs. Also one of my favourite public feud dis-tracks, a nyah-nyah at long-time Ozzy naysayer Jimmy Swaggart after the preacher-man got busted with a prostitute. Sick talk-box work by Wylde here.<p><br /><b><i>Bowery Electric</i></b><p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Embryonic</i><p><br /><b>The Third Eye Foundation</b> – <i>You Guys Kill Me</i><br>I'm not sure if I should really be filing this guy's stuff with Flying Saucer Attack, because I'm not sure he was really a full-fledged member. They were always pretty vague about their membership.<br><br />The cover, by the way, is hysterical. It's a medieval-looking portrait of Jesus. Read the album title again. Get it?<p><br /><b>The Grateful Dead</b> – <i>Anthem Of the Sun</i><br>I listened to this one repeatedly last week, and it's awesome. Maybe my favourite thing the Dead ever did, and I've listened to a lot of those hallowed boots. This one has a reputation as being one of the ones Deadheads don't really like, because it's early, dark psychedelia, before the band became good-timey hippie jam rock. Maybe that's why I love it.<p><br /><b>Robert Pollard</b> – <i>Not In My Airforce</i><br>This album holds up so well, and <i>almost</i> justifies Pollard's arrogant belief that he and he alone was the Voices, and everyone else in the band was just along for his ride. I'd rank this right alongside the big three.<br><br />On the other hand... I'm still really looking forward to the classic lineup reunion tour, because the drop-off in quality of GBV albums after he fired them all is palpable.<p><br /><b>Howard Jones</b> – <i>Human's Lib</i><br>The wife's copy; I had it on cassette. One of the first tapes I owned. I can remember him "performing" "Pearl In the Shell" on <i>Top Of the Pops</i> when he played the lone snare drum at the beginning.<br><br />I think Jones is underrated and unjustly lumped in with other one-hit synth-Brits from his era. Talented songwriter, played all the instruments on his records, had at least a half-dozen hits over two albums, definitely more than just one. In fact, I think if you were to argue that he's just a one hit wonder, you'd have a hard time nailing down which one is supposed to be his one hit.<p><br /><b>Janelle Monáe</b> – <i>The Archandroid: Suites II & III</i><br>This one's worth buying for the liner notes alone, which explain that Monáe is a time-traveler who escaped from a future mental hospital. No kidding. OK, the music's awesome too.<p><br /><b>Pink Floyd</b> – <i>The Final Cut</i><br>Both Kurt Loder and Chris Ott think this might be the band's best album. Might be the only thing they agree on. Definitely the most overlooked of their prime.<p><br /><b>Radiohead</b> – <i>Kid A</i><br>Definitely their <i>Zooropa</i>. That's a complement.<p><br /><i><b>The Residents</b> Present the Third Reich 'n Roll</i>, <i>Fingerprince</i><br>I think it means something that the Residents, Negativland and Kid 606 all come from San Francisco, I just can't figure out what. <i>Third Reich</i> is definitely the spiritual precursor to all things Girl Talk/2 Many DJs, and I mean that in both a good and bad way. If you love mash-up culture, you'll love it, or at least be morbidly fascinated by it. If you hate that shit, you'll probably hate <i>Third Reich</i>. Nothing wrong with that. It's not for everyone. I love that shit, and I think this album is genius. If you asked me to rank my favourite albums of the 1970s, this one probably makes the top ten these days.<p><br /><b>Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band</b> – <i>Live Bullet</i><br>This is probably Seger's biggest selling album, and it contains none of his hits. Oddly enough, this one was the big breakout that made him a star, after which he recorded classics like <i>Night Moves</i> and <i>Stranger In This Town</i>. That's how you did it in the 70s: made your reputation as a live act, then built on that with record sales. In a way, this album is akin to <i>Frampton Comes Alive</i>, except that it's awesome. Have you listened to <i>Comes Alive</i> lately? Doesn't really hold up. <i>Live Bullet</i> does.<p><br /><b>Smog</b> – <i>Red Apple Falls</i><br>I was never a huge Smog fan, but I have like three or four of his albums. This one's nice and quiet, good for putting the girls to bed. I don't think they'd be so into the earlier ones, but those are the ones I really like. Can you read a bedtime story to your kids while listening to "Prince Alone In the Studio" or "Your Wedding"?<p><br /><b>Sparks</b> – <i>Big Beat</i><br>As much as I love this band, I can't hum you a single song off this album, and I just listened to it last week. It's not bad, just kind of forgettable. Maybe that's worse than being bad.<p><br /><b>Bruce Springsteen</b> – <i>Darkness On the Edge Of Town</i><br>So the big retrospective box set commemorating the release of this album is set to come out this month or something. Just in time for the holidays, I guess. I always thought of this as lesser Bruce, maybe his first not-so-great album, but popular opinion seems to face very much in the opposite direction.<br> <br />The basic story is that Bruce hooked up with Jon Landau (Mr. "I have seen the future of rock..." himself) and decided to break with his old manager. Legal shenanigans ensued and Bruce didn't release a new album for three years. When he re-emerged, <i>Darkness</i> was the new Bruce: shorter songs, more fully realised working class hero persona.<br><br />I used to leave the inner sleeves on my records turned up, so they had to be slid out in order to access the record. At one point, I came around to the idea of inserting them sideways, so the record can be slid out without the sleeve coming out. If a record on the Shelf has the sleeve turned up, it means I haven't listened to it in a long time. <i>Darkness</i> is one such record. I think I bought it, listened to it a couple times and dismissed it. So obviously it's due at the very least for a reappraisal.<br><br />It's definitely better than I remember, a strong record, but I still can't help but think of it as a negative turning point, the album where Bruce became "BROOOCE!", a parody of himself. The songwriting just seems so less ambitious that that on <i>E Street Shuffle</i>.<br><br />And so after several listens this week, I still reach the conclusion that it doesn't <i>touch</i> the first three. I understand he wrote something like seventy songs in order to whittle it down to these ten, and the box set will have demos of all those other songs. Yes, I'm intrigued, but if dreck like "Candy's Room" and "Factory" made the final cut, are the outtakes really gonna be that good?<br><br />Of course I'm gonna find out. It's Bruce. I'm a sucker.<p><br /><b>Stevie Wonder</b> – <i>Songs In the Key Of Life</i><br>My copy is really worn out and I'm super bummed about that. It still has a $10 price tag on it, and when am I gonna find another copy that cheap with the booklet <i>and</i> the seven-inch?<p><br /><b>Neil Young</b> – <i>Young Man's Fancy</i><br>Bootleg of a solo live show frok 1971. Utterly amazing. This record's so good I can't even write about it. This post is going up late because it took me forever to tackle that Springsteen record, but this one I'm not even gonna try. Neil was fucking untouchable in this era.<p><br /><b>Zola Jesus</b> – <i>Valusia</i> EP<br>What the fuck are you waiting for? Yes, it's that good!Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-55050487492716549042010-10-21T14:32:00.002-04:002010-10-21T14:36:46.144-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 17 Oct 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b><i>Acetone</i></b><br>The death of Kurt Cobain hit me pretty hard because it happened when I was still a teenager. But I think in hindsight the rock suicide that bums me out the most to this day is Richie Lee. I don't know anything about the guy, but it just seems so random.<p><br />Also, why isn't Mark Lightcap still making music? Most underrated guitarist ever that I can think of offhand right now.<p><br /><b>Tim Buckley</b> – <i>Happy Sad</i><p><br /><b>John Coltrane</b> – <i>A Love Supreme</i><br>Can't beat those first few notes. As iconic an opening as "London Calling".<p><br /><b>Bob Dylan</b> – <i>Nashville Skyline</i><p><br /><b>Failure</b> – <i>Fantastic Planet</i><br>I call bullshit on this one.<br><br />In a blog post on the Voice's website a few weeks ago, some writer listed ten alternative bands from the 90s that still haven't reunited, and included these guys. The name rang a bell, but I couldn't remember ever hearing their music. Apparently they were a space rock band.<br><br />So I looked up this album, reputed to be their masterpiece, and lo and behold, it was reissued on vinyl about six months ago. So I ordered it sight unseen.<br><br />A quick note in advance to any of this band's defenders who might be tempted to post a spirited flurry of you-don't-get-it-mans in the comment section: I <i>did</i> listen to it more than once. And it still stinks.<br><br />Who decided that this music is space rock? I've actually read that description in more than one place, and you have to be kidding me. There are a couple of points on the album when they just turn on all their guitar pedals for about a minute between songs, but otherwise this is just third-rate post-Nirvana also-ran grunge. Right down to the asinine non-sequiteur titles like "Sergeant Politeness" (<i>so</i> 90s, right?). And it blows. And they're from LA and sound like it.<br><br />I don't even think I would have liked this band when I was in college, and I fell for a lot of alt-rock crap back then. But even in those days I could tell that Dig stunk.<br><br />So fine, I got fooled by the hype. It happens. It's not gonna stop me from buying albums without hearing them first, that's just too much fun. I will not, however, be buying any further Failure LPs. And if anybody wants this one it's in like-new condition, only been played a few times.<p><br /><b>Carole King</b> – <i>Tapestry</i><br>The wife's stepmother was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually own a couple albums that she (a) has heard of and (b) likes.<p><br /><b>Joanna Newsom</b> – <i>Have One On Me</i><br>Still trying. I think I need to sit and listen to it start to finish with the lyric sheet.<br><br />She gave an interview to somebody a while back where she shit-talked a bunch of more mainstream acts. It was unexpected and pretty funny. She called Lady Gaga "Arty Spice", which I thought was a pretty good line.<p><br /><b>Will Oldham</b> – <i>Joya</i>, <b>Bonnie 'Prince' Billy</b> – <i>I See a Darkness</i><br>I never realised how much I used to listen to it, but my copy of <i>Darkness</i> is worn out almost to the point of being unlistenable. I might need to get another copy for the sake of the title track alone.<br><br />Also, I file all of his albums under Oldham, despite the fact that I think <i>Joya</i> is the only one he's released under that name. Should they be under P? B? Separate? Definitely not separate.<p><br /><b>Sigur Ròs</b> – <i>()</i><p><br /><b>Spiritualized</b> – <i>Let It Come Down</i><br>I may have mentioned this before, but I think this one is really J Spaceman's masterpiece. I know most people will say <i>Ladies and Gentlemen</i>, and certainly that's a fantastic album, but I think this one as has more assured songwriting and more confident arrangements. Really, there's not a low point anywhere on this record.<p><br /><b>Neil Young</b> – <i>Harvest</i><p><br /><b>Zola Jesus</b> – <i>The Spoils</i>, <i>Valusia</i>, <b><i>LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus</i></b><br>Yes, the new EP is in fact every bit as awesome as you thought I was going to say it is. She is just unstoppable right now. I think the next full-length blows up. Seriously.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-2539922106788110832010-10-14T01:22:00.002-04:002010-10-14T01:33:29.001-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 10 Oct 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i>Mos Def & Talib Kweli are <b>Black Star</b></i><br>Had a house guest who was raving about a Talib Kweli show she saw recently. I was psyched to pull this one out. She was psyched I had it. Ah ,the Shelf.<p><br /><b>Boris</b> – <i>Pink</i><p><br /><b>David Bowie</b> – <i>Aladdin Sane</i><p><br /><b>Broadcast</b> – <i>Work and Non Work</i><br>This was the one I bought based upon their initial media hype. Better than I remember. The rock crit shorthand on them at the time was Stereolab melodies with Portishead beats, which still doesn't jibe. The beats just aren't there, at least on this record. As for the Stereolab part...<br><br />My initial assessment was that this was a band that was doomed to be labeled Stereolab knockoffs simply because not enough people had heard Pram to realise that they're actually Pram knockoffs. I understand now that this is kind of unfair, as they don't display the same Theremin fetishism that marks Pram's signature sound. Still, this stuff doesn't knock me out.<p><br /><b>Tim Buckley</b> – <i>Blue Afternoon</i><br>Even on his lesser efforts this guy can slay angels with that voice.<p><br /><i><b>John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman</b></i><p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>In a Priest Driven Ambulance</i><p><br /><b>Land Of the Loops</b> – <i>Bundle Of Joy</i><br>So I'm changing my daughter the other day and I notice she's wearing a onesie that says "bundle of joy" on it. And I think, "Y'know, I've got a record called that." So I listened to it. Fun little album. More Stereolab influence, if you're into that. With the beats to match this time.<p><br /><i><b>Led Zeppelin</b> II</i><p><br /><b>The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band</b> – <i>Will the Circle Be Unbroken</i><br>Interesting to note that this album had, at the time, an analagous cultural effect to that of the <i>Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?</i> soundtrack. It briefly brought bluegrass music into the mainstream by highlighting some of its brightest lights, who promptly receded back into the shadows as soon as the hype died away.<br><br />Still, the band were respectful enough that they downplayed their own name on the album packaging, simply listing themselves alongside the Nashville luminaries they had invited as guest performers. This was a big deal at the time, as plenty of California country-rock acts were getting back to their alleged "roots" in the wake of the success of the Byrds <i>Sweetheart Of the Rodeo</i> album. These guys went and found the originators and dragged them into the harsh light of the mainstream. They waved politely, played a few numbers, and retreated.<p><br /><b>Prince</b> – <i>Controversy</i>, <i>Around the World In a Day</i>, <i>Lovesexy</i><br>I threw on <i>Around</i> the other day when we had company over for dinner. D–, it turns out is a big Prince fan, and when I asked if anyone had any requests for the stereo as the Wife served up dessert, he asked whether I had a few other items from the deep catalogue. Naturally, I was more than happy to oblige.<p><br /><b>R.E.M.</b> – <i>Out Of Time</i><br>This one came up primarily because "Losing My Religion" was featured on <i>Glee</i> last week. Not one of R.E.M.'s better records, in my opinion, but I don't want to get to into that now because I'd like to do a full review of their career <i>á la</i> my Neil Young series on of these days.<p><br /><i>Meet <b>the Residents</b></i>, <i>Duck Stab/Buster & Glen</i><br>Yes, I read a Residents biography this week. The Ian Shirley one, which is the only one of which I'm aware of the existence. A bit thin, primarily because he doesn't speak to any of the actual notoriously anonymous Residents themselves, but I think he unwittingly unmasks them anyways. I mean, come on, their sound engineer? That has to be one one of them right?<p><br /><b>The Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Sticky Fingers</i><br>Still my favourite Stones LP, primarily because of Jagger's vocal melodies. "Sway" and "Dead Flowers" are particularly unstoppable. Seriously, this guy could have been in Big Star.<p><br /><b>Sigur Ros</b> – <i>Međ suđ i eyrum viđ spilum endalaust</i>, <b>Jónsi</b> – <i>Go</i><br>I just got the Jónsi album last week, and it made me want to reëvaluate the last Sigur Ros LP. Both are excellent. I think I dismissed the Sigur Ros one based on the single, which is different from their previous stuff, and I respect that blahblahblah, but not as good. Upon further review, most of the tracks hew to the signature sound. I hate to sound like one of those I-like-their-old-stuff-better blowhards, but that's really what they do best.<br><br />The Jónsi record, on the other hand, is where he does a terrific job of taking the band's signature sound and pushing it in interesting new directions. Is his solo work the better bet for the future here? I hope not. I like bands.<p><br /><b>Morrissey</b> – <i>Vauxhall and I</i><br>The argument over best lyricist of all time is one of the few closed debates: it's Dylan, like it or not. The argument over second best is wide open. Stephin Merritt and I would like to nominate Morrissey.<br><br />You are well within your rights to hate Morrissey. I used to dislike his solo work, but excused my love of the Smiths based on the terrific guitar work of Johnny Marr. No sense kidding myself anymore: Morrissey is a genius. And I really think that, Dylan excepted, he's the greatest rock lyricist of all time.<br><br />I hadn't really considered him that way until Merritt referred to him as such in a <i>New York Times</i> piece around the time that Mozza's comeback album came out a few years ago. Merritt called him out for setting his undeniable lyrics against a backdrop of hackneyed, unimaginative music.<br><br />Here, Merritt and I disagree. I think that Morrissey has always been conscious of avoiding trends in popular music in the service of making his music sound timeless. Think about it: of all their contemporaries, the Smiths sound the least like an 80s band.<br><br />But the praise holds up: Morrissey is an absolutely brilliant lyricist. The key, which I didn't understand for so many years, is this: it's supposed to be funny.<br><br />I could go on, and on of these days I will.<p><br /><b>Spacemen 3</b> – <i>Sound Of Confusion</i>, <i>The Perfect Perscription</i><br>I've been waiting so long for these to get reissued. Taang! was supposed to put them out last March but it never happened. So apparently Fire stepped up and filled a massive void on the Shelf.<p><br /><b>Stereolab</b> – <i>Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements</i><br>A hard-fought eBay find inspired by Doug Wolk's essay in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Marooned-Generation-Desert-Island-Discs/dp/B001G8WHCY/ref=pd_sim_b_2">this book</a>.<p><br /><b>Iggy and the Stooges</b> – <i>Raw Power</i><br>I pulled this one out because the Spacemen cover "Little Doll" on their first one, which the Wife recognised while I was playing it. Of course, she recognised it as a Sisters of Mercy song, but that happens a lot, or used to before I began setting her straight. That song's not even on here, by the way, but it's the only Stooges record I have, so I figured I'd play it anyway.<p><br /><b>Swell Maps</b> – <i>Sweep the Desert</i><br>Inarguably the greatest shitty band of all time. I mean, all of their music is mildly crappy, but it's all joyous enough that it ranges from acceptable to awesome. As a result, they have a ton of cheapo outtake comps, and they're all pretty good. This is one of them.<p><br /><b>Neil Young & the Bluenotes</b> – <i>This Note's For You</i><br>Holds up remarkably well. I mean, this album has no business being even halfway good, and it's excellent.<p><br /><b>Zoroaster</b> – <i>Matador</i><br>I came to a sad realisation when I saw these guys a few weeks ago at the Knit in Brooklyn: I'm over doom. I'm just over it. I've heard enough slow power chords and growled vocals for now. I said this to P— when we were hanging out outside between bands. To get me going nowadays, a metal band needs to either really sing (which is why <i>Crack the Skye</i> is my favourite metal record of the last five years at least) or boogie, like the west coast stoner rock bands of about ten years ago. Nebula, where art thou? Then these guys came on and played doom with a funky drummer. That's all it takes. I bought their record, and I like it.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-38842036068319765202010-10-06T16:55:00.002-04:002010-10-06T17:02:00.113-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 3 Oct 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Bad Brains</b> – <i>I Against I</i><p><br /><b>Clinic</b> – <i>Internal Wrangler</i><br>Japan's a weird place to go record shopping. It's also an <i>awesome</i> place, with a seemingly bottomless selection, but I'm talking about price here. Most stuff is comparably priced to the US used market, some a little more, some a little less. But if you look through the bargain bin at any shop (and they all have one), you come across stuff that's way undervalued for no clear reason.<br><br />I found the first two Clinic records for the equivalent of about $3 each. I actually found their first three, but I didn't buy the third. Why? No idea. I guess Clinic just never caught on over there. Maybe they never toured the far east (Far East?).<p><br /><b>The Decemberists</b> – <i>The Hazards Of Love</i><br>Not sure why I'm not head-over-heels for this one. I think Meloy's a terrific songwriter, and I love the conceit of the album-length story, the songs flowing together, etc. I just think the individual songs aren't his finest work. Sometimes it seems like the lyrics are being forced into measures and melody lines where they don't quite fit, which I suspect may be the result of trying to make the story hang together. Still, solid enough to hold up to multiple listens, just not enough to keep me yearning for more every time.<p><br /><b>Bob Dylan</b> – <i>Bringing It All Back Home</i><br>I realise that it's total filler, but "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" is one of my all-time favourite Dylan tracks. Great performance by the band, and some of the punchlines in the lyrics never get old. I think it just shows that in this period Dylan was so on-fire as a writer that even his tossed off afterthoughts are brilliant.<p><br /><b>Fugazi</b> – <i>The Argument</i><br>I was never wild about Fugazi in their heyday, and I regret that now. I never saw tham live, and they probably top my bummer list of acts I actually could have seen (unlike, say, Hendrix). Them or the Grateful Dead.<p><br /><b>Guns N' Roses</b> – <i>Use Your Illusion I</i><br>At our fantasy football draft a few weeks back we listened to Dr. Dre's <i>The Chronic</i> in its entirety for, for me anyway, the first time in many years. The music holds up remarkably well, but what really struck me was the appalling misogyny of the lyrics. I really don't think hip-hop is nearly as bad now, as a whole, as it was twenty years ago in that regard. One would expect something like that to grow steadily worse, but it hasn't. Sure, most of my favourite hip-hop albums of the past few years have their token explicit sex rhyme, but it's not nearly as bad as "Bitches Ain't Shit". Even the Ying Yang Twins' (admittedly awesome) "Wait" was shocking when it came out precisely because we don't hear lyrics that explicit as often as we used to. And I don't think that track would have cause nearly as much of a stir had it come out ten years <i>earlier</i>; it would merely have been one of many.<br><br />I felt the same way listening to "Back Off Bitch" which, it bears mentioning, is musically excellent, with top-notch lead guitar work. But the lyrics are just awful, in a way that, again, you just don't hear these days. Of course, metal's evolved even further from this point that hip-hop, mostly because no one's written a metal song <i>about</i> women in the past ten years, let alone recorded one with coherent vocals.<br><br />My point is that I don't think this is just a matter of me getting older, or having daughters. I think lyrics like this are more shocking nowadays because we don't hear as much of them anymore. And not to sound like a prude, but good riddance. Of course, younger-me would tell now-me to relax and not take it so seriously, but fuck him, what did he know anyway?<p><br /><b>Jesu</b> – <i>Conqueror</i><br>Makes great bedtime music for the girls, but only when Mommy's not around to complain about it.<p><br /><b>Henry Kaiser</b> – <i>Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It</i><br>Not only did Henry Kaiser record a Grateful Dead cover that takes up one whole side of a record, he also got SST to release said record. Not all that surprising if you're familiar with some of the more "deep catalog" items in the SST annals, but pretty weird if you just know it as Black Flag's label.<br><br />Kaiser may have the most interesting where-are-they-now story out of any 80s American indie musician. He's a SCUBA diver doing scientific research in Antarctica. Or was as of a few years ago, when he (barely) appeared in Werner Herzog's <i>Encounters At the End Of the World</i>. And scored it to boot.<p><br /><b>Love & Rockets</b> – <i>Seventh Dream Of a Teenage Heaven</i><p><br /><b>Mercury Rev</b> – <i>Snowflake Midnight/Strange Attractor</i><p><br /><b>The Misfits</b> – <i>Walk Among Us</i><br>The girls weren't as taken with this one as I expected them to be. They seemed a little agitated. Maybe in a few years they'll be more susceptible to the charms of the young Glenn Danzig.<br><br />By the way, if you haven't read "Henry + Glenn Forever" yet, go buy a copy before Danzig sues it out of print.<p><br /><b>Out Hud</b> – <i>Let Us Never Speak Of It Again</i><p><br /><b>Rage Against the Machine</b> – <i>Renegades</i><br>I was never into these guys in their heyday, but I bought this one on a whim when it came out after hearing the lead single and kind of liking it. It's their covers album, and was released shortly after they broke up. I hadn't listened to it in a while, and it's not much different than I remember: great song selection, inconsistent execution. Still, enough high points to make it worth a listen every few years or so.<p><br /><b>Royksopp</b> – <i>Melody A.M.</i><br>The first time I listened to this I was surprised to hear a commercial jingle on side four. The GEICO ad where the caveman is on one of those moving walkways in an airport.<p><br /><b>Underworld</b> – <i>Oblivion With Bells</i><br>Meh. They weren't very good before Karl Emerson joined, they weren't very good after he left. Ah, but those glory years...<p><br /><i><b>The Velvet Underground</b> & Nico</i><br>Do I have the bolding right in the title? Is this a self-titled album by a band called "the Velvet Underground & Nico" or is it an album of that title by a band just called "the Velvet Underground"?<p><br /><i><b>The Who</b> Sell Out/A Quick One (Happy Jack)</i><br>Said it before, I'll say it again: love those cheapo reissues. Just give me the music, I don't care about the packaging.<br><br />By the way, I turned on B—, who's a big 'Oo fan, to Patra Haden's full-length <i>a capella</i> cover version of <i>Sell Out</i> a few weeks back. He's into it. You should be too.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-3942405174927576982010-09-29T17:42:00.002-04:002010-09-29T19:56:11.479-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 26 Sep 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>AMP</b> – <i>Stenorette</i><br>AMP were apparently late-comers to the whole droney post-rock party in the 90s; Kranky put this one out in 1998, but I had never heard of them until a few years ago. I have another album by them that's just two records of straight-up ambient drones, but this one has beats and vocals as well. Kind of indistinguished. If I had first heard this in 1997 I probably would have thought it was awesome, but it wasn't out yet.<p><br /><b>Bowery Electric</b> – <i>Beat</i><br>...aaand speaking of 90s droney post-rock acts on Kranky, here's Bowery Electric. This one did come out in 1997, and I did hear it, and I did think it was awesome. Everything about this band holds up except their curiously unimaginative beat selection once they ditched the drummer and went with just loops. Cool guitar sounds, though.<br><br />There's now a bar/club called Bowery Electric. It's on the Bowery, about a block or two from where CB's used to be. I wonder if it's related. I think the band was primarily a couple, so maybe after they quit the music thing they settled down together and opened a bar. Total speculation, I have no idea.<p><br /><b>Broadcast</b> – <i>Pendulum</i> EP<br>This band got some buzz when Drag City put out a comp of their early EPs, but I didn't like it. So I kind of ignored them, but everything I've heard by them since then I've liked. This one's no exception.<br><br />Interesting to note that their inarguable best song isn't on any of their albums, it's a Warp compilation exclusive called "A Hammer Without a Master" from the Warp 100 comp. Okay, not that interesting.<p><br /><b>Cheap Trick</b> – <i>Dream Police</i><br>Terrific artwork. I don't think bands have costumes designed specifically for their album cover shoots anymore.<p><br /><b>Stormcrow/Coffins</b> split EP<br>I'm filing this under Coffins because theirs is the better of two sides by bands I've never heard of otherwise, but neither is particularly good. Coffins may even be more disappointing because they appear to be Japanese. I always expect better from the Japanese. Heavier, louder, more extreme, whatever.<p><br /><b>Fluke</b> – <i>Six Wheels On My Wagon</i><br>Trancey ambient house from a few years before the whole electronica thing. Actually some really good stuff on here.<p><br /><b>godspeed you black emperor!</b> – <i>lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven</i><br>Where'd these guys go? I guess this one will always remain their masterpiece.<p><br /><b>Grand Funk Railroad</b> – <i>Closer To Home</i><br>Now that's more like it.<br><br />Incidentally, this one has "Sin's a Good Man's Brother" on it, which might be the single best riff Farner ever wrote, but I don't even think their's is the best version of that song. Check out the cover on Suck's seminal <i>Time To Suck</i>.<p><br /><b>Jamie Lidell</b> – <i>Multiply</i><br>Eat your heart out, Amy Winehouse.<p><br /><b>Mercury Rev</b> – <i>Deserter's Songs</i><p><br /><b>Willie Nelson</b> – <i>Country Willie</i><p><br /><b>Pavement</b> – <i>Wowee Zowee</i><br>This album holds up remarkably well, but I have no idea whether or not it's purely a product of its time. I remember it seeming that way when it first came out. I have no idea what someone hearing this album for the first time today would make of it. Probably the same thing I did, really, which was, "What a fucking mess." It took a while for this one to make sense. Would someone hearing it today be willing to give it sufficient time to sink in? I guess it would depend on whether they were already Pavement fans. The albums before and after this one in the catalogue are far more accessible, so perhaps if they liked one of those first.<br><br />G— saw these guys in Central Park last week and loved it, said it was one of the best reunion shows he's seen. I had curiously low expectations for the whole tour, but what do I know. It must have been pretty great, because if there's anybody who loves looking for reasons to hate shit, it's G—.<p><br /><b>Primal Scream</b> – <i>Screamadelica</i><br>It's almost amazing how well this album holds up. This should the be the most dated slab of also-ran hackery on the Shelf, yet somehow the years do nothing to tarnish its in-the-moment freshness. What's more amazing is that the Scream, who collectively have little discernable talent other than an ability to spot trends early and impeccable taste in producers, have managed to make multiple excellent albums over the course of their wildly inconsistent (and still going) career. Never two in a row, but that's part of the fun, really.<p><br /><b>Quasi</b> – <i>The Sword Of God</i><p><br /><b>Wilco</b> – <i>A Ghost Is Born</i><br>Had this on in the backkground the other day with the wife, kids and parents all hanging out in the living room. Reasonable volume. Made it all the way through that long drone on side four without anyone saying a word about it. It was all I could hear the whole time, I couldn't concentrate on anything else, but no one else even seemed to notice. I have no idea what this means.<p><br /><b>Wire</b> – <i>Chairs Missing</i><br>The label on side two of my copy is so far off-center that it partly covers the last song ("Too Late"), so the record makes hideous static noises as the needle runs over paper while the song winds down. It's a 4 Men With Beards reissue. I wonder if they'd replace it. I've never asked.<br><br />By the way, is it possible this album is even better than <i>Pink Flag</i>?<p><br /><i>LA Vampires Meets <b>Zola Jesus</b></i><br>I'm filing this with my other Zola J records because I don't have any LA Vampires albums and because she's the reason I bought it. Not as great as her solo stuff.<br><br />By the way, she's got a new EP out on Sacred Bones and it has "Sea Talk" on it, which is the most fantastic song I've heard this year other than Roll Deep's "Green Light". And maybe Robyn's "Hang With Me". <i>Maybe</i>.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-67839716490363987912010-09-22T23:18:00.002-04:002010-09-22T23:28:42.416-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 18 Sep 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Sunday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.<br><br />Oh, and one other weird note: apparently I now have a reader. Welcome to the shelf, K—.</i><p><br /><b>Panda bear</b> – <i>Person Pitch</i><br>Because he gets filed with Animal Collective, that's why.<p><br /><b>Blur</b> – <i>Modern Life Is Rubbish</i><br>A good album, but not a great one. If we're going to get into Radiohead analogies (and we are), this is definitely Blur's <i>The Bends</i>. The first album was the one-hit work of a group of also-rans clinging to the coattails of someone else's scene, while the second the unexpected work of a mature band with a distinct sound of their own. It announced them as a band to be watched, with the potential for greatness in the near future. As with <i>The Bends</i>, it came on the next album.<br><br />Incidentally, <i>Blur</i> is their <i>Kid A</i> and <i>13</i> their <i>Amnesiac</i>, but Radiohead doesn't have a <i>The Great Escape</i>.<p><br /><b>Grand Funk Railroad</b> – <i>Grand Funk Lives</i><br>Not a live album, as the title seems to imply, rather a comeback album from the early 80s. Not especially good. Reportedly a great album if you were a major GFR fan in the 70s, and every bit the comeback it was intended to be. Not sure why I have this. Nor why I listened to it last week. Lord knows I have some far better Grand Funk records than this.<p><br /><b>Guided By Voices</b> – <i>Bee Thousand</i><br>My brother was in town last week, and I happened to be listening to a pile of 7"es. He asked, "So they all just have one song on each side?" I said yes, usually, but showed him an exception: GBV's <i>Fast Japanese Spin Cycle</i> EP, which packs eight songs into seven tiny inches. I played it and he thought the band was (a) hilarious and (b) pretty good. So I threw on this one.<br><br />What I love about this album, and what I think you can't truly understand the greatness of without knowing the context of the album in the band's career trajectory, is the way the band kicks in on the first song. The band had by that point spent nearly a decade self-releasing about a half-dozen albums that were roundly ignored. Then came <i>Vampire On Titus</i>, which got them a little bit of fanzine buzz, but not much more.<br><br />So they go to record the follow-up, knowing that at the very least someone's going to listen to it. They've got a bit of momentum from the last album, so they have to know that if this one's any good, the groundwork's already been laid for strong word of mouth.<br><br />So they're recording a number called "Hardcore UFOs", the arrangement of which consists of a verse and chorus accompanied only by a guitar, followed by the band kicking in full-strength for the second verse. But at the moment the band starts playing, the guitar cuts out completely. It sounds like it just came unplugged by accident or something. So do they do another take, try to get it just right? No. Not only do they keep that take, they make it the opening cut on the new album, their one and potentially only shot at the big time. God bless GBV.<p><br /><b>Junior Boys</b> – <i>So This Is Goodbye</i><p><br /><b>Justice</b> – <i>†</i><br>If you're using Windows, it's Alt+[Num]0134.<p><br /><b>Led Zeppelin</b> – <i>Houses Of the Holy</i><br>Used to be my favourite Zep record, now I'm not so sure. M—, the biggest Zep fan I know, hates "The Crunge" and calls <i>Houses</i> the first Zep album with filler. I think he may be giving <i>III</i> too much credit.<br><br />Incidentally, the title track appears on a different album (<i>Physical Graffiti</i>). I can't think offhand of any other title track-album title disconnects like that.<p><br /><b>Massive Attack</b> – <i>Protection</i><br>Massive's one of those acts whose first album was so amazingly great that they wound up setting the bar too high for themselves, so all subsequest records are seen as not living up to some impossible standard. Nas is like that too. He always gets bagged on for never matching <i>Illmatic</i>, but I mean, who could?<p><br /><b>Minutemen</b> – <i>What Makes a Man Start Fires?</i><p><br /><b>Monster Movie</b> – <i>Everyone Is a Ghost</i><p><br /><i><b>Queen</b></i><p><br /><b>Radiohead</b> – <i>Hail To the Thief</i><br>This, inarguably, is their <i>Hail To the Thief</i>. Or is <i>this</i> one their <i>The Great Escape</i>? Actually, both albums are their makers' respective <i>Human After All</i>.<p><br /><b>Silver Jews</b> – <i>American Water</i><p><br /><b>Spacemen 3</b> – <i>Playing With Fire</i><p><br /><i>The Tired Sounds Of <b>Stars Of the Lid</b></i><p><br /><i><b>The Stone Roses</b></i><p><br /><b>Times New Viking</b> – <i>Dig Yourself</i><br>Two notes about this one:<br><br /><ol><li>I ordered this direct from Siltbreeze and had it delivered to my office in New York, since that's the most reliable address I have for receiving packages. But I didn't realise how near my house in Philly is to Siltbreeze. Same ZIP code, in fact. So I had a bunch of records shipped from an address about a ten minute walk from my house to my office a hundred miles away, then brought them back to my house. I wonder if the Siltbreeze guy would let me just come pick up my next order. I'm told he works at the PREx on 5th Street.</li><br /><li>The production credits include the line "Lovingly fucked with by Mike 'Rep' Hummel". On the Guided By Voices live album <i>Crying Your Knife Away</i>, Bob Pollard at one point drunkenly (natch) asks the crowd, "Where the fuck is Mike Hummel?" Both bands are from Ohio. Same guy?</li></ol><p><br /><b>U2</b> – <i>Zooropa</i><br>I was completely dismissive of this album when it first came out even though I loved <i>Achtung Baby</i>. I just found it on vinyl recently and must say I was completely wrong: this is an excellent album at best, a flawed but intriguing experiment at worst.<br><br />And it's also... their <i>Kid A</i>. Seriously, I was listening to this last week when this occurred to me. Then I got an email from K— saying he had read a bunch of old posts on this site and was taking issue with my characterisation of the Flaming Lips' <i>Embryonic</i> as "their <i>Kid A</i>". Funny coincidence.<br><br />But really, you can probably apply that tag to a lot of albums by a lot of different bands, and Radiohead's was both so shocking and simultaneously so good that it's become the gold standard for that sort of daring, potentially career-killing aesthetic move. But before there was <i>Kid A</i>, there was <i>Zooropa</i>.<br><br />The analogy works on a couple of levels. Both bands were at the height of their careers both in terms of commercial success and critical praise, having just released game-changing albums that would challenge their audience while standing the test of time as daring yet accessible artistic statements (<i>Achtung Baby</i> and <i>OK Computer</i>, in case you've forgotten, which you probably haven't, which, like I said about standing the test of time...). So they both release albums on which they subvert conventional songwriting by basing their songs around sounds rather than melodic hooks. The albums are greeted with skepticism at first, but ultimately come to be viewed as one of the best in each band's catalogue. There's further analogies you can draw here, but it's late and I don't feel like going on too long.<br><br />One other oddly coincidental note: both the previous albums were so iconic that they inspired other bands to parody their titles. David Bowie's Tin Machine have a live album called <i>Oy Vey, Baby</i>, and TV On the Radio's first demo tape was called <i>OK Calculator</i>.<p><br /><b>Wire</b> – <i>Pink Flag</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-40966511009453114002010-09-15T17:50:00.001-04:002010-09-15T17:52:25.534-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 12 Sep 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>Beck</b> – <i>Modern Guilt</i><br>I hadn't bought a new Beck album in probably ten years when this came out. I really liked the single and was intrigued by Danger Mouse's involvement, so I picked it up. It's solid, but not great. Not as much hip-hop elements as you'd expect given the producer, more psych-pop over all. The single's still the best song, and I'm not sure I could hum any others. I guess the fact that I pulled it off the shelf says something, but perhaps it says that B artists are filed at eye-level.<p><br /><b>Black Mountain</b> – <i>In the Future</i><br>Ordered this on a whim without ever having heard of these guys because they happened to be promoting it on Jagjaguwar's website when I went to order an Oneida album. It's pretty solid 70s boogie rock with a spacey edge. I didn't remember how good side three was until today; the shorter songs on the first two sides had been the ones that stuck with me. Love that Hammond B3.<p><br /><b>M83</b> – <i>Saturdays=Youth</i><br>Anthony Gonzalez, for as much time as he spends getting lost in his own ridiculously overwrought album concepts (a lot), still makes beautiful sounds and occasionally knocks out a killer single. "Graveyard Girl": best neo-shoegaze song of the previous decade? Or was it "Ageless Beauty"? Discuss.<p><br /><b>Mercury Rev</b> – <i>Deserter's Songs</i><p><br /><b><i>Portishead</i></b><p><br /><b>Rachel's</b> – <i>Selenography</i><p><br /><b>Royksopp</b> – <i>The Understanding</i><p><br /><b>Russian Circles</b> – <i>Geneva</i><p><br /><b>The Smiths</b> – <i>Louder Than Bombs</i><p><br /><b>Squarepusher</b> – <i>Go Plastic</i><br>Not his best album by a long shot, but "My Red Hot Car" is easily his best single, perfectly balancing all the 'Pusher signature sounds: painstakingly programmed Amen beats, slick fretless bass work and juvenile humour.<p><br /><b>Spank Rock</b> – <i>YoYoYoYoYoYo</i><br>Amazing how well this holds up given Naeem Juwan's obvious limitations as an MC. Goes to show just how far attitude can take you. Attitude and a fetish for killer old-school synth noises.<p><br /><b>Wu-Tang Clan</b> – <i>Wu-Tang Forever</i><br>I've probably never listened to all eight sides of this in one sitting, but I know all of the songs because when I do listen to it I always pick a random side and throw it on. This time I tried starting at the beginning and going all the way through. Think I made it through side three. What can I say, I'm a busy man. Hadn't listened to side one in years. It's terrible. Side three remains awesome.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-72911651327654063032010-09-02T12:30:00.002-04:002010-09-02T12:34:15.001-04:00<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i><b>Black Sabbath Vol. 4</b></i><br>B— asked me the other night to name my favourite Sabbath record. We both agreed it comes down to this one or <i>Masters Of Reality</i>. I give the edge to this one based solely on "Supernaut": best riff evah!<br><br />This led to an argument over whether "Changes" rules or is wussy bullshit. I say Ozzy's never written a bad ballad, so you can guess where I stand on this one. I even like "Dreamer".<p><br /><b>Cat Power</b> – <i>You Are Free</i><br>Probably my least favourite CP record, although C— insists that it's her best, I'm an idiot, blahblahblah. That latter sentiment he expresses a lot.<br><br />I played this one hoping it would be a good "go to bed, girls" album, but it's not particularly gentle. I guess since it's my least favourite I hadn't listened to it much. Or is it the other way around?<p><br /><b>Cornershop</b> – <i>Woman's Gotta Have It</i><br>The opening/closing track on this one holds up really well. I remember seeing them open for Superchunk and playing like a fifteen minute version. The crowd was nonplussed, to say the least.<p><br /><b>Del the Funky Homosapien</b> – <i>Both Sides Of the Brain</i><br>I was listening to this the other day and heard a guitar sample that I couldn't place and was killing me. It took me over an hour to figure out it's the Velvet Underground. Awesome. And that one's not listed on <a href= "http://www.whosampled.com/sampled/The%20Velvet%20Underground/">WhoSampled</a> yet. Must rectify that.<p><br /><b>Missy Misdemeanor Elliott</b> – <i>Da Real World</i><p><br /><b>Gang Gang Dance</b> – <i>God's Money</i><br>This one's supposed to be their masterpiece, but I think I prefer <i>Saint Dymphna</i>. I've only played this one a few times, but it has yet to leave much of an impression.<p><br /><b>KMD</b> – <i>Mr. Hood</i><br>Know who was in this band? MF Doom. Seriously, he's Zev Love X. Little trivia for you there.<p><br /><i><b>Krallice</b></i><br>The closing track is maybe my favourite black metal song ever. Is that bullshit if it's American second wave stuff? Does it need to be old school Norwegian to be the best?<p><br /><b>LCD Soundsystem</b> – <i>This Is Happening</i><br>I've always liked Murphy's stuff no matter how cooler than thou he gets. I don't know anyone who likes his music that's not an over-30 New Yorker, but I am, so I like it. It speaks to me and maybe just me. I also think that, since that demographic must include well over half the country's pop music critics, that's why his media coverage far outweighs his sales.<br><br />Anyway, sadly, while I liked his first two records, I've listened to this one a few times and I'm still waiting for it to grow on me. I have a feeling it might just stink.<p><br /><b>Main Source</b> – <i>Breaking Atoms</i><p><br /><b>Oneida</b> – <i>Rated O</i><br>Too long? I have a feeling an Oneida album can never be. This one's s'posed to be part two of a trilogy. I hope the finale's a quintuple.<p><br /><b>Shinichi Osawa</b> – <i>The One</i><p><br /><b>Procol Harum</b> – <i>Shine On Brightly</i><p><br /><i><b>The Rolling Stones, Now!</b></i><p><br /><b>Souls Of Mischief</b> – <i>93 'Til Infinity</i><br><i>Finally</i> got reissued. I've been waiting for this one for<i>ever</i>. And it holds up really well. Not a weak track on there.<p><br /><b>Spacemen 3</b> – <i>Playing With Fire</i><p><br /><b>Wavves</b> – <i>Wavvves</i><p><br /><b>Wrath Of the Weak</b> – <i>Alogon</i><br>This is one of those records I bought without having any idea who the band is, just because I was ordering something else from their label (<a href="http://www.profoundlorerecords.com//index.php?option=com_ezcatalog&task=viewcategory&id=1&Itemid=99999999">Profound Lore</a>, but it looks like they're already out of it, <i>chumps</i>). I still have no idea who they are but this album is <i>awesome</i>. Think a cross between black metal and straight up noise. Like Horrid Cross but not as lo-fi. It's almost too monochromatic to really be brutal, it more trance-like. No copyright date, by the way, so I don't even know if it came out this year, but if it did then it'smy favourite album of the year so far.<p><br /><b>X-Ecutioners</b> – <i>Built from Scratch</i><p><br /><b>Yeasayer</b> – <i>ODDBLOOD</i><br>Bitterly disappointing. Sounds completely different from the first one, which is admirable in it's own way, but not a good album. And I really liked that first one, anti-Brooklyn backlash be damned. I think they really should have replaced the drummer instead of going with the programmed beats when the old one left.<br><br />Oh, also, that video with Kristen Bell sucks.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-89256737012279141072010-08-01T13:37:00.003-04:002010-08-12T14:10:51.231-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 26 July 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile. We've been out of town for the last couple of weekends, so this is really three abbreviated weeks' worth.</i><p><br /><b>Cabaret Voltaire</b> – <i>The Crackdown</i><br>Some interesting ideas here, but man, those 80s drum machines sound <i>so</i> dated. Even after the nostalgic revival we were treated to just a few years ago they still leave an unmistakeable mark wherever they're used.<p><br /><i><b>Cheap Trick</b></i><p><br /><b>John Coltrane</b> – <i>Giant Steps</i><p><br /><b>Coltrane, Jaspar, Sulieman, Young</b> – <i>Interplay For 2 Trumpets and 2 Tenors</i><p><br /><b>Bob Dylan</b> – <i>Blonde On Blonde</i><p><br /><b>Brian Eno</b> – <i>Ambient 1: Music For Airports</i>, <i>Before and After Science</i><br>Eno struggled for over a year to complete <i>Science</i>, and considered it a major disappointment. He was refuted by the critics, who generally lauded it as yet another triumph for Eno. I think I side with Eno on this one; nothing particularly memorable here.<p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Clouds Taste Metallic</i><br>The Flaming Lips considered this one something of a disappointment as well. Frontman Wayne Coyne in particular felt his lyrics were too whimsical. Here I disagree. The lyrics are... fine, the drumming, guitar sounds and vocal meodies terrific.<p><br /><b>Isis</b> – <i>Panopticon</i><p><br /><b>Mercury Rev</b> – <i>Deserter's Songs</i><br>When it's time to feed our daughters one last time and get ready to put them to bed, the wife always insists that we dim the lights and put on quieter music to get them in a bedtime mood. Usually this means an awful CD of synthesized xylophones programmed to ruin Pixies songs, which the wife likes and assures me that the girls enjoy as well. This is because she's quite convinced that the girls' tastes in music match hers exactly, and that most of Daddy's music is too loud and/or annoying. In an effort to avoid having to once more suffer through the ritual castration of "Debaser" by digital glockenspiels, I'm constantly trying to come up with quiet music from the Shelf that we all might enjoy together. <i>Deserter's</i> has been a (quietly) roaring success on this front.<p><br /><i>Great Moments With <b>Charles Mingus</b></i><br>The collectors' desire for things like original pressings has always eluded me. I have no problem with cheapo reissues, as long as I get the music. This has been a spot of good luck as far as my fanhood of Mingus goes, as I have managed to gather no less than three dubious double-LP compilations which consist of little more than two whole albums repackaged as one under a new title, cheaply priced to bilk the unenlightened. Thus I now own the seminal <i>Black Saint and the Sinner Lady</i> and <i>Mingus</i>x5 albums in one convenient package with a 7.99 price tag still affixed to the cover. An original press of either of this albums alone can rarely be found for less than triple that price, but who wants a shitty reissue version? This guy, that's who.<p><br /><b>Pink Floyd</b> – <i>A Nice Pair</i><br>See above. First two Floyd albums in one convenient package, and with tasteless cover art to boot. Not quite as great a bargain at 19.99, but still cheaper than both albums individually.<p><br /><b>Pixies</b> – <i>Doolittle</i><br>Sounds significantly better with loud guitars and screamed vocals, since you asked.<p><br /><i><b>The Residents</b> Present the Third Reich 'n Roll</i><p><br /><b>The Rolling Stones</b> – <i>Aftermath</i><p><br /><b>Phil Manzanera</b> – <i>Diamond Head</i><br>Seemingly out of alphabetical order because he's getting filed with the Roxy Music LPs. Sorry Phil, but you'll always be the dude from Roxy. Not like Eno.<p><br /><b>Santana</b> – <i>Abraxas</i><p><br /><b>Sigur Ros</b> – <i>Agætis Byrjun</i>, <i>()</i><br>More ammo in the war against digital xylophones.<p><br /><b>Spiritualized</b> – <i>Lazer Guided Melodies</i><br>Why yes, the <i>Ladies and Gentlemen</i> show on Friday <i>was</i> fantastic.<p><br /><b>St. Etienne</b> – <i>Only Love Can Break Your Heart</i> 12"<p><br /><b>Steely Dan</b> – <i>Can't Buy a Thrill</i><p><br /><b>Superchunk</b> – <i>No Pocky For Kitty</i><p><br /><b>T. Rex</b> – <i>The Slider</i><p><br /><b>Talking Heads</b> – <i>Fear Of Music</i><p><br /><b>U2</b> – <i>War</i>, <i>Under a Blood Red Sky</i><p><br /><b>Neil Young & Crazy Horse</b> – <i>Zuma</i>, <i>Live At the Fillmore East</i><br>It kind of pisses me off how Young's constantly extolling the virtues of analogue recording and vynil LPs, then turns around and charges $32 for single albums. Screw you, Neil. Thankfully I picked up <i>Fillmore</i> on sale, so it was still expensive but at least within the realm of reasonable. $20, maybe? It was a good sale.Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-32929548780681722442010-07-05T15:33:00.005-04:002010-08-01T12:53:10.795-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 5 July 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b><i>Acetone</i></b><p><br /><b>Black Moth Super Rainbow</b> – <i>Eating Us</i><p><br /><b>OOIOO</b> – <i>Armonico Heva</i><p><br /><b>David Bowie</b> – <i>Low</i>, <i>Heroes</i><p><br /><b>The Byrds</b> – <i>The Notorious Byrd Brothers</i><p><br /><b>Elvis Costello</b> – <i>Trust</i><p><br /><b>Brian Eno</b> – <i>Ambient 1: Music For Airports</i><p><br /><b>David Byrne-Brian Eno</b> – <i>My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts</i><p><br /><b>Method Man & Redman</b> – <i>Blackout!</i><p><br /><b><i>Charles Mingus</b> At the Bohemia</i><p><br /><b>The Popguns</b> – <i>Landslide</i> 12"<p><br /><b>Psychic Ills</b> – <i>Catoptric</i><p><br /><b>Quasi</b> – <i>The Sword Of God</i><p><br /><b>Talking Heads</b> – <i>Remain In Light</i><p><br /><b>U2</b> – <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i><p><br /><i><b>The Velvet Underground</b></i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-11301850622800895462010-07-01T17:16:00.007-04:002010-07-05T15:34:09.341-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 28 June 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile. By the way, last weekend I was out of town.</i><p><br /><b><i>The Beatles</b>, The Alternate Revolver</i><br>Apparently there's a whole series of these <i>Alternate</i> bootlegs made up of outtakes of each track from a particular album. None of these are particularly revelatory, but as a Beatles fan, they're kind of all you've got. I mean, they quit touring in '66, so it's not like there's a near-infinite number of live bootlegs out there like you've got with the Dead, the Stones, Springsteen, etc. As for these versions? They're... not as good as the album, but interesting.<p><br /><b>Blur</b> – <i>Modern Life Is Rubbish</i>, <i>Parklife</i><p><br /><b>Eno</b> – <i>Another Green World</i><br>Credited only to "Eno", not "Brian Eno". As was all of his work in the early 70s, even the credits on the first couple of Roxy albums. The first one credited to "Brian" was... I can't remember, and I just read it in that bio I've been reading.<p><br /><b>Fripp & Eno</b> – <i>No Pussyfooting</i><br>He also always takes the second credit on duo collaborations. Not something I read, something I noticed.<p><br /><b>Ladytron</b> – <i>Velocifero</i><p><br /><b>Nachtmystium</b> – <i>Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I</i><br>That pun in the title sucks.<p><br /><b>The Pretty Things</b> – <i>S.F. Sorrow</i><br>How did I miss this one? I was way into 60s psychedelia in college and I never heard this record. How is this <i>still</i> flying under the radar to this day? Great record, by the way.<p><br /><b>The Refused</b> – <i>The Shape Of Punk To Come</i><br>This might be one of the most accurate album titles of all time. It really does sound like nothing else that came out at the time, but sounds exactly like tons of hardcore bands ten years later. It's fucking uncanny, one of those albums that basically single-handedly invented an entire subgenre. So how does it hold up? The riffs still kick ass, but the electronica interludes sound dated and really kill the momentum. Overall grade: B.<p><br /><b><i>Roxy Music</i></b>, <i>For Your Pleasure</i><br>The most surprsing thing about listening to the first two Roxy records today is that the coolest moments are the extended guitar and sax solos. Not Ferry's songwriting, not Eno's synth shit, just the old-fashioned arena rock.<p><br /><b>Sigur Ros</b> – <i>()</i><br>This is either the best or worst album title of all time, but it's nothing in between.<p><br /><b>Sonic Youth</b> – <i>Dirty</i> [box set]<br>This remains (a) the most underrated Sonic LP, and (b) the best sellout album of all time. It sounds like contemporary grunge rock, they got Butch Vig to produce, but there's still some pretty harsh, uncompromising elements (the opening seconds, for instance).<br><br />I think it's one flaw has always been that it's too long. Not that there's bad songs or a lot of filler, but some great ideas get repeated more times than necessary. The box set sequence, which restores some outtakes, only exacerbates this problem, good as those outtakes are. One of the earliest examples of the CD age producing albums that are about ten minutes too long. Forty-five minutes was just right.<p><br /><b>U2</b> – <i>Achtung, Bbay</i><br>It baffles me that U2 haters (and there are, understandably, many) could actually listen to this masterpiece and not compromise their stance. Still fresh, possibly even better now than it was twenty years ago. Actually nineteen years; expect a 20th anniversary deluxe reissue next year about this time.<p><br /><b>The Velvet Underground</b> – <i>The Quine Tapes</i> [box set]<br>Yes A—, you're right, it costs too much. But it's the fucking Velvets, and it's awesome, and it's worth every penny, because it's twelve sides of vinyl and five of those sides are entirely "Sister Ray".<p><br /><b>The Wedding Present</b> – <i>Brassneck</i> EP<br>This is the one with the Pavement cover. Also their first time working with Albini.<p><br /><i>Wierd Compilation Volume II: Analogue Electronic Music 2008</i><br>Not as jaw-droppingly awesome as <i>Volume I</i>, but what could be?Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-69202643725874924812010-06-14T15:43:00.005-04:002010-07-05T15:34:20.485-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 14 June 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><i><b>Mos Def & Talib Kweli</b> Are Black Star</i><p><br /><b>DJ Shadow</b> – <i>Endtroducing...</i><br>Yeah, it's a little long and there's some filler, but the strong stuff holds up really well. Impressive for a genre that tends to date poorly.<p><br /><b>Animal Collective</b> – <i>Merriweather Post Pavilion</i><br>The wife like "Summertime Clothes". She says it's the first track she's heard by them that sounds like more than just a bunch of hype. She doesn't even let herself get sentimental about "My Girls", an angle I've tried to push more than once. Shameless, I know.<p><br /><b>The Beatles</b> – <i>Let It Be</i><p><br /><b>The Bee Gees</b> – <i>Idea</i><br>Title track opens with the sickest piano riff, I can't believe it hasn't been sampled yet. Has it? Anyone?<p><br /><b>Daryl Hall and John Oates</b> – <i>Bigger Than Both Of Us</i><br>Philly massive. It's the one with "Rich Girl" on it.<p><br /><b>Jesu</b> – <i>Heart Ache</i><p><br /><b>Mogwai</b> – <i>Come On Die Young</i><p><br /><b>Van Morrison</b> – <i>St. Dominic's Preview</i><p><br /><b>Pixies</b> – <i>Doolittle</i><br>M— and D— gave us this wretched CD of Pixies songs played as lullabyes. Ugh. The wife loves it. I'll stick with the originals, thanks. Hopefully the girls will follow suit. I can't imagine ever liking children's music. So pandering.<p><br /><b>Psychic Ills</b> – <i>Mirror Eye</i><br>Not as good as <i>Dins</i>. I just got it, maybe a few more listens.<p><br /><b>Saviors</b> – <i>Into Abbadon</i><br>This album rocks. Super stripped down no-frills riffage, old-school heaviness start to finish. Saw these guys open for High On Fire a couple years back. No idea if they're still around.<p><br /><b>Sonic Youth</b> – <i>Bad Moon Rising</i><br>Picked this one up for around $12 in Tokyo last year. Possibly the highlight of the trip. That or the beer girls with kegs strapped to their backs at the baseball game.<p><br /><b>Spiritualized</b> – <i>Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space</i><br>Just got tickets for this show at Radio City this summer, taking the wife, got Mom lined up to babysit. What more could you ask?<p><br /><b>Trans Am</b> – <i>Surrender To the Night</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2097178114912207478.post-71640386320438748532010-06-06T00:24:00.005-04:002010-07-05T15:34:32.141-04:00Stuff I Listened To Last Week – 7 June 2010<i>Every time I listen to a record, I leave it next to the stereo. On Monday, before I go back to work, I re-file them all. Below are the contents of this week's pile.</i><p><br /><b>The Bee Gees</b> – <i>Odessa</i><br>Yes, plenty of other bands have released two-LP concept albums. But how many have had red velvet sleeves?<p><br /><b>Brian Eno</b> – <i>Here Come the Warm Jets</i><br>Just started reading a new Eno bio, so I'll be hitting a bunch of these in the next couple of weeks.<p><br /><b>The Flaming Lips</b> – <i>Embryonic</i><br>The Lips are one of my favourite acts of all time, but I'm still trying to figure this one out. The songs are slippery, tough to grasp, tough to remember after they end. They seem to be built from riffs and sounds rather than vocal hooks, which is a big shift for this band. I think this is their <i>Kid A</i>.<br><br />I've just started noticing themes repeating from one song to another, so I know there's a grand plan at work here, I just haven't fully sussed it out yet. Hard work, but fun work.<p><br /><b>Gang Gang Dance</b> – <i>Saint Dymphna</i><p><br /><b>Jay-Z</b> – <i>The Black Album</i><p><br /><b>King Crimson</b> – <i>In the Court Of the Crimson King</i><br>M— picked this one out the other night when he come over to hang out and see the girls. Nice choice. I had just grabbed <i>Warm Jets</i>. M— didn't even realise that Fripp and Eno had collaborated, so it was just a coincidence. That could probably happen with Eno and about half the records I own. OK, a third, but still.<p><br /><b><i>Krallice</i></b><br>Finally saw these guys live last week and they were awesome. Too short, but great while it lasted. It's weird how trancey black metal can be when it's really loud.<br><br />By the way, Profound Lore, hurry up and put their new one out on vinyl. And the last YOB album. And everything by Cobalt. Get on that shit. Who the hell still buys CDs anyway?<p><br /><b>M.I.A.</b> – <i>Arular</i>, <i>Kala</i><br>Honestly, I really don't think the Lynn Hirschberg piece was that harsh. There's a few digs here and there, but really, who among us didn't already know that M.I.A.'s revolutionary schtick is bullshit? And when you get down to it, what popular artist's schtick, from midwestern Jewish nerd Robert Zimmerman to posh English business student Michael Jagger, <i>isn't</i> bullshit? The music holds up, and whether or not she's the one doing the creative heavy lifting, she's clearly the one whose vision is in charge.<br><br />And another thing: I pronounce it "MY-uh" and no one's telling me otherwise. It's her first name, for sobbing out loud.<p><br /><b>Saint Etienne</b> – <i>Foxbase Alpha</i>, <i>So Tough</i><br>The <i>Tiger Bay</i> reissue's finally out, but I don't know whether they're doing the vinyl or not. I'm not sure that one ever came out in the first place.<p><br /><b>Uncle Tupelo</b> – <i>Still Feel Gone/March 16-20, 1992</i>Bjorn Randolphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17825144731578959198noreply@blogger.com0