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Dusty Chalk
12-14-2004, 06:30 AM
Depeche Mode, Remixes 81...04 -- I got a little bit remixed out on these guys, but I've taken a break, so...what can I say? I had to get this. One of my favourite bands. Some interesting versions.

Magnetic Fields, i -- catchy, accessible, clever, interesting

Yoko Kanno, Be Human (Ghost in the Shell Stand-Alone Complex soundtracky thingy) -- lot of fun nibblets on here ("Where's Rocky?", etc.) mostly of the Tachikoma-inspired variety.

Barry Adamson + Pan Sonic, Motorlab 3 -- mostly a Pan Sonic album, sounds like the source material was BA's.

Future Bible Heroes, The Lonely Robot, Eternal Youth, and Memories of Love -- what can I say? I was in a Stephen Merritt mood. After hearing that Memories of Love was one of a friend of mine's top albums ever, and his favourite Stephen Merritt release, I had to revisit this one, and it is quite good.

Styrofoam, Nothing's Lost -- probably refers to the amount of guest participants -- one would normally be afraid that one's work would get diluted, but nothing's lost. A very good Styrofoam album.

Le Fly Pan Am, N'Ecoutez Pas -- strange little album.

Tanakh, Dieu Deuil and Tanakh -- two album by the same group couldn't be more different -- the former is "slowcore", the latter is noisy and experimental. They are both good, but I would only recommend the latter to people of my ilk.

Chroma Key, Graveyard Mountain Home -- different enough from Ghost Book that I can see why he would release this as a Chroma Key album, and the latter not. Medigs.

The Faint, Wet from Birth -- this is growing on me. I don't think it'll ever outgrow Danse Macabre, but think about it as the difficult sophomore album. A very very good difficult sophomore album. It's still a lot better than a lot of other crap.

Code Mesa, CD Select Vols. I & II -- such beautiful music. She's turned to soundtrack work, and I can definitely see it working. I hope it becomes lucrative for her, because I'd love to hear more from her. A lot more.

Soil & Eclipse, Meridian -- can you imagine a crooner/industrial hybrid? Alright, yeah, it sounds a lot like Depeche Mode...which ain't necessarily a bad thing.

v/a, Apocalypse Attack Patterns (I think) -- a pretty cool sampler, including You Shriek, SMP, and Any Questions?.

Damn The Machine -- I don't know, I just felt like revisiting this one. Pretty cool alterna-metal from the time.

T.H.C., Death by Design -- experimental industrial from back in the Fifth Colvmn days.

Stone Roses, Second Coming -- this is so much better than their first album.

KK.Null, Kosmik Engine -- some nice dynamic work from the master of Japanoise.

Bill Horist & KK.Null, Interstellar Chemistry -- a "groovier" work from a collaboration including the master of Japanoise.

Akufen, My Way -- excellent album. Microhouse, I believe is the term -- house-ish music for dancing (audibly) made on a laptop type environment. Makes my booty want to shake (I know, I know, an image you didn't necessarily want to be left with).

Peaches, The Teaches of Peaches -- I think I like her better in small doses.

Ex Lion Tamer
12-14-2004, 07:20 AM
The Futureheads - The first half of this album is very very good, just a couple of mis-steps on songs like Robot and Alms, which I don't like, but otherwise very good stuff. The three song run of A to B, Decent Days and Nights, & Meantime, is as good as any section of an album I've heard this year. But the second half of the album drops the ball with the songs starting to all sound the same; little in the way of tempo changes or variations in the arrangements, which to me is the main problem with the album. Don't want to get too negative as there are some really great songs and the vocal harmonies are a real strength of this band, especially in the opener Le Garage and the semi-acapella doo wop of Danger of the Water which is among my favorite tracks. And the cover of Hounds of Love may be the best song on the album. This would have made a killer ep. I'll be very interested to see how the sound of The Futureheads evolves, I'd like to see arrangements that give the bass in particular a little more breathing room. I'd call The Futureheads a work in progress.

Snow Patrol; Final Straw - Still enjoying this album a lot. Firmly in the atmospheric side of Brit-pop not unlike say Coldplay or Doves, which works just fine for me.

Green Day; American Idiot - This is a really good album. Chock-full of hooks that make the songs instantly memorable. This might mean that it doesn't hang in there for the long haul, but right now, after only three or four spins, I'm thinking this is one of the top albums I've heard this year.

The Walkmen; Bows + Arrows - Generally a disappointment that doesn't match the hype, but The Rat is a very good song.

Franz Ferdinand - Right now its in a dead-heat with Futureheads in the middle of the pack among albums this year, but I've lived with this quite a bit longer than Futureheads, so things could well change.

Moonbabies; The Orange Billboard - Up there for album of the year, just real solid from beginning to end.

The Legends; Up Against the Legends - Very different from The Futureheads in sound, but my feelings are along the same lines, a little lacking in variance in their sound to contend for the top spots this year. Solid album though.

The National; Cherry Tree - Now this is a great album, er EP that I can listen to over and over again.

John Lennon; Plastic Ono Band
Ian Dury; New Boots & Panties
Lou Reed; Coney Island Baby
The Creatures; Boomerang
Built to Spill; Ancient Melodies of the Future
Dave Brubeck; Time Out
McCoy Tyner; New York Reunion

Gotta mention again the Wire DVD/CD On The Box: 1979. Simply a dream come true for me, to be able to see this supremely important (to me) band at this particular time in their career. If you're a fan, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

NP: Iron & Wine; Our Endless Numbered Days - A contender for sure.

Jim Clark
12-14-2004, 07:32 AM
All over the freakin' joint. Music of all shapes and sizes has waltzed through the last week.

Miss Kittin-I.Com - found it used for a measley 6.99. The girl at the record store said she knew I'd be the only one to buy it. I don't think it was a compliement. Track 2 is the only sub-par song on the disc, the rest ranges from good to outstanding. Now, I hope I was able to get to my mother before she went to Borders to get this for me! Good call Dustychalk. I listened at least 4 times as I was raking leaves on Sunday.

Radio 4-Stealing Of A Nation-it's been mentioned, a couple of places.

Moonbabies-Orange Billboard - wanted to see if it could make a case for my list this year. The answer came back as "looks good, but wait and see".

Got the new Ian Broudie release "Tales Told". Largely accoustic, largely uninteresting so far. Talk about a let down.

Red Letter Day-A Synthpop Christmas. "Santa Baby" by Somegirl stunk up the joint. The song only works with Madonna, and it's iffy at best then.

Michigan- Ultimate Sky. A best seller at a Different Drum and it's a very solid synthpop album. Similar in many ways to DM, but more like Mesh. Jimmy likes.

WXJL-The Best Of Future Wave Radio vol. 3 -various. Some awesome mixes, some that suck.

THe Flaming Stars-Ginmill Perfume. Maf thought I should hear this and truer words are seldom spoken. After one spin I had to check on AMG to confirm that nobody else in America knew about them either. Some really cool dark surf guitar in there with vocals sounding a lot like Lou Reed in places. Fantastic album and I need to get this out to my bud on the West Coast that digs this type of thing.

Loretta Lynn-Van Lear Rose. As good as I've read but not nearly as garagey as I had anticipated. Great stories and a great listen.

Iron And Wine-meh, don't get all the hubub just yet. Seems like a lot of pretty string work and not too much else so far.

Les Savy Fav-Inches. Overall pretty enjoyable. Don't get the whole B-Movie interlude though. Must have to be a fan to follow the reasoning behind that.

Sufjian Stevens-Like it better than the Iron and Wine but I for sure need a lot more time with this one.

Lot's of Christmas stuff including a comp from Jdaniel which was awesome. Also dug out a "Little Drummer Boy" comp I did some time ago. Insired by the Louie Louie album, this is nothing but different versions of the Christmas classic. Jars Of Clay, Hank Jr, Dandy Warhols, Low, Crosby/Bowie, Sinatra, Joan Jett and many, many more. It works is all I can say.

That scratches the surface but doesn't even begin to tell the tale.

jc

Stone
12-14-2004, 07:50 AM
The Futureheads – The first half of this album is very very good, just a couple of mis-steps on songs like Robot and Alms, which I don’t like, but otherwise very good stuff. The three song run of A to B, Decent Days and Nights, & Meantime, is as good as any section of an album I’ve heard this year. But the second half of the album drops the ball with the songs starting to all sound the same . . .

Interesting view, Mark. I really like "Robot" and the more I hear "A to B" the less I like it - it sounds like a Rutles song* to me or something because of the chorus. "Decent Days and Nights," though, is in a dead heat right now with "Hounds of Love" for my favorite track on that album. Overall, I think the album's really solid and will likely be in my top ten.

Stone

* Sounding like a Rutles song isn't necessarily bad, but to me it just doesn't fit well with the rest of the songs and is less enjoyable than the surrounding songs.

nobody
12-14-2004, 07:51 AM
Been listening to the new <b>Nick Cave</b> and instantly loving it. This is absolutely going to my year end best of list, just not sure exactly where. Disc one is more intense than anything he's done for years, and disc two is simply beautiful. If you're a fan, you should grab this ASAP.

Also, playing a bunch of jazz lately, including <b>John Coltrane; Ballads</b> a record I've seen good and bad about. I guess some people don't like it when Coltrane plays beautiful, relaxed melodies. I think it's fantastic. I also listened to another laid back Coltrane disc, <b>Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane</b>, which is a bit more up-tempo, but still treads the line between Coltrane going crazy and keeping it together in service of the song. Another winner.

Grabbed some Ray Charles, <b>The Genius of Ray Charles</b>, simply a fantastic set from an all time great, nothing much else to say. Sure, his hits packages with all those shiny new discs are great, but he's a guy I like to grab on old chunks of vinyl as his less known songs are so great as well as the big hits. This record is probably pretty well known, but doesn't really contain much that gets played by Ray too often, except for Let the Good Times Roll.

Played Little Richard's <b>The Fabulous Little Richard</b>, a record of vault material released after he went gospel. Great stuff in my mind. I've seen the record panned as not living up to his first couple, and that may be a valid point, but he is still in fine voice and the arrangements with backup singers and a more guitar oriented rock 'n' roll sound is a nice change of pace.

Finally had a listen to <b>Big Star</b> and enjoyed them quite a bit. I see why people wonder why this band never broke out. Nothing on <b>#1 Record or Radio City</b>, the ones I heard, was inaccessible. It's nice straight up melodic rock. I can really see how Teenage Fanclub must have listened to these guys a ton. Really fine stuff that I think a ton of people would like if they gave it a listen.

Also heard the new <b>U2</b>, which was OK, sounds a lot like Joshua Tree to me, which I never really liked much. I'm still in the camp that doesn't much care about them post War, but there are some nice songs on here, just nothing special.

More, of course, but that's enough for now.

Ex Lion Tamer
12-14-2004, 08:23 AM
Interesting view, Mark. I really like "Robot" and the more I hear "A to B" the less I like it - it sounds like a Rutles song* to me or something because of the chorus. "Decent Days and Nights," though, is in a dead heat right now with "Hounds of Love" for my favorite track on that album. Overall, I think the album's really solid and will likely be in my top ten.

Stone

* Sounding like a Rutles song isn't necessarily bad, but to me it just doesn't fit well with the rest of the songs and is less enjoyable than the surrounding songs.

I find this phenomenon a lot, friends who I generally agree with on albums, who'se tastes are generally similar to mine, have widely differing opinions on particular songs within the albums....my favorite tracks of theirs are one's I skip over, and vice versa. just kinda strange thing I've noticed in my travels. At first I liked Robot, the opening of which sounds eerily like the Jam song "A" Bomb in Wardour Street, but I don't like the direction it goes from there. Generally I hear more Jam than anything else in The Futureheads, and I think you know how much I like The Jam. But the Jam album I most hear is "This is the Modern World", by far my least favorite, but then by far my favorite Jam album came next, which is why I said I'm anxious to see what comes next for these guys. Agreed, a solid album, but not in my top 5.

Troy
12-14-2004, 08:27 AM
Spent a lot of time chained to the computer this week, so I spun a bunch of music.

Bruford Levin- Upper Extremities
Dada- American Highway Flower
Steely Dan- Countdown to Ecstasy
Easy All Stars- Dub Side of the Moon
Michael Manring- Drastic Measures
Dannielle Luppi- An Italian Story
FM- Black Noise
Roland Orzabal- Tomcats Screaming Outside
Googie Rene- Romesville!
Andy Preiboy- Sins of our Fathers
The Grays- Roshambo
XTC- Black Sea
Marillion- Sript for a Jesters Tear
Grandaddy- Sumday
Jadis- More than Meets the Eye
Mike Keneally- Wooden Smoke
Happy the Man- The Muse Awakens
French TV- The Violence of Amateurs
IQ- Dark Matter
The Futureheads
Echolyn- Cowboy Poems Free

DarrenH
12-14-2004, 09:16 AM
Spent some time listening to a few comps. I received some British folk rock from Hyfi that was really awesome. Some Steeleye Span. Some Pentangle. Some Fairport Convention. All from the late 60's early 70's. Really great stuff, that is, if you like British folk rock.

Also heard some Focus. Now, the only tune I've ever heard from these guys was Hocus Pocus. It wasn't included and I didn't miss it either. All instumental stuff. Surprisingly good.

My own Compus Erectus vols 1 and 2 which I pieced together from various comps received from other members.

Revisited some things I haven't heard in awhile:

Fuzzy Duck - s/t
OSI - s/t
Strawbs - Ghosts
Strawbs - Bursting At The Seams
Spock's Beard - Snow. Despite the many disapprovals, I really like this.
The Flower Kings - The Rainmaker. Again, often hated but I really like this as well.
Arena - The Visitor

And some newer things in current rotation:

Blackfield - s/t
Happy The Man - The Muse Awakens

Some Jazz:

Miles Davis - Steamin'
Miles Davis - Walkin'
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else. This was somethin' else alright.
Cannonball Adderley and the Poll Winners featuring Wes Montgomery and Ray Brown
Wes Montgomery - The Incredible Jazz Guitar Of
The Quintet featuring Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus - Jazz At Massey Hall
Charlie Parker - Complete Verve Master Takes box set disc 1
Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band 1940-42. I spun all three discs. Timeless and classic but the sound quality is quite awful at times. Especially the highs.

And my token classical CD.

Georg Phillip Telemann - Trumpet Concertos. Hakan Hardenberger. Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields Iona Brown directing. Philips 420954.

I absolutely enjoyed these trumpet concertos and if anyone (PatD) has some other recommendations for more of the same, please let me know.

KEXPMF
12-14-2004, 12:05 PM
I'll start with my brand new Christmas comp cd from JDaniel which I'm liking much.
I've never had a cool Christmas comp but always wanted on and this one is perfect.
Favorite tracks so far, just on first listen:
Jack Johnson - Rudolph
Phantom Planet - Winter Wonderland
ELP - I Believe in Christmas
Rox Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas
Jimmy Eat World - 12/23/95
Ben Folds - Bizzare Christmas Incident
Dan Wilson - What a Year for a New Year
**** BY THE WAY speaking of Semisonic (Dan's band).. you guys should really read the Semisonic drummer's book: "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star" by Jacob Shlichter.. (now I've given you something to spend your Barnes & Noble/Borders gift certificates on besides presents for people for next year!!) ;)
The book is the best, most enjoyable, funniest one I've read in a long time!! Anyene who works in music or has ever played in a band should REALLY get a kick out of it.

Other music (stuff I want):
The dB's - Amplifier
Air - Alone in Kyoto
Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth
Belle & Sebastian - Step into My Office Baby ** THIS song grows and grows on me!
Sufjan Stevens - For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti *** I love all his music, it's so beautiful and peaceful and calming. :) Sufjan is a cure for stress. I'm tellin' ya.

then I got into a chillout/trip hop mood, which for me happens about every day :
Karminsky Experience
Yonderboi
Boozoo Bajou
Ryukyu Underground
Chris Joss (check this out if your into Thievery Corporation, it's on their label, ESL (Eighteenth Street Lounge)
Leftfield (from my still BELOVED newest purchase, Daddy G (Massive Attack) DJ Kicks comp) (this is my favorite track on the cd by far)

and my other beloved recent purchase Fatboy Slim "Palookaville" Not a bad song on that one. :)

This is all just from today and yesterday.

nobody
12-14-2004, 12:35 PM
I grabbed that Daddy G mix, really good stuff on there to be sure. I'm with ya on the Leftfield track, although I'm just as fond of a couple of the reggae tunes on there.

I gotta pick up Leftism sometime. Rhythm and Stealth is great to me, but I kinda skipped over the accepted classic.

Stone
12-14-2004, 01:16 PM
The Futureheads - s/t

Apostle of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
I don't like this one as much as I want to like it. Not that it's bad, it just doesn't keep me coming back for more. I should probably spend some more time with it though.

Arcade Fire - Funeral
Working its way up the list . . .

Afrika Bambaataa - Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light

Mekons - Punk Rock

Go-Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane
I recently found this in the used bin, and I've gotta say that it's my best find of this year. Amazing song writing and production.

Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power

Ted Leo + Pharmacists - Shake the Sheets
Maybe not as "accomplished" as Tyranny, but very consistent (consistently rockin' too) and it'll probably end up in my top 10 for the year.

Stone
12-14-2004, 01:19 PM
Stone Roses, Second Coming -- this is so much better than their first album.


Uhhhh, I think you have a typo or something there....

Ex Lion Tamer
12-14-2004, 01:35 PM
THe Flaming Stars-Ginmill Perfume. Maf thought I should hear this and truer words are seldom spoken. After one spin I had to check on AMG to confirm that nobody else in America knew about them either. Some really cool dark surf guitar in there with vocals sounding a lot like Lou Reed in places. Fantastic album and I need to get this out to my bud on the West Coast that digs this type of thing.
jc

Figured you'd enjoy that. You should absolutely get Sunset & Void, though I think I like Ginmill a little better it's pretty well a dead heat.

KEXPMF
12-14-2004, 02:19 PM
I grabbed that Daddy G mix, really good stuff on there to be sure. I'm with ya on the Leftfield track, although I'm just as fond of a couple of the reggae tunes on there.

I gotta pick up Leftism sometime. Rhythm and Stealth is great to me, but I kinda skipped over the accepted classic.

I don't have those either. I need them.
If you like the dub reggae, you also may want to check out Theivery Corporation "Babylon Rewound". The sales person at the Virgin Megastore, upon my buying Daddy G, ran out from around the counter to go get a cd, came back and said, "Oh! You should get this too if you like dub reggae!" SOLD. (Give that girl a raise!)

Slosh
12-14-2004, 02:22 PM
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Working its way up the list . . .


Yeah, for me too. When this album first started getting some press I went to their website and downloaded the two songs and thought they were decent but not special enough to make me want to order the CD. I ended up getting it anyway in the autumn just because I had so few 2004 albums up to that point and during the first three or four spins thought I might have made a mistake. Too much of that Interpol/BSP, etc. sound for my tastes but I left it in my CD changer and inadvertently heard it several more times in the following weeks and began to notice it also had some of that grandeur you find in albums like All Is Dream and It's A Wonderful Life and a funny thing happened; now they didn't sound like Interpol anymore, but more like the Wrens. ;)

Needless to say it has crept way up my list and now will probably make my top five.

NP: The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

Dusty Chalk
12-14-2004, 04:13 PM
Uhhhh, I think you have a typo or something there....No, I think my long-standing...erm...stance on their first album is well known hereabouts.

But, to reiterate: the only really good (outstanding) track is "Fool's Gold". The rest of the album pales in comparison.

audiobill
12-14-2004, 05:05 PM
Quite a diverse week of music listening for me, RR folks.

Graham Coxon's "Happiness In Magazines" -- This one made its way across the English Channel and across the Pond a couple of months ago. It has been in steady rotation, recently. Favourite tracks are "Girl Done Gone", "Bottom Bunk", and "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery". Too bad more people aren't going to hear this one.

The Killers' "Hot Fuss" -- as infectious an album can get, without getting overly familiar. Not only do I hear Bowie-inflected sounds, but I also hear Velvet Underground and Joy Division. One that music snobs might diss - miss as too pop or too radio-played. Personally, one of my top 20 of 2004 -- too much fun of a record not to be included.

Lamb of God's "Ashes of the Wake" -- just bought this yesterday and have had it cranked up high in my car stereo going to and fro to work. Man, if you like your jolt of heavy, heavy music to wake you from your "Bright Eyes" slumber, then this is it. Another one that will be rearing its ugly head in my top 20 list, if it's still crass and alluring two weeks from now. Crank it up!! (note: I, too, like Bright Eyes' music but like most RR listeners, in doses.)

U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" -- interestingly enough, unlike others on this board, this one is improving with age for me. I tossed it into the 6-disc car unit and pressed "random". Every 4th or 5th track comes up U2...and catches me afresh. It's too easy to dismiss these guys as hasbeens; there's much more to their new music than critics imho give them credit. Too bad that ipod intro to the album proved so "commercial", because I think there is a very good album buried in all of the hype.

Mastodon's "Leviathan" -- Mastodon is one of the best heavy metal groups that I would never have discovered, if it was not for the raverec reviews that prompted me towards this band. A true gem.

Eminem's "Encore" -- After the initial "newness" has now passed, I must say that imho this is the least favourable of the past three CDs of his, of which I proudly own all three (never picked up the first). Nevertheless, the bass lines on the tracks sound rich and get one's mojo working. Even a not so stellar Eminem CD is still worth nodding and toe-tapping to. Fun without a guilty bone in this body.

Yech's "Last Waltz" comp -- Felt like some blues and I pulled this off the shelf. One of the best blues comps I have. Greg Brown, Harry Manx, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, and Chuck E Weiss are some of the artists that round this one out.

audioBILL's cool Christmas comp -- I know, flagrant self-promotion....just finished this project recently and been listening to it - a - ton. Coming soon to a post office box near you.

All, in all, it's been on of the best years in music and, thus far, an interesting week of grooving to it.

Cheers,
audiobill

Stone
12-14-2004, 05:28 PM
No, I think my long-standing...erm...stance on their first album is well known hereabouts.

But, to reiterate: the only really good (outstanding) track is "Fool's Gold". The rest of the album pales in comparison.


http://www.obner.org/bb/images/smiles/icon_bs.gif

Okay, I like Second Coming a lot, probably more than most, but the debut and the singles from it are something special. "I Am the Resurrection" and "Bye Bye Badman" pale in comparison to "Fool's Gold"? Further proof you are from another planet....

http://www.obner.org/bb/images/smiles/icon_mrgreen.gif

Davey
12-14-2004, 06:20 PM
Erudite? Empty of invective? These Tuesday rotation threads seem to be getting a little too highbrow for my beer fueled indie rock taste in music. Oh well, let me see if I can focus through my hopefully forthcoming haze of a cheap beer buzz to remember some of the "recorded to four track in a heroin addict's bedroom" indie rock standouts of the past week. Hmmm, guess not.....

But I do remember spinning that new Nick Cave set a lot (Epitaph is still an indie label, right?). Both discs. I already called it beautiful so can't go much higher. Now it's just developing depth and long legs. Hate to jump the gun and pull a line out of my bag of cliches (especially since it appears I'm about to use more than one in this sentence), but this one does have the early sound of a classic. Don't know right now if I've heard anything I would call better this year.

Futureheads rocked me on more than one occasion...and usually stayed around rocking me for more than one spin. Great record in a not so great year of music. Real standout for me, regardless of what some of the "slicker than snot on a hot rail" aficionados might have you believe. And isn't it supposed to be "slicker than snot on a door knob"? What's with the hot rail? I gotta agree with FP on this one! ;)

Love those Flaming Stars and two of their CDs got a workout this week. Sunset & Void has been getting pretty steady workouts for months now but also got in a little time with the new Named and Shamed and it's pretty damn fine as well. Haven't heard the comp that Mark and Jim are raving about but have no doubt it's stellar too. Gotta get me some of that action.

JDaniel
12-14-2004, 07:46 PM
Currently listening to a new piece of vinyl I picked up today - Chester & Lester/Chet Atkins & Les Paul. Just an outstanding album from 1976. This is like a live studio jam sessions with these two legends.

Other listens this week:
Larry Coryell - Improvisation from Rock to Jazz (on vinyl)

Dickey Betts - Atlanta Burning Down (vinyl)

Fleetwood Mac - Mystery to Me (1973 vinyl)

KEXPMF's Indie Comp - awesome comp. I actually like 15 of the 19 tracks (a high percentage for any comp). My favorite tracks are from Some Girls, The Getaway People, Gomez, Fatboy Slim, Moby, and Orbit. The only ones that didn't do it for me were the Harvey Danger, Fancey, and Burden Brothers tracks. Thanks KEXPMF for the comp.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (Slosh introduced me to them a few years back)

Dave Matthews - Everyday

Rickie Lee Jones - The Evening of My Best Day

Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes

Nanci Griffith - There's a Light Beyond These Woods

Damien Rice - O

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman

That's all my small brain can remember.

JD

nobody
12-15-2004, 09:11 AM
Just wanna chime in in agreement about the Chester & Lester record, great stuff from a coupla all time greats. I'll havta pull that one out sometime soon.

Mr MidFi
12-15-2004, 09:26 AM
Not enough time (unfortunately) for a substantial post right now...but I had to give a public shout out to Slosh for his awesome end-of-year comp. Well done, Patrick, and thank you!

Ex Lion Tamer
12-15-2004, 09:55 AM
Just wanna chime in in agreement about the Chester & Lester record, great stuff from a coupla all time greats. I'll havta pull that one out sometime soon.

Same here...This is a great record with a fun, loosy-goosy feel that is smile-inducing from beginning to end. Guarantee it makes an appearance in my Turesday post next week.

Dave_G
12-15-2004, 10:26 AM
Well let me think. I haven't really been in a music listening mood of late, but I have listened to a little bit of music.

I played the first ELP title, pretty good, I guess.

Uriah Heep - Different World - kind of a "regular" rock recording, I guess, nothing on this one that hasn't been done before.

Queensryche - Q2K - it's alright, not a very inspired sound tho.

Steve Hackett - Please Don't Touch - this is an excellent piece of toonage. I especially like the toons with Steve Walsh on lead vocal.

Kansas - Kansas. The new remaster. This is a very very good record, the music is unique, what a band, what songwriting, and so on. The remastering job, however, isn't one of those knock you out versions, it's subtle at best.

Queensryche - EMPIRE (DCC gold cd) - this is hard rock hi-fi nirvana. The words on this one take new meaning for me now since I no longer have a female in my life. And as I listen to more and more rock recordings, you know, there are a lot of songs written about failed relationships. I can now relate, and it sucks to now all of a sudden be able to relate what these people have penned over the years, whereas before I never really gave it a whole lot of thought.

IQ - Dark Matter. I like this one but for some reason it has yet to really knock me out like Seventh House and Subterenea do.

Camel - Rajaz - the more I listen to this the more I like it.

The new Ayreon. Growing on me, could step up to be one of my new fave releases for this year after many more listens.

I am waiting for my Rick Derringer cd to be delivered (ebay), my 3 pack of STARZ lp's (ebay), and Steinhardt/Moon (ebay).

Dave

ForeverAutumn
12-15-2004, 01:24 PM
**** BY THE WAY speaking of Semisonic (Dan's band).. you guys should really read the Semisonic drummer's book: "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star" by Jacob Shlichter.. (now I've given you something to spend your Barnes & Noble/Borders gift certificates on besides presents for people for next year!!) ;)
The book is the best, most enjoyable, funniest one I've read in a long time!! Anyene who works in music or has ever played in a band should REALLY get a kick out of it.


:) This must be the new thing for musicians to do. Check this book out by Rheostatics member, Dave Bidini. I haven't read it, but it sure sounds familiar. ;)

For Those About to Rock: a Roadmap to Being in a Band
Playing in a rock band is the stuff of dreams. What is the reality? Dave Bidini, rhythm guitarist with the Rheostatics and acclaimed author of On a Cold Road, knows firsthand. In this wise, witty, and often irreverent book, he tackles the questions that any kid with a penchant to be on stage has asked. How do you decide what to play? How do you deal with tensions among the musicians? What happens when one person becomes more popular than the others? How do you get to gigs, and what do you wear?

Bidini handles his material with honesty and authority. From the serious considerations to the frivolous issues, Bidini takes young readers through forming a band, practices, performing, and the business of show business. Interspersed with advice and observations are hilarious anecdotes pulled from his own experience and the experiences of musicians he knows.

This is a sure-fire winner for all young musicians, even if their instrument of choice is the air guitar and their only venue is their shower stall.

paper warrior
12-15-2004, 01:42 PM
thanks for exposing another anonymous drummer- Jacob Schlichter. Mary Lou Lord's cover of Sugar Sugar sound so much better than the 1969 #1 hit because of Mary Lou's nuanced then soulful phrasing and the tight rhythm section especially the hihats.

PPG
12-21-2004, 08:54 AM
Anyone here checked out The Scissor Sisters? No, they're not power pop at all, they combine mid-70's era Elton John song-writing inlluences, Bowie, and a big tip of the hat to the disco era (a Bee Gees' send-up of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", although not one of my favorites on the disc, they definitely have a sense of humor). Listen to "Take Your Mama" (the single), but it's a really surprisingly good debut that entertains and stands out from the crowd. Here's a review:

Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
[Polydor; 2004]

There's something about the kitchen-sink approach to music that makes me suspicious. Excessive genre-hopping or wearing stylistic flexibility as a badge is often considered honorable or even proof of an artist's restless, boundless talent. Yet when this approach is put under a microscope, the choice to aim for a variety of different sounds often seems like a mask for artists unable to do any one thing particularly well.

A lot of the initial praise garnered by Scissor Sisters stemmed from their oscillation between what many consider to be disparate styles: To be reductive, those are rollicking early 70s Elton John-esque pop songs and buoyant disco. However, on their self-titled debut, Scissor Sisters not only do quite a few genres justice-- not least of which is witty, irreverent pop songs-- but both their idiosyncratic approach to music and their sensibilities seem to have common roots in glam-era rock or Philly soul.

On the face of it, that's an odd blend. Unless you're Ryan Adams, Homer Simpson, or those bearded fellows in Kings of Leon, you aren't likely of the mindset that rock achieved perfection in 1974. But the Sisters embrace the playfulness and panache of that era's artists-- from Sparks and Elton, to 10cc and Mott the Hoople, to The Spinners and, um, Pink Floyd-- and come out smelling like roses. Here, the Sisters skip smartly through glam's linear history, and stray far enough from the beaten path to discover a sound of their own, all while resisting the sacrifice of context for pantomime.

With one part arched eyebrows and droll wit, and one part melancholia and sharp social observation, the Sisters' debut is bursting with golden moments. To the disappointment of some, large portions of the Scissor Sisters' highly circulated and heavily dancefloor-leaning demo has been either re-recorded or exorcised from the final cut, but the retail version outstrips the demo by a mile. "Doctor (I'm Only Seeing Dark)", "Backwoods", and "Bicycling with the Devil" in particular are missed, but with their inclusion, the finished product would likely have been a far more schizophrenic affair.

Instead, the Sisters' debut hangs together well, despite sounding at times more like a career-spanning singles compilation than a cohesive work. (Although, in this MP3 era, where's the harm in that?) Debut single "Laura", with its overflow of rollicking piano and wah-wah guitar, is the hyper-jovial opener. Break-up song "Better Luck" and the falsetto-drenched disco cover of "Comfortably Numb" (what might have been had Pink Floyd followed their classic rock contemporaries into late 70s disco tourism) are the dancing-with-tears-in-your-eyes tracks. "Tits on the Radio" is New York's best protest dance song since !!!, and "Lovers in the Backseat" is a gold lamé-draped take on voyeurism. "Mary" and "It Can't Come Quickly Enough", meanwhile, are the 4 a.m. ballads, contenders for the night's penultimate spin before "Last Dance" soundtracks the queue at the coat check.

Best of all are "Take Your Mama" and "Return to Oz". The former is a clever Primal Scream-meets-"Freedom '90" suggestion to come out to your mother during a night on the town. The latter is a weary, hungover ballad lamenting the influence of crystal meth on the gay nightclub scene ("What once was Emerald City's/ Now a crystal town"). In combination, those two tracks delightfully reveal that under Scissor Sisters' sheen of fabulousness and irresistible hooks beats a heart that breaks as easily as it bursts, and that's a sort of versatility that can't be easily concocted.

-Scott Plagenhoef, March 11th, 2004

Davey
12-21-2004, 06:26 PM
Anyone here checked out The Scissor Sisters?
Not really, but I must admit that the first time I saw them I thought they were another one of those 70s novelty bands like the Darkness with the standard 15-minute lifespan. But by the end of the song I didn't think that anymore. I've seen them a couple times since on tv but it's just not a sound I'm really into right now, and maybe a little bit of a guilty pleasure if I was, but nothing to snicker at. Guess the British press has been fawning all over them. But then again, British reviewers seem to have the attention span of a 10 year old with ADD. The album does seem to be high on all the year-end lists, especially the more mainstream ones. The indie hipster media doesn't even seem to be immune so you must be on the right track, PPG. Of course as usual, I'm pretty much out of touch. One of my favorite albums this year was just soundly dissed in the latest Uncut, but what else is new. I wear it as my badge of honor :)