[ aquarius records catalogue

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 651 through 700 of 1919.

Finally reissued from 1977, Pere Ubu's debut full length. Essential stuff, and still sounds unbelievably great, vital, and groundbreaking 21 years later.

Since emerging along with the Dead Boys from Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu have continued to survive through numerous breakups, reformations and incarnations, including frontman David Thomas' solo efforts. With recent efforts by other seminal art-punk bands (*ahem* Wire) lacking the creativity and vision of the early releases which brought them acclaim (in the underground, at least), it's more than reassuring that this newest Pere Ubu album is quietly great. Musically, 'St Arkansas' bears little resemblance to the sharp dissonant punk of Modern Dance but thankfully avoids the pop of their later eighties efforts. Gone is Thomas' hyper-manic yelping, and in its place a much more sinister growl. We find here an Ubu of dark, slow burn intensity. St. Arkansas is so infused with creepiness that comparisons to Tom Waits seem unavoidable. It makes sense: there's a thread of lowlife drifterdom, a mysterious desperation, a desire to break free through the transcendence of the open road -- and the radio, as outlined mantra-like in the heavyweight final track. Worth your attention.

RealAudio clip: Slow Walking Daddy

Finally reissued from 1977, Pere Ubu's debut full length. Essential stuff, and still sounds unbelievably great, vital, and groundbreaking 21 years later.

Brazilian saxophonist Perelman with pianist Shipp and bassist Parker, all stars of the current improv/free music scene. Kudos to "indie rock" label Homestead for their continued support of this music.

Welsh psych from 1981!

There's hype, and then there's HYPE. And we can't really remember a band as hyped as Perfect Pussy. Most folks had heard all about them, read all about them, knew way more than they had any right to before hearing a single lick of music. The risk with that sort of hype, is that the actual music could never ever live up to the expectation, and how PP stacks up is really pretty subjective. Assuming for one second, PP wasn't a ubiquitous news item on Pitchfork every day for the last year, hearing Say Yes To Love is kinda revelatory, the sort of record that could easily knock you on your ass. One thing we can say, is it's weird that a record this noisy and abrasive and UNcommercial is getting so much popular approval, but all we can say to that is hell yeah! So yeah, but what the hell does it sound like? Well imagine classic Riot Grrl, nineties noise rock, all wound up in wild squalls of psychedelic shoegaze, with frantic bleated vocals that are a dead ringer for Melt-Banana, and you'd be getting close. The opening one-two punch of "Driver" and "Bells" might as well be one song, four minutes of keening high end ferocity, and in fact high end is where PP spend much of their time, would be surprised to discover there was no bass player, cuz really, it's all sharp and jagged, slashing noiseguitar, crunchy jangle, it's not until the third track "Big Stars" that things slow down, but even then, it remains fierce and feral, a little more aligned with that classic nineties era, but wreathed in feedback and noise, and the end of the track tapering off into some tripped out psychedelic drift. But hold up, some bass pops up on the beginning of "Work", before being quickly swallowed whole by a cloud of swirling guitar skree, and then weirdly, midway through, are those synths, somehow, the song becomes all cosmic and celestial, just for a minute, before stumbling back into more jagged noise pop / noise punk pound. This is the sort of record, that squares will claim sounds like 'noise', and really they're not far off, this is some seriously noisy stuff, so much so, that on the shitty stereos this stuff was meant to be listened to on, it's really impossible to differentiate nuance, in the store it sounds almost like a Merzbow remix of Melt-Banana (not a bad thing mind you), but strap on some headphones, or blast it through a killer sound system at deafening volume, and PP's master sonic craft reveals itself for sure. Our favorite moment might be right at the end, with the two minute blast of "Advance Upon The Real", which fills up it's remaining 3+ minutes with a barely audible bit of strange industrial ambience, buried melodies, blurred shimmers, the perfect intro to the weirdo experimental closer "VII" which IS noise, vocals drifting through fields of grinding distorted crunch, blooping synth melodies hovering amidst sheets of caustic gristle, rhythmic and blown out, a weirdly beautiful bit of extreme noise punk, and the perfect way to finish things off. The cd comes in a cool glittery slipcase, with ultra minimal artwork, and while we did have the lp (back in soon, hopefully), it's not the oft remarked upon menstrual blood infused vinyl. Sorry.

MPEG stream: Driver
MPEG stream: Bells
MPEG stream: Work
MPEG stream: VII

The psychedelic folk fans here at Aquarius are overjoyed that this brilliant obscurity is at last back in print -- and in an expanded, vastly improved cd edition no less. Originally released in 1970, Linda Perhac's "Parallelograms" is a lost gem of lovely, delicate folk-psych songs in line with Joni Mitchell or Heart's folkier moments, gone waaay underground and mystic. For a long long time, although collectors held the record in great esteem, no-one knew anything about Ms. Perhacs at all. When the Wild Places label first reissued the album on cd some years ago they had to do it from a mint vinyl copy of the record. Since then, they've miraculously managed to track down Linda and got their hands on reel to reels dubbed from the original masters, along with a passel of bonus tracks -- half a dozen of 'em. Whoo-hoo! Along with that good stuff, some mysteries were answered. It turns out that, for instance, the popularly held belief that Perhacs was from Hawaii was incorrect. But she lived in the Pacific Northwest and California, so that's not too far off, really... They also confirmed that this was indeed her only recording. But if you're only going to make one record, having it be as good as "Parallelograms" is a neat trick. Her gossamer vocals encounter tripped-out electronic effects and gentle folk-rock backing, transporting the listener to a place not usually or easily reached in this day and age. There's a track or two that gets strangely coffee-house beatnik on us, and sound a bit dated, but most of this is truely ethereal hippie folk-psych beauty unparallelled. Really nice, and recommended.

MPEG stream: Parallelograms
MPEG stream: Hey, Who Really Cares?
MPEG stream: Moons And Cattails

The return (after over 40 years!!!) of this mystical New Age singer, all up to date now, hanging with the kids, Nite Jewel, etc. but still has her old magic!! Scott and Allan here looove it, at least.

Attention music geeks, music-tech nerds, cool gadget obsessives and espeically anyone who freaked out over the amazing Buddha Machine! We've got another far out musical gadget that will have you all in a tizzy. Tristan Perich is a name we had never heard before. Turns out he's a musician and inventor, who has released this record, his debut we think, of 1-bit music (more on that in a moment) in its own self contained jewel case player. What's that? A gorgeous little electronic sculpture, made up of a plain old plastic jewel case, and a handful of colored wires and chips and tiny dials, completely self contained, a headphone jack in the jewel case offering you entry into Perich's crunchy minimal electronic sound world. As many of you know, 8-bit music is the sound of '80s video game music, all your arcade favorites, super simple electronic sounds crafted into equally simple harmonies and melodies, so get rid of seven of those bits, and you're left with just ONE bit, the smallest increment of memory and sound. So Perich has taken these super minimal tones, and constructed some amazing electronic music, that is crunchy and raw, the sound all buzzy tones and staticky clicks, ranging from playful lullabies to grinding dense tangles of squelch and squiggle. Some of the tracks definitely sound like they could be some lost video game music, but others are drone-y and weirdly layered and textured smears of crumbling lo-fi bleep and buzz, through headphones it sounds amazing, but through your speakers, it sounds like someone is in there pulling your speakers apart with rusty blunted shears. This would destroy a dancefloor, add some booming beats and you'd have some Daft Punk jam of the year, all grinding minimalism, in fact one track sounds like Fischerspooner via your Atari 2600, while some of the others sound like a much more playful and lo-fi Ryoji Ikeda, the sound of someone playing Pac Man turned into a 1-bit techno jam, and like the ultra minimal little brother of Skweee (that Scandinavian electro we've been so obsessed with lately)! But the music really only is half of it. The player is so striking, the whole record contained on a tiny chip, soldered to the jewel case, a battery in its little holder, two tiny volume controls, a mini on/off switch, a button to skip tracks, wires leading to a tiny headphone jack, the only liner notes a printed piece of paper that comes off with the plastic shrinkwrap, and a transparency with Perich's name and the name of the record. Before any of us had even heard the music, we all new we had to have one. It's a tiny musical sculpture, a piece of art that functions as a piece of sound art as well. Anyone who bought a Buddha Machine will want one of these. And if you were wondering what to get that weirdo music freek friend of yours, we'd be hard pressed to think of something cooler than this! Be warned. We got ONLY 50 COPIES!!! They are super labor intensive and hand made. Perich is currently trying to sort out a way to make more, so when we run out, it may be a while before we can get more, so if you want one, and we can't imagine how you wouldn't, then act fast!!! Cool music gadget (and minimal lo-fi 1-bit videogame glitch crunch record) of the year!

MPEG stream: Certain Movement

Music nerds may get obsessed with records all the time, but they also get pretty into musical gadgets, as evidenced most recently by FM3's Buddha Machine, which we've sold about a billion of, and most folks we know own more than one. And heck, that's just a little plastic box that plays short little loops. We didn't think anything would be able to trump the coolness of the Buddha Machine, which appealed to music geeks and tech nerds in equal measure, but then along came 1-Bit Music from a composer named Tristan Perich. Not only was 1-Bit Music Perich's debut record, it wasn't a record at all, instead it was simultaneously a piece of sound art and a miniature sound producing gadget, a collection of tiny wires and chips and switches and a watch battery, all affixed to the inside of a plain old cd jewel case. The result, a super striking looking little gizmo, but one that produced some weird and amazing 1 bit sounds. But what exactly are 1 bit sounds? Well, most folks are familiar with 8 bit sounds, all your favorite vintage arcade game music is 8 bit, and all the modern purveyor of Casio core or Nintendo core, they're using those crunchy lo-fi 8 bit sounds to make awesomely retro music. So one bit, is the smallest increment of memory and sound, and Perich composed his music using just 1 bit sounds, the result, beyond being small enough to fit on a tiny chip, and that chip along with some switches and wires in a jewel case, it also made for some alien sounds, like video game music, but as if imagined by the roster of Raster-Noton, a series of clicks and beeps and tangled squiggles of squelches and primitive melodies, almost like some ultra minimal toy techno or something. And while in headphones the sounds were intense and loud and raw, through speakers, they were INTENSE, super destructive and brutal, the sort of sounds, no matter how playful and simple, that DESTROY speakers. So awesome. Sadly, Perich and his crew had trouble keeping up with demand, as each of the releases, were hand made, every wire and switch, glued into each jewel case one at a time. So eventually that 'record' was discontinued. But now, we have Perich's latest release, no longer simply 1-Bit Music, now, it's a 1-Bit Symphony! And it is in fact more complex, with the various tones and beeps and squelches woven into lush tapestries of sound, rhythmically complex, and harmonically lush, at times sounding almost like M83, sometimes like Steve Reich or Terry Riley composing on a primitive toy Casio keyboard, other times like some lost old school video game, the sounds panning wildly from speaker to speaker, the melodies tangled and intricate, the overall sound so hypnotic and mesmerizing, the compositions sprawling and epic, ranging from 5 minutes, to nearly ten minutes to infinite, the final track a gorgeously lush chunk of distorted fuzzed out minimal buzz, that manages to sound all moody and shoegazey, warm and woozy and crunchy, an endless loop, that we really could imagine listening to endlessly. But like 1-Bit Music before it, the music is really only half the equation with 1-Bit Symphony, the packaging, which IS the record, is so striking, a gorgeously arranged series of wires and switches, a battery, a volume knob, a button to switch tracks, an on/off switch, a headphone jack, all affixed to a clear jewel case, with a simple stick on the front, and the booklet in the plastic sleeve on the outside of the jewel case, adding a spare white background to the visuals, but also including liner notes, not to mention an intense and fantastically confusional poster featuring what appears to be the composition presented as it was programmed, which also manages to be visually striking and a work of art in its own right. This one is not so nearly limited as the last one, but probably safer to not risk it, cuz if you're at all into weird music, and weird music related thingies, you are definitely gonna want one of these, and you'll probably want to give one to all the music nerds in your life as well. And like the first Perich 1-Bit release, this one too, is no doubt destined to be the cool music gadget, and minimal lo-fi 1-bit glitch crunch shoegaze squelch symphony record of the year!

There's a seriously thriving noise scene in San Francisco, shows all the time, tons of tapes and cd-r's, performances in warehouses, street corners, micro labels popping up all the time, the one bummer, for us at least, is we're not all that into noise. Well, Allan is into Japanese noise, the rest of us like things that are noisy, but prefer our NOISE to be pretty, or droney, or in some way not all that harsh. Soft noise some folks might call it. But we're not noise prudes, our ears are made of stern stuff, and there's plenty of thick, buzzing caustic skree we love to cuddle up to. Like this, the debut full length from local duo Perineum, made up of two members of other aQ faves, Ben from local black metal horde Horn Of Dagoth, and Derek from local kraut / drone outfits Horseflesh and Ozmadawn. Two tracks, appropriately enough titled "The Nail" and "Key". "The Nail" begins with a wall of crumbling caustic distorted heaviness, a swirling buzzing churning swirl of processed tapes, effected vocals, tons of fractured effects, all ground into a roiling black cloud, but something strange happens about three quarters of the way through, the noise abates, leaving a ghostly smear of backwards melodies, delicate crystalline shimmer, soft resonant swells, all layered and fused into a dreamy warm drift that gradually grows quieter and quieter. "Key" begins as a whispered bit of hiss and whir, like a collage of amp buzz and muted record crackle, smeared into a fuzzy prickly bit of soft white noise, within which is buried subtle rhythmic variations, slowly shifting textures, gradually growing more and more corrosive, the sound decaying and crumbling, bits of feedback beginning to show through, the sound like a Wolf Eyes / Blue Sabbath Black Cheer mashup, eventually within all that hiss and buzz, deep moaning melodies become barely visible, jagged shards of high end surface like chunks of black ice a winter sea, and the sound grows white hot, before fading and gradually disappearing completely. Packaged in a cool mini dvd style plastic case, with printed and collaged inserts, and the inside of each case hand painted with some mysterious and arcane symbol.

MPEG stream: The Nail
MPEG stream: The Key

Not sure what all the hype is about with Dudley Perkins. We half expected some empowered funk in the vein of Gil Scott-Heron or George Clinton, but Perkins gravelly singing/rapping style is just too clunky to carry a full record. And the one skit on this record, a clumsy jab at "Cops"�style domestic abuse cases, falls dead flat. Diehard Madlib fans may want to get this for the breaks and production, but we recommend they wait for the instrumentals version instead.

MPEG stream: Testin' Me
MPEG stream: Come Here My Dear
MPEG stream: Dear God

As artistically immersive in music as his father Anthony Perkins was in film, singer/songwriter Elvis Perkins sings beautiful folk pop songs that are blistered gently by electric guitar. Very reminiscent of The Kinks, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley, Ron Sexsmith, and Elvis Costello. Absolutely dreamy and achingly heartfelt. Recommended.

MPEG stream: While You Were Sleeping
MPEG stream: The Night & The Liquor

One of the three new and not so new titles just in from the electronic music label Praemedia (Stars Like Fleas and the Praeface compilation are the other two)! On each of the eight monosyllabically titled tracks of Tim Perkis' 1999 album Motive, he assembles trance-y pools of beats and textures. The fourth one simply named "Prick" is perhaps the most airy and atmospheric of the bunch with its static-y crackles and pops. Nice!

MPEG stream: Wrack
MPEG stream: Prick

A little over a year ago, Frans de Waard left Staalplaat and dedicated himself fully to his own Korm Plastics imprint. De Waard's presence had actually grown to be synonymous with Staalplaat, despite the fact that he didn't own the shop / label. So his departure made us wonder what might've happen to Staalplaat. We need not fear for Staalplaat is going strong and continues to press up more Muslimgauze CDs than you can shake a stick at. Ignaz Schick is now one of the people who has been filling de Waard's shoes (or at least he's the guy we order our Staalplaat gear from). The inner workings of Staalplaat may be unimportant to most of you, but the context of Ignaz' employment begins to make sense once you realize that he's the force behind the under-represented improv / electro-acoustic ensemble Perlonex. In many ways, Perlonex follows an AMM line-up of relatively commonplace instruments used in very non-traditional means for the manufacture of sound. Schick principally performs on turntables and tape machines, Jorg Maria Zeger has his guitar, and Burkhard Beins takes after Gunter Muller and Jason Kahn as a very non-percussive drummer. Peripherique is Perlonex's second CD and concentrates on a very complex interplay of trio's gestural sounds. It's a far cry from most improv skronk, which revels in its own mastery of the equipment; rather, Perlonex respond to each other in a slow and curiously sensitive march towards incendiary noise. A very impressive document!

MPEG stream: Peripherique I
MPEG stream: Peripherique II

This is the second collaboration between the stalwart minimalist composer Charlemagne Palestine and the electro-acoustic ensemble Perlonex, who may be Germany's answer to AMM. Yes, the title is an allusion to the Gershwin tune, since the name of the club where these recordings took place in Vienna is called Porgy & Bess - the opera from which that song is taken. The division of labor for these sessions found Perlonex on sinewave generator, turntable, guitars, motors, and percussion, mustering huge swelling arcs of drone, texture, and controlled chaos, with Palestine taking up piano, vocals, and cognac glass, which he's presumably emptied a number of times throughout these sessions. Palestine cycles through rather graceful notes on the piano, building the intensity alongside his German compatriots. Each of the three extended pieces is a variation on a theme of restrained electro-acoustic explorations with slow-burning dynamics and with Palestine offering a gravelly Beefheart-like vocal extemporization of the lyric "it ain't necessarily so" - at times nasally thin, at times a plaintive spoken delivery, at times a thick bellow, at times a raving lunatic. With the arrangements here taking up the more subdued sounds of Supersilent / AMM through scrapes and drones, Palestine's vocals stand in stark relief. Limited stock.

MPEG stream: Part One
MPEG stream: Part Three

Joe Pernice teeters frightfully close to easy listening territory on his band's latest studio album. The recent trend of finely crafted '70s soft rock revivalism (y'know, stuff influenced by the likes of Bread and Raspberries) seems to have bitten Mr. Pernice's songwriting pen. There's even some weirdly affected eighties new wave-isms ala Tears For Fears or Echo And The Bunnymen (hinted at by some past cover song choices maybe?). When you compare this to older 'classic' Pernice Brothers, the hooks just aren't as immediate and plentiful, their former boyish heartsick sentiments replaced by a more 'grown-up' air. These new songs slip easily alongside the likes of likeminded veteran breezy pop artists such as Archer Prewitt and Sam Prekop. We've yet to determine if it really makes for a lovelier Pernice Brothers though... after absolutely love-love-lovin' them album after album, this one might take some getting used to. In the meantime if you're craving some more familiar Pernice-y sights and sounds, you might wanna check out their brand new Nobody's Listening Nobody's Watching live cd/dvd combo!

MPEG stream: There Goes The Sun
MPEG stream: Saddest Quo

We've loved Joe Pernice ever since the Scud Mountain Boys, his classic alt-country Sub Pop outfit, the songs sad and wistful, the arrangements lush, and the voice, it was always about the voice, delicate and fragile and so emotional, after Scud Mountain Boys called it quits, Pernice went on to craft similarly evocative and moving country / pop in various guises, Big Tobacco, Chappaquiddick Skyline, and finally as the Pernice Brothers. But whatever name he used, and whatever sound he was exploring, whether it was soft pop, mournful country, or whatever, the sound and the voice were always recognizable. We complained a little about the last Pernice Brothers, we still dug it, but were worried that Pernice's obsession with soft rock (Bread, the Raspberries, etc.) was dulling his songwriting pen, the hooks less hooky, the sound less sparkly and sharp. But on Goodbye, Killer, it sounds like nothing ever changed. This record would fit anywhere in Pernice's career, and that's not a bad thing at all, jangly, smart pop, flecked with country-ish twang, lush arrangements, big time hooks, and that voice, sounding as powerful as ever, but without losing any of its fragility. Right out of the gate, we're utterly smitten, "Bechamel" opens with a perfectly lilting vocal melody over strummed acoustic guitar, and straight into not only a killer chorus, but a bridge that's just as memorable. "Jacqueline Susann" gets a little bit more rocking, reminding us a bit of Ted Leo of all people, but there's a certain sort of melody that only Pernice seems to be capable off, every band has had certain sonic shadings, the sort of thing, that no matter who was playing it, that chord progression, or the way the vocals interact with the music around it, total Joe Pernice, and this record is overflowing with that classic Pernice sound. Those first two songs are definitely a killer one two punch, and we find ourselves playing those over and over, but the whole record plays out fantastically as a whole, the sort of bittersweet perfect pop that there's just not enough of these days.

MPEG stream: Bechamel
MPEG stream: Jacqueline Susann
MPEG stream: We Love The Stage
MPEG stream: Not The Loving Kind

Hurrah, a new Pernice Brothers album never fails to brighten your day! While the very uncharacteristic '70s soft rock and '80s new wave leanings on their last studio album Discover A Lovelier You did cause a little bit of mild puzzlement around here last year, the band fortunately have fallen back in step with their old sweet, heartmelting selves for Live A Little. Mainman Joe Pernice steeps pretty much each and every one of his songs here with wonderful pop goodness. The generous serving of reverb on his tender vocals mean that each and every word is going to give your ears a big warm hug. Irresistible.

MPEG stream: How Can I Compare
MPEG stream: Conscience Clean (I Went To Spain)

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Features Joe Pernice of Scud Mountain Boys and his brother Bob, also Stephen Desaulniers on bass. It sounds just like a Scud record, and that's a very good thing.

If the name Pernice Brothers brings a tear of joy to your eye, we're telling you everything's gonna be alright... once you get your hands on Nobody's Watching Nobody's Listening, that is! For those of you who've yet to bask in the glow of Joe Pernice and Co.'s fabulous pop glory in the live setting, we s'pose this might be the next best thing. Not only do you get a live album packed with twelve of their finest songs, but you also get a dvd featuring a tour diary and two of their music videos complete with storyboards. The live album begins all rambunctious with lots of speedy, loud, rockin' guitars and gets progressively more somber. Our only complaint would be that the vocals are a bit low in the mix. Who doesn't want to hear more of Pernice's sweet, engagingly heartsick singing? Having just read his fictional ode to The Smiths' Meat Is Murder album in the 33 1/3 book series, we were particularly aware of his appreciation for (obsession with?) that band and their lead singer, and it does make itself apparent on occasion here. Shades of Morrissey's melodramatic mope surface in Pernice's lyrics and in his vocal delivery. Not a bad thing by any means. Everybody watch! Everybody listen!

MPEG stream: Working Girls
MPEG stream: Flaming Wreck

Joe Pernice, the main force behind Massachusetts' Scud Mountain Boys, has formed a new band with his brother. This is very much like Scud Mountain Boys' music, albeit without the lovely slide guitar BUT with the addition of lush strings. For fans of Bread, Jimmy Webb, Beach Boys. Perfect, clean, rich music.

Joe Pernice, formerly of the Scud Mountain Boys, and Big Tobacco, and now the Pernice Brothers is turning out to be one of the most important singer songwriters of our time. It sounds like hyperbole, but Joe Pernice has managed to find a sound all his own,

RealAudio clip: Working Girls (sunlight shines)
RealAudio clip: Bryte Side
RealAudio clip: Let That Show

With bandleader credits under the monikers Scud Mountain Boys, Big Tobacco, and Chappaquiddick Skyline, perennial AQ-favorite Joe Pernice offers his third as the Pernice Brothers. Yes, this is the most polished and radio-ready of all his records, but that doesn't mean it is watered down at all. Moving away from his country rock explorations with the Scuds, the Pernice Brothers explore the world of pop, albeit very melancholy, achingly bittersweet, emotion-drenched, sincere singer-songwriter pop. His near 'n dear influence remains the same as ever -- Bread. Wonderful Bread, who share with Pernice a love for delicately, carefully, quietly sung vocal melodies and sympathetic instrumentation -- warmly strummed guitars (at times reminiscent of The Smiths even!). Pernice's music has gotten me thru more than one broken heart... Now if you haven't heard Pernice before we'd recommend you start with Scud Mtn Boys' Massachusetts or the Big Tobacco album, but if you're already a fan we certainly recommend Yours Mine and Ours. MPEG Download: "How" [/audio/pernicehow.mp3] MPEG Stream: "How" [/audio/pernicehow.m3u]

MPEG stream: How
MPEG stream: Sometimes I Remember

This amazing series of books seems tailor made for AQ customers and music obsessives (oh wait, those are the same thing right?). Each book is about a single album. Not the artist, but the record, and all the stuff that went on before, during and after. Music geek nirvana eh? Not sure if everyone's familiar with Mojo, a British magazine that combines the best elements of the Wire, with the best parts of Rolling Stone. Mojo manages to publish articles that are so interesting and readable it almost doesn't matter who they're about. The most recent issue had a huge article about Primal Scream that had Andee and Allan thinking maybe they should re-investigate a band they both considered crap. Also in the same issue, there was an article about the decline and disintegration of the Doors focusing on their dismal final album The Soft Parade. But somehow after reading the article, we were all dying to hear it! These 33 1/3 series books kind of have the same effect. They are totally readable and really fascinating. Especially if the subject is a record you love. But it's not necessary, you might just find yourself suddenly interested in a record you never cared about. That's pretty cool. We'll try to list all of them as quick as we can, but we have to read 'em first! The first batch includes books about seminal albums by the Kinks, Love, Dusty Springfield, Pink Floyd, Neil Young and the Smiths. Future volumes will cover My Bloody Valentine, Prince, Abba, Velvet Underground, Joy Division, Radiohead, Jethro Tull and more. This here is the fifth in the series and the one most folks have been asking about, the Smiths' Meat Is Murder, written by Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers, Chappaquiddick Skyline, Old Tobacco, and the Scud Mountain Boys. Unlike the rest of the series, Pernice chose to write a novella. That's right, fiction. Some of you might be bummed to not learn all about studio squabbles and guitar tone and all that juicy stuff, but this is a pretty great little chunk of fiction. Awkward adolescence, unrequited love, crushes and first bands and how punk rock and the Smiths changed everything. Recommended.

Much like the Young Accuser 7" reviewed a couple lists back, It Feels So Good When I Stop is another Joe Pernice release related to his forthcoming novel. The Young Accuser 7" was a not-imaginary record, by the imaginary band in Pernice's novel, channeling a more rocking vibe than we're used to from him, but on It Feels So Good When I Stop, Pernice takes on a bunch of covers, forming what is essentially a soundtrack to his novel. Some of the tracks seem to be actually mentioned in the story (based on the handful of readings interspersed between the songs here), while others seem to just be songs that informed its writing or heck, that Pernice just digs. Del Shannon, Sebadoh, Tom T. Hall, Allan Sherman, Todd Rundgren, Plush, Dream Syndicate, Sammy Johns and of course The Young Accuser. Pernice manages to make all the covers here sound like his own, his voice wispy and delicate, the instrumentation minimal, the song choice ideal for his style, Del Shannon's "Found A Little Baby" is one of the highlights, joined by the rest of the Pernice Brothers, if it wasn't a cover, we'd be proclaiming it one of the best Pernice / Pernice brothers tracks ever. The Sebadoh cover manages to make the original sound even slower and sadder. The instrumental version of one of the Young Accuser jams from the Sub Pop 7" is also pretty great (with the Pernice Brothers again), and Todd Rundgren's "Hello, It's Me" seems like it was written for Pernice, stripped down and gorgeously vulnerable. Not sure if this has us wanting to read the novel necessarily, but it sure has us hankering for another Pernice Brothers record. Or how about a Scud Mountain Boys reunion! Regardless, a beautiful collection of songs for sure.

MPEG stream: I Go To Pieces
MPEG stream: Soul And Fire
MPEG stream: Hello It's Me

A book of poetry and prose from Joe Pernice who you know as the leader of Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquidick Skyline, and the Pernice Brothers. Joe's a writer and a poet and we were able to get hold of a precious few copies of his debut book, a slim "Christ sweating bloody bullets in the trellised garden. A sesame seed wedged in his teeth the least of his problems, and already the apostles sleep beneath a dream-coat of stars. "As if the whole world depends on it, the scent of camel stirs on the back of a breeze. Christ lights up a Camel, his face ghostly in match light. The horizon flickers with the distant bonfires of campers, thrill seekers, and execution buffs. The desert is one gigantic party, the biggest of the season, complete with commemorative mugs, crucifigurines, the works. All around, dueling sitars bang out popular tunes under the ivory moon. Buckets of drunken laughter and throes of multitudes copulating in the dunes. "Christ rubs his aching temples, wonders if he's just pissing against a fierce tide. He'll be glad when all the hoopla's died down. It's been a frustrating couple of years, to say the least. He could use some real R and R: A secluded tropical island where they wait on you hand and foot... shelled quahogs drenched in lemon butter... mile high cocktails with names impossible to spell."

Fuckin' A! All the the Vanguard recordings of Perrey & Kingsley finally available in one reasonably priced 2 disc set. Yes, I said "2 disc set". "The In Sound From Way Out", "Spotlight On Moog", plus Jean Jaques Perrey's solo albums "The Amazing New Pop Electronic Sound Of..." and "Moog Indigo" are all included here. Perrey & Kingsley, for those unfamiliar with their work, were probably the first electronic composers to work in the popular realm, releasing "The In Sound From Way Out" in 1966. Taking the ground breaking developments in tape and electronic music pioneered by Otto Leuning and Vladimir Ussachevsky and creating outrageoous arrangements of popular standards of the day a la Martin Denny and Esquivel, Perrey and Kingsley made some "easy listening" music that was anything but easy to listen to. Incredibly frenetic rhythms composed of multi-tracked tape loops of sound effects and recorded noise were the back drop to high paced electronic renditions of all the popular hits of the day using the most advanced synthesizers available. Everyone from Stereolab to Negativland claims a huge debt to the inspiration of these mad scientists of electronic pop. Also included are some nice biographical liner notes -- 7 pages worth -- by The Wire contributor Richard Henderson. Oh yeah, and there's also a third disc of Fat Boy Slim and Eurotrash remixes which you can promptly throw away when you get your copy. In its place you could fit a copy of Jean Jacques Perrey's "Good Moog" which was just re-issued as well and retails for 17.98.

RealAudio clip: Spooks In Space
RealAudio clip: Cosmic Ballad
RealAudio clip: Third Man Theme

Why the Beasties did not give credit to P&K (for the album title) is beyond me. Give credit, it's tribute. No credit, you're lame. A really amazing collection of early experimentation with tape loops and cut n paste frivolity, entertaining to an extreme.

A nice mini-primer of Jean Jacques Perrey and Gerschon Kingsley's best maniacal Moog melodies of the mid-sixties from the Vanguard label. All the best hits are here, including "Baroque Hoedown" better known as Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade theme, It's always great to hear these tracks that so many modern bands like Stereolab, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and The Beastie Boys are indebted too and for the uninitiated, this is a good place to start. Our only complaint is that it's much too short and offers nothing that hasn't been available before. Of course this hasn't stopped us playing it non-stop since it arrived.

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MPEG stream: Island Space
MPEG stream: Baroque Hoedown

This time it is a legal reissue. Originally released 1968, an early electronic-pop classic.

Don't know if this match-up is heaven-sent, but it sure is fun. Acid-hop Maestro Luke Vibert teams up with Moog Master Elder Stateman Jean-Jacques Perrey for a wild romp of Moog-filled delerium. While it's hard to say who is doing what, many of the tracks are encased in Vibert's bouncy rhythms and hip-hop beats while Perrey provides the spoken word passages and classic Moog "In Sound From Way Out" squelches. While Vibert's production can sometime slip into cliche (there needs to be a moratorium on James Brown grunts), the bulk of the record is exuberance par excellence!

MPEG stream: Schwing
MPEG stream: Messy Hop
MPEG stream: Dream 106

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Subtitled "Astral Animations & Komputer Kartoons", this is a compilation of Moog-&-Odioline-master Jean-Jacques Perrey's best work outside his collaborations with Gershon Kingsley. It appears that the futuristic pop tunes originated bewteen 1957 and 1985, but nonetheless maintain a wacky sensibility throughout.

Far out electronic entertainments created with the fabulous Moog Synthesizer. Indeed. If you liked the Perry & Kingsley In Sound From Way Out record, you'll love this -- all totally fun, truly demented 60's Moog pop. British import.

Along with Gershon Kingsley, Jean-Jacques Perrey comprised the legendary duo of "Perrey & Kingsley" as pioneering madmen in electronic music. With two amazing records "Spotlight On Moog" and "The In Sound From Way Out" they inspired generations of

RealAudio clip: The Percolator
RealAudio clip: Ballet Intersideral
RealAudio clip: La Panthere Cosmique

Sandro Perri was/is the man behind Toronto's always experimenting Polmo Polpo. Over the last few years he began playing under his own name and released a very limited cd-r of new interpretations of Polmo Polpo songs which are now seeing a proper release thanks to Constellation. Under his own name Perri has a much more delicate and seductive touch then displayed on Polmo Polpo recordings. While we liked a lot of the stuff on those discs, it really seems that in this incarnation, Perri's playing comes to life and feels so comfortable and never forced. Daydreaming washed out guitars that create such perfect melodies with understated vocals that never get in the way of the sparkling wave these songs create. We got a hint of this new direction earlier this year with the debut from Perri's killer new band, Glissandro 70.

MPEG stream: Romeo Heart (Slight Return)
MPEG stream: Requiem For A Fox

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Another collection of Perry dub from the label that brought us the stunning "Kung Fu Meets The Dragon".

Nice vinyl only reissue of Lee Perry's 1973 Blackboard Jungle Dub. 12 cuts of stripped down dub, with some fine screams and other "non-musical" noises thrown in to boot. Quite similar to "Kung Fu Meets The Dragon." Recorded at the Black Ark by Scratch and mixed by King Tubby at King Tubby's. Features Aston & Carlton Barrett, Winston Wright, Gladstone Anderson, Skully and more.

23 tracks, 9 previously unreleased, highlighting Perry's more esoteric production efforts taken from the beginning of his career as an independant producer in 1969 on up to 1975. This is really quite an exceptional collection of recordings and the unreleased

Mixed bag collection of Lee Perry productions and bogus (ie: non-Perry cuts). The tracks date as far back as 1966 and as recent as 1990 (with the bulk of the actual Perry tracks residing in the early Black Ark era around 197 to 1975) to our knowledge -- the fellers who compiled this anthology chose not to include any information about their choices (hmmm... I wonder why?) The material is primarily instrumentals and dubs, with a couple of Perry vocals thrown in for kicks. Among the more familiar Perry tracks: Flames of the Dragon, Django Shoots First, Enter the Dragon and Clint Eastwood Rides Again. For what it's worth, some of the bogus tracks (not even David Katz's thorough Perry discography has any record of them) like "Army Dub" and a dub of Johnny Clarke's "Every Knee Shall Bow" are quite nice even if they aren't the work of Lee Perry.

RealAudio clip: Django Shoots First
RealAudio clip: Supersonic Man

Yet another collection of tracks produced by the inimitable Lee 'Scratch' Perry. Taken from sessions recorded from 1973 - 1977 and featuring D.D. Dennis, The Viceroys, Eric Donaldson, Bree Daniels and much more. The tracks are mostly of the back to back vocal /

HOLY SHIT! If there was gonna be a dubstep jam of the year, this is IT. Lee Perry taking on Black Sabbath's immortal "Iron Man", and it's a twisted, speaker shaking, dancefloor destroying, bass heavy whatthefuck for sure, with Perry's vocals slurred and laid back and definitely a little drunken sounding, the chorus a woozy pitch shifted sing along, with that classic main riff replaced by thick stuttering bass wobble, the drums wildly skittering, the whole thing dense and bassy and HEAVY. The flipside is the 'dub' mix, and if anything, it just takes the best parts of the original (which is basically EVERYTHING) and twists them all up, and makes them somehow even MORE, the bass more distorted, the beat harder and more convoluted, the vocals chopped up to mirror the stuttering bass, all wound up into a totally irresistible dubbed out, bass heavy, dubstep CRUSHER. We can only imagine what must happen when a DJ lets this one rip. Fucking epic. Now we need to hear Lee Perry take on a whole record of Sabbath dubs. But for now, this will do, BIG TIME. And of course WAY limited, ONLY 300 COPIES. Grab one while you can...

Classic Lee Perry dub madness from 1975. This is the most consistantly selling reggae/dub album we stock, and for good reason - on these tracks Lee Perry somehow manages to channel the spirit of Bruce Lee expressed in dub. Aside from the contextual intros to let you know who you're up against, there's some kick ass dub on this album and a lot of what sounds like Lee Perry with gas pains burping through the session. And if that's not enough, there's an awesome cover drawing of a Bruce Lee cum Lee Perry figure extended in a kung fu kick and surrounded by a dragon. One of the best and essential dub albums to own!

MPEG stream: Enter The Dragon
MPEG stream: Theme From Hong Kong
MPEG stream: Heart Of The Dragon
MPEG stream: Hold Them Kung Fu

I bet some of you are wondering just when these collections of unreleased, lost, MIA, and otherwise obscure tracks from the archives of Lee Perry are going to end. Well, I guess one answer might be "hopefully never", because there's definitely a lot of great stuff consistantly being recovered from the bygone days of the Ark. Having said that, it must also be added that this

[ aquarius records catalogue — P ]