[ aquarius records catalogue — R ]

Showing results 551 through 600 of 1354.

REPLACEMENTS, THEAll Shook Down(Sire / Rhino)cd$ 16.98

REPLACEMENTS, THEDon't Tell A Soul(Sire / Rhino)cd$ 16.98

REPLACEMENTS, THEDon't You Know Who I Think I Was? - The Best Of The Replacements(Sire)cd$ 17.98

What's weird is there was a double disc greatest hits compilation released back in 1997, featuring a disc of classics, and a disc of random covers and what not. But what the hell, every decade or so it's probably good to look back, and remind all the young punks that the Replacements still totally rule! These guys truly had the goods, and if the new songs included here are any indication, still do. From record one, the Mats were totally one of the greatest band ever. Punk as fuck, wild and drunken, some shows perfect, some shows embarrassing debacles, every song a stone cold killer. Hook filled and heartbreaking. Epic and fist pumping, head banging, beer drinking perfect rock and roll. In the nineties every single mixtape ever made was required by law to feature at least one Replacements song. Okay, that's not really true, but it sure as hell should be. Lord knows we put "Answering Machine" on pretty much every mix tape we made. This is definitely for newbies only (or obsessives who need the new tracks). Pretty much every record up until Pleased To Meet Me is a must own, and even Don't Tell A Soul has a handful of great tracks. But this is definitely a killer introduction, or an awesome ready made mix cd if you're too lazy to make your own. From the blistering pissed off punk of "Kids Don't Follow" complete with a recording of cops breaking up an early Mats gig (listen close and you can hear a teenage Dave Pirner from Soul Asylum yelling "FUCK YOU MAN!") to the lilting heartache of "Skyway" to the bad ass rock of "Bastards Of Young" to the heartbreaking emo misery of "Answering Machine" to the perfect pop of "Alex Chilton", hard to go wrong. This record should definitely have the intended effect of making you want to own every sing one of the records that these tracks were culled from. If not, well then you have no heart, you are just some sort of jaded rock and roll casualty. But maybe, these tracks will get your blood pumping and renew your love of pure and primal RAWK. It does that to us every time. So in case there's any question, yes, you get all the ol' Placemats faves like "Unsatisfied", "Left Of The Dial", "Alex Chilton" and "I'll Be You". Quadruple yay!! And the new tunes are pretty dang good too. Considering how weak the last few Replacements records were, these two tracks kick serious ass, especially the super rocking "Message To The Boys" sounding like it could have been a Pleased To Meet Me b-side. Absolutely and totally essential (at least until you get your ass in gear and get all the records proper)!

REPLACEMENTS, THEHootenanny(Rhino)cd$ 17.98

What to say about the Replacements? Their history has been pretty well documented. By the end, they were everywhere, MTV, magazines, with a sound that had almost nothing in common with the records that made them the legends they so rightfully are. One guy died, one has gone on to a middling solo career, one is even in the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses. None of that means anything though when faced with the pure pop genius of their first 5 records, 4 of which just got reissued with tons of bonus tracks. We always just assumed that everyone loved the Replacements, cherished their beat up copy of Let It Be (Replacements not the Beatles), put "Answering Machine" on every mix tape, and the thought of writing about a band like that is pretty daunting. Definitely one of those instances where it seems like shouting "these guys rule!!!! Buy this now!!!" should suffice. And there's the fact that there are tons of kids listening to bands who ripped off bands who ripped off the Replacements and might not even know it. Replacements fans are a pretty obsessive bunch, so we won't even bother talking in any depth about the bonus tracks, needless to say, beyond the usual alternate takes, there are some serious gems and a couple Holy Grail type tracks. But for folks new to the band, fuck the bonus tracks, the record themselves are practically perfect. Or at least perfectly imperfect. Anyone who ever saw the Replacements knows you had a fifty / fifty chance of seeing either the best show of your life, or the most insanely shitty show ever, and the records while not quite that haphazard, are just haphazard enough to keep that sort of excitement going. None of the tracks are perfect, the band is always loose, really loose, and the songs are always on the verge of total collapse, but the songs are catchy, and the lyrics are awesome, sometimes snotty and funny, other times poignant and bittersweet. In an age of genres, it's weird to listen to a band that is essentially their own genre. Beyond being just a rock band or a pop band, they are the Replacements and nearly 30 years on they still RULE. Hootenany is sort of the oddball of the Replacements' first few discs, and begins with the various band members swapping instruments for a falling apart blues jam, that does eventually do just that. The rest of the disc is split between frantic punk rockers, tripped out ballads, garage-y blues jams, and the usual pop flecked punk rock that defined their sound on Sorry, Ma. Standouts include the surfy "Buck Hill", the weird "Lovelines" with the lyrics being read from the personal ads of a Minneapolis paper, and the dreamy Westerberg solo jam "Within Your Reach", with it's effected guitar, primitive programmed drums, and plaintive vocals. Definitely not THE record to grab if you were looking for just one Replacements disc, but once you've immersed yourself in the rest of their records, you'll undoubtedly find this one essential too.

REPLACEMENTS, THELet it Be(Rhino)cd$ 17.98

What to say about the Replacements? Their history has been pretty well documented. By the end, they were everywhere, MTV, magazines, with a sound that had almost nothing in common with the records that made them the legends they so rightfully are. One guy died, one has gone on to a middling solo career, one is even in the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses. None of that means anything though when faced with the pure pop genius of their first 5 records, 4 of which just got reissued with tons of bonus tracks. We always just assumed that everyone loved the Replacements, cherished their beat up copy of Let It Be (Replacements not the Beatles), put "Answering Machine" on every mix tape, and the thought of writing about a band like that is pretty daunting. Definitely one of those instances where it seems like shouting "these guys rule!!!! Buy this now!!!" should suffice. And there's the fact that there are tons of kids listening to bands who ripped off bands who ripped off the Replacements and might not even know it. Replacements fans are a pretty obsessive bunch, so we won't even bother talking in any depth about the bonus tracks, needless to say, beyond the usual alternate takes, there are some serious gems and a couple Holy Grail type tracks. But for folks new to the band, fuck the bonus tracks, the record themselves are practically perfect. Or at least perfectly imperfect. Anyone who ever saw the Replacements knows you had a fifty / fifty chance of seeing either the best show of your life, or the most insanely shitty show ever, and the records while not quite that haphazard, are just haphazard enough to keep that sort of excitement going. None of the tracks are perfect, the band is always loose, really loose, and the songs are always on the verge of total collapse, but the songs are catchy, and the lyrics are awesome, sometimes snotty and funny, other times poignant and bittersweet. In an age of genres, it's weird to listen to a band that is essentially their own genre. Beyond being just a rock band or a pop band, they are the Replacements and nearly 30 years on they still RULE. Let It Be is THE ONE. If you had to pick a perfect, classic, all time essential indie rock record, or college rock record, or whatever you want to call it, it would be practically impossible to not pick Let It Be. The first record where the band finally merged their nascent pop genius with their chaotic rock chops. As Replacements fans, it's easy to declare every track a classic, and every record perfect, but Let It Be transcends any of that, even plenty of non fans find Let It Be irresistible, the songs here are amazing, simultaneously well crafted, tight as fuck, but still loose and wild. Opener "I Will Dare" sets the scene with its shuffley rhythm, wandering bassline, and killer main riff. Follow up "Favorite Thing" is just as good, another hook most bands would kill for, but these guys spit em out effortlessly. But Let It Be isn't all the 'new', 'more mature' Replacements, which the band prove with the next two tracks, the furious rocker "We're Coming Out" and the goofy "Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out", which while sort of a joke song, is still fucking AWESOME. The record is filled out with more gems, a Kiss cover, but a couple of the tracks would go on to remain what some folks might consider their finest moments: the gorgeous acoustic lament "Unsatisfied", and the mindblowing "Answering Machine", a gorgeous heartbreaker, just vocals and guitar, the guitar part pretty intense and moving all on its own, but the vocals are so bittersweet. What a way to end a record, and a perennial mixtape essential.

REPLACEMENTS, THEPleased To Meet Me(Sire / Rhino)cd$ 16.98

REPLACEMENTS, THESorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash(Rhino)cd$ 17.98

What to say about the Replacements? Their history has been pretty well documented. By the end, they were everywhere, MTV, magazines, with a sound that had almost nothing in common with the records that made them the legends they so rightfully are. One guy died, one has gone on to a middling solo career, one is even in the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses. None of that means anything though when faced with the pure pop genius of their first 5 records, 4 of which just got reissued with tons of bonus tracks. We always just assumed that everyone loved the Replacements, cherished their beat up copy of Let It Be (Replacements not the Beatles), put "Answering Machine" on every mix tape, and the thought of writing about a band like that is pretty daunting. Definitely one of those instances where it seems like shouting "these guys rule!!!! Buy this now!!!" should suffice. And there's the fact that there are tons of kids listening to bands who ripped off bands who ripped off the Replacements and might not even know it. Replacements fans are a pretty obsessive bunch, so we won't even bother talking in any depth about the bonus tracks, needless to say, beyond the usual alternate takes, there are some serious gems and a couple Holy Grail type tracks. But for folks new to the band, fuck the bonus tracks, the record themselves are practically perfect. Or at least perfectly imperfect. Anyone who ever saw the Replacements knows you had a fifty / fifty chance of seeing either the best show of your life, or the most insanely shitty show ever, and the records while not quite that haphazard, are just haphazard enough to keep that sort of excitement going. None of the tracks are perfect, the band is always loose, really loose, and the songs are always on the verge of total collapse, but the songs are catchy, and the lyrics are awesome, sometimes snotty and funny, other times poignant and bittersweet. In an age of genres, it's weird to listen to a band that is essentially their own genre. Beyond being just a rock band or a pop band, they are the Replacements and nearly 30 years on they still RULE. Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash was their first proper full length, and is a corker. Definitely punk rock, but still infused with incredible hooks, catchy beyond belief, but super raw and frenetic, some of their best songs EVER: the kick ass rocker "Takin' A Ride", the furious punk rock jam of "Customer", the woozy "I Bought A Headache", the all time classic "Shiftless When Idle", The Husker Du worship of "Something To Du", the pop in punk's clothing of "Raised In The City", not a miss to be found, listen to the samples and you'll be hooked!

REPLACEMENTS, THEStink(Rhino)cd$ 12.98

What to say about the Replacements? Their history has been pretty well documented. By the end, they were everywhere, MTV, magazines, with a sound that had almost nothing in common with the records that made them the legends they so rightfully are. One guy died, one has gone on to a middling solo career, one is even in the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses. None of that means anything though when faced with the pure pop genius of their first 5 records, 4 of which just got reissued with tons of bonus tracks. We always just assumed that everyone loved the Replacements, cherished their beat up copy of Let It Be (Replacements not the Beatles), put "Answering Machine" on every mix tape, and the thought of writing about a band like that is pretty daunting. Definitely one of those instances where it seems like shouting "these guys rule!!!! Buy this now!!!" should suffice. And there's the fact that there are tons of kids listening to bands who ripped off bands who ripped off the Replacements and might not even know it. Replacements fans are a pretty obsessive bunch, so we won't even bother talking in any depth about the bonus tracks, needless to say, beyond the usual alternate takes, there are some serious gems and a couple Holy Grail type tracks. But for folks new to the band, fuck the bonus tracks, the record themselves are practically perfect. Or at least perfectly imperfect. Anyone who ever saw the Replacements knows you had a fifty / fifty chance of seeing either the best show of your life, or the most insanely shitty show ever, and the records while not quite that haphazard, are just haphazard enough to keep that sort of excitement going. None of the tracks are perfect, the band is always loose, really loose, and the songs are always on the verge of total collapse, but the songs are catchy, and the lyrics are awesome, sometimes snotty and funny, other times poignant and bittersweet. In an age of genres, it's weird to listen to a band that is essentially their own genre. Beyond being just a rock band or a pop band, they are the Replacements and nearly 30 years on they still RULE. Stink came out right after Sorry Ma, and is just as punk rock, just as catchy, but a bit tighter. It begins with a recording of a house party being busted up by a cop before a quick count off and the band launches into "Kids Don't Follow", which is another all time Replacements classic. In fact, this is only an ep, but all 8 tracks totally rule. "Stuck In The Middle" has an incredible stop start chorus, and a hook to die for, "Dope Smokin' Moron" is almost a full on hardcore track, "Go" is practically a ballad, moody and melancholy, the first hint of what these guys might be capable of songwise, and the disc finishes off with yet another classic, "Gimme Noise", another killer chorus, and hooks galore. How many 'classics' is one band allowed to have? Get used to, it'll take a few more records before they stop kicking out stone cold classics like it ain't no thing...

REPLACEMENTS, THETim(Sire / Rhino)cd$ 16.98

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

SORRY.

REPLICATORValidation Complex(self released)cd-r ep$ 4.98

Picking up from right where they left off with last year's cd "Winterval", Replicator's follow-up comes in the form of a cd-r. They've taken their loud/quiet approach up a few notches, leaning much more on the former this time out. Aggressive, and angstful

REPLICATORWinterval(Psychotic Astronaut)cd$ 7.98

"Winterval" begins with an almost hesitant simmering of guitar that slowly builds to a thunderous crescendo. And well, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that the rest of the album continues in pretty much the same fashion of quiet/loud. However on the upside, it does so with raw, angular, barbed guitars and angstful, hollered vocals which make for more edginess in the build ups

REPLICATORYou Are Under Surveillance(Substandard)cd$ 9.98

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

SORRY.

REPLIKANT RUMBA ROCKERSs/t(Nonplace)cd$ 16.98

Between the recent delightful Senor Coconut reissues and new albums by Los Negritos, the man behind it all aka Atom Heart (uh, aka Uwe Schmidt) simply cannot be stopped... and who'd want him to anyways! Here's another of his musical incarnations, Replikant Rumba Rockers (let's hear you say that one five times fast!). For Atom Heart fans, this needs no introduction nor any explanation. For others, well, if you wanna get whipped up into a frenzy of deliciously bizarre laptop-tronica, few midi-minded artists can do it like he can and in so many different candy-colored guises. With that in mind, we have to note that this might be one of his most surprising low-key cds. It struck us as being positively sedate by his standards, yet still super fun! Mixed by frequent collaborator Burnt Friedman.

REPLIKASBiz Burada Yok Iken(Dionysius Records)lp$ 15.98

This great modern day psych / post rock band from Turkey does covers of classics tracks from '60s/'70s Turkish psychedelic artists like Mavi Iskilar, Erkin Koray, Mogollar, and others. Includes liner notes with plenty of info on each track, complete with pictures of the original record sleeves! On Dionysus, who brought us the Hava Narghile compilation that turned us on to Turkish psych in the first place!!

REPO MAN(OST)(MCA)cd$ 11.98

REPTIELViolent Sagas of the Ancients(Cubby Control Records)cd$ 8.98

REPTILE HOUSE4 Song 7"(Dischord)7"$ 5.98

REPTILJANThe Hellbender Suite(Some Place Else)cd$ 15.98

First off, what's with bands that stick an excess "J" into their name? Wooden Shjips... Frijid Pink... now Reptiljan! Well we love those bands, so we'll take the "J" in Reptiljan as a good sign. Another good sign: these guys are from Finland! All well and wonderful so far you say, but what the heck do they sound like? Well, this is something for folks who've been digging the apocalyptic metallic drum machine fueled hardcore electronic mayhem of such recently reviewed (and raved about) discs as Drumcorps, and that Drum>Machinegun compilation, along with the drillnbass mashups of DJ/Rupture, DJ Scud, Venetian Snares, and Jason Forrest. This Reptiljan disc is a full auto barrage of lethal stuttering stittering glitchery. Totally AGGRO...vating...ahh...love it!!! Twisted humor, twisted sonics, utterly abrasive and so satisfyingly scratching that itch we have for over-the-top digitally damaged jackhammering laced with samples and noise. Pretty much cranked to maximum distortion, even when exploring crinkly textures rather than higher BPM velocities as some of this does, The Hellbender Suite is certainly EXTREME ten ways from Sunday. Perhaps it might indicate something to you if we quote the dedication on this cd: "to Nuclear Death, Beherit, Impetigo and Cryptobranchus alleganiensis." The latter item being not an extreme underground metal band, but rather the scientific name of the variety of salamander in fact known more commonly as the "hellbender".

REPULSIONHorrified(Relapse)2cd$ 14.98

REPUTATION, THEs/t(Initial Records)cd$ 14.98

Have to admit that when I saw the name of this band I groaned and thought "oh no, not another 'The ____' retro rock band (a la The Go, The Strokes, The Gossip, The Pattern, etc etc etc). And hurrah! This isn't. What it is is very mid-'90s-ish female-fronted

REQSketchbook(Warp)cd$ 16.98

Music for smoking weed and making graffiti to. REQ is a Brighton-based graffiti artist and music / beatmaker signed to Warp after his debut for Skint (Fatboy Slim label). The downtempo breakbeat stuff here is very stripped down, no lush layers to obstruct, the sound mainly defined by slightly interesting percussive loops made out of various acoustic elements (shakers, thumb piano,

REQUIEM FOR A DREAM(OST)(Nonesuch)cd$ 17.98

The music from the new movie by Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi (the soundtrack to which is sadly, and strangely, unavailable)...this one features the Kronos Quartet playing music by composer Clint Mansell.

RESIDENTS, THECommercial Album(Cryptic / Mute)cd$ 20.00

Probably the second most talked about Residents album, and some would argue their last great effort, is the brilliant Commercial Album. The concept was to craft 40 pop gems (in true Residents fashion) each spanning exactly 60 seconds (to match the time of the average television commercial in 1980). With the help of some of their friends: Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Andy Partridge and of course Nessie Lessons and Snakefinger, the Residents crafted some truly beautiful, surreal and poignant tunes; each one completely trimmed of any excess fat. A classic Residents album wouldn't be complete without a jab at the Beatles, included here as the "Simple Song". Other songs take on psycho-sexual topics, dream-like narratives twisted love songs and down right non sequiturs. This special edition comes packaged in a hardcover booklet with lyrics to the songs and new images from videos the Residents have been working on to complete the entire song cycle of videos they started in the eighties.

RESIDENTS, THECommercial DVD(Mute)dvd$ 19.98

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

SORRY. Probably the second most talked about Residents album, and some would argue their last great effort, is the brilliant Commercial Album. The concept was to craft 40 pop gems (in true Residents fashion) each spanning exactly 60 seconds (to match the time of the average television commercial in 1980). With the help of some of their friends: Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Andy Partridge and of course Nessie Lessons and Snakefinger, the Residents crafted some truly beautiful, surreal and poignant tunes; each one completely trimmed of any excess fat. A classic Residents album wouldn't be complete without a jab at the Beatles, included here as the "Simple Song". Other songs take on psycho-sexual topics, dream-like narratives twisted love songs and down right non sequiturs. Four of these nuggets were made into one minute videos (always on the bleeding edge, the Residents predated the video craze) which equal the music in their visual surreality. The Residents had intended to make videos for the entire album, but the project was never completed... Until now. With the help of an international roster of video artists the new Commercial DVD comes packed with 56 one minute movies, 10 new Residents videos, lots of easter eggs, and a 5.1 surround sound remix of the original album.

RESIDENTS, THEDemons Dance Alone(East Side Digital)cd$ 16.98

Lyrically The Residents have always had a darker side, a subversive voice from the underground. This is their post-9/11 album, a procession of tales of bleakness, despair and questioning set against garish black-lit neon hues and unsettling wit. Needless to say, considerably more sobering and subdued, direct and intimate than most other Residents releases, but no less wryly tweaked.

RESIDENTS, THEEskimo(Cryptic / Euro Ralph)cd$ 15.98

If there's one Residents record that is the one Residents record that people who aren't necessarily Residents fans own it is Eskimo (their sixth release, from 1979). There's good reason for this album being in so many libraries, if for no other reason than that it's one hell of a concept album. And if there's one thing the Residents do well it's concept albums. For Eskimo the Residents partially impersonate a Folkways ethnomusicological document from the 60's and a Firesign Theater record. The album is presented as a recreation of "not only the Eskimo ceremonial music, but also a living context for its existence". And so included is a booklet of stories illustrating the daily life and ceremonies of the Eskimo with which you can read and follow along with the music. The music is a combination of likely, but miscellaneous percussion instruments (Chris Cutler of Pere Ubu, Art Bears, Henry Cow fame is credited for his "precision drumming" here), analog synths, and chanted vocals. It's all about as convincing as genuine Eskimo music as you can imagine coming from the eyeballed wonders, and that's definitely part of its charm. The vocals themselves you can take as non-sensical made up words, or listen closely and you might be able to hear some familiar phrases here and there: "Coca Cola adds life" and "we want Coke, oh yeah!" are definitely in here. How much other subliminal marketing the Residents slipped in here is up for debate. Some people hear more than others. This handsome digipack edition comes with the original cover art; a classic image of the Residents on wearing tuxes, tails and eyeballs on a deco stage setup out of the 40's.

RESIDENTS, THEGod In Three Persons(Cryptic / Euro Ralph)2cd$ 17.98

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

SORRY. One of a string of concept albums by Bay Area mysterious geniuses The Residents! God In Three Persons was originally released back in 1988, but still drops jaws today. Steeped with themes of religion, morals and sexuality, the drama centers around a pair of siamese twins who possess healing powers and is narrated in first person by the main character Mr. X with support from a female chorus. The deceptively spartan yet weighted electronic compositions offer the spoken-sung narration and near-operatic interjections ample berth. Oh and the opening credits are sung too! Yes, like an old tyme circus freak show, this is ever so strangely fascinating.

RESIDENTS, THEMeet The Residents(Cryptic / Euro Ralph)cd$ 15.98

Meet The Residents, a truly fucked up psychedelic masterpiece if ever there was one, was originally released in 1974. As a recording, half of it sounds like it was taken from cassettes that had been baking in a thrift store window display for several years before being dubbed to multi-track with overdubbed toy pianos. The deranged arrangements are impossible to decrypt. There's obviously some good players involved here, but there's a great deal of clumsy, high school band dropout playing as well -- and that's what really makes this album intriguing. The album kicks off with a quite intentionally terrible version of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made For Walking" with the previously mentioned "high school band" playing accompaniment, but we're fortunately left off the hook from receiving an abused cover and instead the song loops over the final phrase of the chorus before degenerating altogether. The balance of the album is a reflection of this degeneration, with songs knit together by shifting from one small repeated element into entirely new pieces. Meet The Residents is noisy, rough and brutal. Full of fucked up tangos, jerky rumbas and twisted waltzes. This is very much not the same band that produced God In Three Persons some 13 years later. These Residents had never even heard of a synthesizer, let alone a sequencer; every instrument on here is painfully detuned by hand. This is garbage psychedelia at its best and an absolutely essential album for anyone who walks that crooked line between fucked up experiemental noise and pop music!

RESIDENTS, THENot Available(Ralph Records)lp$ 15.98

RESIDENTS, THEOur Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses(Euro Ralph/Cryptic)4cd$ 60.00

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

SORRY. Comes in handsome full-color hardcover box with 32-page color booklet. Anthology spans 25 years of ear bending from the anonymous 3 eyeballs and a skull. Includes exclusive tracks unavailable elsewhere.

RESIDENTS, THEResidue Of The Residents(Superior Viaduct)2lp$ 25.00

RESIDENTS, THESanta Dog(Superior Viaduct)2x7"$ 15.98

RESIDENTS, THESatisfaction(Superior Viaduct)7"$ 10.98

RECORD STORE DAY 2015!! Kewl! For Record Store Day 2015, the Superior Viaduct label has returned to their West Coast underground roots and reissued a quartet of crucial California punk/indie singles, early outings from The Dils, The X, Flipper, and The Residents! These would set you back a pretty penny if you tried to buy original copies nowadays. SF's eccentric (to say the least) Residents, originally released this 45 back in 1976 on Ralph. Yes, it's a cover of the Rolling Stones song, a la Devo (but the Residents did it first, and way less recognizably). Then on the B-side, there's an original with the great title "Weed = Loser". We don't normally think of long running weirdos The Residents as a "punk" band, they predate punk and new wave anyway, but they are nothing if not subversive, and actually this 7" certainly fits into this Superior Viaduct series, offering its most insane stab of super freaky experimental anarchic noise rock, punk or not!! Even Flipper would cower. Limited edition, colored (translucent purple) vinyl, last copies, already sold out even at the label.

RESIDENTS, THEWB: RMX(Cryptic)cd$ 15.98

Legend has it that way back in their infancy, these infamous southerners transplanted to San Francisco sent a demo tape to Warner Brothers for consideration. Needless to say, the Bros. passed on the project and shipped the tape back to the address from which it had come, addressed to "The Residents" -- as no names had been included with the cassette. And so the band earned their moniker. Apparently these earliest recordings were not what eventually became the album Meet The Residents, and have never been heard outside of the Warner Brothers' offices (if they even bothered to put the tape on at all). So now I bet you're all slathering at the mouth to hear these recordings. Well so are we... still. Unfortunately, what you get with WB: RMX is a remix of those original recordings which basically amounts to a lot of bad factory preset rock / hip hop drum programming and some sampled elements of the original tapes. Listen really carefully and you might be able to dissemble the original recordings from the mix. While true Residents fans will be forced to purchase this out of obligation, we can't recommend this as a starting point for anyone else. Sigh... Maybe this is a prelude to a release of the original demo tape.

RESIDUAL ECHOESCalifornia(Holy Mountain)lp$ 14.98

In addition to being the home to a lot of the "music industry", the (so-called) sunny state of California has provided plenty of songwriting inspiration for artists over the years. Uh, from the Mamas and the Papas to the Dead Kennedys to LL Cool J to the Skygreen Leopards. But this new vinyl-only, gatefold album from damaged Santa Cruz (now relocated to LA, we're told) psychmongers Residual Echoes might be the last word, certainly the most freaked out one, in musical California tribute. It's got lyrics referencing earthquakes, the SST label, and elephant seal mating rituals among other Cali-centric concepts. Actually it's just side B that's RE's 'California suite', but the two songs on side A are just as wild and heavy, which is how we like it here in California, right??? Dunno when/if this will ever come out on cd, so for now it's only the turntable enabled amongst you who can enjoy this platter of psychedelic excess.

RESIDUAL ECHOESFirsts E.P.(Elevation)cd$ 8.98

WTF? Guitarist Adam Payne of Santa Cruz destroyed psych heavies Residual Echoes just made the move (back) down to the LA area... and this 20 minute, 5 song ep is the first recording we've heard from his new SoCal based RE lineup. And... suddenly they've got (more of) an SST punk thing going on? Raucous first track "Dosed Clothes" might make you think so, and track two too, but then you get to "Wipe It Up", their Blake Babies cover (!) and it seems RE has gone the extra step into jangly '80s /early '90s college radio indie rock. The sunshiney "Fresh Eyes", track 4, being their own take on that sorta thing. Well, uh, if you thought they were weird before, well in a way this punky, poppy RE is even weirder. Even though it's much more tuneful and tightly rockin'. Yet their usual '70s psych and krautrock influences haven't been discarded... Payne wrangles plenty of feedback n' distortion from his Stratocaster throughout. In fact the final cut here, the nearly ten-minute "Strawberrytea" is (in part) a heavy duty, raw psych guitar blow out in the typical 'Echoes tradition. Not entirely what we were expecting, but pretty cool nonetheless.

RESIDUAL ECHOESMfi-Gbsp(Rocket Recordings / Invada)cd$ 14.98

Shambolic Santa Cruz psychsters Residual Echoes follow up last year's Phoenician Flu and Ancient Ocean with this new album, a UK import on cd and/or colored vinyl, as you please. The tracks are few (four) but the lengths are long (averaging upwards of nine minutes each). Things start off in krautrocky acoustic strum mode, building to adrenalized, electronics/effects enhanced ceremonial drone worship, but it's not really until the third track ("Headache Transverse") that the band busts out the loud electric guitar distortion that made Phoenician Flu almost a stoner metal album. Said heaviness kicks in, feedback action too, and then they're off! The relatively peaceable and mellow vibes of the first two trancey, folky tracks are displaced somewhat in favor of dealing out damage in the amped up style of fellow travellers Comets On Fire. The fourth and final cut does so likewise... so half-and-half rockin' here pretty much, and we like both halves, 'specially when they come together (they do) and the Amon Duul meets Pelt style trance-throb blends with the Crazy Horse/Comets/Dinosaur guitar freakouts... Yessir, Residual Echoes have certainly earned their place alongside bros Comets On Fire and Six Organs Of Admittance as NorCal psych heroes, with 'em around we hardly need Japanese imports like AMT, Up-Tight and LSD-march...not that we'd not want those, the more the merrier! Anyway Mfi-Gbsp (what's that again?) is a good one for anyone who digs druggy drone jams that let loose in the guitar dep't too... Fans of the aforementioned acts, or East Coasters like Bardo Pond and Dead Meadow fer instance, should get hip to Residual Echoes if you aren't already.

RESIDUAL ECHOESMiddle Path(Holy Mountain)lp$ 15.98

RESIDUAL ECHOESPhoenician Flu and Ancient Ocean(Holy Mountain)cd$ 13.98

We're still hearing the "residual echoes" of this Santa Cruz based band's self-titled debut record from earlier this year ringing in our ears...and now, here's their follow-up release already. No complaints about that though, we love these guys!! Phoenician Flu and Ancient Ocean offers up all the druggy, damaged psych-rock fans of the band could hope for. Blasting off with the deleriously lo-fi, Sabbath-on-SST stomp of "Death Comes For The Archbishop" its evident right away that this record is gonna be a heavy one, indeed this track gets totally ripping metal (in a Seventies way) in spots. But then, you'll also find some rather folky stuff on here as well (borrowings from Nick Drake and the Carter Family are both credited in the liner notes). It's a blend that anyone into Residual Echoes' pals Comets Of Fire will already dig, though if anything, the Echoes are even more shambolic than the most fucked up Comets stuff! This record is a wrestling match of the boogie vs. the drone and it doesn't much matter which one wins. Yes indeedy, Holy Mountain has put out some great releases. But we'd say that an adventurous listener scaling the Holy Mountain's heights would probably find Residual Echoes rockin' out at one of the toppermost peaks! Recommended!

RESIDUAL ECHOESSecret Museum Of Kind Men Vol. 3(Casual Acid Tea)7"$ 4.50

Volume three in the Secret Museum Of Kind Men, named for the Secret Museum Of Mankind compilations of early ethnographic field recordings, from which the songs on these singles are drawn from. As we explained in our review of volume two, we originally thought that Secret Museum Of Kind Men was in fact the name of a band, covering tracks from those old comps, and while these are in fact covers of songs from those compilations, each single is a different band, the common denominator being Matthew Clark, who runs the Casual Acid Tea label, and who has drummed for Premonition 13, among others. Here he sits in on the kit with aQ psych rock faves Residual Echoes, who tackle two Secret Museum tracks on from India, one from Tajikistan, the first, is all instrumental, and definitely reminds us a bit of Torch of the Mystics era Sun City Girls, soaring violas, over a bed of tribal drumming, and swirling psychedelic guitar, all Eastern melodies, and psych folk shimmer, while the second takes those buzzing Eastern melodies, and wraps them around gorgeous vocal harmonies, slowly building to something more droney and psychedelic, reminding us a bit of Swedish psychedelic hard rockers Goat actually! As always, VERY recommended, and also VERY limited...

RESIDUAL ECHOESs/t(Holy Mountain)cd$ 13.98

If you ever thought Comets On Fire sounded chaotic and possibly drug-addled (which they do), and liked that and wanted even more chaos and drugs in the mix, then you've got to check out these seriously fucked Santa Cruz cousins of theirs, a band called Residual Echoes -- actually the brainchild, it seems, of one Adam Payne, recording mostly solo (though there's a live band now). His friends help out on the record -- Adam and Co. variously credited with "unseasoned drumming", "shirtless drumming", "manhands", "air", "flutophone", "shitty bass", "fuzz", "computer din", "broken alto" and other instruments (or not). Blending krautrock, '80s SST style experimentation, and the wiggiest of the Japanese destructo-psych underground into one potent pot-brownie of a record, this is fucked up and will fuck you up too if you let it. First released in a limited vinyl edition, but this cd sounds better though. And you need all the help you can get. Lotsa squawking squonk, but always with drive, goin' someplace good. Long songs, many moods, hard to grasp in it's entirety, entirely. We seriously dug it though. Again, it's easiest to describe this for/sell this to Comets fans -- just imagine Comets at their craziest and go from there. Heavy psych action with few if any boundaries and lots of arty energy. Oh yeah, remember that Leaf Yard cd-r? If so, that means you want this too. FYI, it's a Record of the Month on Julian Cope's Head Heritage website at www.headheritage.co.uk (which we recommend you check out for the music reviews!), who also recently bestowed similar honors on another recent Holy Mountain release, Om's Variations On A Theme. And we know Holy Mountain ain't payin' payola to Mr. Cope... nor to us for that matter though we wouldn't be opposed...

RESOEThe Black Void Of Space(Echocord)cd$ 16.98

Another fantastic release from Echocord, and another excursion into deeeeeep dark spaced out dub, Resoe, a long time techno producer, explores all the various facets and permutations of dub, from buzzing dubstep, to shimmering ambient dub, to pulsing techno, even a little house, but the building blocks of this modern minimal abstract digidub, those sounds we love and can't seem to ever get enough of are all here, in full effect, think Echospace, Rod Modell, Variant, Quantec, Deepchord, Pole, etc, skittery skeletal rhythms, swirling atmospherics, abstract pulsations, muted murky loops, reverbed ripples drifting out into the ether, and then of course bass, rumbling Teutonic low end, washed out thrums, the sound warm and enveloping, the bass a swirling organic sound pulls you under and carries you off. Opener "Lakeviews" is the perfect introduction, all spare and sparse, layered sounds gently swirling, unfurling, tangling and untangling, but blurred and smeared into soft streaks of whir and echo and throb, the beat, sort of dubsteppy, but way stripped down, drives the track, the bass a dark spectre just below the surface, while all around thick synth swells drift in and out. The sort of thing we could listen to forever. And from there on out, it's some sort of spaced out bass excursion, propulsive clubby house music, gives way to hazy, skittery minimal 4 on the floor pulse, glitched out robotic space dub transforms into abstract Eastern tinged, almost African Headcharge sounding reggae flecked dub, grimy dubby echo drenched creep, crawls right into some crunchy stuttery alien dubstep, finally giving way to a long stretch of warm, whirling, gristly, pulsating dreamy dub drift...

RESONANCEvolume 7, number 2()magazine+cd$ 9.98

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

SORRY. 'Taking the pulse of the world's musics' is this issue's theme, and there are some fascinating articles about cultural responsibility (sadly in very short supply) along with articles about Marta Sebestyen/Muzsikas, Robin Williamson, and Reg Hall. Also, writings by Tim Hodgkinson, John Zorn, Evan Parker, David Toop, Steve Beresford, etc.

RESONATORLost Language(Human Identity Recordings)cd$ 14.98

The first few seconds of Lost Language, a blast of fuzzy crumbling distortion will have you expecting the latest slab of monster sludge, or a blast of pummeling downtuned brutality. And the bands pedigree might have you expecting something similar, guitarist Larry Dolan produced the debut full length from metallic post rockers Tides and drummer Mikey Lemieux used to bash the skin for metalcore heavyweights Drowningman. But what you get instead is some killer, super propulsive, slightly mathy, but very moody, instrumental rock, that harkens back to bands like Pell Mell. There's all sorts of definite reference points, Pell Mell is the most obvious, a simultaneously laid back and caffeinated burst of super energetic mathy groove. But can hear lots of nineties indie rock, plenty of SST, a bit of Tortoise, some Minutemen for sure. Surf rock guitars are wound tight beneath thick splashy swirls of open high-hat and frenetic almost funky drumming, the bass is sometimes slithery and dark, sometimes rubbery and almost dub like. Some tracks stretch into languid epics, others fly by, a manic expulsion of chaotic energy. Once in a while they sound a little like a less Joy Division obsessed Interpol, but again with that nineties instrumental rock vibe. The final track is the show stopper, a near half an hour epic, that almost sounds like the band took the first seven tracks and rearranged, reshaped, and reimagined them into one lengthy jam, keening angular riffs, wildly chaotic drumming, a hypnotic neverending epic, with cool backwards guitars, some My Bloody Valentine swoosh, the whole thing constantly shifting from full blown overdrive, to laid back lope, and back again, until the whole thing fades to a haunting soundscape of minimal guitar drone. Finally, a simple tribal rhythm emerges, and the track unwinds, a slowly decelerating coda, all muted rhythmic rumble and barely there melody. So cool.

RESTGERAEUSCHVol.2 2x30min.30sec.(Mille Plateaux)cd$ 15.98

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

SORRY. Dark drone w/ hidden hip-hop beats experimentation, maybe not quite as good as their first (Vol. 1 1hr.1min.) but still excellent and not like anything else...the first half hour thirty seconds has the buried beats under the noise, the second half goes fully ambient.

RESTIFORM BODIESs/t(Anticon / Pointless)cd$ 15.98

Not directly related to the Anticon crew as far as we can tell (although they give shout outs to Dose One, Sole etc.) but they sure sound like it. Fucked up, malfunctioning hip hop weirdness, with whiny tongue twisting white boy flows, bizarre samples and

RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR2(Sub Pop)cd$ 13.98

Record number 2 (hence the title) from Allan Sparhawk of Low's Retribution Gospel Choir, a way more rocking foil to Low's less rocking slowcore. And a pretty bad ass chunk of riff heavy rock for sure. Thankfully, much of the songwriting that defined and still defines Low has of course followed Sparhawk to the Choir, so in some cases, many of these songs are easily imagined stripped down and slowed down into Low jams, but on their own they function as some classic sounding, sometimes heavy, sometimes jangly sounding indie rock. Sparhawk's vocals powerful, the arrangements lush, plenty of hooks, some not so obvious, while others nail you right out of the gate. Our favorite moments are when RGC get heavy, like on "Your Bird", the main riff is a monster, the indie vocals balancing the almost metallic tenor of the guitars, but the song twists and turns and does get pretty dang metal here and there. But even then, there are plenty of 'ooooohs' or something else to ground it far from actual metal. The band also space out here and there, letting songs sprawl and smolder slowly, "Poor Man's Daughter" starts out like that, peppered with bursts of guitar chug and drum crash, but allowing for lots of drift and shimmer, until the last few minutes when things get super heavy, churning guitars, almost Jesu-like, blown out and in-the-red, but it's Allan Sparhawk, so the last few minutes returns to some lilting almost folkiness, which sounds divine on the heels of something so caustic. It took us a while to warm up to this record. Not sure exactly what it was, but now we find ourselves returning to this a lot, and getting these songs stuck in our head like crazy...

RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIRThe Revolution(Sub Pop)7"$ 5.98

RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIRs/t(Caldo Verde)cd$ 13.98

For most folks involved in rock music the usual trajectory is that they start out loud and rocking, full of piss and vinegar and then as they get older they mellow out and explore their more sensitive and mature sides. But if you're Allan Sparhawk, you did just the opposite and started out as quiet and slow as can be, so it kind of makes perfect sense that he's now moonlighting, using his -other- non-Low project to explore his more full on rock cravings. While there have been some hints of Sparhawk's desire to rock on a few Low albums (especially on Low's Sub-Pop debut, The Great Destroyer) it hasn't been until now that we've actually heard a record from him that is all about the rock, from start to finish. Produced by Mark Kozelek, we can imagine it was really refreshing for both Allan and Mark to let loose in the studio and let out some good old fashion testosterone, where both usually have to hold back so much in all of their other endeavors. Of course Sparhawk's trademark voice and guitar playing are instantly recognizable. Just because he's rocking don't expect this to be some fluffy fun rock band, because the same intensity, tension and conflict that has made Low's music so important to so many of us is still embedded in what he's doing with Retribution Gospel Choir. The record sounds like someone working out their demons and battling a possible musical mid-life crisis in a really cathartic and moving way. This isn't really a departure as much as it is someone letting off some much deserved steam, sweating in the garage and showing that just as he helped invent and perfect slowcore, he's just as capable at rocking, with the same glorious results.