Another classical tradition on the verge of extinction, thankfully immortalized to some degree on this disc from Smithsonian Folkways. The repertoire of the Burmese harp long considered the zenith of Burmese cultural expression has, like most art forms in this world which require vast study and patience, been on the losing side of a battle with popular music for many years now. It's maybe somewhat ironic that the current repressive government of Burma (since renamed Myanmar) is responsible for the attempted resurgence in the instrument's place in society. The efforts have apparently been too little, too late as the master harpist featured on this recording, Inle Myint Maung, passed away shortly after these recordings were made. Whether he was able to impart enough of his knowledge onto his students and whether they take it to heart to continue the tradition remains to be seen. On these recordings Inle Myint Maung is accompanied by vocalist Daw Yi Yi Thant. The pair mix and mingle their melodic lines in a melodic counterpoint with the vocalist's sustained notes punctuated by percussive embellishments from the harp. As you've come to expect from all Smithsonian Folkways releases, this comes with extensive and well written liner notes.
MPEG Download: INLE MYINT MAUNG & YI YI THANT "The Glory of the King" [/audio/mahagitagloryofking.mp3]
Our pal Stan at Aether Records put together this comp of modern-day psychedelic bands paying tribute to the psych greats of the past. Like most comps, it's got its winners and losers, but the concept works out pretty well, and it makes for a good introduction to both the contemporary acts doing the cover versions and the '60s/'70s era artists being covered, who range from Woodstock-era big shots to obscure artists mainly known today only to psychedelic record collector freaks, here's some of 'em: The Doors, The Stones, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, The Pretty Things, The Fox, Apple, The Syn, Linda Perhacs, The Churchills, The Incredible String Band... Meanwhile, the international array of artists doing the covers are *definitely* obscure, with the best-known to AQ customers probably being the Bevis Frond, P.G. Six (doing the ISB cover of course!), Abunai!, and SF's own Mushroom. Then there's Israel's psych-popsters Rockfour (who tackle a track by Israel's premiere '60s psych export, The Churchills), Japan's Kaminumada Yohji (whose 'cover' of AQ-fave UK pagan weirdos Comus is actually more of an improvisatory interpretation inspired by Comus, sorry to say) and ten others, some of which Terrastock types will doubtless recognize. Fortunately, Stan provides plenty of background in his detailed liner notes on every band/track. Generally you can't tell past from present with these covers, one exception being female-fronted LA duo Senseri who start things off with what's maybe a too modern-sounding (and cheesy) take on The Doors' "Peace Frog". After that though you're totally in the realm of retro nirvana though, geared towards fans of the genre. Of course fans will have their own ideas of what bands shoulda been on here (both old and new)...
MPEG Download: BEVIS FROND "Grounded" [/audio/pgsixmynameis.mp3]
MPEG Stream: BEVIS FROND "Grounded" [/audio/pgsixmynameis.m3u]
Magma fans, here's a qualified heads up. Magma maestro Christian Vander does a bird-themed "orchestral" release (voices, piano, percussion, and keyboards -- no real orchestra, unfortunately, but it sounds loads better than Glenn Danzig's orchestral synth effort, remember that?). The vocals are definitely the thing here most in the Magma vein, totally over the top at parts, Vander and his wife Stella taking the lead but with plenty of choral back-up from their zeuhl cohorts. Musically, it has got its massive and majestic moments, with pretty piano interludes linking big, stirring emotional passages.
So, the big question: without the Magma connection, would I really be listening to this sort of thing? Well, and this is tough for a guy with a Magma wristwatch to admit, but, probably not... it's a bit too Peter & The Wolf at times. The vocals are awesome, the fake flutes aren't. Still, I bought one!
We really have to quote the label's press release on this, just for kicks: "Fifteen years in composition (1982 - 1997) and more than four years in the making, this music is something entirely new, bridging the compositional efforts of the 20th Century post Schoenbergian greats to create a 21st Century music which grasps the essence of the vast interior stillness behind all sound and pierces the intensity of silence behind all noise. Disavowing all mechanical tempos, this free-flowing masterpiece reveals itself through the formless form of vortices and spirals, cascading, recursive, ineffable. 65 minutes of fluttering wings, of song, of cries, of absolutely different sensations, this is a neo-impressionist composition of revolutionary proportions and aspirations." "I have found in the motion of swans and crows a parallel with the inner motion of the Kosmos itself. Or, at least, this is what I perceive in it."--Christian Vander, 6th March 2002
Wow. Dunno about all that, but as a bird-inspired cosmic keyboard symphony from the mastermind behind one of the most astounding '70s prog rock rock bands ever, this will tempt diehard Magma fans, though it is quite a bit more expensive that other Seventh label releases we've got, probably due to the fancy mini-lp sleeve style packaging this boasts, which unfortunately bears a graphically kinda crappy looking cover painting (of course, as is so often the case, there's some really nice artwork to be found in the cd booklet that could have made for a wonderful cover instead of what they chose...oh well, just look in the booket not at the cd sleeve when you're listening to this).
MPEG Download: "Sahiss Siiaaht" [/audio/vandersahiss.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Sahiss Siiaaht" [/audio/vandersahiss.m3u]
Ahhh the new long awaited White Stripes major label debut! At first listen I was scared that this was gonna be too slick n' radio friendly but I thought it would grow on me, and it did. It's really great. I can appreciate the tough position the band must have been in what with all the hype and expectations, and really they did a good job of keeping their charming qualities yet moving forward and doing new stuff, ya know 'evolving'. My (Sadie's) favorite record is still De Stijl for the stripped down bluesiness of it, but I am listening to this one over and over cuz its new, and damn good too. The songs range from stadium rockesque guitar wankyness to simple simple stripped down rawness. The lyrics are clever and sweet yet mean as always. One song is sung by a girl whom I assume is Meg. Then there's this really funny track with both Meg and Jack White and guest Holly Golightly doing this lil' conversational piece. Kinda silly but I still eat it up. And a Bacharach cover, "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself". There's not much more to say really, if you are a White Stripes fan, and there are so many of us you probably are one, you won't be disappointed!
MPEG Download: "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" [/audio/whitestripejustdont.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" [/audio/whitestripejustdont.m3u]
I think the best part about this movie is the serendipity involved. It was meant to be just your typical "making of our record" documentary. But during the filming, band members were dismissed, the band was dropped, the label that dropped them ended up paying for the record AGAIN and re-signing them, and the record went on to unbelievable commercial and critical success. Which all contributes to making this film, as well as the extra goodies, emminently watchable. Windy thought it was trifle too contrivedly arty, filmed in black and white, very stylized, but I think it really suits the music, and the mood of much of the film. What should have been this exciting joyous occasion, making the best record of their careers, was marred by depressing setback after depressing setback. But as we all know, that makes for good watching!! The film itself is beautiful and slow paced. Lots to take in, but easy to be lulled by the music and the scenery. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Helps that I do love the record as well. The extras are what make this essential. A documentary on the making of the film, the theatrical trailer, a bunch of funny outtakes, some really ridiculous stage banter ("Your Mom is cock!"), some annoying outtakes of Jim O'Rourke hamming it up, meeting with fans and a bunch of other stuff. But it's all the extra music that makes this a must have. 17 additional Wilco songs, some unreleased, some different versions of songs from the album, performed live, in the studio, even in Jeff Tweedy's home while the cameraman's phone keeps ringing. And if I rememeber correctly there's even one or two Uncle Tupelo songs! Also comes with a big booklet full of liner notes, photos and the film maker's diary. And a pretty good deal at 24.00 for 2 DVDs! For anyone who loved Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, or loves Wilco, or loved Uncle Tupelo or who just wants to see a cool movie about a great band making a great record.
After some initial clang and crash and general futzing about and plugging in, Peter Wright gives the drone-heads everything they've been jonesing for. Rich deep drones with drifting, wailing feedback offering up minimal melody, shimmery industrial soundscapes, and noisy expanses of raw sound that alternately wrap your ears in sandpaper of velvet. Instrumentation includes guitar, clarinet, percussion, bicycle (!), and of course the broken Kawai.
MPEG Download: "The Broken Kawai" [/audio/wrightbroken.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "The Broken Kawai" [/audio/wrightbroken.m3u]
This magazine (or what they like to call a book, 'cause it's square bound and BIG, 182 pages) is the second sighting so far of Mike McGonigal's Yeti. Yep, it's big and fulla art and writing well worth your time. Music and comix are two of Yeti's main interests, so there's an eclectic array of interviews with the likes of Laura Cantrell, Aceyalone, Richard Thompson, Ben Katchor and Steffen Basho-Junghans...plus a miscellany of features on everything from Alfred Jarry to early Blues (by Luc Sante) to, uh, unicorns!
Plus this comes with its own soundtrack, a 25 track cd compilation with Steffen Basho-Junghans (2 tracks), Iron & Wine (2 also, one being a Flaming Lips cover), Keith Fullerton Whitman, live Death Cab For Cutie (doing a Stone Roses song), Califone, live Shins, a Pell Mell outtake, Six Organs of Admittance, and loads more!!
MPEG Download: IRON & WINE "Waiting For Superman" [/audio/ironandwinewaiting.mp3]
We raved and raved about these local boys' debut a few years back. And it still stands as one of the best local hip hop records, hell hip hop records period, in recent memory. So we were pretty excited about the prospect of a new record. A lot has changed in three years, some not for the better. The bones of what made the first record are still essentially in place, weird loops and samples, killer flow, and fucked up beats. But gone are the super damaged, off kilter, hiccupping loops, and in their place is a more 'smooth' and booty-bumpin' top-down boomin' system sort of sound. Not that I'm complaining, I was bobbing my head just listening to it on my computer. But it definitely makes it less weird and warped and more accessible. This time around the vocals seem more high pitched and whine-y. In fact, my housemate thought i was listening to some Anticon record. Which is actually a good thing! We love Anticon! The worst change comes in the form of the dreaded female "diva" vocals which are ALL OVER the record. They sort of thematically tie the songs together, but end up adding a horrible, weak R+B sheen to the whole thing. But nitpicking aside, this is a pretty wicked record. Not as good as their first maybe, but definitely better than the new Fabolous, the new Eve, and about a million other records all over MTV that don't hold a candle to ZION I.
MPEG Download: "The Drill" [/audio/zionidrill.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "The Drill" [/audio/zionidrill.m3u]
