Whether you're young or old, into rock or not, male or female, you gotta hear Marquee Moon. If you already know it, then you can skip down to the description of the bonus tracks below, but if you haven't heard it before, then know that Marquee Moon is simply perfection from beginning to end, and is here reissued with 5 bonus tracks. Television's masterpiece came out in 1977 and is inarguably one of the best albums to come out of the New York punk scene (which also included the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Heartbreakers, etc). Tom Verlaine's sinewy vocals are half-sung, half-spit out over his and Richard Lloyd's interweaving guitars, the solid bass of Fred Smith, and equally solid drumming of Billy Ficca. Richard Hell (later of the Heartbreakers and Voivoids) was also a founding member of the band who stuck around long enough to record their demo but got kicked out before the album, although his influence is definitely heard.
There's so much on this album to love: there's the rollicking guitar party of "See No Evil", the tender piano and epic melodic guitar solo in "Guiding Light", the stark, stunningly lovely twin guitar interplay of the album's 10 minute selftitled centerpiece, etc etc... dammit, this album is BRILLIANT and PERFECT.
As for the bonus tracks, there's the out-there "Little Johnny Jewel" from the band's debut selfreleased 7", alternate versions of "See No Evil" (amazing! -- Richard Lloyd playing quite different stuff from what ended up on the released take), "Friction", and "Marquee Moon" (again, fascinatingly different guitar solos -- and not terrible, thank goodness), and a sprightly, fun instrumental. If you already own this album and love it, I'd advise you to check out the alternate tracks -- they actually are worthy of trading in yer old copy (at least I, Windy, am going to!)
Hip hop remix records have huge potential for disappointment. Actually remix records in general have pretty much become pointless and boring, albeit with a few exceptions. Thankfully Them(selves) first foray into handing over their raw tracks for other folks to fuck with has yielded some surprisingly good results. Most of these remixes of tracks from their most recent No Music album don't sound all that remixed, especially if you're not too familiar with the original tracks, since those original tracks are so dense and multi layered to begin with. Part of the reason this record sounds so good, and still retains all its Anticon-ness, is the fact that most of the remixes are handled by Themselves...er...themselves, as well as the usual Anticon suspects: Controller 7, Why?, Alias, and Odd Nosdam. The guest remixers though do their best to add their own stamp while keeping things flowing nicely. AQ fave Hrvatski adds some additional skitter, dreamy ambience and rumbling low end...before seriously junglizing the proceedings with murky throb, digital crunch and spastic beats. Hood smear some healthy portions of Jesus And Mary Chain fuzz and My Bloody Valentine guitar skree over everything turning their track into a pulsing drone. Grapedope (Tortoise's John Herndon) fiddles with the speed and pitch, giving the original loping hip hop ditty a stuttery, jumpy, playful bounce, and Notwist give Themselves (not themselves) a sweet indie techno pop makeover. Really great.
On their follow-up to last year's lovely C'mon, Chicago soundscapists Town and Country drift into view with 5 (yes, it's their fifth full length). Stretching each song out langourously from the shortest, the 4:23 "Lifestyled" to the eleven minute long album closer "Shirtless", they allow the instruments (strings, woodwinds, percussion, a cornet, a glass of water) to resonate, ebb and flow naturally. Melodic and rhythmic elements take shape gradually, and give way to the spacious drones. An entrancing album with a beautiful, warm ambience. Nice!
On this their fifth full length, Trailer Bride offer up a dozen more immensely forlorn songs of journey and flight filled with their recurring references to birds, drifters and heartache. Although none of these songs can truly hold a candle to the pure, deep, raw heartache of "Bird Feet Feelings" from their last album High Seas (a song that could make Cup weep), a couple do come pretty close. No vast departures from the Southern gothic country path they've travelled on their four prior albums, and actually song by song this album follows remarkably close to the mood and tempo swings of High Seas, but things are perhaps ever so slightly more lush and fleshed out. Lead vocalist Melissa Swingle delivers her distinctly sedated plaintive vocals as (mostly) sloooow creeping melodies unfold on the central instruments: Tim Barnes' lilting effected guitar, Daryl White's loping standup bass, John Bowman's understated percussion and Ms Swingle's guitar and piano. She also adds further depths to the dusky, yearning atmosphere with some musical saw, harmonica, organ and accordion. FYI: Trailer Bride received some kind assistance from their fellow North Carolinan friends Southern Culture On The Skids... Rick Miller recorded the songs in his studio, and Mary Huff lent her lovely voice to the song "Vagabond Motel".
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Yay, a new issue of Ugly Things! I don't think there's a single magazine that I (Allan) look forward to a new issue of more than this one. Seriously. And though I don't want to get into an argument about whether rock is dead or not, I can definitely tell you that it lives on in the pages of Ugly Things. Dedicated to "wild sounds from past dimensions", this 'zine is an over half-inch thick, 200-page tome densely packed with enthusiastic writing about garage, psych, beat, punk, n' rock n' roll from the sixties and seventies (mainly). You might find mention of prog and metal and folk and funk and even reggae too if you look hard enough. And there's lotsa lookin' to do -- I read fast, but even with spending every free moment the last few days paging through this thing, I still haven't gotten to the article on Spanish beat magazine Fonorama, or finished the massive cover story on the saga of The Misunderstood or checked out part 2 of the Metal Urbain piece continued from last ish or gotten through the various artists reviews. But I did read already was entertaining and informative. Ugly Things has a stable of lively, often hilarious writers who can make even the most record-collector-obsessive subjects pretty darn interesting. There's tons of reviews (the kind I take notes on to remember to order things for Aquarius), tons of interviews, tons of weirdness -- like a piece by Neuromancer author William Gibson about his one-time meeting with the legendary (and well-dressed) Skip Spence, or Jack Hemsley's article on Tucson teen killer Charles Schmid. There's so much in here it's hard to single stuff out, but maybe I should also mention Johan Kugelberg's article about rare punk rock records that suck, despite their high collectible value. Anyway, every issue is an inspiration and this one's no different. Once again, kudos to Editor/Publisher Mike Stax and co. for another essential installment of Ugly Things.
It's long been clear that a skilled studio production team can transform a band or artist's music from weak or average into ass-kickingly addictive. Y'know... sorta like polishing a turd. Well, the fabulous DFA production team of Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy brought their expertise to the indie realm. Not only has this duo been instrumental in the metamorphosis of potential college rock fodder into propulsive dancefloor triggers, but also they have brought along a knack for cooler than thou marketing which has spilled over from Goldsworthy's past associations with the once unstoppable Mo' Wax hype machine. An unbelievable example of this was their impressive production / marketing of The Rapture's "House Of Jealous Lovers" last year. Unfortunately this one track drew flocks seeking more of the same from a band whose past recordings were very different and well, somewhat disappointing in comparison. Instead, those folks should've really been searching out more DFA productions, which have been notoriously few and far between. Anyways, fans of The Rapture's aforementioned track will be pleased to hear that the cowbell-laden, Gang of Four makeover reappears on this compilation of DFA produced 12" A-sides. Other highlights include LCD Soundsystem's "Give It Up" as well as their club fave of hipster cynicism "Losing My Edge", plus an older lengthy track and an even lengthier newer one from the very Boredoms-y art punks Black Dice. The latter two proving that DFA are just as deft on non-traditional dance numbers. Eight tracks in all.
Old Hat seems to be picking up the slack from Yazoo these days when it comes to reissuing American roots music. On the last AQL we got the "Music From the Lost Provinces" disc, which was great, and now comes a pair of great discs showcasing black fiddle players from the 20's and 30's. For while the fiddle was a prominent instrument in black string bands way back when, it's been all but disassociated from blues and jazz in the present. So what happened to the violin's place in black string bands to relegate it from lead instrument at the turn of the 20th century, to being all but unused before the century was half way through? And why isn't the violin used more often in the blues today? Maybe it comes down to ergonomics; the lone singer with a guitar not only has an easier time with singing and playing, but certainly cuts a more striking pose with his ax than a fiddler. While it's generally agreed that guitarists were indeed more popular than fiddlers at the dawn of commercial recording, the editors of these discs argue that recording companies were extraordinarily biased towards recording guitarists for the sole interest of profits from record sales. So what's new? That might explain the blues, but what about jazz? At the birth of jazz during the 1920's there were more violinists in New Orleans' Storyville (according to the local registry of musicians and bands) than the now ubiquitous horn players. That, I suppose, can be chalked up to volume. A loud horn section will always have an edge playing to large audiences in an urban setting such as New Orleans. What Old Hat has collected here are some of the finest examples of fiddle players who were, by some thankful foresight, preserved for our edification and enjoyment. And for what is lacking in quantity of fiddle recordings available from this period is made up for in quality. The majority of tracks here were recorded between 1926 and 1935 (with one straggler taken from a 1948 session). The greatest thing about the music on these discs is that it's not "jazz" and it's not "blues" per-se either. Performers themselves took the liberty of calling their tunes "_________ (insert word here) blues" even when the tunes didn't follow the rigid parameters of the blues chord progression. This in the hopes of capitalizing on the increasing popularity of the new genre. The popular form of the day, ragtime, spawned both blues and jazz. Old Hat has done a fine job with both of these, as with all of their reissues, including excellent liner notes and historic photos. Highly recommended!
Pretty sweet collection of music/video/documentaries from probably our favorite hip hop label. Def Jux continue to blaze their own unique path in pretty much every thing they do. The DVD features an hour long tour documentary, tons of live concert footage, videos from El-P, RJD2, Mr. Lif, and Murs as well as a making of documentary for the Murs video, as well as a documentary about the label itself. All in 5.1 digital surround sound. The cd contains an exclusive RJD2 megamix, 5 exclusive live tracks and a hip hop trivia game.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Volume Two of this "German New Wave, Punk & Funk 1977-82" (according to the comp's subtitle - although you might wanna add electro and no-wave to that description too) is in every way just as much of an entertaining gem as the first. Thick, arpeggiations bound and bend as though they're being played on rubber keyboards. Odd, pinched vocals bark out spoken/sung lyrics in German and English. Saxophones jump in to join the synthesizers in their squelch-fest. Regimented programmed rhythms keep everyone in line. Some songs are definitely more... um, cheezy than others - both in composition and instrumentation, but that only adds to the lively diverse party scene. A super fun sonic document!
Old Hat seems to be picking up the slack from Yazoo these days when it comes to reissuing American roots music. On the last AQL we got the "Music From the Lost Provinces" disc, which was great, and now comes a pair of great discs showcasing black fiddle players from the 20's and 30's. For while the fiddle was a prominent instrument in black string bands way back when, it's been all but disassociated from blues and jazz in the present. So what happened to the violin's place in black string bands to relegate it from lead instrument at the turn of the 20th century, to being all but unused before the century was half way through? And why isn't the violin used more often in the blues today? Maybe it comes down to ergonomics; the lone singer with a guitar not only has an easier time with singing and playing, but certainly cuts a more striking pose with his ax than a fiddler. While it's generally agreed that guitarists were indeed more popular than fiddlers at the dawn of commercial recording, the editors of these discs argue that recording companies were extraordinarily biased towards recording guitarists for the sole interest of profits from record sales. So what's new? That might explain the blues, but what about jazz? At the birth of jazz during the 1920's there were more violinists in New Orleans' Storyville (according to the local registry of musicians and bands) than the now ubiquitous horn players. That, I suppose, can be chalked up to volume. A loud horn section will always have an edge playing to large audiences in an urban setting such as New Orleans. What Old Hat has collected here are some of the finest examples of fiddle players who were, by some thankful foresight, preserved for our edification and enjoyment. And for what is lacking in quantity of fiddle recordings available from this period is made up for in quality. The majority of tracks here were recorded between 1926 and 1935 (with one straggler taken from a 1948 session). The greatest thing about the music on these discs is that it's not "jazz" and it's not "blues" per-se either. Performers themselves took the liberty of calling their tunes "_________ (insert word here) blues" even when the tunes didn't follow the rigid parameters of the blues chord progression. This in the hopes of capitalizing on the increasing popularity of the new genre. The popular form of the day, ragtime, spawned both blues and jazz. Among many greats included here are the wonderful Mississippi Sheiks (B's personal all-time favorite), a track with Charlie Patton backing up fiddler / vocalist Henry Sims on guitar and the legendary Howard Armstrong (a.k.a. Louie Bluie) & Ted Bogan [be sure to check out the documentary Louie Bluie about Armstrong & Bogan by Terry Zwigoff if you can]. Old Hat has done a fine job with both of these, as with all of their reissues, including excellent liner notes and historic photos. Highly recommended!
I have to say as the resident hip hop head around these parts, I have been less than impressed with MF Doom in any of his incarnations since his Zev Love X days in the godlike KMD. I know to most of you this will seem like some serious blasphemy, but KMD was a tough act to follow, and all the post-KMD records had elements of genius definitely, but still just sort of missed the mark. MF Doom, MF Grimm, King Geedorah all sounded great, but just didn't connect the way they could have. Happy to report that MF Doom's Viktor Vaughn connects in a big way. Deep and dark, and dense. Funky and funny. Hard and brutal and venomous. Creepy minor key loops over simple funky beats, smoothed out soulful hip hop joints, loping funked up crunch, weirdly glitchy skitter, and VV's wickedly biting flow, smooth and nimble, clever and raw.
The cover makes this look like a black metal thingie. The band name references Blue Cheer. But they're on Load and from Rhode Island and are in fact members of Olneyville Sound System and Landed, and when you actually listen to it you'll learn they're really some kind of screamo grindcore outfit, willing to stoop to juvenile fart jokes while simultanously being pretty clever with some of their musical decision-making. Yes, pounding repetition and feedback can be clever. Really raw, heavy, ugly, fierce. Clocks in at only 24 minutes, a good length for this sort of thing.
Whetting our appetites for the brand new Wyatt album Cuckooland (due out next week), comes this fab collection --curated by Robt. himself-- of material mainly drawn from BBC radio archives circa 1972 and 1974, at the beginning of his solo career, post-Soft Machine and Matching Mole. But the British eccentric's charisma and radical worldview is just as compelling today as back in the '70s, as the two cuts recorded in 2002-2003 with former Soft Machine bandmate Hugh Hopper prove. Also there's a wonderful 2003 demo version of a song that may be appearing on Cuckooland, called "The Verb". If it is any indication, Cuckooland will be a great album -- in fact, we'd like to hear demos of the whole thing, 'cause the home-demo production almost seems like a significant compositional element, the tape hiss drone something that would be intentional in a modern experimental/electronica context. The majority of this disc is the older stuff, though, and there's a diverse batch on offer, everything from the mostly instrumental soundtrack to the short experimental film from whence this disc's title is taken (which is also included as a Quicktime video!) to a live version of his unlikely hit Monkees cover "I'm A Believer" to a take on one of Matching Mole's best, "God Song". Then there's novelties like the Monty Python-esque "We've Got An Arts Council Grant" silliness, and Wyatt's affecting version of Danny Kaye's "Little Child". Don't play those for any dour Wyatt-doubters among your friends -- instead make sure they hear the gritty, lofi "Solar Flares..." which could be something from a New Zealand artist on the Celebrate Psi Phenomena or Psuedoarcana labels, when it's actually a 1974 recording by the ex-drummer of a pioneering jazz fusion band! Definitely an essential collection for fans, who will be delighted by the music as well as the copious notes and photos in the booklet. For those new to Wyatt, it's a good sampler, showcasing his trademark untrained vocals and his quirky songwriting craft. Nice!
