Out Sounds

R.I.P. Out Sounds

2011-11-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

I've decided to shut this bad boy down; seems like I get a DMCA notice every few days now and a lot of the older posts have just simply vanished into thin air. Combine that fact with Rapidshare's overall crappiness and the decision to shut it all down becomes easier.

Plus, (and I hate to say it but it's true) Spotify has basically made blogs like these obsolete. Why fill up your own hard drive and have to buy bigger and bigger data storage devices to satiate our need as completists to own every single record ever made (which is impossible) when there's a really cheap service that does it all for you?

As a friend of mine recently said, (and he works in the industry as a producer/engineer, pretty well known but I'll keep him anonymous since he's a super rad guy) "this is how we make our living..." I don't want to get into a debate again about stealing/sharing, etc. but I had a hilarious e-mail battle last year with the merch guy from Stones Throw Records (that went on for like a week) and another e-mail from Justin Moyer of Antelope (now-defunct Dischord Records band) in which I returned asking a series of pointed questions that he never responded to. I have to admit it, but you guys are totally within your right when representing the label/artist/etc.'s view of music sharing (a term I'll continue to use; I would only call it stealing if I made money off of it) and since there's such a nebulous cloud around myself in terms of what I think is right and wrong, it's easier just to say "forget it".

Basically, I'm over it.

I love all of you that have DL'ed, commented, read, etc. but I'm going to devote my time and minimum talent elsewhere on the interwebs.

Peace out.

NONA - NONA Reloaded (2011)

2011-10-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

NONA is a West Chester, PA-based punk rock band that writes catchy and well-crafted songs with kick-ass melodies and sheer moxie in the vein of early Superchunk or a slightly updated version of Tiger Trap.

This 5-song EP is basically a reworking (reloaded, get it?) of their demo, released previously this year. Check this out, kiddies!

NONA - Reloaded (2011; self-released)

17.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (2001)

2011-10-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Stars of the Lid are by far my favorite ambient group; if you ever wondered what to listen to while you read on the couch with a mug of chamomile tea, look no further than this record. Have you ever wondered what the noise between space stations and satellites sounds like? How about the sounds of mice tunneling under snow?

And if you want to fall asleep to their languorous, slow-churning, drony textures; please do...

...I think that's the whole point of this record.

Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (2001; Kranky Records)

285.9 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Sonic Youth - Goo (1990)

2011-10-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Kim & Thurston,

Seriously guys, this is an October Fools' joke, right? I mean, c'mon, you guys- you're like indie rock royalty and stuff, you can't do this to us. At least stay together for the fans.

And Mark Jacobs, too. I mean, next time he debuts a fashion line and you two aren't there front and center wearing shredded thrift store gear and looking super uninterested in everything, it's gonna be weird.

But you're not breaking up the band, right? I hear it's still cool and all, like musically and stuff. I should've known something was up when you got the bro from Pavement to play bass so Kim could look cooler singing and playing her guitar (which was probably turned way down, thanks Lee). I can't believe this.

It was Thurston, right? Did you bang someone else, dude? It was one of these new indie rock goddess-types, like Zola Jesus or Alice Glass or that dude from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs*.

This kinda sucks guys.

Whatever, here's Goo.

Maybe I'll post a Sonic Youth record every day until you either get back together or the band breaks up.

* - Karen O is actually an alien.

Sonic Youth - Goo (1990; DGC Records)

47 mb; ripped at 128 kbps

Ween - Caesar Demos (2011)

2011-10-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Ween did an album in 2003 called Quebec; before it was released it was tentatively titled "Caesar" and there were a bunch of extras and outtakes just laying around, so there's basically 15 tracks here never released and 14 alternate versions of the tracks (including an alt. version of Ooh Vah Lah which was a Japan-only release on the original album), so 16 unreleased tracks and 13 demos.

Besides for the 70 times I've seen Phish and another 15+ times for Medeski Martin & Wood, I've lost track of how many times I've seen Ween; probably around 10 (but not since 2003, go figure). So here's the Caesar Demos, also available free from Ween.net.

BOOGNISH!

Ween - Caesar Demos (2011; self-released)

143.3 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern... (1991)

2011-10-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Aceyalone, Self Jupiter, P.E.A.C.E., J. Sumbi & Myka Nyne; the anti-gangsta rap from the West Coast- these guys were kinda like the De La Soul of the L.A. scene. When everyone else (N.W.A., Ice-T, et. al.) were rapping about gats and hoes, these five MCs were waxing poetic on the state of welfare, education, higher consciousness, yeah.

Even though it's 20 years old, it doesn't sound the least bit dated. Give it a spin...

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern... (1991; Sun Music)

50.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 132 kbps

Tabla Beat Science - Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove (2002)

2011-10-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite releases of the last ten years, combines dub reggae bass lines (from Bill Laswell) with multiple tabla percussionists (Zakir Hussain, Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu), scratching and turntablism from DJ Disk, drums and programming from Karsh Kale and the master of the sarangi, Sultan Khan.

Traditional Hindustani music meets electronic in a live performance in SF's Stern Grove; be sure to check this out.

Tabla Beat Science - Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove (2002; Palm Pictures)

140.9 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch (1965)

2011-10-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

I was sad to hear of Bert's passing earlier this week, wish I could have seen him play. Another legend gone but not forgotten. Here's his 1974 album LA Turnaround I shared back in April of 2010, for those so inclined: http://out-sounds.blogspot.com/2010/04/bert-jansch-la-turnaround-1974.html

But here's the 1965 debut; his guitar playing is deft and nimble- I remember reading somewhere that Jimmy Page lifted Bron-Yr-Aur from one of Jansch's arrangements. He was also highly regarded by (as well as being an influence on) Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Johnny Marr and Neil Young.

Bert was 67 years old.

Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch (1965, Transatlantic Records)
55.1 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior (1976)

2011-06-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior (1976; Columbia Records)
58.2 mb; VBR avg ~ 171 kbps

Lavvi Ebbel - Kiss Me Kate (1982)

2011-04-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Lavvi Ebbel - Kiss Me Kate (1982; Le Disques du Crépuscule)
62.1 mb; ripped at 256 kbps

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor (1979)

2011-04-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor (1979; Alfa Records)
74.5 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records (2001)

2011-04-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records (2001; ~scape Records)

119.7 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (2008)

2011-04-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (2008; Smalltown Supersound)
77.3 mb; VBR avg ~ 194 kbps

Phil Upchurch - Darkness, Darkness (1972)

2011-03-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Phil Upchurch - Darkness, Darkness (1972; Blue Thumb Records)
93.5 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Steve Roach - Structures From Silence (1984)

2011-03-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Steve Roach - Structures From Silence (1984; Fortuna Records)
108.1 mb; ripped at 256 kbps

Gavin Bryars, Philip Jeck & Alter Ego - The Sinking of the Titanic (2007)

2011-03-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Gavin Bryars, Philip Jeck & Alter Ego - The Sinking of the Titanic (2007; Touch)
99.8 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The New Romance (2003)

2011-03-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The New Romance (2003; Matador Records)

37 mb; ripped in AAC Apple Lossless format (.m4a)

Focus - Hamburger Concerto (1974)

2011-03-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Focus - Hamburger Concerto (1974; Atco Records)

92.7 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

The Impressions - The Young Mods' Forgotten Story (1969)

2011-02-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

The Impressions - The Young Mods' Forgotten Story (1969; Curtom Records)
37.5 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Tricky - Maxinquaye (1995)

2011-02-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

Tricky - Maxinquaye (1995; 4th & Broadway Records)
80.7 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Mississippi John Hurt - The Immortal (1967)

2011-02-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Mississippi John Hurt - The Immortal (1967; Vanguard Records)
43.9 mb; VBR avg ~ 152 kbps

Wayne Smith - Sleng Teng (1986)

2011-02-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Wayne Smith - Sleng Teng (1986; Greensleeves Records)
50 mb; VBR avg ~ 164 kbps

John Coltrane - Ascension (1966)

2011-02-23T22:05:00.000-08:00

John Coltrane - Ascension (1966; Impulse! Records)
145.7 mb; ripped at 256 kbps

Marvin Gaye - Vulnerable (1997)

2011-02-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Marvin Gaye - Vulnerable (1997; Motown Records)
47.2 mb; VBR avg ~ 230 kbps

Scientist - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires - 1981

2011-02-23T06:46:00.000-08:00

Scientist - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981; Greensleeves Records)
88.2 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974)

2011-02-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974; Epic Records)
78.3 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Various Artists - The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits (2008)

2011-02-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

Various Artists - The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits (2008; Legacy Recordings)
111 mb; VBR avg ~ 200 kbps

Tracklisting

1	The O'Jays - Love Train	2:58
2	The O'Jays - Back Stabbers	3:06
3	Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - If You Don't Know Me By Now	3:26
4	Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost	6:22
5	MFSB - T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)	5:48
6	Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones	4:46
7	The Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again	2:58
8	People's Choice - Do It Any Way You Wanna	3:15
9	The Intruders - I'll Always Love My Mama	6:37
10	The O'Jays - Use Ta Be My Girl	4:01
11	Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine	4:26
12	McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now	7:01
13	Teddy Pendergrass - Close the Door	5:25
14	Patti LaBelle - If Only You Knew	4:45

Black Nasty - Talking to the People (1973)

2011-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Black Nasty - Talking to the People (1973; Enterprise Records)
51.9 mb; ripped at 192 kbps

Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust (2002)

2011-02-22T15:29:00.000-08:00

Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust (2002; Memphix Records)

92.7 mb; ripped at 256 kbps

Tracklisting

1	Prologue	0:45
2	Blackrock - Yeah Yeah	2:55
3	Black Merda - Cynthy-Ruthy	2:53
4	Doug Anderson - Mama, Here Comes the Preacher	2:48
5	Iron Knowledge - Showstopper	3:33
6	Frankinsense - Dancing in the Light	4:12
7	L.A. Carnival - Blind Man	2:29
8	Preacher - Life Is a Gamble	2:48
9	Sir Stanley - I Believe I Found Myself	2:45
10	Brothers Jackson - Potted Shrimp	2:54
11	Jade [VA] - Paper Man	2:34
12	Gran Am - Get High	4:48
13	Curtis Knight - The Devil Made Me Do It	2:36
14	Slim Haskins - Alladin Story	3:41
15	Hot Chocolate - What's Good for the Goose	3:13
16	Tiny Tex & The J. Jones Connection - Who Am I?	3:51
17	...Epilogue	0:45
18	Creations Unlimited - Corruption Is the Thing	3:18

Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages (1991)

2011-02-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages (1991; Axiom Records)
103.1 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)

2011-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988; Jive Records)

43.5 mb; ripped at 128 kbps

Eddie Hazel - Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs (1977)

2011-02-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

Eddie Hazel - Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs (1977; Warner Bros. Records)
100.7 mb; VBR avg ~ 220 kbps

Frank Zappa - Philly '76 (2009)

2011-02-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Frank Zappa - Philly '76 (2009; Vaulternative Records)
123.3 mb; ripped at 128 kbps

Rogue Sounds - Transmission (2010)

2011-02-13T15:39:00.000-08:00

Rogue Sounds - Transmission (2010; self-released)
48.7 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Gastr Del Sol - The Serpentine Similar (1993)

2011-02-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

Gastr del Sol - The Serpentine Similar (1993; Teenbeat Records)
51.3 mb; VBR avg ~ 236 kbps

Gene Clark - No Other (1974)

2011-02-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Gene Clark - No Other (1974; Asylum Records)
174.9 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Ott - Blumenkraft (2003)

2011-02-10T17:51:00.001-08:00

Ott - Blumenkraft (2003; Twisted Records)
167.5 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Clockwork Tigers - DEN (2011)

2011-02-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

Clockwork Tigers - DEN (2011; self-released)
112.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s (1998)

2011-02-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

New format here at Out Sounds: no more words. I'm just gonna post the album art and the link and the file info. That means more tunes and no more poring over band's websites and Wikipedia articles and trying to remember shit and over-relate to the music and cross-reference dates and all that.

Just music. Here:

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s (1998; Astralwerks Records)
180.5 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Julian Cope - Krautrock Sampler (1995)

2011-02-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a PDF version I found of Julian Cope's 1995 definitive tome on the genre of Krautrock in all its glory and splendor; mad props to whomever scanned and upped this in the first place. This thing is way out of print and copies are starting at $175 (for a paperback!) so DL this before it gets taken down.

That's an "if" this gets taken down. You need Adobe's PDF Reader to read this, it's a book dammit...

Julian Cope - Krautrock Sampler (1995; Head Heritage)
51.4 mb in PDF format

Cocteau Twins - Treasure (1984)

2011-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

It really doesn't get any prettier than this one- vocals from the one and only Liz Fraser (if you aren't familiar with her yet try out Massive Attack's Mezzanine, an album she sang on a number of songs- most notably the excellent Teardrop), with guitars/production from Robin Guthrie and bass by Simon Raymonde; the Cocteau Twins' brand of ethereal dream pop is replete with lilting beauty and lush melodies, plain and simple.

This might be the best example of "bad" mid-80's production values; cheesy-sounding Casio drums with washed out synths over delayed guitars and layered vocals- I realize that description makes this record sound awful but in fact it's ridiculously beautiful. A confluence of pop, ambient textures and sort of a proto-shoegazer thing going on here, it's an absolute "must listen".

Grab it now...

Cocteau Twins - Treasure (1984; 4AD Records)
96.2 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Archie Shepp - Fire Music (1965)

2011-02-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

Archie Shepp was one of the cats back in the early-60's doing that "new thing" and earned his stripes playing with Cecil Taylor's band. He would go on to play with the New York Contemporary Five alongside Don Cherry and ultimately catch the attention of some of the vanguards of the new school; most notably Ornette (Shepp would play a Coleman composition on his first "solo" record, credited alongside the Bill Dixon Quartet) and Coltrane (playing on the Love Supreme sessions but not making the final cut- he would appear on the 2002 out-takes of that record), playing on John's Ascension album as well as a split with the 'Trane titled New Thing at Newport from 1965.

Shepp's finest moment would be this record, Fire Music; cut at a time when his political consciousness and burgeoning Afrocentricity was reaching a fever pitch- Archie would include an homage to Malcolm X as well as a Duke Ellington standard and the premier bossa nova song of all-time (The Girl from Ipanema). Considered groundbreaking as well as erratic, it showcases a legend at the height of his creativity- done right after his Four for Trane sessions (revolutionary reworkings of some Coltrane tunes from earlier in the decade).

Check this one out!

Archie Shepp - Fire Music (1965; Impulse! Records)
119 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Hollow Ox - Pleaides (2009)

2011-02-02T07:30:00.000-08:00

Hollow Ox is a post-rock ensemble from Nashville that specializes in sweeping anthemics and cinematic atmospherics; all the while keeping a psychedelic dreamy grandeur to the proceedings- many of the vocals are half-buried under the weight of the drony guitars giving it an other-worldly feel. The gauzy production values are both beautiful and serene, giving it an element of added ethereal splendor.

While the opener 2012 flashes forward with rushing intensity, the remainder of the songs are slow-burners; the musicianship between Mike Crouch, Matt McKeever, Jeremy McCall and Cole Street evokes comparisons to post-rock heavies Mogwai, et. al.

Do yourself a solid and grab this.

Hollow Ox - Pleaides (2009; self-released)
61.8 mb, ripped at 256 kbps

Guru Guru - Dance of the Flames (1974)

2011-01-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

A guitar-driven Krautrock record from the Mani Neumeier-led Guru Guru; which is notable because Neumeier was one of the better drummers in the Kosmiche scene so for him to sort of step back and allow his supporting cast to shine here makes this record altogether more special.

This was the only record guitarist Houschäng Nejadapour recorded with the band, and his contributions are pretty spectacular- his playing borders on spine-tingling fusion jazz a la John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra before giving way to straight up Krauty motorik and world music excursions.

Prepare to have your faces melted. Off.

Guru Guru - Dance of the Flames (1974; Atlantic Records)
39.9 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Yeasayer - Live at Ancienne Belgique (2010)

2011-01-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

Holy shit this is so good. If you haven't hopped on the Yeasayer bandwagon yet, stop fucking around and get on it. Seriously. Not only are they one of the most interesting bands of the last few years in terms of experimenting with sound, they're also one of the most listenable (I know that word "experimenting" can be a huge turn-off for ears, but trust me- totally accessible).

The sound quality of this show is pretty amazing and the fans are respectful and attentive as well. Mad props to my homie Edo and his Know Your Conjurer blog for giving me the heads up on this awesome live concert, go there now and say what up, and download away- crazy sounds from way out on his blog as well as his radio show.

Here's some live Yeasayer- check out some of the re-worked versions of the songs from both All Hour Cymbals and Odd Blood.

Yeasayer - Live at Ancienne Belgique (2010; self-released)
168.9 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury (1975)

2011-01-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

This is beyond "required listening". Two legends; one at the apex of his career, one at the nadir. Zappa was selling out arenas and Beefheart couldn't get anyone to play with him (the entire Magic Band up and quit on him in '74, due to his "abusive behavior"). Needless to say, Beefheart couldn't get a gig at a dive bar and Frank felt he owed him (they've been friends since high school). The two geniuses had a pretty strained relationship around this time; they were both on "ego trips" says former Zappa drummer Jimmy Carl Black, with Beef mostly drawing sketches on-stage of Zappa and Frank in turn hating the Captain's work ethic (Zappa was a notorious workhorse).

This album is notable also for the lineup featured; it's at the intersection of two of Frank's greatest bands- blending the early 70's incarnation with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Chester Thompson with the late 70's era band with Terry Bozzio and the Fowler brothers.

One of my favorite records of the mid-1970s; listen to the Captain ramble nonsense over fantastic Zappa art rock compositions. Enjoy!

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury (1975; DiscReet Records)
61.6 mb; VBR avg ~ 204 kbps

Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) 1978

2010-12-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Rest in peace, Mr. Donald Glen Vliet. Thank you for all the music you've left behind. I'm gonna go ahead and upload a bunch of your records (I upped Safe as Milk a while back, the damn DMCA shut that one down) but here's the link to that again: SAFE AS MILK (fuck you, DMCA!)

Anyway, I'm gonna give you my favorite of his later period stuff, and that's 1978's Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller). It's accessible but still arty as all hell; the band is a tightly knitted sweater of weird grooves, the Captain retains his trademark growl- it's considered his comeback album and has a bunch of leftovers from his more (dare I say) commercial attempts (Bluejeans and Moonbeams, etc...) that existed as instrumentals and snippets of songs that were given a full-on re-model here.

I'm gonna up his duet record with Zappa (Bongo Fury) in the next few days as well; it's probably the greatest record from the mid-70s (that gets better and better upon every listen). So without further ado; here's the Captain. Wherever you are, you are loved everywhere by music nerds like me...

Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (1978; Warner Bros. Records)
110.2 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

El Guincho - Alegranza (2007)

2010-12-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

El Guincho is the moniker of one Pablo Díaz-Reixa of the Canary Islands. First time I ever heard this (early '08) I was in the fabled San Francisco institution Aquarius Records. I always feel weird asking the clerks at record stores what we're listening to (I don't wanna out myself as a n00b, that's what I do to you all with this blog here) but the dudes that work there are mad chill and not pretentious at all, so I was like, "uh, is this another Panda Bear record? Cuz I thought he just had one last summer..." and was met with, "no, this is some Spanish guy, El Guincho."

Of course I didn't buy it then and there; I ran home and illegally downloaded it because I'm a massive douchebag like that. Now I pass the douche on to you.

El Guincho - Alegranza (2007; Discoteca Océano)
59 mb; VBR avg ~ 197 kbps

Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (1991)

2010-12-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

Teenage Fanclub are a fine example of power pop in all of its sickening glory- set right in the crossroads of old and new and owing as much to earlier 1970's bands like Big Star as well as the illustrious work of Todd Rundgren and the jangly sensibilities of 80's mainstays The Smiths and R.E.M., not to mention the influence they've had on an entire generation of indie popsters (Belle & Sebastian, et. al.)

Fans and critics alike seem to point to their 1995 record Grand Prix as their finest moment; I think it doesn't have the same urgency as Bandwagonesque and plus; I got this one on a whim when I was in high school- the album cover art coupled with the fact that the CD was $1.99 (the main impetus being that awesome track they did with De La Soul on the Judgment Night Soundtrack).

Anyway; this is something I listen to when I want to remember my senior year of high school; it's inextricably wedged in between going stoned out of my 16-year old mind to football games on Friday night, then awful golf course keg parties on Saturday night to staying up late on Sunday nights to watch 120 Minutes...

Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque (1991; Creation Records)
60.3 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Clive Tanaka y Su Orquesta - Jet Set Siempre No. 1 (2010)

2010-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

I can find literally no info on Clive Tanaka; his website has March 2nd as the release date for this (originally in cassette-only format! The digital will be released on January 11th of next year) and then there's nothing of a personal nature at all. Very rarely do I read about a record and feel implored to seek it out, download it, listen to it three times in a row and immediately post it here, but there's an undeniable charm to the sounds on this album and the gravity that's pulling me to it.

All I can say is that this is going to be at the top of (or at the least one of my three favorite records this year); it's a chill-wavey lo-fi electropop synth-funk hot mess.

Sort of like Daft Punk meeting Toro y Moi in 1987 to audio track a Jazzercise VHS tape.

Grab it now, because I'm almost guaranteeing this blog post will be shut down in the next three days!!!

Check out this video for the track Neu Chicago:

Neu Chicago - Clive Tanaka y su orquesta from Clive Tanaka on Vimeo.

Clive Tanaka y Su Orquesta - Jet Set Siempre No. 1 (2010; Tall Corn Music)

67.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 232 kbps

Björk - The Classic Years

2010-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Björk Guðmundsdóttir,

I love you.

I really do.

I love you for all your weird, quirky and inventive songs. I love your half-elf, half-Icelandic lyricism. I love your cute little pixie self. I love the production values on all your records, too- you have both the piece of mind and sense of purpose to work with some really out-there folks, although I guess that's like calling the kettle black, no?

I love that we almost have the same birthday, only three days away. And I get along really well with Scorpios, both my brother and sister are Scorps. That's tight.

Holler at me.

I must also say that your videos by themselves are truly all works of art. I used to have your DVD, Greatest Hits: Volumen 1993-2003 but it was crushed in a box in my trunk when I moved to California so I sold the damaged video to Amoeba Records in Berkeley and some poor chump bought it and later realized that the three videos for Hyperballad, Possibly Maybe and I Miss You were all pixelated and fucked up and the sounds skipped and sounded like glitchy shit.

You're in me, Björk. You're a part of me- and not like that time I washed my clothes with a bag of weed in one of my pants pockets, and then I even dried it and it like totally baked the smell into that entire load of clothes for like ever, not like that. You're like, here.

Right here.

I love you so much, Björk. I'm going to prove this to you by putting three of your best albums up for "sharing" purposes. Yeah, I know, it's really stealing, but whatever, I love you, Björk.

I. Love. You.

Sincerely,
Jimmy Mac

Debut (1993; Elektra Records)
77.3 mb, VBR avg ~ 192 kbps

Post (1995; Elektra Records)
67.4 mb, VBR avg ~ 180 kbps

Homogenic (1997; Elektra Records)
64.4 mb, VBR avg ~ 202 kbps

June of 44 - Four Great Points (1998)

2010-11-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what "post-rock" really means, I think we throw it around way too much these days. The term was coined by critic Simon Reynolds in a review of the record Hex by Bark Psychosis in an issue of The Wire back in May of '94 as a way to describe what he was hearing, he's quoted as saying post-rock is "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords", but that's not really saying a whole lot about bands with such disparate styles like Mogwai, Slint or Sigur Rós, who are all usually lumped in with the post-rock crowd.

A reductive way of describing post-rock could be as follows: bands that employ in their music such diverse influences like space rock, Krautrock, ambient, experimental rock, jazz, shoegaze, minimalism, math rock and tape music; then forcing it into the neater, all-encompassing sphere of "alternative rock". That's my definition and I'm sticking to it.

That brings us to June of 44- a more emo and math-based version of Slint; but more melodic in the post-hardcore vein of bands from the mid-90s (think Unwound or Fugazi) but with really, really awesome drumming (courtesy of Doug Scharin); the instrumentation is also stellar- mellow and lazy yet shiny and bright guitar work from Jeff Mueller and Sean Meadows and dual duty on bass and trumpet from Fred Erskine.

Check this shit out, post-rocker...

June of 44 - Four Great Points (1998; Quarterstick Records)
99.5 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Benga - Diary of an Afro Warrior (2008)

2010-11-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's taken me a while to come full circle and embrace the genre of dubstep; you could say this is the third time I've tried to accept it (false starts in '06 and '08); I guess I either wasn't listening to the "right stuff" or my head wasn't in the right place- any way you slice it I wasn't getting it, which is disheartening considering my love for all things British.

So here we go; attempt number three- and it's sticking, finally.

Digression: I think dubstep's main problem (as most electronic music for that matter) is that it's somewhat rare for a specific vibe or a particular energy to hold up over the course of a full-length; since it's aimed at the club-goers, a five-to-ten minute slab of beats and synths is usually all that's needed and an artists' worth is measured from week-to-week as far as getting asses out on the floor. I think that's why I've never given most electronic music it's fair shake- I've always been an "album-oriented" kind of listener; give me a cohesive collection of songs packaged together as a statement of the performer's vision at a specific time and date rather than a jam or two. Anyways; I'll be mining the internets for more electro-based music from now on.

The obvious choice and the man that's done the best job at selling dubstep to the masses is Burial; both of his albums are considered the gold standard in the genre and the most representative of both where it's come from and where it can go- but for all its sheer determination, I'd offer you Benga's Diary of an Afro Warrior as a great place to start; it's meditative and funky, got those wonky bass lines throughout.

Give it a try, folks...

Benga - Diary of an Afro Warrior (2008; Tempa Records)
91.2 mb, VBR avg ~ 197 kbps

Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (1997)

2010-11-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Behold! I have heard the sound of the future, and it sounds like... wait... what?

This record is thirteen years old?

Oh.

Well, where the hell have I been?

Seriously, what have I been doing that was so important that made me miss this album; this sublime record with some of the best and fastest beats ever made on this planet with some of the most insane robo-jazz ever recorded?

Damn, I'm sorry Mr. Squarepusher. I'm going to let everybody in on this little secret that turns out wasn't a secret at all...

Squarepusher - Hard Normal Daddy (1997; Warp Records)
145.2 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Autechre - Tri Repetae (1995)

2010-11-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

The duo of Sean Booth and Rob Brown have been making music together for almost 25 years, hooking up over a mutual love for graffiti, hip-hop and electro music, trading mix tapes and eventually collaborating under the guise Lego Feet. Their first release under the Autechre (pronounced aw-tekk-urr) moniker would be 1991's Cavity Job, and the rest, as they say, is history.

This 1995 release, Tri Repetae, is a decent barometer of Autechre's ouevre; it's right in the mid-point of their earlier, more accessible work (the LPs Incunabula, Amber and the Anti EP) and their move towards a freer, more experimental approach (the albums LP5 and Confield, as well as the arc of their trajectory until present day).

Their advancement of glitchy, techy and ambient soundscapes has contributed to the growth of IDM as well as influenced many imitators- I'm almost kicking myself for not discovering this wonderful music earlier.

Autechre - Tri Repetae (1995; Warp Records)
100.3 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Ancestors - Neptune With Fire (2008)

2010-11-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

If you like your sludgy metal with generous helpings of prog rock, this is the record for you. Los Angeles-based Ancestors blend stony psychedelia with doom metal riffs to create one of the most satisfying listens of the last few years within the genre; this two-song, 38-minute monolithic magnum opus from '08 called Neptune With Fire.

It's a huge album, an immense and crushing sonic journey to the center of the cosmos and back; although it predates Mastodon's Crack the Skye by a good year, it's cleaved from the same esoteric stone.

Metal heads, psych rockers, stoners, sludge aficionados; DL this record right now!

Ancestors - Neptune With Fire (2008; Tee Pee Records)
88.3 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Main Source - Breaking Atoms (1991)

2010-11-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

First off, these beats- considering this album is almost 20 years old, these beats still sound as incredible to my thirty-something ears as they did to my teen ears. And then there's the rhyming, that archetypal early-90s rap flow done to perfection; and oh, let's not forget the samples- James Brown, Donald Byrd, Ike & Tina, Sister Nancy, Bob James, Lou Donaldson, Kool & The Gang, Miles Davis, MFSB, The Meters and Funkadelic (among many others; it's like walking into the Soul section of a record store and just grabbing all the best shit).

One of the first "international" hip-hop releases; two Toronto natives (K-Cut & Sir Scratch) hooked up with Queens-based Large Professor to give you the Main Source. Listen for the first verse ever from a very young and very hungry Nasir Jones- later known as Nas, as well as some of the most socially conscious and relevant lyricism on any hip-hop release, now or then.

Another insanely overlooked album from the Golden Age of Hip-Hop...

Main Source - Breaking Atoms (1991; Wild Pitch Records)
61.7 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)

2010-11-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

What can I say about this record that a swift punch in the neck wouldn't convey that much quicker? It's fucking Mastodon; some of the best, most powerful sludge metal to crunch its way out of your speakers in years- add a love for 70's prog and these four Atlantans (two by way of Rochester, NY) have basically paved the way for a massive prog-sludge avalanche that has no doubt wrecked the shit out of your little crap town.

Guitarists Bill Kelliher and Brent Hinds, bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Brann Daillor all met at a High On Fire show in 1999; they bonded over their mutual love for bands like Neurosis and Melvins as well as Thin Lizzy. After trying another singer, they chose to remain a quartet and released Lifesblood in 2001 on Philly's Relapse Records and Mastodon was birthed.

Listen; words fail here big time- just listen...

Mastodon - Leviathan (2004; Relapse Records)
80.5 mb, VBR avg ~ 235 kbps

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)

2010-10-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

What can I say about one of my favorite hip-hop records of all time? As far as concept albums go, it's one of the best- an intergalactic futuristic rap battle over Dan the Automator's productions and Kid Koala's scratching, El Cerrito's Del tha Funkee Homosapien absolutely kills everything in sight. Appearing here (respectively) as The Cantankerous Captain Aptos, Skiznod the Boy Wonder and Deltron Zero; the trio play so well together it's as if their spinal cord is fused into one being, that being is an album named Deltron 3030.

This was the impetus for the Gorillaz; the small-scale success of the Deltron project (is calling 1.2 million albums sold "small-scale" an insult?) gave way to the mega success of the ten-plus million units moved by that first record- just listen to the track Time Keeps on Slipping (featuring Blur's Damon Albarn) to hear an "early" Gorillaz song.

Anyway, if you want to hear what an intergalactic rap battle to save humanity while fighting oppressive governments and evil multinational corporations is all about, download this joint.

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000; 75 Ark Records)
85.4 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Two Albums from... Danzig

2010-10-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

Glenn Danzig. You either hear the name and you bow your head in reverence or you bust out laughing. Either are understandable; take his work with The Misfits and you might consider him a legend. Take his post-Misfits work and you may consider him a total chode.

I actually prefer his hard rock/metal solo stuff to his early-80s hardcore horror punk; yes, gasp away you punkers, but the novelty of the devil-lock and The Fiend Club stickers wore off on me by the time I was 12. Yeah, I was a cynical little shit about everything back then, too.

I guess I'm too cool for school, but gimme that original Danzig line-up of Chuck Biscuits on drums, John Christ on guitar and Eerie Von on bass and get the hell outta my way. Or maybe I'm not cool enough. Whatever.

Fucking Danzig. The first two albums...

Danzig (1988; Def American Records)
94.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990; Def American Records)
114.8 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Coheed & Cambria - The Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002)

2010-10-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

Coheed & Cambria have been able to blend prog rock and post-hardcore music seamlessly together to create some intricately layered and dense sounds; along with Tool and The Mars Volta (the only other bands I can think of that do that, post-millennium), they have created a music that's both rhythmically complex yet totally listenable- I've always thought that Coheed is what Rush would sound like if they were born way later and were raised on Fugazi and NoMeansNo.

Anyway, here's their debut record from '02; where it lacks in technical prowess it makes up for in raw emotionality.

Coheed & Cambria - The Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002; Equal Vision Records)
51.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 133 kbps

Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1984)

2010-10-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Estonian-born Arvo Pärt calls his minimalist classical compositions "sacred music", but it's really so much more than that- I'd liken it to a spiritual experience. Fellow minimalist Steve Reich has said of Arvo that "his music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion", I'd have to agree- he came along at a time when both the spirit and style of his music were ripe for neglect, but he filled a void that most didn't even realize existed.

Pärt, through his compositions, has been able to combine spirituality, sound and science in a way unlike anyone before or since with his creation of the compositional practice of tintinnabuli; or rather the musical conversation between two voices- one singing notes around a tonic triad (which is the root note, the third and the fifth; think of a power chord in rock music); and the other voice singing a run of notes on the diatonic scale. The track Spiegel im Spiegel is a perfect example of this; it's a conversation between the violin and piano using tintinnabuli; the piano builds the triad with arpeggios and the violin "solos" above on the white notes.

If you can listen to this and it doesn't stir up something deep inside of you, then congratulations! For you have no soul...

Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1984; ECM New Series Records)
174.5 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Gary McFarland - The In Sound (1965)

2010-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, lounge music- why are you so awesome?

Vibraphonist, vocalist, arranger, composer extraordinaire Gary McFarland's 1965 record The In Sound explores exotica, pop, jazz, space and bossa nova; sometimes incorporating up to three of these styles all in one track. Whether this is going to be used as background music or on headphones (the best way to enjoy this record) it won't disappoint.

Enjoy this "in sound" from Out Sounds...

Gary McFarland - The In Sound (1965; Verve Records)
75.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

The Geraldine Fibbers - Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home (1995)

2010-10-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

Here on 1995's Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home, Carla Bozulich and company craft an honest sincerity and authentic emotionality while still being able to retain an unapologetic approach to their brand of alt-country and cowpunk; this record exists somewhere in the strata between the layers of the avant-garde and traditional folk, wedged right up against blues-based rock and noise.

This version of the band would feature Carla on vocals and guitar, Daniel Keenan on guitar, Jessy Greene on violin, William Tutton on bass and Kevin Fitzgerald on drums. Later incarnations would include Nels Cline (who's basically played with everyone and anyone in the LA avant-garde and jazz scene, and now of Wilco) and Jessica Moss (who's played with almost every "important" Canadian band of the last ten years), but this debut record would feature less of that straight-ahead guitar sound and focus more on Bozulich's stellar songwriting.

This album here is dedicated to my friend Alison, who's getting married this upcoming Saturday!

The Geraldine Fibbers - Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home (1995; Virgin Records)
112.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 251 kbps

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005)

2010-10-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Recorded at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall from the Novermber 29th, 1957 show as part of their Thanksgiving Jazz series; these tapes sat in the Library of Congress' archives for almost 48 years until they were found and restored (by Monk's son T.S. Monk and producer Michael Cuscuna).

This version of Thelonious' quartet would feature Coltrane on tenor, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass and Shadow Wilson on the drums; it was right after Trane finished recording his first "solo" record Blue Train and would mark the final collaboration with Monk as John headed back for another stint with Miles' sextet.

One of the best examples of hard bop out there; this one's for my buddy Timmy Burke. Enjoy!

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (2005; Blue Note Records)
86.1 mb, VBR avg ~ 230 kbps

Dzyan - Electric Silence (1975)

2010-10-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Indian-influenced Krautrock that's heavy on both the free and fusion sides of jazz as well as heavier progressive rock; incorporating ambient passages a la Tangerine Dream throughout. These guys crafted a seriously "out there" vibe, it's one of the great lost Teutonic jazz rock albums; a true landmark in the Kosmiche genre that seems to get over-looked again and again, but I feel this record can go up against Can's Tago Mago, Faust's Faust IV, Neu!'s self-titled or Amon Düül II's Yeti.

Check this out if you like getting super freaky...

Dzyan - Electric Silence (1975; Bacillus Records)
84.9 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Two Albums from... Roy Harper

2010-10-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Roy Harper is the best singer/songwriter that you aren't listening to; don't ask me how I know that you're not listening to him, but I know you're not.

Now you can. Here's two of his records from 1970 and '71 respectively; Flat Baroque and Berserk & Stormcock. One is 12 songs recorded in a more conventional format with lengths ranging between a minute-and-a-half and eight-plus minutes, with some straight-ahead Brit-folk interspersed with contemporary sounding rock and blues. The other is a sprawling, massive four-suite prog folk masterpiece.

Harper was name-checked by Led Zeppelin on the track Hats Off To (Roy Harper) on their third album and also the featured vocalist on Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar from Wish You Were Here. So he's your favorite musician's favorite musician. So you should be listening to him. A lot...

Flat Baroque and Berserk (1970; Harvest Records)
56 mb, VBR ~ 144 kbps

Stormcock (1971; Harvest Records)
95.3 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology (1998)

2010-09-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know if there's another band from the 90s that has spawned more imitators and at the same time gone so un-noticed; maybe because the imitators they spawned got it all wrong, or did it "cleaner", or were less about having fun and more into whiny self-involvement (you know who I'm talking about), but Cap'n Jazz were definitely one of the most original bands of the early-90s Midwest emo scene, probably because they took a medium that was used mainly for heartfelt self-expression and had a shitload of fun with it.

The brothers Kinsella (Tim & Mike; vocals and drums respectively) along with bass player Sam Zurick and guitarists Victor Villareal and Davey Von Bohlen laid the blueprint for what was to come (basically any "emo" band that can't be tidily described as some form of "hardcore") and all the bands that grew out of their eventual demise; The Promise Ring, Joan of Arc, American Football, Ghosts and Vodka, etc. Here's their 1998 compilation from Jade Tree Records, which basically culls all their tracks ever (except for one song; Naive) so you can trace the arc of their career from early 7-inches to a fully realized, tightly coiled pile of post-emo indie punk rock.

So if you grew up listening to all that early-millennium whiny screamy shit, here's where a lot of it started; except this band was a joyful, shrieking catharsis of sloppy precision...

Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology (1998; Jade Tree Records)
180.g mb, VBR avg ~ 252 kbps

Buddy Miles Express - Expressway to Your Skull (1968)

2010-09-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've always held fast to my opinion that Jimi Hendrix's work with drummer Buddy Miles and bassist Billy Cox was far superior to that he did with the Experience; it's a funkier, more soulful incarnation of Jimi's music and it came along at a time when people were more or less doubting (or challenging) Hendrix's "blackness".

So Buddy's drumming gave everything a funkier, dancier swing (fresh off his work with blues rock band The Electric Flag) and Jimi's Band of Gypsys was born. In between being a sideman for Mike Bloomfield's project and Jimi's new thing, he had his own thing, the Buddy Miles Express, with Jim McCarty on guitar and Billy Rich on bass. This is a pretty cool album as far as being a period piece; not every song is a knock-out (the cover of Sam & Dave's Wrap it Up is actually kind of flat) but it's interesting to see on record how one of the first albums to attempt to blend hard rock with funk & soul works out- this basically presaged the whole Funkadelic movement; helping to spawn funk rock.

Anyway, give it a go; you shan't be disappointed (too much)...

Buddy Miles Express - Expressway to Your Skull (1968; Mercury Records)
45.5 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates (2002)

2010-09-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

If you like catchy, guitar-based indie rock that borrows from both prog and math rock, then Minus the Bear's Highly Refined Pirates is the record for you. I'd say this is their masterpiece, it has an urgency missing from the follow-up, the more polished Menos El Oso. Maybe it's a component piece to that record, this is the happy mask next to the sad one; either way I'll take this one for overall hummability and pure enjoyment. It's still tight as all get-out, please don't misunderstand my previous assertion that urgency doesn't equal polish- it's been finely ProTooled for your listening pleasure, without jettisoning the warmth (I've always thought over-produced music felt a little cold).

Made up of former members of such bands as the seminal Botch (Dave Knudson, guitar); Kill Sadie & These Arms Are Snakes (Erin Tate, drums) and Sharks Keep Moving (Jake Snider, lead singer and guitar), the current members of Minus the Bear read like a Pacific Northwest all-star team in the mathcore/noise/post-hardcore scene; also with Cory Murchy on bass and electronics-tweaker Alex Rose rounding the band out. Matt Bayles left the band in '06 to focus on his career as a producer; you may be familiar with some of his work: Mastodon's Remission, Leviathan & Blood Mountain; Isis' Celestial, Oceanic, Panopticon & In The Absence of Truth; Russian Circles' Station; The Sword's Warp Riders; and some engineering work for some band called Pearl Jam (oh, and Queensrÿche. Remember them?)

So here's another one of my favorite records from this past decade...

Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates (2002; Suicide Squeeze Records)
59.4 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982)

2010-09-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Faith was signed to Dischord Records from 1981-83, not solely because lead singer Alec is Ian MacKaye's younger brother; but because they played a rawer, dirtier (dare I say more urgent?) version of Minor Threat's brand of hardcore punk. They released two EPs (a 1981 self-titled cassette-only release and a 12-inch vinyl from '83 called Subject To Change) and then they were gone. The various members would go on to play in several seminal hardcore bands through the next decades, but this Split LP with Void was their shining moment.

Side 2 belongs to Void, with their more metal-based approach- at times it's terrifying, with all the rage of eventual thrash mavens Metallica and Slayer, barely preempting their two debut records by less than a year. It's ultimately the more rewarding of the two sides; what Faith lacks in chops Void makes up for with sheer moxie. Their career left behind even less music; a posthumous EP called Condensed Flesh and a demo called Hit & Run, because that's literally what they did.

If you're in the mood for some early-80s hardcore, here's your download...

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982; Dischord Records)
27.2 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968)

2010-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

New York City's Silver Apples were way ahead of their time. I've said this about a ton of bands (especially here in print) but these guys were doing what Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Cluster were doing five years later and they were considered groundbreaking. Think about that.

They only released two albums before calling it quits; and here is their 1968 self-titled debut- heralded as an electronic breakthrough, with lead Apple Simeon Coxe's hand-built oscillating synthesizer (the eponymously named Simeon, with its 9 oscillators and 86 knobs) as the main instrument and Danny Taylor's polyrhythmic, tight-as-a-tick drumming, the Silver Apples created some of the most interesting electronic-based experimental psychedelic pop music at the same time The Beatles were making The White Album and The Velvet Underground were making their third record. Think about that.

Think about a lot of things, but think mostly about clicking the link under the album cover...

Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968; Kapp Records)
76 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

2010-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's been brought to my attention that punk, and especially hardcore (and post-hardcore for that matter) have been sorely under-represented in this here blog. Let me remedy that malfeasance by posting one of my favorite punk (or post-hardcore, whatever) records of all-time, Sweden's Refused and their landmark 1998 album The Shape of Punk to Come. This album took such a toll on the band that they had to break up immediately following the completion of recording. Good thing they didn't hang around in the aftermath of this record, they not only set fire to but destroyed preconceptions of how punk was supposed to sound; they basically turned the world on its fucking ear.

Blending as many styles as they could here, it runs the gamut from straight ahead chunky rock riffage to shrapnel-laced blast punk to artier noise stuff to screamo and back again; it seeks to confound ears- every time I think I know what I'm listening to, it changes from one to the other. If it's not a focused arpeggio centered around minor chords then it's screechy string rakes and harmonic Eddie Van Halen-esque tapping sections, and then jumps on to these over-the-top bombastic drumming passages, all the while knob-twiddling galore behind the studio glass (acting as an instrument in and of themselves). I'm out of clichés and adjectives after this paragraph.

Anyway, this is meant to be listened to loud. Turn this shit up, kiddies.

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998; Burning Heart Records)
51.8 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things (2006)

2010-09-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

I've been on a serious Krautrock kick lately; I'm not talking Can, Dzyan, Neu!, Amon Düül II, Embryo, et al. (those are always in constant rotation) but the bastard sons of Kosmiche Musik- stuff like Brighton, UK's Fujiya & Miyagi and their 2006 record Transparent Things. It's got a ton of Kraut-infected reference points on here, from the motorik drum beat (Klaus Dinger's most celebrated drum pattern found a home on half these tracks!) to the spacey electro atmospherics and dancey vibes all about.

I'm interested in the synthesis of influence- recent bands making homages to the first wave; like Stereolab, LCD Soundsystem and Super Furry Animals all have the Kosmiche spirit sprinkled around their music, but here Fujiya & Miyagi celebrate it like it's the only style of progressive rock to make it alive out of the 70s.

Which isn't a bad thing at all...

Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things (2006; Tirk Records)
63.5 mb, VBR avg ~ 242 kbps

Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää (2005)

2010-09-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Take two brothers (Lauri & Olli Ainala); insert them into a born-again Christian commune in the Finnish town of Savonlinna with a bunch of instruments and recording equipment, add generous portions of lo-fi ambient psych-folk and dream pop and that's basically Paavoharju in the most reductive of ways. They're so much more than all of that, they defy any genre pigeonholing by employing an extensive use of electronics (to add a perfect balance between acoustic guitars and ethereal-sounding vocals) it's much easier to just call it "experimental".

Yhä Hämärää loosely translated means "still murky"; as all the song titles revolve around a similar theme (or a poem of sorts): "forever to the world / light oozing through everything / moon consoles concern / depth / gust / air flows / morning sun feels / pure white / I traveled far / it is still murky / black street..."

Yes, I ran all the song titles through Google Translate.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite releases of the last ten years; a real hidden gem full of murky, dense, layered atmospheric folktronica jams from the land of reindeer and cheesy symphonic death metal. Enjoy!

Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää (2005; Fonal Records)
54.1 mb, VBR avg ~ 191 kbps

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)

2010-09-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

Heavy psych from Japanese stoners; think Sabbath and Zeppelin channeled through extensive LSD trips, Eastern philosophy and Asian technical superiority- this is the essence of Flower Travellin' Band's 1971 classic Satori (the Japanese Buddhist term for "understanding"). Yeah, I understand that this fucking rocks- it acts as both an homage and an encouragement to American-slash-British hard rock, pushing the envelope a little further than Grand Funk, Deep Purple or Blue Cheer could've hoped to.

Lead guitarist Hideki Ishima may also be one of the most under-rated axe men of all-time; he shreds. Balancing the precarious tightrope between psychedelia, prog and metal; he weaves lines in and out of Joe Yamanaka's harmonica runs, all over Jun Kozuki's outstanding, plodding bass lines and George Wada's tight drumming.

I can't believe I didn't discover this record earlier in life; it's filled a void I didn't even know existed. Do yourself a huge favor; Oh, musical adventurer!- download this shit right now!!!

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971; Atlantic Records)
96.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Esquivel - Other Worlds, Other Sounds (1958)

2010-09-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Juan Garcia Esquivel was the King of Space Age Pop, that quirky brand of late 50's-early 60's bachelor pad music that was meant to be played at cocktail parties; basically- lounge music with elements of jazz and a Latin flair designed to get you laid.

When this album came out in 1958, it blew minds- even listening to it in now in stereo I'm amazed at how well Esquivel played the knobs in the studio, how voices, trumpet blasts, guitar bends, vibraphone runs, etc. all are bounced around back and forth between my various speakers (I'm listening on four). I read somewhere that listening to this in mono would be like looking at the Mona Lisa in black and white.

Other Worlds, Other Sounds opened up a whole new world of what can be done with stereophonic sound, as well as opened up a whole new set of listener's ears when Exotica (or Space Age Pop) underwent a renaissance in the early 90s.

Esquivel - Other Worlds, Other Sounds (1958; RCA Victor)
60.8 mb, VBR avg ~ 230 kbps

Aesop Rock - Labor Days (2001)

2010-09-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a no-brainer for today. Aesop Rock was working as a waiter during the writing and recording of this, so at times it's a bitter record; there's themes of disillusionment, regret, anger- but there's also the light at the end of the tunnel, which is the solution to all these negatives. What do we do to give our lives meaning? We find the work that satisfies us, fulfills us, helps us to transcend all the bullshit of daily life.

It's a concept album based on what it's like for us day-to-day working stiffs- existentially speaking we're just these bodies that get up every morning, drag our asses to our jobs, punch a clock, fulfill certain duties, eat, shit, go home and do it all over again. Ultimately, our jobs begin to define us; construction worker, pre-school teacher, karate instructor, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, etc. How do I want to be defined? By my job title itself or the lives I touch through my work?

So, happy Labor Day, folks. I hope you love your job as much as I do, and I hope you can find a life full of meaning through it...

Aesop Rock - Labor Days (2001; Definitive Jux Records)
86.2 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - The Jazz Composer's Orchestra (1968)

2010-09-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

This might be one of the great unknown jazz records (even to free jazz aficionados), the mere mention of it to record store clerks has brought me such mixed reactions from the raised eyebrows and "you know about this?" to confused bewilderment to downright derision. Just by the names on the cover you can see how awesome this line-up is, but there's so many more musicians on this they'd have to had a triple-LP sleeve to fit them all.

Carla Bley. Ron Carter. Andrew Cyrille. Richard Davis. Steve Swallow. Alan Silva. Randy Brecker. Charlie Haden. Reggie Workman. John Tchicai. Ed Blackwell. It reads like a who's who of late-1960s avant jazz musicians, all led by producer Michael Mantler; written specifically with Cecil Taylor in mind. Broken into two suites, loosely titled Communication, with #s 8, 9 and 10 making up suite one and the two-part #11 finishing the piece (there's a short track featuring Pharoah Sanders in between) it's really one of the unheralded music happenings within the free jazz movement.

So do yourself a favor, get on this now.

The Jazz Composer's Orchestra - The Jazz Composer's Orchestra (1968; JCOA Records)

170 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Josef K - The Only Fun In Town (1981)

2010-08-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

Josef K were a short-lived Scottish post-punk outfit named after the main character from Franz Kafka's The Trial. Their entire recorded output was a scant 22 songs in a 3-year period; but their influence has been showing up everywhere lately, especially in the work of bands like Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party (think jagged post-punk guitars over funky bass lines and dance-able drum beats).

Chief songwriter, singer and guitarist Paul Haig broke the band up after what he felt was repeated slights from both the critics and record-buying public (resentful for having never really "made it" outside of Glasgow), he and guitarist Malcolm Ross, bassist David Weddell and drummer Ronnie Torrance all went their separate ways; their official releases would tally five singles and one album.

I'm thinking this record here is a pretty good place to start with Josef K, there's also the 2006 compilation Entomology that has all 22 tracks of theirs, but this record The Only Fun In Town is a more cohesive statement.

Josef K - The Only Fun In Town (1981; Postcard Records)
67.9 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Boris - Flood (2000)

2010-08-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

I only have a few Boris albums, but this is the one for me; it starts out with this repeated arpeggio riff that lasts a good six-and-a-half minutes before any other instrument appears, then slowly drums creep in, then...

...I'm not giving any more away. Download it.

I do recommend that you listen to this on really good headphones...

Boris - Flood (2000; Noble Label)
65.1 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Sebadoh - Harmacy (1996)

2010-08-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

It seems that the consensus pick among Sebadoh fans for their best album is 1994's Bakesale; but for some reason I always had a stronger bond with Harmacy. Probably because Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein's songwriting duties were split; Jason contributed nine songs here (making Sebadoh an actual "band" as opposed to a Barlow project) and the pair focused more on straight-ahead songs with better production values.

It also has a more cohesive blend of styles here; instead of the genre-hopping madness and the lo-fi experimentation they explored on previous records this is a really great pop album. Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing Sebadoh's earlier work; those records all have a special place in my heart (and on my record shelf) but as I've said before I'm trying to get you, my regular readers, friends, fans, well-wishers, countrymen (as well as my enemies) into all this great music.

I feel this record is the best place to start with Sebadoh. Then work your way backwards...

Sebadoh - Harmacy (1996; Sub Pop Records)
50 mb, ripped at 128 kbps (sorry; it's also a sloppy mix of .mp3's and .m4a's)

Conductive Alliance - Water Glyphs (2010)

2010-08-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

I love getting submissions because they're mostly pretty good. Chicago's Conductive Alliance is actually really good, they sound like an updated version of that city's once burgeoning post-rock scene; think a futuristic interpretation of bands like The Sea and Cake (but less jazzy), 90 Day Men (and less proggy) or Tortoise (less psychedelic) that was raised on pure pop melodies and electro beats- this would be my loose interpretation of their Water Glyphs EP, a seven-track suite that spans almost 27 minutes. It's a wonderfully crafted and unique blend of all the above styles that both reference their respective influences while never coming close to ripping them off and sheds the arty pretension some of those bands have been accused of; Conductive Alliance is way more accessible than those bands.

Anyhow, do yourself a favor and download this, I'm sure it'll be near the top of one of my year-end lists...

Conductive Alliance - Water Glyphs (2010; self-released)
39.8 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - The Classic Years

2010-08-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Taking their name from a Japanese documentary about an outlaw motorcycle gang, Montreal's Godspeed You! Black Emperor (often stylized as GY!BE) are to me the best example of the term Post-Rock; a sprawling, cinematic grandeur set to music. They evoke wind-swept and desolate plains in one movement, then on to a post-apocalyptic crumbling cityscape a few minutes later and then back to a dense and forested, seemingly endless orchestration piece after that; all in the confines of one song (sometimes lasting just short of half an hour).

Started in 1994 by Efrim Menuck (guitar), Mauro Pezzente (bass) and Mike Moya (guitar); GY!BE would undergo so many line-up changes and configurations, (sometimes up to 20 members would be performing on stage at one time) the number of credited members for most of their albums would settle somewhere around nine. Adding cellist Norsola Johnson, guitarist David Bryant, Thea Pratt on French horn, violinist Sophie Trudeau, Thierry Amar on bass, percussionists Aidan Girt & Bruce Cawdron, Grayson Walker on keys, James Daytron on guitar, bassist Gregory Borys, multi-instrumentalist James Chau, some guy named simply "Christophe" and guitarist Roger Tellier-Craig, the full scope and tenor of the band's sound would adapt itself around the strengths of the musicians involved.

To listen to GY!BE is an activity in and of itself; what they demand from the listener is unlike any other musical experience I've encountered before or since. I'm basically posting their entire discography here, save for their early cassette-only release All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling (from 1994) and the 2004 Tiny Silver Hammers EP. My favorite of theirs (and my second favorite album by any band of the new millennium) is Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven; it's an hour-and-a-half, four-song magnum opus that runs the gamut from chamber music and classical ensemble pieces interspersed with post-rock guitars and bombastic drumming, building to explosive crescendos replete with field recordings; all the while experimenting with drony textures and and ambient passages.

If you like any of these albums, please support this band by buying their records or checking out their current (or "side") project A Silver Mt. Zion...

f#a#oo (1997; Constellation Records)
145.7 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Slow Riot For New Zerø Kanada (1999; Constellation Records)
65.6 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000; Constellation Records)
200.1 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Yanqui U.X.O. (2002; Constellation Records)
172.2 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Françoise Hardy - La question (1971)

2010-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Of course, when talking about French pop music, Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson is unquestionably the best offering from the genre; the next best is La question by Françoise Hardy. I consider Hardy the preeminent of all French female vocalists; sadly, she never earned the respect she deserved on this side of the pond. Let's change all that.

Where Gainsbourg's Melody Nelson was a raunchy and lecherous romp through dirty Parisian alleyways- its seven tracks clock in just under 28-minutes; La question is a mellow affair, like a beckoning fireplace and bearskin rug after schussing down Courchevel all day. Sparely arranged (most tracks just feature Françoise and an acoustic guitar) it could have as easily fallen into the chanson category, the all-encompassing term used to describe most Francophone music that fell outside of standard pop/rock fare; think of Jacques Brel as the torch carrier. Although I would argue that this is a pop/rock album in the same vein that Carole King or Joni Mitchell could be considered her American counterparts.

At the end of the day, Hardy could've made her career alone on her stunning good looks and her status as a fashion icon, but her voice and personality carry the music beyond that; this is really a wonderful album.

Françoise Hardy - La question (1971; Sonopresse Records)
47 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Jimmy Giuffre - Free Fall (1963)

2010-08-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

After Ornette Coleman had his way with jazz, tearing it down from the inside to see what it was made of (thereby creating "free" jazz); it opened the door for such greats as Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy, Sun Ra, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders and Jimmy Giuffre to stretch out and do their collective "thing". On this album, recorded in 1962 by the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Giuffre (clarinet), previously featured Out Sounds-favorite Paul Bley (piano) and Steve Swallow (bass); the trio set out to create a free jazz masterpiece, and the results are stunning and provocative, maybe even more so than any of the aforementioned performer's works.

The reason I say so is because of Giuffre's study of microtonal music; or the idea that there exists between the 12-note scale another series of "micro" tones (this idea was also being studied by Harry Partch; who later expanded his ideas by writing charts explaining these tones as well as building many instruments to play these new "notes"). The clarinet (as well as most of the woodwind family) are able to play quarter tones; and Giuffre gave his music a wider palette by playing with a non-traditional up-front weapon. He was overlooked for some ridiculous reasons- he played the clarinet, not considered a pure lead jazz instrument like the sax or trumpet; his music wasn't like the "energy" or "fire music" that Archie Shepp and Sun Ra were playing, his was more pointillistic, spatial, subdued and airy. No one was ready for this music.

This record anticipated the Free Improvisation movement by a good five years; by combining elements of the Third Stream school, free jazz, the avant-garde as well as classical indeterminacy, Free Fall is an exciting listen to a set of a ferociously abstract and investigative tracks. This is the 1998 re-issue with bonus tracks.

Jimmy Giuffre - Free Fall (1963; Columbia Records)
88.8 mb, VBR avg ~ 215 kbps

Stockholm Monsters - Alma Mater (1984)

2010-08-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

The fickle and cynical British press unfairly slagged this band as New Order-wannabes (even though almost all their stuff was produced by New Order bassist Peter Hook); but that's a really shitty and reductive way to describe Stockholm Monsters. Along with some of the other Factory Records bands of that era, they helped bridge the gap between the early label's artier post-punk groups (A Certain Ratio and Joy Division) and the late-decade dance club vibe of the Happy Mondays and Electronic. A band that never got their due because their ever-changing façade meandered around so many genres: an eclectic blend of sunny synth pop experimentation mingled with jangly guitars and electro beats.

I read an interview a few years ago with John Darnielle (of The Mountain Goats, a man I highly respect and cherish as one of the greatest American songwriters of this generation) where he said this was his favorite album ever. It must be awesome if he likes it, right? Listen for yourself and decide.

This is the 2002 re-master from LTM Recordings, with a slew of bonus tracks...

Stockholm Monsters - Alma Mater (1984; Factory Records)
90.1 MB, ripped at 192 kbps

Atmosphere - Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP's (2001)

2010-08-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

I can remember watching one of those HBO-televised rap battles years ago and was blown away that the dudes killing it were from Minneapolis of all places. I can remember Eyedea winning one year, and finding his first album he did with Abilities (2001's First Born). I wasn't blown away by that record, but I remember the clerk at Repo Records in Rosemont, PA (R.I.P.) telling me (I can't remember his exact words) that "I might want to check out the other rappers on Rhymesayers, like Slug or Brother Ali..." Long story short: I went back later that week and sold back that Eyedea album and picked up some Atmosphere.

Atmosphere is DJ Ant (Anthony Davis) and MC Slug (Sean Daley), also two of the founders of Rhymesayers Entertainment, a Minneapolis-based hip-hop collective that put the Twin Cities on the map. This album collects Atmosphere's first three EPs (Lucy, Ford 1 and Ford 2); it features production from a few other guys besides Ant- tracks from Moodswing9, Jel (of the group subtle and the anticon. collective) and El-P (founder of the DefJux label and Company Flow). The track The Woman With The Tattooed Hands is one of the best hip-hop tracks of all-time; I would consider it Atmosphere's signature song, in that it contains examples of all the trademarks of a great Slug rap: smart lyrics, great storytelling and excellent flow and delivery.

Grip this now!

Atmosphere - Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP's (2001; Rhymesayers Entertainment)
65.8 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967)

2010-07-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

Pierre Henry and Michel Colombier set out to create music for a choreographer friend of theirs (Maurice Béjart) for an experimental ballet performance called Messe pour le temps présent in 1967. The most famous track from these recording sessions produced the song Psyché Rock- which we'd all hear eventually, being used as the title theme song from the TV show Futurama. Les Yper-Sound would also grace the name of a Stereolab track from their Emperor Tomato Ketchup album, so they're no stranger to pop culture references.

What makes this so interesting is the sound effects that Henry added to Colombier's composition- Henry had worked extensively with musique concrète, pioneering the genre in the late 1940's and early 50's with Pierre Schaffer in his Club d'Essai studio at the ORTF (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française), producing musique concrète "noises" as well as some of the first electronic sounds to be used in films and TV shows.

Upon first listen, the songs on Too Fortiche sound extremely dated, but realizing that the space-age sounds were made on such primitive equipment it sounds wonderfully experimental and... groovy.

Les Yper-Sound - Too Fortiche (1967; Fontana Records)
26 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Harold Land - Choma (Burn) 1971

2010-07-31T08:10:00.000-07:00

"Harold Land was one of the major contributors in the history of the jazz saxophone..." says Kenny Burrell, renowned jazz guitarist and head of the UCLA Jazz Studies Program, of which he gave Land a position teaching one of his instrumental jazz combo classes in 1996. And there you have it; one legend speaking about another with reverence and humility, but most importantly truth. Harold Land was another one of the many "figures in the shadows" of jazz that never fully got their due.

Land made an album under his own name for a 1949 Savoy session that now seem to be lost to eternity; his earliest recordings to gain notoriety (as well as survive) were with the Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet (he preceded a more famous sax player in Sonny Rollins) and was featured prominently on their first three records. He then left to explore some other things with Curtis Counce, Red Mitchell and releasing records as a leader himself, but he wouldn't find a true creative equal until he started making music (actually, some of the best jazz albums of the late 1960's) with the one and only Mr. Bobby Hutcherson. They would make 11 records together in an eight-year span, from 1968 on through until the mid-70's.

So this record, Choma (Burn) would feature only one Hutcherson composition, and would lean towards a more fusion-y direction- which would of course mean funky and accessible. This was never released as a CD, so you're gonna have to hunt this down at your favorite local record store...

Harold Land - Choma (Burn) 1971; Mainstream Records
85.3 mb, ripped at 320 kbps (from vinyl)

The Golden Palominos - The Golden Palominos (1983)

2010-07-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'm obviously drawn to things in the avant vein, so when I see an album that has a bunch of previously featured Out Sounds artists, I most definitely sit up and take notice. Two members of the early-80's downtown New York collective known as The Golden Palominos have already gotten their due; you may remember my Passover-related John Zorn post, or my tribute to prepared guitar wizard (and Oakland resident) Fred Frith. Those two musicians, along with drummer/composer (and former member of seminal new wave band The Feelies) Anton Fier, bassist Bill Laswell (who I learned of through his more recent work with Tabla Beat Science) and guitarist/singer Arto Lindsay (of No Wave-legends DNA) came together in 1981 to create an experimental funk-rock-jazz band that borrowed greatly from the No Wave movement as well as the avant-garde music and performance art of that whole downtown scene.

Conceptually; it's one piece of music that is broken up into its constituent parts; stylistically it flows pretty seamlessly from one track to the next- it sounds like a highly structured jam session where the bass and drum interlock perfectly with Laswell and Fier creating a pocket in which all the soloists improvise their respective parts; Frith and Lindsay weave guitars around each other, sounding at times like buzz saws and electric drills and other times hashing out intense riffs. Zorn's sax is either bubbling just below or comes at you full-force in the face, and "guests" like Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass, Nicky Skopelitis on guitar and percussionist David Moss are all featured on various tracks. Knowing a little something about the nature of the musicians involved, I can almost guarantee that none of it is really "structured" per se; all the artists involved have carved out huge followings for their improvisational skills.

Now to the "why this record is important"; it features the first turntable scratching (from turntablist M.E. Mitchell) outside of a hip-hop record- and it doesn't sound the least bit out of place. Remember, rap music was still pretty new in 1983, so to hear this outside of a Grandmaster Flash or Rammellzee record might catch ears as strange.

Do yourself a favor; download this album now...

The Golden Palominos - The Golden Palominos (1983; Celluloid Records)
70.2 mb, ripped at 224 kbps

Palace Music - Viva Last Blues (1995)

2010-07-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Will Oldham, along with his brother Ned on bass, Sebadoh's drummer Jason Lowenstein, pianist Liam Hayes (who also records under the moniker Plush) and lead guitarist Bryan Rich set out to record a ragged and raw folk-tinged country rock-and-blues album (with none other than Steve Albini twiddling the knobs behind the glass) and it's probably my favorite thing Will's done under any of his Palace-named projects (the others being Palace Songs, Palace Brothers, Palace Soundtrack, Palace Contribution and just plain Palace...) and my favorite thing he's done outside of his more well known Bonnie 'Prince' Billy character. The man of 1,000 names...

There's nothing I can ever say that would do justice or be enough praise to Mr. Oldham; to pay homage to one of the greatest American songwriters of the last 30 years by writing this little blurb here and giving you one of his loveliest of records is all I have right now. I strongly recommend you download this album, then get your ass to a record store and start systematically buying the bulk of his discography. Whenever I walk into a record store and see one of his albums I don't yet have (and there aren't that many left) I scoop it up.

Palace Music - Viva Last Blues (1995; Drag City Records)
73.8 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Paneye - Lying Under Moribund Waves (2010)

2010-07-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Paneye is Australian Will Treffry's vision; it's a veritable ambient psychedelic dreamscape cut with swaths of electronica here and there as well as an occasional foray into drone folk; it's been described in some reviews as "trippy, spaced-out and surreal". Taking a queue from the landscape that surrounds his native Sydney, Treffry has crafted a murky and dense atmospheric record that's as experimental as it is well-honed. Recorded on a laptop with just a mic and an amp, it's not as lo-fi as one might suspect- it's actually pretty accomplished as far as home recording goes.

Plus, it's free! With much kudos to Will for both finding this blog and contacting me to help distribute his music, without further ado, here's Paneye's Lying Under Moribund Waves.

Paneye - Lying Under Moribund Waves (2010; self-released)
46.8 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Red Sparowes - At The Soundless Dawn (2005)

2010-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles-based Red Sparowes don't fit as neatly into the post-rock category as say Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Explosions in the Sky; they share a commonality in that they can build slow-burning atmospheric jams into dizzying cinematic crescendos, but where those two bands are based in classical music and indie rock (respectively) Red Sparowes dip their toes into a more metallic well; after all they share members with bands like Isis and are on Neurosis' label. So there's your metal-influences.

At The Soundless Dawn is (purportedly) the story of the impending apocalypse set to music; the song titles themselves are one of the few clues to this because as most post-rock goes there are no words (except a few samples). It would be a full year and a half between the release of this record and Red Sparowes explanation of it; from an interview with Modern Fix:

"There is an underlying theme to this record. The literature on the subject is almost limitless, but it basically breaks down to this: There have previously been five “mass extinction events” on earth that have been scientifically realized, dating back from 440 million years ago. These events have resulted in the extinction of 19% - 54% of all species on earth at each specific time period. The first five events have been caused by natural elements, including the known impacts with meteors and the like. We are currently experiencing the sixth extinction event, which is the first one to be caused by a single species on our planet, which happens to be humanity."

That's some heavy shit. The epicness of this record is just as heavy...

Red Sparowes - At The Soundless Dawn (2005; Neurot Recordings)
88.2 mb, VBR avg ~ 201 kbps

Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop (1992)

2010-07-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Another classic hip-hop record that never got it's due; Diamond D and his Psychotic Neurotics' Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop is a testament to keeping it real. The whole D.I.T.C. (Diggin' In The Crates) Crew were the hardest working DJs and producers in the game in the early 90's, one listen to any of the charter member's albums and you'll know that what you're listening to is pure aural boom bap gold. D was one of the last of a dying breed of beat-maker/rapper; it's a shame more MCs aren't as adept in production as rhyming these days.

Featuring guest verses from Sadat X and Lord Jamar (of Brand Nubian), A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, Big L, Fat Joe and Showbiz and production from Large Professor, Jazzy Jay and DJ Mark the 45 King; it's a posse album if there ever was one. I always felt that this was one of the last great albums from the old school of hip-hop; it came out at the tail end of the golden age, right before Wu-Tang Clan released their game-changer Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in '93.

Sit back, relax, spark up a blizzy, fuck what u heard- Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop is the shit, kid.

Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop (1992; Mercury Records)
89.9 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Ciccone Youth - The Whitey Album (1988)

2010-07-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Minutemen bassist Mike Watt was still reeling after D. Boon's death; it took Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's Sonic Youth parody side-project Ciccone Youth to pull him out of depression and get him on his musical feet again. It would take the skewering of some Madonna songs (the Watt-sung Burnin' Up and Into the Groovey) as well as a Robert Palmer cover (an "as tongue-in-cheek as possible" rendition of his mega-hit Addicted to Love, recorded in a karaoke booth). It's a tragic reminder of how truly awful some of the music from the 80's was.

Where Sonic Youth was a serious creative outlet for Moore (here on The Whitey Album he dubs himself The Royal Tuff Titty), Gordon (Fly Fly Away), Lee Ranaldo (The Sigh) and Steve Shelley (SS Beat Control); Ciccone Youth shows them exploring "new" territory- pseudonyms, hip-hop beats (samplers & beat-boxes), parody, spoken-word, comedy and electronica. I picked this record up a few years ago when they re-issued it on the Goofin' label- and legend has it that Madonna was totally okay with them doing this (she remembered da Yoof from her NYC days, ain't that a trip?)

If your personality veers more to the serious side and you're a fan of SY's "noise is my beautiful self-discovery" vibe, leave this alone. If you wanna laugh along with the joke (because we're all in on it if we survived the 80s), by all means download this now.

Ciccone Youth - The Whitey Album (1988; Blast First Records)
49.8 mb, ripped at 128 kbps

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977)

2010-07-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is one of those albums that if you don't already have, it will most likely get you a serious palm-to-face transaction from yours truly. You don't have to be a punk aficionado to appreciate it, I'd actually liken it to something closer to New Wave; if it's punk then it's Art Punk; kind of like Television without the intricately woven guitar work- although Robert Quine does kick some serious ass on here.

Richard Hell is the reason for The Sex Pistols, he's the reason for the whole punk movement in general- he's had more to do with the early formation of what "punk" was in 1970's New York City. A brief look at his bio and one can see his imprint is on a little bit of everything; his resume reads like this- formed Neon Boys in '69 with childhood friend Tom Verlaine, the two would later start seminal band Television; being one of the first "rock" bands to play CBGB; would hang out with Patti Smith (both helping her to kick start her music career); would then leave Television and start a band with ex-New York Dolls Jerry Nolan and thee Johnny Thunders (called The Heartbreakers); eventually starting The Voidoids (with guitarists Quine and Ivan Julian and drummer Marc Bell) and the rest, they say, is history.

This is the 1990 CD re-issue with a Leonard Cohen cover (I'm Your Man) and a version of All The Way, a song popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1957. You can anonymously download this album so I don't laugh at you for not already having it.

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977; Sire Records)
56.8 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960)

2010-07-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Just one look at this album cover and I thought: night. Yep, this is one of those night time jazz records; upon the first few listens it jumps out as an album that evokes neon lights reflected off the sheen of soggy city streets, cigarette smoke slowly rising up to the ceiling of a dark nightclub, maybe a shady figure standing in the shadow of a doorway. Hank Mobley's presence in the jazz stratosphere can be likened to exactly that- a figure standing in the shadows, never really gaining full notoriety for his tenor sax exploits.

Of course, the premier tenormen of the day, Coltrane and Rollins, have cast such a huge shadow over all of jazz (not just Mobley) it's no wonder he's been lost in the mix. Undervalued, under appreciated- he's really one of the quintessential hard bop saxophonists; never choppy or percussive, always fluid and relaxed. Starting with this record, Mobley would be at the start of a string of four really great hard bop records; Roll Call, Workout and No Room For Squares.

This session, from February 7th, 1960, was cut at Rudy Van Gelder's studio and features none other than Art Blakey on drums, Paul Chambers on bass and Wynton Kelly on piano.

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960; Blue Note Records)
86.1 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Five Dischord Bands...

2010-07-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

Dischord Records, god bless 'em; gotta love the business model that label heads Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson created way back in 1980 to get their Minor Threat records out to the public. It's been a wonderful American success story, maybe not in the monetary sense but in the stick-to-your-guns-no-sell-out success story: integrity at all costs. Or at very little cost to us, the general consumers.

I would feel bad about sharing these albums but a) these bands no longer exist and b) I own (or have owned at one time) these actual records or c) have spent money on these bands (via digital download, concerts, etc.) But it still feels like stealing from Robin Hood in a way.

Oh well, morality bullshit aside, let's start it off with one of my favorite bands to break up this past decade, Q and Not U. Post-hardcore-slash-dance punk group extraordinaire; I've chosen their 2000 debut record No Kill No Beep Beep for you- it's a tad rawer, fresher and more exciting than their other two records. Sadly, the boys broke up in September of 2005 leaving a three album legacy to the world, also leaving loyal Washington, DC fans wanting more.

Q and Not U - No Kill No Beep Beep
39.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 137 kbps

Next up is another DC band, math rock stalwarts Faraquet. They only put out one record, 2000's The View From This Tower, but it definitely left an impression. I'd chunk it right between earlier post-hardcore giants Quicksand and Dischord flagship band Fugazi- tight grooves, heavy drums but not afraid to get funky. Then the King Crimson-esque prog rock stop-on-a-dime staccato blasts. They recently reformed to play a string of shows and release an anthology of earlier singles, but no plans to record in the future. I think they should do it...

Faraquet - The View From This Tower
35.4 mb, ripped at 128 kbps (mix of .m4a and .mp3 files)

Black Eyes will straight up fuck your face into an oblivion. Two albums, markedly different- their self-titled debut is far more focused, dare I say listenable? Not that follow-up Cough isn't rad as shit in it's own right, I figured you weren't ready for it. Yet. That's another blog all by itself. For now, you'll have to get by on 2003's eponymous record; an arty, slightly pretentious and noisy version of hardcore punk.

Black Eyes - Black Eyes
47.5 mb, VBR avg ~ 203 kbps

El Guapo's Fake French might be the one album that you couldn't pick out from a police line-up, especially from a band that might not have the typical Dischord sound. A bit more heavy on the synths, call-and-response lyrics and electro beats placed here and there would have your scratching you head a little. That's okay; El Guapo wouldn't mind. They're technically the only band here that didn't break up per se, as they merely changed their name to Supersystem (and shedded their original drummer). Here's their 2003 offering for you...

El Guapo - Fake French
52.6 mb, VBR avg ~ 203 kbps

Antelope started as a side project for El Guapo/Supersystem/Edie Sedgewick member Justin Moyer along with ex-Vertebrates Bee Elvy and Mike Andre, and their sole offering to the world was 2007's Reflector. Heavy on the bass, the sparse drums interlock perfectly providing a pocket for Moyer's angular and pointed guitar lines. It's minimal, it's sleek, and they're gone...

Antelope - Reflector
47.1 mb, ripped at 256 kbps

Dirty Three - Ocean Songs (1998)

2010-07-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Besides being consummate musicians; Warren Ellis, Mick Turner and Jim White craft a sincere emotionality unlike no other, all without the use of words. Masters of their respective instruments (violin, guitar and drums) this Australian trio was founded in Melbourne in 1992 after the classically trained Ellis found being a schoolteacher to be a bit much. Attaching a guitar pickup to his violin... the story writes itself.

This may not be the consensus pick among fans as their best, but it's my favorite- as are most things with a nautical theme. Enjoy one of the most unique bands in music today, stuck somewhere between post-rock, slowcore and traditional folk...

Dirty Three - Ocean Songs (1998; Touch And Go Records)
92.3 mb, VBR avg ~ 190 kbps