Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)

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, peep this joint.

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000; 75 Ark Records)

Two Albums from... Danzig

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)

Danzig II: Lucifuge (1990; Def American Records)

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

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)

Gary McFarland - The In Sound (1965)

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)

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

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.

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

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

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)

Dzyan - Electric Silence (1975)

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)

Two Albums from... Roy Harper

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)

Stormcock (1971; Harvest Records)

Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology (1998)

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)

Buddy Miles Express - Expressway to Your Skull (1968)

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)

Minus the Bear - Highly Refined Pirates (2002)

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)

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982)

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 it is...

Faith / Void - Split LP (1982; Dischord Records)

Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968)

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)

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

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)

Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things (2006)

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)

Paavoharju - Yhä Hämärää (2005)

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)

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971)

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!- listen to this shit right now!!!

Flower Travellin' Band - Satori (1971; Atlantic Records)

Esquivel - Other Worlds, Other Sounds (1958)

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)

Aesop Rock - Labor Days (2001)

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)

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

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)

Josef K - The Only Fun In Town (1981)

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)

Boris - Flood (2000)

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. 

Listen.

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

Boris - Flood (2000; Noble Label)
-link opens to YouTube-

Sebadoh - Harmacy (1996)

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)

Conductive Alliance - Water Glyphs (2010)

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 listen to this, I'm sure it'll be near the top of one of my year-end lists...

Conductive Alliance - Water Glyphs (2010; self-released)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - The Classic Years

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)

Slow Riot For New Zerø Kanada (1999; Constellation Records)

Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000; Constellation Records)

Yanqui U.X.O. (2002; Constellation Records)