|
four tet, "paws"
Not to be confused with the album of a similar name, 'Paws' is a cleverly-titled four song EP of remixes from Kieran Hebden and friends. The first is a remix of "Glue of the World" by Hebden. It stretches the anticipation of the original and tosses a humorously dance-laden drum break into the mix. Think Madonna's "Music" without the shameful Credence rip-off. The second remix is from new-comer Koushik, who recently signed to Hebden's Text Records in the UK. It's a bright, playful number with Koushik's charming vocals propelling the song into genuine indie-pop territory. Manitoba's remix of the same song should come as no surprise if you're familiar with his brilliant Start Breaking My Heart album. He lightens the mood a little bit and keeps the groove as sturdy as the original. The final remix is Boom Bip's version of "No More Mosquitoes." It's much darker than the original, with a chiming interpretation of the vocal melody that bears a weird resemblance to the X-Files theme. Overall this EP is far superior to the "No More Mosquitoes" single from a few months back. The single had an obvious B-sides quality to it that this EP thankfully doesn't have. It stands on its own as a solid addition to the Four Tet catalog. - Walter Kranke
samples:
illusion of safety, "in opposition of our acceleration"
The ambient/electronic/noise collage veterans' latest CD features eight unreleased improv pieces recorded live in Europe and the U.S., plus one studio piece that also appears on the 'Wiretapper 7' CD compilation. Sometimes IOS music can be jarring, such as on their 1998 CD 'Bad Karma,' with little sound pranks that I found to be humorous. However, this new CD flows beautifully, without any abrupt changes. The dark ambience is derived from electronics, noise, and occasionally musical instruments, as you may expect if familiar with their
work.
At live shows, I find that watching the musicians fiddle with buttons and knobs is distracting. But with eyes closed, the noise may take me somewhere in my imagination, using the sounds as cues to define a place or a feeling. Many pieces on this CD achieve this effect. For example, while listening to track four (live in Stockholm), I feel like I'm in a strange old building, where the vacuum cleaner is running non-stop in a nearby room, while in my immediate environment are dueling rhythmic click-scrape noises and an odd chord twanging repeatedly. Then a background machine din grows and overcomes the other sounds and I wonder how I'll ever get out of this hellhole. I escape as track five (live at a radio station in Evanston, Illinois) begins with another din from the machine room while a consistent rhythm is provided by a sound reminiscent of a slow drip from a leaky faucet, only each water drop seems to be hitting a drum surface rather than a sink. The dense background din varies, with swirling pain sounds that sometimes could be a drawn-out AWWWWWW cry by some beast (human or other), but what I imagine as wailing is actually just another electronic sound, not a sampled cry. When the train finally comes, it's almost a relief: a familiar blaring train whistle, one of the few recognizable samples on this CD. Other pieces on the CD are lighter and sparser, like the piano cut-up that opens the CD. There are also some that feature a heavy buzzing sound, or a high-pitched drone.
I enjoy most of the selections here and feel that IOS fans will not be disappointed. - Ampersandy
samples:
"if i were prince"
I have very mixed feelings about tribute albums. If a group of friends decide to all record some songs because they're all influenced by an artist or group, it's somewhat acceptable. Meanwhile, when labels like Cleopatra make a career out of coordinating a bunch of bands related to their label, (Leatherstrip seem to always say yes, too) and tossing together a collection of "ironic" versions, it's nauseating. This collection is sort of hard to pin down, and is somewhat predictable in its unpredictability. First off, I'm happy to report they actually chose some of the lesser-known yet still pretty special Prince tunes, if there was anybody doing "Kiss," I would have tossed the disc in the trash immediately. Next up, like nearly every tribute, there are a couple of moments that shine very brightly, a couple stinkers and a lot of mediocrity. 7 Hurtz with Peaches and Bitch Laplap open the comp up with a curvacious version of "Sexy Dancer," setting the stage for something saucy but my taste buds begin to register "bland". Fort Lauderdale rip in with an almost equally sleazy rendition of "Annie Christian" with a dirty bass riff and irritating guitar solo. But then it gets somewhat graituitus as Op:L Bastards does an embarassingly out of tune version of "If I Was Your Girlfriend," leaving off all the interesting lyrics. Capitol K want to be Beck on "Dance On", Simian sound like they don't even care on "Under the Cherry Moon", Broadway Project should have left Jeb Loy Nichols out on "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker", Bronze Age don't do much but add drunken vocals and boring instrumentation to a tired glitchbreak on "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and Hefner (not even the rock Hefner) retools "Controversy" into something so bland it would offend nobody. Please make it stop!
Alas, the last track reached and it is indeed quite phenomenal. Whoever this Misty Dixon chick is, I want her. Seriously. So does every guy and girl who always calls the radio station whenever I play the tune on my show! "The Beautiful Ones" from 'Purple Rain' could very well possibly be one of the most amazing pop songs of the 1980s and her version is so delicate yet mesmerizing, it's almost worth the price of admission. Especially when she gets to that bit, "Do you want him, do you want me, cos I want you!" (Bonus points for not changing the lyrics.) Misty: will you marry me? Sorry. Anyhow, whenever she gets an album together, she needs to include this cover tune, so you won't have to spend your money and time wading through the tepid waters here.
What would you do if you were Prince? - Jon Whitney
samples:
cornelius, "point"
Keigo Oyamada, the boy genius better known as Cornelius, has finally returned from a three-year hiatus which followed the release of his critically acclaimed 'Fantasma'. His newest offering, a meticulously stylized ensemble of songs that run the gamut from pretty minimalism (in songs like "Tone Twilight Zone") to unabashed metal silliness (the tongue-in-cheek "I Hate Hate"), is as full of the sophistication and sense of humor as his previous efforts. Cornelius has fortunately managed to maintain his ability for infusing experimental sensibilities into catchy pop tunes, and 'Point' attests to the focus into which he has brought it. The seamless production throughout the album is at its strongest on "Drop". "Another View Point" is a funky, psychedelic disco track, "Bird Watching At Inner Forest" puts a Latin rhythmic twist on introspective Japanese lyrics and the cover of "Brazil" with its robotic vocals is simply enchanting. His skillful use of acoustic guitar in combination with electronics on many of the tracks is refreshing. 'Point' finishes off with "Nowhere", which conjures images of relaxing on the deck a dreamy 1950s cruise ship, sipping mai tais with paper umbrellas and drifting off into the sunset. Just before it all comes to an end, Cornelius announces, "Point. Stop the music," in what serves as a perfect example of the control he sustains over every second of the album. Every note seems perfectly calculated and nothing is allowed to run amok, despite the multiplicity of directions in which the listener is directed. Oyamada is clearly an audiophile who is more than happy to share with his listeners the vast array of musical genres from which he takes his influence. Perhaps that's the point. - Jessica Tibbits
samples:
Halifax Pier, "Put Your Gloves On And Wave"
Those who remember the gorgeous eponymous first release by Halifax Pier in 2000 will want to come back for more, and those who have never heard them should start here. "Put Your Gloves On And Wave" is a perfect sophomore effort that highlights what worked the first time while adding elements that make this time worth revisiting. The melodies and voices are more haunting than ever, the strings are just as swooping and grandiose (not losing a bit of their magic), and the addition of bass and tiny guitar flourishes here and there add a power and chill to the proceedings that equates to just the right amount of growth for this Louisville ensemble. Just a little more drive, a bit more swing, and a touch of brevity in the compositions makes for smooth sailing. There's no desire to force any part of this music. Everything develops at its own pace, and changes direction if necessary, as though it had a mind of its own. A few lyrical passages are a bit awkward ("Kisses from women someone else loves, and I make them sleep with me"), even if the voice(s) driving them are confident though understated. And ambient sounds that are added—finger snaps, train noises, background vocals—create an ethereal feeling for some songs, right before the driving energy returns. All in all, a marked improvement over their previous sound, and a worthy successor to any number of releases in my CD player. - Rob Devlin
samples:
JOHN CALE, "STAINLESS GAMELAN"
With the Wire banging on about the legendary Dream Syndicate pretty much every other month you're either going to be gagging to hear these early sonic experiments of the long nosed Welsh viola player from the Velvet Underground or you're going to be almost as pig sick of hearing about it as you are of Radiodread. This third CD of sixties Cale drone and bang is perhaps going to be of most interest to fans of the first couple of VU albums as it opens with two long duets with guitarist Sterling Morrison. The first could be described as a primitive ambient Sonic Youth prediction. 'Stainless Steel Gamelan' finds Cale and Morrison shimmering hazily for ten minutes or so, both hammering away at one guitar. Cale counterpoints Morrison's beautiful arpeggios with the gamelan like bashing that gives the track its title. 'At about this time Mozart was dead and Joseph Conrad was sailing the Seven Seas learning English' has a poetically fitting if lugubrious title. Cale chops up viola drone with the pause button on a tape recorder, fucking up time in a way which might have suggested the title's historical notions. It opens with a deep rolling viola drone over which Morrison bounces screwdriver handle guitar flotsam. Nearly eight minutes into the twenty six, Cale starts going amphetamine crazy on the pause button making hacked random squeakings that'll probably give people who regard Radiodead as 'experimental' a hard time, but should pose no problem to people who feel that word is a better description of Nurse With Wound records. I've never heard anything quite like this before!
A vaguely medieval flavoured jazzy trio with horse hoof clopping percussionist Angus Maclise and saxophonist Terry Jennings is pleasant, but doesn't really seem to fit in too well with the rest of the relatively exploratory music here. There's a fantastically noisy assault on a piano fed through Tony Conrad's 'thunder machine' (Vox amp reverb) with the suitably ravaged title 'After the Locust' which might have sat better on the second CD with the other Conrad duets. It goes out on a humourous lack of notes as Cale's recording of dense layered viola drones is interupted by a fireman ordering him to go play far away out in the country somewhere. Of course since then the drone has led him and his nose far away to several different countries. - Graeme Rowland
samples:
hollAnd Borthwick, "Helene"
What some people call monotonous or repetitive others are sure to call moving or stirring. This release is many things: the soundtrack to Mark Borthwick's visually stunning art and photography, originally composed for an exhibition at the Swiss Institute in New York in 1999; a bizarre sound collage made up of acoustic guitar, spoken word, and electronics, all cut up for your pleasure/annoyance; an inspiration to Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, which could be good or bad, depending how you look at it (a line from this release contains the words "a thousand leaves," which is reportedly where the Sonic Youth album of the same name received its moniker); confusing and stunning at the same time. I listened to all 38 minutes and 58 seconds in one listen, and I must say I was impressed/confused/stunned/annoyed/fascinated/dismayed. To tell the truth I don't really quite know how to feel after the experience. It is certainly an interesting listen, though, I feel, lacking without the visual component. Although the packaging is well done and contains the complete text for the album with two Borthwick-taken photographs randomly selected from four total, they are a poor substitute for the work that I feel this was inspired by or helped inspire. I was reminded, strangely enough, of Tortoise's "Djed," and how the first time I listened to it I felt similar to how I felt about this project, a collaboration between Borthwick and TREVOR/hollAnd. So I listened to it again. And again. After several listens, I like it more, though I am just as confused. And perhaps I should be. It's a lot to swallow, and I feel I may never fully understand it. But I dare you to try, and I hope you can. I just wish I could see the whole piece as it is intended to be viewed. Then perhaps this release would have more meaning and would server as a reminiscence for something incredibly moving. That's the sense I get from this. I'm missing too much. - Rob Devlin
samples:
MASSIMO, "Hey babe, let me see your USB and IŽll show you my FireWire"
Massimo claims the whole of this 3" ep release was played with a trumpet and that he doesn't like to be compared with power electronics. OK, m a y b e he triggered the electronics with a trumpet and I could describe his music easily like my imagination of LO REZ' cyber punk (see William Gibson). The sun rises above decayed industrial landscapes as he gives us a glimpse how a power pop version of The Hafler Trio could sound. All in nearly 20 minutes (with one short break).
Loads of track titles (i.e. "Fiat," "Microsound and glitch & cuts can only lick my mafia ass," "She Male 808") and the design show a sense of humour which can't be wrong. It will be interesting to watch and listen to his further progressions. - carsten s.
samples:
Adrian Crowley, "When You Are Here You Are Family"
Fans of Nick Drake rejoice: there is an heir apparent to the throne. Not a true heir, to be sure, but one of such promise that everyone should pay attention to his words and melodies as they're sure to improve over time. Adrian Crowley's sophomore release, "Family" marks his domestic debut thanks to Ba Da Bing! Records, who will also release his debut record "A Strange Kind" later this year. And what a find Crowley is. First, he fits in nicely with the other artists on Ba Da Bing!, as his releases are understated, small enesemble affairs (this time it is Kate Ellis on cello and Thomas "Hulk" Haugh on drums). Secondly, he gains serious cred on "Family" through the production work of Steve Albini, who, thankfully, just lets the music speak for itself—mostly. Lastly, there are so many flavors here that fans of Bonnie Prince Billy, Red House Painters, Badly Drawn Boy, and the aforementioned Drake will all find something to pique their interests. In fact, if there's any complaint about "Family," it's that some of it sounds almost too much like other artists. The chiming, faded guitar, solemn piano and cello with very simple drumming are very much Will Oldham in nature, and Crowley's voice is an interesting mix of Mark Kozelek, Oldham, and Drake. It's the melodies and lyrics that set Crowley apart, and show immense promise for his future. Somewhat unfortunately, the next release US audiences will hear is actually his past, but if it's even a shadow of this it should be a lovely listen. I look forward to his next studio release as well as an American tour sometime in the near future (I hope). - Rob Devlin
samples:
charles atlas, "felt cover"
The cover of the third album from this San Franciscan duo somewhat baffles me, and eerily provides hints about the contents. I have always loved their albums but there's always something rather conceptually missing. The debut, 'Two More Hours' was charming with its rather innocent mix of electronics and drones, but the collection remained somewhat fragmented and untied with remixes by Isan and Alan Sparhawk of Low. The second album, 'Play the Spaces' was amazingly pretty but very very very sleepy. On 'Felt Cover,' the music is undeniably calm once again, but the styles vary with resonating guitars in one song, a violin elsewhere, another with field recordings, and another with brushed drums and trumpet. The most common interplay of instruments are the combination of organ and guitar, yet they're seemingly always matched with something else. It's almost as if this were a sort of collaborative album by a DJ with various singers on each track. They're no DJs however, but I do feel something of an identity crisis going on, as different spots sound Mick Turner-esque, Boxhead Ensemble-ish, or Labradford-like. These aren't necessarily bad things. Members Charles Wyatt and Matt Greenberg are excellent multi-instrumentalists, and I'm sure that over time, the Charles Atlas sound will develop into something less familiar. Regardless of directional issues, the music itself is tender and appropriately woven more than likely out of hours of improvisations. I've found out through a number of listenings that this disc must be savored on its own: not at work, with a walkman, nor driving to. I have found many a relaxing evening winding down with Charles Atlas on the stereophonic hi-fi as the light from a late (winter) afternoon fades into the night. - Jon Whitney
samples:
Colourbox, "Best of 82/87"
I doubt there is one person reading this who doesn't know "Pump Up The Volume," but how many know the history of Colourbox up until that moment, possibly 4AD's biggest worldwide smash in their entire existence? Martin and Steven Young (the M and the S in M/A/R/R/S) had been influenced by the dub/rock/dance hybrid music coming out of New York in the early 1980s but unlike many of their contemporaries didn't invest anything into their personal image. 4AD was a perfect match as the label had artistic visions for covers and the like while the brothers Young preferred to be faceless and rather distant. While I always respected Colourbox, I found their output was always hit-and-miss. I was more into their primitive pre-sampler sound collage bits and not so much into their vocal 12" single tracks. Songs like "Sleepwalker" never did anything for me, but as soon as that vocal sample "Let's Hear Some Music" rips into the opening of "Hot Doggie," fond memories of that 'Lonely is an Eyesore' comp bring a smile to my face. Sure, the music is dated, but this is a very tastefully done archive, including "The Official Colourbox World Cup Theme," and the 12" single and video of "Pump Up the Volume." To its credit, "Pump Up the Volume" was a very important song, giving way to many future samplers, igniting the careers of Ofra Haza and Eric B & Rakim, while Martin and Steven kept losing lawsuits. How did they follow up a number one single? They stopped recording. - Jon Whitney
samples:
james plotkin's atomsmasher
I honestly think this disc's been out for quite a while, but it's been quite a bitch to find around Boston. My personal theory suggests that since the label's based out of Boston, most local stores are afraid to carry it. grrrrrrr. James Plotkin and DJ Speedranch are the farthest thing from local, however. The debut full-length album is an onslaught of speedmetal-esque mathematical digital aggression, a supersonic bulldozer with a touch of class and humor. Plotkin's mega playing and editing abilities combined with Speedranch's squelches and David White's drumming is a winning combination Painkiller would be proud of. Once known as simply Atomsmasher, the trio had to change their name when some terrible hair band threatened action. Action is certainly the key to this music however, with songs which don't give the listeners much breathing space. (Hint: check your heart rate by the time the disc reaches track 9). The origins of the songs sound like they started out in seemingly innocent jam sessions, only to be chopped up and reassembled like a quirky robot with parts falling off. With headphones on I feel like I'm stuck in a nightmarish Japanese video game, completely unsuitable for children under five as the repetitious strobelights will give them seizures. Driving in the car is a different story, and is guaranteed to get really interesting stares. Impress your friends, freak out your animals and show up your co-workers who like that pussy Fred Durst-related shit. - Jon Whitney
samples:
all tomorrow's parties 1.1
If the poor girl couldn't decide what costume to wear to the Sonic Youth-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival in LA this March, and stayed hiding behind her door, then maybe this souvenir disc compiling twelve of the performers could be some consolation. It's worth hearing just for Boredoms' two chord big drum hoedown and the spoken word twilight psychedelia of Bardo Pond, whose warped eastern percussion led 'White Turban' is the highlight. 'White Turban' builds wonderfully hypnotic layers of tidal guitar ebb and flow over which Isobel Sollenberger recounts a disjointed tale of something queer like starlight. Boredoms gain big kudos for their long instrumental wind tunnel which sounds unlike anything else they've done but couldn't really be anyone else. Sonic Youth play a restrained sparse firefly flickering instrumental that segues neatly into the more distorted Unwound who sound here like they could almost be the same band with their ghost piano, skittering footsteps, thick chunky bass and overloaded drums. This track pisses all over everything from their disappointing "Leaves Turn Inside You" album. Dead C also sound oddly as if they're paying distorted homage to Sonic Youth circa "Bad Moon Rising", although this is probably unintentional, and the joyous racket they kick up seems less artfully considered with drums even more distorted than Unwound or Boredoms. Stephen Malkmus shrugs off a twee throwaway demo tune about 'good kids' which becomes pretty irritating after repeated listening, whilst Papa M despairs of how to tell someone he loves them in a maudlin folky style. Catpower also does the folky thing but whereas Papa M sounds convincingly fraught about his words blowing away and deploys emotively effective dynamics, Catpower just strums bland and forgettable. Table top guitar mangler Kevin Drumm and Satan's Tornade (Merzbow and Russell Haswell) end it all with some suitably apocalyptic laptop noise. Drumm has more textural variation in his track whilst Satan's Tornade go hell for weather in random digital storm clouds. All tracks are exclusives except for the ever bland and boring sickly sweet Stereolab and the much feted hip hop combo Cannibal Ox, who leave me feeling indifferent as they hang Zeus on the crucifix and scream Phoenix. - Graeme Rowland
samples:
coil, "moon's milk (in four phases)"
Most fans have probably collected each one of the seasonal Solstice & Equinox singles back when they were released in 1998. Now that they're long out of print, a reasonably priced collection takes their place. With one slight addition: a live version of "Amethist Deceivers" recorded somewhere in Europe in 2001. The first phase: the Spring Equinox single, "Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull," was their first release with then full-time member, violist Bill Breeze. It's comprised of two drone-a-licious 8+ minute parts which sound pretty much like different takes on the same track. The next single, the Summer Solstice is made up of four vocal songs featuring viola and mad electronics. "Glitch" artists could easily learn something about song composition and using the laptop noise as a piece of the puzzle rather than isolate it and bore the listener. Disc two features phases three and four, with guests like Rose McDowell on the dark masterpiece, "Rosa Decidua" and their version of "Christmas is Now Drawing Near". Autumn's five songs to me don't seem terribly seasonally thematic, not nearly as much as songs "Summer Substructures" and "Bee Stings" from the summer EP and "A White Rainbow" and "Christmas" from the winter EP. I distinctly remember being the most excited about the Autumn release songs. Over three years later, "Switches" and "Amethyst Deceivers" still bring chills to my spine. Here, the group ran the spectrum from electric charges to thunderous percussion holding nothing back. The roar of the dark winter rolls in for the winter EP, which lyrically almost attempts to tie a connection as balance sings, "Moon's milk spills from my unquiet skull and forms a white rainbow." Once again, the music also jumps around from styles, through glitch and viola vocal tracks to a reverberant sound collage, a serene digital bubblebath with spoken word, ending up on the string heavy Christmas song with Rose. It's a pain indeed to buy these all over again, and Coil have alluded to a live release so the bonus track could very well surface somewhere else. It's nice to have all the songs together without having to switch CDs every 25 minutes. - Jon Whitney
samples:
We know that sometimes these CDs are somewhat challenging to find, which is why we have a community section which can be used to obtain nearly everything available on this site. |
starstruck
Subject: hi!
just wanted to write and say hi. christoph heemann and dave tibet told me
about yer site, way back, and they were right.. i really enjoy it. timely,
enthusiastic, etc.. awesome. thanks for hosting so many artists who i love
yer doin great stuff.. thanks again
for being a glimmer of hope in this, eek, sea of eekness.
all the best
jim o'rourke
So, like, are you a plushie or what?
Subject: give me a weekly column
and I'll work in some movie reviews for you, okay?
Tom the Fish
Deal.
Subject: thanks
I like the brain 2001 poll and I absolutely agree that we should get rid of the
major label acts next time, they don't need more exposure. The brain is meant
to challenge readers. I am new to the brain and I I am just thrilled to
discovered it several month ago, then, I just stopped subscribe to Rolling
Stone. I enjoy the albums that reviewed in Brain, it's adventurous. No, I don't
have the time or $ to own all the CDs reviewed here, that's why I found the mp3
samples extremely helpful. From these mp3 samples, I discovered my new fav:
Mum, Fridge, Teflon Tel Aviv, Fennezes... always a pleasant surprise to find a
music you like and you knew nothing about before.
Thanks Brain, keep up the good work.
no more comments on this matter...
Subject: hey Rob
is it possible for rob devlin to NOT like a recording?
i'm just asking, since i've never seen him do a resoundingly negative review.
he'd have more cred if he approached all recordings with john's smoldering
dismissiveness. just a thought i had after seeing yet another yawner rated as
"amazing." it reminded me of how burned i got buying kings of convenience.
so here's a challenge to rob: review some pussy-rock record that you fucking
hate next issue. just tear it to shreds. i want you to single-handedly
destroy somebody's rep. grow some teeth.
Rob writes, "With this being a volunteer music zine and my time being so limited as it
is to write reviews, which I do enjoy doing, I'd much rather spend my energy
reviewing something I like rather than ripping into that odd release by that
shitty band no one likes. Having said that, there are plenty of releases I
could absolutely destroy, and perhaps should. I'll see if I can work those
in from time to time. I'd just much rather turn people on to good music
rather than turn them off to bad music. Your point about my over-use of the
word "amazing," however, is well taken. To remedy this, I have bought a
thesaurus. I'll let you know how it turns out... By the way, if you thought
a release I reviewed well to be "boring as a dog's ass," it is your opinion,
and that is why we have sound samples so you don't end up buying another
Kings of Convenience release based on someone else's word. Listen before
you buy. Always. Thanks for reading, and for the comments."
Subject: idle comment
did you know Kim Cascone links Brainwashed off his site?
No, but if you sing it, I'll join in on the second chorus.
OK,
Kim Cascone links Brainwashed off his site,
Some have said his records are all shite,
But some of them at least are good and free,
He puts them on the net as mp3s
Kim Cascone has worked for David Lynch,
The royalties must help him in a pinch,
He plays with csound, Max, and MSP,
He's a cyber lecture circuit celebrity
Bravo! Sure that's not a limerick?
Subject: hey
hey, I was wondering, could you tell me where the guitar riff to the song
MegaBlast came from? because I play guitar and would like to learn to riff.
no, we're not allowed to reveal under a court order.
Subject: girl power
i was looking through your list of contributers and couldn't help but
notice that you have only one female writer . . .
if you really want to do these artists a service you'll need
more women reviewing and recommending albums. sex sells, especially to
nerds. nothing makes a geek happier than to find a girl who shares his
taste in music.
We welcome new writers all the time!
Subject: nice
Beautiful site. Went to Kranky—also very nice. You handle simplicity very
well. Not easy.
I'll try not to steal anything!
Maybe you should get a shirt made,
"I went to the Kranky web site and all I got was this stupid shirt."
Subject: pussies
i like the Tom's Corner feature, its the best thing up there.
the question: is there a reason why more "idm" shit gets reviewed (and then
bitched about) than "hard-edge" electronics? for example: i dont see anybody
writing about knifehandchop, stuntrock, or doormouse, yet i find everybody and
their mailman telling me that telefon tel aviv, cex, and dntel are the shit
when they are SO SO VERY GAY. so effeminate. i hope everybody takes their lush
fucking ambiance and shoves it up their fucking asses. boring.
so are you guys not recieving the breakcore/hardcore/etc shit to review, or do
you guys just not let it qualify for making your wonderful magazine?
The problem once again (see above) is the lack of writers. There have been numerous occasions and locations we have requested writers into more hardcore, noise and improv, but nobody seems to want to write much about it. Tragic, indeed.
Subject: introduction
Hello! I'm an avid reader of your site and a huge
fan of all the bands you cover. Currently I am a student at the University of
Iowa, I have a major and English and a double minor in Journalism and Mass
Communication.
To get straight to the point, I am interested in contributing to your site, not
only because I'm interested in the material and wish to work in a field similar
to this, but also because I feel brainwashed offers a great service to fans,
like me, of such wide musical range.
If at all possible I would like to contribute reviews and/or help out with
specific sites. I am currently working at the Record Collector here in Iowa
City (www.recordcollectorinc.com) and at the college radio station KRUI. I am
currently one of three music directors at the station and have experience doing
reviews. Also I helped book Cex and Marumari this summer here in Iowa City
To get to know my tastes better, I have made a list of some of my favorite
recordings.
I feel that i could ( and would gladly) contribute my time and effort to the
Brainwashed cause. Please contact me if you want additional writing that I
have done for KRUI or in other areas.
Currently I am reading "Garden State" by Rick Moody, and "Satan: His
Psychotherapy and Cure By the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler" by Jeremy Leven.
Thanks for Listening, I hope to hear from you soon.
Here's how it works...
You have to actually start by writing reviews, write whatever you want about a release (album or single) we haven't covered yet. Next, we'll edit and publish it if it's appropriate and hopefully get some sound
samples and an album cover out of you. We can't just say "okay, you're a contributor!" without you actually contributing anything we haven't even seen yet! Make sense?
Subject: no subject
You did one sound gallery site, it's background was absolutely awful. Use a
non conclifting background man, one that does'nt didstract the viewer
Which sound gallery was this?
Subject: come back
Please come to JAPAN again .Do promise !
Packing our bags right now!
Subject: Gloria
Looking for some tortoise related info. You're the only people that have said
that the son'g "Gloria" kicking around online isn't really be Tortoise (bottom
of the page at http://www.brainwashed.com/tortoise/music.html).
Thanks for clearing that up (it's been killing me for a while now). Do you
have any idea who it's really by?
Experts have chimed in thinking it could be Fuxa, Air or Trans Am, but the drums are too live to be Air and too simple to be Trans Am. It is a mystery indeed.
Subject: The Brainwashed Staff don't play concerts.
well we should fucking start.
what radiohead covers do you think everyone will want to do? :)
Dave Piniella
Why does Radiohead seem to get mentioned every week somehow?
|
