Brainwashed Radio: The Podcast Edition

Solstice moon in the West Midlands by James

Hotter than July.

This week's episode has plenty of fresh new music by Marie Davidson, Kim Gordon, Mabe Fratti, Guided By Voices, Holy Tongue meets Shackleton, Softcult, Terence Fixmer, Alan Licht, pigbaby, and Eiko Ishibashi, plus some vault goodies from Bombay S Jayashri and Pete Namlook & Richie Hawtin.

Solstice moon in West Midlands, UK photo by James.

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Elliott Sharp/Merzbow "Tranz"

Elliott Sharp may be a very unlikely collaborator for Merzbow's MasamiAkita, but that's part of this CD's interest... and ultimately itsfailure, though the meeting is intriguing, even when it falls on itsface. Tranz is structured in a way similar to many of Merzbow'sother collaborative albums: two tracks are composed by Merzbow usingSharp's sounds as source material, and two by Sharp using Merzbow'ssounds.
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Fantomas

I've heard some odd intros over the years but last night was a new one for the books.
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Sensational, "Speaks for Itself"

Veteran MC and onetime Jungle Brother Sensational's Speaks for Itselfgave me pause when I first heard it. It's so bad that there just HAS tobe more than meets the ear. Is it all a big joke, a hip hop farce,taken to an unlistenable extreme? Is it a deliberate ploy to shedlisteners or to get dropped from his label, a la Bob Dylan's Self Portrait?Or has Sensational really been a geek off the street with no ear forthe beat or knowledge of recording all this time (since 1993!) and he'sbeen fooling us all along? In any case, Speaks for Itself won'tfool anybody. It's just plain awful.
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Negativland, "No Business"

With the recent RIAA bust of Mondo Kim's in NYC and the news of Apple'smove to Pentium D chips embedded with copyright-protection lockdownsystems, it's pretty clear that the recording industry and Hollywoodaren't planning on slowing down their draconian Gestapo tactics anytimesoon. That's why Negativland's new album No Business could not have arrived at a better time. No Businessis far more than an album: it's a multimedia essay and meditation onthe concepts of public domain, fair use, copyright law and theramifications of digital media filesharing on the music business as ithas existed for the past several decades.
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GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE, "CITY CALLS REVOLUTION"

This is the second Beta-Lactam Ring release for the Japanesepsychedelic rock group with possibly the worst band name in modernmusic (outside of emo atrocities like Alongside Magenta and A Month ofSomedays). It might be a good idea for the trio of dead k, T and A tochange their name to something a little more marketable, as the musicisn't bad, really.
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Richard Ramirez & Skin Crime, "Pleasure, Commerce, & Disease"

Harsh noise can be fairly boring stuff, but when done properly, thekind of destruction it can unleash (especially live) is impressive,perhaps reaching that apocalyptic level so many reach for. Both RichardRamirez and Skin Crime are seasoned veterans but they've both foundtheir way to the Troniks/PACrec label for this effort in obliterationand, sadly, the results are a bit mixed.
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MICE PARADE, "BEM-VINDA VONTADE"

NYC multi-instrumentalist Adam Pierce's Obrigado Saudadewas one of my favorite discs of last year; a most splendid mixture ofpop, jazz and Brazilian-inspired musics crafted with catchy hooks,memorable melodies and cool beats of various time signatures. What waseven more impressive was that Pierce hadn't relied on many guests topull off this recording, yet the performances are totally tight fromstart to finish.
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Nacht Plank, "Septs Vents"

Everything on this record screams of biological energy; the music casts a shadow over the room the second it begins and, as it continues, strange flora begins to bloom from it left and right. Lee Norris' work in Metamatics has little to do with this more abstract moniker and it's of little surprise that the Lampse label has decided to make Septs Vents its inaugural release.

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bearsuit, "cat spectacular"

They wear silly costumes onstage, are unabashedly sweet and sugary,utilize an arsenal of childish instruments (recorders, xylophones,possibly a Flintstone Phone), and basically make any of their fuzz popforebears look like Mayhem.
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Gruntsplatter, "Pest Maiden"

Recorded way back in 1999, Gruntsplatter's Pest Maiden7" and cassette release may not have made much of an impact on thenoise-loving public (perhaps due the limited nature of its release),but it is a fine album deserving of attention. Thus, Troniks/PACrec hasmade the split-up release one monstrous album and Scott E. Candey hasremixed the material especially for the occasion.
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