Being thankful for an earful.
Brand new music by Marie Davidson, Niecy Blues (feat. Joy Guidry), CEL, Marisa Anderson and Luke Schneider, Stina Stjern, Carmen Villain, Murcof, A Lily, and Far Golden Pavilions, with music from the vaults by Tomaga, Ozzobia, Jan Jelinek.
Sushi photo by Lindsay.
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The majority of buzz surrounding this Welch rock trio has been fortheir latest release and its rough, dynamic energy cast as 'Surfer Rosa2002.' Engineered by Steve Albini, 'Do Dallas' certainly features allthe sonic hallmarks of that seminal influence, with fuzzed-out, franticguitars and a pummeling rhythm section. Rather than Black Francis'verge-of-a-mental-breakdown vocals, we're treated to a sneering AndyFalkous, who is all attitude, confidently convinced that his band isbetter than your band, and more than willing to go head to head toprove it. He delivers with conviction, occasionally dissolving intofits of yelps or slurred syllables in his effort to demonstrate hissupremacy. Mclusky is a tight, energetic group with a guitar that cutslike a serrated knife and their lyrics are almost as sharp as theirlicks, with highlights like "We take more drugs than a touring funkband" and "I'm fearful / I'm fearful / I'm fearful of flying / andflying is fearful of me!" It is a little disconcerting that some of thelyrics seem to crib from other sources, for example, the 'touring funkband' line is from the late comedian Bill Hicks, while a quote from TheSimpsons pops up near the end of the disc. Also, their swagger fails attimes, and Mclusky's bravado comes off as trite, like a confusedplayground taunt ("All your friends are cunts / your mother's aballpoint pen thief") or too cutely ironic and self-referential likethe quiet filler track "Fuck This Band." Straight ahead, surging rocktracks like "Dethink to Survive" show that they can make the familiarsound exciting, while "Clique Application Form," a noisy, shamblingtrack with shouts of "Never been kissed! Never been kissed!" mayforeshadow future attempts to broach new territory. Despite thederivative aspects, 'Mclusky Do Dallas' manages to be exhilarating andentertaining in its brief thirty-five minutes. When Falkous commandsyou to "sing it!" on the standout "To Hell With Good Intentions," youfeel compelled to do something, maybe yell or bark or pump your fist.His band may not be better than your band (In fact, they might haveripped your band off a little), but 'Do Dallas' is a fun, albeitbrainless record. Just don't expect it to stay in your CD player fortoo long. 
This is the second solo release from the guitarist of Union CarbideProductions, Soundtrack of Our Lives and Spain, among others, following1999's apparently well-recieved 'Instrumentalmusik'. There are severalunusual aspects to UPA, all of which are worthwhile. First, upliftingcelebratory music like this is smile and happiness-inducing. LikeShooby Taylor or High Rise, it just works in that way.Next, it is mostly based on unlikely combinations of musical styles: aNotting Hill Festival-style steel band music with heavy progressiverock, Herb Alpert horns with blissed-out space-wah guitar, 80s MORpower ballad with Moricone western and 60s spy movie themes,traditional Scotish dance music with French girl-group harmy vocals,Sweedish folk and kraut rock. The success Olsson has with thesecombinations suggests a rare compositional talent as the tunes gel andjust work as though these styles always belonged together. Quite unlikeZorn's genre-hopping in the 80s, UPA works more as though a master likeQuincy Jones were doing genre set pieces. It's a dazzling, intoxicatingtour that would be surreal if it weren't so natural in appearance.Then, for nerds like me there's some excellent guitar work on severalcuts to be enjoyed, including a storming psychedelic work-out to closethe album. But there's more, the disk has utilitarian strengths too:1.) the post-modern aspect (not that there's anything tounge-in-cheekabout UPA) means that you can enjoy these highly unfashionable anduncool musical styles (that deep down you love and would listen to moreoften if you weren't so self-concious) without fear of losingcredibility among your most sophisticated friends, and 2.) it's so welldone, nice and easy going that straight and square friends are going todig it too.To top it all off, the whole album appears twice on the same CD! The first time around, it is with a polished studio sound while thesecond version is low-fi, apparently having been run through a cassetteplayer with what sounds like a fairly cheesy AGC. With an album likethis which deserves repeated plays, why not have it these two different ways?-
It might happen that the worthiness of an album becomes gauged onwhether it is able to marry the cacophony of firecrackers with thefrailest of human voices. When this happens (and surely it willhappen), then 'Dark Falcon' will be the first and perhaps only recordwhich will measure up to this standard of excellence. 'Dark Falcon,'the first full length from Lucky Dragons (after two lovely EP's on theEnglish Muffin label), does many other things remarkably well, but thispeculiar marriage is the most remarkable. Although there are clicks andclacks aplenty on this album, the electronics grace the songs ratherthan linger at the center of them.
It's very seldom that fans of instrumental rock and electronic wizardryget to hear artists from both genres collaborate, maybe because theresults are often disastrous (anyone hear the Scanner remixes ofHovercraft?). Therefore, it's a rare treat when such a collaborationfares as well as this one. Sonna need no introduction, as their variousCD singles provided that before their critically lauded debut in 2001(stay tuned for it's successor next week). Sybarite, either, whoseoutput has seemed to dim in quality a bit on 4AD, but there's extremehope for the future. Lilienthal may be new to some out there, with onlya few remixes and one CD under his name, but he's already building areputation for amalgamation and an impressive palette. The originalcollaboration, first released as a seven inch on ZEAL, makes up theintroductory two tracks here, where Sonna sent some unfinishednoodlings to both artists for recreation. The results are varied andhair-raising. Sybarite accentuates the melodic side of Sonna on "MakeShift," with beautiful acoustic guitar-picking taking center stage. Asthe steady beat builds and the infectious whistles and backwards soundsswell, you can't take your ears off of it. This is easily the bestthing Sybarite's done lately. Sonna's drone side takes over Lilienthal,as he stutters up "Carousel" towards a complicated and layered climax.He drops out the middle, teasing and taunting with more guitarinterplay, only to return to the same shaky ground on the closing threeminutes, all of which induce toe-tapping and air-drumming in even thetamest lab rats. This is well enough alone, but then we are treated totwo new tracks, credited to all three bands. Here is where the jawsdrop. "Four Way Street" is a slightly remixed reprise of the closingminutes of "The Opener" from Sonna's debut full-length. At just under aminute, it can't really captivate. The final track, "From a Person WeSeam" is astonishing - a real electronic masterwork. The song startsslowly and calmly, with gentle guitar and squelch effects, beforeexercising a labored trip-hop beat and keyboard flourishes with greatsuccess. An open letter to all three particpants: please make a wholerecord in this configuration. The world demands it.
I bought this album after being captivated by the band name and albumtitle, having no prior knowledge about them. Both had a sonorousquality which made me intensely curious to hear what such a band wouldsound like. To my delight, in doing so, I discovered what was to becomeone of my favorite albums of 2002. Sam Beam, who is almost solelyresponsible for the writing, performance, production and recording of'The Creek Drank the Cradle', creates pleasantly unpolished songs usinglittle more than an acoustic guitar, banjo and his own delicate vocalsthat belie their no-frills approach with a rich, seductive sound. Beamclearly takes influence from Nick Drake and Tim Buckley, but trulycarves his own niche in terms of his folk stylings. This album,however, definitely is not a "folk record," but reaches far beyond,ranging from lullabies to ballads to narrative fragments of memories.The American Deep South features prominently in the lyrical imagery,accented by an eerie romanticism. Beam, who hails from the Miami area,seems to be yearning for a South removed from beaches and nightclubs,on tracks like the twangy "The Rooster Moans" and the haunting "Upwardover the Mountain." There is a purity in the simplicity of Iron &Wine that is so refreshing that 'The Creek Drank the Cradle'unsurprisingly appeals to true music lovers of diverse tastes. As SamBeam's moniker suggests, his music is both weighty and intoxicating.samples:
If Thousands is Christian McShane and Aaron Molina from Duluth, Minnesota, who having decided to depart from their respective backgrounds in classical performance and punk have collaborated to attempt something quite different. The result is a sound grounded less on performance and based much more on assembly, repetition, and duration. With the help of Alan Sparhawk, who produced and mixed the album, McShane and Molina have built resonant instrumental pieces that sound oceanic in their tendency to roll together different recurring samples with the musicians' work, producing a reverberating blend of fluid sound.Chair Kickers Union
A few songs have vocals, but their inevitable shift of focus onto lyrics and melody is not as absorbing as those tracks that draw your concentration to qualities of intensity and variation. The cover of Joy Division's "Isolation," while beautiful, seems a little out of place and distracting because of its prominent placement as the second track of the album. It's too much of a sidetrack or nod to something else, whereas one of the overall strengths of 'Yellowstone' is its introspectiveness. Songs are composed through persistent use of particular tones (generally repeating phrases on bass, guitar, and keyboards with a few other interesting sounds thrown in) that are drawn out and cycled with careful fluctuations and variety, a process then repeated with different approaches as the album progresses. This technique, along with the sheer length of 'Yellowstone' (over an hour), creates the feeling of being drawn ever deeper into something to emerge at the other end of the album. It's important to emphasize that despite the careful attention If Thousands has given to the detail in each song, their work seems neither technical nor calculating. Instead, it's possible to be enveloped by the music and engaged by the similarity and difference of the patterns at work within the songs and from one song to the next—like looking into a fire for a long time as it seems to dance and change. 
album of the year
single or ep
best song
best various artist compilation
best single artist compilation
best double or multi-lp/cd release
coolest unusual packaging
nicest cover design
best rerelease/repackage/reissue
worst album you bought
most anticipated disappointment
guiltiest pleasure
band of the year
best solo musical artist
new act of the year (band or solo artist)
best live show/concert experience
most overrated band/artist
most irritating band/artist
lifetime achievement
(only one band can win it per year)
Band/artist with most detestable audience/fans
Most obligatory
Most annoying reissue
Worst comeback
most prolific artist who really shouldn't be so prolific
biggest scam act
miss congeniality
most overpriced release
most fetishable
most confessedly ignored by you
worst sellout
fave producer
who will break big next year?
record label
music video
(as seen on various web sites and CD-Rs in addition to non-music video channels, for those who think they're only seen on MTV)
OTHER STUFF
movie of the year
tv show
magazine/newspaper
book of the year
fave actor
fave actress
fave director
fave writer (book/tv/film/play,...)
best website
most annoying trends
Gosh there's so many...
dumbest category on this poll
"
So many things bother me about this three song single, that it's hard to imagine having this many conflicted feelings about so little recorded music. For starters, Lift To Experience wear the fact that they are from Texas on their sleeve the way some Texans sport "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper stickers on their Chevy trucks. Look, I'm from Texas too, but you don't see me out eveyday with my Texas Ranger badge on, and I don't start every record review with "even though I'm from Texas, I found this record quite interesting." The constant Texas posturing seems awfully condescending to all the folks from Texas who, like LTE, were more turned on by shoegazy indie rock than square dancing, knee slapping hootenany, and it's equally condescending to people who like squaredancing, because there's nothing wrong with that either! There are plenty of folks in Texas who can rock a good Cocteau Twins record anyday, we don't need LTE to remind us. A line about the band's Texas heritage even surfaces in the single's title track, and whether its supposed to be tongue in cheek or not, it just drags the credibility of the rest of the song down for me. The vocals alternate between painfully earnest choruses and half-spoken, disaffected verses reminiscent of Arto Lindsay or Lou Reed. The music in the background is sincere enough, kind of like what you might expect from people thrown into a culdron of indie rock, Country twang, and the Bible Belt. It was genuinely securing a grip on me when I opened the CD liner notes to read "Ladies and gentlemen we are playing with one guitar." Look again, it's really not necessary to point out something like that in such a way unless you are trying to make a point about how important or strong or incredibly unique your music is DESPITE the use of only one guitar. Maybe it's all part of a humor too dry for me to get into, but it sounds a lot like when popus jackasses like Rage Against The Machine say things like "we didn't use any keyboards or computers on this record." Frankly, I've heard a band with only a drummer and a bass player make more dense music than Lift To Experience, so the "one guitar" thing isn't doing much for me. Tracks two and three were recorded live for SBN, and have a live band sound, but as much as I like the songs, I can't keep the image of amped up Texas machismo out of my head. "These Are The Days" is a genuinely enjoyable single with a bonus video that gives you an up-nostirl view of the band performing that is at least worth a glance. If you can look past all the "Beers, Steers, and Queers" style Texas 'humor,' and take the band less seriously than they take themselves, you might find that it's a pretty damn good single. Mute
If 2002 has been a generally mediocre year for releases, it sure ashell is not going out without kicking and screaming. '24 Hours' arrivedon Monday, December 22nd, and, while I haven't had the time to pickthrough every last second of music on this 25-CD set (yes, it turns outto be 25 CDs for those who mail-ordered it!), everything so far hasbeen incredible. While the Sex Pistols and The Clash were "dressing"themselves as punks, their music was easily digestible pop/rock tuneswith enough of an attitude edge for the kids to dig. ThrobbingGristle's approach was almost the entire opposite, as the band dressedrespectfully on album covers and played various art halls (in additionto boys schools and rock clubs), but made music with far lesscommercial potential. Every concert lasted exactly 60 minutes,controlled by a timer which would cut the power on the stage at exactly60 minutes no matter what point the band were at. Every show wasrecorded and committed to cassette tape, and for this box, it seems aseverything is here from the very first to the very last second of eachshow.
The original 24 Hours box consisted of 24 cassettes (IRC 2through IRC 24 and IRC 26—see the web sitefor more specific details) plus two additional tapes of radiointerviews. (Look for it at online auctions for over a thousand dollarson average!) For the CD box release, 25 cassettes were remastered byChris Carter (the original master of IRC26 was lost but later recoveredafter the project was underway with IRC29 in its place). It'sfascinating to actually hear Genesis in his role as entertainer,front-man and stand-up comic, going from a jaded youngter in theearlier recordings, poking fun at the same-ness of Johnny Rotten songsto a more clever prankster by the end, leading crowds on, completelybullshitting them with an honest composure. The music also evolved overthe few years captured here, from the earlier years of making tons ofnoise to cold-calculated compositions, where band members Chris, Coseyand Sleazy would pay closer attention to each other, opting to remainsilent to let other parts shine through. The mastereing job by ChrisCarter is far better than I have even dreamed of, with many recordingsin stereo, either with different instrument assignment on either sideor a true stereo recording, most likely depending on what type ofmixing desk was available at the show. The included tidbits are alsonice to have too, but since this box cost so much, frankly I'm afraidto lose any of the stickers, pins, pictures, or patches. At theapproximate $220 price, however, this is something almost exclusivelyfor the fans. If I were to have any complaints at this point, it wouldbe for the lack of inclusion of the radio interviews, but there's stillmore live recordings yet to get the Chris Carter remastering attentionand resurface, so I'll be patient. This is enough music to hold me fora long time.
samples:
The plan was to record an EP of cover songs. The coolest singer in rock music wanted to pay tribute to some of her influences, including Nina Simone, Patti Smith's epochal Radio Ethiopia album and Neutral Milk Hotel's "Comely." Then she changed her mind and instead recorded three new songs, an old Uzi number that never made it onto the classic Sleep Asylum and a couple of covers. The fans lucked out, as her songs are drastically superior to the ones she did eventually cover.
 
Lou Reed and Bob Dylan should shit blood to be songwriters even half as gifted as Thalia Zedek. Are you reading this Reed? You wasted an hour of my life with that turgid wankfest you call Ecstasy, and I'm not happy about it. Yeah, yeah, the pope in a silver castle my ass and don't you ever make the colored girls go do de do like that again, motherfucker! But enough of that ol' hasbeen, he was still pretty gritty when he knew what "Candy Says" with the Velvet Underground and later resurrected it in Berlin, but nevertheless it's the weakest cut here.
Thalia Zedek packs an emotional punch into every song as if the weight of the world is crushing her and singing is the only way to lift it off her back. There's this lone drum beat in the relatively upbeat opener "Everything Unkind" that reels like total emotional desolation. The opening lyric, "I got tired of waiting," is something any Lou Reed fan hoping for another album even half as rockin' as 'New York' can surely relate to. But enough of that ol' hasbeen, there's another one just round the corner and he has a nasal voice and a legion of rabid bootleggers under his thumb. The Dylan cover that gives the six song CD its title bears some similarities to "Temporary Guest" off Thalia's last album, except nowhere near as finely captivating. More equal to that stupendous album no doubt overlooked by idiots racing for the next big little thing are the two No songs. "No Fire" gets right under the skin of a slowly souring relationship then tears it right off. Meanwhile "No Substitutions" is the one that'll make old Come fans happy, with Mel Lederman's piano taking the place of bass. It seems Thalia has also stepped up the contribution of viola player David Michael Curry, and the only other old Come hand on board is drummer Daniel Coughlin.
Perhaps the most magical moment happens when Thalia covers her younger self. "JJ85" paints a dream portrait of youthful longing and unravelling, with a simple uplifting strummed riff that seems like the dark reflection after Blondie's "Dreaming" took a tumle through the tunnels underground in search of the doctor that the hopes were pinned on before a change of heart.
samples:
