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matmos with j. lesser "high, live and dirty"
Vague Terrain
For the first official live archive from Matmos, the duo have presented a number of exclusive tunes recorded live in various locations all around the world with fellow San Franciscan electro-cowboy, Jay Lesser. They make no obstruction of the fact that nearly all of these tracks are improvised, but as the A-team of electronica, you can rest assured that this is a hand-picked collection of the uttmost quality control. The first striking quality is the superb recording quality of everything, and from a collection like this, it's no easy skill threading everything together to sound like a congruent album. Performances culled from various tapes include both stage and radio station performances dating from 1997-2001 have been arranged and flow together like an album that these three would be expected to make. It's a mixture of organic and electronic sounds, samples. Few tunes use beats and pulses while a number of others which are completely all over the place, tracked in an order to give a healthy variety of the styles. Fans of their older stuff should most certainly not hesitate to get this now, as a large portion of the tracks are remeniscent of the first two albums, while tracks like the phenomenal tenth track could easily be an outtake from their third full-lengther, 'The West'. People more akin to last year's album and the more linear tunes from the group might find most of this a bit too weird, but if you have the most remote inkling to becoming turned on, you'll regret not ordering the limited edition. Oh yeah, don't forget to enclose a personal photo when you order. - Jon Whitney
samples:
ULTRASOUND, "HAMESH"
Autonomy
Not to be confused with the crap soft rockpops combo whose unwanted promotional singles are overflowing from the bargain bins of Manchester's biggest secondhand record shop, this Ultrasound feature a former member of Stars of the Lid (Kirk Laktas) scrawling out lush viola infused slo-mo ambient terrain. 'Hamesh' is the Hebrew for five and this is their fifth album, but having not heard the previous ones I can't compare and so lazily fall back on the obvious ploy of comparing them to Labradford and Stars of the Lid, which is apparently something that happens to them quite a lot. If you can imagine a marriage of the more string driven drones of The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid to some of Mark Nelson's almost-whispered vocals on A Stable Reference you might see a portion of the picture. It's hard to imagine fans of those two bands being disappointed by 'Hamesh,' which is a gorgeously crafted album. There is a bouyant feeling of calm immersive bubble charm in the deep textural washes, which is appropriate considering that 'Hamesh' is also a Hebrew hand shaped charm that keeps away evil spirits. - Graeme Rowland
samples:
Ammo/Szkieve, "Perturbacée / Terra Amata"
Ad Noiseam
It's been a while since I've heard something as delightfully mind-altering as this split record between Szkieve (also known as Dimitri della Faille, of Hushush fame) and Ammo (also known as John Sellekaers and C-Drik, of Xingu Hill/Ambre/Dead Hollywood Stars/many-others fame). Szkieve's piece is, truly, a masterpiece. It begins subtly enough with some warm and inviting drones, but the fun begins soon after when gentle high frequencies (and I mean "gentle" - there are high frequencies present, but with my sensitive ears, most high freqs drive me nuts, and these didn't) begin to massage your brain. The drones multiply, spreading quickly, and changing so subtly you only realize it once you think about how attention-grabbing the piece is. For some reason the whole of 'Perturbacée' left me feeling like there was a UFO hovering outside my window, locking me in a stasis-field. In other words, this is damn powerful stuff (all 20 minutes of it). Ammo's side is decidedly different from Szkieve's; the ambient approach is still taken, but Ammo focus on using samples and cut-ups (including some beautifully somber small orchestral snippets) to create a mood. And they quite wonderfully do so. Sometimes lush and relaxing, sometimes skittery, the Ammo piece was a nice cool-down after Szkieve's mind-melding track. Further props must go to the lovely picture disc (yum, moths!) and the excellent pressing: usually ambient music and picture discs go together like oil and water (Inade's "Quartered Void" 7", anyone?), but this record sounded wonderful throughout. A top-class release from the under-rated Ad Noiseam (and limited as well, so snag it now)! Chris Zaldua
samples:
Chris Connelly, "Private Education"
Underground, Inc.
For his sixth solo album Scottish born, Chicago based singer-songwriter Chris Connelly really goes it alone. Save for some trusty old drum machine and specks of effects and female backing vocals, these vocal and guitar based songs are shorn of any other adornment. Connelly's solo compositions are poetic, melodic and romantic with vivid lyrics and rich vocals - quite a bit different from his work with industrial strength rock clans such as The Damage Manual, Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, Pigface and KMFDM. Most of these eight new songs are of a jaunty mood despite a bit of heartbreak here and there (women and love naturally being dominant themes throughout) and the waterfront is never too far off. Chris confesses with a stuttered bellow "and it kills me to say I love you!" in the climax of the eight and a half minute opener "Harbour Days". The subject of "About the Beauty of Laura" is apparently one of the many lovely but indifferent girls that "have a wonderful day capsizing the men". By the chorus of "Fortune Strikes Again" you would be forgiven for thinking it's a classic early '70s Bowie tune you've somehow never heard. "Lipstick in Labyrinth Park" best sets a love struck liaison: "a good night for perfume predictions / my fictitious accomplice is wearing a dress colored sweet by the moon / off her slim frame it falls and the light kissed her skin / I submerge in her anthems and labyrinths". "Samaratin" [sic] and "No One Is Scared" are slower paced and maybe a bit more serious, Chris advising "when they cut within you / the farthest place to be is still outside" and "nobody's frightened even when you change for good". Oh, I could go on and on but I'll spare you. Connelly is one of a handful of contemporary singer-songwriters whose every song is like magic to me. And like any songsmith worth their salt he proves his talent for the craft here with just the essentials. Connelly will likely hit the road alone in August in support of the album and a rarities enhanced retrospective is also in the works. - Mark Weddle
samples:
Phonem, "Ilisu"
Morr Music
Phonem is Elliot Perkins, a man with a fine taste for melody at the same time that he has an intense love for loud electronic noise. He is also a man with a political cause to inform you about on this, his fourth release overall and his third for Morr Music. "Ilisu" is the moniker of the release, so named after the dam the Turkish goverment plans to build upstream of the Syrian and Iraqi borders? And the dam's mission? Publically to provide power for a notoriously failing Turkish power infrastructure. Privately, it will force the evacuation of some 78,000 Kurds from the 313 square kilometers that will serve as the dam's reservoir - a relocation that continues the Turkish persecution of the Kurds. Obviously, this will not be a cheery release by any means. Phonem is angry in this music, releasing frustrations and educating through the song titles: 'Thirst', 'Displacement', 'Water Rights', and 'War By Any Means' to name a few. It really is a pwerful release, and pure punishment on your ears through headphones. But underlying all of that lashing out is a pure love of hopeful melody, as small, quiet bursts of keyboards and sounds make their way to the surface. You can actually hear in the music - especially on 'Thirst' - the pain and other effects this dam project will have on the people of the Tigris River valley, effects compounded by the fact that this dam will not help solve the power problems in Turkey. The only complaint I have is that the drum sounds are almost all the same on every track, which comes across as a limit in equipment as well as creativity. But it is a strong release, probably the strongest Phonem music yet. Check out the sound samples to be sure, as I haven't been able to put this one down yet. - Rob Devlin
samples:
sightings
Load
Entirely too raw for any glitzy fashion-conscious New Yorker to release them, this power-trio have found a home with the Providence-based Load (Lighning Bolt, Arab on Radar, Six Finger Satellite) for their debut full (?) length release (at 11 songs, it clocks in at an almost exact 26 minutes!) This aneurysm-inducing onslaught of atonality is rich in abrasion, heavy with distortion and loaded with more adorable hated than a pimply, overweight, horny teenaged nerd. But it's hardly mathematic, metallic, (or "ironic") however, as each song is a direct slice into the guts of anybody in its aural path. The feverent energy is somewhat refreshing as it takes a much different path to get from the slaughterhouse to your table, stopping in the underworlds of with avant-garde social terrorists rather than concrete jungles of post-punk brats from good homes with bedhead or leather jackets with DC band logos, all the while, remaining bleedingly truthful. (Eat your heart out, Thurston O'Rourke.) This disc is anything but clean, yet remarkably consistent, almost as if you can turn it up loud enough and feel like you're actually there in front of the miked amplifier with an unavoidable strong stench of body odor festering in your face. Yeah, it's fucking harsh, but then again, when was rock and roll ever about pleasing your parents? In a year filled with a slim amount of favorites, I'm happy to now have this in my collection. - Jon Whitney
samples:
TREVOR WISHART, "JOURNEY INTO SPACE"
Paradigm
Trevor Wishart's legendary electroacoustic trip from the yawning York University breakfast table into the off planet starmind vacuum originally span onto two bits of vinyl way back in 1973. Now Paradigm have rescued it to aluminium bit-coded posterity, in all it's lo-fi collaged glory, with a slightly off putting sleeve note from the composer who seems embarrassed by the naivities he now finds in the execution of his first release. Three years in the making, 'Journey Into Space' mixes up free improvised junk toy fiddling, clocks ticking, rocket launch blasts, slamming doors, heartbeats and haunted chain rattling, with a hell of a lot of tubular bell bashing along the way. Wishart mixed and remixed field recordings and captures with improvised and scored contributions from 48 musicians, including Steve Beresford and Jonty Harrison. The opening thirteen minutes of deep bowed string drone, gurgling grey hospital limbo groans and creaks and jingling bells might feel right at home on your favourite Nurse With Wound album or sat alongside the admittedly more tidy and better recorded Throbbing Gristle masterpiece 'Journey Through a Body.' This is a perhaps a genuinely seminal work, which might have had as much if not more influence on the outsider industrial scene as the academic corridors from which it crept slowly. The "Birth" intro winds out with distant choirs singing odd hymns to a crying new baby. The least successful sequence is the man waking, yawning, belching and generally farting about that starts the almost fifty minute 'Journey,' which continues with a car zooming off into the quaint honking city. Suddenly a fanfare heralds a rocket launch amongst the dwindling traffic noise and the scene shifts, planets dwindle, time slips. The rocket engine roar eats everything until discordant anti-vacuum bells dissolve into the silence of space. Strange new worlds open up in alien instrumention. Distant radio crackles in from homeworld. Chiming into the void new forms take shape from hazy fluting, and an alien city emerges from the blue bell fog. Inside they're having a good ol' B-movie tentacle party, ritually squeezing honk horns, until the nightmare giant babies google in from the black and white swamplands and the first word is spoken by chanting nose-monks. It's hard to hear this without being reminded of early 1970s sci-fi classics 'Solaris' and '2001.' 2002: Lost in space the land that time forgot is remembered and reissued. - Graeme Rowland
samples:
Darling Kandie, "People Next Door"
Underground, Inc.
Once upon a time, the late '80s to be precise, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult fabricated some killer singles, EPs and albums for the seminal Chicago based label, Wax Trax! Records. Then began the downward slide into major label "success", self parody and just plain bad ideas and music. Remember the god awful "Sex On Wheelz" song and video for the "Cool World" movie? Yikes. I gave up on them after that and every time I tried a new album I was disappointed. Fast forward to today and this project finally sees the light of day. Recorded 1998-99, Darling Kandie paired TKK frontman Groovie Mann with venerable one man band, the late William Tucker, to whom it's dedicated. As the liner notes explain this is some of Tucker's last work (demos in fact, though it sounds complete), his career having included recording and/or touring with most of industrial rock's inner circles: Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, Pigface, Chris Connelly, Foetus, Thanatos, Chainsuck, etc., not to mention TKK's 'Sexplosion' tours as "Amber Guitarstar". I think it's safe to say that most if not all of the music here is Tucker's doing as his unique guitar and programming imprint are instantly recognizable and Groovie's primary role in TKK is lyrics and vocals. Together they revisit the tongue-in-cheek evil of classic Kult, with a Tucker twist. His slinky grooves are solid backdrops for tons of silly samples and Groovie Mann's campy tales of naughty young girls, drugs, sex and suicide. Horn-y hijinks ala Foetus spice up "Cobra Kiss" and "Clearfire For The Fallen". "Secret Ceremony" conveys Tucker's sense of pop melody while "Randy Road" does the same for his skill at glam-hip hop rhythm amalgamation. And the title track and "Untitled End" best replicate the creepy dark side of the Kult's back catalog. Frankie Nardiello's (aka Groovie Mann) insert photos of "Ultramodels" helps complete the mood. 'People Next Door' is the best thing Thrill Kill Kult haven't done in a decade and a testament to the talent of the much missed E. William Tucker. - Mark Weddle
samples:
gary wilson, "you think you really know me"
Motel
Here's a perfect example why strikingly original bands should never up-and-move their ass out to the West Coast to "make it big." Multi-instrumentalist/producer/one-man-act Gary Wilson recorded this remarkably entertaining debut album in 1977, and hand-packaged every LP with autographed photos and other inserts for all the copies either sent out to various college radio stations or sold at concerts in and around NYC. After heading to San Diego, the band never signed a deal, despite gaining a bit of underground attention from experimental radio stations along the way. Don't believe the press about this record, however, he would have never been a superstar, but he could have easily continued to record underground anthems in the form of curious albums your cooler older brother might have kicking around. 'You Think You Really Know Me' predates Prince's debut record by a year, but has enough soulful make-out jams (like "6.4 Makeout" and "Chromium Bitch") to make you believe he was listening to the hairy purple midget and spending late nights in run-down Atlantic City casinos with second-rate lounge singers. Unfortunately, it's slightly too misogynistic for acceptance in the late 1970s as "irony" wasn't really in style. Wilson played every instrument and produced the album entirely, and tossed in a healthy serving of tape splicing, sound effects, and cheesy synths amidst the elogant organ, acceptable drums and phenomenal bass guitar work. Picture HNAS meets Steely Dan in some of the trippier instrumental bits. Thanks go out to the Dust Brothers for introducing Wilson's music to Beck (he name drops Gary Wilson in "Where it's At" and somehow I don't think Mr. Hansen would have known of Wilson without them), because that may have sparked the interest of the people at Motel for tracking this guy down. I could be wrong, entirely too jaded, but somebody needs to be thanked for making this peculiar almost-masterpiece readily available. - Jon Whitney
samples:
"Never Mind The Bhangra Here's The Opium Jukebox - a Sex Pistols Tribute"
Invisible
Genre bending tribute albums tend to be lame unless the ideas are as amusing and well executed as Opium Jukebox's. Centered around Martin Atkins (Pigface, The Damage Manual, Invisible Records, Underground, Inc.) and Bobdog Catlin (ex-Evil Mothers, Pigface, Pseudo Buddha) plus Julian Beeston (ex-Nitzer Ebb, Shining) and Rahul Sharma, the group relocates well known Western ditties thousands of miles to the East via sitars and such. Their debut, 2000's 'Music to Download Pornography By', did it to such contemporary classics as "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "Head Like a Hole", "Cars" and "Whip It". Now it's classic Sex Pistols. Seven of 'Never Mind the Bollocks..' dozen songs, including two versions of "Anarchy in the U.K.", plus Vicious' calling card "My Way" are given the Indian makeover. The Pistols (or at least Malcolm McClaren and his cronies) churned out hilarious French language, disco and symphonic versions themselves, so Opium Jukebox's take might seem tame in comparison. You may or may not laugh, but you should at least be impressed with the musicianship and production. Sitar is the primary melody maker but other local stringed things and percussion are in the mix too, as well as tasteful samples and drum 'n bass fills. The covers are slower than the originals, some barely recognizable, though "Anarchy" and "God Save The Queen" certainly are. "My Way" gets an especially schmaltzy Muzak treatment which is perfect in its own weird way. So what's next for Opium Jukebox? I suggest Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" album. - Mark Weddle
samples:
STROM.ec/Irikarah, "Arma Christi"
Freak Animal
First and foremost, credit must go to STROM.ec for being a wonderfully dynamic act who manage to change their style of music on each release enough to make a new album a pleasantly unexpected surprise. For those of you following these talented Finns, "Dogs of Total Order" doesn't sound like "Neural Architect" which doesn't sound like the "Glass Cage" 7" which certainly does not sound like "Arma Christi." On "Arma Christi," STROM.ec and fellow Finns Irikarah go "classic German power electronics" - i.e. Genocide Organ soundalikes. Therein lies my complaint - originality is not this record's strong suit. Regardless, both bands know what they're going for, and they go for the throat. STROM.ec's four tracks are powerful examples of this genre done well - repetitive, hypnotic, noisy music coupled with brutal, pissed-off vocals (which are often the "make-or-break" factor, and in STROM.ec's case, definitely make it). Irikarah takes a similar approach, but sound quite different. Whereas STROM.ec focuses on repetition and vocals, Irikarah's sound is a little bit more dynamic and less vocal-heavy. The third track in particular is almost rhythmic (imagine that)! Suffice it to say, if you're a fan of this sound, you could do no better than to immediately purchase this record, and scream and shout right along with STROM.ec (fans of "Neural Architect" be warned, this record is a lot less dynamic). Myself, I'm getting a little bit tired of the repetitiveness, but I need a good dose of it every now and then, and "Arma Christi" hits the spot like a sledgehammer. - Chris Zaldua
samples:
SPIDER MONKEY, "GREY HORIZONS"
Brotherhood
Spider Monkey makes hard breakbeat moves on this 5 track CD-R which fall somewhere between a less distorted, less hip-hop influenced 2nd Gen and a lot of the Position Chrome label releases, but probably done with more imagination and variation than the PC lot. "Drowning" hammers ominously, but the following "H.L.S" drops down to a simple ticking warped keyboard melody before the distorted driving beats pick up again. "Isolation Chamber" pounds away in a linear bangin' techno tunnel with manic sci-fi bleeps circling wildly around the perimeter. This track might seem a little dated to some perhaps, but it works just fine. "Feel Nothing After Dark" warps a vocal sample of the phrase "The way I feel," which sounds great at unintelligible slow speed but edges towards cheeseball territory sped up later on, however riding out on a feedbck drone is a smart way to finish the track. I don't listen to a great deal of this stuff, so I'm not sure which kind of sub-genres it might fit into or if that's even relevant anymore, but it's definitely more fist-thru-monitor than headnod-shit. Spider Monkey definitely seems like one to watch out for, and if the samples below appeal then check out the website for more. - Graeme Rowland
samples:
Beachwood Sparks, "Make the Cowboy Robots Cry"
Sub Pop
Some times I really just don't get Sub Pop. They've made some great signings in recent years, the best of which being The Shins, but sometimes you have to wonder what they see in some bands. That's exactly what I thought when I first heard Beachwood Sparks, and I think it even more now. Another fragile-voiced, country-tinged rock band with mediocre imagery as the major tenet to their songs. The harmonies are fine, but not enough to carry the songs to airy heights. In fact, there's not much about this EP that is particularly memorable or worthy of praise. It's pretty uninspiring. On "Make the Cowboy Robots Cry," the Sparks stretch their legs a little bit, performing some of their most experimental music yet. And it's all over the damn place. The center piece is, of course, the fragile vocals, but now there is a greater emphasis placed on the instrumentation, and on sampled moments of rhythm and strings. There are moments of brilliance, but they're mostly due to the guests on the release, as much as I can tell. Chris Gunst was apparently quite inspired by his work with Jimmy Tamborello on the DNTEL release, so he invited Tamborello to appear here as a producer/side man, and Mia Doi Todd is along for the ride, as well. Her contribution, on 'Ponce de Leon Blues' gives that song a haunting beauty, and when she and Gunst sing together, there is a bit of promise. Maybe for the next DNTEL release. But not for Beachwood Sparks, sadly. The last song, 'Ghost Dance 1492', is just plain awful. In spreading their wings and trying out some new elements and sounds, and tweaking their base sound in the process, Beachwood Sparks have tried to apply this same energy in their songwriting, and they've muddied the water. If they'd applied these elements to their usual style of songwriting, the results might have been more awe-inspiring. Instead, we're left with this hint of what is to come on future Beachwood Sparks music. And what will that bring? Hopefully something more coherent. - Rob Devlin
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. |
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WEEK OF JUNE 30 - JULY 6
Aphrodite - Aftershock CD (V2, UK)
Bku Rum 13 - Vaguely Familiar LP (Jazz Fudge, UK)
Cassius - I'm A Woman 2x12"/CDEP (Astralwerks, US)
Cattivo/souRce research/Steinbrchel - the Tragedy of ErroRs CD (souRce research, UK)
The Chap - Fun 10" (Lo Recordings, UK)
CoH - NETMÖRK [movement revealed in three parts] CD (souRce research, UK)
Connective Zone - Qwerty 12" (Emoticon, UK)
Continuous Orgasm - The Cause of the Flow CD (Ant-Zen, Germany)
D Product - Process Of One CD (Full Cycle, UK)
* Daedelus - Invention CD/2xLP (Plug Research, UK)
Debasser - Fat Girls 12" (Novamute, UK)
Deejay Punk Roc - Thrift Store Classics CD (Airdog, UK)
Dempsey - Dempsey CD (Output, UK)
Rob Dougan - Clubbed To Death two 12"s/CDEP [mixes by Peshay, La Funk Mob, Tom Middleton and more] (Cheeky, UK)
Drexciya - Grava 4 CD/LP (Clone, Holland)
The Eternals - Black Museum 12" (Aesthetics, US)
* Fatboy Slim - Live On Brighton Beach CD (MCA, US)
Vincent Gallo - Recordings of Music for Film CD/2xLP (Warp, UK)
I Am Robot And Proud - Spring Summer Autumn Winter 10" (Mira, Germany)
Icarus - Misfits CD (Icarus, UK)
Jolly Music - Radio Jolly 12"/10"/CDEP [mixes by Adult. & Parallax Corporation] (Illustrious, UK)
Kettel - Smiling Little Cow CD/2xLP (Neo Ouija, UK)
* Koop - Waltz For Koop CD (Stimulus, UK)
Lemon D - Jazz Is 2x12" (Reinforced, UK)
Looper - The Snare CD/LP (Mute, UK)
Minus 8 - Minuit CD/LP (Compost, Germany)
Moonstarr - Dupont Remixes 12" (Compost, Germany)
Morcheeba - Otherwise 12"/CDEP (East West, UK)
Mr. Lif - Emergency Rations CD/LP (Def Jux, US)
Mr. Velcro Fastener - Otherside Part Two 12" (I220, Germany)
Nitrada - 0+ 12"/CDEP (2.nd rec, Germany)
Oeuf Korreckt - Podweek CD (No Type, Canada)
Orbital/Various - Back To Mine CD/3xLP [with Plaid, Severed Heads, Lee Perry, EON and more] (DMC, UK/US)
Phako - Bolnes/Shipyards & Engineering Co Ltd CD (DUB, Holland)
Poets Of Rhythm - Smilin' When You're Crying 7" (Ninja Tune, UK/Canada/US)
Prefuse73 - The '92 vs '02 Collection 12"/CDEP (Warp, UK)
Quantic - Apricot Morning CD/2xLP (Tru Thoughts, UK)
Ramleh - Too Many Miles CD (World Serpent, UK)
Anthony Rother - Hacker CD (Psi49Net, Germany)
Jeff Samuel - New Age Mold 12" (Emoticon, UK)
Stendec - Pyat 7" (Static Caravan, UK)
Stereotyp - Silence 12" (G Stone, Austria)
Telerotor - Modern Times CD (Ant-Zen, Germany)
They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them) - Authentautistic 7" (Lo Recordings, UK)
Total Science - Sweet Potato 12" (Skindeep, UK)
* Tricky - Ruff Guide CD ["best of" anthology] (Universal, US)
Various - We Still Kill The Old Way CD (Clone, Holland)
Wilt - Radio 1940 2xCD (Ad Noiseam, Germany)
Windsor For The Derby - The Emotional Rescue Album CD/LP (Aesthetics, US)
Xenonics K-30 - Automated CD (Ad Noiseam, Germany)
This is simply this week's highlights from the NEW RELEASES provided by Greg and Feedback Monitor.
For a more detailed schedule stretching into the future, please check out the site,
since release dates can and will often change.
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sonic snub
Subject: Murray Street
Imagine my surprise when I walked into one of my favorite record stores the
other day and saw that Sonic Youth had a brand new release, "Murray Street."
Jim O'Rourke is now a full fledged member of the band and the new album
features Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich who are members of Borbetomagus. Not only
was I caught off guard by the new album being released by Geffen, I can't
believe I did not read about this in the new release section of the Brainwashed
Brain.
What Gives
Mr. Geffen doesn't send his new release information to Mr. Clow is my
guess. Greg has made an effort to contact as many labels as possible for new release info.
Most of the ones we have new releases for accept The Brain as a valuble
resource and have added him to their mailing list. Geffen is part of a
multi-national multi-multi-media machine and I doubt there's anyone in any
of those offices who would open the mail from Greg Clow in Toronto when he
asks "can you please put me on an email list of all new releases" so why
even bother? They don't need us, we don't need them! Make sense?
Subject: where have you been all of my life???
just stumbled across your site and am so glad that i found you. i feel like i
have been saved. thank you for what you do... i having been living sans
college radio for about 4 years and have been listening to spoonfed music by
large corporations (in nyc - the radio stations stink there) and had to resort
to folk music for something more "real."
i am so glad i found you and i did so by trying to find out more about the band
sonogram. i heard a snipet of them on "spinner" the internet radio
software/service/application. so i did a search for sonogram and thankfully
came across your site. i am going to call my local indie music store to see if
they have some of of the other bands you have reviewed and have samples of.
do you communicate/note/recommend any upcoming live shows in the
arlington/boston, ma area? i have soon to be in-laws in arlington and would
love to see some good live music...
the reviews are exactly what reviews should be - straightforward, honest,
insightful and help you learn more about the artist, or genre. they help you
decide if the album is one of the artists crappier productions or one you do
not remove from your portable, drive or stereo.
just sending you my 2 cent complient...
thanks again for doing what you do
Strangely enough, I've been in Boston, NYC and Arlington.
Looks like you're marrying the wrong guy.
Subject: brain-wished
your highly enjoyable and dead-on screed about the major label fuckaround
arrives in the same brainwashed brain issue as a review of Looper from Mute.
did you forget that Mute is yet another lackey of evil scumwad octopus EMI
these days?
Yeah, it was indeed kinda weird but the review published anyway. Hey, at least it was unfavorable, right? *sigh* Anyhow things will be even weirder when Non and Diamanda Galas and TG records come out, so there is some controversy as to what to feature now,... No real decision has been made on the Mute case, yet. Hopefully they'll pull a Matador soon and we won't have to worry about it again.
Subject: brainwashde radio
Is the RIAA going to sink its teeth in the brainwashed radio and shut it down
as well??
Brainwashed isn't the broadcaster, Live365 is. Unfortunately, we might have to shut it down rather than pay fees to Live365, which they might have to pay to the RIAA (despite the fact a number of our bands never have once received a paycheck from the RIAA).
Subject: A wonderful fantastic email invitation for you!
hi we are luke's secret following
we love luke fictitious
we are also your long lost friend
this email has nothing to do with lukes official site
we just wanted to say hi
and have a beautifull day!
Does Luke know about this?
Subject: nww song
The NWW site lead me here cause I have a question to ask about a NWW song.
Back in 1984/85 a friend let me one his LP's for me to put on tape (which is
long lost now). There was a song there which I believe is by NWW. From memory
I'd say the BACK of the album cover was in black and white with a monkey (?)
and all sorts of seringes and such medical instruments in a bizarre collage.
The song in question was a pure wall of sound, completely incredible, and what
I remember is that there's a woman voice repeating 'Oh, you are sick' on
several occasions. I am desperate to find that song/album, so I hope those
pieces of infos would ring a bell... thanks for you time reading this. And
thanks to let me know about it.
It sounds vaguely like "Registered Nurse Coming" but we've been wrong in the past...
Subject: noise
As You are Man with good reputation for me, maybe You could write down,
the definition of noise as music. It is maybe somewhere is written by
someone the meaning of it as music, rhytms mood etc.. Maybe some music
encyclopedia or something like this. I mean when we speak of rock,
latino idm reggae etc, what is noise???
Err, ask Emil Beaulieau, America's Greatest Living Noise Artist!
Subject: he-man
I never knew Christoph Heemann was involved in C93's In a Foreign Town, in
a Foreign Land release. Can you recommend some of his other work, to a person
who liked Foreign Town?,,,, (preferrably someting that isnt impossible to track
down). I know of Mirror, but thats super hard to find. Isnt he in a band called
HNAS ? whats that like?
Just buy anything and everything, you will only regret not buying it later.
Subject: review
excellent use of the word "cinchy" in a review
Thanks, we've been saving that one in our files for weeks and are happy to finally use it. Can't wait to retire words like "deliver," "aural," and "shimmer," however.
Subject: More RIAA Totalitarianism
Aside from the fact that the RIAA is getting its panties in a wad
about free file sharing services & Internet radio, I heard the gestapo
are now going after used CD sellers also!
That's right, once you buy and open that shrinkwrap you may not be
able to return it to the store but the RIAA STILL OWNS IT and wants
its royalties right now!
My old boss once had a sticker on his door a picture of a cassette tape with a cross through it. Below it was printed, "Home Fucking is Killing Prostitution." The RIAA still doesn't get it.
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