RECENT SPINS

A formerly participatory collection of record reviews. We regret that this correspondence has now closed due to atrophy. Thanks to all those who played along at home.

Beck
Mutations
CD, DGC / Bong Load Custom Records, 1998
Beck's Mutations is a somewhat mellow affair, but there's plenty to groove to. If you're expecting the wacky samples and beatbox dance rhythms, you'll have to look elsewhere. The occasional wah-wah pedal and sitar makes an appearance, but most of the album is simple acoustic/electric guitar and small combo-style band instrumentation. One of the bigger numbers, production wise (and one of my favorites), is Tropicalia, a Latin tinged bossa nuvo-nova tune that reminds me of late 1970s radio. It evokes the sun, beach and sea perfectly. Eleven tracks are listed, but a bonus mystery track shows up and is the most raucous of the lot -- I can see why it was "left off the CD" ...doesn't really fit in with the overall lazy dayze feel of the album.
© 1999 D.Sabatino

Big Mess Orchestra
A Little Trash Goes A Long Way
CD, Plunger Boy Music, 1997
Where to begin? Would it be sufficient to describe Big Mess Orchestra as a small, fun, brass & reed dominated orchestra playing inventive arrangements of a dizzy variety of material? Well, maybe. I like to think of Big Mess as a mutinous high school orchestra that tossed their adult director overboard and sailed off to wander the seven seas of music. And now, years later, they return to port bursting with tales of strange, chromatic adventures.
Big Mess Orchestra has roots going back to 1987, and has been staging cabaret evenings since 1991 -- mixtures of music, vaudeville, all manner of onstage misbehaviour. The band backs a rotating cast of singers and performers with unexpected arrangements devised by ringleader and multi-instrumental utility man, Andy Bresnan. The sound contains elements of theatrical pit orchestra, jazz & pop of various eras and even a bit of rock for additional flavoring. I'm also reminded of Nino Rota and Kurt Weill. The material comes from any source, but usually undergoes some interesting transformations along the way.
Smoke On The Water becomes a cha cha -- an amazingly effective cha cha, at that. The Iggy/Bowie tune, Some Weird Sin, becomes a mellow jazz ballad, with dreamy vibes. The regional "goin' to the shore" chestnut, On The Way To Cape May, becomes a glam-rockin' Mick Ronson production, of all things. I realize that in print, some of this may sound awfully contrived, but believe me, Big Mess makes them work as if they were intended that way. Like their version of I Think I Love You, which see-saws between Weill and The Buzzcocks. Or a mesmerizing take on Beethoven's Allegretto from the Seventh Symphony. A number of the songs feature gorgeous vocals by women working under a confusing variety of pseudonyms. Did I mention marimba, vibes and accordion? Or electric hurdy-gurdy? I could go on and on... there's an early Schoenberg song in a jazz setting; there's Give It Away decoded and recoded by the BuonGiorno Twins; there's More Than A Feeling rendered in a super-lush (brass ala Jackie Gleason) EZ style. And then again, there are simply beautiful songs in simply beautiful settings -- No Moon At All, Baltimore Oriole...
Great package too, with excellent and amusing liner notes, along with plenty of photos. How to sum this up? Big Mess is fearlessly eclectic, sharp as the proverbial tack and never, ever pretentious. As they sometimes say, "We play oom pah music."
© 1998 M.Ace

The Boaz Philharmonic
I Enjoy Hearing You Talk About Me
CD-single, Loughton Sound Technologies, 2001
Having, until recently, worked for a small label in the Midwest, I'm in an enviable position of being able to listen to artists that would have otherwise gone unheard. While few demo submissions actually generate the interest required for a signing, fewer still find themselves in a label employee's Top Ten of all time, as is the case with Columbus, Ohio's The Boaz Philharmonic.
A synthpop duo with a difference, The BP combines the best of electronica and old-school Brian May guitar bravado. The mix is topped with exaggerated, weepy vocals that put me in mind of Ian McCulloch as a Nickelodeon cartoon. In its recorded state, this single reads as a directionless anomaly, however, having had the opportunity to see The Boaz Philharmonic live, I may just get it... sort of...
The music itself, a tribute to pop melodrama that seems completely devoid of irony, could stand on its own. That doesn't stop them from laying on the gimmicks. Totalitarian little league coaches, life-or-death tapdancing competitions and poorly staged wrestling holds that could actually get someone killed are all a standard part of the act. I know it sounds like they're a "wacky" band, but it doesn't play out that way for some odd reason.
The long and short of it is that we didn't sign them... no one did. As much as I would like to see them succeed, I'm more inclined to think that they will fail in the present and pop up in some archive of goofball 45's at some point in the future. As far as I know, this is the only official recording by the duo, although I've heard bits and pieces of scores for student films that were credited to them. I'm not sure if you can still get the single anywhere. I would imagine that they only had a very limited number of pressed copies, but it seems to have popped up in digital form in several places. Try typing their name into a search engine sometime just to see if they've disappeared completely, staking their claim to obscurity. As we all know, that seems to be the reward for being interesting.
© 2001 Gretchen B.

Brainiac
Smack Bunny Baby
CD, Grass Records / Dutch East India Trading, 1993
Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, these fellas and a lady break the indy rock mold. A key feature to the sound is a Moog synth that lead singer, Timmytaylor, plays with mad scientist-like glee. The usual rock guitar and drum attack is still there (seen live, I've never witnessed a drummer who pounded the skins harder), but the blend of the Moog gives an uneasy edge.
Produced by Eli Janney (Girls Against Boys), the sound is clean and well produced. Timmytaylor's voice cuts through the band and comes off like a man possesed with the secret formula to destroy the world. Guitarist Michelle sings on a few -- most notably Martian Dance Invasion -- her voice a nice alternative to Timmy's. Sadly I've learned that this was her last recording with the band. She was replaced before the next record, and the band then hopped a few record labels and finally sputtered out in 1997.
© 1998 D.Sabatino

Alf Clausen and his Orchestra (Featuring the voice talents of The Simpsons)
Songs In The Key Of Springfield and
Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons
CD, Rhino, 1997, 1999
These two albums feature the characteristically incisive political and social humor of the television show, in musical form. Mmmmm, music. From the show's unique paeans to Broadway grandeur in Oh, Streetcar! and The All Singing, All Dancing Medley to its reworking (read: skewering) of sacrosanct pop culture standards such as Mary Poppins, Schoolhouse Rocks and Planet Of The Apes, listening to these compilations may lead to paroxysms of laughter. Also included are myriad versions of the show's opening and closing themes and guest performances by musical luminaries such as The Ramones, Sonic Youth, Tony Bennett, and Robert Goulet!
These albums are a must-have for any ardent Simpsonophile. Even neophytes, while certain references to the show may be a bit esoteric, are sure to be amused. Musical sarcasm, The Simpsons, and a church hymn that you can make out to (just buy the albums). How can you go wrong?
© 2001 Marc

David Allan Coe
17 Greatest Hits
LP, Columbia, 1985
If you're one of those weird people like me who tend to listen to any and all forms of music, but can't stand this current wave of country-that's-not-country-at-all, then I'd urge you to head down to your local flea market and try to pick this album up. "Outlaw" country at its finest, though a couple of the tracks are throwaways. Perhaps it is best summed up by a line from track six: "If that ain't country, I'll kiss your ass."
© 2000 Lugnut

The Dead Milkmen
Beelzebubba
8-track, Fever/Enigma, 1988
I love Punk Rock Girl. It's mah theme song.....
© 1999 Punk Rock Girl

DEVO
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
LP, Warner Bros, 1978
This is the first of Devo's recordings, being much better, and much different than the rest. If anyone has ever told you they were a fan of Devo, then they have heard this album. Devo's other recordings were all quite good, this one is just a lot more raw, guitar-driven and without the added influence of electronics.
Devo is a band that revolves around a notion of Devolution, hence the name. Devolution is the pondering that possibly evolution is working backwards... as explained in the savage-like American behavior.
This album starts with Devo's cover of Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. They devolve this song by making it not conceivably a cover of it, until you hear the lyrics, which are the same. The song follows jagged and deconstructed rhythms and harmonies that are all out of the ordinary. Also on this album are Mongoloid and quite a few other great songs. This album is my favorite and was produced by Brian Eno, a very famous producer. It was supposed to be produced by David Bowie.
Devo were a very promising quintet from Akron, Ohio. They were a band throughout the eighties, the biggest single being Whip It... a good song, but not equal to Devo's true greatness. MORE PEOPLE MUST DISCOVER THIS ALBUM!
Devo update: Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh work together on children's television theme songs, composing and playing them. Most notably, they have recently done the Rugrats theme song and movie sound tracks.
The only thing holding Devo back from a full comeback or a reunion is the fact that their drummer (who was a really amazing and overlooked drummer) is perfectly happy with his current job -- an air conditioning repairman, and has no desire to play the drums anymore.
Ah well... greatness is temporary I guess.
© 2001 Terra Rawnsley

Leo Diamond's Orchestra
Exciting Sounds From Romantic Places
LP, ABC-Paramount, late-50s?
More or less, Leo Diamond is to the harmonica as Les Paul is to electric guitar. A virtuoso over-dubber with a fondness for tinkering (building his own instruments), gizmos and effects, Diamond created elaborate sound landscapes based around standards and his own interesting originals. Maybe a comparison to Ferrante and Teicher's prepared-piano phase would also be in order. A veteran of Borrah Minnevitch And His Harmonica Rascals, Leo seems to have gone wild in his solo career. Though as strange as his music could get, it still maintained that winsome, lonely harmonica soul.
This album is a sort of 'round the world tour, with standards like The River Seine, Arriverderci Roma, The Girls In Brazil, Lili Marlene and so forth, all served up with multiple overdubs, wild echos, sound effects (cars, planes and ships as well) and most importantly, Leo's virtuoso ornaments, squirming like a bucket of aluminum amoebas. This actually may be one of his more sedate albums -- watch for Skin Diver Suite and Subliminal Sounds, said to be his really hot albums.
© 1999 M.Ace

Roky Erickson
You're Gonna Miss Me -- The Best of Roky Erickson
Cassette, Restless, 1991
This "Best Of" comp covers Roky's work from the '70s through the '80s and is fascinating stuff, albeit kind of heavy on the Devil/Occult/Mystic references. Mr. Erickson may have lost his mind, but he never lost his knack for great hooks and straight ahead rock 'n' roll that would have put Bob Seger and Lou Reed to shame, at least from this era. Stand-out cuts from this tape include Don't Shake Me Lucifer, White Faces and Creature With The Atom Brain.
But that's not the real reason I'm writing this little review. What I really want to do is tell you to run to your local Bradlee's (yes, Bradlee's) and find the 99-cent tape bin. I've checked out two stores here in New England (one in CT, one in MA) and have found a TREASURE TROVE of great cassettes for 99 cents a pop! Besides the Roky tape, I picked up:
Shonen Knife - Rock Animals
Them - Them Again
Mike Seeger - Fresh Oldtime Music
Tom Verlaine - Flash Light
Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
Henry Mancini - Charade soundtrack (one of his best)
and a bunch of others. And they are the real original cassettes, with the complete inserts, not the cheap white cases with no notes. Awesome! A buck each!
Cassettes are a dying breed (with good reason), but they sound great for a few dozen plays, at least long enough to dupe them to CD or MP3 format.
Go get 'em!
© 2000 Craig aka Marble River

Vince Fiorino Trio
Red Canary (Indian Song) b/w Tuba Square Dance
45, Okeh, 1950s?
Now here's a real "incredibly strange" romp. Let me describe the songs.
Red Canary is a male / female duet, encouraging said bird to keep singing as an aid to their wooing (though given the title and the era's red scare context, I can't help but wonder if there's some veiled commie teasing (or McCarthy teasing) going on here, especially when the line, "in the future we'll be free" pops up from nowhere). Instrumentally it's a spritely electric organ, "raid the kitchen cupboards" percussion and amazingly athletic tuba -- trilling up and down the octaves all the way through. Vocal credits go to Millie Coury and Lon Saxon. It's nearly impossible to classify this into any genre.
The flip, Tuba Square Dance, ventures more into the hillbilly cornpone zone, but remains out there in its own unique world. The instrumentation adds banjo, vibes, electric guitar, chimes, duck call and still more percussion. Arki, The Arkansas Woodchopper, joins in on the vocals, which are more shouted than sung, in this fractured take on square dance calling (if they even get in 8 bars of dance calls, it's a miracle).
The female voice has lines like, "I wish I was with Arkansas, a-settin' on a rail / A sweet potater in my hand and a possum by the tail / Arkansas! He bit me!"
And Arki (presumably) bellows, "Hey Sam, fetch a burlap sack to plug up that dad-blamed tuba! I know you can't hear me, I'll try it again!" Nonplussed, the tuba continues to zip around the scales like a colossal gnat of heavy brass -- awesome lung power. A remarkable piece of work. Who were these people?!?
© 1998 M.Ace

Get Up Kids
Something To Write Home About
CD, label unknown, late-90s
Get Up Kids are about as delicious as pop-punk/emo can get. More emotional and narrative than any other pop-punk/emo I've heard, the lyrics read like poetry, like distinctly different prose. The rattling and raw drumming and popping and swirling guitar can both put me to sleep and inspire me. Apparently the songs are meant to be seen as letters, and they could indeed have been pulled directly from a series of letters between boyfriend and girlfriend in a long-distance relationship. There is a youthful energy that hints at social anarchy in songs such as Valentine ("the constants aren't so constant anymore") and Red Letter Day ("we're loyal, like brothers, just us versus all the others"), but simple, almost orchestral melodies towards the end of the album and at times simple, sweet lyrics remind me of the transitions throughout Moby's Play. As fun to listen to as it is to tell your friends, "I'm contributing to the survival of anti-mainstream pop," this album is a must have for any fan of new-age punk or anyone interested in sweet songs without all the Boy Band syrup or Jailbait bull.
© 2000 Will Roby

Tom Hazleton & Gene Ciszek
Explorer
(title on label: Familiar Tunes)
LP, Explorer Records, 1967
Here's a release that was never a release in the conventional sense. It's a demo record for Allen Organ's Explorer II electronic keyboard. It's similar to a small combo organ, but with somewhat synthesizer-like sounds. Tom Hazleton puts it through its paces, while also manning a full-size (2 keyboards plus bass pedals) Allen Electronic Organ. Live in the studio, no overdubbing. Goatee'd Gene Ciszek drives the session with jazz mode drumkit and percussion. Side 1 is nice enough, in a low-key way, with tunes like Granada, Never On Sunday or a slightly spooky Yesterday. Hazleton has clearly spent time on the theater organ scene (well, yes -- the bio notes that he was staff organist at SF's Paramount Theatre). But things really kick loose on Side 2, beginning with the spacy original, Explorer Theme, followed in snappy succession by a stomping Spanish Flea, spy jazzy Caravan and Mr. Bach Meets Batman -- as you would expect, it collides Bach themes with the Batman Theme, the Explorer squawking merrily away. All the fun of Emerson, Lake and Palmer with none of the prog-rock mess. The brazenly corny Banjo Medley closes out the side. Not a record to change the world, but a fun little spin, with a cheerfully clinical vibe.
© 2000 M.Ace

Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits
LP, Columbia (mono), 1963
I usually shy away from greatest-hits packages, but Johnny Horton's straight country material is not really my cup of tea. So, this LP is a bargain just for the three tunes that were guaranteed to raise any 12 year old male's testosterone level to heights unknown to mankind in 1962. They are (military drumroll, please): The Battle of New Orleans, North to Alaska, and my personal favorite, Sink the Bismarck. How could any kid in the sixties ever take the maudlin waltz-time Ballad of the Green Berets seriously after hearing the gung-ho Sink the Bismarck? No wonder we dodged the draft. I mean, had high lottery numbers.
© 1998 Craig

Hunger Artists
Cruisin' In Zargon
Cassette, 1982
This was an amazing 8-track album that used to be available to download at this site. It was three guys making improvised pseudo-punk music, but it came out being extremely noisy. It is, in my opinion, one of the finest noise recordings of all time. Unfortunately, it is incredibly rare (never have I found even a reference to it anywhere but this site!), and my copy is incomplete and on a regular audio cassette tape. I am looking for the full, digital version of this recording. Anyone have it? Email me! noisegrindband@hotmail.com
© 2003 Max Sereante

[Ed note: Take a look over here.]

Tommy James and The Shondells
Cellophane Symphony
LP, Roulette RS42030, 1969
As a celebratory gesture for my feat of finally collecting enough lava lamps to effectively light my entire living room, I decided to dig some hoary old hippy chestnut vinyl from the record shelf to complement the glowing weirdness around me. The platter extracted from the files turned out to be Cellophane Symphony, by Tommy James and The Shondells.
The title track is a suitably acid-drenched affair, with noodlings on a very early Moog synthesiser. Nine minutes and thirty seconds of trippy jamming and bizarre sound effects.
I think we now have the answer as to why Mr. James' brain is now in the same condition as a chimichanga from El Torito.
The majority of Cellophane Symphony rests on Tommy's typical late Sixties, early Seventies feel-good pop. The notable exceptions being the title track, the song Changes, which sort of hippyises the book of Genesis with generous nods to Jimmy Rogers' Honeycomb. I Know Who I Am, a Dylanesque parody song, provides evidence of Tommy James' adequate talent for celebrity impersonations, covering W.C. Fields, Ed Sullivan and John Wayne. Two comedy songs close out the sides. Papa Rolled His Own and On Behalf Of The Entire Staff and Management. The latter track finds Tommy sounding a bit like an audio equivalent of Conan O'Brien's If They Mated segment, combining Ray Davies with Doodles Weaver.
As Lava Lite accompaniment, this album works a lot better than something by The Doors or Jefferson Airplane. It's available through Mr. James' website, if you prefer the shiny little discs.
I will start looking for the Turd In My Pants formerly known as The Turd In My Butt cd, mentioned further down the page, as soon as I can find a lamp with yellow lava and brown goo.
© 2001 rocketboy

Daniel Dale Johnston
Rejected Unknown
CD, newimprovedmusic, 1999
Daniel Johnston is the type of songwriter who will probably never find mass popularity no matter how produced his albums become, simply because the songs he writes are just a little... odd, and that's good. They are awfully honest too. His idols are The Beatles (they are mentioned in several of his lyrics and their influence can be heard throughout this disc), one of the most popular bands of the century. Among his fans are some very popular "alternative" rock bands, from Sonic Youth to Yo La Tengo. You could probably fill two or three CD-Rs with cover versions of his songs.
What's my point? Rejected Unknown is a collection of new Daniel Johnston songs, the first since about 1994 (Fun). It is very nicely produced by Brian Beattie (Glass Eye, Dead Milkmen) -- meaning, it sounds really good but it is not at all over-produced and sparkly clean. In fact, the production and arrangements are very inventive, as colorful as the lavish art (cartoonish drawings by Johnston) that accompanies the CD. The theme of the album is rejection. It seems Daniel is still upset about a girl he fell in love with years ago. She married an undertaker ("What grief," he sings), and the girl of his dreams remained in his dreams forever and inspired dozens of songs. But the album isn't the complete downer pity party you might think. The music is actually cheerful at times, and tuneful. Daniel has a knack for getting a melody stuck in your head.
Plus there are a couple of gems that just put it over the top and make it a favorite spin of mine: Funeral Girl is very eerie both in word and sound (Brian plays a creepy horror-film organ). Party is a catchy key-shifting rocker you can dance to, while Mr. Johnston lyrically questions the meaning of it all and ends on a somewhat upbeat note: "There's nothin' left of your depression / As long as you're entertained / Sometimes it's best just to lose / Than to play the same old game / Love is alive in all of you / And never will decay / Singing Hey What does it mean / To live in this world / When we're all so very crazy / And maybe / There's plenty of time to Party."
© 1999 Joe Jack Talcum

Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
CD, Minty Fresh, 1998
Kahimi Karie has been cutting records in her native Japan since the early 90s, usually working with Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius. Most of these records, including collaborations with Scotland's Momus and French pop auteur, Katerine, have only been released in Japan. But now here's a handy (for North Americans anyway) US compilation, and it's fun, okay?
The music is very diverse, from bossa (Take It Easy My Brother Charlie) to EZ pop (Mike Alway's Diary) to noisy guitar rock (Lolitapop Dollhouse) to a Gainsbourg cover (Sérieux Comme Le Plaisir). Generally, it's post-everything smart pop -- stylish, not stuffy. I'm not generally crazy about sampler hijinks (not a heavy element on the album), but when the source material is as obscurely hip as early Soft Machine (So Boot If At All on Good Morning World), it's worth a grin.
Now, about her vocals. They are extremely whispery and high, which could be off-putting to some. You are warned. Once I got used to them, I liked them -- it just wouldn't be the same with "correct" vocals. So, nothing earthshaking -- just clever, modern pop fun.
© 1998 M.Ace

Medeski, Martin and Wood
Last Chance To Dance Trance: Best of (1991-1996)
CD, Gramavision, 1999
Medeski, Martin and Wood have taken in just about every musical style known to humankind, mixed it together in the mental food processor, et voila! Now you has jazz. Bubblehouse, the trio's most popular number, is basically '60s prog-blues-rock-fusion (slaps self for overuse of hyphen, so you won't have to). The other tracks are more traditional. The title track is a combination of Brubeck and lounge exotica. Not too far from Terry Gibbs or Martin Denny, actually. Where's Sly? borrows a bit from Stan Kenton. Well, okay. If Stan had been using mescaline. Simply put, this is downtown New York jazz at its finest. A lot more accessible than John Zorn. Chances are, jazz radio still won't play it.
© 2000 rocketboy

The Mermen
Songs Of The Cows
CD, Mesa, 1996
I'm soon going to go out and buy my third copy of this disc. The first one was in my CD player when it got stolen last year (I still have the case, though) and my second one was misplaced a couple of months ago, and now I don't think I can go another week without it. It shouldn't set me back much, though. It's classified as an EP with six songs (though the sixth song is something of an opus over eleven minutes long, divided into four parts), and I've seen it for as low as seven bucks.
The music is psychedelic surf. The Mermen are a San Francisco Bay area trio with a rolling, lyrical sense of melody and a fondness for reverby feedback. All instrumental, no vocals or lyrics. Though the music tends to be upbeat, it's not particularly fast or "pipeline"-ish. It's more like stoned sunbathing beach surf, aimed at that introspective area of soul where the water meets the shore. It's not completely relaxed or lazy either. There are moments of violent poundings of surf against rocky shorelines as well as serene sandbars and romantic sunrises; high tides and low tides.
This particular album, the third one that I could find (and my favorite) has cows, of all things, as a theme. Not a typical surf theme for sure (I don't even know if they call themselves "surf," but I don't know what other genre to put them in). The picture inside the CD cover is of two cows grazing on a lush green hillside by a bay. Since there are no lyrics and not much to grab onto by way of song title (the last bit of song six is called I of the Moo), the meaning is open to wide interpretation and the music is suited to many a mood. But that's the beauty of it.
© 1998 Joe Jack Talcum

The Mermen
The Amazing California Health And Happiness Road Show
CD, Mesa/Blue Moon, 2000
The Mermen's latest CD hasn't left my player in almost a month, since I purchased it. The 13 instrumental tracks have a global scope of style, from raga to hip-hop, but always rooted in the band's trademark deep-sea reverb surf-guitar style. Euphoric and memorable melodies abound, making for an addictive, relaxing, yet invigorating album. Dope.
© 2000 Joe Jack Talcum

My Dying Bride
The Angel And The Dark River
CD, Peaceville, 1996?
Just gorgeous. Heavier than hell.
© 1999 John

NOFX
The Decline
CD, Fat Wreck Chords/Caroline, 1999
I recognized this as a truly great song from the first listen. This one-song EP features Fat Mike and company stretching their musical legs in an unprecedented 18+ minute punk epic. A less-capable band could never pull this off. But these guys handle it with aplomb. The Decline is coherent both musically and lyrically, it never sinks into self-indulgence, and it really works as a whole.
Interestingly, there seems to be some very clear influences from The Who. In fact, without sounding anything at all like The Who's song, A Quick One, While He's Away (a 9+ minute mini-opera from 1966), The Decline somehow reminds me of it. Bottom line - every NOFX fan needs to own this CD.
© 2002 caffeinated

Patrick O'Hearn
White Sands
CD, Morgan Creek, 1992
O'Hearn's heady, "ambient" sound tinged with a kinetic, energized rock overtone elicits; a lead foot behind the wheel, a pulse pounding mind drive listening at home during the day, poignant reverie in the evening and brazen pseudoeroticism at night. Check out www.patrickohearn.com. Other faves by Patrick: Metaphor and So Flows the Current both on Gypsy Joker/BMI.
© 2003 J.Spencer

Junior Parker
Love Ain't Nothin' But A Business Goin' On
CD, 197?
I almost don't want to tell anybody about this record, because I don't want to hear it used in some retro-kitsch film score. But it's too good. I found it by using the album cover graphic on a CD I made for a friend (in an annoying retro-kitsch way, of course). Then I saw the CD on ebay, and it went for $3 -- nobody else bid! Anyhow, it is excellent mid and down tempo funk groove stuff. The highlights on it are his covers of Taxman and Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles (Lady Madonna doesn't work quite so well).
But those tunes are incredible. Tomorrow Never Knows is so minimal and his voice really sounds beautiful. The album is full of close-up vibrato-soul guitars and the then new sound of the Fender Rhodes piano.
Also an excellent version of The River's Invitation, and the title track is a blast. Overall, I cannot conceive of why this record isn't ubiquitous, even if only in the thrift store bins of the mid-eighties!
© 2003 Andy Bresnan

The Places
The Autopilot Knows You Best
CD, Absolutely Kosher, 2001
Great pop music. The Places (which is Amy Annelle, who writes and sings and plays guitar, and some guests, and which seem not to exist anymore, as the only other stuff I've seen is references to Ms. Annelle's solo work and solo albums) manage to be perfect pop in that while they never seem to be taking aesthetic dives, the songs do have a delightful pop inevitability to them. Tasty guitar oriented music. Pretty singing, too. And odd little soundbites between songs, which, although they annoy me slightly after several listens, give the record a pleasant hand-made feel. I heard the song Own Your Own Home on WPRB out of Princeton, and had to go and find the CD. (Can you see the headline? MAN HEARS COPYRIGHT MATERIAL ON PUBLIC MEDIUM AND GOES ON TO PURCHASE ITEM LEGITIMATELY!) This music is not loud, but it asks for further attention, too. And real nice packaging and booklet. The best record I have bought in quite a while (aside from rereleases by people now dead).
© 2002 A.Bresnan

Radiohead
Amnesiac
CD, Capitol, 2001
Very pretty and sad techno-tinged alterna-rock, kind of like Kid A but more down (and a little more strange). I like it lots.
© 2001 Joe Jack Talcum

Nigel Rothmeyer
Solemente Nigel Vol. 1
Cassette, Jive Turkey Records, 1998
I saw this tape advertised in a posting on the Dead Milkmen Free-For-All message board and sent away for it out of curiosity. It arrived in the mail soon thereafter, about a week ago, and has been in my walkman ever since. His songs are catchy, simple pop songs using drum machine, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard and vocals. They are funny songs about things that really shouldn't be funny, such as drug addiction (Monkey on My Shoulder), gum disease (Gingivitis, a ditty catchy enough to be a Listerine jingle) and his hatred for Kenny Rogers (No Place for Kenny Rogers).
Lyrically, he calls to mind Rodney Anonymous from the early Dead Milkmen days. (My favorite rhyme: "There's a monkey on my shoulder / every second he gets older / He tells me to try to cheer up / but I drank too much cough syrup") Musically, I hear some Milkmen influence as well as the Cure, Ween, even some early 80s Euro-Disco!
The only thing I don't really like about the album is his Talcum-esque out of tune harmonica playing on some tunes. But here I am nitpicking. His keyboard solos are wonderfully melodic.
Nigel is selling this homemade cassette album, produced and composed by himself on Tascam 4-track, for the ridiculously low price of one dollar. That's less than 8 cents a song, one of the best deals around these days!
For more info, e-mail: n_rothmeyer@hotmail.com
© 1998 Joe Jack Talcum

Raymond Scott
Reckless Nights And Turkish Twilights
CD, Basta, 1998
Raymond Scott is the inventive musician/inventor who originated many compositions later cut-and-pasted into cartoon scores by Warner Bros' Carl Stalling, from whence they went on to seep deeply into the world's subconscious mind. But Scott did not actually write the tunes for cartoons. He was simply doing his thing. This is a freshly re-remastered collection of 78's recorded by The Raymond Scott Quintet (actually a sextet) from 1937 to 1940. The sound quality is marvelous, with a great "band in a room" feeling (excellent for audio time travel).
The original versions of the tunes imprinted in your toddler mind are here: Powerhouse, Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals, The Penguin, War Dance For Wooden Indians; plus many you may have never heard. Intricate music, full of rhythmic twists and turns, played with precision and verve. I'm struck by occasional drone sounds from the trumpet or clarinet which presage similar moves using guitar feedback or synthesizers. Scott truly was ahead of his time. Oh heck, Powerhouse is such a monster tune, even if it were the only track on here, it would still be worth it.
© 1998 M.Ace

Frank Sinatra
Ol' Blue Eyes is Back
CD, Reprise, 1973
Frank Sinatra was over 50. Rock 'n' Roll had come (and gone -- it was the heyday of glam). Sinatra, who had derided rock as illiterate music made by "cretinous goons" (was he thinking of Elvis?) had added Something to his repertoire (which he called his favourite Lennon-McCartney song).
He had left the Swing era long behind. His voice had deepened into the authoritative, expressive "Chairman of the Board" voice we remember him for. Like a great writer who hits his stride only after countless years of experience and having his "fill of losing" (as he described in My Way), Sinatra could now -- in his choice of songs, his phrasing, his expression, his tone -- impart what he felt, what he knew, what he had learned.
Nowhere is this more evident than his performance of Steven Sondheim's Send in the Clowns. This, instead of My Way, is for me the definitive Sinatra statement. The song, about an veteran actor losing his timing (where are the clowns? send in the clowns), is at the same time, poignant, reflective, defiant, self-deprecating. Plus, you get to hear Sinatra sing the word "queer".
As Dean Martin said, "It's Frank's world, we just live in it." That's more true today than ever before. Rest in peace, Frank.
© 2004 Frankie's Best Album

60 Foot Dolls
The Big 3
CD, DGC, 1997
I bought this CD about five years ago and, if I recall correctly, I was prompted to pick it up after reading a positive review of it in Spin magazine. Not that a good review in Spin is enough, in and of itself, to get me to buy a CD, but this particular review made several interesting comparisons between the 60 Foot Dolls and one of my favorite hook-driven, punk-pop bands, (perhaps the original melodic-punk band), the Jam... who, in turn, have always sort of reminded me of the Kinks. But I'll save that discussion for another time. :)
Anyway, back to the subject at hand: the 60 Foot Dolls. Do they sound like the Jam? Well, yes, they sound like the Jam on an off-day. Which is not to say that their music isn't pretty damned good; it most certainly is. It's just that where Paul Weller, (the driving, creative force behind the Jam), was a phenomenal songwriter and lyricist, the 60 Foot Dolls songs are a bit weak and repetitive, and the lyrics are sometimes a bit amateurish. Comparisons aside, however, what we have here is fairly well-crafted, energetic, 3-piece, British power-pop with a little bit of snotty attitude thrown in for good measure. And, on its own merits, The Big 3 is a really enjoyable CD.
© 2001 caffeinated

The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
CD, Silvertone, 1989
The Defining Moment in the Manchester sound of the late 80s, early 90s.
This album is flawless, there is not one bad song on it, buy NOW.
© 2000 Minnie the mook

The Turd In My Pants formerly known as The Turd In My Butt
Plop!
CD, Sploosh, 1999
The Turd In My Pants formerly known as The Turd In My Butt's new cd, Plop, finds them mining the same territory as a latexed finger. Probing, yet gentle, this disc has all of the exhilarance of a safe evacuation, yet it leaves you with a slightly uneasy fullness, as if you'd better not stray far from Aunt Miriam's old, creaky, moon-doored double seater. From the first cut, Logs From The Sky, they rock like a stone, and their understated urgency keeps your hand on the chain for the whole wild ride, till the album's anthematic closer, Skid Marks The Spot.
Plop is a brilliant debut from a very poopular band. I can hardly wait for record number two.
© 1999 Brian Beattie

Various Artists
Belfast Beat: Maritime Blues
CD, Big Beat, 1964-1966
Seventy two minutes of Irish beat-crazy teens! From the opening cut by Them (the grab-you-by-the-throat Don't Start Crying Now) to the last (Bad Little Woman (US Version) by The Wheel-A-Ways), this CD barely lets up for a minute. I know it's sacrilegious (and probably dangerous) to say I think I like The Wheels' cover of John Lee Hooker's Send Me Your Pillow better than the original, but it's practically a different song by the time they get through with it. Plenty of good stuff here, with Big Beat's typically fine notes and photos.
© 1998 Craig

Various Artists
Guide To Jazz
LP, RCA Victor, 1956
Issued in conjunction with the book of the same title by Hugues Panassié, this is a nicely beefy collection of classic jazz recordings ranging from 1926 (Jelly Roll Morton's Black Bottom Stomp) to 1947 (Count Basie's One O'Clock Boogie). I was afraid it would be a scratchy old record of scratchy old records, but the sound is actually rather good. The only noise seems to be the scratches on the LP. Nice track-by-track jazz hound liner notes by Panassié.
Other artists include King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, "Fats" Waller, Duke Ellington (an atmospheric 1927 take of Black and Tan Fantasie), Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, Fletcher Henderson, Earl Hines, Coleman Hawkins... a generous eighteen tracks in all. The 20s/30s-style muted trumpet sound has really been catching my ear lately, and this LP has plenty of it. Hmmm, if you were a young Squirrel Nut Zipper, this would be a real good album to swipe licks from.
© 1998 M.Ace

Various Artists
Indonesian Guitars (Music of Indonesia, Vol. 20)
CD, Smithsonian-Folkways, 1999
Some great guileless songs on guitars, and on the local four-string home-made instruments from certain areas of Indonesia. Twangy and often melodic, in a Nick-Drake-with-amnesia kind of a way. Look at the cover on the Smithsonian site (I think they have it on there), and that tells you a lot. Very non-western nasal vocal sounds.
© 2003 Andy Bresnan

Various Artists
Various
other format, various labels, 20th Century
OK, I've become completely infatuated with these damn MP3 files, the ones you get from Usenet (aka News Groups). You download these tunes using some software like Forte FreeAgent (it's freeware, just do a search for it), and play 'em back with Winamp (shareware, costs a whopping $10.00 [ed. note: FreeAmp is an open-source freeware alternative]). What matters here is that you have a good news provider (two that I know are good are PSN and World ATT Net - not affiliated with me in any way). You can download near-cd-quality files and send them to your cd-r or tape machine, or just play them with Winamp. Sure, they take up a lotta disk space, but once they're on tape (or whatever), just delete the files. The cool part of this is that Usenet is practically un-policeable (at least so far) so ANYTHING GOES! I've downloaded Enoch Light's Spaced Out lp, Venus by Shocking Blue and Hot Smoke and Sassafras by Bubble Puppy, as well as a bunch of old time radio shows. What a world! FreeAgent lets you mark a bunch of files for download, then just right-click, pick Decode, then go shopping, take a shower, wash the budgie, etc. When you come back, it's all on your hard drive to be played or recorded to your media of choice. And yes, M.Ace, there's no reason why you couldn't get it onto a wire recorder if that's your pleasure. Wow. One caveat, you are (as always) subject to server time-outs, phone-line glitches, etc, but you already knew that...
Some newsgroups worth checking out:
alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1960s
alt.binaries.sounds.78rpm-era
alt.binaries.sounds.radio.oldtime
The list goes on...
© 1999 Craig

Fats Waller
Fats Waller: 1929-1934
CD, Classics Chronological Series, Classics Records, 1993
This music makes me feel like I'm in an old black and white cartoon. It's a rich compilation of recordings that Thomas "Fats" Waller made with various early jazz biggies like Ted Lewis, Jack Teagarden, Benny Goodman, and many others. It's chock full of amazing piano playing (including 2 incredible Fats Waller / Bennie Paine duets) and depression era forget-your-troubles songs like Don't Let it Bother You, Crazy 'Bout my Baby and A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid.
Who can worry about the landlord when Monette Moore sings, "When there's a shine on your shoes / There's a melody in your heart / And a singable happy feeling / It's a wonderful way to start." I also love Red McKenzie's comb playing on Girls Like You Were Meant For Boys Like Me. How come nobody plays the comb anymore? It has such a nice, buzzy sound. My favorite cuts on this are the ones where Fats sings, and says things like "My goodness, I feel so effervescent this morning!" I listen this CD all the time. It's the perfect soundtrack for my cartoon life.
© 1998 Kitty62

We're Not From Idaho
We're Not From Idaho
Cassette, Sissyfag, 1994
Where do I begin... Well, I heard of this tape from a website I visited, and I didn't find it to be any bit interesting until I saw that it consisted of music by Joe Jack Talcum and J.P. Hasson. I'm a huge fan of the Dead Milkmen, Touch Me Zoo, and just about every other Philadelphian pop/punk band around. I thought I'd give it a try, so I ordered a copy from the alpha quadrant. I listened to it at about 1:30 am, when I got home from a very hardcore show about an hour from my house. I was VERY tired, but I opened my package and listened to side one. I'm not sure if it was meant to be so funny or if I was just very tired, but it made me laugh 'til my sides hurt (literally). It was filled with corny songs about Not Dogs and King Henry the 19th's Homoescapade. There were a number of guest musicians (I think they might have all been from Touch Me Zoo, I think so anyways). Anyways, this tape was very charming and humorous as well as musically interesting. Check this tape out. You won't be disappointed (and if you are, then sorry but I liked it).
© 1999 Bryan