Maroon Bible

also

2010-09-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

death throes

2010-09-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 1 (Reinbert de Leeuw)

Erik Satie - Gnossienne No.1

Frederic Chopin - Nocturne No.1 in B flat minor (Arrau)

Frederic Chopin - Nocturne No.1 in B flat minor

Winter is coming...

2009-10-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

...and we all need company.

Hildur Guðnadóttir - Without Sinking (2009)

"I wanted to have open space for single notes and let them breath, like single clouds in a clear sky. As a contrast I also wanted create denser and heavier compositions which were more thundercloud like. I like the way clouds form, how many tiny droplets can form such dense forms and then slowly evaporate into thin string-like forms."

http://www.mediafire.com/?wzjvuojtcgw

Uakti - I Ching (1994)

http://www.mediafire.com/?gezk2yvjnm3

Phil Ochs - The Early Years (2000)

"In mid-1975, Ochs took on the identity of John Butler Train. He told people that Train had murdered Ochs, and that he, John Train, had replaced him. Train was convinced that somebody was trying to kill him, and he carried a weapon at all times—a hammer, a knife, or a lead pipe"

The Early Years collects recordings from 1963-1966. The files are .m4a.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hzqmdqnzjj0

Arthur Russell - Another Thought (1994)

This picture is broken this is not the actual album cover i am not going to fix it

"This was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on this Earth has ever done before, or will do so again." - Phillip Glass

http://www.mediafire.com/?tljtyznjny2

Bad Religion - No Control (1989)

http://www.mediafire.com/?ndtyn4ckwtw

The Origami Patrol - Supernova + (2004)

http://www.mediafire.com/?iwzdmyvimmt

Goodnight Mercedes Sosa...

2009-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Mercedes Sosa - Canciones con Fundamento (1965)

Sosa's second record, Canciones con Fundamento is a collection of Argentine folk songs.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zyminnfzndj

Mercedes Sosa - 30 Años (1994)

http://www.mediafire.com/?djmyjzkq0jh

Violeta Parra - Últimas Composiciones (1967)

Violeta Parra was one of the founders of Nueva Cancion chilena. She committed suicide in 1967, hence the name of the album. The first track, "Gracias a la Vida," was covered and popularized by Sosa.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ewifhjwm5zh

Victor Jara - Pongo en tus manos abiertas (1969)

http://www.mediafire.com/?mwwzrkjznwh

Goodnight Mercedes Sosa.

High school music.

2009-09-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

These are things I used to listen to a lot but don't really listen to anymore but was recently reminded of and remembered how amazing they are and now I am listening to them again:

Mount Eerie - No Flashlight (2005)

Mount Eerie - The Drums from No Flashlight (2005

http://www.mediafire.com/?nnittkdonnj

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - BROOM (2006)

http://www.mediafire.com/?hm1otmmi4fj

Jean-Claude Vannier - L'Enfant Assasin des Mouches (1972)

"This set is the terrain where soundtrack music, classical music, gauche pop, hard rock, French café music, Middle Eastern modal music, vanguard musical iconoclasty, and sound effects collide, stroke, and ultimately come into union with one another -- often in a single cut. This music is alternately violent, garish, tender, elegant, silly, and gritty."

Those are some words. This is an album:

http://www.mediafire.com/?o4ojzzlzyzz

Bill Holt - Dreamies (1972)

Bill Holt was working for a Fortune 500 company and then in 1972 he realised that the world was just way too trippy so he quit his job and recorded an album with an acoustic guitar and a lot of electronic things. Dreamies is a gorgeous acoustic folk album full of layered harmonies and other things that soar mixed up with sound collage of the experience of living through the late 1960s/early 1970s. It really is something.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jz1xk4y5jx5

Peter and the Wolf - The Ivori Palms (2007)

http://www.mediafire.com/?wdlzjnuzw2u

Montreal has the greatest church bells. And crazy big fires:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/08/19/montreal-plateau-fire.html

Some more months later...

2009-04-20T15:14:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I am listening to things and I just urgently need to share them with other people. Here are some of those things:

Phillip Glass and Uakti - Aguas de Amazonas (1999)

Uakti is a Brazilian instrumental quartet known for making their own instruments. Apparently Phillip Glass really liked them, so they made an album. IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE A RIVER! No joke.

Phillip Glass and Uakti - Aguas de Amazonas

Istanbul Oriental Ensemble - Grand Bazaar (2006)

This is traditional Turkish gypsy music according to allmusic.com. Personally, I like to think it's what they played at nightclubs in 15th century Istanbul. Also reminds me a lot of the amazing soundtrack to HBO's Rome series.

Istanbul Oriental Ensemble - Grand Bazaar

Labi Siffre - Remember My Song (1975)

This is the man who gave us the rhythm track to Eminem's "My Name Is" (It's from this album's opening track). I don't really know much else about him, apparently he was openly gay and sang lots of songs about all the fucked up shit in the world. Either way, on Remember My Song he's just smmooooooth, sometimes funky, sometimes delivering a hearty meloncholy unto my soul, but always moving somewhere good. ("Down" in particular is just plain emotionally destructive.)

Labi Siffre - Remember My Song

Various Artists - The Art of Field Recording Vol. 2 (2008)

Similar to the amazing Goodbye, Babylon and American Primitive sets, The Art of Field Recording collects recordings of early 20th century folk, bluegrass, spirituals, gospel and the like. I quote: "The four discs are arranged by theme (Survey, Religious, Accompanied Songs and Ballads, Unaccompanied Songs and Ballads), and are comprised exclusively of field recordings, provoked and captured in living rooms, churches, front porches, backyards, graveyards, and parlors across the Southeast, Midwest, and Canada."

Basically pretty incredible. One of the best parts is that they left a lot of the pre/post-performance banter in along with other random sounds of life. Gives a nice feeling of really beeeiiinnggg there. I haven't found Volume 1 anywhere, which is a shame.

Various Artists - The Art of Field Recording Vol. 2, Discs 1 & 2

Various Artists - The Art of Field Recording Vol. 2 , Discs 3 & 4

Six months later...

2008-12-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

...I decided to upload some things. So here's a bunch of things.

Arborea - Arborea (2008)

Lovely duo from Maine playing very pretty folk. Mixes a contemporary free folk sound with 60s English folk. Helena from Espers features on two tracks, and the whole album has a very Espers-y feel, though maybe a little less heavy on the 'magical forest' vibe. Been listening to this before bed pretty regularly recently, one of the better things I've heard come out of 2008.

Arborea - Arborea (2008)
http://www.mediafire.com/?g3ywmrhmngc

Claude Debussy - 12 Etudes (piano: Mitsuko Uchida) (1990)

Mitsuko Uchida is, I think, my newfound love. Everything I have heard from her has absolutely blown me away. These pieces are technically supposed to piano exercises, but the absolute perfection with which she plays makes them a joy to listen to. Not just incredibly precise and full-sounding, but vibrant and exciting, she is a god damn goddess of the piano. More Uchida will follow later.

Claude Debussy - 12 Etudes (piano: Mitsuko Uchida) (1990)
http://www.mediafire.com/?ydyj0me20zm

Kosmos - Soundtracks of Eastern Germany's Adventures in Space (2005)

Pretty self-explanatory... soundtracks from German sci-fi movies from the 60s and 70s. Awesome.

Kosmos - Soundtracks of Eastern Germany's Adventures in Space (2005)
http://www.mediafire.com/?quztnwktzm5

Lee Ranaldo - Maelstrom From Drift (2008)

One of the benefits of having been part of Sonic Youth is that you can put something like Maelstrom From Drift out and still have it get some pretty decent press. Basically an album of odd noises, half-drones, sounds that just might be a guitar but you can't really be sure, beatboxing, and someone exclaiming loudly "blazah!" Lee Ranaldo has fun.

Lee Ranaldo - Maelstrom From Drift (2008)
http://www.mediafire.com/?0dv2ytaywkm

A Hawk and A Hacksaw - Darkness at Noon (2005)

Former Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes redefines the term 'multi-instrumentalist.' At various live performances, I have seen this man simultaneously play the accordion, a keyboard (with his feet), cymbals (drumstick strapped to his head) and a variety of other percussion instruments (shakers attached to his feet, drumsticks attached to his elbows, tambourine strapped to his head). Dude's fucking crazy. He also used to have a great beard, now has reduced it to a great mustache. On Darkness at Noon Barnes throws together traditional folk musics from anywhere that's got one. Eastern European, Latin American, olde English vibes all show in this dizzying, beautiful swirl of old world song. It's just fantastic.

A Hawk and A Hacksaw - Darkness at Noon (2005)
http://www.mediafire.com/?mjtmjnzotyk

Circulatory System - Circulatory System (2001) + Inside Views (2001)

2008-05-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Circulatory System is the brainchild of former Olivia Tremor Control songwriter Will Cullen Hart. Following the OTC's decision to go on indefinite hiatus, Hart decided to hole up in his Athens, GA home and focus on painting. Slowly he began to turn out new songs and, recruiting the help of most of the members of the OTC as well as The Instruments' Heather McInstosh and Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum, produced Circulatory System's self-titled debut.

Much darker and gloomier than anything from the Olivia Tremor Control, and lacking the more experimental musique concrete parts of the OTC, Circulatory System is an incredible collection of pretty, trippy tunes. Pretty much one of my favourite albums, it's the kind of thing that you never get tired of hearing. It's fucking incredible.

Following the release of Circulatory System, Hart decided to "remix" the album. Here's the description of Inside Views from www.cloudrecordings.com:

"Cut and paste style fragments, demos and animation derived from pieces of the circulatory system album. These elements are spliced, electronically altered and juxtaposed for a reinterpretation of the sounds. The result is a peek into the sonic architecture of their album.
(set your CD player to 'shuffle' mode when playing this recording)

- reanimation by will h.

(each CD case has a unique bird picture.)"

Inside Views rearranges the original album into a whole new entity, and is equally incredible. It sounds amazing when played in sequence, but it becomes even more fascinating when shuffled. Every time you listen it's basically a different album, and no matter how you order the tracks it always sounds cohesive, and it is always beautiful.

Hart's paintings are also pretty incredible. Check them out here:
http://www.cloudrecordings.com/artwork.html

Circulatory System have also been working on a new album for about as long as anyone can remember. It's been due to come out for about the last four years, but keeps getting pushed back. However, last April, member John Fernandes wrote:

"i just posted some new music on the circulatory system myspace page.
progress is now being made on the record, a possible 'side one' has been put together with help from charlie of 63 crayons.
hopefully the new album will be released this fall."

So here's hoping... and here's music...

Circulatory System - Circulatory System

Circulatory System - Inside Views

Buy the albums here.

(Also, I realised the links are a bit confusing so the album covers are now download links as well.)

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians (1974-1976)

2008-05-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia:

"The piece is based around a cycle of eleven chords. A small piece of music is based around each chord, and the piece returns to the original cycle at the end. The sections are aptly named "Pulses," and Section I-XI. This was Reich's first attempt at writing for larger ensembles, and the extension of performers resulted in a growth of psycho-acoustic effects, which fascinated Reich, and he noted that he would like to "explore this idea further". A prominent factor in this work is the augmentation of the harmonies and melodies and the way that they develop this piece. Another important factor in the piece is the use of human breath, used in the clarinets and voices, which help structure and bring a pulse to the piece. The player plays the pulsing note for as long as he can hold it, while each chord is melodically deconstructed by the ensemble, along with augmentation of the notes held. The metallophone (unplugged vibraphone), is used to cue the ensemble to change patterns or sections.

Some sections of the piece have an ABCDCBA structure, and Reich noted that this one work contained more harmonic movement in the first five minutes than any other work he had written."

Music for 18 Musicians is pretty fucking fascinating. Basically layer after layer of sound is added and repeated over and over and over and and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and suddenly it changes! and over and over and over and over and over and over and over etc.

It may sound silly but its actually incredible. I don't know, either you're into it or you're not, just give it a listen and try and keep it on past the first few tracks. It's worth the risk of wasting 10 minutes listening to something you don't dig, because if it clicks, it can be mindblowing.

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians

Buy the album here.

John Cale - Paris 1919 (1973)

2008-05-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Probably the most accessible solo release by former Velvet Underground member John Cale, Paris 1919 is a sharp deviation from Cale's generally noisy, abrasive style. These songs are lushly orchestrated, almost sad reflections on a lost period. Poetic in both lyrics and melody, Cale makes frequent literary references, and the songs seem like vignettes or glimpses of another life. Good, peaceful stuff.

This reissue adds 11 demos, alternate mixes, outtakes etc.

John Cale - Paris 1919

Buy the album here.

(This and the previous album are sendspace links, so they may not be around for very long, if anyone wants a re-upload, leave a comment)

Love and Rockets - Express (1986)

2008-05-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

Following the break-up of goth-rock band Bauhaus, three of the four members regrouped to form Love and Rockets. They turned more towards glam-rock and became central figures of the psychedelic revival. Express, their second release, is a masterpiece of sonic layering. Guitars swirl in and out of lilting harmonies and rich arrangements. Lyrically focused largely on Eastern philosophy, Express is where pysch meets glam meets dance in one fucking perfect album.

Love and Rockets - Express

Buy the album here.

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (2008)

2008-05-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Bristol two-piece Fuck Buttons have been fucking shit up all year with their strange brand of eclectic noise. Mixing in brutal, mindfucking noise with sudden melody and pretty sounds, Fuck Buttons are occasionally trance-inducing but never boring. Oscillating synths, pounding, almost tribal sounding beats, and uhh....screams create one big loop that never gets dull and keeps you hooked until the last note.

Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

Buy the album here.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

2008-04-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since last anything, so here's something!

Following the break-up of his long-time band DeYarmond Edison, Justin Vernon decided to go for a fourth month winter stay in a cabin in a the middle of nowhere, Wisconsin. Out there with a guitar and his feelings, he recorded a series of lush, melancholy folk songs. Mostly based around acoustic guitar and Vernon's soulful falsetto, For Emma, Forever Ago sounds like a heartfelt expression of loneliness, and it's pretty as fuck.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

Buy the album here.

The Mountain Goats - Come, Come To The Sunset Tree (Vinyl) (2005)

2008-04-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

The vinyl only companion to John Darnielle's 2005 album The Sunset Tree. A limited edition sold only on tour featuring demo versions and b-sides. All the songs are acoustic guitar and voice only, stripped down from the actual album's much more produced sound. And they're just better.

For Lauren.

The Mountain Goats - Come, Come To The Sunset Tree (Vinyl) (2005)

Buy it on ebay.

John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946 - 48)

2008-03-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

The prepared piano is a piano which has had objects placed between or on the strings, or on the hammers or dampers. "Preparing" the piano in this way alters the instrument's timbre, creating a whole new range of sounds. No musician is more associated with the prepared piano than John Cage, who used it extensively and popularized it.

Sonatas and Interludes is probably his most accessible and popular work. It was inspired by Cage's study of Indian philosophy, and the composition is partly a pursuit of the Hindu ideal of tranquility. The preparation of the piano involved placing nuts, bolts and pieces of rubber in between and wrapped around the strings. For the most part, the sounds created are either sonorous bell tones or more percussive than a usual piano (though not in this piece, Cage attempted to recreate an entire percussion ensemble using just a prepared piano).

These compositions have practically nothing in common with classical sonata form (his choice of that particular term seems completely arbitrary). Cage borrowed heavily from Eastern music, in particular traditional Indonesian gamelan (a heavily percussive ensemble). The main appeal of Sonatas and Interludes (for myself at least) is the rhythmic structuring. Cage's approach to rhythm is deeply mathematical, placing every note very specifically. Exactly what the patterns are is way, way beyond me. Still, while most listeners may not be able to understand why, one can't help feel the intensely ordered nature of the music. It's pretty cool.

John Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano

Buy the album here.

Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

2008-03-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

A request by Mark. Timeless classic etc.

Also I'm pretty sure that this cover is responsible for my first encounter with breasts not belonging to my mother.

Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

Buy the album here.

Philip Glass - The Qatsi Trilogy (1983, 1988, 2002)

2008-03-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance, Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation and Naqoyqatsi: Life as War comprise a trilogy of films by director Godfrey Reggio. The films consist primarily of slow motion and time-lapse photography images of cities, landscapes, and people. There is no dialogue or narration. The three films explore the relationship between humanity, technology and nature. So far, I've only seen the Koyaanisqatsi, the first in the trilogy, and it was phenomenal.

A huge component of what makes these films so powerful is the music of minimalist composer Philip Glass. While preparing the first film, Reggio was determined to have Glass soundtrack it. However, when he approached the composer, he was immediately rebuffed. Glass alledgedly told him simply, "I don't do film music." Reggio persisted, and after several more refusals, he prepared a photo montage of of material from the film and put it to Glass' music. After watching it, Glass immediately agreed to produce the score.

The music is breathtaking. The films may contain no dialogue, but the Glass's compositions are expressive enough to create a narrative of their own. Koyaanisqatsi, in keeping with its chronological place in Glass's discography, is most similar to his earlier minimalist works. However, its symphonic grandeur keeps it from being overly esoteric. The music mirrors the movie's point: there's a clear contrast between the 'music of nature' and the 'music of technology.' As the film builds its chaotic atmosphere, the music follows as the tempo and dynamics pick up, and the looming calm of organs and strings give way to blaring horns and synthesizers.

Powaqqatsi kicks off in somewhat different fashion: chaos. The first track is a jumble of percussion behind the voices children's choir. Synthesizers are much more present than on Koyaanisqatsi, but they work seamlessly with the orchestra, and the overall feel is still one of symphonic majesty. Vocals, often children's, pop up here and there when you least expect it. Some of the tracks throw so many parts together that it sounds like a mad clutter, but Glass fits it all in just right.

In many ways, Naqoyqatsi seems almost a return to the style of the first soundtrack. For one thing, the same booming chants show up on the opener as on Koyaanisqatsi. However, there's also a much more naturalistic feel than on the second installment, perhaps as a counterpoint to this film's more advanced digital techniques. A chance meeting with Yo-Yo Ma resulted in Glass enlisting the legendary cellist's aid, and Ma's cello makes up the centerpiece of the soundtrack. All the pieces are thematically linked so seamlessly that the entire album possesses a sense unity absent from its predecessors.

Typical of Glass, all three albums contain significant elements of world music. A wide variety of instruments, ranging from a traditional orchestra to didjeridoos and the like, as well relatively subdued electronics. Like all good soundtracks should, these albums stand up as great works independent of the film. However, from my experience with Koyaanisqatsi, they are tremendously enhanced by the visual experience, and I highly recommend seeing any of these if you get the chance.

Philip Glass - Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance (1983)

Philip Glass - Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation (1988)

Philip Glass - Naqoyqatsi: Life as War (2002)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (1959-1960)

2008-03-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

A description by Thomas May:

"One of the ironies of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's career is the way in which his radical approach to music--once the epitome of the most esoteric avant-gardism--has been filtered into popular culture. The influence of this visionary pioneer of electronic music extended to the studio experiments of the Beatles (particularly in Sgt. Pepper's) and can still be heard in the sampling of today's techno records. The seminal Kontakte (1959/1960) introduced a brave new world of aural experience, replacing traditional music's linear flow of development with the concept of "Moment Form"--Stockhausen's catchphrase for concentrating on the validity of the "now," of each particular musical gesture independent of its larger context. He originally conceived of the work as purely electronic sounds, but this second version introduces two live players (a pianist and percussionist) interacting--in points of "contact"--with a prerecorded array of frequencies. On first impression, Kontakte may seem nothing more than a 35-minute babble of chaotic noises (though it is, paradoxically, planned to a very high level). Forget about the theory, forget about the once-utopian dreams of giving music the prestige of scientific objectivity, and just listen to the stream of electronic burps, squawks, whizzes, and--toward the conclusion--serene cloudlike mists as they metamorphose. It's a stunning soundscape and document of a particularly potent period of revolution in modern music. "

I've been listening to this over and over again for days. A beautifully ordered chaos of sounds, listening to Kontakte is like reading a book or taking a journey. This shit is mindblowing.

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (1959-1960)

Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)

2008-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, Jamie Lidell was a laptop-twiddling techno producer and one half of beat-blasting duo Supercollider. But he wanted to SING! So he did. Multiply is, at first listen, a blast from the past, an attempt to bring 70s disco and soulful Motown back to life. And Lidell's got the voice to do it too. He belts his tunes with as much soul as Otis, Marvin or Prince ever put out. The production might sound equally retro at first, which would make this album nothing more than a quality throwback, but it doesn't take too long to realize there's something distinctly modern going on here. Clearly, Lidell couldn't just totally ditch what he knew, and he throws in all kinds of glitchy beats and digital flourishes that'll suddenly remind you what decade you're in. He also does a whole bunch of crazy fooling with his vocals, beaboxing here and there or cutting up little bits of singing up and looping or layering them, making for an even more unusual background to his soulful singing.

Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)

Buy the album here.

The Beach Boys - Smile (Unreleased)

2008-02-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

In my mind, Smile is the single greatest tragedy of American music. In 1966, while recording Beach Boys' masterpiece Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson began working on a new song using a peculiar recording technique never before seen in rock and pop. About 30 minutes worth of completely separate, seemingly unrelated bits of music were recorded, then cut up and spliced together into a 3 minute song. The result was "Good Vibrations," the band's biggest hit which shot to #1 in both Britain and the States. Wilson set out to record an entire album in this method. He enlisted the help of legendary composer and lyricist Van Dyke Parks, and throughout the spring of 1966, the two churned out a series of absolutely incredible songs.

From this point, the story gets a little crazy. I won't type it all out here, and parts of it are still shrouded in mystery, but for anyone who's a Beach Boys fan, I really suggest you read the Wikipedia article on Smile. In short, by late 1966, the project's progress began to get a bit rocky. Wilson started showing signs of mental and emotional breakdown. He became paranoid and obsessive beyond belief, making the recording sessions a hell for everyone else. His drug use escalated, and in addition to LSD and pot, Wilson regularly took amphetamines and barbiturates (a lot of this is speculation, and though he definitely was "on drugs," so to speak, it may not necessarily have interfered with his work). Probably the most significant reason for Smile's demise was the growing conflict within the band. Mike Love, who had played a prominent role in songwriting on earlier albums, was essentially shut out by Wilson's new partnership with Van Dyke Parks. He is reported to have regularly complained about the music, hampering the album's progress, and also got in several arguments with the rest of the band over royalties. Later on, when discussing the album, Wilson said "The reasons that I didn't release Smile: One, Mike didn't like it..." (this is largely the cause of pretty widespread hatred of Mike Love among Beach Boys fans). In any case, recording pretty much ground to a stop, and on May 6th, 1967, it was announced that Smile had been shelved indefinitely.

Several of the songs written for Smile were released on later Beach Boys' albums and in 2004, 37 years after it all began, Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks got back together and completed the project. They completely re-recorded the songs, and Wilson sounds remarkable for his age. But it isn't Smile. I can't say quite what it is, but it's missing something, some magic that the original sessions had.

What I'm putting up here is a collection of bootlegs from those sessions. This isn't Smile either, nothing ever will be. But these are incredible songs, in my opinion the best The Beach Boys ever recorded (sorry Pet Sounds). There are probably near a hundred different cuts of these songs out in the world, and plenty of what was recorded during the Smile sessions isn't here, so this is by no means comprehensive. However, at the time the project was scuppered, this is what the album would have looked like in terms of track inclusion and ordering. So here it is, Brian Wilson's "teenage symphony to God," or at least something like it.

The Beach Boys - Smile

The Tango Saloon - The Tango Saloon (2006)

2008-02-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

Based in Sydney, Australia, the Tango Saloon is one of the many projects of multi-instrumentalist Julian Curwin. On The Tango Saloon, Curwin leads a 15 member band in a modern revision of tango and Ennio Morricone-style spaghetti western soundtrack. A wide range of of strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion pop up here and there throughout the album, and at times it even verges on electronic experimentation. Bits of free jazz get meddled with country-western and Cuban music as Curwin explores the depths of Tango. There's a lot to listen for if you pay attention, but The Tango Saloon also makes for nice, relaxing background music (well, except for a brief period of fragmented, dissonant chaos near the middle).

The Tango Saloon - The Tango Saloon (2006)

Buy the album here.

Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water (2007)

2008-02-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here's another pretty singer-songwriter album. Originally a visual artist, Marissa Nadler first became seriously interested in music while attending Rhode Island School of Design. Songs III is, you guessed it, her third album. Nadler's songs hover somewhere in between freak-folk and lush ballads. Elaborate and dreamy, Songs III sounds like something from another time, an idealized world of Gothic beauty and sadness. Melancholy acoustic guitar picking, organ, strings and occasional percussion back Nadler's angelic voice, which is often layered and drenched in reverb, giving her lyric poetry a floaty, otherworldly quality.

Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water (2007)

Buy the album here.

Peter and the Wolf - Lightness (2006)

2008-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

There are only a handful of albums I've listened to more than Lightness, and it still gets me every time. Peter and the Wolf is the chosen pseudonym of one Brian Redding Hunter (known simply as Red Hunter, which is a cool name). On Lightness, Hunter presents a series of oh-so pretty folk tunes, mostly telling tales of his past loves both good and bad. But Hunter never sounds bitter; he knows every relationship was well worth it, even if it didn't work out. These songs are heart-warming and charming. In fact, they practically radiate a comforting warmth that makes Lightness a perfect listen for a winter's day, or just any day you don't feel up to going outside. It's a happy sadness. Mostly guitar, piano, lots of oohhs and aahhs, and every kind of percussion except drums, the album sounds like it was recorded in a cabin in the mountains, or else beside a campfire.

In addition, Hunter apparently has a pretty big rep for incredible live shows. He's showed up on stage with 20 back-up singers, played shows on rooftops, on islands only accessible by boat, in graveyards, and instead of a tour bus, he used a sailboat for his last tour.

Peter and the Wolf - Lightness (2006)

Buy the album here.

Nora Keyes - Songs to Cry by for the Golden Age of Nothing

2008-02-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Nora Keyes is a freak. Former frontwoman of L.A. goth-punk band The Centimeters, Keyes goes pretty much all out on Songs to Cry by for the Golden Age of Nothing, with no apparent purpose other than to creep the fuck out of you. She cackles, she croaks, she's awesome. The instrumentation is aimed at one effect: spooky. Swirling organs, accordions, harps, violins and a whole mess of other instruments frame her oh-so eerie vocals. And even if her songs do make me unshakably uncomfortable, there's no denying that they're beautiful in a sad, longing way. Vaudeville nightmares and big scary houses, thank you Nora.

Nora Keyes - Songs to Cry by for the Golden Age of Nothing

The British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)

2008-02-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Pitchfork Media can suck my dick, this album is amazing. Easily on par with their pants-shittingly good debut The Decline of British Sea Power. Straight rock from the soul, or something like that. It's big and heavy, guitar hooks galore, epic chorus lines, all the good things that belong on a rock album. So if you answer yes to the album title's question, then listen to this and be happy.

The British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? (2008)

Buy the album here.

On an unrelated note, check out this quality new Usher track.

Go to mytindrum.blogspot.com...

2008-02-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

and download Patrick Wolf's Lycanthropy if you don't already have it. And other good things.

http://mytindrum.blogspot.com/2008/02/short-update.html

Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair (2008)

2008-02-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

This album isn't due out until March, so I feel a little guilty, but hey. Hercules and Love Affair are DFA Records' new hotshots. There's a heavy 70s disco vibe here mixed in with melodic pop and classic electronic dance. Rhythmic and funky with smooth vocals, at times sounding almost like a more restrained Justin Timberlake. Hercules and Love Affair features vocal contributions from Antony Hegarty (of the Johnsons), Nomi, and Kim Ann Foxman.

Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair (2008)

Buy it when it comes out (March 10th).

Sibylle Baier - Colour Green (2006)

2008-02-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

The story behind this album is pretty incredible. Sibylle Baier was an aspiring folk singer and actress in Germany in the early 70s. Between 1970 and 1973, inspired a trip she had just taken through the Alps, she recorded a series of songs in her home on a reel to reel recording device. However, she never really managed to get her career going, and ended up moving to America and dedicating herself to raising a family. Thirty years later, her son made a CD of the songs to give to family members. He also happened to give a copy to his buddy, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. Mascis in turn passed it along to his buddies at Orange Twin Records, a label run by a couple of Elephant 6 folk. They released it.

The Orange Twin website describes the songs on Coulour Green as "intimate portraits of life's sad and fragile beauty." Add "hauntingly beautiful," and that's a pretty nice description.

Sibylle Baier - Colour Green (2006)

Buy the album (and other Orange Twin stuff) here.

Hello, Blue Roses - The Portrait is Finished, and I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty (2008)

2008-02-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

Hello, Blue Roses is Dan Bejar (i.e. Destroyer) and his lady friend, visual artist Sydney Vermont. They went to Spain for a while, chilled on the Mediterranean, and recorded a real pretty album. All the songs (except for one Kevin Ayers cover) were written by Vermont and then arranged by Mr. Destroyer. It's mostly made up of peaceful folk tunes backed up with occasional fuzzed out guitar and woodwinds. The real centerpiece of the album, however, is Vermont's lilting, flowery voice. Though at times she borders on operatic melodrama, she generally manages to keep it to an appropriate pleasant prettiness reminiscent of all those 60s folkies.

The songs do tend to blend together a bit, and the album's title is annoyingly long, but I've been finding myself listening to it pretty regularly, and overall it make for a nice relaxing experience. It's also got a really good song about Vancouver!

Hello, Blue Roses - The Portrait is Finished, and I Have Failed to Capture Your Beauty (2008)

Buy the album here.

Andy White - So So So We See (2007)

2008-02-04T14:28:00.001-08:00

Andy lives down the hall from me. He's a cool dude. This is his album.

Originally that's all I was going to say about So So So We See out of fear of offending. But that was before I'd really given it a good listen the whole way through. Now that I have, I've got a bit more to say about this album. As I listened, I heard bits and pieces of things I like: the off-colour folkiness of Neutral Milk Hotel or The Microphones, the tuneful weirdness of earlier Animal Collective, the sort of random sound-ness of The Olivia Tremor Control, and occasional fuck-it-all bursts of noise. But it gradually becomes apparent that this is much more than a collection of high quality influences. This is a fucking good album in its own right, and even if at times it does sound a little raw or reminiscent, that's part of what made the last 45 minutes of my life so enjoyable. This is noisiness with a point, and I am sincerely impressed that a teenager sitting in Florida could pull his shit together and create something like this. Put on your headphones and play this loud. It might occasionally make you feel like your eardrums are about to blow out, but then it'll bring you right back down with a burst of pretty melody. And seriously, tell people about this, and hopefully Andy won't mind me saying this, but burn it, pass it along, re-sync your iPods, whatever. This deserves to be heard.

Andy White - So So So We See (2007)

Soundtracks

2008-02-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

Three really good soundtracks to Three really good movies. That's all.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Proposition (2006)

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Proposition

Buy the album here.

Yann Tiersen - Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

Yann Tiersen - Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Buy the album here.

Javier Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Javier Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth

Buy the album here.

Beulah - Yoko (2003)

2008-02-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

A pretty album about failed relationships for Jeremy.

Beulah - Yoko (2003)

Buy the album here.

Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia (2007)

2008-02-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure what to say about Dystopia, except that I fucking love it. Dance music with pretty melodies? I guess. In terms of style, there isn't much here that you probably won't have heard before, but even if the Juggernauts aren't breaking new ground, they're still making damn good music. In the last four or five months, I doubt I've gone more than a few days without blasting "Nine Lives" at high volume and still love it to death every time. This is a good thing. So put this on repeat while you wait for more Hot Chip or Justice or whatever and move your body in interesting ways with a smile on your face.

Midnight Juggernauts - Dystopia (2007)

Buy the album here.

Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (2007)

2008-02-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

Dan Deacon is a chubby balding guy from Baltimore. He's a classically trained composer, and a prominent member of Baltimore's Wham City collective-thing. And god damn does he make fun music. Crazy synths, squeaky vocals, dancy weirdness, bubblegum fun, whatever, this album is real good. Play it loud as you can and either let it wash over you in a wave of obnoxious joy or jump up and down and wave your hands around as intensely as you can. It's all good, because Deacon isn't interested in making something "important" or "powerful." The keywords here are fun and , as one Wham City motto goes, "no jerks."

Also, if you get the chance to see this guy live, GO GO GO. Please, go for me, go for yourself, go for Danny boy.

Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (2007)

Buy the album here.

Burial - Untrue (2007)

2008-02-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

I've been told that dubstep producer Burial (he goes by no other name) once said that Untrue was made to be listened to on long, scary walks home at night. Whether that's true or not, it does give a pretty good impression of what the album is like. Calming, intense, eerie, beautiful, it's all somewhere in Untrue. Everybody loves this shit, you will too.

(Thanks to Jeremy for the heads up on this album.)

Burial - Untrue (2007)

Buy the album here.

Andre Nickatina & Nick Peace Present Hell's Kitchen (2002)

2008-02-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

We all love to sing along to "Ayo," but there are hits all around on Hell's Kitchen. "But Not Me," "Business Brain," and especially "All Star Chuck Taylors" are masterpieces of rhythm'n'flo, rhymes so incredible, yadada?

Andre Nickatina & Nick Peace Present Hell's Kitchen (2002)

Buy the album here.

Nick Cave is Awesome.

2008-02-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

That he is.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)

An album of traditional and new songs about people killing other people. Includes a duet with the incredible Kylie Minogue which achieved some pretty serious popularity, as well as two with PJ Harvey.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads (1996)

Buy the album here.

Grinderman - Grinderman (2007)

Nick Cave singing songs about fucking. Nick Cave is awesome.

Grinderman - Grinderman (2007)

Buy the album here.

Beulah - Handsome Western States (1997)

2008-02-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

The debut from San Francisco's Beulah, Handsome Western States is a teenager's album. Unlike their follow-ups, which brought in a whole mess of horns and strings and squeaky clean production to create a lush, ornate sound, States is about as straightforward as it gets. You won't find much beyond guitar, drums, occasional trumpet or violin and pretty melodies here, but that's all Beulah really need. Add to that the fact that the album sounds like it was recorded in someone's basement, and you've got a heartfelt pop masterpiece.

While you're at it, go put on Weezer's Blue Album or Pinkerton. Be happy you're a teenager.

Beulah - Handsome Western States

Buy the album anywhere you can fucking find it.

Maroon

2008-02-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

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