Sonic Youth | Brakhage

Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui

release date: December 6, 2005
recorded: 2003

(text below courtesy of amazon.com)

The sixth edition of the SYR series is a live recording of the April 12, 2003 benefit concert held at and for The Anthology Film Archives, the international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of avant-garde and independent cinema. In addition to screening films for the public, AFA houses a film museum, research library and art gallery.

The event, which raised money for the Archives and celebrated the life and work of avant-garde film maker Stan Brakhage, featured Sonic Youth providing an improvised instrumental collaboration with silent Brakhage's films. The band performed with drummer/percussionist Tim Barnes (Essex Green, Jukeboxer, Silver Jews). Part of the proceeds of this CD will again benefit the Anthology Film Archives.

A typical track is about: 20+ minutes--
mp3 excerpt: Sonic Youth- "Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui "

|| Double COVERage ||

From the Late Night Tales compilation:

YouSend: The Flaming Lips- "Seven Nation Army"
(cover of The White Stripes)


From their EP:

YouSend: The White Stripes- "Walking with a Ghost"
(cover of a Tegan & Sara song)

Radiohead UPdate:

OUT with Nigel and IN with Spike
(courtesy of NME)

(image courtesy of the radiohead website)

"We've been talking to (producer) Mark 'Spike' Stent, who's worked with Madonna and Bjork and hopefully in February we'll reconvene with him," said O'Brien. "We've got some great songs but we won't release something we're not happy with. The thing with Radiohead is that each record has a different sound, it's really hard finding something that's different and sits well with us."

With the band planning to work with Stent, O'Brien confirmed their long-term producer Nigel Godrich would not be involved in the new record.

"It's not an end of an era, (but) part of what your realise as a band is that all those records you made with Nigel, apart from 'Hail To The Thief' we were a little bit in the comfort zone," he explained. "That's why you make records like 'Kid A' after 'OK Computer', that's why you make 'OK Computer' after 'The Bends', you've got to do stuff that you're scared of doing. With Nigel, we've been working together for 10 years, and we all love one another too much."

2005 Missed Highlights
From the album: Help! A Day in the Life-


Radiohead - "I Want None Of This"

i tune$...

Just another reason to go out and shop for your music at your local record shop.

Music firms in price-fixing probe
Wednesday Dec 28 06:51 AEDT
(excerpt taken from National Nine News)

In September, Apple Computer Inc CEO Steve Jobs publicly criticised music companies, calling some major labels "greedy" for pushing Apple to hike prices on its popular iTunes service. Recording company executives have scoffed at the suggestion.

In a speech before an investors conference, Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr said that Apple's 99-cent price for single tracks ignores the issue that not all songs are the same commercially and, like any other product, shouldn't be priced the same.

In November, Warner Music agreed to pay $US5 million ($A6.84 million) to settle an investigation into payoffs for radio airplay of artists. In July, Sony BMG agreed to pay $US10 million ($A13.68 million) and stop bribing radio stations to feature artists.

E-commerce News: Big Four Music Studios Subpoenaed in Digital-Music Pricing Probe

Lady Sovereign

from: UK
type of music: British Grime
What is Grime?

Grime is the UK's rap (not rap), syncopated urban music with people rhyming over top. Like Jamaican dancehall, there's an obvious kinship with U.S. hip-hop, but once you start drawing parallels they collapse pretty quickly. Grime is its own culture, with its own codes and laws, slang and dress, sonics and style. But it's also the most accessible (to an international audience) music urban Britain has produced in the last decade. Chopped into song form, steamrolled by MCs, it's been severed for most people from its roots in hardcore, jungle, and UK garage. (by Jess Harvell)

-The US has Crunk, the Brits have the Grime.
-For more info about Brit Grime Movement-- visit Here

-Not to be confused with M.I.A. who falls more under the category of "Bailar Funk"

-Getting back to Lady Sovereign or "Sov" as she calls herself.
current release: Vertically Challenged (2005)
"U.K. teen is Jay-Z's favorite new MC"
-She's only 19, and created a buzz this past year...

YouSend: Lady Sovereign- "Ch-Ching"
YouSend: Lady Sovereign- "Random"

TV on the Radio

In heavy rotation via automobile.

from: Brooklyn, NY
since: 2001
type of music: Experimental rock
current album release: Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004)

-i'm kicking myself in the butt for missing their secret show at the Troubadour a couple of months ago.
They also toured with Franz Ferdinand this past fall.
-its core duo, vocalist Tunde Adebimpe and multi-instrumentalist/producer David Andrew Sitek, are both visual artists as well as musicians...and they have collaborated in the past with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
-As a response to Hurricane Katrina, the band recorded "Dry Drunk Emperor" and then made it available free for download.
-For a mind altering experience, check out their vid:

QT: TV on the Radio- "Staring at the Sun"

Wishin' ya' all a Merry Christmas

I thought of leaving this last entry before Christmas
with the classic by Public Enemy- "Don't Believe The Hype",
because thats what Christmas has become...
a commercialized cash cow.

But then again the song really doesn't talk about that.
So instead, something more in the spirit of the holidays...


-No, don't let the words "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"
deceive you...
I'm sure some would wish that, but..

-From their "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" 7" LP,
on the B side of the record is a cover of
The Pogue christmas classic.
YouSend: Stars- "Fairy Tale Of New York"


Bonus:
E:Card- Merry Mixmas: Christmas Classics Remixed
featuring: *15 Tracks*
Bing Crosby "Winter Wonderland" Remixed by Bent
Ella Fitzgerald "Sleigh Ride" Remixed by The Latin Project

As part of the year end, we have the endless list of the "best of".

Feel free to agree or disagree, but here's my list of the best albums of all time.
At least for this year.
Again this list like any other list is flawed since I haven't had the opportunity to listen to everything thats out there. Perhaps next year the list will change til then...
1.

Joy Division “Unknown Pleasure” (1979)

2.

The Ramones “s/t” (1976)
3.

The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
4.

Slowdive “Soulvaki” (1993)
5.

Led Zeppelin “House of the Holy” (1973)

6. Gang of Four “Entertainment” (1979)
7. My Bloody Valentine “Loveless” (1991)
8. David Bowie “Scary Monsters” (1980)
9. The Jesus & Mary Chain “21 Singles 1984-1998” (2002)
10. Talking Heads “Fear of Music” (1979)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
11. Television “Marquee Moon” (1977)
12. DJ Shadow “Endtroducing…” (1996)
13. The Stone Roses “s/t” (1989)
14. The Velvet Underground “The Velvet Underground & Nico” (1967)
15. Sonic Youth “Daydream Nation” (1988)
16. The Beatles “White Album” (1968)
17. Portishead “Dummy” (1994)
18. TV on the Radio “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” (2004)
19. The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” (1966)
20. The Cure “Staring at the Sea: The Singles” (1986)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
21. Radiohead “Kid A” (2000)
22. Public Enemy “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” (1988)
23. Broadcast “Ha Ha Sound” (2003)
24. Depeche Mode “The Singles 86>98” (1998)
25. The Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream” (1993)
26. U2 “Achtung Baby” (1991)
27. Pink Floyd “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973)
28. The Pixies “Surfer Rosa” (1988)
29. The White Stripes "Elephant" (2003)
30. Buena Vista Social Club “s/t” (1997)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
31. Bob Dylan “Highway 61 Revisited” (1965)
32. Prince “Purple Rain” (1984)
33. Massive Attack “Mezzanine” (1998)
34. The Fiery Furnaces "Gallowbird's Park" (2003)
35. The Beastie Boys “Ill Communication” (1994)

MSTRKRFT

Is it MasterKraft? Or is it MisterKraft? Quite the enigma.

My Space: MSTRKRFT
A side project of Death From Above 1979's bassist/synth player Jesse F. Keeler a.k.a. JFK.
The full length album of remixes will be out early 2006, but visit their My Space site for some sneak preview songs off the album...


YouSend: Bloc Party- "Two More Years- remixed by MSTRKRFT"

More Lists for 2005

Interesting to see how people are so divided over the top albums this year.
For your patience of scrolling down these lists is a little music treat at the end.

Filter Magazine's Top 10 Albums:

1. Sigur Ros, Takk...
2. My Morning Jacket, Z
3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl
4. Kaiser Chiefs, Employment
5. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise
6. Dangerdoom, The Mouse and the Mask
7. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart
8. Shout Out Louds, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
9. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
10. Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies To Paralyze

PopMatters Top 10 Albums:

1. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
2. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise
3. Antony and the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now
4. M.I.A., Arular
5. Spoon, Gimme Fiction
6. Andrew Bird, Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
7. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday
8. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
9. Okkervil River, Black Sheep Boy
10. The Decemberists, Picaresque

Cokemachineglow Top 10:

1. Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary
2. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise
3. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods
4. Edan, Beauty & the Beat
5. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!, s/t
6. Andrew Bird, Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
7. Spoon, Gimme Fiction
8. DJ Muggs vs. GZA, Grandmasters
9. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
10. Akron/Family, s/t

Rolling Stones Mag's Top 10:

1. Kanye West, Late Registration
2. The Rolling Stones, A Bigger Bang
3. White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan
4. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
5. Bruce Springsteen, Devils and Dust
6. My Morning Jacket, Z
7. Beck, Guero
8. Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
9. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
10. 50 Cent, The Massacre

Billboard's Information Group Staff (51 staff total) Top 10:

1. My Morning Jacket, "Z"
2. Tie: The Rolling Stones, "A Bigger Bang" and M.I.A., "Arular"
3. The New Pornographers, "Twin Cinema"
4. Common, "Be"
5. Sleater-Kinney, "The Woods"
6. Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois" (Asthmatic Kitty)
7. Tie: Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane, "At Carnegie Hall"and Queens Of The Stone Age, "Lullabies To Paralyze"
8. Spoon, "Gimme Fiction"
9. Tie: Jack Johnson, "In Between Dreams" and Mariah Carey, "The Emancipation of Mimi"
10. John Legend, "Get Lifted"

Beck's Top 10: (courtesy of Filter Magazine):

1. Boards of Canada – Campfire Headphase
2. Jamie Lidell – Multiply
3. Tom Vek – We Have Sound
4. Broadcast – Tender Buttons
5. M.I.A. – Arlular
6. Deerhoof – The Runners Four
7. Superthriller – Superthriller 1
8. Vashti Bunyan – Lookaftering
9. White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
10. Konono No. 1 – Congotronics

Apparently, Beck's Guero album release in Japan had seven additional tracks, here is one of them:
YouSend: Beck- "Clap Hands (Bonus Track For Japan)"

Pitchfork's Top Albums This Year

check it out Here


And here is my list


Pitchfork's Top 10 Albums- 2005:

01: Sufjan Stevens
Illinois
[Asthmatic Kitty]

02: Kanye West
Late Registration
[Roc-A-Fella]

03: Art Brut
Bang Bang Rock & Roll
[Fierce Panda]

04: M.I.A.
Arular
[XL]

05: Antony & the Johnsons
I Am a Bird Now
[Secretly Canadian]

06: Deerhoof
The Ru
nners Four
[Kill Rock Stars]

07: Animal Collective
Feels
[Fat Cat]

08: LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
[DFA]

09: Cam'ron
Purple Haze
[Roc-A-Fella]

10: Wolf Parade
Apologies to the Queen Mary
[Sub Pop]

Check out Pitchfork's Top 50 Singles of 2005

Here's Pitchfork's Top 10 singles for this year:

01: Antony & the Johnsons
"Hope There's Someone"
[Secretly Canadian]

02: Amerie
"1 Thing"
[Columbia]

03: Clipse [ft. Ab-Liva & Sandman]
"Zen"
[mixtapes]

04: Kelly Clarkson
"Since U Been Gone"
[RCA]

05: The Futureheads
"Hounds of Love"
[679]

06: The Game [ft. 50 Cent]
"Hate It or Love It"
[Interscope]

07: Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
"Welcome to Jamrock"
[Universal]

08: Lady Sovereign
"Random"
[Casual]

09: R. Kelly
"Trapped in the Closet"
[Jive]

10: Kanye West
"Heard 'Em Say" / "Touch The Sky"
[Roc-A-Fella]

The Best of 2005: 21 Songs

Yet another list and I have a few more coming up, since it is the end of the year and its a time to reflect...again this list is flawed because I haven't heard every single song thats out there.
But here are my favorites (at least so far):

21. The National- "All The Wine"
20. LCD Soundsystem- "Tribulation"
19. Deerhoof- "Green Cosmos"
18. Camille- "Ta Douleur"
17. Crooked Fingers- "Call to Love"
16. Spoon- "The Infinite Pet"
15. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin- "House Fire"
14. Gorillaz- "Last Living Soul"
13. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- "The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth"
12. Acid House Kings- "This heart is a stone"
11. Stars- "Ageless Beauty (The Most Serene Republic Remix)"
10. Eels- "Trouble With Dreams"
9. Wolf Parade- "Shine A Light"
8. Broken Social Scene- "Superconnected"
7. Interpol- "Public Pervert (Carlos D Remix)"
6. Arctic Monkeys- "Scummy"
5. The Chemical Brothers- "Hold Tight London" (featuring Anna-Lynne from Trespassers William)
4. Sufjan Stevens- "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!"
3. Arcade Fire- "Cold Wind" (from the Six Feet Under Volume 2 Television Soundtrack)
2. Sia- "Breathe Me" (from the Six Feet Under Volume 2 Television Soundtrack)
1. TV on the Radio- "Dry Drunk Emperor"

I would have linked up all the songs, but just too many to do with the little time I have, so...
If you're interested in this mix compilation, I'll be free to send you a copy (or at least fit everything thats on this list)-- if you trust me with your mailing address.

newrecordUPDATE | Midnight Movies

(in studio)
from: LA
since: 2002
type of music: rock with some definite Nico influence.
current release: (in studio) | last record: s/t (2004)

(the new drummer girl)
i mentioned them a few times back, and i was pretty bummed when they cancelled their show at MOCA during the Basquiat show. from a convo i had with a friend, who knows one of the members of midnight movies. he had mentioned that they cancelled due to recording and some change ups on the band...they also added a new drummer who happens to female...so that frees up Gena who was doing both drums and lead vocals to focus on the vocals.

from their debut self titled (s/t) album from 2004:
QT: Midnight Movies- "Persimmon Tree"

Giant Drag

from: LA
since: 2002
type of music: rock
current release: hearts and unicorns (2005)
I mentioned these guys back in September of this past year...here.
NME calls Annie Hardy as the "female Kevin Shields"...(Hmm..I wouldn't go that far, but they do flirt with the shoegaze sound).
"Fuzzy, haunting melodies that combine the Beach Boys with Mazzy Star and Nirvana." - Spin
QT: Giant Drag- "This Isn't It"
QT: Giant Drag- "Kevin is Gay"

:: THE HONORABLE MENTIONS ::

oOoOOooOOooOoooooOooOooooOOoOooOOooOOoooOooo

:: The List ::
(in sorta alphabetical order)

Honorable Mentions

Architecture in Helsinki "In Case We Die"
Eels "Blinking Lights And Other Revelations"
Franz Ferdinand "You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand"
Kanye West "Late Registration"
The Clientele "Perfect Geometry"
The Decemberists "Picaresque"
The Fiery Furnaces "EP"
The National "Alligator"
The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"
Stereo Total "Do The Bambi"

Worth a mentions
Annie "Anniemal"
Arctic Monkeys "4 Track Demo"
Beck "Guero"
Boards of Canada "The Campfire Headphase"
Doves "Some Cities"
KCRW Presents: Sounds Eclectico [LIVE]
Kaiser Chiefs "Employment"
M. Ward "Transistor Radio"
Stereo Total "Do The Bambi"

:: Happy Holidays from The Gap ::

The new Gap ad with the brilliance of Spike Jonze.
Something that I always wanted to do while shopping at a department store...
the best ad I've seen in a long while
I'm sold, I want to shop at the Gap now.

NewRecordupdate | Trespassers William

(photo courtesy of trespassers william)

:: text from their website ::

Our new record, entitled 'having', will be out worldwide in February '06 on Nettwerk Records.


(photo from their recent itunes session)

It was mixed by David Fridman (Flaming Lips, Mogwai, Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse, Low) and mastered by Greg Calbi (Interpol, Brian Eno, Bob Dylan).

Upcoming release: First Impressions of Earth [CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]
Release date: January 3, 2006
Format: Content/Copy-Protected CD <- this is the part I find quite humorous.
-I guess RCA was upset over the leaks of several songs by The Strokes, and have done what they could to take extra measures to safeguard their product.

Content/ Copy-Protected CD

(scene from "juicebox")
This product limits your ability to make multiple digital copies of its content, and you will not be able to play this disc or make copies onto devices not listed as compatible. Content/ copy protected CDs should allow limited burning, as well as ripping into secure Windows Media Audio formats for playback with most compatible media players and portable devices. In rare cases, these CDs may not be compatible with computer CD-ROM players, DVD players, game consoles, or car CD stereos, and often are not transferable to other formats like MP3. (Text provided by the fine folks at Amazon.com)


QT: The Strokes-"Juicebox"

The countdown concludes.

This is it! The top 5!
Some big surprises and maybe not...hope you guys enjoyed as much as I did.

Honorable Mentions | sometime this weekend (PST) <---just added!
1-5 | Tonight
6-10 | Wednesday PM (PST)
11-15 | Tuesday PM (PST)
16-20 | Monday PM (PST)

oOoOOooOOooOoooooOooOooooOOoOooOOooOOoooOooo

Segment 4 | 1-5

5.

Deerhoof "Green Cosmos [EP]"
from: US

"Green Cosmos EP" album release date: June 28, 2005
"The Runners Four" album release date: October 11, 2005
-I prefer "Green Cosmos" over "The Runners Four"--More exploratory and experimental in sound.
Listen to the whole album: Deerhoof- "The Runners Four"

4.

Wolf Parade"Apologies to the Queen Mary"
from: CAN
album release date: September 27, 2005

-From the same city that brought you Arcade Fire.
mp3 download: Wolf Parade- "Shine A Light"

3.

Broadcast “Tender Buttons"
from: UK
album release date: September 20, 2005

"When I was making this album I lost my dad. I was looking after him when he was dying and at the same time I was writing a lot of the songs, I wasn’t trying to describe my feelings, I was trying to let go of that approach and step back from the words and set them alight. I was doing creative writing exercises, trying any approach that would allow me to step back and see what happens when I did things differently when I let go." -Trish Keenan (excerpt taken from Poptones)
mp3 download: Broadcast- "America's Boy"
QT: Broadcast- "Tender Buttons

2.

Broken Social Scene s/t
from: CAN
album release date: October 4, 2005

"The way we record is piling on a bunch of shit, recording track after track. Our tunes are so dense as far as computer files, like the opening track has like 140 files." -Brendan Canning ( comment taken from pitchfork)
Real: Broken Social Scene- on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic- November 8, 2005

1.

Sufjan studied creative writing program at the New School in New York, trained as a fiction writer, he brings that into his music. Currently he's attempting to cover all the 50 States in his music. He's already done Michigan and now Illinois.
"I think they're very similar, writing fiction and writing music. They require different skills, and different ears, but there is a certain music to fiction, to the sentence-- the rhythm of words put together. And I think it's the same in songwriting as well." -Sufjan Stevens (excerpt taken from pitchfork)
Sufjan Stevens "Illinois"
from: US
album release date: July 5, 2005

"Honestly, music has been a big distraction since I moved to New York," Stevens said. "I came here to go to graduate school (in creative writing), to finish the program. I worked in publishing. I wanted to write, to get published. I wanted to write novels and teach writing. And I did a little bit of that. I was sort of peripherally involved in this literary environment for a while. The music thing was always a hobby, but people were always pulling me out of the writing and inviting me to perform or record." -Sufjan Stevens (excerpt from Popmatters)
Real: Sufjan Stevens- on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic- July 14, 2005

The countdown continues...

The list will be post to you in segments: (we're just crackin' into the top 10...here we go!)

Honorable Mentions | sometime this weekend (PST) <---just added!
1-5 | Thursday PM (PST)
6-10 | Tonight
11-15 |Tuesday PM (PST)
16-20 | Monday PM (PST)

oOoOOooOOooOoooooOooOooooOOoOooOOooOOoooOooo


Segment 3 | 6-10

10.

Camille "Le Fil"
from: France
album release date: May 10, 2005
-Former member of Nouvelle Vague goes solo.

9.

LCD Soundsystem S/T
from: US-UK (transatlantic i suppose)
album release date: February 15, 2005
-More cowbells...need more cowbells!
QT: LCD Soundsystem- "Disco Infiltrator"

8.

Paavoharju “Yhä hämärää”
from: Finland
album release date: September 15, 2005 (limited release | import only)
-Best described by a music critic as "Sigur Rós locked in an underground cavern with Slowdive..."

7.

My Morning Jacket "Z"
from: US
album release date: October 4, 2005
-Amazing...the more you hear it, the better it gets.
mp3 download: My Morning Jacket- "Off the Record"

6.

Gorillaz "Demon Days"
from: UK
album release date: March 24, 2005
-Darker and Better.
WinMed: Gorillaz- "Dare"