Tamam Shud-Evolution OST

It's about time that this oppressive heat has lifted and I can finally venture out of my hovel. I'm sure this is only a brief reprieve, but in this passing moment I'm going to go outside and enjoy this surf rock classic. I say surf rock, because I believe that this was originally the soundtrack from some Australian surfing film. But this isn't songs about cars, girls, and waves. This is a much more fuzzy, garagey, psych out. I don't know why, but this seems like a fitting entry to cap off a bizarre month.

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The Angels of Light-How I Loved You

Okay, the title of this album describes it all. I think we all felt like this at some time or other, right? For a certain someone somewhere at sometime.

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Yoshi Wada-Lament for the Rise of the Elephantine Crocodile

After the Rufus Harley post, I thought I'd swear of bag pipe postings. But then I considered that I mentioned Wada and I figure that there might be a few people who don't have this yet. So here it is. It's definitely not like Harley. There's no jazzy goings on here. Instead Wada, and I'm guessing this is due to studying with Pandit Pran Nath, brings a full on wall of drone. And really, this is one of the best ways to make what can be a otherwise obnoxious instrument a true ear pleaser. And what a great album title.

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Dennis James-Cristal: Glass Music Through the Ages

Time to ready your ears for some vitreous vibrations. As the title implies, James works with glass. And to what a haunting effect. He tackles classical compositions by some pretty heavy hitters, but since he's using these glass crafted instruments, he's able to produces some pretty alien tones. But what might be the most perplexing aspect of this album is Linda Rondstadt getting co-production billing. Weird stuff.

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Robbie Basho-The Voice of the Eagle & Visions of the Country

If you haven't check out the fantastic ghostcapital blog yet, then don't be a chump and get your ass over there. There you'll find several essential Robbie Basho albums as well as a myriad of other delights. Here's two more Basho discs to add to your collection if you don't already have them. The Voice of the Eagle is my pick of these two, but I'm sure a few will be turned off by Basho's vocalese. Try to work with it because the guitar is just so transcendent. Visions of the Country comes from a little later and is a bit more new agey, but still worth a listen.

Voice
Visions

Sapphire

This is was requested by Miskov, and since I almost never get requests I figure I should cough it up. This is kind of a weird one in the No Neck Blues Band cannon (and that's a pretty fucking weird cannon at that). A single track on each side. Side one is a vocal/violin wrestling match (I'll let you decide the winner). The flip is what sounds like a pretty stripped down jazz duo of sax and drums. The whole affair kinda reminds me of the NY loft scene of the 70s or something. But let this post show, that if there's a request and I've got it, I'll post it.

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Shocking Blue-At Home

Curse my fate. My much anticipated premier as a dj was stymied by a faulty sound system and general incompetence. One more bullshit thing to happen to me this week, I guess. In any event, the crowd seemed pretty lame. I doubt they would have dug this (it was on my playlist), but that doesn't mean that you can't. This crew is probably most known to us for two things: 1.) Nirvana covering Love Buzz and 2.) writing Venus--you know, the one they play in that commercial for that razor. What people should be talking about instead is what a bad ass guitar player Robbie van Leeuwen was. Then again, I think people should really be talking about how awesome the whole Dutch psych scene was. Aside from a select few I've never really heard people talk much about that scene. Why is that?

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Relatively Clean Rivers

Some people were interested in that Electronic Hole album I posted a little while back and for them, I present this. I believe this is the final album in Phil Perlman's psych triptych, and as with the other two, it sounds like it's the work of a completely different band. Not so much psych as it is that whole getting it together out in the country vibe that was popular about a few years before this came out (1976, methinks). So points of reference could be American Beauty era Dead, CSN, and nearly everyone else who wanted to strum an acoustic guitar around that time.

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Nathaniel Mayer-Why Don't You Give it to Me?

Let's see...My Ipod, stereo receiver, and ionic breeze all just decided to crap out on me. Couple this with the fucking humidity and you've got youself one pissed off jerk (and no, this isn't some solicitation for donations). So when I need to unwind I like to blast the old A.C. right in my face and listen to this modern soul-psych masterpiece. Backed by the Dirtbombs, Nay Dog really let's it all out. Mayer was able to knock out one more album after this (good, but not as good) before he stroked out a few years back. But at least we'll always have this.

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Iron Lung-Sexless/No Sex

This album's title is starting to become a little too personal for me now so the aggression and frustration expressed by this duo really sound right. Somehow, this has been sitting in my mediafire account for months, and I didn't notice. Lucky for you that I happened upon it when I did. Also, these guys get tons of bonus points for the Nick Blinko cover art. If you're in the mood for some heavy shit that'll leave you feeling like you got kicked in the dick, then look no further.

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Baby Dodds-Talking and Drum Solos

I have a weird relationship with drums. They are definitely fun to play, even though I am one of the worst drummers ever. Of course they are necessary (but keep the cymbals in check people), but to listen to tracks of solo drums just didn't sound that exciting at first. Sure, I love albums by Han Bennink, Milford Graves, Sunny Murray, etc, but those aren't things I can listen to all that often. Dodds, however, is able to maintain my interest. I'm not going to air drum along with this or anything (no one should ever air drum to anything (Alex)), but it's still a worthwhile listen if only as an academic exercise. There are some brass band workouts that vary the tone, so don't be afraid. Oh, it should also be mentioned that Dodds is most famous for being the inventor of the kick drum.

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Rudimentary Peni-No More Pain

Number 5 now in the continuing saga to post all of R.P.'s material. They seem to be some of the more downloaded albums, so I guess I'll give the people what they want. Pretty atypical for a jerk like me. Anyways, I don't think I need to keep writing up this band. But this e.p. is worth note due to the odd inclusion of a cover of Pachebel's Cannon. I can't say I love it or anything, but it does seem like a weird choice. Then again, it's not like these guys are known for their rational thinking.

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Morgen

Oh brother...this has to be in my top 5 psych records of all time. It's heavy and fuzzed out, but there's also some tracks that have a nice hypnotic groove. And the guitars. They are monstrous. This is another one kinda like the Sainte Anthony's Fyre album I previously posted. A sleeper hit that's been reissued a few times, but still doesn't get the hoopla. Maybe it's because he was from Long Island (I think) and not Turkey or South Africa that this isn't as well loved as it should be.

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Shonen Knife – Minna Tanoshiku (Everybody Happy)

It's been years since I've seen anything by these ladies, until recently when I came across a photo of them in a magazine. They still are really cute and all, but they had a kinda hip makeover that just didn't sit too well with me. I want to remember them as these nerdy office workers who got together to play some really shambolic pop nonsense. I mean, I'm still having a hard time understanding how this band was signed to a major label and had videos on mtv. But the 90s were a weird time I guess.

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Sparks-Kimono My House

No joke, this is one of my all time favorite albums. But I can see why some might not like it. It has complex arrangements, painstakingly executed by top flight musicians, yet it's not some masturbatory prog nonsense. The lyrics have a dry sense of humor and clever wordplay, but it never seems condescending or insulting. While the songs are pretty diverse in style, the album has a glammy unified cohesion. Yeah, I can see why people don't like this.

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Yoko Ono & Wife Beating Junkie-Unfinished Music No. 2: Life With The Lions

More proof that Ono was the real genius here. I'm getting really tired of seeing John Lennon tee shirts. I have this sneaking suspicion that he and Bob Marley are actually alive and are hiding out together after they realized that they are more profitable pretending to be dead. Just think how many college dorm rooms would have tons of empty wall space if it wasn't for their posters.

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Jerry Goldsmith-Logan's Run OST

Anyone else sick of all the bullshit remakes? I heard this is another one that Hollywood plans on ruining soon. I was just reading the history of the remake and apparently this has been planned as far back as the mid 90s. I'm sure that's not a good sign. It'll probably have some bullshit Daft Punk-like garbage that could never replicate what Goldsmith achieved here. Awesome electronic nightmares that robots jerk off to meshed with more heavy symphonic works. This dude was one of the best soundtrackers (is that a word?) ever.

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Sainte Anthony's Fyre

Don't let this boring ass cover fool you. This is one serious fuzz monster that's just as punishing as the ergot poisoning from which they poached their name. This one was always super hard to find. I think Void might have reissued it sometime back in the 90s but even then it's not like this had tons of fans. With all the psych heads out there I always thought this would get more attention, you know, with the internet and all. Also, I'm still trying to figure how this came out of Trenton.

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Kim Fowley-Outrageous

Outrageous indeed. Everyone knows Fowley is a nut. Whether masterminding jail bait pedo rock, producing the Modern Lovers, writing for Kiss, and about a million other things, the guy continues to remain pretty interesting. His own albums are typically pretty out there affairs. This is probably the one I enjoy the most as it is a cracked psych masterpiece. One time I was riding up to Pittsburgh with a Japanese exchange student who doesn't have the strongest grasp of the English language. He was also very high. Once this album came on, I could tell he wasn't going to be able to control himself. He laughed for the length of the album and when we got out of the car he puked. That seems like a logical reaction.

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Blessure Grave-Unknown Blessures

I know it's kinda rare that I post newer things here. What can I say aside from the fact that I'm pretty sick of most new bands. It just seems like all the shit is starting to sound the same, and there's almost always some record 30 years old that it just rips off. Well, looking at this cassette's title I'm sure you all can figure out whose altar this band worships at. I guess a lot of people complain about them, and it all sounds pretty petty. They're not breaking any new ground or anything, but currently there's little that is. And for some reason, I just think this crew is doing it better than most.

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Turid-Bilder

Part of me is just posting this because I love this cover. I know exactly how this girl feels. Kind of weird because she resembles an ex who hates me. But really things have been pretty eclectic here today (viz. too lazy to come up with any thematic principle) so why not some pretty Swedish songs. I believe Turid is one lone woman and not a band, at least that's my understanding. But what she does over the course of this album is amazing. Some songs feature bird field recordings and her haunting-yet-pretty voice. There's piano ballads. Turid also isn't afraid to bring in the psych too. I assume this has a pretty devoted following, I just haven't ever talked to anyone who knows about this.

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Don Letts, Stratetime Keith, Steel Leg & Jah Wobble-Steel Leg v Electric Dread

Keith Levine is the best guitar player of all time. Really, it is that simple. I can't think of any other guitarist that can play in his style. And if you don't like Public Image (at least through Flowers of Romance) then I don't like you. If you do like them, you'll probably want to hear this if you haven't already. Jah Wobble is obviously Jah Wobble. Stratetime Keith is Keith Levine. Don Letts is Don Letts (though I always thought of him as a dj and film director). And Steel Leg acts in horrible reality tv shows and does commercials for butter. The first song might have you thinking this is just going to be a loose P.I.L. jam session, stick with it and you find it's much more dubbed out and reggaefied.

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Sir Douglas Quintet-Mendocino

But maybe the cold isn't your thing and you actually prefer this bullshit weather. Perhaps you seek to not only warm your cockles but to burn the fuckers straight off. Nothing to me says hot summer day like this band and ugly shirtless dudes. You probably already know the title track, but have you ever considered that it sounds oddly enough like a lot of the kiwi shit that came a few decades later. Is it the farfisa? Who knows. But to my ears it sounds like some people in the Southern Hemisphere were digging this (arrows pointing towards the Clean).

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Skepticism-Aes

Things have gotten a little light around here. And while no one ever downloads any of my metal posts, I figure I going to post one anyways. I mean, what is more egotistical then writing a fucking blog. It's super fucking humid here, and an album like this can really ice the marrow. This behemoth is one sloooooow, chilling track that I find utterly relaxing. Not unlike a comforting drone album, I can put this on and feel the arctic blast hit my already too cold heart.

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Devo-Hardcore Vol. 1 74-77

Oh no! Devo! Why are you attempting another comeback? Haven't you learned you lesson already? While the first Eno-produced record still rules, there was a pretty fair quality degrade soon after. Sure, there's some solid songs on following albums, but really this is a case of first work best work. The earliest stuff has an almost Residents-like quality to it. Its simple and lo fi and awesome. But bands please, lets end this comeback shit. Once you're done it's over. Get the fuck back in the grave. And I promise, I'll always remember you like this, and not that corpulent, balding, thing you've become. And who is this lovely lady that graces this cover. My word.

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