SPITTING OUT TEETH DOWNLOAD - DYLAN: RARITIES


A couple months ago, Columbia starting a huge marketing campaign to promote the upcoming release of (yet another) Bob Dylan boxset. With the definitive name "DYLAN", it seemed to promise to be the ultimate collector collection, a rosetta stone of unearthed new jems and re-imaginings of classic works.

Unfortunately, all of the hype was just that--hype. A completely unoriginal collection of the usual Dylan "greatest hits" fare (every track had been on at least one previous Dylan compilation), it was obvious from a quick look at the tracklisting that this collection was a complete waste of time. Not a single new track, or even an imaginative re-evaluation to choose some new, completely deserved tracks to define the man's cannon.

Bob Dylan has written thousands of songs in the 40+ years he has been a recording artist, many of which may never see the light of day or can only be found in expensive, obscure bootlegs. However, he has also written and recorded dozens (if not hundreds) of masterpieces that never seem to make the greatest hits collections and are unknown to only to Dylan completists.

I have compiled 33 such songs, all of which I consider to be among Dylan's best works. Some were overshadowed by more popular masterpieces on classic albums, some were diamonds in the rough (good songs on bad albums), and some were recently uncovered outtakes that somehow didn't make it to record (Dylan is notorious for leaving some of his best songs on the cutting room floor). However--not a single track included is from a bootleg. They are all from official releases, so if you like them, I highly encourage you to buy the albums.

Here's the tracklisting:

1) "House Carpenter" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1"): One of Dylan's many interpretations of traditional folk songs, "House Carpenter" features passionate vocals and some great "It's Alright Ma" style acoustic guitar playing.

2) "Isis (Live)" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5": Dylan is famous for his ability to reinvent his own songs, and the electric reworking of "Isis" (originally on "Desire") is one his most successful transformations. This is a really rocking song from the incredibly energetic Rolling Thunder Revue tour.

3) "Percy's Song" (from "Biograph"): This is supposedly an autobiographical song about a friend of Dylan's who was convicted of manslaughter after causing a car accident. A mournful wail of a song, an elegy for a friend not dead but lost. A deceptively simple song, but try singing it--not easy.

4) "Tears of Rage" (from "The Basement Tapes"): One of the greatest successes of the drunken rehab session know as The Basement Tapes, this never-meant-to-be-released track is a cryptic song about a father wronged by his daughter (or a citizen wronged by his/her country? A musician wronged by his fans? Who knows). Absolutely gorgeous song.

5) "Moonshiner" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1"): Whenever someone tells me they think Bob Dylan has a terrible voice, the play this song for them and they usually change their mind. A radical re-working of an Irish drinking song, Dylan turns it into an elegy of the drunkard that would make even Charles Bukowski weep.

6) "Black Crow Blues" (from "Another Side of Bob Dylan"): This song was one of Dylan's early attempts to throw off the confining label of "protest singer" and start exploring a more obscure type of poetry in his lyrics, one which took a symbolist approach of valuing the sound of a word as much as (or more than) its meaning. It's also an experimental departure from the traditional folk/blues guitar styles he was used.

7) "Tell Me Momma" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4"): The only song performed during the infamous 1966 tour that never appeared on an official studio release. Used to start off the electric portion of most shows, this rocking methedrine-blues tune is one of my favorites.

8) "Mama, You Been On My Mind" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2)": One of Joan Baez' favorites (she often performed it duet with Dylan), this is a simple but elegant love song.

9) "Dear Landlord" (from "New Morning"): Supposedly written about Dylan's breakup with long-time manager Albert Grossman, the song takes on a greater meaning as an anthem about the little man demanding respect from the person who has control over his life. The final line is pure redemption.

10) "Abandoned Love" (from "Biograph"): Originally written for the "Desire" album, this cryptic breakup song is contains some of Dylan's finest lyrics. The bootleg of his solitary live performance of this song is even more powerful and can be found easily on P2P sites.

11) "She's Your Lover Now" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2"): An outtake from the "Blonde on Blonde" sessions, this is one of many versions of the song that start of strong and fall apart at the end (possibly explaining why a version never found its way onto Dylan's greatest album). My guess is that this song is probably about Edie Sedgwick.

12) "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" (from "Biograph"): Probably better known from Jimi Hendrix's interpretation, this is yet another great "Blonde on Blonde" outtake. And another song that I suspect is about Edie/Andy Warhol.

13) "Santa-Fe" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2"): An outtake from "The Basement Tapes", this song gives a good insight into Dylan's songwriting style--come up with a melody and lyrical sound, then develop the actual lyrics after.

14) "Nobody 'Cept You" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol.2"): An outtake from the "Planet Waves" sessions, this has always been one of those songs that, to quote Ron Burgundy, "cuts to the core of me". A simple song about being in a place you hate just to be with the one you love.

15) "This Wheel's On Fire" (from "The Basement Tapes"): Another masterpiece from "The Basement Tapes", this song borrows a classic line from Rimbaud to create a damning song about being scorned.

16) "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" (from "Self Portrait"): The album "Self Portrait" is often looked at as blemish of Dylan's early recording career, but I absolutely love this album (at least it started to get a bit of a re-evaluation after Wes Anderson used "Wigwam" in "The Royal Tennenbaums"). This beauty cover of a country tune by The Davis Sisters is one of the album's highlights, with Dylan's crooning voice in top form.

17) "Up To Me" (from "Biograph"): An outtake from "Blood on the Tracks", written during the breakdown of his marriage, this song was the true jem of the "Biograph" set for me. Just listen to Dylan's voice starting to crack as he sings the line "If we never meet again/baby remember me". Great, great song.

18) "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (from "Biograph"): Yet another "Blonde on Blonde" outtake (it should have been a triple album), this rocking amphetamine-fueled jam always makes me want to get up and shake my money maker.

19) "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" (from "Street Legal"): One of the few songs worth listening to from this mediocre album, "Senor" is nonetheless a great work, a cryptic and atmospheric song about confusion, fear and love lost.

20) "Blind Willie McTell" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 3"): Remember how I mentioned that Dylan often leaves his best works off of albums? This song is the definitive example. An outtake from "Infidels", this nostalgic elegy for times past is better than the all of the songs on that album put together. One of the best Dylan has ever written.

21) "One More Cup of Coffee" (from "Desire"): This beautiful gypsy love song is one of Dylan's most unique works. One of Jack White's favorite songs; check out the great live version by The White Stripes.

22) "John Brown" (from "Unplugged"): Originally written by Dylan in 1963, this song didn't really get its due until this performance 30 years later, during the Persian Gulf war. Easily Dylan's best anti-war song, and probably the best one ever written. Brutal and heartbreaking.

23) "Man In The Long Black Coat" (from "Oh Mercy"): Foreshadowing Dylan's career renaissance with "Time Out of Mind", this creepy dirge from the Daniel Lanois produced "Oh Mercy" is a gem. Key lyric: "There are no mistakes in life, some people say/It is true sometimes, you can see it that way/That people don't live or die, people just float/She gave her heart to the man in the long black coat"

24) "Gates of Eden (Live)" (from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6): One of Dylan's first great symbolist successes, this song from "Bringing It All Back Home" tends to get overlooked in the midst of the other great songs on the album, which is a shame because it can really stand its own.

25) "Workingman's Blues" (from "Modern Times"): How can you not love a song that includes the lyric "the buying power of the proletariat is down"? This tune sounds like it was dug out of a time capsule, and does Springsteen-esque middle-America blue-collar nostalgia better than the Boss could ever dream of doing it.

26) "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" (from "Blood on the Tracks"): This song should have been made into a movie; the lyrics read like a script synopsis for greatest western never made. Dylan's ability as a storyteller are often overlooked in favor of his more esoteric lyrics, but this song (along with pretty much everything on "Desire") proves his talents as a narrative songwriter.

27) "Dirge" (from "Planet Waves"): The deepest, darkest anti-love song ever written and possibly the greatest song to listen to after a bad breakup. Check out this for an opening lyric: "I hate myself for loving you/And the weakness that it showed/You were just a painted face/On a trip down Suicide Row" Jeez...and it even sounds like a funeral dirge too.

28) "Sign On the Window" (from "New Morning"): I was tempted to put the entire "New Morning" album on this list, seeing as it is dreadfully overlooked. "Sign On The Window" plays out like Dylan sitting at a piano, coming to terms with his chaotic past & accepting the beauty of a quiet life in the country as a family man. Unfortunately for Bob, this idyllic pastoral life didn't last too long.

29) "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" (from "The Times They Are A'Changing"): This heartbreaking true story of a maid beaten to death by a drunken socialite is one of Dylan's most successful "protest songs". Sad and poignant.

30) "Dark Eyes" (from "Empire Burlesque"): Quite honestly the only song listening to on this trainwreck of an album, it is neverless a Dylan masterpiece. Bizarre song structure and how can you deny a lyric like "I live in another world/Where life death are memorized/Where the Earth is strung with lover's pearls/And all I see are dark eyes"

31) "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" (from "Nashville Skyline"): Dylan's country-western album is often overlooked (besides the overplayed "Lay Lady Lay"), and it's really a shame because there are some great songs on it. Dylan's voice on this track is absolute perfection.

32) "Corrina, Corrina" (from "The Freewheelin'"): A nice, soft track to close out the playlist. Simple, pretty and timeless, just like Dylan's best work.

Here's the download link (just a warning: it's 200MB+ so be prepared for a long download if you're on a slow connection):

DOWNLOAD SPITTING OUT TEETH'S DYLAN RARITIES COLLECTION

Enjoy!

BUKOWSKI THE...NAZI?


Apparently that's what his former landlord is calling him, in an attempt to prevent Buk's former LA home from being declared a city landmark. Uncouth drunkard? Certainly. Wife beater? Quite probably. Great writer of prose and poetry? Definitely. National Socialist? I highly fucking doubt it.

While I have read a few Bukowski quotes that came close to anti-Semitic, they always seemed to be presented as nothing more than just tasteless jokes a la Don Rickles or simply attempts to provoke some negative attention based on his German heritage. If he had to be classified politically, I'd say Bukowski was a hell of a lot closer to a nihilist than a Nazi.

Read the article at CNN.com here

GREAT SHOW @ KRIYA STUDIO - NEXT SATURDAY 12/8!!!

Greg Davis, Toby Aronson (Oak) and TickTick have scheduled yet another wonderful
experimental music show in Burlington, and this one is definitely a not-to-miss
event.  There's even a possibility that your's truly may be joining in on the
performance...

Here's the press release:

we are pleased to have duane pitre coming to burlington to present his chamber
ensemble piece 'The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base".
we will also be performing pieces by christian
wolff and james tenney. it should be a great night of music.

An Evening of Experimental Music:

Duane Pitre "The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump
Organ Base"
Christian Wolff "Stones" (1969)
James Tenney "Swell Piece No. 2 (for Pauline Oliveros)" (1971)

kriya studio
333 n. winooski
burlington, vt
saturday, december 8th, 2007
7:30 p.m.
$7


Duane Pitre (with Ensemble)

The ensemble will consist Duane Pitre, Craig Colorusso, Greg Davis,
and UVM students, playing violin, cello, contra bass, oboe, alto
saxaphone, bowed guitars, electric tone generator, and organ.

"The Ensemble Chord in Eb with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base" This
composition varies from the traditional sort as it is rule-based with
the score consisting of a set tonic, set pitch classes, playing
methods, technique restrictions, and spontaneous conduction. The score
is a structure for the performing ensemble to improvise onóorder
spawning chaos producing order that is different on each occasion of a
performance or recording. Ensemble Drones is discipline and freedom,
both within each other, the first major focus of the work. Variance is
the second major focus of the composition; with instrumentation,
ensemble performers, tonic, pitch classes, and the physical space
varying from performance to performance, the results can never be the
same. One way to view Ensemble Drones is like a compositional "body,"
as in the composition taking human form. The score is the skeletal
structure that gives the "body" its general shape and feel. The pump
organ, for instance, could serve as the circulatory system, the bass
clarinet as the muscles, cello and saxophones as the internal organs,
the electrically generated tones as the nervous system, guitars as the
flesh, viola as the skin, violin as strands of hair, and the
the listener acts as the eyes. Not in the sense of vision,
though each listener will "view" the same compositional body differently, and, in
return, the body will view itself differently with each new set of
eyes. This helps to analogize the last major focus of the Ensemble
Drones score/composition, which is perception.

http://importantrecords.com/sounds/154_pilotram_1.mp3
http://importantrecords.com/sounds/154_pilotram_2.mp3
http://www.myspace.com/duanepitre
http://www.duanepitre.com

Christian Wolff

Wolff was born in Nice in France of German parentage. His family moved
to the United States in 1941, and he became an American citizen in
1946. He studied classics at Harvard University (he is a specialist in
the work of Euripides) and upon graduating took up a teaching post
there which he kept until 1970 when he began to teach classics,
comparative literature, and music at Dartmouth College until his
retirement in 1999. His early work includes a lot of silence and was
based initially on complicated rhythmic schema, and later on a system
of aural cues. Wolff innovated unique notational methods in his early
scores and found creative ways of dealing with improvisation within
his written music. Later pieces also often give a degree of freedom to
the performers such as the sequence of pieces entitled Exercises
(1973-). Some works, such as Changing the System (1973), Braverman
Music (1978, after Harry Braverman), and the series of pieces entitled
Peace March (1983-2005) have an explicit political dimension
responding to contemporary world events and broader political ideals.
At the age of sixteen Wolff was sent by his piano teacher Grete Sultan
for lessons in composition with the composer John Cage and quickly
became a close associate of Cage and his artistic circle which
included composers Earle Brown and Morton Feldman, pianist David
Tudor, and dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. During the 1960s
he developed associations with the composers Frederic Rzewski and
Cornelius Cardew who spurred each other on in their respective
explorations of experimental composition techniques and musical
improvisation, and then from the early 1970s in their respective
attempts to engage with political matters in their music. For Wolff
this often involved the use of music and texts associated with protest
and political movements such as the Wobblies. Wolff recently said of
his work that it is motivated by his desire, "To turn the making of
music into a collaborative and transforming activity (performer into
composer into listener into composer into performer, etc.), the
cooperative character of the activity to the exact source of the
music. To stir up, through the production of the music, a sense of
social conditions in which we live and of how these might be changed."

James Tenney

Tenney was born in Silver City, New Mexico, and grew up in Arizona and
Colorado. He attended the University of Denver, the Juilliard School
of Music, Bennington College (B.A., 1958) and the University of
Illinois (M.A., 1961). He studied piano with Eduard Steuermann and
composition with Chou Wen-chung, Lionel Nowak, Paul Boepple, Henry
Brant, Carl Ruggles, Kenneth Gaburo, Lejaren Hiller, John Cage, Harry
Partch, and Edgard VarËse. He also studied information theory under
Lejaren Hiller, and composed stochastic early computer music before
turning almost completely to writing for instruments with the
occasional tape delay, often using just intonation and alternative
tunings. Tenney's notable students include John Luther Adams, Larry
Polansky, and Peter Garland. He performed with John Cage, as well as
with the ensembles of Harry Partch, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Tenney's work deals simply and artfully with perception (For Ann
(rising), see Shepard tone), just intonation (Clang, see gestalt),
stochastic elements (Music for Player Piano), information theory
(Ergodos, see Ergodic theory), and with what he calls 'swell' (Koan:
Having Never Written A Note For Percussion for John Bergamo), which is
basically arch form. His pieces are most often tributes and subtitled
as such. Tenney wrote the seminal Meta (+) Hodos (one of, if not the,
earliest applications of gestalt theory and cognitive science to
music), the later Hierarchical temporal gestalt perception in music :
a metric space model with Larry Polansky, and other works. Nearly a
quarter of a 657-page volume of the academic journal Perspectives of
New Music was devoted to Tenney's music (Polansky and Rosenboom 1987).

Tenney also wrote the in-depth liner notes to Wergo's edition of
Conlon Nancarrow's Studies for Player Piano. (Nancarrow, as a favor,
punched the roll for Tenney's Spectral Canon for Conlon Nancarrow). He
taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, the California
Institute of the Arts, the University of California, and York
University in Toronto. He died on 24 August 2006 of lung cancer in
Valencia, California.

BE THERE!!!!!

MORE HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FROM YOUR FRIENDS @ SPITTING OUT TEETH

I can't think of a single person that I know who wouldn't want either a knitted boob or dink this holiday season...click HERE for more info. Or if you were sold at "dink" or "boob", just order them here.

ROB ZOMBIE @ HIGHER GROUND - 1.13.07


Former White Zombie frontman turned solo act/horror film director Rob Zombie will be performing at Higher Ground on January 13th. Admission is $35.

Be there, or else everyone will think you're an astrocreep.

Sorry. Had to do it.

AMAZON LISTS--NEED YOUR HELP!

I've created a couple of Amazon "Listmania" lists and could use some help expanding them a bit. If you have any ideas on what to add to either of the following list, please let me know.

• An Intro to Experimental Music & Noise
• Degenerate Cinema

Thanks!

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS

My friend Craig, a very talented local artist, is having a big sale over at his Cafe Press store. Great opportunity to pick up some unique stocking stuffers and support local business!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

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Like buying pointless stuff?
Need a new conversation piece?

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the "Morgana" section of the website.
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NO MUSIC DAY - NOVEMBER 21ST



Yeah, this is so not going to happen for me...

It's also really unspecific. What do they consider "music"? Just commercially produced works? Do the natural rhythms of nature count as music? Or is this just an exercise in futility, to make us aware that music is a ubiquitous force in our lives that is constantly by our sides, a not-so-silent stalker who we refuse to press charges against.

Whatever. It's more likely that I'll give up breathing on the 21st than not listen to music all day. You'll have to pry my iPod out of my cold, dead hands you crazy hippie ideologues!

MOCHIKA

Just found this Mochika analog sequencer synth online...I'm thinking this just might end up on my Christmas list :)



Here's a nice documentary about the maker...too bad I can't understand it because it's in Portuguese. Oh wait, here's the translation.

FAUST ARP

From the recent Radiohead webcast...the live performance of the beautiful "Faust Arp" from Radiohead's new album "In Rainbows".

NORMAN MAILER, R.I.P.

Norman Mailer Fights Rip Torn

Posted Jan 19, 2007

Rip Torn hits Norman Mailer on the head with a hammer during a fight on the set of the 1970 film Maidstone.

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007

Ok folks, here it is--Spitting Out Teeth's Top Albums of 2007 list. It was a good year for music & I found it impossible to limit my list to a top 10, so instead you get my favorite 15. As an added bonus, there's a list of my favorite reissues & great albums from late 2006 that I didn't get turned on to until 2007.

Each album has a brief description of why I think it's friggin' awesome, as well as a letter grade to rate its degree of supreme sonic coolness.

Enough blabbing--here's the list:

#15 - White Stripes, “Icky Thump”

The White Stripes get back to what they do best—guitar & drum nostalgia rock. Sure, this was probably the most hyped album of the year (how many impromptu city-bus concerts can one band do?), but as usual the Stripes put out content to back it up. The sounds on this album really spanned the globe, from the Middle Eastern snake-charmer Clavioline sounds on the title track to the punk Spanish mariachi tones on their cover of “Conquest” to the Scottish bagpipes on “St. Andrew”. Maybe not a masterpiece (when will they translate the energy and rawness of their live shows to an album?) but a rocking good trip around the world in 48 minutes. B-

#14 - Earth, “Hibernaculum”

One of the great side effects of the recent popularity of post-metal acts like Sunn O))) and Boris is underrated innovators of the genre like Dylan Carlsson’s Earth are getting a critical reappraisal. “Hibernaculum” is an understated meshing of slow drone riffs with a touch of country-western twang. Great album to zone out & read to. B

#13 - Nadja, “Touched”

Whereas last year’s Spitting Out Teeth Top Albums list was the unofficial “Year of Twee”, this year took a dramatic turn to become “The Year of Post-Metal”. While Nadja doesn’t have the same name recognition as Southern Lord heavy-hitters like Sunn O))) or Boris, they managed to fly under the radar and release one of the heaviest and creepiest albums of the year. Imagine Black Sabbath-meets-My Bloody Valentine and you’ll start to get an idea of what this album sounds like. Deep and slow detuned guitar riffs with layer after layer of synth fuzz piled on top. And believe it or not, there actually are drums and vocals hiding somewhere behind the fog. B

#12 - Animal Collective, “Strawberry Jam”

What do you do when you’re a band who has already conquered avant-garde noise rock and successfully made the transition to experimental rock band? Well, release your most bizarre yet accessible album, obviously. Possibly the Collective’s most coherent and clean production, this is obviously a band that feels comfortable enough with their weirdness that they don’t need to cover up their bizarre lyrics and circuit-bent tones with layers of ambient wash anymore. Surprisingly, the very divergent side projects of the members (compare Avey’s “Pullhair Rubeye” to Panda’s “Person Pitch”) has obviously helped their collaborative work instead of hinder it. B

#11 - Mammatus, “The Coast Explodes”

Prog metal? Stoner rock? Heavy Psych jam? How the hell do you classify this album? I guess it really doesn’t matter—whatever it is, it’s just really good. “The Coast Explodes” is a powerful continuation to Mammatus’ eponymous debut the first track is actually Part Three of the “Dragon of the Deep” cycle that closed out the first album), maintaining the Sabbath-esque riffs and spacey phased-wah atmospherics, but it goes one step further in terms of production values, virtuosity and composition. Definitely a band that is high on my list for live shows I’d like to see. B+

#10 - Dungen, “Tio Bitar”

I doubt many will agree with me, but I actually prefer Dungen’s sophomore effort to their debut “Ta Det Lungen ????”. It’s darker, harder and the drum work is absolutely insane. Still not too keen on the vocals—maybe these guys will do an all-instrumental album next? B+

#9 - Deerhunter, “Cryptograms”

I guess this is what you would call “post-shoegaze”(?). While this album was quite over-hyped (especially by Pitchfork and its minions) it’s still a strong work, bouncing (literally) back and forth from experimental drone-scapes (“Intro”, “White Ink”, “Providence”, “Red Ink”) to Joy Division-meets-Marilyn Manson goth rock (“Cryptograms”, “Lake Somerset”) to electro-dance numbers (“Octet) to psychedelic twee rock (“Spring Hall Convert”, “Hazel St.”). A bizarre and eclectic album, to say the least. B+

#8 - Akron/Family, “Love Is Simple”

This album has really grown on me. Upon my initial listens, the hippie drum-circle chants and “love everyone” lyrics really drove me nuts. It took a great live show to make me realize what these guys are truly best at—all out, early Dead-esque rock jams. There is some incredible song crafting on this album, from the multi-part jam rock to hip hop symphony of “Ed is a Portal” to the ethereally delicate yet pulverizing “Phenomena”. Don’t make the mistake I did let the hippie playfulness overshadow the rock & roll—play this fucker loud. B+

#7 - Feist, “The Reminder”

Possibly the greatest collection of individual songs on this list, Feist really came into her own on “The Reminder”. A bit of distance from Broken Social Scene has really allowed her to find her own unique voice, and what a voice it is. Despite having sustained permanent vocal chord damage from singing in a punk group in her early days, Feist has a beautiful, husky-yet-feminine style that can melt anyone. Beyond just being another pretty voice & face, she’s also a hell of an instrumentalist as well, playing everything from guitar to piano to electronic loops and featuring on of the best back-up bands in rock. Having seen her on tour, she definitely is an artist who is both completely on top of her game & having a hell of a time being there. Expect the follow-up album to be amazing. B+

#6 - Caribou, “Andorra”

Psychedelic and danceable, this is the album that I always knew Caribou could make. They're a shamefully underrated band and hopefully this time-machine of an album will help do something to change that. A-

#5 - Wolves In the Throne Room, “Two Hunters”

Dark ambient plays hand-in-hand with the darkest of black metal. Nostalgic yet progressive, sophomore release “Two Hunters” not only met the high expectations created by WITT debut “Diadem of 12 Stars” but boldly exceeded them. A-

#4 - KTL, “KTL 2”

While I was a bit disappointed by the only Sunn O))) release of 2007 (“Oracle”), I was blown away by another of Stephen O’Malley’s musical side projects, KTL. The group’s second offering (there are now three) is a dark and haunting ambient work, punctuated by jackhammer arpeggiated synth riffs and O’Malley’s trademark punishing fuzz tones. Far and away my choice for “Best Album to Listen to While Trapped in a Cave & Going Slowly Insane”. A-

#3 - Panda Bear, “Person Pitch”

What can be said about this album that hasn’t been said already….well, nothing I guess. Panda’s third (?) solo LP is a post-Beach Boys symphonic rock masterpiece, and pretty impressive when you realize it’s just “two Dr. Samples and a microphone” (sing in Beck voice). Deceptively pure and simple on first listen, “Person Pitch” is actually a very complex production. Do it justice and listen to it on headphones or, even better, loud and on vinyl over a good set of speakers. A

#2 - Of Montreal, “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?”

The deserved backlash again electro-pop dance music is probably going to keep Kevin Barnes’ masterpiece off of a lot of the year-end best albums lists and that is a shame. Despite some of the most danceable pop beats to come out since Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” (these guys even got ME shaking my ass at Pitchfork this year), this is actually an incredibly dark and introspective albums, written by Barnes at an incredibly difficult period in his life (lyrics like “I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway/I felt the darkness of the Black Metal bands” is not your usual dance pop couplet). But despite the wrist-cutting lyrics about anti-depressants and doomed relationships, “Hissing Fauna” remains perky and fun with unique instrumentation and perfect production. A

#1 - Radiohead, “In Rainbows”

Innovative marketing techniques and music industry revolution aside, Radiohead put out an incredibly mature and complex work with “In Rainbows”. While not a masterpiece on the level of “Ok Computer” or “Kid A”, “In Rainbows” still contains some of Radiohead’s most finely crafted songs in years. It also shows a new-found confidence amongst the band members: after two albums of multi-layered sounds hiding half-assed song crafting efforts, “In Rainbows” takes a bare-bones production approach that lets Thom’s voice take center stage while bringing individual instrumental contributions to the top of the mix as well (I can’t remember the last time I could clearly pick out Phil’s drumming or Ed’s guitar solos—maybe “Pablo Honey”?). No more hiding beyond a wall of echo, effects and Johnny’s weird noises for Radiohead—this is an in-your-face rock album.

The most amazing thing about this album is probably the degree of development and evolution that these songs underwent. For fans who were first introduced to “Nude” during the OK Computer tour, the song made some dramatic changes in composition over the past decade, yet still maintains the beauty and elegance that made it unique. “Reckoner” underwent a complete transformation, but not in the usual “destroy a good song for the hell of it” way Radiohead usually does (“Motion Picture Soundtrack” anyone?)—instead they made it substantially better.

There seems to be a toss-off approach to music making lately, a desire to put quantity, genre-bending and fast-tracked musical evolution ahead of spending time actually crafting material. Fast food musicians everywhere should take note of Radiohead’s devotion and ability to pare down their songs to perfection. And it’s just a lush and pretty album, which there just aren’t enough of these days. A



REISSUES & NEAR-MISSES

Neil Young, “Live at Massey Hall”

It’s a shame that it took so long for this near-perfect album to be released, and an even greater shame that it’s not available on vinyl. Spend a few extra bucks & get the CD/DVD edition, as the documentary of the show is pretty unique. A+

Joy Division, “Closer” and “Unknown Pleasures” vinyl reissues

I haven’t been able to stop listening to these. As Herb astutely put it, as a result of the beautiful remastering job, its like listening to the albums again for the first time. If only they would re-release “Substance”…or even better, the single 45s. A+

The Stooges, “Fun House” vinyl reissue

Beautiful remastering of my favorite Stooges album; the raw energy of this album has never been clearer. I dare you to try to sit still while listening to “Down On the Street”. A

T-Rex, “Electric Warrior” vinyl reissue

One of the most perfect rock albums ever made, and certainly in my Glam Rock top three (along with Lou Reed’s “Transformer” and Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust). A

Witch, “Witch” (2006)

There are a lot of bands trying to resurrect the classic Sabbath sound recently, but no one pulls it off quite as well as Witch. Killer riffs, dark & kitchy lyrics and J. Mascis on the skins—how can you go wrong? A-

Miles Davis, “The Complete ‘On the Corner’ Sessions”

Columbia once again goes to the vault in an attempt to milk Miles Davis’ peak output. At least they’re doing a respectable job with it though. On the heels of the brilliant “Complete ‘Bitches Brew’” and “Complete ‘In a Silent Way’” sets come the full studio recordings of one of Davis’ most underrated works, the funky “On the Corner”. A-

Sunn O))) and Boris, “Altar” (2006)

I’ve written quite a bit about this album already, but I can’t stop gushing. Simply a masterpiece. A+

NOISE SHOW @ KRIYA TOMORROW


Hi all, I'm currently blogging from my hotel room in Charlotte, NC (I'm on a business trip) and I wanted to let you know about a great show tomorrow night at Kriya Studio. Here's the e-mail from Burlington's own noise guru, Matt (aka A Snake In the Garden), who will also be doing a set:

tomorrow at KRIYA @ 7:30pm. ID M THEFT ABLE (www.kraag.org/id)
rocking some vocal noises and bearded performance art, NOZAL CUBE
(myspace.com/nozalcube) all the way from France doing some schizo tape
noise, the mighty OAK, and myself doing a short opener set. should be
a great time.

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If you haven't attended a noise show in town, I strongly recommend going. In my opinion, Noise is the most innovative genre of music around right now. Seeing a Noise show feels like being at one of the first free-jazz concerts or punk shows or Dada happenings--it's about as avant-garde and challenging as it gets. Noise is as much a physical and intellectual experience as a sonic one, almost like a blending of black metal and classical symphony. If that isn't enough to sell you on going, then you probably shouldn't.

Barring any flight delays tomorrow night, I'll see you there!

I HAVE A NEW TOY...

I recently told a friend of mine that I was playing around with oscillator pedals for my Solah project, and he told me that his father was an electrical engineer and may have something for me. This weekend, he cleaned out his garage and found this lil' guy for me--


What is it you ask? It's a beast of an industrial oscillator, capable of creating sustained analogue sinewave test tones ranging from 50Hz to 15kHz. The knob at bottom center acts as a basic pitch control to let you warp the straight tone on the fly a bit. Best of all, it has a standard 1/4" output on the side.

I hooked it up to my Effector 13 Synth Mangler and Elecro Harmonix Octave Multiplexer and got some cool sounds out of it--

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MP3 DOWNLOAD LINK (4MB)

The first few seconds is the oscillator only, switching through the different frequencies. The rest is me turning on the FX and messing around with the dials. Next time I'm going to throw some delay into the mix.

I see myself using this quite a bit for the Solah LP; lots o' fun...

TOP ALBUMS OF 2007 LIST...COMING SOON

Just finished typing up my post for my top 15 new releases of 2007, with a special section for reissues and some late 2006 releases that didn't make last year's list. Should I post it now to beat the rush of "end-of-year" postings in December, or should I wait?

In other news, thanks to all who have given feedback on the Solah release. It's nice to get back to writing, playing & performing again, and it's great to do it in a community full of great musicians and knowledgeable music lovers.

As for other's people's music, I saw Oak, Missy Bly & The Cush at the Monkey House on Thursday night. It was my first time seeing either of the latter two (I know...shame on me) and they were both great. And Oak was brilliant as usual, with a gorgeous soft acoustic intro leading into harsh noise (in a good way) and closing out with some amazing full-group percussion.

Made a trip to Pure Pop today and picked up some great new vinyl--Karen Dalton's "In My Own Time", Leonard Cohen's "Songs of Leonard Cohen", Animal Collective's "Strawberry Jam" and (an album I've been looking for on wax forever) Lou Reed's "Transformer". Looks like I have a nice relaxing evening of drinking tea, cleaning the house & listening to records ahead of me. Oh yeah, and watching free movies online from Netflix---I upgraded to OS X Panther and installed Windows XP on my MacBook. I'll be watching "Lilya 4-Ever" tonight.

CRYSTAL VIBRATIONS


A great new local blog where you can download all kinds of wonderful esoteric music you've never even heard of before, made by guys who are ten times cooler than you'll ever be. And twenty times cooler than I'll ever be. Check it out--

CRYSTAL VIBRATIONS