I went back out to see the Linus Pauling Quartet (#13, Live 2011) again. While hanging around, I met an associate of one of 3 Linus guitarist/vocalists Charlie Naked and former member of jazz-freaks The Defenestration Unit. Both Charlie and his buddy...
The Defenestration Unit, live at the Art Car Museum
Awhile ago, I had found a Live at Super Happy Fun Land recording by Defenestration (05/27/2005). They play out-there free-jazz improv, which you can stream or download from that link. But what this guy told me was that he'd also played with Charlie in another group: Bartiromo.
Bartiromo, Is This Seat Taken? (1998)
And I discovered all four of their albums also on Archive.org!! Like the Defenestration Unit (but maybe more like a well-'luded Hawkwind spacing out), Bartiromo plays apparently improvised jams and also included guitarist/trombonist Mike Switzer - made famous by the LP4 song and recent soundcheck "Bongfire," but not the dude I met. I'd never heard any of these, nor even heard about it... Four albums for ya here: Is This Seat Taken? (1998), Six Months of Silence (1998), Shitwah (1999), and Human Rinds (2000).
A little more digging unearthed Fist of Kong does stuff (2006), yet another psych-jazz-improv release by yet another combo by Naked. I haven't listened to this yet, but seems like it's gonna be kinda jazzy and occasionally noisy, and probably pretty cool. But maybe you see where this is going...
Even more digging recovered a major stash of Charlie Naked solo works, available on the Archive. Charlie Naked. Solo. According to his age-old website, this barely scratches the surface of solo releases.
Charlie Naked, Divine Homework (1995)
The homepage breaks down three phases of Charlie Naked... First phase: "the first nine cassettes... different from later efforts by its emphasis on the influences of Free Jazz and drone music." Looks like the only one from Archive.org that belongs here would be Divine Homework (1995), "a soundtrack to a movie never made, nor even conceived of..."
Second phase: "moved away from jazz and drone influences and began exploring more electronic experiments, including the use of radio static, television audio samples, and electric guitars more than saxophones or acoustic piano." Don't think this is represented in the Archive. You can sample and download selected tracks and excepts from the earlier days from the Albums page.
Charlie Naked, Expansion and Collapse (2010)
Third (and current) phase: "involved the processing, editing, and construction of sound pieces on the computer, rather than on the 4-track cassette recorder... sparser, more ambient soundscapes, with much less distinct instrumentation, and considerably longer running times." From what I've gotten to, this stuff is fantastic. Starting most recently and moving backwards, Expansion and Collapse (2010) - two-thousand and TEN!! Then Anthracite (2007), "the first of three all-guitar albums" - so there's one missing release already. Factory Drones (2006), which is "Minimalist minimalism." Back to Crinoline (2005), "a rare unreleased ambient album" (highly recommended)! And finally, The Countess (2004), "a collaboration between experimental music creator Charlie Naked and viola player Jo Bird, of Houston's Two Star Symphony." How did I miss that 1/5 of my favorite local Quartet had such an extensive catalogue?
And of course, while searching for images, I literally found a month-old Charlie Naked split-release with Trills, əˈnɛmənii (2011), over at Bandcamp:
Charlie Naked tracks are the two-parter "Abyssal Gigantism" at the very end. Two-thousand-ELEVEN!! A bit more info here. Enjoy the explore.
Oh, and brand news! Linus Pauling Quartet rocking out again on Sunday, Feb. 19th, with Jucifer and Omotai! Linus sure are playing with a lot of metal acts recently...
Something I stumbled upon. Caught them live after the Scratch Acid show (I think)... pretty cool.
I think they acknowledge, but kinda deny, the Donnie Darko influence in the artwork. Saw their flyer after the Linus Pauling show (I think) and thought exactly that.
"Spain" (live) by mr. Gnome, from Heave Yer Skeleton (2009)
And here's a weird concept video. This guy said they'd just seen them recently, so I thought they were local. But no, it's Cleveland. Band ist website. They sounded good & full between the two of them, lots of effects & mood. Most recent release from Bandcamp:
Anyway, I probably would've bought something from their plentiful merch table, but no-one was ever there (travelling light probably). So I went home.
This past weekend, I told a couple of people that it's rare to find music that's too weird for me to like.
As if to prove a point, I'm kinda liking this new Starving Weirdos stuff.
"In Our Way" by Starving Weirdos, from Land Lines (2012)
Well at least that one video. I haven't delved into the many S.W. live vids, but might pick up the new record.
"Real Things" by Ensemble Economique, from Psychical (2010)
Starving Weirdos are at least a couple of guys, one of whom is the dude who is Ensemble Economique - who I've always kind of placed with the Pocahaunted/Sun Araw new-dub noise gang.
"Forever Eyes" by Ensemble Economique, from Psychical (2010)
This post ended up much, much more massive than I'd originally intended. Essentially it's all about the 2011 music that was not in the Top 20, but that I still wanted to talk about before I moved on.
21.Diotima - Krallice Orphan of Sickness EP - Krallice
Several of these competed valiantly for the 20th slot, and then again for the honorary 21st. But Krallice was the hardest one to drop in the first cut, so here we are. Diotima might well be Krallice's best album, and the previous one was #13 Metal division 2009. But for some reason, I just haven't (yet) gotten drawn into it like the other two. I'm sure I'll give it another try, and the error of my ranking ways will probably dawn on me eventually. But here we are. A raging beast that pummels and lacerates, at great length, it will wear you down unless you train as if for a marathon.
The Orphan of Sickness free-download EP consists of Orphan covers. Krallice played covers at a tribute show for the Brooklyn band's late bassist, then released the recorded versions online. It's available at Bandcamp or from this Brooklyn Vegan article, which explains further. Pretty damn rad for your 0¢!
alt.Indie-Major-Mainstream-Folky-Rock-Pop.country had a good year.
It feels weird to follow up Krallice with the dad-rock scene, but 2011 provided some high-grade maturity for your listening pleasure, and to ignore it would be just plain dishonest.
"The Art of Almost" by Wilco, from The Whole Love (2011)
As happens occasionally, Wilco injects their mid-tempo tunecraft with some weirdness - most recently with the out-there guitar spazz of Nels Cline. This year, there's the electro-shuffle beatz of the opener (above). The Attractions pump-it-ups with "I Might." And if you got the expanded limited 2-disc set, the Krauty exploration of "Speak into the Rose." And y'know, various other quality tunes in the Wilco mode.
"Monkeys Uptown" by Iron & Wine, from Kiss Each Other Clean
I've listened to most of Iron & Wine's records, and they're good indie folk songs. Sounds like he's moving more into band-mode, which makes this probably my favorite of his so far. More funky with the likes of "Big Burned Hand" or the monkeys song up there. But watch the language, Sam! There's also an official video for "Godless Brother in Love," but that's more typical of the old style...
"Circuital" by My Morning Jacket, from Circuital (2011)
MMJ have gone seriously into the maturation process, which I somewhat fault them with - but not too much. It's more about missed opportunities. They still know how to rock, and to have fun. Like with "Holdin Onto Black Metal" (not a Black Metal song).
"Coffee and Friends" by The Literary Greats, from Black Blizzard
This Houston band, which had been getting some national attention for awhile now, makes some pretty good albums - and still might make it to the big leagues.
And finally, The Decemberists put out The King is Dead, which was supposedly great. I'm actually just including for the "Row Jimmy" b-side to "January Hymn." That's all.
Learning to sing!!
Here are two releases that I liked overall, but were mainly notable for their not-really-singing vocalists trying to actually sing for real... with variable success.
"Benediction" by Thurston Moore, from Demolished Thoughts (2011)
Not a great year for Thurston, but he did release a nice album done with an acoustic & cello-based combo. Get a taste, with like "Mina Loy" or "In Silver Rain with a Paper Key." Oddly, I'm not entirely sure about my advice on the giving up of day-jobs.
"All the Heavy Lifting" by Mastodon, from The Hunter (2011)
Mastodon still bellows, but it has been increasingly tuneful over the last couple of albums. The full-on singing on The Hunter has caused some outrage amongst dedicated fans, but I've only kinda liked them for not that long. Plus I try never to fault bands for progressing, and Mastodon clearly wants to be progressive. Or as I've posed before, they "are currently going for the post-stoner-psych-metal Allman Bros." It's no Leviathan (2004) but seriously, come on. For examples, the singles "Black Tongue" and "Curl of the Burl"... plus "Stargasm" (just because of the 2001 video).
Recollections, reissues, regardless...
Extra-superb year for what this section covers! Especially the #1 of the reissue subset of honorable mentions!!
"Mushroom" by Can, from Tago Mago (1971, 40th anniversary)
Oh yeah. Can was #1 in 1973 and #4 in 1972, and will most likely prosper in a few more '70s Top 10 lists. I mean, from opener "Paperhouse" through closer "Bring Me Coffee or Tea." Absolutely especially "Halleluhwah," also "Peking O" and oh yeah, "Oh Yeah." Holy Krautrock, Batman!! (And this isn't nearly my favorite CAN...)
Also, there's a bonus disc with 3 jams from a 1972 concert, which I haven't yet given my undivided.
"Past is Past" by Demdike Stare, from Tryptych (2011)
Demdike Stare's 3xCD set Tryptych is mostly made up of their recent vinyl trilogy (a big chunk of #8, 2010), but included several all-new CD-only tunes. Among the new tracks are 2 parts of "Library of Solomon" ("Book 2") and the continuing saga of "Nothing but the Night." Here's an interesting YouTube mash-up with new track "Filtered through Predudice."
The Rock Garage: Texas Live Concert Series, Volume 1 - V/A
Pretty decent collection of good versions of several excellent songs. Label is supposed to release a Pong live album sometime, hopefully! (Maybe.) In order of appearance, live versions of:
Well, it's gotta be my autographed 4xCD with everything from the GOTY (including 42 minutes of "Skyrim Atmospherics"). Right?
"Dragonborn" by Jeremy Soule, from Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim OST
I've been getting these soundtracks since Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002). But not so fast! Check this out...
"The Cloud" by Jim Guthrie, from Sword & Sworcery LP: The Ballad of the Space Babies (2011)
The musical component was completely intergral to this awesome game, which was also one of my faves this year. Physical/vinyl edition is sold out, but you can still buy digital from Guthrie's Bandcamp.
"The Glasshouse with Butterfly" by Tomáš Dvořák, from Machinarium OST (2009, iOS release 2011)
Okay, maybe this doesn't totally exactly count, but I played this a lot on the iPad. Great game, great soundtrack! Physical/vinyl re-issue is still available, plus digital at Floex Bandcamp.
Online Mixes and releases:
Not always free, but definitely sometimes - these are things I got from the interwebs over the last year or so...
"From Now On Let's" by White Rainbow, from From Now On Let's: The Mixtape (2011)
I'm not entirely sure about White Rainbow's new direction, but I will admit that I have funked out to this release more than a couple of times. Check out what he's doing these days over at Bandcamp. Mostly at Name-Your-Price, which is not identical to Free (but can be).
Maximum Brain is Maximum Cherry (Matt Cherry from Maserati) and Brainworlds (Mason Brown, touring member of Maserati) together, free-download opening set for Hans-Joachim Roedelius (of Cluster/Harmonia) at The Earl (Atlanta, GA). Also check out various live and other Name-Your-Price stuff over at Brainworlds' Bandcamp.
"How New Jam from '73" by Fresh Millions (2011)
Download as FREE the single/EP (??) from their Bandcamp site. Not quite as good as the #38 Record of 2010, nor the live show we caught after Ween @ Stubb's - but still...
XLR8R Podcast #196 - Demdike Stare It's a tough call, but I'm pretty sure Demdike's MIXwork usually exceeds their own album releases. Get it here! Also, very late in the year: "Irrational Advice" mix via Modern Love Records. Can't go wrong, trust me.
BBC6 Mix - Forest Swords Still waiting for info on new Forest Swords, but you can download this mix via Altered Zones. Includes Demdike Stare, Oneohtrix Point Never, oOoOO, Julian Lynch (above), King Tubby, and... Lil' Kim?
So here I am, on vacation - doing what I always do: reading people's Top 10 lists. And I notice on Demdike Miles' list at Boomkat that he's included Conrad Schnitzler Live '72 in there. I remember getting a free .mp from this (Vol. 8 comp coming soon!) and was interested, but it might have been while my computer/internet was down last year. So I never did order it...
Boomkat's sold out of the 2xLP, no digital-dowload version there, and not among Con's records at Forced Exposure (but that Trigger Trilogy 3xCD does looks intriguing). Although the Boomkat product description sounds impressive, they pretty much always do. So I thought, just live to order another record.
But then I noticed: the record label. I've never heard of Further Records, but I figured an internet search couldn't hurt. Not only are they on the WWW, but they run it run it as Bandcamp, and you can stream Live '72 from there...
And they still have "61 remaining" copies to sell as of this posting - for $20! (That's after I ordered my copy.)
Here's that glowing Boomkat entry:
**Edition of 500, housed in hand screen printed DIY black french paper jacket** Conrad Schnitzler is without a doubt one of the most important figures in 20th century electronic music. His CV includes a prominent role initiating the seminal Zodiak Free Arts Lab in Berlin circa 1967, essentially creating the nucleus of what would become known as the Kosmische movement. From this he became a founder member of Kluster and collaborated with the likes of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, laying the foundations for future generations of Techno and Ambient electronic musicians. It's not often that unreleased material of his comes to the surface, but Further Records have somehow gained access to this 1972 live session, salvaged from cheap old tapes. Considering the time frame, this stuff is just incredible, spanning twelve tracks of signature metallic pulses and starry synth plumes framing his beautifully restrained melodic arrangements. What separates Con from the rest of the crowd, and makes him so important to the development of electronic music and Techno in particular, is that intuitive and engrossing element of restraint and repetition, especially when coupled with his knack for darker, moodier melodies and that brooding sense of space. No hyperbole intended, this is a genuinely exceptional piece of work, easily one of the very best reissues we've encountered in the recent deluge. Mastered by CGB at D&M, Berlin
Current, updated download links have been moved to a central Comp Index post, as well as the COMPS section over on the right side of the blog.
All the way to #7! If you've missed any, all our promotional .mp3 compilations can be found on the menu at right, under "Astral Headspace Comps." Maybe worth a look?
I tried to build this one mainly around the 2011 Year End lists (albums + live), with some other notables that may or may not fit it. You make the call!
A few quick notes, then we'll get into it real basic. You can hear the music by downloading...
Looking at the sources for various tunes, I think it's clear that Altered Zones will be missed. The site was truly a standby for this blog for AZ's entire, brief existence. They still have .mp3's available for now...
I was totally happy to find the Self-Titled Mag SoundCloud archives - whatta bonanza!
And finally, major thanks this time to NYC Taper for filling in the promo .mp3 gaps - and really for everything. Extra-great website for legit live recordings! You should be visiting there religiously.
So, here it is:
Gongs to the Tempel - Astral Headspace, Vol. 7
I might fill in some more info after this weekend, but I wanted to rush this out while it's still hot!
Tasty, right? A bit more shuffle-y and schizoid around the fringes... or maybe Jazz Odyssey. In addition to Bandcamp, they've got Facebook and MySpace (with 2 earlier-sounding tunes). So you can keep up with news, and music coming out, and language practice.
There's also live video of some cover tunes...
"Make It Wit' Chu" [QOTSA cover], live Sint-Lodewijkscollege Lokeren 2010
I think it's a different band altogether, definitely a different/earlier line-up... but related. Can't pass up a Queens cover!
A recent Flaming Lips pic tweet reminded me of My Favorite T-Shirt In College, and I was able to find a really nice image from here... I still have the shirt, completely riddled with holes, thinner than Kleenex.
[click for full-size]
As I recall, the orange sections were really more pink... and all of the colors were more flourescent, rather than just bright (although not glow-in-the-dark).
"One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning" by The Flaming Lips (live 1988)
So, yeah. I bought the shirt at the 4/28/1988 Austin show (at The Ritz), opening for Butthole Surfers. Second time I ever saw them, and second night in a row - after the 4/27 Houston show (at Numbers). They were so ridiculously loud back then!
Another one I wore a bunch was my Butthole Surfers shirt, based around the 1st image in this collection of LSD sheet art. Definitely got that one at a later show - possibly The Ensemble on 12/9? The octopus was screened in thick black ink over an orange field, with BUTTHOLE above and SURFERS below.
"Jimi" by Butthole Surfers (live 1988, London)
I liked to wear it to Grateful Dead shows in the late-'80s/early-'90s. It was a big hit!
And just in case you doubted nary a word of what I've told, I now produce evidence!
There it is!! Funny, I don't remember ever noticing the right edge being so distorted. My perception during this era might not have been entirely reliable...
As advertised??
Bonus pix: This was my usual go-to Dead shirt around the same time period - fairly generic, but it got the job done.
At the end of the year, supporters got a surprise from Team Thunderbeam: the soundtrack! And it's making its way out on the internet.
I'd written a little about this situation about a month ago. Then a few weeks ago, The Octopus Project put a couple of songs up on their SoundCloud page, both free for download (currently). Go there, or go to the bottom of this post.
In the meantime, someone's started putting certain songs up on YouTube - so let's check 'em out!
"Diamond Disc" from Thunderbeam! OST (2012)
I dig... a lot!
"The Unknown Worlds" from Thunderbeam! OST (2012)
Not that's some good videogame soundtrack material. I'd listen to that even outside of a video-blasty.
Full title is apparently "The Enlightened Masters (Thunderbeam Finale)," if the YouTube version can be trusted. Now I want to finish the game, once it comes out, and also go see The Octopus Project live. Come back to Houston!
O yeah, in case you didn't go back, here's the "Theme Song" that I'd previously posted:
