Number five. We've reached critical mass with free internet promo mp3's floating around, to the point that I might run off 2 or 3 of these free comps really quick. My first draft for this one was four-plus hours long, and I didn't just keep the 'best' stuff. Volume 6 is underway...
Don't forget to check out Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and/or especially last year's round-up Vol. 4.
Early through Everything... Astral Headspace, Vol. 5 (click to download) consists of 28 tunes from every corner of the spherical, infinite musical universe. Everyone knows the best music comes from the corners of infinite spheres! Around 2½ hours, there's too much to inventory it all. We've got some psychedelia (both electronic and guitar-based), mid-'60s avant-weirdness, goth-pop, neo-Zeuhl, Kraut-drone, hauntological prog-folk, black ambient from New Mexico, a live jam between Grails and Silver Apples, uhh... that kind of thing.
Song titles, where linked, will take you to someplace you can listen - videos (some are pretty rad), streaming, or whatever. Hopefully you've got the Megaupload thing down, but if not.
Early through Everything... Astral Headspace, Vol. 5 (2011)
1. "Almost Grew My Hair" - Grails (#19, 2010) [live]
- O man, Grails... Excellent new album from Temporary Residence, and I think I got the mp3 from Stereogum.
2. "Tone Cloak" - Woodsman
- These guys were great at the Austin Psych Fest! Mp3 from Altered Zones. Woodsman's side of a tour split-cassette with Tjutjuna - here's the other side. New album available from Lefse Records.
3. "Journey to the Starglow Restaurant" [edit] - Space Debris (#7, 2008)
- Active Krautrock jamband from actual Germany. Several mp3's available at the band's website. The two 2011 archive releases are now on-sale domestically (U.S.) at All That Is Heavy. It's a toss-up whether it's cheaper to just import yourself from Euro-zone.
4. "Tiny Circle" - Wolf People
- I keep circling around this band, including songs on comps, seeing if they'll stick. Maybe this is it now! This song popped up on a bunch of other people's podcast mixes, and I didn't want to be left out. Albums and .mp3's available from Jagjaguwar.
5. "The Condition of Nothing" - White Hills (#5, 2010) [live]
- I need to continue my 2010 Top 10 posts. Caught White Hills in Houston and then at the Austin Psych Fest. Loud and fun, just like this tune. Mp3 and soon the new album H-p1 available at Thrill Jockey.
6. "Smokey Jotus" - Jonas Reinhardt
- Really dig Jonas Reinhardt. Can't believe I missed the album last year. New one's out on Not Not Fun Records, with this mp3 courtesy of Altered Zones.
7. "Zero-Point Field" - Steve Moore (#23, 2010)
- The more synthesizer half of Zombi, this is another file from Altered Zones (AZ). As I mess around with some synth simulator apps, I'm learning the importance of sound design. The 12" single looks available at Rush Hour.
8. "Molecular Cloud (Starbirth)" - Plaens
- One of many like this from MABA Tapes' SoundCloud. I couldn't exactly figure it out, but you might be able to find Distro via their blog...
9. "Illegal Entry with Intent to Zuul" - Umberto (#34, 2010) [live show]
- From the Freeze! 7", where he takes a detour into '80 Action soundz with a Beverly Hills Cops + Ghostbusters theme. Mp3 again from Altered Zones (AZ), and EP again from Not Not Fun (NNF). Here's a YouTube for another track from this one.
10. "Low Ride on Moon Blvd" - White Rainbow (#2 Drone, 2009)
- One of the more tripped-out tunes on the last funked-up mixtape available at White Rainbow Pizza BandCamp... worth exploring.
11. "Druid's Leafy Nest" - Tony Conrad & Angus MacLise [see at end]
- Speaking of maximalism, here's an extended jam from two major names of the '60s. Especially regarding the Velvet Underground history. Altered Zones has recently started sharing music from the past more often.
12. "Caged in Stammheim" - Demdike Stare (#8, 2010)
- I'm a huge, huge fan. Mp3 from A.Z., of course. This tune kicks off Liberation through Healing (2010), stream it on SoundCloud - along with many other Modern Love sets.
13. "A Year and a Day" - Belbury Poly (co-#9, 2010)
- From the last full length, From an Ancient Star (2009), another cool one from Belbury. Mp3 from Altered Zones, album(s) from Ghost Box.
14. "Silk Rd" (live 11/22/2008) - Grails, with Silver Apples [studio]
- Such an important song in Grails history, performed with Simeon from Silver Apples - Nov. 22, 2008. Several Grails mp3's are floating around at Brooklyn Vegan.
15. "For Isabel" - The Alps (#4, 2010)
- From new LP Easy Action from Mexican Summer, with mp3 by Altered Zones (AZ).
16. "Temporary Famine Ship" - Indian Jewelry [live]
- Very cool experimental super-group from here in Houston. This one is from Free Gold! (2008), mp3 and record on We Are Free.
17. "Breathe the Fire" - The Soft Moon
- Gonna dip our collective toe into some more retro-popular styles. While checking out bands for Austin Psych Fest, I got samples from this A.Z. band blurb. Driving post-punk that woulda played well at Numbers.
18. "Mr Peterson" - Perfume Genius
- Got this from Pitchfork, who was in love with this song and artist. Good tune. The vocals, piano and general vibe, remind me quite a bit of Neil Young - specifically "After the Gold Rush."
19. "Just Enough" - Julian Lynch
- Another one that I keep digging what I hear, and keep compiling, but never make the leap. Lynch has a pretty unique aesthetic - kinda smeared and garbled, but melodic. Kinda noisy, without all the irritation. Also from Pitchfork.
20. "Night" - Zola Jesus [live]
- Dark and Souixsiesque, real good voice. The '80s just keep coming back, with varying quality of influences and results. Mp3 from Altered Zones' 2010 Albums mega-post, which I recommend checking out.
21. "Pelham Island Road" - Oneohtrix Point Never (#39, 2010)
- I wanted to like this album more, but this was one of my more favorite tracks on it. And I think I'll keep giving OPN a chance, since I usually like over half his albums quite a lot. Downloaded from this AZ cross-post of this Village Voice interview.
22. "Island Best" - Stellar OM Source
- In the same vein, but OM is a one-woman electro-drone artist! Downloaded from this AZ cross-post of this Foxy Digitalis interview. It also has the word 'island' in the title.
23. "Enter the Host II" [edit] - William Fowler Collins (#8 Drone, 2009)
- Mp3 came from from Root Strata, not sure if they have the casette anymore (ed. of 100). But they give you digital options from that link. I went with Boomkat for price point, FLAC availability, and brand loyalty.
24. "V" - Soothsayer (vid for "IX")
- Another cassette!! I know absolutely nothing about this except what's on the Altered Zones post.
25. "Wizard Tree" - Mothers of Gut
- Same here... Well, except that the comments point to streaming at BandCamp (the other album: $1). Also, that Mothers of Gut is a terrible name.
26. "The Crash Palace of Records" - MV+EE (#8 Live Show, 2009)
- High-grade American guitar music, as usual. Mp3 from Altered Zones, and album from Three Lobed Recordings.
27. "DDB" - The Psychic Paramount [live]
- All I knew was that these guys had played out with Zombi and more recently Maserati & Steve Moore. Their music ended up being looser and louder than I'd expected. Yet another one from from A.Z., with link to the No Quarter record label.
28. "Servant Eye" - Ga'an
- not Zuul, but Zeuhl! Just try to guess where this came from... On the label that shall not be named.
HBSP-2X (a record label) is not buying homes in Beverly Hills.
"Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart" A CAPTCHA (IPA: /ˈkæptʃə/) is a type of challenge-response test used in computing to ensure that the response is not generated by a computer. The process involves one computer (a server) asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade. Because other computers are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, any user entering a correct solution is presumed to be human. A common type of CAPTCHA requires that the user type the letters or digits of a distorted image that appears on the screen. The term "CAPTCHA" was coined in 2000 by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper (all of Carnegie Mellon University), and John Langford (then of IBM). It is a contrived acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart", trademarked by Carnegie Mellon University. A CAPTCHA is sometimes described as a reverse Turing test, because it is administered by a machine and targeted to a human, in contrast to the standard Turing test that is typically administered by a human and targeted to a machine.
Angus MacLise 1938-1979 exhibit, at Boo-Hooray (NYC)
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