Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
MAGIC LANTERN/ SUN ARAW
MAGIC LANTERN- HIGH BEAMS (2008)
downloadMagic Lantern, a noise rock band from Long Beach, California have been cooking up a superb flavor of psychedelic drone delicacy. They are darlings of the beloved Not Not Fun records, whom, in my humble little opinion, are putting out some of the most far out rock music this country has heard in a LONG time. This is some seriously high caliber shit! Pack a bowl and get ready to blast the fuck off!
Not Not Fun are doing an extraordinary job of not only releasing high potency musical drugs for our listening pleasure, but doing so with a serious sense of style. They sell big beautiful LPs as well as cassettes (yes!) which serve as EP style releases. Each cassette has two full sides of experimentalism and creation exploration by the artist, usually something a little different from what is on the records. Cool.
www.notnotfun.com
SUN ARAW- BEACH HEAD (2009)
download
Sun Araw is the side project of someone from Magic Lantern, I am not sure who (they are extremely cryptic folks). This album takes the flavor of High Beams, turns down the fuzz, and shoots it a few thousand miles further into the stratosphere and into some kind of cosmic jungle safari. It also, I should note, maintains consistency in incredibly sick album covers from the ML crew. Sun Araw are my favorite act on the Not Not Fun catologe. Eat up.
More from Sun Araw...
Not Not Fun are doing an extraordinary job of not only releasing high potency musical drugs for our listening pleasure, but doing so with a serious sense of style. They sell big beautiful LPs as well as cassettes (yes!) which serve as EP style releases. Each cassette has two full sides of experimentalism and creation exploration by the artist, usually something a little different from what is on the records. Cool.
www.notnotfun.com
SUN ARAW- BEACH HEAD (2009)
downloadSun Araw is the side project of someone from Magic Lantern, I am not sure who (they are extremely cryptic folks). This album takes the flavor of High Beams, turns down the fuzz, and shoots it a few thousand miles further into the stratosphere and into some kind of cosmic jungle safari. It also, I should note, maintains consistency in incredibly sick album covers from the ML crew. Sun Araw are my favorite act on the Not Not Fun catologe. Eat up.
More from Sun Araw...
SUN ARAW- BOAT TRIP E.P./ LEAVES LIKE THESE CASSETE TAPE
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
GENTLE GIANT- OCTOPUS (1972)
downloadSome music is a piping hot stew of truth and soul that can be very potent to those who have acquired the taste and the fumes of which are repulsive to the desensitized masses who care not to take a taste. It is a combination of time and sound, sure, but it has very little in common with much music you hear while walking through life.
This music, besides preforming whatever function the listener intends it to perform, and besides acting as a gaping illuminated gateway (metaphorically speaking) to nameless emotions and inspirations, somehow art-ic-u-lates the inexpressible ecstaticities of being. The album above is one example of the level of communication that can be achieved when pretense and expectation are erased and things like style and genre are relative to the music, as opposed to music that is a product of its style or genre.
On the shores of actuality you will find ample company. There is much amusement along the boardwalk in the carnival of human folly, and there many hollow conversations to be had. People like to talk about other people, places, things, and, most of all, the past. This can aggravate me and I sometimes have the urge to ship off and try my luck in the ocean of unforeseen happenings.
I sometimes do not enjoy living according to the unspoken code of moral and public decency. Music is the most dangerous, most beneficial, cheapest, most expensive, weakest, most powerful and most addictive drug there is.
My heroes dance on tightropes over this convulsing mess we call society and the media (and more importantly the ugly flowers that bloom from their influence) and the music they create transcends from its sublime origin to the ears of us hopeful land lubbers. We get a little higher the more we listen.
What do you wish and where do you go? Who are you? Where are you from, will you tell me your name? Rest awhile, call me your friend. Please stay with me I’d like to help.
This music, besides preforming whatever function the listener intends it to perform, and besides acting as a gaping illuminated gateway (metaphorically speaking) to nameless emotions and inspirations, somehow art-ic-u-lates the inexpressible ecstaticities of being. The album above is one example of the level of communication that can be achieved when pretense and expectation are erased and things like style and genre are relative to the music, as opposed to music that is a product of its style or genre.
On the shores of actuality you will find ample company. There is much amusement along the boardwalk in the carnival of human folly, and there many hollow conversations to be had. People like to talk about other people, places, things, and, most of all, the past. This can aggravate me and I sometimes have the urge to ship off and try my luck in the ocean of unforeseen happenings.
I sometimes do not enjoy living according to the unspoken code of moral and public decency. Music is the most dangerous, most beneficial, cheapest, most expensive, weakest, most powerful and most addictive drug there is.
My heroes dance on tightropes over this convulsing mess we call society and the media (and more importantly the ugly flowers that bloom from their influence) and the music they create transcends from its sublime origin to the ears of us hopeful land lubbers. We get a little higher the more we listen.
What do you wish and where do you go? Who are you? Where are you from, will you tell me your name? Rest awhile, call me your friend. Please stay with me I’d like to help.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ryan Garbes and Koi Pond
Some very excellent music I found while paroosing the interwebs. Ryan Garbes was the lead singer of the now- defunct Raccoo-oo-oon (of Iowa City, IA). Koi Pond is a band from New York.
I have just added some very good blogs in the links section if you want more of this kind of noisy droney shit that I just love so much.
I have just added some very good blogs in the links section if you want more of this kind of noisy droney shit that I just love so much.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
RACCOO-OO-OON- BEHOLD SECRET KINGDOM (2007)
downloadHeavy free noise experimentalism that soars fearlessly through your speakers like a psychedelic cannonball being shot at your soul. Racco-oo-oon have definitely glid before.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
NATIONAL HEALTH (1979)
downloadNational Health were a Canterbury scene supergroup that formed in the late 70's. Veterans of the scene like Phil Miller of Matching Mole and Dave Stewart of Egg set out to immortalize the Canterbury sound as the seventies came to a close, and they did so beautifully with this self titled release. Superstar session musician Bill Bruford was the initial drummer but was replaced by the late great Pip Pyle (of Gong, Hatfield and the North, the list goes on) before the record was recorded.
National Health are somewhat like the Canterbury version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, knocking out soaring tracks that top ten minutes in length. Miller's guitar work is phenomenal, but it is Stewart's keyboard that really signs this one off as a staple of Canterbury music. His keyboard is definative of the Canterbury sound and that signature tone is as present as ever on this record.
National Health are somewhat like the Canterbury version of Mahavishnu Orchestra, knocking out soaring tracks that top ten minutes in length. Miller's guitar work is phenomenal, but it is Stewart's keyboard that really signs this one off as a staple of Canterbury music. His keyboard is definative of the Canterbury sound and that signature tone is as present as ever on this record.
Friday, August 22, 2008
BOREDOMS- VISION CREATION NEWSUN (2001)
download#1download#2
Swirling, pulsating, vibrating, resonating interstellar noise rock. Hand drums pound like the hoofs of winged horses stampeding through deep space. I mean, look at that album cover. You definitely need this.
THE SOATERAMIC SOUNDS OF MAGOO (1997)
download"The 23 brief tracks on Soateramic Sounds... are a giddy cacophony of fuzzy pop gems. Magoo's songs are noisy, quirky, and occasionally low-fi, but above all they're hooky, with sing-along choruses and friendly melodies packed into every second. It's quite a likeable approach -- some of the album's tracks are rockers, others are mid-tempo pop songs, and still others, surprisingly enough, are atmospheric and rather mellow. Each song casually dedicates itself to churning out snappy, memorable structures. Between the band's charming generosity with melody, their scattered and idiosyncratic approach to instrumental presentation, and their inexhaustible supply of hooks, Soateramic Sounds... proves to be an immensely satisfying listen."
Taken from the all- knowing allmusic guide.
Taken from the all- knowing allmusic guide.
Monday, May 19, 2008
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE- MY BLOODY UNDERGROUND (2008)
downloadBeautiful. Takes time to appreciate, as with any BJM album, but it is made of magic...
See for yourself.
See for yourself.
Monday, May 12, 2008
SOFT MACHINE
Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge(This is after Daevid Allen was forced to leave the band after being denied re- entry into the UK. So where was our Australian alien when this photo was taken? Probably roaming the forests of Deya or perhaps narrowly avoiding serious trouble during the student revolutions in Paris. Oh, that crazy guy.)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
MY BLOODY VALENTINE
My Bloody Valentine have announced US/ Canada tour dates for 2008:
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10-02 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
See you at the New York shows!
09-19-21 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York)
09-22 New York, NY - Roseland
09-23 New York, NY - Roseland
09-25 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh
09-27 Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
09-30 San Francisco, CA - The Concourse
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
10-02 Los Angeles, CA - Santa Monica Civic
See you at the New York shows!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE- TAKE IT FROM THE MAN! (1996)
I don't care what anyone says about Brian Jonestown. I don't even care about DiG!. This album RULES.
Monday, March 10, 2008
THE WILDE FLOWERS
Left to Right: Brian Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper and Kevin Ayres (Canterbury in 1963)They never released an album, but a collection of raw recordings and demos was released in 1993:
The Wilde Flowers- Tales of Canterbury (1993)
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
SUPERGRASS- I SHOULD COCO (1995)
downloadAwesome album. For fans of the Fratellis (who would not exist without Supergrass). Kind of like the Rolling Stones on CRACK.
Monday, March 3, 2008
CARAVAN- IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, I'D DO IT ALL OVER YOU (1970)
downloadCaravan comes from the same Canterbury Scene that produced bands like Matching Mole and Gong.
Caravan take a leap forward in defining their sound on their second album. Extended jams and soaring choruses provide for a hallmark of the early 70's prog rock scene in England (and one of my favorite album covers). Caravan were unique in their style, full of blissful imagery and heavier on jazz influences than other bands in the Canterbury scene. If you like Yes and Pink Floyd you will most likely fall in love with this album (hopefully).
Caravan take a leap forward in defining their sound on their second album. Extended jams and soaring choruses provide for a hallmark of the early 70's prog rock scene in England (and one of my favorite album covers). Caravan were unique in their style, full of blissful imagery and heavier on jazz influences than other bands in the Canterbury scene. If you like Yes and Pink Floyd you will most likely fall in love with this album (hopefully).
Caravan at the Bataclan in Paris, November 26 1973
Thursday, February 21, 2008
CAN- EGE BAMYASI (1972)
If I have a spare 40 minutes, I listen to this album. Really, it's the best way to spend 40 minutes. This album is so brilliant that I have been putting off posting it in reluctance of making the effort of doing it justice with my words.
You may not understand it when you first listen to it, I didn't. Damo Suzuki's lyrics are almost completely illegible (I wonder sometimes if he is even singing words at all), but he sings them with such fluidity that they translate into whatever you want them to mean. These songs were written for YOU. This album is MAGICAL.
Taken from the wonderful and all- powerful All Music Guide:
"The longtime lead vocalist for Krautrock pioneers Can, Kenji "Damo" Suzuki was born in Japan on January 16, 1950. An expatriate street poet inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road, he spent the better part of the late 1960s wandering through Europe, and while busking outside a cafe in Munich in May of 1970 was discovered by Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit; asked to replace the group's former frontman Malcolm Mooney, Suzuki joined them onstage that very night."
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Please download and savor every second of it.
You may not understand it when you first listen to it, I didn't. Damo Suzuki's lyrics are almost completely illegible (I wonder sometimes if he is even singing words at all), but he sings them with such fluidity that they translate into whatever you want them to mean. These songs were written for YOU. This album is MAGICAL.
Taken from the wonderful and all- powerful All Music Guide:
"The longtime lead vocalist for Krautrock pioneers Can, Kenji "Damo" Suzuki was born in Japan on January 16, 1950. An expatriate street poet inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road, he spent the better part of the late 1960s wandering through Europe, and while busking outside a cafe in Munich in May of 1970 was discovered by Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit; asked to replace the group's former frontman Malcolm Mooney, Suzuki joined them onstage that very night."
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Please download and savor every second of it.
Can at the Bataclan in Paris, March 22 1973
THE OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL
The Olivia Tremor Control are FUCKING awesome. It's like George Harrison and Syd Barret started a band. A viable member of the now defunct Athens, GA based Elephant 6 Recording Company Collective that spawned bands like Elf Power and Of Montreal, the first lineup of the Olivia Tremor Control included members that would eventually go on to form bands The Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel (namely Jeff Magnum).
Thier music comes in three flavors: wonderfully crafted and well- rounded Beatles- esque pop rock, mind bending psychedelic sound experiment music, and this kind of very nice aesthetically pleasing soothing ambient atmospheric shit. Way cool.
On their first album, Music from the Unrealized Film Script (Dusk at Cubist Castle), you will get a taste of the first two aforementioned flavors. They like blending these flavors throughout their albums and do so shamelessly (notice the long string of many tracks all entitled "Green Typewriters", that is the kind of sound experiment shit I was talking about). Think of it like one of those swirly soft- serve ice cream machines.
download #2
(it is a hefty album and requires two links)
(it is a hefty album and requires two links)
The demo they released before Cubist castle is also well worth checking out.
Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences was originally packaged as a bonus disc included with Dusk at Cubist Castle, but was subsequently released as its own album several years later. This is an example of the third flavor of OTC, the dreamy ambient music. Very nice to listen to, I like to listen to this while reading, doing schoolwork, or making art. You can listen to it while you do whatever you want to do.
Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences was originally packaged as a bonus disc included with Dusk at Cubist Castle, but was subsequently released as its own album several years later. This is an example of the third flavor of OTC, the dreamy ambient music. Very nice to listen to, I like to listen to this while reading, doing schoolwork, or making art. You can listen to it while you do whatever you want to do.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
MATCHING MOLE'S LITTLE RED RECORD (1972)
download
Matching Mole is the band that Robert Wyatt formed after he left Soft Machine. Their name is a play on "machine molle", the French translation of "Soft Machine". This is their second album.
Produced by King Crimson frontman (and guitar innovator extraordinaire) Robert Fripp, Matching Mole's Little Red Record is a good example of why I love canterbury scene prog so much. Not a perfect example, but a good example. Perfect examples will be posted within the upcoming days.
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