Gamingforce Music Exposure Club™

Nujabes - Ristorante Mixtape
Label: Hyde Out Recordings
Year: 2002
Genre: Hip Hop

DOWNLOAD LINK SIDE A
DOWNLOAD LINK SIDE B

I can't find the album art.

1. Ristorante (Side A)
2. Ristorante (Side B)

This mixtape is pretty good. It's got hip hop beats, funk, soul and even some house. There are highs and lows for each track, but I like them. Enjoy the hour and a half mix.

Links of Note:
HydeOut.net
MySpace

Miles Davis - The Complete Birth Of The Cool

Year: 1949
Label: Blue Note (originally, rerelease on Capitol)
Genre: Jazz



From Amazon:
Birth of the Cool is the first important leader date from Miles Davis, one of jazz's most seminal figures and farsighted practitioners. Having made his reputation in large measure from playing with bop giant Charlie Parker, Davis confounded expectations when he embraced the "cool" arranging style of Gil Evans, an arranger for Claude Thornhill's band. Evans, who was employing unique voicings by adding French horns and tuba to Thornhill's instrumentations, also emphasized a diminished use of vibrato in both reeds and brass, producing a drier, "cool" sound. Two of Evans's arrangements, "Boplicity" and "Moon Dreams," appear on the album. Also involved are baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, who contributed such outstanding tunes as "Jeru" and "Venus de Milo," and Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis. The result is a date that has withstood the tests of time, fashion, and Davis's own extraordinary growth as a performer. An enhanced set, The Complete Birth of the Cool expands the original issue with previously bootlegged live recordings of Davis's nonet at the Royal Roost in New York in 1948. Although the sound quality is far from perfect, the performances are remarkable, and worth the additional expense for the serious fan. --Fred Goodman

Tracks:
1. Move
2. Jeru
3. Moon Dreams
4. Venus de Milo
5. Budo
6. Deception
7. Godchild
8. Boplicity
9. Rocker
10. Israel
11. Rouge
12. Darn That Dream

Live Set:
13. Birth of the Cool Theme
14. Symphony Sid Announces the Band
15. Move
16. Why Do I Love You?
17. Godchild
18. Symphony Sid Introduction
19. S'il Vous Plait
20. Moon Dreams
21. Budo (Hallucination)
22. Darn That Dream
23. Move
24. Moon Dreams
25. Budo (Hallucination)

The creation of a genre

Here are two albums from one of my favorite artists EVAR, The Mountain Goats (aka John Darnielle). Both albums are excellent, though The Sunset Tree is more accessible to newcomers. I highly recommend both.



The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
2005 :: Alternative :: 4AD

Download here



1. You Or Your Memory
2. Broom People
3. This Year
4. Dilaudid
5. Dance Music
6. Dinu Lipatti's Bones
7. Up The Wolves
8. Lion's Teeth
9. Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod
10. Magpie
11. Song For Dennis Brown
12. Love Love Love
13. Pale Green Things

AMG:
John Darnielle is a compulsive writer forever clutching his stomach as songs pour out uncontrollably into whatever recording device is in front of him. What sets him apart from other prolific artists in the indie rock world (Conor Oberst, Ryan Adams, Stephin Merritt) whose records and side projects can't keep up with the flow of their pens is his almost alarming gift for pairing quantity with quality. After dropping the devastating Tallahassee -- a record that followed in gory detail the imagined demise of a Florida couple's marriage -- in 2002, he turned his focus inward, taking an almost autobiographical stance on the follow-up, We Shall All Be Healed, a framework that is applied tenfold on the riveting The Sunset Tree. This is John Cougar Mellencamp's Scarecrow if it were set in southern California and narrated by Charles Bukowski. At the center is Darnielle's abusive stepfather, who slyly receives the album's dedication. He's a drunk, a misguided disciplinarian, and a lousy role model for the young artist who plies away his days in a haze of liquor-fueled misogyny, wistful romanticism, and good old-fashioned teen angst, always aware that each night will end in violence. Darnielle's talent for writing an engaging narrative is matched only by the succinctness of the music behind it. This is especially true on standout cuts like "This Year," a near-perfect snapshot of youthful defiance with its rousing, last-road-trip-ever refrain of "I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me," and "Lion's Teeth," an uncomfortable moment of clarity that looks rage in both eyes without flinching, using a string-laden backbeat to up the suspense. Despite The Sunset Tree's white-knuckle subject matter and salt-in-the-wound imagery, it's surprisingly accessible. It's a gloves-off catharsis occurring in real time for the gifted singer/songwriter, and it leaves a mark on the listener as well.




The Mountain Goats - Full Force Galesburg
1997 :: Alternative :: Emperor Jones

Download here



1. New Britain
2. Snow Owl
3. West Country Dream
4. Masher
5. Chinese House Flowers
6. Ontario
7. Down Here
8. Twin Human Highway Flares
9. Weekend In Western Illinois
10. US Mill
11. Song For The Julian Calendar
12. Maize Stalk Drinking Blood
13. Evening In Stalingrad
14. Minnesota
15. Original Air-Blue-Gown
16. It's All Here In Brownsville

AMG:
John Darnielle's lo-fi, acoustic passion is in full effect on Full Force Galesburg. As usual, there's little to distinguish one song from the next, and, as usual, Darnielle doesn't need to do any distinguishing, as he gets by on emotion alone. The Mountain Goats' albums are known for quickly strummed guitars and brittle, affected vocals. There are quiet moments to be found on Full Force Galesburg, such as "Weekend in Western Illinois," but for the most part, the album makes its stance with those fierce, poetic vocals and rapid guitar work of past releases. "Song for the Julian Calendar" certainly has shimmering, bright elements, and it almost seems that one is listening to chamber pop. That's the kind of tone that Darnielle is able to create; you get the feeling that you're listening to something quite lush, but you know it's been primitively recorded. There are moments where his guitar echoes Johnny Marr's early work with the Smiths and even the bass of New Order's Peter Hook. It's a driving, jangling quality that never grows tiresome over the album's 16 tracks. Whether he's fumbling around memories of watching Cassius Clay on "Original Air-Blue-Gown" or desperately repeating "it's all coming apart again" on "It's All Here in Brownsville," Darnielle's lyrics and songs always make for an interesting listen. While the music might not bring a listener to tears, it can work to sadden or uplift during a lonely moment. Full Force Galesburg is not for everyone, if simply for the lo-fi recording and depth of emotion on display. It's an album of gentle, yet passionate catharsis, and it's never really less than compelling.

Gospeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
(10/23/00, Kranky, Post Rock)



1. storm [22:32]
i. lift yr. skinny fists, like antennas to heaven... [00:00 - 06:15]
ii. gathering storm [06:15 - 17:25] [KT]
iii. "welcome to barco am/pm..." [l.a.x.; 5/14/00] [17:25 - 18:40]
iv. cancer towers on holy road hi-way [18:40 - 22:32]
2. static [22:35]
i. terrible canyons of static [00:00 - 03:34]
ii. atomic clock [03:34 - 04:43]
iii. chart #3 [04:43 - 07:22] [KT]
iv. world police and friendly fire [07:22 - 17:10] [KT]
v. [...+the buildings they are sleeping now] [17:10 - 22:35]
3. sleep [23:17] [KT]
i. murray ostril: "...they don't sleep anymore on the beach..." [00:00 - 01:10]
ii. monheim [01:10 - 13:24]
iii. broken windows, locks of love pt. III. / 3rd part [13:24 - 23:17]
4. antennas to heaven [18:57]
i. moya sings "baby-o"... [00:00 - 01:00]
ii. edgyswingsetacid [01:00 - 01:58]
iii. [glockenspiel duet recorded on a campsite in rhinebeck, n.y.] [01:58 - 02:45]
iv. "attention...mon ami...fa-lala-lala-la-la..." [55-St.Laurent] [02:45 - 04:03]
v. she dreamt she was a bulldozer, she dreamt she was alone in an empty field [04:03 - 13:46] [KT]
vi. deathkamp drone [13:46 - 16:55]
vii. [antennas to heaven...] [16:55 - 18:57]

[KT] represents "Key Track", or, in most cases here, Key 'Movement'.

AMG Review

Lift Your Skinny Fists, to me, is basically this band's magnum opus. At 80 minutes long, and running the course of two discs, Lift is a sprawling work that encompasses the diverse elements and influences of the band and gives them room to explore. It starts with a strings theme, very classically-influenced, building and building, and horn sections break loose in a heavily layered climax that leads to nothing. A lone guitar picks a theme reminiscent of "Amazing Grace" over hummed strings. Tribal-sounding drums pound in the entrance of a minor theme. A mini-mart warns customers of solicitors and homeless people, which leads to sparse piano chords and haunting ambience. And this is just track one. Other tracks explore territory that borrows and steals from Electronica, one quietly build violin themes into overpowering, fast-paced rock-outs, one sets layered, nimble hip-hop drumming against heartwrenching outcries of joy against despair.

This album is a serious investment of time, especially as it deserves to be listened to as a whole to be fully appreciated. So, find yourself 80 minutes of free time, find a comfy chair, close your eyes, and immerse yourself in the experience.

Lift Your Skinny Fists

José Gonzáles - Veneer
Label: Hidden Agenda
Year: 2005
Genre: Acoustic/Folk



DOWNLOAD LINK

1. Slow Moves
2. Remain
3. Lovestain
4. Heartbeats
5. Crosses
6. Deadweight On Velveteen
7. All You Deliver
8. Stay In The Shade
9. Hints
10. Save Your Day
11. Broken Arrows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It's taken two years for the debut album by singer/songwriter José González (Swedish, obv.) to reach these shores, and it's easy to see what nudged it here. González's sparse recordings showcase hushed, double-tracked vocals, haunted imagery, and a clearly gifted classical guitarist. His gripping acoustic cover of countryfolk the Knife's electro-pop "Heartbeats" was even a minor hit in his homeland. An ethereal, sometimes-aloof troubadour, González will sing you to sleep and then dash off under cover of night, leaving only cold-sweat nightmares and an unopened bottle of sweet vermouth.

Yup, two years, and on Veneer, González suggests he'd kinda like to stick around for a few more. Permanence is a pressing concern: With bongos and a hint of bossa nova, "Remain" emphasizes perseverance, while the scant lyrics of handclap-enhanced "Lovestain" complain of the marks you can't just shout out of you heart, maaan. The arrangements are full of Nick Drake-style open tunings ("Stay in the Shade", in particular, can't escape the shadow of that introvert-folk patron saint) and only a forlorn trumpet on closer "Broken Arrow" disrupting the guit/vox/maybe-tasteful-percussion train to Starbucks-comp paydirt.

As with like-minded songstress Emiliana Torrini, González is at his best when he forces a personality onto his faceless raw materials. The distinctive finger-picking on "Crosses", the best original song on the disc, rises like the spires of a Gothic cathedral, giving form to lyrics about a redemptive light in the darkness (any religious inferences, meanwhile, are left entirely to the listener). By comparison, sotto voce opener "Slow Moves" tries a little too hard to sound like its quiet-is-the-new-loud forebears, with a meta-chorus too wispy to hold tight 'til morning: "My moves are slow/ But soon they'll know".

González's aforementioned "Heartbeats" cover is nearly as spine-tingling as the original, if not its frenetic Rex the Dog remix. Echoing M. Ward's "Let's Dance", Iron & Wine's "Such Great Heights", and Frente!'s "Bizarre Love Triangle", González strips the electro-pop down to an acoustic lullaby, laying bare a powerful melody and deceptively evocative lyrics about love, regret and nostalgia. González has also covered Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart", and the gulf that remains between these must-hears and his self-composed material is significant. González knows a great song when he hears it, and he plays a mean guitar, but in 2003 he was still more raw than the overseas buzz suggested; Veneer is nice, but it may just scratch the surface.

Review blatantly plagiarized from Pitchfork Media. I would have written a review myself, but I'm kind of tired and I figured it was only fitting to post the Pitchfork words since this is where I first heard of this artist.

"To call for hands of above to lean on wouldn't be good enough for me, no"

Following up Iwata's Afrobeat post...

You guys need to listen to some Fela Kuti!
I've got a ton of his albums, but just for starters...
Check out :


Fela Kuti - The Best Best of... (2000, MCA, Afrobeat)



Disc: 1
1. Lady
2. Shakara
3. Gentlemen - Edit Version
4. Water No Get Enemy - Edit Version
5. Zombie
6. Sorrow Tears & Blood
7. No Agreement - Part 2

Disc: 2
1. Roforofo Fight
2. Shuffering And Shmiling - Part 2
3. Coffin For Head Of State - Part 2
4. I T T - Part 2
5. Army Arrangement - Part 2
6. O D O O - Edit Version

Graciously lifted from Amazon:

Amazon.com
Political activist, outspoken radical, and inventor of Afro-beat, Fela Anikulapo ("he who carries death in his pouch") Kuti left behind him an incomparable legacy of music when he died in 1997. His struggles against the Nigerian state became the stuff of legend in his home country; his denunciations of world leaders such as Reagan and Thatcher gained him notoriety abroad. But his music remains as his supreme achievement over and above the details of his amazingly courageous life, even if many (most) of his lyrics are angry condemnations of politicians. His vast output of recordings can hardly be distilled onto two discs, but Black President (named after a classic 1981 album) is nevertheless a good introduction to this extraordinary man and his music. The album lacks any personnel details and fails to indicate the origins of each track, but it scarcely matters: Fela's band, Africa 70, was a large and always flexible group (it rarely actually boasted 70 members), with the only constant presence being his 30 backing singers, most of whom were also his wives! Throughout, the beats are solid, the solos are never overpowering, and the rhythm--the powerful, hypnotic rhythm--is always preeminent. If, in the end, it's impossible to divorce Fela Kuti's music from his life, it is at least a real pleasure just to play this album and let his grooves possess your spirit. --Mark Walker


DOWNLOAD LINK
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9EJUFRUO

Ismail Darbar - Devdas (OST)

1. "Silsila ye chaahat ka" - Shreya Ghosal
2. "Maar Daala" - Kavita Subramaniam, KK
3. "Bairi Piya" - Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghosal
4. "Kaahe Chhed Mohe" - Pandit Birju Maharaj
5. "Chalak Chalak" - Udit Narayan, Vinod, Kavita
6. "Hamesha Tumko Chaha" - Udit Narayan, Kavita
7. "Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki" - Udit Narayan
8. "Morey Piya" - Jaspinder Narula, Shreya
9. "Devdas - The Theme" - Rashmi Sharma
10. "Dola re Dola" - Kavita, Shreya

Devdas is a classic story Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay which has been adapted into at least three very famous films in the history of Indian cinema. This is the soundtrack to the 2002 version composed by Ismail Darbar with some of the most famous newer generation of playback singers appearing on the tracks. Planet Bollywood gave it a 9 out of 10 in this review (use bugmenot or user:bugmenot pass:bugmenot) and calls it the "highest paid for soundtrack ever". It may help to see the movie with these... but, it's definitely not necessary.

In any case, recommended tracks:

Silsila ye Chaahat ka - roommate's favorite
Dola Re Dola - most overplayed
Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki - friend's favorite
Kaahe Chhed Mohe - my momentary recommendation

Autechre - Incunabula

Release: 1993
Label: Warp / TVT
Genre: Electronica / Ambient / Experimental



This is one of my favourite albums of all time. The deepness here is absolute - whether these guys were merely experimenting with sounds on machines or making heartfelt music, they created a 78 minute electronica masterpiece that surpasses any test of time.

Amazon Member Review (excerpt, source)
"Incunabula comes up with very beautiful and aesthetic melodies which never seem to be trite, formless, or trashy. Rather allied to '70s electronic pioneers like Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream, Incunabula is also a work with concept character. From "Eggshell" on, Autechre take you on a pleasant, neverending journey through time and space. I never thought that electronic music could have such an emotional power and quality. This is excellent trance music without the boredom of many other new age or ambient records. Unlike many of Autechre's other efforts, this album is palatable for everyone, even for people who usually don't care about techno music."

Track List
01. Kalpol Introl
02. Bike
03. Autriche
04. Bronchus 2
05. Basscadet
06. Eggshell
07. Doctrine
08. Maetl
09. Windwind
10. Lowride
11. 444

Download Link

~~~~~~~~~~

em:t 0095 - Gas

Release: 1995
Label: em:t
Genre: Electronica / Experimental / Techno



Another favourite of all time. Being on the deeply ecclectic record lable "em:t", this album painfully remains unknown to the greater electronica scene, but has its occasional airplay on the odd ambient net broadcast. The sound is dark and surreal, ideal for a clear night away from civilization.

Track List
01. Generator 0000
02. Experiments on Live Electricity
03. Microscopic
04. Miniscule; Pixels
05. Vapourware
06. SeOCl2 (Selenium)
07. Earthshake
08. Mathematics and Electronics
09. Timestretch; Earthloop
10. F
11. H2TeO3 (Tellurium)
12. Generator 0072; Pink; Doom

Download Link


(These albums and other associated paraphernalia may also be found on my server {see signature}.)

Regina Spektor - Soviet Kitsch
2005 :: Sire :: Pop



1. Ode to Divorce
2. Poor Little Rich Boy
3. Carbon Monoxide
4. The Flowers
5. Us
6. Sailor Song
7. ***
8. Your Honor
9. The Ghost of Corporate Future
10. Chemo Limo
11. Somedays

Download here

AMG:
Maybe it's just the preponderance of piano in her music, but Regina Spektor sounds more like a traditional singer/songwriter (in the best sense of that phrase) than her anti-folk contemporaries. On Soviet Kitsch, her third album -- and major label debut -- her sound is more refined than ever before, but there are still plenty of rough edges and unexpected twists and turns. The Fiona Apple and Cat Power comparisons that have been leveled at Spektor since her first album 11:11 are still valid, particularly on songs like "Carbon Monoxide" and "Somedays," but Spektor is more theatrical and playful than either of those artists. Quirky character sketches such as "Ghost of Corporate Future" and "Ode to Divorce," and flights of fancy like the charming "Us" are quintessentially Spektor; though her songs may not be diary entries set to music, she imbues them with lots of personality and intimate details. Nowhere is this more apparent than on "Chemo Limo" a strangely uplifting song about a woman living with (not dying from) cancer that ends up being one of Soviet Kitsch's standout moments. "Flowers," which begins with a section inspired by her classical training and then moves to a part based on her Russian Jewish heritage, also shows how easily Spektor can incorporate different sounds and ideas into her own music. She does a 180 on the raw "Sailor Song," on which she gleefully yells, "Marianne's a b*tch," and on the punky, off-the-cuff "Your Honor," which also features the London rock group Kill Kenada. A few of Soviet Kitsch's songs, like "Poor Little Rich Boy," concentrate on the childlike, mischievous side of Spektor's sound that puts her in the love-it-or-hate-it category for some listeners. Still, Spektor is an engaging performer throughout the album, and despite her arty quirks, she's never pretentious. She originally self-released Soviet Kitsch nearly two years before Sire released it, so it'll be interesting to hear what she does next.

Blind Willie McTell - The Complete Recorded Works Vol. I, II & III

Year: Released 1990, recorded 1927-1935
Label: Document
Genre: Acoustic blues



AMG on all three discs:
Of all the compilations of McTell's early work, this is probably the most rewarding, because it includes both his Victor songs (including "Statesboro Blues") and his Columbia sides (which have been issued separately by Columbia-Legacy), and RCA-BMG seems to be in no hurry to put any of the Victor material out as a comprehensive collection. The songs all have some noise -- there are no "masters" to speak of on acoustic blues of this vintage -- but none of it is overly obtrusive, and the orderly chronology is very illuminating.

The second volume in Document's series opens with the first of two October 1931 sessions pairing Blind Willie McTell with the Atlanta street singer Ruth Willis; although her vocals remain the primary focus, these tracks contain some of McTell's most impressive instrumental work, with his playing deceptively simple and loose. Curley Weaver lends second guitar to a number of other performances, allowing McTell's 12-string to return to its proper position of prominence; also included are his early excursions into gospel, with performances of "Lord Have Mercy If You Please" and "Don't You See How This World Made a Change" distinguished by some devastating slide work.

Blind Willie McTell's final pre-war sessions are the subject of the third and last disc in Document's series. The set begins with a September 1933 session covering a wide range of stylistic ground, ranging from the songster staple "Honey Fare Thee Well" (covered here as "East St. Louis Blues") to Bumble Bee Slim's "B and O Blues"; most remarkable is "Bell Street Lightnin'," a gripping and vivid portrait of Depression-era life at its most tragic. The final dates, from April 1935, comprise McTell's material for Decca, recorded with wife Kate and guitarist Curley Weaver; assembled in large part of gospel material, they also include "Hillbilly Willie's Blues," an overt and hugely entertaining attempt to appeal to the Southern white listening audience.


He was a truly remarkable musician, and is often overlooked. Disc one is my favourite, if only for the vocal interplay on "This Is Not The Stove To Brown Your Bread".

Tracks:

Disc 1:
1. Writing Paper Blues
2. Stole Rider Blues
3. Mama, 'Tain't Long Fo' Day
4. Mr. McTell Got the Blues
5. Mr. McTell Got the Blues
6. Three Women Blues
7. Dark Night Blues
8. Statesboro Blues
9. Loving Talking Blues
10. Atlanta Strut
11. Travelin' Blues
12. Come on Around to My House Mama
13. Kind Mama
14. Teasing Brown
15. Drive Away Blues
16. This Is Not the Stove to Brown Your Bread
17. Love Changing Blues
18. Talkin' to Myself
19. Razor Blues
20. Southern Can Is Mine
21. Broke Down Engine
22. Stomp Down Rider
23. Scarey Day Blues

Disc 2:
1. Rough Alley Blues
2. Experience Blues
3. Painful Blues
4. Low Rider's Blues
5. Georgia Rag
6. Low Down Blues
7. Rollin' Mama Blues
8. Lonesome Day Blues
9. Mama, Let Me Scoop for You
10. Searching the Desert for the Blues
11. Warm It up to Me
12. It's Your Time to Worry
13. It's a Good Little Thing
14. You Was Born to Die
15. Lord Have Mercy If You Please
16. Don't You See How This World Made a Change
17. Savannah Mama
18. Broke Down Engine
19. Broke Down Engine No. 2
20. My Baby's Gone
21. Love-Makin' Mama
22. Death Room Blues
23. Death Cell Blues
24. Lord, Send Me an Angel

Disc 3:
1. B & O Blues, No. 2 [#1]
2. B & O Blues, No. 2 [#2]
3. Weary Hearted Blues
4. Bell Street Lightnin'
5. Southern Can Mama
6. Runnin' Me Crazy
7. East St. Louis Blues (Fare You Well)
8. Ain't It Grand to Be a Christian
9. We Got to Meet Death One Day, Take A
10. We Got to Meet Death One Day, Take B
11. Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around
12. I Got Religion, I'm So Glad
13. Dying Gambler
14. God Don't Like It
15. Bell Street Blues
16. Let Me Play With Yo' Yo-Yo
17. Lay Some Flowers on My Grave
18. Ticket Agent Blues
19. Cold Winter Day
20. Your Time to Worry
21. Cooling Board Blues
22. Hillbilly Willie's Blues

Get All Three

Double Post:
Bonzo Dog Band - Cornology

Year: Recorded '68-'72, released '98
Label: EMI
Genre: British weirdness



This is a box set containing all of the band's original albums, as well as some rarities. Click for reviews of each individual album, and some general knowledge on what the hell this band is doing. Also, see if you can find the Clapton appearance.

Disc One:
1. Cool Britannia
2. Equestrian Statue
3. Jollity Farm
4. I Left My Heart in San Francisco
5. Look Out, There's a Monster Coming
6. Jazz, Delicious Hot, Disgusting Cold
7. Death Cab for Cutie
8. Narcissus
9. Intro and the Outro
10. Mickey's Son and Daughter
11. Big Shot
12. Music for the Head Ballet
13. Piggy Bank Love
14. I'm Bored
15. Sound of Music
16. We Are Normal
17. Postcard
18. Beautiful Zelda
19. Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?
20. Hello Mabel
21. Kama Sutra
22. Humanoid Boogie
23. Trouser Press
24. My Pink Half of the Drainpipe
25. Rockaliser Baby
26. Rhinocratic Oaths
27. 11 Moustachioed Daughters

Get It

Disc Two:
1. Hunting Tigers Out in "Indiah"
2. Shirt
3. Tubas in the Moonlight
4. Dr. Jazz
5. Monster Mash
6. I'm the Urban Spaceman
7. Ali Baba's Camel
8. Laughing Blues
9. By a Waterfall
10. Mr. Apollo
11. Canyons of Your Mind
12. You Done My Brain In
13. Keynsham
14. Quiet Talks and Summer Walks
15. Tent
16. We Were Wrong
17. Joke Shop Man
18. Bride Stripped Bare by "Bachelors"
19. Look at Me, I'm Wonderful
20. What Do You Do?
21. Mr. Slater's Parrot
22. Sport (The Odd Boy)
23. I Want to Be With You
24. Noises for the Leg
25. Busted

Download

Disc Three:
1. My Brother Makes the Noises for the Talkies
2. I'm Going to Bring a Watermelon to My Girl Tonight
3. Alley-Oop
4. Button up Your Overcoat
5. Mr. Apollo
6. Ready-Mades
7. Strain
8. Turkeys
9. King of Scurf
10. Waiting for the Wardrobe
11. Straight from My Heart
12. Rusty (Champion Thrust)
13. Rawlinson End
14. Don't Get Me Wrong
15. Fresh Wound
16. Bad Blood
17. Slush
18. Labio Dental Fricative
19. Re-Cycled Vinyl Blues: Take Good Care of My Baby/White Christmas/Caroli
20. Trouser Freak

Get It

The Rocky Horror Picture Show Original Cast Recording

Year: 1975
Label: Rhino
Genre: Musical



You should already own this. The greatest musical of all time. Tim Curry! Susan Sarandon! Barry Bostwick! Meat Loaf! Dr. Scott! The timeless tale of two unfortunate travellers who happen upon a castle filled with transvestite aliens. Written by Richard O' Brien, who also appears as Riff Raff, the faithful handyman.

Tracks:
1. Science Fiction/Double Feature
2. Dammit Janet
3. Over at the Frankenstein Place
4. Time Warp
5. Sweet Transvestite
6. I Can Make You a Man
7. Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul
8. I Can Make You a Man (Reprise)
9. Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me
10. Eddie
11. Rose Tint My World: Floor Show/Fanfare/Don't Dream It/Wild and Untamed
12. I'm Going Home
13. Super Heroes
14. Science Fiction/Double Feature (Reprise)

Come up to the lab, and see what's on the slab.

Nico - Chelsea Girl

Year: 1967
Label: Polygram
Genre: Folkish



What AMG has to say:
Although Chelsea Girl (1967) was the first long-player from the German-born Christa Päffgen, it was not her debut solo effort. Prior to becoming involved with the Velvet Underground and while under the direction of Andrew Loog Oldham, Nico issued an obscure 7" on the mod pop Immediate label. The song selection on that 1965 single -- which featured a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "I'm Not Sayin'" and an Oldham co-composition with Jimmy Page called "Last Mile" -- foreshadowed the eclectic nature of this LP. Although the dissolution between the vocalist and core instrumental quartet was not without its share of acrimony, the non-percussive contingent of the Velvet Underground is heavily featured on Chelsea Girl: along with then-unknown singer/songwriter Jackson Browne (guitar) -- the vocalist's concurrent love interest -- there is Lou Reed (guitar), Sterling Morrison (guitar/bass), and John Cale (piano/bass/viola), who contrast what they had been doing with the larger combo. These sides are decidedly "unplugged," providing a folky and Baroque setting for Nico's dark and brooding vocal inflections. There is an introspective foresight in Browne's "Fairest of the Seasons," "These Days," and "Somewhere There's a Feather." The minimalist string section features a quaint, yet effective arrangement giving the material a distinctly European feel. There is a palpable distinction between those lighter cuts and the menacing Velvet Underground-conceived material. At the center of the project are the extended "It Was a Pleasure Then" and the stunning semi-autobiographical Reed/Morrison title track. The juxtaposition of such honest and at times harrowing imagery to Nico's inherently bleak delivery is nothing short of an inspired artistic statement which has since long outlasted its initial socially relevant context -- similar to the more modern contributions of Laurie Anderson, Ann Magnuson, and Patti Smith. An unqualified masterpiece.

Tracks:
1. Fairest of the Seasons
2. These Days
3. Little Sister
4. Winter Song
5. It Was a Pleasure Thing
6. Chelsea Girls
7. I'll Keep It With Mine
8. Somewhere There's a Feather
9. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
10. Eulogy to Lenny Bruce

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The Vandermark 5 - Simpatico

Year: 1999
Label: Atavistic
Genre: Free Jazz



From AMG:
The Vandermark 5 are remarkable on their third recording. Reedmen Ken Vandermark and Dave Rempis are joined by trombonist/guitarist Jeb Bishop, Kent Kessler on bass, and drummer Tim Mulvenna in making some of the most exciting new jazz in the world today. Using American jazzmen for their spiritual inspiration and the European model of free jazz improv, Vandermark and company have come up with something entirely their own: a solid, gritty, soulful funk and squall band who holds within their collective grasp the souls of Sun Ra, Steve Lacy, Albert Ayler, and James Brown's JBs. The eight tunes on Simpatico are all tributes to various jazz and improv greats who have been influential to Vandermark in one way or another. There's the sleet-sheet skronk of "Vent," with Bishop's guitar creating an edgy tension for the horns to play in counterpoint to the rhythm section. In "Fact or Fiction (For Curtis Counce)," the spirit of Les Koenig's Contemporary Records is evoked with its open-wristed swing and minor modes that land just this side of blue. "Point Blank (For Frank Rosalino)" has the bass clarinet solo actually touch on Rosalino's own sense of harmonic architecture, growing out from E-flat into a spider web angularity that embraces the bop arpeggio technique as well as Eric Dolphy's sense of spatial breath. By the time listeners get to Bishop's trombone solo, the entire axis of harmony has been shifted to an imploding sense of phraseology versus teleology and linguistic exchange. What is taking place in the improv is that the three horn players are fighting over Rosalino's clipped modalism. Simpatico is the finest movement yet from a band who seems to be just getting started.


Without a doubt in my mind, the greatest jazz album of the last 30 years.

Tracks:
1. Vent
2. Fact and Fiction
3. Full Deck
4. Anywhere Else
5. STHLM
6. Cover to Cover
7. Point Blank
8. Encino

For Mats Gustaffson

Yes - Tales From Topographic Oceans [Bonus Tracks]
(2003, Rhino, Prog-Rock/Art Rock)



Disc One:
1. The Revealing Science of God -- Dance of the Dawn
2. The Remembering High The Memory
3. The Ancient Giants Under the Sun

Disc Two
4. Ritual - Nous Sommes Du Soleil
5. Dance of the Dawn [Studio Run-Through] (Bonus Track)
6. Giants Under The Sun [Studio Run-Through] (Bonus Track)


AMG Review


Originally concieved, recorded, marketed and sold as a four-track, two disc album, this version fits the first three onto one disc and stuffs two bonus tracks on the second disc. This project is the single most ambitious undertaking in Yes' career, and despite that this was relatively early, that statement had weight even in its day. Having already produced such masterpieces as Fragile and Close to the Edge, some people were left to wonder what Yes would do next, when would they run out of ideas? According to one story, some prominent person at the time joked that they would next tackle the Bible.

...Close enough.

Jon's liner notes, which are quite thorough, detail how the album's four songs reflect four different stages in an Eastern philosophy of life, particularly those described in "Autobiography of a Yogi". Jon Anderson had been obsessed with Eastern mythos and ideaology, so making this record was probably what he'd been sitting on for a while, just waiting for the right inspiration to strike. When he got inspired, it came fast and hard. The band thought up, wrote, and recorded the album in seven months, producing a highly experimental Progressive album that broke all the boundaries of Rock that Yes had yet to break, while containing passages of extreme beauty and power. The movements to Yes' symphony build and arch, tense up unbearably, and release magnificently.

And, just like 90% of every other thing you'll get from this thread, DO NOT judge this album from a single listen. To unlock the secrets held here takes repeated, patient listens. If you "get" this album, it'll be one of the most magnificent albums you listen to. Once I got it, I loved every minute of it. The slow entry leading to that first riff... perfect. I get chills when the whole band pounds in that first time.


Get in touch with your arty side.

Nujabes - Metaphorical Music
Label: Dimid Recordings
Year: 2003
Genre: Hip-Hop



DOWNLOAD LINK

1. Blessing It (Remix)
2. Horn in the Middle
3. Lady Brown
4. Kumomi
5. Highs 2 Lows
6. Beat Laments the World
7. Letter from Yokosuka
8. Think Different
9. A Day By Atmosphere Supreme
10. Next View
11. Latitude -remix
12. F.I.L.O.
13. Summer Gypsy
14. The Final View
15. Peaceland


Nujabes - Metaphorical Music
Label: Hyde Out Productions
Year: 2005
Genre: Hip-Hop



DOWNLOAD LINK

1. Feather
2. Ordinary Joe
3. Reflection Eternal
4. Luv (sic.) pt.3
5. Music Is Mine
6. Eclipse
7. The Sign
8. Thank You
9. World's End Rhapsody
10. Modal Soul
11. Flowers
12. Sea of Cloud
13. Light On the Land
14. Horizon

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These uploads go out to my boy Plug 4. I hope he makes it back in one piece.

I first heard of Nujabes when I was introduced to Samurai Champloo in 2004. I loved the anime for its own animation and story, but what really stuck out to me more than anything was the music. Call it the most severe of circumstantial juxtapositions, but somehow the setting of feudal Japan samurai being given a hip-hop soundtrack was odd, yet oh-so-perfect. Like wine to thirsty lips I slurped up every soundtrack and was left jonesin' for more. Sooner or later I came to find out that, unlike Shinichiro Watanabe's last anime series (Cowboy Bebop), the soundtrack wasn't composed by seasoned musical veteran Yoko Kanno. Instead, it was written by a relatively green, but eager artist known only as Nujabes. (Born Jun Seba)

I can honestly say with every breath that Nujabes introduced me to a new breed of hip-hop. A new facet of the genre which I never knew that could be explored by such simplicity, yet also have such depth that even oceans would be left in awe of. Every one of these tracks is like Jun puts it himself in "Feather": Keepin' it vertical, forever elevator, ridin' an escalator to something that is greater.

Nujabes' music is the kind of laid-back lyrical sedation that instantly puts you in the kind of head-bobbin' good mood that only hip-hop can trance you into. It's especially great in trancending jazz, pop and hip-hop. These two albums are orgasmic doses of this aural drug and I demand that every last one of you takes a good long toke of it.

"It's funny how the music puts times in perspective. Add a soundtrack to your life and perfect it."