Bowling for bears

James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual

2011-11-28T13:43:00.001-08:00

Note: this isn't listening music, it's an art piece.
As such, it utilizes the same themes chillwave relies on (nostalgia, a DIY approach, de- and re-contextualization of old, even dated material) to mock that genre and all its associations. The message of the album is quite complex: Ferraro is asserting that originality of material is unnecessary in art (which has been a topic in the art world at least since Duchamp), but he also seems to think that our current culture is devoid of originality. Whereas the tape culture Ferraro came from prefers to make its references unrecognizable by way of distortion, elongation, etc. (and this can certainly be applied to any and all music influenced by the proto-sampling of early Tape Music, up to and including Hip Hop, Techno, Pop, etc.); on this album the focus is on using these processes without masking the source material. In effect, the result is a demasking of the past, say, decade of electronica, but more importantly of American culture at large, which certainly seems (to me, at least) to often be a collection of rehashed tropes.
This is why it's fairly useless to comment on particular sounds; the fact that the Skype sound is more recognizable than another corporate sample is only coincidence, and Ferraro intends all of them to be on an equal footing with the shitty preset synth sounds throughout the album. Indeed, even to speak about individual tracks seems futile, because the approach is what's revolutionary here, not the auditory result. By creating such a raw—and at times, ugly—work by essentially inverting modern music, Ferraro shows that American culture often presents nothing other than decoration. This in itself is worth noting (it's also a major theme in Klimt's work), but I would assert that Ferraro goes one step further to show that this culture is not simply ornamentation, but a ruse.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek irreverence, this is a truly honest album, and, like Swift's "A Modest Proposal," it is a premonition of our society's future based on current trends. Ferraro's past career was very much hit-or-miss, but he cements his status as both an artist and a social commentator with this forward-thinking album.

Essential listening.

http://www.mediafire.com/?l7ad4rnbbp3pv02

Andy Stott - Passed Me By

2011-08-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry bout the wait. I've been greedily listening to music, neglecting you. I'll be back, bby.

This album? Consider it a parallel to Actress's Splazsh, only without the latter's eclecticism; a focused, single-minded album pushing modern bass music into bafflingly new territories. It sounds like London being buried. I dunno, just listen (with headphones or on loud).

From FACT Mag's review:

It’s as if Stott has awoken from some long and laboured sleep, emerging haggard and caked in petrified dirt: everything here sounds broken, sawed-off, obfuscated, even Hellish.

http://www.mediafire.com/?97ld772q7ndydje

Young Montana? - Limerence

2011-05-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

Dubstep producers have restlessly been reaching into more and more disparate musical territories to infect with 2step rhythms and chop into melody snippets. Perhaps one of the most successful accomplishments of this trend is Young Montana?'s Limerence, a hyperactive journey bounded only loosely by dubstep's hazy sound and UK Funky's persistent beat. Perhaps I should call it future garage to highlight its forward-thinking approach (not to mention distance it from frat house bass music), but the truth is this album embodies the malleable nature of dubstep in its infancy.
Having found out about the album through techno circles, I was amused to see it classified as Trip Hop on rateyourmusic. Yet the label is valid, because YM? works like a British Dilla: short episodes are cycled around a basic groove which keeps the track moving. The result is always fresh, if somewhat disjointed, but the erratic jumpiness of the album is certainly part of its charm. One of the most cohesive tracks on the album is its effective opener, 'Sacré Cool,' which is a high contender for groove of the year, with the help of some expert vocal manipulation. Producers have been overusing this technique lately, and YM? shows his subtlety by keeping the melody to a few well-timed vocal stabs against the pulsating rhythm section.
I expect this album will usher in a couple more meticulously crafted but flashy dubstep records which will all inevitably be throwaway. Young Montana? shows that virtuosity is useless in itself; most producers of frantic dubstep lack any sort of artistic control and their ideas get muddled. Young Montana? succeeds—for the most part—at exploring concentrated ideas from wildly differing perspectives.

http://www.mediafire.com/?7nqi4ivqh19kpkz

Actress - Splazsh

2011-03-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've thought about putting this album up for a while now, but always concluded that sharing such a widely-lauded album would be frivolous, because so many people would already have it. I have decided most definitely to jump on the bandwagon though, because it rivals FlyLo's Cosmogramma as possibly the most important electronica album of 2010.
Actress is from London, and it shows. Splazsh makes allusions to most, if not all, of today's trends in electronic music, which makes for an incredibly varied listen. Opener 'Hubble' is one of my personal favorites, presenting a bastardization of deep house which sounds ultra-modern while staying entirely familiar. He's not afraid to reach back for sounds: 'Purrple Splazsh' explicitly investigates the relationship between disco and modern techno, leading into a track that disassembles dubstep. For me, at least, most of the pleasure I get from listening to this album comes from the deconstruction of source material coupled with wonderfully original compositions. The fact that they groove like hell also helps.
The disparate styles present on the album might appear to be a lack of focus, but I would contest that Actress's method is exactly the opposite. Most of the tracks are built up from only a few elements, and are relatively static, giving the listener enough space and time to take in every button tweak, synth stab, and rhythmic twist. This is where the more esoteric tracks really shine, because they are designed to make you think about current music, not just shake your ass. Occasionally, like in 'Always Human', he manages to bring these two elements together, and it's moments like these which make the album required listening.
Only albums as ambitious and expansive as Splazsh have a chance at truly changing the musical landscape. Watch out for Actress, I expect his future work to be quality as well.
He's already off to a good start with this single, released in 2011.

http://www.mediafire.com/?aglewdvwwb49z99

Moonface - Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums

2011-02-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's always nice to see someone succeeding at making pop music the old-fashioned way; by creating an object based on and informed by a familiarity with a larger musical context that would be inaccessible to the untrained ear. In a sense, a pop song should be as contemporary as it is outdated, allowing the previous work of the underground to shine through without the hostility of avant-gardism. This is certainly a simplification of previously extreme ideas, but the collage-like nature of pop music allows for many strands to be woven together into a final product that is ironically much more personal than the cold, refined methods of art music.
But those boundaries have clearly fallen, given the ease of using the term 'art pop' to describe a vast amount of music. Technological advances have certainly helped; writing arrangement parts and screwing around with the sequencer on a drum machine is arguably easier these days than getting a band together ever was. Lady Gaga and Kanye have certainly brought artistry into their work, redefining it as a multimedia performance complete with music videos referencing European art house cinema, elaborate costumes and shows, and an artificial persona that seems to be entirely detached from reality— They are clearly pop stars.
Yet there exist musicians for whom this dream presents no allure, those who fittingly evolved out of the 90s indie scene. Spencer Krug has been a part of many of the heavy-hitters in this circle, most notably Wolf Parade, and here he presents his ideas solo as Moonface. Most notable is the presence of marimba throughout the EP's one twenty-minute track, which shows an indebtedness to Steve Reich that is supported by Krug's penchant for layering instrument on instrument to create heavily rhythmic, driving episodes. The piece is essentially a suite connected by marimba, and motifs enter and reappear in a highly sophisticated fashion. Krug's lyrics are characteristically cryptic, and although I won't attempt to analyze their possible poetic meaning, their effect within the overall structure is notably fitting. "I am making hissing sounds with my mouth," Krug declares right before the end of the piece, giving a sense of the deeper otherness that remains to be heard under his well-crafted harmonies.
Marimba and Shit-Drums would never be played on Top 40 radio, yet it is clearly a great accomplishment of pop in which fans of techno will find minimalism treated in a remarkably different way, and fans of pop will hear how far the medium can be changed.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ckicp6cth3fqexc

The Tired Sounds of - Stars of the Lid

2011-01-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

Stars of the Lid exists in that halfway realm that all drone/ambient projects should strive for: emotional honesty and an artistic vision to control it. There are various methods of going about this: Celer created miniatures that interacted, Natural Snow Buildings brings hazy folk in, etc. Stars of the Lid have gained a following based on their liquid masses of sound that each seem formed with perfection in mind. Perhaps I should offer a lesser-known album than The Tired Sounds Of, but the truth is that I only just recently got this too. It is a cornerstone of the genre for a reason, and does encapsulate it. When compared with today's drone, its influence is felt even stronger, and its power is more than apparent. The amount of textural music today (dubstep, chillwave, house, post-minimalism, black metal, kosmische, etc.) that branched off in some way from the drone movement that Stars of the Lid were at the helm of becomes much clearer after listening to some good old slowness.
Any discounter of drone needs to hear the craftsmanship that went into each sound.

http://www.mediafire.com/?af1r36xa4tqn57u

End of the year excuse & End of the year list

2010-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

I know I made a best-of list last year, but I'm not sure I can do so again this year. The truth is the posts on this blog have been analogous to my own finds this year; they were focused on delving deep into certain genres in order to see their influence on modern music. The result of this of this has been that I haven't posted too much music released this year.
Although there are certainly exceptions, BfB has become a de facto electronica blog, which is also a bit of a misrepresentation of my own tastes. While I do clearly listen to a lot of techno/house/electro/etc., I've failed to give an accurate representation of my tastes.

Maybe I should just post more.

So! I'll take this space to post some stuff that I liked but never got around to posting, or would not have fit in with the general theme of the blog. As usual, just ask for any of these.

Subjective Album of the Year

Mark E - Mark E Works 2005 -2009: Selected Tracks & Edits
Mark Evetts' work with the past encapsulates everything the current music scene is about. Techno has always been about looking backwards to create the future, and this aesthetic has arguably taken over pop music as well, most notably with Ariel Pink. Disco is still very much a part of our contemporary music, despite most things not sounding like it. This set of 8 tracks bridges the gap, and shows how much current house owes to disco. The fun, then, is seeing how pop is influenced by underground electronica.

Thought I'd also reference this video, Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore by British artist Mark Leckey, which also deals with the concept of memory and evolution in dance music. As any dance music enthusiast will tell you, it's not just about the music, but the community and ideas around it.

http://vimeo.com/5632791

Albums

Ajilvsga - The Origin of the Chaul
This is pitch black drone from Brad Rose and Wolf Eyes' Nate Young, which is probably the reason it's been so overlooked. I usually go for drone/ambient with interesting textures, whereas this is the exact opposite. It is synaesthetically cold and almost sickeningly desolate, but achieves what most drone albums lack: a sense of emotional attachment. Drone is inherently difficult; both performer and listener must, to truly connect with the music, be able to give their attention to the music for extended periods of time. There is nothing worse than apathetic drone, which is unfortunately what the majority of drone ends up being. Ajilvsga has achieved something spectacular by capturing emotions which one often does not want to hold on to and forcing them into the listener's attention. Characteristic of drone and noise, the atmosphere gradually becomes less uncomfortable, enacting a true response akin to cleansing.

Zs - New Slaves
Here is yet another recommendation to listen to Zs. Those that enjoyed last year's Music of the Modern White should grab this immediately, because it's an extension of that style. To me, this band's evolution is one of the best things in music; they have unfailingly become sharper and sharper in their aggressive avant-gardism while retaining the ability to make their works sound sonically disparate from each other. The world of atonalism/free-improv/electro-acoustic music is not easily approachable, but Zs is probably your best bet. It needs not be said that this is difficult music, but it must be emphasized that it is also rewarding.

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Kanye I'ma let you finish but etc.
Big Boi's chops as a rapper destroy most of the MCs currently working, with very few exceptions. This album was widely praised in hip-hop circles, but I'm not sure why it never reached the awareness of pop. Big Boi continues the OutKast tradition of fusing unflinching hip-hop craftsmanship with highly experimental production and somehow making accessible pop out of all that. This album is criminally underrated.
That said, a few words about Kanye:
Kanye was hugely important this year. The "film" for Runaway was a true work of art, and elevated pop music in a way that only Lady Gaga had done recently. His work as a producer is much more important, and I'm just waiting for him to team up with an MC that can match his beats (Related: R.I.P. Child Rebel Soldier). My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has too many juvenile mistakes that some have misinterpreted as honesty for it to be truly great.

Ultralyd - Inertiadrome
I like to think of this album as what Meshuggah should have evolved into if they took the fantastic rhythmic interplay they helped pioneer and went somewhere with it. Ultralyd come from the Norwegian jazz scene, which has been producing some of the most innovative music not only within the boundaries of jazz, but everything they can get their hands on. This album is no exception. I'm not saying the jazz slant will be obvious from the start, but the incorporation of noise of the free-jazz sort should be apparent. Anyone that likes rhythms as much as me should give this a listen.

EPs

Kayo Dot - Stained Glass
Yet another offering by Toby Driver, my longtime musical idol. Toby's obsession as of late has been to use synths in a classical setting and using wind instruments as synths, to blur the line between the two approaches. Here, he explores the vibraphone's long tones, interplaying them with the cold, electronic sound of the keyboard. His melodic atonalism here is probably the best it has ever been, slowly evolving through the 20 minutes.
Yes, the crescendos of the early albums are gone, but we knew that by Blue Lambency Downward, and he barely even references that style anymore, so the endless comparisons are moot. Blue Lambency was a decisive break, and it was immature, but Toby is clearly sharpening his ideas. After Tartar Lamb II and this, I'm just waiting in anticipation for a full length in this style. Coyote was an interesting take but the goth-rock vibe held it back a bit, at least for me.
Anyone that wants the old albums is missing the experimental nature of Kayo Dot.

Ehnahre - Alpha/Omega
A setting of two W.B. Yeats poems. Black, death, and sludge metal, noise, free jazz, twelve-tone atonalism are all present. This band is one of my favorite rebuttals when people accuse noise or metal of being mindless, because this music is, above all, highly intelligent. Musicianship is easy to find in metal nowadays; YouTube alone will show the abundance of shredders who are more like cannon fodder than musicians. The pacing on this album, the themes, the composition are all masterful to the point that I'm tempted to call these art songs, despite the aesthetic.
They also have an album, Taming the Cannibals, out this year, but I figure this is a better introduction.

Singles

Chasing Voices - Acidbathory
This one reminds me of the infamous Villalobos remix in that it takes the current electronica scene and simply corrupts it into an 11-minute track of evil. The genre is, as expected, dubstep, but it's equal parts drone.
I think it was only released on one-sided vinyl in England, so just save yourself the hassle and listen here.

ndf - Since We Last Met
The original track is by Bruno Pronsato. The remix is by Ricardo Villalobos.
Just get this, for real. It's what dreamy dance music should be.
But don't you dare call it chillwave

Happy new years, y'all.

Reagenz - Playtime

2010-12-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

I happened upon this album while browsing for some deep house, the most recent sub-genre that I've immersed myself in. What struck me was the exactness of the sound, more akin to microhouse than the bass heavy drifters that deep house producers usually produce. The deep is definitely here though, as heard in the first track, which floored me in a way that no other techno has in a while, since probably Kris Wadsworth. The groove is just incredible, laid back, perfect headphone music, and driving to this is insanity. The rest of the album holds up, gradually getting more and more low-key until the 24-minute closer, a great ambient track in its own right, and a great counterpoint to the beat-oriented tracks, showing the wide range of this distinctly original sound.

Highly, highly recommended, and worth the download for the first track alone.

http://www.mediafire.com/?r1lzf705uu11m0w

Zs - Arms / Extra Life - Secular Works

2010-11-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

What follows is an awkward essay comparing modern composition to techno:

Few modern groups can be compared to Zs. Even those comparisons would have descriptions like "as experimental as" or "striving for", because nothing really sounds like Zs. Zs don't even sound like Zs, from piece to piece (because that's what they are). What connects these 7 tracks is a constant drive to stretch, subvert, or destroy any and all characteristics of rock music from the inside. Side-stepping prog-rock's charred corpse, they work on the model of modern and contemporary composed music to create a sound spartan in structure, relentless, equally abrasive and hypnotic, and astoundingly complex. Working with what is essentially a chamber group, the members use rhythm more than color in novel ways to ensure that the compositions never lose their edge.
So doesn't that sound like techno? No really, just go with it for a sec. Anyone that follows this blog knows my fascination with minimal techno, and mainly because of its, well, sparse atmosphere and repetitive, complex rhythms. So what if Zs don't have a four on the floor? What if there's no synths? What if this whole review doesn't make sense? Check it out.

And how about applying that modern view on monophonic chant?
Yeah, why not.

This is Charlie Looker, ex-Zs but guitarist on Arms, with slightly less challenging music. And by that, I don't mean not challenging.

Arms: http://www.mediafire.com/?oie9brmgrvc
Secular Works: http://www.mediafire.com/?dl55we9a036hsqa

Carlo Mombelli & The Prisoners of Strange - I Stared into My Head

2010-10-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Upped by request

I only listened to this by recommendation from someone else, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It's not in the style of what I usually post, but I figure most of what I post is fairly open-minded, so don't let that keep you from listening to it.
I guess the cover is a nice place to start: Weird dream-like African Dada kind of sums up the music. In the broadest sense this would be jazz, but each band member's talent allows this to have the creativity of a RIO album without any of the bullshit that usually covers that territory. The band's willingness to introduce electronics is checked by their musicianship; it all feels organic in the most original kind of way. For example, the first track has Coltrane-like sax wailing over African rhythms, later there's traces of Webern's strings, and it's not clear who or what is making these sounds. In any case, some great new jazz that's passed most people by due to its humble South African origins, so check it out.

http://www.mediafire.com/?lrjy8v662q96z74

Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth

2010-10-03T11:16:00.001-07:00

I don't wanna describe this as cybergrind because the genre generally sucks, so let's just called this really aggressive electronic post-hardcore inspired by Eliot's The Waste Land.

Upped by request.

http://www.mediafire.com/?y5el180u170x1kz

Basic Channel - BCD-2

2010-10-02T01:35:00.001-07:00

Brain exercise: What does the phrase "German Techno" bring to mind? Sparse? Well, spartan is a better word. Harsh? For extended periods, sure. Emotional? Yes, and only so. The techno scene in Berlin that developed in the early 90s was known for its stripped down aesthetic, showing an aggressive side to our emotions rarely expressed in pop music. Disco, the form out of which techno evolved, was for the most part dance music, but Berliners Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald saw through this. Avoiding the funky rhythms of Detroit Techno, they started Basic Channel, both a moniker and a record label that put out a string of records that portray the darker feelings of an urban night. Loneliness and anger were prominent in their early work, but this compilation highlights their later masterpieces, when they turned completely away from any semblance of a melodic line to focus on visceral energy.
They weave bare strands together to form incredible texture; the opening synths of 'Enforcement' form a chord progression that unrelentingly repeats throughout the track (It's thirteen minutes), only to be further squared off by the percussion. New layers enter, and a counterpoint develops made only of repeating figures, all so dry on their own. And yet it's all so human. It has the foreboding of what I imagine to be Berlin at 2 a.m., and is anything but dance music. It is repeating to the point of nausea, but not boredom.
It is the sound of unrest, discontentedness, and the inability to change. Polyrhythmic and robotic, it must be listened to as conceptual music, willfully limited to one palette. BCD-2 captures the state of a nation by focusing acutely on highly personal emotions; it is lonesome and cold.
Despite this, the album has become hugely influential. For one, microhouse such as Bruno Pronsato or Villalobos is largely dependent on Basic Channel's economy of sound. Everything after that resembles it seems to be a way of taking its core and making it more accessible. Its soul, however, comes from its uncompromising nature, and for this reason any album I listen to after this seems too hurried, too varied. In six songs averaging thirteen minutes each, the German duo makes us feel what they feel, ironically through such an unwelcoming medium.
Get lost in this one night and go for a walk. Let it sink in, you might hear silence a different way.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hpia67fhqx577ya

Bruno Pronsato - Why Can't We Be Like Us

2010-08-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Upped for CG Pinesworthy and BryFly

Back in the techno vein, I have a fantastic microhouse release from '08. Although it seems to have been looked over by the masses, I suspect the aesthetic has something to do with this; microhouse as a genre can certainly be described by the word "reserved", a descriptor which doesn't bring strong emotional reactions. And it's true, Pronsato's music plods along sparingly, and cool sounds seem to be wasted by appearing only once before another one comes in to push them out. But perhaps the appeal is strangely part of this. Minimal techno is armchair music, and following the trail Pronsato leads us on is certainly enjoyable because of how winding it is, and how much attention is required to notice that it's a trail at all.
There is an inevitable connection to Ricardo Villalobos, someone whom I am not alone in considering the godsend of microhouse, and techno in general. The interesting thing, however, is that this album to me sounds like Villalobo's Thé au Harem d'Archimède, probably one of his weaker efforts. If Bruno Pronsato made an album like Fizheuer Zieheuer, it would most likely fail, because Villalobos is better at slow, monolithic works, while Pronsato can keep things fresh with quick changes.
I wish this whole Villalobos meandering wasn't necessary, but most of the negative criticism I've seen towards this album has been that it's derivative. I would strongly counter this, because in such a stripped down genre, Pronsato is doing a surprising number of innovative things, and certainly owes more to other producers than Villalobos.

PS Perfect driving music

http://www.mediafire.com/?0h6gd8p09cgvf5v

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

2010-08-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

This one is up by request, but I am glad someone asked me for it, because although I haven't posted too much of his work on here, I am a huge admirer of Charles Mingus. While enormously respectable as a composer, his work truly shines when one listens to his work specifically as jazz and realizes how far Mingus stretched the idiom. While jazz composition frequently is nothing more than a melody which establishes the framework in which the players improvise, Mingus found ways in which his own vision coexists with the musicians' creation. In his own words, "Each man's own particular style is taken into consideration, both in ensemble and in solos". This leads to an extraordinary connection between all players of the ensemble, one that is hard to find except in smaller, usually bebop and post-bop groups. It also opens up possibilities for "collective improvisation", a phrase Mingus used to describe his work. The important thing about this process is that it is very flexible, and hugely responsive. Mingus' big bands are only marginally connected to, say, Ellington's, because there is always a feeling of suspense from the framework being stretched by the current improvisers.
This is perfectly exemplified by The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, possibly Mingus' crowning achievement in large-scale composition. The motifs return and intermingle like characters, an effect Mingus deliberately worked in, judging by the titles of the movements, yet each phrase is expanded upon by jazz musicians in top form. Thus, the melody is used as a springboard (the fundamental principle of jazz), and Mingus' arrangements form the chordal structure, as well as an undeniably cool atmosphere. Though highly experimental, Mingus' work is just as listenable, and truly must be heard.

LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST

Open question:

2010-07-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

I wasn't exactly sober when I decided to move to Tumblr, so it's up to you guys:

Continue with this, tumblr, or both?

Moving

2010-07-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

http://bowlingforbears.tumblr.com/

It's just easier. and the RSS will still be available.

J Cole - The Warm Up

2010-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

Review to come.
Too busy listening to this.

For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o9dXLNuXic

For real:
http://www.mediafire.com/?vhcwoh8z218u1yk

Zs - Arms

2010-05-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

If for nothing else, then this album is worth hearing just for the sheer uniqueness. It goes from spartan minimalism to astoundingly intricate writing that would make any New Complexity composer proud. This is technically closest to math rock, but that's like saying Justin Bieber is a male; the comparison is worthless. From the first measures of B is for Burning, you'll hear these guys are on a different level. It's composed music, so treat it as such. Except when singing along to Nobody Wants to Be Had.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ydyim2mmy52

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Victoria

2010-05-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Uploaded by request, although I still have a guilty pleasure stance towards this album. Modern World, I'll Believe in Anything, It's a Curse, etc. It's too good pop to ignore.

http://www.mediafire.com/?m2dntmttwta

Moth in Flames - Ocean EP

2010-05-05T18:07:00.000-07:00

Drone from some kid in Poughkeepsie who lives in my room, I'm told. Pretty secretive guy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?bunbcd24qjw

Mark E - Works 2005-2009

2010-04-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Continuing with my beat-driven electronica binge, I'll give you one of the more experimental and original albums I've heard lately. Mark E takes bare-bones techno and spices it up with disco samples that fade in and out, creating incredible groove in each song. Needless to say, this must be busted out at some point at your next dance party. The interesting thing though, is that this producer is not interesting in short bursts of energy, as most 3 minute house songs are. No, he wants slow burners; anthems for the dancers who are in it for the long run. These stretched out tracks are disco-influenced microhouse, slowly changing and completely funky sounds well suited to armchair or nightclub dancing.

http://www.mediafire.com/?0twjttyn5cz

Moderat - Moderat

2010-03-12T15:54:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. There really isn't any reason for this, and I noticed this today and decided I'd make up for it.
So here's one of the coolest electronica albums of 2009: Moderat's self-titled. This group is made up of Modeselektor, a dubstep duo, and Apparat, an IDM bro. While I am completely sick of anything still being made in IDM, when the wankery is curbed, the complexities of the genre can make for challenging and good music. Dubstep, a dark but simplistic style, is perfect for this, and the trio manage to pull it off surprisingly well. Perhaps the most shocking part of the album is how unlike the songs sound to each other while still retaining the shuffle of dubstep and the four on the floor of techno.
For example, compare Slow March, an utterly menacing track that resembles Spaceape from Burial's self-titled pushed to its limits, with the uplifting Porc #2. They're nothing alike, yet there's still that weird connection that gives the album continuity.
If you've heard about dubstep but haven't bothered checking it out, I would highly suggest this album because it's not just some filtered syncopated rhythm with some dark synths like 90% of the producers that have been sucking Burial's dick for the past year. It also has some techno moments (tech-step?), so fans of that Sarah Goldfarb & JHK album I posted a while back should check this out, too.

http://www.mediafire.com/?amzmwihzzkz

Have a Nice Life - Time of Land

2010-03-05T14:05:00.000-08:00

Have a Nice Life first exploded with Deathconsciousness, arguably a contender for best album of 2008. I suggest you check that out, but for those daunted by 1:25:01 long albums, this might be a better introduction. It is their new EP, Time of Land, released physically only on cassette only at their first ever show February 28st at The Stone in New York (and I was there :D). They are releasing it now for free online, and encourage people to share it, so please spread the word.

http://www.enemieslist.net/timeofland/

Dial - Dial EP

2010-02-16T06:14:00.000-08:00

Upped by request.
Pretty brutal slice of music from New Zealand. I thought it was just a little bit below that Towers album, but it's still good, so don't let that deter you. It's nice and short too, at just under 20 minutes.

http://www.mediafire.com/?jnzzddnjmqm

Siekiera - Nowa Alexsandria

2010-02-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

Upped by request.
Polish post-punk, I guess the correct term is coldwave. Extremely dark, almost militaristic.
Quality stuff though.

http://www.mediafire.com/?azyztfm4zmm

Brand New - Fight Off Your Demons

2010-02-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

This man is responsible for me being proud to feel like a 14 year old. The first line of the first track is my most loved lyric in all of music, and everything after is just as good.
I present to you Fight Off Your Demons, also know as the Devil and God demos. For anyone that has heard and fallen in love with The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me like I have, this is essential. Forgive the poor sound quality, these are demosa after all.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xntjgxhgyya

J Dilla - Donuts

2010-02-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Upped by request.

You should already have this.

--LINK REMOVED--

It was fun while it lasted, sorry.

Sarah Goldfarb & JHK - Heartbeat City

2010-02-04T17:40:00.000-08:00

It might seem unusual, but I've been on a huge electronic music listening spree lately. I listened to Eiffel 65 when I was 9 or 10, but let's not talk about that. Truly, it started when I got Gas' monolithic Nah und Fern about a year ago now. Anyone into drone or ambient owes it to themselves to check that out, because material he released in 2000 sounds better than drone released today. Regardless, a lot of the tracks on that have the characteristic four on the floor bass drum of techno, acting as a heartbeat to the music. I used to hate techno and all its derivatives for the simple reason that it was repetitive, naively believing that the pop music I was listening to wasn't. Needless to say, I embraced repetition as a musical system, and have been gradually getting into techno, specifically Detroit Techno.
For those acquainted with the genre, I know this isn't a fine example of the Detroit sound. I chose this album for several reasons. It's not well known, as it was officially released just two days ago. But more importantly, it seems like the music that is downloaded most off this blog is atmospheric. I'm a huge fan of textures and sounds, and I would much rather get a good sounding album than one with cool melodies. This record is a great example, as it is free (okay, mostly) of the cheesy synths that electronica often uses. Furthermore, it definitely was not designed with the dancefloor in mind, so it is an explicit listening experience.

Anyone that has seen Requiem for a Dream should already have clicked the link.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wd2nwozjwml

Zs - The Hard EP

2010-01-16T07:54:00.000-08:00

Upped by request. I was not aware we had so many Zs fans around here. This is the Hard EP. In the same vein as Music of the Modern White, but I think it's a little more focused.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mezyzze2jyw

Also, anyone that hasn't should check out these two albums:

http://bowlingforbears.blogspot.com/2008/08/zs.html

Zs - Music of the Modern White

2010-01-06T19:47:00.001-08:00

This is up by request. This is the download that I got from buying the vinyl. Read my description in the best of 09 list if you haven't heard Zs yet. Highly recommended for any fan of complex music.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tmnzzudazgd

Anouar Brahem

2010-01-05T17:40:00.001-08:00

Anouar Brahem is a Tunisian oud player creating a haunting mix of jazz and Arabic folk music. The oud is basically a fretless Arabic lute, and its sound is very much unique in jazz. I can say without any doubt that Brahem does not play his instrument as a novelty item, but fully implements it as a jazz solo instrument, playing gorgeous melodies tinged with Arabic music but never getting a New Age vibe.
The unusual sound of the record is further augmented by the backing band: piano by Francois Couturier and accordion by Jean-Louis Matinier. The piano is mostly midrange, creating the atmosphere that ECM is famous for. Any fan of ambient should download this, it is a great offering of melancholy, atmospheric jazz that doesn't go the way of Bohren & der Club of Gore.
I'll definitely be checking out more of Brahem.

http://www.mediafire.com/?yrdk0jyxzg5

Recap

2010-01-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

A four on the floor dominated my life for the later half of this year. If this was by time Gas would be in the lead by hours.

PS tracks from the New Years party scrobbled after the ball dropped still count.

9932 tracks - 27 per day

Brand New - 232
Ricardo Villalobos - 223
Shuttle 358 - 210
Gas - 206
Clipse - 155
Birdie Hilltop - 145
Flying Lotus - 136
J Dilla - 134
Grouper - 127
Wolf Eyes - 121

gonna miss u 09

OH NAHN MANG

2009-12-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

Joining the end of year predictable best of list train

Choo choo!

If you guys want uploads of any of these, just ask.

LPs
1. Towers - Full Circle - Metalcore/all around heavy album
I posted this on my blog earlier this year, hopefully you guys grabbed it then. If not, do yourself a favor and get it now. Essential listening for anyone with interest in heavy music.

2. Emeralds - What Happened - Drone
Fantastic drone pieces from the three-piece improv group. First track is so uplifting, it gets a bit more challenging after that but never tedious. It also ends on a great note.

3. Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom - Drone/Psychedelic Folk
Gigantic album, as one can see from the first track: 25 min of thick, complex drone. The last minute finally lets up into a folk melody, which the French duo continues for a couple tracks until the next drone monolith. The drone/ambient influence can be heard in all their work, though, which is what keeps their folk from becoming stale. The atmospherics on this album are amazing, and at times even better than Emeralds. The only reason it is third on the list is because at 2 hours and 39 minutes, it's a bit hard to get through in one sitting.

4. Wolf Eyes - Always Wrong - Noise
Here Wolf Eyes continues the noise found on 2007's Human Animal. Short pieces that can reasonably called songs, in the sense that they are distinctly different from the more extended improv sets they have released. The quick pace helps the songs stay fresh and abrasive. Standouts are We All Hate You, the most fucked up dance track I've ever heard, and Droll/Cut The Dog, probably the best ending track of the year. Happy stuff.

5. Nadja & Black Boned Angel - Self-Titled - Drone/Drone Doom
I'm a huge Nadja fan, as well as a huge Birchville Cat Motel fan, who is part of Black Boned Angel, a drone band that creates some of the bleakest music possible. When the two get together, you know it's gonna be huge. This is two tracks over 50 minutes, and there is no other way to listen to this than to let it destroy any hope you had. Terrifying shit. Listened to this high, it was like walking through blood fog or some other equally ridiculous metaphor.

6. Henrik Schwarz / Âme / Dixon - The Grandfather Paradox - Minimal Techno
This is not so much an album as a mixtape compiled by some producers using the sources and highlights of minimal techno as source material. The result is 1 hour and 8 minutes of continuous beats, ranging from the swell's of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint to synths created in college labs when that kind of stuff was still relevant. In short, it is a history lesson as much as a mixtape, and a great one at that.

7. Brand New - Daisy - Indie Rock
Posted this one too, I've always had a soft spot for Brand New. This album isn't the life changer that The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me is, but it is still a solid work with enough great tracks to keep it going. Noro is the song competing with Wolf Eye for best ending track.

8. Nosaj Thing - Drift - Instrumental Hip Hop/Glitch Hop, whatever that means
Quirky electronica release that deserves its spot on this list for Fog, one of the best tracks of the year. That one track captures this album's magic: bringing a sense of mystery and wistfulness to purely electronic sounds. The organic sounds on here remind me of Shuttle358, which is a huge compliment.

9. Kreng - L’autopsie phénoménale de Dieu - Dark Ambient
Sample-based dark ambient release that truly creeps me out in the best way. The approach is better than the result, which sounds like an insult, but it's really not. It's just a little too long. Apparently the vinyl version is shorter, and I've been listening to the CD version, which might explain it. Either way, I'll be looking for more from Kreng.

10. Zs - Music of the Modern White - Avant-garde
More weird shit from Zs. I can never truly describe them, as I'm sure anyone that's heard them can understand. On this release, they've dropped the labyrinthine mathy parts for a more textural approach using repetition, and throughout the album's 6 parts they mix it up enough to prevent things from becoming stale. Of course some parts are better than others, but that's to be expected since most of what they're doing is completely unlike anything else on the current music scene.

EPs
1. Nadja - Clinging to the Edge of the Sky - Drone/Ambient
Nothing particularly groundbreaking here, just a nice long track to get lost in.

2. Burial / Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub - Dubstep/Electronica
Moth is hands down the best track of the year, but Wolf Cub keeps this EP from being the best of the year. Too much Four Tet influence and not enough Burial. Moth, on the other hand is urban, melancholy, and has a wonderful ambient techno influence.

3. Rome - To Die Among Strangers - Neofolk
Rome also had a good album this year, but that had a little too many dull moments to get on the best of list. This EP, however is all quality, and shows the Berlin singer-songwriter's poetry and knack at creating his unique mood very well.

4. Dial - Dial EP - Metalcore
Another gem from a stagnant genre, much like Towers is. Dial doesn't do metalcore quite as well, but the relentless anger in these songs is great.

5. Wolves in the Throne Room - Malevolent Grain - Black Metal
Whether you like female vocals or not will determine if you like this EP. Of two tracks, one is the usually excellent black metal that WitTR makes, and the other is a much more melodic track with the infamous vocals dominating. I personally like it, but others haven't been so kind. Either way, this is another quality record that is short enough to get past the problems of Black Cascade, WitTR's 2009 full-length.

American Football

2009-12-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

American Football is the only math rock band I still listen to. Every other gimmick the others have overused, this band avoided, and the result is some of the prettiest, most relaxing music made. The lyrics are also a selling point for me; they are the most honest little portraits of a teenager's sad life, and whether that is ironic or resonant to you, there's something deeper to them. I'm not sure if the music or the words came first, but the two complement each other so well that in the end it doesn't even matter. I get the same melancholy from this as from Brand New's The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, another album that rises above its description as a "mature" outing from a "newly grown up" band.

Basically, American Football is like the good parts of A Catcher in the Rye. I know completely discredits my integrity as a music reviewer, but nevertheless you should listen.

http://www.mediafire.com/?lhxwlf0jond

Sundog Peacehouse

2009-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

My ambient listening habits have gradually stretched into drone, so I've been looking into the modern scene more and more. This one, Brosound by Sundog Peacehouse, is one of my favorite albums of 2009, drone or otherwise. There's only two things wrong with the album. One, that it sounds like a mock hippie album, and second, that it was only released on cassette, a format I hate. The problem is that cassettes are the usual format in the drone scene, so I'll live with it, but anyone that gets pissed at low quality recordings should get over that. This one shouldn't be too bad though, I've heard much worse.
So yeah, the actual music. I think it's a great transition from ambient to drone, because there's no noisy tracks, just long tracks with gorgeous textures and slow moving melodies.

http://www.mediafire.com/?whwv2qtmm4k

Skagos

2009-09-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's a goddamn cassette.

Skagos is a band from Vancouver that makes really good atmospheric black metal. This is Ást, which is to my knowledge their first and only release up to this point besides a demo. The music contains the post rock elements that often make other bands in the genre boring trash, but this record doesn't fall into the same pitfalls that their contemporaries do. Sincere quiet passages and real aggression make this album a true black metal album in the sense of a return to primitivism. Highly recommended.

Also, it's only released as a cassette, and you know you want those tr00 kvlt points.

http://www.mediafire.com/?otnzjmmmomi

Towers

2009-09-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

I bought Full Circle by Towers on a whim, and it was probably the most pleasant surprise I've had all year. To call the album itself pleasant would be grossly incorrect, because one can hear 1:30 into the first track that this band is not messing around. Working in a stagnant genre (metalcore), it is surprising that this band has managed to create something this fresh. Heavy music is always looking for new ways to be heavier, but breakdowns, chants, and the like are boring and barely elicit any type of emotional reaction from the listener. Towers completely throw out that formula, instead introducing psychedelic elements and obscene amounts of dissonance. Guitar lines drenched in delay slowly fade, each new note colliding with the previous one, all while the singer (perfectly subdued in the mix) wails away.

Highly recommended and definitely in my top 5 for 2009.

(This is the official zip file that came with my vinyl copy. Bitrate could be higher, I agree, but I think the sludgy atmosphere benefits from the sound quality)

http://www.mediafire.com/?l3jywwmnyhm

Organ works of Olivier Messiaen

2009-09-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Olivier Messiaen was one of the most important composers of the twentieth century, mostly remembered for the Quartet for the End of Time, a chamber piece he wrote while in a Nazi concentration camp. I personally love that piece, but Messiaen had such a wide range of influences (birdsong, French Impressionism, Ancient Greek and Hindu music, etc.) that it is impossible to know him just from one piece. Although it is not easy music to listen to, one can hear passion often not heard in serialist music, stemming from his endless Roman Catholicism, as seen in the titles of his pieces.

This is a 4 disc set of his organ works played by Messiaen himself, so excuse the gigantic file size. It is not often that one gets to hear composers performing their own work, but these rare occasions offer a glimpse into the composer's music performed exactly as it was conceived.

I also recommend everyone find his Quartet for the End of Time, the timbral variation might be good for those put off by an organ's sound.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EPHSIVFB

György Ligeti

2009-09-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Ligeti is a Hungarian composer that anyone interested in modern classical music needs to hear. His groundbreaking Atmosphères is included, as well as Lontano, which resembles it. San Fransisco Polyphony is equally amazing, and Apparitions is good too. Concert Românesc is probably my least favorite piece on here, because it is nowhere near as adventurous as the other pieces, but it might actually be a good piece to start with if the first half of the album turns you off.

Definitely a great listen to widen your taste and see how influential this was. Keep in mind that Atmosphères was written in 1961.

http://www.mediafire.com/?hryndtd5ym3

Brand New Brand New

2009-08-29T21:54:00.001-07:00

Daisy.
I'm so gay for this band.

http://www.mediafire.com/?i1idvtouzck

B Sides

2009-08-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

I found all these today, it's various stuff I recorded with my bass teacher over the past year or so.

Most of it is just bass, sometimes there's a little synth or whatever in there. It was all recorded on Logic.

It's a lot more rocky than most of my other stuff, which might make it easier listening. It's not really what I'm into anymore, but I'm sure all my diehard fans will eat this right up.

Get it cuz I don't have fans.

http://www.mediafire.com/?oyvmazz0omn

Wolf Eyes

2009-08-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

These are wolf eyes.

Wait fuck no,

This is.
Guillotine Keys is more ambient, creepy shyt.
Mugger, on the other hand, is your house collapsing from too many corpses piled on top of it.

Here's both. http://www.mediafire.com/?yqdlufimzyn

No Input

2009-08-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Here's another solo effort, called No Input, created only with four pedals: Distortion, Tremolo, Delay, and Loop, in that order. No input at all, I only modified the sound with the EQ on the distortion pedal. Also, I touched the input cable with my finger, which amplifies the sound.

Not easy listening.

Heavily influenced by Onkyo music, specifically Toshimaru Nakamura, as well as "Black Wings Over the Sand" by Wolf Eyes.

Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?kmjw4t4wqyf

HEALTH at 320

2009-08-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

Official digital release, check the previous post.

HEALTH

2009-08-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

Get Color isn't as good as the self titled, but people that didn't like the first one probably will like this one. Way more poppy.

This is the official release, got it from Lovepump.

128:
http://www.mediafire.com/?zt33yy5hzxl
320:
http://www.mediafire.com/?gzyzyyjwjfn

tha Trillest shit for tha Illest dicks

2009-07-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

It's weird, some dude I didn't know e-mailed me. The body of the message:

"aye girl cum bac 2 tha crib
http://www.mediafire.com/?m3ozydtioum"

I would probably describe this as post-free jazz (in the sense that he is taking it to the next level, not that it's like Godspeed) mixed with the modern dubstep scene played through one of Steve Reich's tape shits.

If you're not already downloading this, get on this shit.

PS

NOW THERES NO WAY OUT
SO WE GOTTA MAKE LOVE

PPS 50th post today, happy whatever.

But you guys are cool too.

Dronez

2009-07-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

And now comes my first solo release, entitled Dronez.
It's solo bass with some effects, all improv and live.
Fall asleep to it or something, I listened to it and liked it, which is rare for my own music.

http://www.mediafire.com/?nhtyyjdzjjd

Verse En Coma

2009-07-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

Verse en Coma are yet another offshoot of the revolutionary pageninetynine, but give an altogether different sound than the chaotic sound wall of, say, Document 8. Rialto, their only release to date, is about melody and composition. All of these tracks have a clear set goal, and never overstay their welcome. Quite an accomplishment in punk, where 6 minute songs usually get boring in the first 2.

Another fantastic element of this album is the production. The guitar tone of the melody at the end of the first track will ensure that you understand what I mean.

http://www.mediafire.com/?0zn2vyymg3o

4 Corners

2009-06-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

4 Corners is an extremely fun live album by Magnus Broo (trumpet), Adam Lane (double bass), Paal Nilssen-Love (drums), Ken Vandermark (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet).

Although I am unfamiliar with most of the work put out by these guys, they are fairly well known in free jazz circles, and it is evident from first listen that they are all extremely proficient players.

The most important factor in jazz, provided that members of the band are good musicians, is the level of communication between players. Groups like Supersilent appear to have a superhuman sense of what every other member is thinking, and 4 Corners is also notable for the interdependence between members.

Also, it sounds like Dolphy at times, which is always a plus. Another standout: distorted double bass grooves perfectly locked in with the drummer.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ymtgomtmmig

Ricardo Villalobos

2009-06-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I've had Fabric 36 by Villalobos for a while, and it's taken me this long to digest how great it really is. This is microhouse, the exact opposite of flashy music, but for anyone that likes ambient or dance music, this is a trip.

I'm giving you guys Alcahofa, his first album, because it's more like traditional pop/dance songs, whereas Fabric 36 is a live set and just straight up weird.

If you're not feeling the first song, listen to Dexter in the dark. That's what this is about.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MG6SN36T

Portal

2009-05-30T15:01:00.001-07:00

If an elephant in full chainmail sat on you on Jupiter it would not be as heavy as Outre'.

This is what Satan beats his wife to.
Only for fans of death/black metal and of dying.

http://www.mediafire.com/?kimze4y0ljn

Stravinskij Stravinski Stravinsky etc.

2009-04-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sepoe, I'm sorry this took 3 years.

For all the rest of you, this is one of the most influential and controversial pieces of 20th century music, The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, conducted by the masterful Boulez. This is definitely one of the best versions out there, and the label is Deutsche Grammophon, so you know the sound quality is going to be good too. Petrouchka is also included, not as mindblowing as The Rite of Spring (to me, anyways), but still worth a listen.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5T9IX9FI

Rapeman

2009-04-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

Stop listening to Times New Viking and listen to some real noise rock.
The band is called Rapeman what more do you want

http://www.mediafire.com/?5z5goqjycjx

Gnaw Their Tongues

2009-04-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

Gnaw Their Tongues have an EP named after the Japanese cannibal Issei Sagawa. But let that bring into your mind not kitschy drawings made by preteens bored in math class. This band is not the zombie with the rocket launcher arm that shoots chainsaws.
It is the sound of Hell.
This album is called ...Spasming and Howling, Bowels Loosening and Bladders Empyting, Vomiting Helplessly...
Seriously, it's black metal, dark ambient, and noise, what else would you expect?

If you liked Nahvalr, check this out.
I hated Nahvalr, so even if you didn't, check this out.

P.S. Yes that's a typo in the title, it's Empyting, not Emptying.

http://www.mediafire.com/?cujdynpnyj0

Extra Life/Nat Bladwin

2009-03-11T12:43:00.001-07:00

Extra Life's Secular Works was one of the best albums of last year, and Charlie continues to reinvent this project in unexpected ways. While most of Secular Works was already sparse, tense arrangements, he stripped it down even further for this split with Nat Baldwin a singer-songwriter on a double bass. Black Hoodie, the best song on here is just Charlie with an acoustic and a viola, the other two songs just him and guitar. Of course, his voice is stellar as always, and the solo performance of I'll Burn holds up surprisingly well next to the full band version on the full-length.
Nat Baldwin's side is not as good. It holds promise, it just never achieves the same heights of melody and composition that Extra Life's does. His songs drag a bit. Weights is definitely the best one, and is also the shortest one.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmymy0nff0z

Liars

2009-02-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is probably not a new album for most of you guys reading this, but this is really another gem from 2006, an overall great year for music (Donuts, Dowsing Anemone, Diadem of 12 Stars, This Binary Universe, etc). Liars is one of those bands that if you were high it'd be all 'Feels good, man', but you don't need to be to enjoy it. That makes sense, right?
Anyway, the yell at the beginning of Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack is good enough to justify downloading this, but what really sets this album apart is the textural experimentation. There's not many melodies here, most of them are just the vocal lines sung in falsetto or a deep Ian Curtis voice, but the drums play an integral part in keeping the pulse going. The guitar rarely sounds like one, instead it's run through countless filters until beautiful drones are created to let the vocal lines breathe.
Liars manages to keep things fresh for 12 tracks and 47 minutes, no easy feat.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zkoyxg0uxki

Ampere

2009-01-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

feeeeeddddbaaaaaaacccckkkkk
RAHVIOLENMCE ARH AS)D
feeeeedbaaaaack

That is the first track off of Ampere's incredible EP, All Our Tomorrows End Today. It's 24 seconds, and that one song is more fulfilling than most hardcore tracks I've ever heard. I might not be an expert, but this 11 minute EP will change your life.

http://www.mediafire.com/?1um1ecdnmtn

Chevreuil

2009-01-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

Here's another French math rock gem; Capoëira by Chevreuil (Deer in French). This is a duo, like Cheval de Frise, a band I love, but they play an entirely different kind of math rock. The easiest way I can compare them to another band would probably to say they are like a freer, noisier Battles. I'm not sure how they pull this off live, because looped parts come in and out every two seconds, but it works on tape at least.

By the way, it was produced by Steve Albini, so you know it sounds clean as fvck.

http://www.mediafire.com/?omkjoomtqjt

New Honor Roll Breakfast EP

2009-01-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.sendspace.com/file/intsmd

Today we actually got to record in a legit studio, so the sound quality is tons better than previously. Also, we added a third song, Hemingway, for you all to enjoy.

real talk

2009-01-16T18:28:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRL7D0wcXM&feature=related

Venetian Snares compilation

2009-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Venetian Snares is Aaron Funk's twisted soul conquering the breakcore scene.

Everyone already knows Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (Born Under a Bad Star), which I have a soft spot for because the album's main theme is Hungary, but it is not representative of Vsnares' discography, because of how varied it is. No one album would do the job, which is why I'm including two of his offerings; Meathole, a noisy album that samples jazz, but is verrry dark, and the Sabbath Dubs 7", which is two dub remixes of Black Sabbath songs. Hopefully, the contrast is clear between the chaotic, arrhythmic snare rushes of Meathole and the laid back, stoner tracks on Sabbath Dubs.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xzcjmzw5zrq

If you want more classical samples, check out My Downfall and Rossz. His new album, Detrimentalist is more jungle-influenced. His earlier albums are not as experimental, but still go above and beyond all the breakcore I've heard.

Supersilent 6

2009-01-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

Supersilent is a Norwegian improv band rumored to not even communicate outside of live performances. There people are that intense about it, and the music they create is very original, but never fall sinto the rut of endless dissonant passages as seen from other free improv bands. Especialyl notable in the band is Arve Henriksen, one of the best trumpet players living today. One simply needs to hear "6.2" to be convinced of this, and of the whole band's talent at creating remarkably rich melodies ON THE FLY.

Must hear.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ntmywx3jogi

Lurker of Chalice

2009-01-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Look at that album cover. That is how this album sounds.

If that isn't good enough, just know that this is Lurker of Chalice's self titled, or depressing, atmospheric black metal from Wrest, known mainly for his other one man black metal band, Leviathan. While black metal might seem silly with the corpse paint and paganism associated with the scene, two things attract me to it; the depressing, dark atmosphere that no other music can create, as far as I've heard, and the tonal richness that comes from a good composer. As repetitive as it is, black metal has some very mature chord progressions, and the thin production coupled with multiple guitar tracks lets all the sound come through.

I posted earlier Wolves in the Throne Room's album Two Hunters, which I think is a fantastic record, and a great introduction to black metal. Lurker of Chalice, while sounding completely different, is also accessible and without the vocals that seem to turn most people away from one of the most rewarding extreme metal genres.

Just listen plz

http://www.mediafire.com/?mmjmedmwtxt

Ground Zero

2009-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

I continue yesterday's weird album with another weird offering, Ground Zero's Revolutionary Pekinese Opera Ver.1.28. It's from 96, so some of you might have heard it already, but it's worth hearing it if you haven't. It's a Japanese band that makes experimental noise rock via, as far as I can tell, free improvisation. Now let me explain, before you stop reading. This is not Derek Bailey or Anthony Braxton free improv. Sure, it times it's noisy, but that's to be expected. I'm listening to the album as I type this, and a long noise section just ended, and now a soothing female singer is vocalising in a very Eastern sounding mode, there are some cymbal hits, and it's relaxing. Of course, within the next five minutes, it might sound like Hell on Earth, but it's enjoyable.

Plus, there's a guy in the band that plays turntables.

Free improv turntables.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mhoxjmmgtmm

Paavoharju

2009-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't posted in a while, much to the dismay of like two people, but I will try to get this up again.

To start with, I'm giving you guys a Finnish psychedelic folk band, Paavoharju. The album's name is Yhä hämärää, which looks about as obnoxious some shit Magma would release, but the music is actually pretty decent. It's pretty droney, and the female vocalist is great at giving the music a bit of a Far Eastern feel, although this could just be Finnish folk, which I am not really familiar with. Either way, it's solid except for a couple tracks, so DL that ish, and keep checking back. Or just use Google Reader and have your life much easier.

It sounds just like Animal Collective.
Exactly.

http://www.mediafire.com/?x4fwwyhmqyy

Honor Roll Breakfast!

2008-11-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

So my band recorded today, and are releasing this here shit for free. It's a two track EP, the first being Pitchfork, and the second Minus The Bear.

Hopefully the music is more creative than the song titles.

http://www.mediafire.com/?whxyg2jmw2q

(No album art cuz we're too indie, maybe later)

OMG

2008-11-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

BLACK PEOPLE IN OFFICE

YAY

Double Feature: Marnie Stern

2008-10-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Marnie Stern's new album as I'm typing this, so I've decided to up her last album. This is because I'm on the third track, and don't want to disappoint my avid readers. What I know for a fact is that In Advance of the Broken Arm is some of the best noise-pop I've heard. This is also for fans of Hella and the myriad of other projects Zach Hill has going on, because his drumming is as prominent as Marnie's guitar lines, and the two insane styles actually compliment each other, surprisingly so.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywomwdmymji

The Necks

2008-10-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

You like trance? jazz? krautrock? minimalism? pink things?

The Necks' Drive By is an hour long track of meditative goodness. This trio develops their sound very gradually, creating very beautiful melodies subtly. Even if you don't love it at first listen, when it ends you'll miss it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2joumzcn2gj

toe and toe make fore

2008-10-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

Toe is a Japanese math rock band with a fantastic drummer and a great sense of melody. The shifts in key and tempo are very subtle, and they really groove more than most math rock bands today. I could call it jazzy to convey that it has interesting textures and stuff, but the music is not improvisational in any way, so don't think that.

Book About My Idle Plot on Vague Anxiety

http://www.mediafire.com/?mtkxyozng1m

New Sentimentality

http://www.mediafire.com/?znw2ayoznny

Wolves in the Throne Room!

2008-09-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/?lmwkqyg2j1w

Extra tracks. Get the vinyl though, it's hot fire.

Вогулoв, Таруц, Bepmo

2008-09-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wogulow, Taroutz, Vermo - Eternal Number of Repeats
Вогулoв, Таруц, Bepmo - Бecкoheчectbo Лoвtopehий

I found this album in the Best of the Year So Far thread on the Coma, and I would have to agree that this is one of my favorite records so far. At parts it is ridiculously heavy, but between these tracks are truly beautiful parts, and everything feels like it belongs. The album is just 31 minutes long, and it doesn't feel too long or too short at all. Despite the name, it is just one person making this music. The problem is, I can barely find information on him because he seems like somewhat of a recluse, and everything else is in Russian. However, this ain't hip-hop, so let the music speak for him.

http://www.inmypreviouslifeiwasyou.com/wtv.html
click the pic, yo

Cheval de Frise

2008-08-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Cheval de Frise were a French math rock duo with Vincent Beysselance on drums and Thomas Bonvalet on acoustic guitar. That's right, this band is not about using effects and looping stuff (Sorry Tera Melos and Battles, I love you both), it is about polyrhythms and dissonance. The record is just 39 minutes, with most of the songs under 3 minutes, but every track is polished and it doesn't feel like parts are repeated unnecessarily. The nylon strings give the songs an almost flamenco like feel, and it's noisy at parts, but the duo knows when to stop the free parts and lock in again. They do this with astounding speed, stopping on a dime and creating very interesting rhythms. As Cicatrizatron said, "really dope, even though its french"

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?mfttjjujh1y

Steve Reich

2008-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Steve Reich is probably best known for Music For 18 Musicians, the piece that established him as a genius and a true innovator in minimalism. His Early Works (haha get it) are much more stripped down, often relying on tape loops going out of sync with each other, a process he called "phasing". He developed this idea after It's Gonna Rain and Come Out, and instead of having tape loops be the instruments, he wrote for pianos (Piano Phase) and for hands (Clapping Music). While it may not seem like a lot is going on here, it was groundbreaking, and kind of meditative.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?oecogwlg5bn

The Gaslamp Killer part deux

2008-08-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

So in the past few days I've listened to a lot of GLK, and someone wanted a good rip of I Spit On Your Grave, so here we are. It's more of what you heard on The Gaslamp Killers, but I can't tell which one I like more. Either way, this guy is legit. There's a version of this album floating around with an hour long track, but it's really in three tracks. This is a rip of the CD, which I got in the mail, so trust me on this one.

hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=3E3LJWPX

The Gaslamp Killer

2008-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of taking the short route with today's selection. The Gaslamp Kilelrs Mix is available for free off of The Gaslamp Killer's myspace, but the tracks are all weird and there's random album art, so I organized everything and it should work without any hassle. The tracks are named 1-46, so it's all just short snips that change constantly, but if you want gritty instrumental hip-hop with tons of jazz and funk samples, this guy is a master. Listen to 26, and you'll see how he brings together sick drum beats and that beautiful piano melody to create something completely unique but still familiar. I believe this was all created with turntables and old records, which seems incredible cuz this dude just keeps bringing in samples seamlessly, and it sounds liek way more than two turntables, but maybe it's more, I don't know. Anyway, sick shit.
I ordered his full length I Spit On Your Grave, I already had it, it's well worth checking out too.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ekvctlr74w0

Kim Hiorthøy

2008-08-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be a compilation of Kim Hiorthøy's previous work, but he either renamed the tracks or the guy who made the info page on rateyourmusic did it wrong. Anyway, this album represents both the best and the worst of experimental electronica. Door Opens Both Ways is definitely one of my favorite tracks, and Evil House, Evil Day is a stand out, clocking in at almost 11 minutes without dragging. Then there's Ting Some Virker, in which what sounds like a phone message in Norwegian is played over some minimalistic chords. Two and a half minutes, but it sounds like 4.
Kim experiments both with tones and sounds, and is successful in both, I think. On Sunday would be just a generic track if not for the slightly off key trumpet(?) that appears, playing a melody that is both sad and weird. As for experimentation with sound, Kim uses tons of found sounds, apart from the messages, which set the mood. An obivous place is near the beginning of Doktor Watson-Trikset.

He is also a graphic designer, designing artwork for Rune Grammofon, home of Supersilent, a band I'll try to get on here.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?cdrpo48mp33

Fuck, my bad

2008-08-20T21:34:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLI

Normal Love

2008-08-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

"Normal love isn't interesting. I assure you that it's incredibly boring."
-Roman Polanski

If you listened to Zs' Arms, the album I posted a couple of days ago, and didn't think it was enough, I give you Normal Love. Normal Love is like Zs, only heavier and more dissonant. They have a violin player, two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer, and the amount of rapid fire noise they can procure out of their instruments is amazing. The album is relatively short, with 6 tracks at 32 minutes, but it is quite a masochistic form of music. Ndugo is the one track that is calm pretty much throughout the entire piece, but it quickly morphs into The Final Sarcophagus of Darkness, a piece as dark as it sounds.
This isn't official, but I have read that each piece was written by only one member, so I assume that is how the album maintains the atonal sound while not sounding like the same track over and over.

Listen to this album loud.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?zrho5kff9hn

William Basinski

2008-08-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops II is sublime. It is perfect studying music, because it is simple and repetitive, but when you concentrate on it, you notice that the melodies are beautiful, and the slow disintegration of sound is perfect. Seriously, read a book with this in the background. It is at once happy and melancholy, with so much potential. No matter what mood you are in, this will complement it, and the other 3 Disintegration Loop albums are supposed to be good as well, so I'll work on finding those and uploading them. Also, I'll try to find a higher quality version of this one, and upload that.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?gr0hndnlvzg

Four Tet Remixes

2008-08-13T17:31:00.001-07:00

Four Tet's Madvillain Remixes are a mixed bag. Half of this is run of the mill, but the Great Day and the Meat Grinder remixes are better than the original songs, in my humble opinion. Accordion is the only one that really disappoints. I don't really care about the instrumental tracks, but if you guys wanna cut 'em up or whatever it is you hipster kids do with Madvillain, go ahead.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?rq9drmsdz3j

lolwut

2008-08-12T14:39:00.001-07:00

Blogger fucked something up, I don't know what happened.

This is for Dean

2008-08-12T14:28:00.001-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/?tobz4vuwtbz

Burial

2008-08-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

I recently found a copy of Burial's debut album, Burial. Having only heard his breakout album that half the world jizzed over, Untrue, I wasn't expecting the glitch influence in this album, but I have to say, it is very interesting. Untrue is one of most melancholy albums I've heard, with tons of vocal samples, strings, and sparse beats. On this album, Burial experiments with the drum samples much more, with odd time signatures, off beat rhythms, and the melodic parts are subdued. I'm uploading the CD version, which is different in both the tracklist and the number of tracks than the vinyl I have, but it is overall the same album.

I urge everyone to download Untrue if they like this album but think it's a bit weird, it is much more accessible, but very refreshing.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?m4g8o1qptd4

Zs + Extra Life

2008-08-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

No music yesterday, no poem today, what the fuck, Tamas?
Too busy watching the Olympics.

Anyway, I present to you all one of the most original albums of the 00's, Zs' Arms. If you think math rock is dead, listen to this. It is intricate, composed music that has been called brutal prog and other ridiculous terms, but it's understandable, because these guys are at the top of their game, and even reading this stuff off of sheet music must be a workout. Standout tracks are Nobody Wants To Be Had and Balk.

Charlie Looker, the guitarist and vocalist for Zs, recently left Zs to form Extra Life, a similarly innovative band that focuses on Looker's classical voice training. This monophonic style from the Renaissance makes for a very unique experience, but very interesting. Looker is clearly a virtuoso.

Arms: hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?oie9brmgrvc
Secular Works: hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?vcwuk4camh1

Weight

2008-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Weight

I've heard people say:
"Every experience is a once in a lifetime experience."
But are they ever truly happy?
Is a walk through warm woods
just like a walk to the bathroom?
A man rocks his daughter to sleep,
singing in a foreign tongue.
If seldom meant important,
My time under the covers
would not feel like thievery
and guilt.

----------

Jam/Circle Takes The Square

2008-08-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

Jam

Driving in from the track,
I always turn the radio on to the freeway traffic alert station.
And the other day I heard the best one.
The man said that the Santa Monica freeway
near the San Diego off ramp
was congested due to an indecent exposure case.
They're working on getting him off of there now, he said.
Meanwhile I suggest you take an alternate route
Which of course, no one did

-Charles Bukowski

----------

Since I'm leaving for New York in about 10 minutes, I don't have time to write a poem, so I decided to post one of my favorite poems, "Jam" by Bukowski.

Now, to the music. In honor of Storm, I'm giving you guys Circle Takes The Square's As The Roots Undo, without a doubt the best hardcore album I've ever heard. If you like pageninetynine, Saetia, etc, this will be right up your alley. The vocals might take a while to get used to, but if you look past that, the band's songwriting is miles above your average screamo band. Two singers, an amazing drummer, great lyrics, and very well thought out song structures make this an extremely rewarding listen.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?qtb1vhkgkga

Anyone Who Likes Max Restaino is a Faggot/The Locust

2008-08-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Anyone Who Likes Max Restaino is a Faggot

Max, this is not for you.
You told me to
write you
a rhyming pome.
You're all Shalom
and shit, go home.
You're not Nina,
but you're in needuva
new brain,
Harry Potter train.
Tomorrow, focus,
nothing else rhymes with
"The Locust"

----------

The Locust is a synth influenced grindcore band. New Erections is mainly for Max, because anyone that already likes The Locust has this record, and anyone that doesn't know them probably won't like them. Anyway, it's worth a try. Stop and stop dynamics, 3 vocalists screaming their lungs out, political vegans.

We'll bury this city in trash. We'll bury this city in trash. We'll bury this city in trash.

I'm also throwing in their 2003 album, Plague Soundscapes, because the two albums together is 44 minutes.

New Erections: hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?qieislnvz2s
Plague Soundscapes: hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?vx1wjwc3wrl

Bullshit Poem/Wolves In The Throne Room

2008-08-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm tired

On my horse
I ride to war
Sometimes I
bring back a whore

On the way back
We ride my steed
And the girl,
She rides me.

----------

So you might be wondering why the poem for today is shittier than usual. It's for one of two reasons. One, because I'm tired as hell from band practice and not getting enough sleep, and two, in honor of black metal. Now you might think corpse paint and Norway when you hear black metal, but Wolves In The Throne Room completely blow that stereotype away with Two Hunters. Somewhat. Their lyrics are still ridiculous and not to be taken seriously, but they believe in radical environmentalism, not church burning. Of course, it's not like you can make out what the guy is yelling over the gorgeous guitar melodies and blastbeats. And I do mean gorgeou. This album is full of intertwining guitar lines, not quite up to par with composed counterpoint, but near it. Another point to make note of is the production. Most black metal sounds like it was recorded in a shoe box lined with aluminum on a mountain slope, but this record is warm. Listen to Dea Artio and you'll see what I'm talking about.

One of the best records of 2007, hands down.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/download.php?fwbpkgd3fho

In the City/Madlib

2008-08-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

In the City

I went down to the city
with an old lady, once
for a concert that they were hosting
in Central Park
I lugged her beat up suitcase
through the streets of New York,
my only respite being the coat check
at the museum, where it could sit on a shelf
while she talked to paintings.

As we sat on the dry grass in the park,
I ate her mildly rotten potato salad.
I ate her slightly sour yogurt.
I ate her chocolate, dandruff and all.

But when the music started, I could barely hear it.
I looked at her, and she just shook her head.
As she sat down, I saw her eyes become wet,
and she started to read her book,
assuming I could hear Tchaikovsky.

We stayed for the first of three pieces.
On the subway, her wrinkled face
was struggling to smile at me.
On the train, she slept,
While I looked at her relaxed face
and tried to rid myself of the
sadness that went from her into me.

----------

Today I will show you guys some hip-hop that sounds a little different than self-glorifying rap. Often, I talk to people who believe that hip-hop is nothing more than what they hear on the radio, when this could not be further from the truth. In reality, hip-hop is the most exciting genre out there, always reinventing itself, with hordes of artists experimenting with the usual formula. The unfortunate part is, this experimentation is not club music, and intellectualism rarely gets on the airwaves, apart from indie stations and NPR.

So, I give you Madlib's debut full length, Shades of Blue, from 2003. It is an instrumental hip hop album (Yes, no rhymes. This is hip-hop, not just rap), in which he samples from the Blue Note discography. For those who don't know, Blue Note is a jazz label that's been around since the late 30's. Madlib takes the tonal experimentation of jazz and the head boppin' beats of hip-hop, and mixes them masterfully. This album is a great place to start if you want to get into instrumental hip-hop. If you MUST have vocals, you can check out Quasimoto, Madlib's rapping alter ego, or Madvillain, a collab between MF DOOM, one of my favorite MCs and Madlib.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?dm8hics1gno

You/Boredoms

2008-08-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

You

We're speaking with tongues and
We gasp to fill our lungs
Our bodies like ladders
I'm grabbing the rungs

We can't go outside 'cause
It's too dark out tonight
So I'll have to make do
With your starry eyes

Just over a meter,
You're not a mouth breather
You're perfect but have to
Learn to pronounce "either"

In the dark I rehearse
How to say those three words,
Those true words that, last night
You wound up saying first.

Your dog ate a stapler.
That's ridiculous.

----------

In honor of me going to 88BoaDrums on Friday, I've decided to upload a bootleg of last year's show, 77BoaDrums. This is also the first poem I've put up that is really rhythmic, so it should go well with this 77 minute, piece. It's Yamatsuka Eye from Boredoms (and Naked City vocalist) leading an ensemble of 77 drummers with batons and other psychedelic shit he's known for. The outcome is a very visceral piece. Obviously, it would have been better live, but since most of the world's population doesn't live in NYC, you'll have to make do with this. Brian Chippendale is one of the most prominent drummers in this, and details can be found here: http://lineout.thestranger.com/2007/07/bordedoms_77boadrum

I would also recommend going to 88BoaDrums this week, although it might be sold out :[

hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=YQC6FNRB

See/Erik Satie

2008-08-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

See

She turned to me
And it was like dancing in a timeless world.
Swaying through leaves,
whithering and reappearing.
The world became a liquid,
and I swam through,
following flickering shapes,
allowing them to lead me.
When I reached shore I looked back
and saw a pond,
still, gossamer, and shrinking slowly.
I crept closer until I saw:
It was a teardrop nestled in her eye,
unblinking,
looking at me.

----------

I thought this album went very well with the melancholy tone of my poem, and it's also some of my favorite music ever. It's a collection of solo piano pieces by Erik Satie, and it includes his most famous pieces, the Gnossiennes, and the Gymnopédies. The first of the six Gnossiennes is one of the most beautiful piano compositions I've heard, and Reinbert De Leeuw, the pianist on this recording, lets the music breathe just the right amount, and the effect is sad but gorgeous. It is not music for virtuosos, but it is very enjoyable as either background music, or listening music.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mmgdlq2xz8e

Death/Naked City

2008-08-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Death

What is the chalk outline of a mountain?
At first, a bleeding crater and black vomit.
Like a gun, a shot in the dark,
Two eruptions, then the pavement is coated in heat.

The mountain buries itself
And becomes a part of what it ruled.
We gather on the plains to mourn
But the old have lost their voices
And the young do not know what to sing.

Moths taking flight.
And leaves hitting the ground in the distance.
I have heard machines rust.

I have walked in mountain passes searching for life,
And beneath the snow I found frozen bodies with ice crowns.
I took one to the city, but his crown melted in the heat
And the weeping corpse was shunned.

I found a cave and asked:
"Meghaltál, Istenem"
It cried back:
"S te nem?"

I found a cave and asked:
"You have died, my God"
It cried back:
"And you haven't?"

------------------------------

John Zorn is known throughout the world as a leader in avant-garde music. Naked City, perhaps his most famous band, combined various genres at breakneck speed, while keeping one foot firmly in jazz. Their self titled debut demonstrates the band's ridiculous talent for jumping between jazz, grindcore, bluegrass, and other genres in a matter of seconds. It is sure to be a bit difficult to listen to the noisy sections, but the shortness of the tracks make it relatively easy to get through. Also, The James Bond Theme is some of the grooviest music I've ever heard.

Fans of tracks 10-17 definitely should check out Torture Garden, a collection of "hardcore miniatures".
For those who like the other tracks might like Zorn's other work, which isn't as grindcore oriented, although definitely influenced by it.

hxxp://www.mediafire.com/?oitfwknxcko

Tense/Asva

2008-08-01T22:28:00.001-07:00

Tense

Past: Pat passed.
Rain pats rats, pitter patter
In the sewers; chitter chatter;
"Do her, sue her", In the litter.

Latter; Pat sits, stately
A date bleats:
"Th'economy...weak"
The rosy prose of
proles rolls out her mouth
Uncouth
But shrouded
b'hind crowded
Words, faux wise.
For why's it right
The unqualified rise?
Lies.

And next, who'd
Care, doomed are we,
Stuck in the

-------------------------------

Everyone should listen to ASVA's What You Don't Know Is Frontier.
It is some of the heaviest music I've ever heard, but that's to be expected, because members of Burning Witch and Mr. Bungle are in it. If you don't know the first one, it's drone doom, and both SUNN O))) members were in it. If you don't know Bungle, die.

Speaking of, this music literally sounds like death, so don't expect to get through it easily. It's almost 70 minutes split into 4 tracks, but they are more like movements. Some are beautiful, and some are just horrifying, but they maintain the atmosphere of a funeral very well.

If you're not into doom, this will hopefully convert you. If you are, you might agree that this is arguably one of the year's best records.

hxxp://www.megaupload.com/?d=DR5EFHMI

Read my pomes

2008-08-01T22:24:00.001-07:00

This is going to be a blog for me to put my work up, and you guys to ignore it.

Especially Max.

Maybe I might post music.
Maybe not though.