Wednesday, January 31, 2007
I live in the stupidest fucking city on Earth
Seriously. Boston makes Springfield look like that island where brilliant scientists are forced to develop new improbably high-tech weapons for their evil supervillain captors. I just watched the city's press conference, where both the mayor and the governor reiterated that whoever put these "suspicious devices" around town will face federal charges and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Even though they aren't explosive, have been up for two to three weeks, and can also currently be found in nine other cities. William Street and Cartoon Network could pretty much be fucked because of this town's complete idiocy.
Here's what they look like:
Seriously. Boston makes Springfield look like that island where brilliant scientists are forced to develop new improbably high-tech weapons for their evil supervillain captors. I just watched the city's press conference, where both the mayor and the governor reiterated that whoever put these "suspicious devices" around town will face federal charges and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Even though they aren't explosive, have been up for two to three weeks, and can also currently be found in nine other cities. William Street and Cartoon Network could pretty much be fucked because of this town's complete idiocy.
Here's what they look like:
We Smoke As We Shoot The Bird
Okay, Boston's gone fuck-nuts over these suspicious devices that've been found all over town. The train was shut down for a while, traffic is awful, and they've turned the southwest corner of Boston Common into bomb squad and emergency services headquarters. And why? Because of Aqua Teen Hunger Force's guerilla advertising campaign, apparently.
Okay, Boston's gone fuck-nuts over these suspicious devices that've been found all over town. The train was shut down for a while, traffic is awful, and they've turned the southwest corner of Boston Common into bomb squad and emergency services headquarters. And why? Because of Aqua Teen Hunger Force's guerilla advertising campaign, apparently.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
last week's playlist
Mesmerization Eclipse 1/24/07 Playlist
Faust “It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl”
Edip Akbayram “Affetmem Seni”
Of Montreal “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse”
Iran “Spherical Cockpit”
Boris With Michio Kurihara “Rafflesia”
Wire “In The Art Of Stopping”
Nurse and Soldier “Satellightning”
The Bats “Dancing As The Boat Goes Down”
Hawkwind “Uncle Sam's On Mars”
Panda Bear “Bro's”
Deerhunter “Lake Somerset” *
Tom Verlaine “Penetration”
Built to Spill “So & So So & So From Wherever Wherever”
Bunnybrains “Left Alive”
Love Tractor “Three and Nine”
Psychic Ills “Days”
Camera Obscura “Eighties Fan”
Yellow Swans “Psychic Secession”
Folklore “The Father”
Deerhoof “Kidz Are So Smal'”
Superchunk “Detroit Has a Skyline (acoustic)”
The Field Mice “Below The Stars”
*: I added the Deerhunter record to the station's playlist last Wednesday. It's been played more than once a day since. Folks love it. And after this review, I'm sure the number of those folks will grow exponentially.
Mesmerization Eclipse 1/24/07 Playlist
Faust “It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl”
Edip Akbayram “Affetmem Seni”
Of Montreal “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse”
Iran “Spherical Cockpit”
Boris With Michio Kurihara “Rafflesia”
Wire “In The Art Of Stopping”
Nurse and Soldier “Satellightning”
The Bats “Dancing As The Boat Goes Down”
Hawkwind “Uncle Sam's On Mars”
Panda Bear “Bro's”
Deerhunter “Lake Somerset” *
Tom Verlaine “Penetration”
Built to Spill “So & So So & So From Wherever Wherever”
Bunnybrains “Left Alive”
Love Tractor “Three and Nine”
Psychic Ills “Days”
Camera Obscura “Eighties Fan”
Yellow Swans “Psychic Secession”
Folklore “The Father”
Deerhoof “Kidz Are So Smal'”
Superchunk “Detroit Has a Skyline (acoustic)”
The Field Mice “Below The Stars”
*: I added the Deerhunter record to the station's playlist last Wednesday. It's been played more than once a day since. Folks love it. And after this review, I'm sure the number of those folks will grow exponentially.
Monday, January 29, 2007
content-free movie reviews
IDIOCRACY: amazing; even better than POOTIE TANG.
STRANGERS WITH CANDY: funny, but almost identical to the show.
THE ILLUSIONIST: fine acting, but the "gotcha!" ending is kind of lame.
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: I probably wrote about this back in August, but still, man, what a great movie. I like it more every time I see it. I won't go so far as to call it better than Anchorman, but it's easily just as good.
IDIOCRACY: amazing; even better than POOTIE TANG.
STRANGERS WITH CANDY: funny, but almost identical to the show.
THE ILLUSIONIST: fine acting, but the "gotcha!" ending is kind of lame.
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: I probably wrote about this back in August, but still, man, what a great movie. I like it more every time I see it. I won't go so far as to call it better than Anchorman, but it's easily just as good.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
this week's playlist
Mesmerization Eclipse 01/17/07
Boris With Michio Kurihara “Sweet No. 1”
Devo “Auto Modown / Space Girl Blues”
Blue Oyster Cult “Transmaniacon MC”
Comets on Fire “Beneath The Ice Age”
Henry Grady Terrell “Old John Henry Died On the Mountain”
Volcano the Bear “The Last Song of Norway”
Sonic Youth “Fire Engine Dream”
Television “Days”
Oneida “All Arounder”
James Luther Dickinson “John Brown”
Mission of Burma “Let Yourself Go”
Deerhunter “Strange Lights”
The Red Crayola “Hurricane Fighter Pilot”
Circulatory System “A Peek”
Holy Moses “The Sad Cafe”
Capsize 7 “Column Shifter”
Mendoza Line “If You Knew Her As I Know Her”
Mekons “Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet”
Burning Star Core “Benjamin”
The Tower Recordings “Forum”
Small 23 “Finding It Hard To Believe That There Was a Floor”
Starship Beer “You Fly In My Brain Like An Airplane”
Il Balletto Di Bronzo “Terzo Incontro”
Big Star “Blue Moon”
Faust “Don't Take Root”
Mesmerization Eclipse 01/17/07
Boris With Michio Kurihara “Sweet No. 1”
Devo “Auto Modown / Space Girl Blues”
Blue Oyster Cult “Transmaniacon MC”
Comets on Fire “Beneath The Ice Age”
Henry Grady Terrell “Old John Henry Died On the Mountain”
Volcano the Bear “The Last Song of Norway”
Sonic Youth “Fire Engine Dream”
Television “Days”
Oneida “All Arounder”
James Luther Dickinson “John Brown”
Mission of Burma “Let Yourself Go”
Deerhunter “Strange Lights”
The Red Crayola “Hurricane Fighter Pilot”
Circulatory System “A Peek”
Holy Moses “The Sad Cafe”
Capsize 7 “Column Shifter”
Mendoza Line “If You Knew Her As I Know Her”
Mekons “Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet”
Burning Star Core “Benjamin”
The Tower Recordings “Forum”
Small 23 “Finding It Hard To Believe That There Was a Floor”
Starship Beer “You Fly In My Brain Like An Airplane”
Il Balletto Di Bronzo “Terzo Incontro”
Big Star “Blue Moon”
Faust “Don't Take Root”
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
bloodlust
Our puppy is kind of an asshole. He's the sweetest asshole EVER. He chews the hell out of everything, including us. Still, he's just about the cutest goddamn thing I've ever seen. I'll try to get some new pictures of Oscar up tonight.
Our puppy is kind of an asshole. He's the sweetest asshole EVER. He chews the hell out of everything, including us. Still, he's just about the cutest goddamn thing I've ever seen. I'll try to get some new pictures of Oscar up tonight.
Friday, January 12, 2007
this week's playlist
Mesmerization Eclipse 01/10/07
Heldon “Lady From the North”
Deerhunter “Cryptograms”
Love Tractor “Three and Nine”
Polvo “City Spirit”
Major Stars “The Ravager”
Refrigerator Mothers “Arab National Anthem”
Unrest “Cherry Cherry”
The Trap “I Desire”
Night Rally “"remember, november, ember"”
Jackie and Roy “Winds of Heaven”
Time Toy “Fangs”
Les Savy Fav “Asleepers Union”
Tasavallan Presidentti “Milky Way Moses”
Edip Akbayram “Deniz Ustu Kopurur”
Of Montreal “Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider”
Iltar “You Don't Know Ne, Dying In The Subway”
The Monks “I Hate You”
Brian Eno “Baby's On Fire”
Trans Am “Strong Sensations”
Silkworm “Couldn't You Wait”
Ut “Wailhouse”
Mesmerization Eclipse 01/10/07
Heldon “Lady From the North”
Deerhunter “Cryptograms”
Love Tractor “Three and Nine”
Polvo “City Spirit”
Major Stars “The Ravager”
Refrigerator Mothers “Arab National Anthem”
Unrest “Cherry Cherry”
The Trap “I Desire”
Night Rally “"remember, november, ember"”
Jackie and Roy “Winds of Heaven”
Time Toy “Fangs”
Les Savy Fav “Asleepers Union”
Tasavallan Presidentti “Milky Way Moses”
Edip Akbayram “Deniz Ustu Kopurur”
Of Montreal “Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider”
Iltar “You Don't Know Ne, Dying In The Subway”
The Monks “I Hate You”
Brian Eno “Baby's On Fire”
Trans Am “Strong Sensations”
Silkworm “Couldn't You Wait”
Ut “Wailhouse”
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
This Month In Supermen
The other day I had to ask myself, why is all these Supermen? I went from no Supermans ever (save for ones in which he dies) to FOUR regularly publishized Supermens. I read the classics / old standbys (ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN), the new continuity filler / retcon hospital SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL, and of course the ultimate current hot-shit amazo brillianceness of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. I read them all and I am confounded by it. I never liked a Superman, ever, until this year. I liked the movie Superman, I guess, back when I was but a lad, but the comics and the character hisself always turned me off. Now though I'm turned all the way on Superman, and need the wonderment on a semi-weekly basis.
Anyhow, much Supermanity has occurred of late, and here are some thoughts on some things.
1. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.
Holy Jesus SHITS this is why comics existed. Grant Morrison is perhaps the finest writer of superhero comics EVER, and his artistic companion "Frank Quitely" is up there with Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale as modern masters of the form. The form of comic book art, fool! The eternal knock against Quitely has been his complete timelinessless; monthly books become biennial with this man. DC's addressed this issue by making ASS semi-sorta-bi-monthly; with six issues in 14 months, I guess it's more like deca-weekly, or something. Anyhow, number six came out last week, and it's another almost perfect 22-page encapsulation of all that is right and beautiful about comic books. Field of Dreams becomes only more poignant to this man's mind when you replace baseball and Shoeless Joe with the Chronovore and the Unknown Superman. Also the scenes with Krypto the Superdog made me infinitely happy. All-Star Superman is hands-down the finest comic currently published by Marvel or DC, and it will be a sad day when the twelfth and final issue finally comes out in 2009.
2. SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL
The two best Supes books today aren't the flagship titles, but the out-of-continuity ASS and the hole-filler Superman Confidential. Kinda like the JLA / JSA titles of the same name, Supes Confidential looks at important events in Superman's past that never actually appeared in his other titles. Like this, the book's first storyling, is going back and showing how Superman first encountered / became aware of kryptonite. Basically it's a series of retcons, but thus far what a series it's been. Many were skeptical when Darwyn Cooke, the best comic book artist active today, was announced as the writer, as that'd be kinda like hiring Danger Mouse to write your lyrics but not produce your song. Tim Sale, who does all the art for the semi-not-quite-shitty show HEROES, is certainly no slouch, though, and probably draws the second-best Lois Lane after Cooke, anyway, so all is well. Their arc runs the first six issues of the book, and the halfway point was reached this past week. Superman Confidential #3 isn't revelatory like, well, every issue of ASS, but it is another fine installment in this interesting (and very well-drawn) story. The scene where Lois tells Supes that it could never work between them is a rare not-even-remotely-cringworthy bit of comic-book relationship melodrama, so kudos to Cooke. He does almost as good a job writing Lois as he does drawing her.
3. SUPERMAN
This is by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. Busiek did a fantastic job with the Up, Up, and Away storyline earlier this year, and his stop-gap threefer Auctioneer storyline in Action was some good, old-school fun. I haven't been enjoying Superman lately as much as either of those, and this issue didn't reverse that course. It's not bad, really, just a competent comic with solid art and a slightly interesting story that feels only a little lived in. Basically some timetravelling guy pops in from some future-past post-apocalyptic renaissance-era Venetian looking town, and tells Supes of the Earth's frighten future. He says some amazingly powerful villain named Khyber will kill Superman and spoil the planet, and that the few humans who survive will struggle through a new ice age in a cave-ridden community overseen by Luthor and Lois Lane. This most recent issue (#640, maybe?) consists almost completely of journal entries from this potential future Lois. It's a grim lot, for real, and at the end future-past fella caps it all off by telling Supes that it might be best if he doesn't try to stop this Khyber fella, 'cuz every time you stave off one swing of destiny the eventual fall will become even worse and harder to come back from, or something like that. Those last couple of pages were a surprise, and a nice springboard into whatever comes next, but nothing in this book is that exceptional, especially in comparison to ASS and Confidential.
4. ACTION COMICS
I actually just dropped this. As I said, Busiek's work on this title over the summer and fall was great. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner took it over in November, though, and it quickly went downhill. Their first issue was amazingly boring, with some lackluster art from (I believe) one of them Kuberts. Basically there's this boy on Earth who might be from Krypton, and Superman's trying to keep the government from turning him into a weapon. They've done a TON of these "omg another kyrptonian wtf!" stories over the years, and almost all of them end with the new Kryptonian being a hoax or dying or leaving forever, or something like that. I'm sure this'll be the same. The second issue was a step up, as it was revealed the boy might be the son of Zod, but still not good enough to keep me dropping three bucks a month on it. So yes, sorry, Mr. Johns, even though you're friends with the awesome Alenders, there's no room in my budget for your work.
The other day I had to ask myself, why is all these Supermen? I went from no Supermans ever (save for ones in which he dies) to FOUR regularly publishized Supermens. I read the classics / old standbys (ACTION COMICS, SUPERMAN), the new continuity filler / retcon hospital SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL, and of course the ultimate current hot-shit amazo brillianceness of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. I read them all and I am confounded by it. I never liked a Superman, ever, until this year. I liked the movie Superman, I guess, back when I was but a lad, but the comics and the character hisself always turned me off. Now though I'm turned all the way on Superman, and need the wonderment on a semi-weekly basis.
Anyhow, much Supermanity has occurred of late, and here are some thoughts on some things.
1. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN.
Holy Jesus SHITS this is why comics existed. Grant Morrison is perhaps the finest writer of superhero comics EVER, and his artistic companion "Frank Quitely" is up there with Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale as modern masters of the form. The form of comic book art, fool! The eternal knock against Quitely has been his complete timelinessless; monthly books become biennial with this man. DC's addressed this issue by making ASS semi-sorta-bi-monthly; with six issues in 14 months, I guess it's more like deca-weekly, or something. Anyhow, number six came out last week, and it's another almost perfect 22-page encapsulation of all that is right and beautiful about comic books. Field of Dreams becomes only more poignant to this man's mind when you replace baseball and Shoeless Joe with the Chronovore and the Unknown Superman. Also the scenes with Krypto the Superdog made me infinitely happy. All-Star Superman is hands-down the finest comic currently published by Marvel or DC, and it will be a sad day when the twelfth and final issue finally comes out in 2009.
2. SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL
The two best Supes books today aren't the flagship titles, but the out-of-continuity ASS and the hole-filler Superman Confidential. Kinda like the JLA / JSA titles of the same name, Supes Confidential looks at important events in Superman's past that never actually appeared in his other titles. Like this, the book's first storyling, is going back and showing how Superman first encountered / became aware of kryptonite. Basically it's a series of retcons, but thus far what a series it's been. Many were skeptical when Darwyn Cooke, the best comic book artist active today, was announced as the writer, as that'd be kinda like hiring Danger Mouse to write your lyrics but not produce your song. Tim Sale, who does all the art for the semi-not-quite-shitty show HEROES, is certainly no slouch, though, and probably draws the second-best Lois Lane after Cooke, anyway, so all is well. Their arc runs the first six issues of the book, and the halfway point was reached this past week. Superman Confidential #3 isn't revelatory like, well, every issue of ASS, but it is another fine installment in this interesting (and very well-drawn) story. The scene where Lois tells Supes that it could never work between them is a rare not-even-remotely-cringworthy bit of comic-book relationship melodrama, so kudos to Cooke. He does almost as good a job writing Lois as he does drawing her.
3. SUPERMAN
This is by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. Busiek did a fantastic job with the Up, Up, and Away storyline earlier this year, and his stop-gap threefer Auctioneer storyline in Action was some good, old-school fun. I haven't been enjoying Superman lately as much as either of those, and this issue didn't reverse that course. It's not bad, really, just a competent comic with solid art and a slightly interesting story that feels only a little lived in. Basically some timetravelling guy pops in from some future-past post-apocalyptic renaissance-era Venetian looking town, and tells Supes of the Earth's frighten future. He says some amazingly powerful villain named Khyber will kill Superman and spoil the planet, and that the few humans who survive will struggle through a new ice age in a cave-ridden community overseen by Luthor and Lois Lane. This most recent issue (#640, maybe?) consists almost completely of journal entries from this potential future Lois. It's a grim lot, for real, and at the end future-past fella caps it all off by telling Supes that it might be best if he doesn't try to stop this Khyber fella, 'cuz every time you stave off one swing of destiny the eventual fall will become even worse and harder to come back from, or something like that. Those last couple of pages were a surprise, and a nice springboard into whatever comes next, but nothing in this book is that exceptional, especially in comparison to ASS and Confidential.
4. ACTION COMICS
I actually just dropped this. As I said, Busiek's work on this title over the summer and fall was great. Geoff Johns and Richard Donner took it over in November, though, and it quickly went downhill. Their first issue was amazingly boring, with some lackluster art from (I believe) one of them Kuberts. Basically there's this boy on Earth who might be from Krypton, and Superman's trying to keep the government from turning him into a weapon. They've done a TON of these "omg another kyrptonian wtf!" stories over the years, and almost all of them end with the new Kryptonian being a hoax or dying or leaving forever, or something like that. I'm sure this'll be the same. The second issue was a step up, as it was revealed the boy might be the son of Zod, but still not good enough to keep me dropping three bucks a month on it. So yes, sorry, Mr. Johns, even though you're friends with the awesome Alenders, there's no room in my budget for your work.
Monday, January 08, 2007
2006
UPDATE: I've already been forced to correct a thing or two on the "top songs" list. My formerly bear-trap-tight mind is now a sieve.
Here's what I liked this year. A couple of caveats: I've yet to hear Lil Flip Scoldjah's latest cd, which should no doubt top this and every other such list. Also, I've let a couple of things I first heard in December 2006 slip onto the lists, namely the number one album and the number three single. Just a head's up. Yes.
Top Ten Albums:
1. Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song
Love Is All's debut wins the prize with consistency and all-around excellence. There may not be a single truly amazing song on here, but no other album this year had as many good to great ones. I listened to Nine Times That Same Song a good two or three times more than any other album in 2006, and as of yet am not close to being tired of it. I think this technically came out in 2005, but was mostly unavailable 'til early this year, so I'm counting it. These Swedes are catchy, energetic, clever without being precious, and reminiscent of the best '70's/'80's post-punk (or whatever) without stooping to slavish imitation. They've got tons of potential (their best song isn't even on this record), and let's hope they can continue to realize it in the future.
2. Major Stars - Syntoptikon
Home to the best guitar freak-outs of the year, Syntoptikon picks up the psych-bombast slack left by the latest Oneida and Comets on Fire albums. Majorest Stars Wayne Rogers and Kate Village even out-play Ira Kaplan of...
3. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Still, Ira's pretty damn amazing. For the first time since '97 they once again split the difference between the noisy jams their fans expect and the quieter material they've largely drifted towards this century. Best YLT album in almost a decade.
4. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
The best Belle and Sebastian album since If You're Feeling Sinister, and home to at least two of the year's best songs.
5. Oakley Hall - Gypsum Strings
The finest practitioners of psychedelic country rock around get extra points for releasing two great records in one calendar year; Gypsum Strings just slightly gets the nod over Second Guessing.
6. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
It's not quite as abrasive as 2004's They Were Wrong So We Drowned, and even sports a moment of true grace and beauty as the album-closer. The band's still rooting through all the right cellars to cobble together its contemporary take on experimental art-rock, though, as the various krautrock and noise influences remain at the forefront. Despite greater song-title cohesion, the "concept" is even more fluid and impregnable than They Were Wrong's.
7. TI - King
The relative lack of skits is appreciated. "What You Know", "I'm Talkin To You", "Why YOu Wanna", and "You Know Who" are even more appreciated. I don't know if I've ever listened all the way through this in one sitting; I do know that few other albums from '06 had even one song that got played as often as those four mentioned above.
8. Parts and Labor - Stay Afraid
Parts and Labor has been combining noise with pop hooks for years, and with Stay Afraid they've finally made a record that completely stays afloat from start to finish. If Surrender to the Night-era Trans Am covered New Day Rising in its entirety, it'd probably sound something like this.
9. Joanna Newsom - Ys
You can kinda disappear in this record. Not as listenable as The Milk-Eyed Mender, but richer and more engrossing. If you can get past the song-lengths, you'll be friends for life.
10. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
I really wanna give this to Still Flyin', but I just can't pick an ep over this record. SY's been on another one of their periodic rolls the last few years, putting out nicely subdued albums that still contain their trademark dissonance and discordant melodies. Rather Ripped is the most noteworthy of these three most recent records, and, with "Incinerate" and the sublime "Jams Run Free", it features perhaps their two best songs since 1995 or so.
Honorable Mentions:
Still Flyin' - Time Wrinkle ej
Excalibrah - Excalibrah & The Poon-Tang Clan Volume 1.9
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Ghostface Killa - Fishscale
Dark Meat - Universal Indians
Oneida - Happy New Year
Top Songs of the Year:
1. Oneida - The Adversary
2. TI - What You Know
3. Ludacris, Field Mob, and Jamie Foxx - Georgia
4. Oneida - Up With People
5. Killers - When You Were Young
6. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
7. Art Brut - Emily Kane
8. Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
9. Still Flyin' - Rope Burn
10. Sonic Youth - Jams Run Free
11. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
12. Futureheads - Skip To The End
Best Reissues:
Ariesta Birawa Group - Ariesta Birawa Group Vol. 1
Pavement - Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition
Chavez - Better Days Will Haunt You
Animal Collective - Hollinndagain
UPDATE: I've already been forced to correct a thing or two on the "top songs" list. My formerly bear-trap-tight mind is now a sieve.
Here's what I liked this year. A couple of caveats: I've yet to hear Lil Flip Scoldjah's latest cd, which should no doubt top this and every other such list. Also, I've let a couple of things I first heard in December 2006 slip onto the lists, namely the number one album and the number three single. Just a head's up. Yes.
Top Ten Albums:
1. Love Is All - Nine Times That Same Song
Love Is All's debut wins the prize with consistency and all-around excellence. There may not be a single truly amazing song on here, but no other album this year had as many good to great ones. I listened to Nine Times That Same Song a good two or three times more than any other album in 2006, and as of yet am not close to being tired of it. I think this technically came out in 2005, but was mostly unavailable 'til early this year, so I'm counting it. These Swedes are catchy, energetic, clever without being precious, and reminiscent of the best '70's/'80's post-punk (or whatever) without stooping to slavish imitation. They've got tons of potential (their best song isn't even on this record), and let's hope they can continue to realize it in the future.
2. Major Stars - Syntoptikon
Home to the best guitar freak-outs of the year, Syntoptikon picks up the psych-bombast slack left by the latest Oneida and Comets on Fire albums. Majorest Stars Wayne Rogers and Kate Village even out-play Ira Kaplan of...
3. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Still, Ira's pretty damn amazing. For the first time since '97 they once again split the difference between the noisy jams their fans expect and the quieter material they've largely drifted towards this century. Best YLT album in almost a decade.
4. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
The best Belle and Sebastian album since If You're Feeling Sinister, and home to at least two of the year's best songs.
5. Oakley Hall - Gypsum Strings
The finest practitioners of psychedelic country rock around get extra points for releasing two great records in one calendar year; Gypsum Strings just slightly gets the nod over Second Guessing.
6. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
It's not quite as abrasive as 2004's They Were Wrong So We Drowned, and even sports a moment of true grace and beauty as the album-closer. The band's still rooting through all the right cellars to cobble together its contemporary take on experimental art-rock, though, as the various krautrock and noise influences remain at the forefront. Despite greater song-title cohesion, the "concept" is even more fluid and impregnable than They Were Wrong's.
7. TI - King
The relative lack of skits is appreciated. "What You Know", "I'm Talkin To You", "Why YOu Wanna", and "You Know Who" are even more appreciated. I don't know if I've ever listened all the way through this in one sitting; I do know that few other albums from '06 had even one song that got played as often as those four mentioned above.
8. Parts and Labor - Stay Afraid
Parts and Labor has been combining noise with pop hooks for years, and with Stay Afraid they've finally made a record that completely stays afloat from start to finish. If Surrender to the Night-era Trans Am covered New Day Rising in its entirety, it'd probably sound something like this.
9. Joanna Newsom - Ys
You can kinda disappear in this record. Not as listenable as The Milk-Eyed Mender, but richer and more engrossing. If you can get past the song-lengths, you'll be friends for life.
10. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
I really wanna give this to Still Flyin', but I just can't pick an ep over this record. SY's been on another one of their periodic rolls the last few years, putting out nicely subdued albums that still contain their trademark dissonance and discordant melodies. Rather Ripped is the most noteworthy of these three most recent records, and, with "Incinerate" and the sublime "Jams Run Free", it features perhaps their two best songs since 1995 or so.
Honorable Mentions:
Still Flyin' - Time Wrinkle ej
Excalibrah - Excalibrah & The Poon-Tang Clan Volume 1.9
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Ghostface Killa - Fishscale
Dark Meat - Universal Indians
Oneida - Happy New Year
Top Songs of the Year:
1. Oneida - The Adversary
2. TI - What You Know
3. Ludacris, Field Mob, and Jamie Foxx - Georgia
4. Oneida - Up With People
5. Killers - When You Were Young
6. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
7. Art Brut - Emily Kane
8. Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
9. Still Flyin' - Rope Burn
10. Sonic Youth - Jams Run Free
11. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
12. Futureheads - Skip To The End
Best Reissues:
Ariesta Birawa Group - Ariesta Birawa Group Vol. 1
Pavement - Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels Edition
Chavez - Better Days Will Haunt You
Animal Collective - Hollinndagain
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Yesterday's Playlist: I Haven't Done This In A While
Mesmerization Eclipse 1/3/07
Albert Ayler Trio “Ghosts - First Version”
Dark Meat “Angel of Meth”
Wire “Too Late”
Kinski “Point that Thing Somewhere Else”
Legendary Pink Dots “Feathers at Dawn”
Deerhunter “Spring Hall Convert”
Heldon “Distribution Deterritorialisation”
Blue Orchids “Dumb Magician”
Scott Walker “The Escape”
Velocity Girl “Forgotten Favorite”
Half Japanese “Too Much Adrenaline”
Embryo “The Special Trip”
Olivia Tremor Control side two from The Tour EP
Strawbs “To Be Free”
Captain Beefheart “Doctor Dark”
Space Needle “Beers In Heaven”
Kemialliset Ystavat “Savuavia Harmonia”
Je Suis Animal “Fortune Map”
Shrimp Boat “Born In A Sour”
The Fall “Assume”
Henry Cow “Upon Entering The Hotel Adlon”
Hototogisu “track four” from Chimarendammerung
Mesmerization Eclipse 1/3/07
Albert Ayler Trio “Ghosts - First Version”
Dark Meat “Angel of Meth”
Wire “Too Late”
Kinski “Point that Thing Somewhere Else”
Legendary Pink Dots “Feathers at Dawn”
Deerhunter “Spring Hall Convert”
Heldon “Distribution Deterritorialisation”
Blue Orchids “Dumb Magician”
Scott Walker “The Escape”
Velocity Girl “Forgotten Favorite”
Half Japanese “Too Much Adrenaline”
Embryo “The Special Trip”
Olivia Tremor Control side two from The Tour EP
Strawbs “To Be Free”
Captain Beefheart “Doctor Dark”
Space Needle “Beers In Heaven”
Kemialliset Ystavat “Savuavia Harmonia”
Je Suis Animal “Fortune Map”
Shrimp Boat “Born In A Sour”
The Fall “Assume”
Henry Cow “Upon Entering The Hotel Adlon”
Hototogisu “track four” from Chimarendammerung
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
radio
First show of '07 is also the first in three weeks. Mesmerization Eclipse, WZBC 90.3 FM, 3 to 5 pm.
First show of '07 is also the first in three weeks. Mesmerization Eclipse, WZBC 90.3 FM, 3 to 5 pm.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
