Friday, November 26, 2010

III Well Reared

1. John Yoko | Papa Was A Rodeo
Winner of the best band name and best song title in this year's collection. The song is a cover of a Magnetic Fields song off of 69 Love Songs. Lali Puna are Markus Acher (the Notwist - brother of Micha Acher from Ms John Soda) and Valerie Trebeljahr and a bunch of other punters called Ken. This is their side project. Interestingly incestuous indietronic interrelationships. Here's an entire press release about this simple 2 song record.

2. Thom Yorke | 33d (Fourtet Remix)
This is just amazing. The phrasing, the lyrics, the complex and melodic doodling at the edge of a vocal range. Great song, stunning remix.

3. Burial & Fourtet | Moth
Black 12" with black centre label. Good men. A collaboration rather than a remix. One of the smoothest sounding records I've heard in the past 12 months.



4. Wintersleep | Fog

5. Moondog Jr. | Ice Guitars
This song works like food colouring for my brain. Belgian Art Rock has a special place between my ears. Makes me want to wear a chilli stained vest and a stetson and get my groove on. Watch out Snaffles..... Achtung Equine Hospital! There's a clarinet in here which didn't make itself known on an old C90 tape given to me by the tallest drummer in Belgium. The same man taught me that roosters in Belgium say "Kookla Kookla" or at least that's what Belgian kids are taught. My respect for Stef Camil Karlens is known and needs no further elaboration. This is a Sallymount bedsit special reprised by the wonder of the iTunes store. The entire album is great and worth the investment.

6. Dan Deacon | Snookered
Hang on to your endorphins with this one. It's mastered extremely loud. This song reminds me of what I do for a living, unpredictable but cyclical phases of relative calm combined with near chaos, bizarre changes in tempo and recurring themes falling in and out of phase. Adding value all over the place.


7. The Barr Brothers | Beggar In The Morning

8. Sufjan Stevens | To Be Alone With You
Can you imagine how accomplished Superman's banjo playing might be?




9. Here We Go Magic feat. Luke Temple | Fangela
Ummm, Brooklyn Folk. Indie Brooklyn Folk Rock.

10. Jim Guthrie | Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)
Constantines cover. The Constantines were the first band we saw live in Canada, within days of landing in that fair country. The Media Club. It was meant to be a fresh, new and exciting cultural experience. The band was in fact arbitrary and a little forgettable. This is a nice cover though.

11. Junip | Rope and Summit
Jose Gonzalez is in here somewhere. I like the compressed, narrow band sound off this. And the analog synths.


12. Woodpigeon | Empty-Hall Sing-Along
From Calgary, the Brooklyn of Alberta. This band was originally named Woodpigeon Divided By Antelope Equals Squirrel. Good men.

13. The Mountain Goats | Source Decay
More 3 minute super condensed cinematic story telling from John Darnielle. I wish the West Texas highway was a mobius strip.




14. Ms John Soda | Solid GroundMore from the Achers of Munich. To borrow a sports commentary term - they're everywhere on this year's compilation. There's a piano only version of this floating around aswell which is worth a listen.

15. Skanfrom | Here She Comes
Soothing Sounds for Robots is a nice description of the type of electronic music which captures my ear, electronic music that was reared well, makes a good impression quickly and knows when to get its coat. This is a nice example of well reared electronica.

16. Fanfarlo | Finish Line
Watch out for the horns :(

And finally, in these times of great tribulation for Ireland, to distract the focus of international financial journalists and senior members of the IMF, I think it might be appropriate to propagate some more traditional stereotypes of the Irish, guiding us back to our roots as a humble, fun loving, singing and dancing race. Not a pinstripe suit or Range Rover Sport in sight. Thank God. If you think of the Dubliners as bankers at the peak of the boom, think of their banjos, tin whistles and fiddles as "financial instruments", and the cameo from the pint of Bass as a schneaky credit default swap, you might get a sort of an insight into precisely how "we are where we are". The audience are the developers by the way.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

IV Modulo Offcuts

These are the songs marked for greatness but which didn't make the final cut of 4, being either too loud, too quiet or disliked by the two old men in the back seat. But they were also too good to ignore completely and they all coexist in relative harmony - so here they are. These are the growers, not the showers.

1. Warpaint | Billie Holiday
On the topic of gratuitous pictures of Rickenbacker-bass-toting females a special mention has to go to Kira Roessler.

So now....


2. Tune-Yards | Fiya
Oakland, 4AD.


3. Tiny Vipers | On This Side
M has this theory about me and mad girls with severe fringes, fucked up teeth and curious singing voices. I have no idea what she's talking about.



4. Sun Kil Moon | Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton was the guitarist in Judas Priest. How this song, lyrically, stylistically, metaphorically, or otherwisely relates in any way to the subject matter of the title is far from known. For more check out Red House Painters or Mark Kozelek.


5. Sleepercar | Stumble In
Elation on the plains. If a harmony goes horribly wrong at full throttle and no one is around to hear it, is it still embarrassing?

6. Sam Means | Yeah Yeah

7. The Rural Alberta Advantage | Eye Of The Tiger
A nice take on a classic - even if my eldest daughter finds it derivative.


8. Ms John Soda | Hiding/Fading
Micha Acher - also of Notwist, Tied & Tickled Trio - combines with Stefanie Bohm to make great electronic pop songs which are cleverly produced to have you humming along to new hooks on each listen.


9. The Morning Benders | Waiting For A War
Indie Rock, Brooklyn via Berkeley. Story of my life.


10. Monarchy | Gold In The Fire
This can only be described as Epic Kitsch. Wouldn't normally yank my crank but this song has been knocking around my ipod for a while and is one of those which the ipod's shuffle algorithm keeps throwing up. So persistence pays off.

11. King Charles | Love Lust
lust only grows like anger and revenge
beauty comes and goes but love stays until the end


12. Jim Guthrie | All Gone


13. Hello Saferide | Anna



14. Handsome Furs | The Radio's Hot Sun
[synth punk indie rock] apparently. Advice for life right here.


15. Frenemies | New Room


16. Freelance Whales | Generator 2nd Floor

17. Clem Snide | Me No
18. Bishop Allen | The Ancient Commonsense of Things


19. Animal Collective | My Girls
All I want is four walls and VHI Plan B for my girls....


20. Lightning Dust | I Knew
The album cover reminds me of Pablo Neruda's house. East Van band, a subset of Black Mountain, maybe even Pink Mountaintops. Nice session (and sister harmonies) here :

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

V Sleepreading

If the practice of falling asleep to music is allowed in your home, then this compilation is for you! This multi-purpose auditory wallpaper also acts as an ambient accompaniment to fireside reading, felting, scented candle burning, knitting, cooking, sudoku or even the odd bout of hatha yoga. There are purposefully few words to distract you from your interpretation (or sweating your onions). Pianos feature prominently. To paraphrase and re-purpose Con Houlihans' observation that a man who put's an apostrophe in the wrong place is capable of anything... a man (hello Elt'on John, Jool's Holland and Billy Jo'el) who does not appreciate how a piano, played with subtlety and understatement, can move the air in beautiful ways, probably has nipples for ears. This year I've asked Santy for the right to press play when I turn off the light. To Winter walks, sweet dreams and mindfulness. Bah humbug to the boogie-woogie.


1. The Beatles | Flying

2. to rococo rot | cars


3. John Coletrane | Central Park West

4. Tortoise | Along The Banks Of The River


5. Smashing Pumpkins | Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness


6. Aphex Twin | Kesson Daslef

7. Yann Tiersen | Comptine D'un Autre Été: L'après Midi

8. Jose Gonzalez | Heartbeats


9. Icebreaker International & Manual | Into Forever


10. Stars Of The Lid | Humectez La Mouture


11. Amiina | Sexfaldur

12. Matthew Robert Cooper | Miniature 7


13. Beethoven | Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor

14. Stina Nordenstam | Soon After Christmas


15. Black To Comm | Rauschen


16. múm | there is a number of small things

18. Brian Eno | Music For Airports 1/1

19. The Beatles | Goodnight