Tuesday, November 13, 2007

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Bad Brains, Beatles, and Radiohead

BAD BRAINS Live At CBGB 1982 DVD
*** 19 *blistering* live cuts from one of the best hardcore bands of all time. Bonus materials include interviews from 1982 and a bonus audio track.

THE BEATLES Help 2xDVD
*** "2-disc set containing fully restored film with 5.1 surround soundtrack, 7 classic Beatles tracks, a 2nd disc of special features, and a 16 page booklet."

RADIOHEAD The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time DVD
*** All the episodes of Radiohead's TV show, with exclusive tunes, and indie store only!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Aphex Twin, Battles, Serge, LCD Soundsystem, & much more!

(APHEX TWIN) Caustic Window Compilation 3xLP
*** "Repressed. Caustic Window is Richard D. James aka Aphex Twin/AFX/Diceman/Gak/Polygon Window/Q-Chastic/etc... This release collects ALL of the audio from his classic Joyrex J4/J5/J9i/J9ii releases originally issued in the early-mid '90s."

BATTLES Tonto+ 12"+DVD
*** NOW ON VINYL! And it still has the DVD.

DASO Meine Idee 12"
*** "Daso truly comes into his own on his first Spectral record, expanding upon his marvelous reputation already earned in the house and techno scenes. Blending various elements throughout the EP creates a sound uniquely his own that dancefloors will no doubt covet."

DEAD MACHINES / JOHN WEISE / DAMION ROMERO Friday The 13th 2xLP
*** Totally brainbending Wolf Eyes members and buddies melting your world -- all recorded on Friday the 13th one of these last couple years. Limited, of course.

SERGE GAINSBOURG Rock The Bunker LP
*** "A boogie-ish glam-rock simulation, with the same band as on Vu De L'exterieur . "In 1975 his album Rock Around the Bunker ruffled feathers because he hurled his legendary sarcasm at political ghosts. Gainsbourg insists that Nazism does not stop at the German border, and pokes fun at I-love-a-man-in-uniform chic. He, a Jew who wore the yellow star, is denounced as anti-semitic. Gainsbourg is by now everywhere -- TV, film, scandal sheets, he publishes a novel, has a photo exhibit, does more soundtracks -- at least everywhere in France." -- Bart Plantenga

PAR GRINDVIK Continuate 12"
*** "'Continue In My Words' may start off simple, but it's laced with a tantric-build, pushing subconsciously to the edge where kamikaze lemmings blend mid-air into an exasperated steam machine. 'Continue Me' rides on a topography of mist, blasting and splitting-up, only to be reshaped into gestures that could replace the notion of melody altogether. The few choice notes which actually are singable get de-tuned and tweaked into an irresistible, bittersweet tinge of lust."

JOY DIVISION Closer LP
JOY DIVISION Unknown Pleasures LP
*** BACK IN STOCK! Remastered and pressed on heavy duty vinyl.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM 45:33 2xLP
*** "45:33 was originally recorded by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) as a continuous album-length disco symphony. Commissioned by Nike for their Original Run series, it was the second in the series and proved a massive success, both critically and commercially."

LINDSTROM Lindstrom EP 12"
*** "Repress of these very scarce early Lindstrom 12" releases, on his own Feedelity label."

LINDSTROM The Contemporary Fix 12"
*** You might think the use of banjo, autoharp & clavinet together with acid squiggles on top of live disco-drums is a most unusual combination? Don't be a jerk!

LINDSTROM Plague The Kid 12"
*** "Three tracks from Feedelity-artist and Nordish disco-don Hans-Peter Lindstrom. 'Jodleknappen' and 'Naa Er Bestemor Paa Moten' are 2 nasty tracks with lots of jazzy percussion and techno-ish disco-beats. Arthur Russell meets Carl Craig. 'Gang Sound' is another percussive track from Lindstrom with dirty disco-ish."

MODEST MOUSE We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK! Double-LP, 180g.

MOONDOG Snaketime Series LP
*** "The collection of vignettes contained in this album are fully realized attempts to integrate music and sound. Music and life's sounds are inseparable to Moondog." You should probably look this one up.

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Shelter From The Ash LP / CD
*** "BEN CHASNY returns with a new SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE album--a most fluid combination of electric and acoustic SOOA styles. Though there are definite song structures in place, improvisations and heavy drones are still a big part of the sound. Includes playing from NOEL HARMONSON (COMETS ON FIRE), TIM GREEN (FUCKING CHAMPS), ELISA AMBROGIO (MAGIK MARKERS), and MATT SWEENEY (SUPERWOLF)."

SMEGMA The Smell Remains The Same LP
*** "Second in a slow series of 7" reissues, The Smell Remains The Same presents 10 tracks originally released in 1990-95 on 7" by various labels. The tracks display Smegma's pioneering style of audiophile-lo-brow folk-noise-rock, in their early-middle age when they were surviving through the birth of grunge, alternative, and indie rock."

SUPERMAYER Save The World 2xLP
*** "Supermayer is Michael Mayer & Superpitcher -- easily Kompakt's most recognizable faces. Save The World places our two superheroes along the edges of the world of techno-bliss. The dynamic duo also take a few death-defying risks by sonically experimenting with some indie-pop and laidback, lounge-y jams. But fear not, there are enough pounding dance beats, stratospheric synth washes and electrified robot voices in their arsenal to slay even the most stubborn of rhythm-haters."

VELVET UNDERGROUND Another View LP
*** Brand new virgin vinyl 180g pressing from 4 Men With Beards.

YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS Colossal Youth LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Led Zep, Amy Winhouse, Harmonia, Vashti, Boris & more

ost BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW by Marc Wilkinson CD
*** " Soundtrack from the 1971 cult British horror movie. Scored by Marc Wilkinson, musical ingredients include the ondes Martenot (the earliest electronic instrument) and the cimbalom, which add to the overall spookiness of this recording. And in 38 years, the music has lost none of its depth or addictive, evil hooks. Wilkinson's thoughts: " The descending chromatic scale which features throughout the music omits the perfect fifth (the only true consonant in the chromatic scale) and therefore highlights the diminished fifth, which ever since the middle ages in Europe has been known as the Devil's Interval!"

v/a DISCOVERED: A Collection of Daft Funk Samples CD
*** 12 tracks Daft Punk sampled (with key to which breaks went to which songs) presented in their original forms.

v/a THE IN-KRAUT Vol. 1 CD
v/a THE IN-KRAUT Vol. 2 CD
*** "20 mindblowing beat, now sound, soul & soundtrack nuggets from Germany, recorded in the '60s & '70s.

v/a LOVE IS THE SONG WE SING The True Story Of 1960s San Francisco 4xCD
*** The true story of 1960s San Francisco starts and ends with the music: 4 CDs with 77 tracks from a revolutionary rock 'n' roll community. Includes JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING CO., THE CHARLATANS, GRATEFUL DEAD, QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE, COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH, and many more. 120-page book featuring dozens of rare photos included!

v/a NEW ORLEANS FUNK The Original Sound Of Funk 1960-75 CD
*** 2007 repress of this SJR classic from 2000 -- has been o/p for a couple years. "This is a definitive collection of New Orleans funk, featuring acknowledged masters of funk such as the METERS EDDIE BO, ALLEN TOUSSAINT, and LEE DORSEY next to some of the earlier artists from the area who helped shape the meaning of funk. The album is also filled with many rare, sought after, and undiscovered funk tracks from the early 1960s through to the mid-'70s."

v/a SOUL JAZZ SINGLES 2006-2007 2xCD
*** "Featuring exclusive Soul Jazz Records singles over the last two years for the first time on CD. Some of the finest artists around have chosen to work with Soul Jazz Records over the last two years. As well as working with all the top dubstep producers recently such as Digital Mystikz, Skream, Kode 9, etc, Soul Jazz have continued to release new music by the likes of Rekid, Ladybug (The Bug), DJ Rupture and many more while continuing to work with legendary dance music pioneers such as ESG. Dancehall, reggae, Italo-disco, Baile funk, dubstep, German rock, post-punk, deep techno and house all feature. This album brings together tracks that have only been available on 12" vinyl." Artists include: Digital Mystikz, Capracara, Ladybug (feat. Warrior Queen), Kode 9, Subway, Soul 223, Private Lives, Skream, Tetine, Matias Aguayo, Secondo, Capracara/Kit Clayton, Rekid, ESG, DJ Rupture/Sister Nancy/Kid 606, Ladybug (feat. Deize Tigrona), Sutekh, JBP.

AFI I Heard A Voice: Live From Long Beach Arena CD
*** "All the music from AFI's first DVD ever!" 18 joints.

BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY Ask Forgiveness LP / CD
*** Eight unidentified covers (although one is attributed to DANZIG!) from Will Oldham, Greg Weeks and Meg Baird of ESPERS.

BORIS w/ MERZBOW Rock Dream CD
*** "This time round its a live, psychedelic, mind expanding collaboration with the legendary Japanese master of abrasion: MERZBOW! The usually harsh, corrosive grate of Merzbow is not as apparent with Boris involved. Also the inspired charge of the Boris rock machine seems to reach new heights with Merzbows' intuitive textures added."

VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind 2xCD
*** "Following the amazing success story of Vashti Bunyan's re-emergence as an artist after an exile of over 30 years, comes the release of Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind, a comprehensive compilation of early recordings dating from the period prior to Vashti's classic 1970 album, Just Another Diamond Day. Titled after Vashti's (Jagger/Richards-penned) debut single which opens the compilation, this double-album represents an attempt to both open out and draw a line under the past, and also to try to set the record straight about the disparity between how Vashti viewed (and still views) herself against the way she has been popularly perceived. Widely construed as a folk singer - a tag she fundamentally disagrees with - these recordings instead reveal Vashti as a pop singer, however 'fragile' and unique."

BURIAL Untrue CD
*** "Untrue is a new record of weird soul music, which lovingly processes spectral female voices into vaporized R&B and smudged 2-step garage. Vocal lines are blurred, smeared, pitched up pitched down and pitch bent until their content is cast adrift from their original context and they whisper their saccharin sweet nothings into the void. The album continues with the debut's crackle-drenched yearning and bustling syncopations, haunted by the ghosts of rave, but also reveals some new Burial treats with a more glowing, upbeat energy."

NEKO CASE Canadian Amp CD
*** Available only to indie stores or pals, but this is a gem of a release, recorded in Neko's kitchen -- in her underwear -- no less.

CLUSTER Cluster II CD
*** "Originally released in 1972, this is the second album by legendary German ambient pioneers Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Moebius and Roedelius essentially create ambient electronic soundscapes that ebb and flow, droning on in a suspended world of anti-gravity where machine has conquered man."

DJ SHADOW & CUT CHEMIST Product Placement CD
*** Back in stock!

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Unhalfbricking CD
FAIRPORT CONVENTION What We Did On Our Holidays CD
*** Remastered w/ bonus tracks

KILN Dusker CD
*** "Electronic composition with an almost impossible organic sense, its lush songs packed with flourishes that appear and disappear, cycling, spilling and disintegrating across the stereo field. It is an aural feast on headphones, and a perfect companion for a stroll through auburn fields. KILN have a knack for balancing heart rending melodies & progressions against rhythmic forms & textures of incredible depth, making for a richness of sound that may well be instrumental for the sole fact that words could never express as much."

HARMONIA Musik Von Harmonia CD
HARMONIA Deluxe CD
*** RECOMMENDED. Now available domestically.

HARUMI Harumi CD
*** "Produced by Tom Wilson (VU, Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel), this lengthy set of Japanese acid pop and folk makes its long-awaited CD debut here. Its contents range from Eastern-tinged pop to introverted epics, all featuring a range of Japanese instruments. Sure to delight all fans of mystic psychedelia."

KIM HIORTHOY My Last Day CD
*** "Second full-length album since his critically acclaimed debut Hei in 2000. Compared to his debut, My Last Day is less fragmented & more song based, more melodic & complete, organic & folk-like, placing him in the forefront of the new electronic folk music movement."

ROBYN HITCHCOCK Eye CD
*** "Deluxe reissue of 1990 album with 4 previously unreleased bonus tracks and expanded packaging."

ROBYN HITCHCOCK I Often Dream Of Trains CD
*** "Deluxe reissue of 1984 album with 6 previously unreleased bonus tracks and expanded packaging."

ROBYN HITCHCOCK Black Snake Diamond Role CD
*** "Deluxe reissue of 1981 debut solo album with 8 bonus tracks and expanded packaging."

ALICIA KEYS As I Am CD
*** The new album featuring many, many hit singles and a tune "featuring a special guest appearance by JOHN MAYER."

THE KILLERS Sawdust: B-Sides & Rarities 2003-2007 CD
*** I know what you're thinking: it's about time The Killers had a b-sides collection! My only question is why it took so long. Includes 4 new, never-before-released songs, including a guest spot from LOU REED.

KRAFTWERK Kraftwerk 2 CD
*** The hard-to-find second Kraftwerk release, originally released in 1971. This was before the robots but shortly after the invention of primitive drum machines, giving the sound a more motorik Krauty feel ala Neu!, especially since it's an instrumental affair.

LED ZEPPELIN Mothership 2xCD
LED ZEPPELIN Mothership 2xCD+DVD
*** I know what you're thinking: it's about time Led Zeppelin had a best of collection! My only question is why it took so long. "The very best of Led Zeppelin remastered on 2 CDs." The special edition includes DVD with over two hours of footage from the Led Zeppelin DVD.

LED ZEPPELIN The Song Remains The Same 2xCD
*** "Remastered & expanded with 6 previously unreleased tracks from LZ's legendary 1973 performance at Madison Square Garden plus new liner notes by Cameron Crowe."

MAJOR STARS Mirror/Messenger CD
*** "Mirror/Messenger is an assault on poplular music, with considerable muscle exerted to create a jukebox-ready duck-and-shuffle--if the needle doesn’t get tossed out of the groove, that is. Eight powerful tracks loaded with screaming solos and psych-heavy riffs."

NINE INCH NAILS Year Zero Remixed CD+DVD-ROM
*** "includes 14 new remixes by SAUL WILLIAMS, LADYTRON, THE FAINT, FENNESZ, THE KNIFE, BILL LASWELL, and more. Bonus DVD-ROM has the complete Year Zero multitrack recordings for creating your own remix."

OH NO! OH MY! Oh No! Oh My! CD
*** Practically an indie store-only debut.

PHISH The White Tape CD
*** Indie store-only release of Phish's first album, originally a self-released affair and very hard to come by.

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Shelter From The Ash LP / CD
*** "BEN CHASNY returns with a new SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE album--a most fluid combination of electric and acoustic SOOA styles. Though there are definite song structures in place, improvisations and heavy drones are still a big part of the sound. Includes playing from NOEL HARMONSON (COMETS ON FIRE), TIM GREEN (FUCKING CHAMPS), ELISA AMBROGIO (MAGIK MARKERS), and MATT SWEENEY (SUPERWOLF)."

MEIC STEVENS Outlander CD
*** "In the popular music of Wales, Meic Stevens is as important there as Bob Dylan in the United States, John Lennon in England, Caetano Veloso in Brazil and Serge Gainsbourg in France. Outlander, his sole English language release from 1970, is a diverse mix of folk, psych and rock with a distinct Welsh flavor."

SUPERMAYER Save The World CD
*** "Supermayer is Michael Mayer & Superpitcher -- easily Kompakt's most recognizable faces. Save The World places our two superheroes along the edges of the world of techno-bliss -- a trumpet, saxophone, acoustic guitar, melodica, flute, a vast array of percussive instruments and even a gong are just a handful of gizmos they used to defeat those electronic purists who would not dance. The dynamic duo also take a few death-defying risks by sonically experimenting with some indie-pop and laidback, lounge-y jams. But fear not, there are enough pounding dance beats, stratospheric synth washes and electrified robot voices in their arsenal to slay even the most stubborn of rhythm-haters. This is certainly the most musically diverse album release to have ever come from the Kompakt stable."

SUPERSILENT Supersilent 8 CD
*** "Supersilent celebrate 10 years as a groundbreaking quartet with their first studio album in almost 5 years, the eighth release in their series. Supersilent is a band that refuse categorization, with experiments in such disparate elements as ambient, jazz, electronica, rock, techno, noise and musique concréte."

TOKYO POLICE CLUB Smith EP CD
*** 4 killer cuts and 3 videos from this Pitchfork-approved band.

U2 The Joshua Tree Deluxe 2xCD
*** "Remastered audio plus b-sides and previously unreleased tracks."

THE VALERIE PROJECT The Valerie Project CD
*** g Weeks (of Espers) is describing the genesis of a new musical entitled The Valerie Project. Inspired by a classic of Czech New Wave cinema, Jaromir Jires’ VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS (1970), Greg, joined by members of Espers and other Philadelphia groups Fern Knight, Grass, Fursaxa, Timesbold, Woodwose and Rake (as enigmatic electronicist Charles Cohen), conceived a new soundtrack the film. VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS is allegorical coming of age work populated by bewitched earrings, weasels, vampires, frisky maidens, friskier huntsmen, wicked aunts, bespectacled eagles and the handsomest mustache this side of 1970, the year the film debuted. Key to The Valerie Project’s conception is how reframing the film’s with an alternate soundtrack draws new interpretations from a work depth and changeable meaning. Lubos Fiser’s original score is lovingly recalled and ambitiously targeted by the group as a sound cycle to equaled every time they play it. The tone is dense and ornate, expansively acid-charged -- “a symphonic version of Magma” at its zenith.

ANY WINEHOUSE Frank CD
*** "Amy's debut album now available domestically. Features the smash hit 'F*** Me Pumps'."

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Can, Neil Young, Otis Redding, Make Up, & more

CAN Can DVD 2xDVD
*** Much cheaper non-CD version of this ridiculously great document on one of Germany's most influential bands. Includes a full concert, documentary, tribute by BRIAN ENO, and more.

MAKE UP In Film / On Video DVD
*** Awesome DVD collection of the Blue Is Beautiful "documentary" (including scenes from the late, great Zoots in Detroit) bookended by four videos with previously unreleased versions of songs, 43 minutes of live footage, and an excerpt from a German TV show (!).

RADIO ON by Christopher Petit DVD
*** BACK IN STOCK! "The 1979 post-punk classic, with music by DAVID BOWIE, KRAFTWERK, STING, LENE LOVICH, & more." Co-produced by WIM WENDERS.

OTIS REDDING Dreams To Remember: The Legacy Of... DVD
*** "First-ever full length DVD featuring the soul music legend!"

SPEND AN EVENING WITH SADDLE CREEK The First Ten Years of Saddle Creek Records DVD
*** A feature-length documentary on the first ten years of Omaha record label Saddle Creek featuring pretty much everyone on the Saddle Creek roster incuding BRIGHT EYES, THE FAINT, and some others.

NEIL YOUNG Rust Never Sleeps DVD
*** 1978 "concert fantasy" was picked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "greatest live performances of the last twenty years."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Kon & Amir edits on 45!

MATTHEW L. CASSELL / THE BLACK SOULS Heaven / Baki Mutane Nakuka 7"
*** Cratediggers extraordinaire KON & AMIR pick two cuts off their recent unmixed comp of latin & soul classics.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Battles, Grizzly Bear, David Byrne

BATTLES Tonto+ LP+DVD / CD+DVD
*** Brand new EP featuring an album cut, a live version, remixes by FOUR TET, THE FIELD, and some other guy. Includes a DVD with their excellent videos of "Tonto" and "Atlas".

BRIGHT EYES Motion Sickness CD
*** The live re-release.

DAVID BYRNE The Knee Plays CD+DVD
*** "Available on CD for the first time. DAVID BYRNE and ROBERT WILSON's 1984 collaboration from the theatrical epic the CIVIL warS. Includes 8 bonus tracks, plus full-length DVD slide show featuring JoAnn Verburg's photographs of the performers with music."

DR. DRE Chronicles Deluxe CD+DVD
*** "Deluxe edition includes 50 minute bonus DVD featuring the classic videos 'Nuthin But A G Thang', 'Let Me Ride', 'Natural Born Killaz', and many more."

EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN Alles Wieder Offen CD
*** "Many a younger band would be delighted with this as a debut, let alone the 20-oddth studio album of a consistently innovative career, not just musically but also the very means by which a record is made."

GRIZZLY BEAR Friend EP 12" / CD
*** "Includes new songs and Grizzly Bear covers by CSS, BAND OF HORSES, and ATLAS SOUND (Bradford Cox of DEERHUNTER)."

JAY-Z American Gangster CD
*** Allegedly HOTT new album inspired by the movie of the same name. Blockbuster!

VAN MORRISON Still On Top - The Greatest Hits CD
*** "Together for the first time! 21 career-spanning hits."

NAS Greatest Hits CD
*** 14 classic cuts!

OPERATION IVY Operation Ivy CD
*** Back in print on Tim "Lint" Armstrong's Hellcat label.

JOHN SEBASTIAN & DAVID GRISMAN Satisfied CD
*** 14 jugband waltzes!

SIGUR ROS Hvart / Heim 2xCD
*** A companion to the as yet unreleased DVD with one disc of 5 brand new recordings and a second disc of 6 new live acoustic recordings.

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & FRIENDS Solos, Sessions, & Encores CD
*** "The very best of Stevie's collaborations. Features studio tracks, live jams, & guest appearances. Includes 6 previously unreleased performances." Includes "Let's Dance".