Wednesday, December 31, 2008

( NEWS ) WAZOO STAFF TOP TENS OF 2008!

( FOREST )
01. MI AMI African Rhythms
02. v/a 1970s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground
03. GANG GANG DANCE Saint Dymphna
04. GROWING All The Way
05. EMERALDS Solar Bridge
06. EARTH The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull
07. MENAHAN STREET BAND Make The Road By Walking
08. JOHN BAKER The John Baker Tapes Vol. 1
09. BOREDOMS Super Roots 9
10. NO AGE Nouns


(( JOHN ))
01. FLEET FOXES Fleet Foxes
02. RODRIGUEZ Cold Fact
03. ATLAS SOUND Let The Blind Lead Those That Can See But Cannot Feel
04. SON, AMBULANCE Somebody Else's Deja Vu
05. SIGUR ROS Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalust
06. INARA GEORGE & VAN DYKE PARKS An Invitation
07. GANG GANG DANCE Saint Dymphna
08. EVANGELICALS The Evening Descends
09. v/a MILES FROM INDIA
10. GRAILS Doomsdayer's Holiday


((( WILL )))
New:
TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science
SAM PHILLIPS Don’t Do Anything
FLEET FOXES Fleet Foxes
OASIS Dig Out Your Soul
SHELBY LYNNE Just A Little Lovin’
CUT/COPY In Ghost Colours
LINDSAY BUCKINGHAM Gift Of Screws
VAMPIRE WEEKEND Vampire Weekend
DUFFY Rockferry
SPARKS Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
WINDY WEBER I Hate People
GOLDFRAPP Seventh Tree
RA RA RIOT The Rhumb Line
SANTOGOLD Santogold
DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
TEDDY THOMPSON A Piece Of What You Need
JENNY LEWIS Acid Tongue

Reissues:
NICK LOWE Jesus Of Cool
MY BLOODY VALENTINE Loveless
FRIPP & ENO No Pussyfooting
FRIPP & ENO Evening Star
ROBYN HITCHCOCK Luminous Groove
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL Bayou Country
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL Green River
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL Willy And The Poor Boys Revival
THE MOVE Looking On
MISSION OF BURMA Signals, Calls, & Marches
THE MOVE Anthology 1966-1972
NEIL YOUNG Sugar Mountain
ELTON JOHN Tumbleweed Connection
WARREN ZEVON Warren Zevon
ROBERT WYATT Rock Bottom
THE SMITHS The Sound Of The Smiths


(((( SCOTT ))))
01. NEON NEON Stainless Style
02. TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science
03. ESTELLE Shine
04. NEIL HALSTEAD Oh! Mighty Engine
05. CUT/COPY In Ghost Colours
06. SHE & HIM Volume One
07. FLYING LOTUS Los Angeles
08. SPIRITUALIZED Songs in A & E
09. THE KNUX Remind Me in 3 Days...
10. VAMPIRE WEEKEND Vampire Weekend

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Gadget! ))))) Buddha Machine V.2 is here!!!

BUDDHA MACHINE #2 by FM3
*** WHOA NELLY! Buddha Machine V.2 is here! Nine new loops, three new colors, and now with pitch control. Truly unreal. Truly beautiful.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Fennesz, Environ, Scott Walker & Crystal Antlers

CRYSTAL ANTLERS ep 12"
*** "So these sweet bros from Long Beach self released this EP last March. Kinda raging soul punk like. People like PITCHFORK fell under their spell and started flirting with them and they sold 3,000 copies via their myspace. Now on TOUCH & GO."

FENNESZ Black Sea LP / CD
*** LP version; beautifully packaged with reversed Jon Wozencroft photography (compared to the CD edition) on the cover, and nicely printed innersleeves, etc. Feels luxurious.

MORGAN GEIST Detroit (Feat. CARL CRAIG) 12"
*** On ENVIRON. "Detroit features two epic, gorgeous remixes from CARL CRAIG and features vocals from Jeremy Greenspan of JUNIOR BOYS.

SCOTT WALKER Tilt LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Fennesz, Heldon/Merzbow, moog music & more!

v/a ELECTRONIC TOYS Vol. 1 CD
v/a ELECTRONIC TOYS Vol. 2 CD
*** Subtitled "A Retrospective of 70's Synthesizer Music". "These compilations of Electronic tunes from the early 70´s are real fun. 19 (vol. 1) and 16 (vol. 2) great tracks, morning cartoon like and way more experimental than most of the mainstream stuff released in those years. Electronic Pling-Plong-Music for Lounge Fans."

FENNESZ Black Sea LP / CD
*** On TOUCH. "Black Sea features guitars that rarely sound like guitars; the instrument is transformed into an orchestra. Fennesz pushes his work into a more classical domain, preferring the slow reveal to Venice's and Endless Summer's more song- based structures."

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU Volume One - The Vodoun Effect CD+BOOK
*** Subtitled "...Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975." Following the highly-acclaimed African Scream Contest, the music on this compilation is not only rare, but illustrates how Orchestre Poly-Rythmo thrived by mixing the coolest parts of funk, soul, Latin and vodun rhythms into a new sound."

LINDA PERHACS Parallelograms CD
*** RE-RELEASE w/ bonus tracks. "Combining fragile and beautifully melodic acid folk with perfectly-rendered electronic effects, Parallelograms has gone on to become one of the most legendary and well-loved recordings sitting alongside Vashti Bunyan's Just Another Diamond Day."

RICHARD PINHAS & MERZBOW Keio Line 2xCD
*** "Richard Pinhas of Heldon (one of the first bands to meld rock music and electronics) and Masami Akita, aka Merzbow collaborate on a release that is violent, soothing, hypnotic, noisy and trance inducing. Two full length CDs of radical music."

SHACKLETON Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals 2xCD
*** "The final chapter in the Skull Disco story has arrived, in the shape of a 2CD compilation. Disc one collects all the tracks from SKULL006 to SKULL010. Disc two is dedicated to remixes of Skull Disco tracks."

J. SPACEMAN & MATTHEW SHIPP Spaceshipp CD
*** "Spaceman and Shipp return to Treader with a collaboration first outed for Patti Smith's Meltdown festival. This is their studio corollary to that concert. Magic golden voice drone followed by celestial ecstasy." J Spaceman (Vox Starstreamer) and Matthew Shipp (celeste, Golden Voice Harmonium).

SOM IMAGINARIO Som Imaginario CD
*** BACK IN STOCK! RECOMMENDED! Reissue of this album from 1970. "As Tropicalia took hold, and the sounds of funk, Italian prog, and British psychedelic rock were filtered through the unique sensibility of Brasil! Western pop meets eastern soundtracks."

ALEXIS TAYLOR Rubbed Out CD
*** Solo album from the singer of Hot Chip! "Exclusively tailored in places, planes, hotel rooms and at home. Fifteen bespoke songs and instrumentals by Alexis Taylor."

XELA In Bocca Al Lupo CD
*** "For the follow-up to The Dead Sea, Xela has used the dark corners of the Christian religion as his guide. A celebration of desolate cellars and distant church bells, it's not unlike a doom-laden take on the crunching assault of Hair Police or a noisy version of David Lynch's Eraserhead soundtrack or a freeform Pan Sonic, ending in a thick cloud of screams and crackle."

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Japanther, Diplo, Wire, The Bug & more!

v/a BARRY 7's CONNECTORS Vol. 2 2xLP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED! Make that "highly recommended." This is another superb collection of library tracks compiled by Add N To (X) frontman, Barry 7 - but this time the tracks have come from the CAM library. Track 1's a DJ's dream. Really good stuff.

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA Planet Rock The Album LP
*** "First released in 1986, this collects BAMBAATAA’s classic 12"s from 1982-1984 combining the beats of hip hop with techno-pop futurism inspired by German pioneers Kraftwerk."

THE BUG Ganja (feat. Killa P. and Flowdan) 12"
*** "One can probably guess to what "Ganja" is an ode; The Bug's bass assault, combined with the rapid-fire lyrical mode of ROLL DEEP's FLOWDAN and KILLA P, gives off a skunky flavor of cannabis psychosis."

SCOTTY COATS & WES THE MES Double Fisted 12"
*** "First up is the nail-biting punk disco offering, 'Double Fisted.' The song's speaker-shredding synth line and drunken, chanted chorus is a valiant first stab at the disco dance charts. On the flip-side he creates a head-nodding Balearic version."

DIPLO Blow Your Head 12"+MP3
*** “DIPLO delivers his mutant-half breed-mongoloid version of the JB classic ‘Blow Your Head.’ Wicked wicked drums is all I have to say. ‘Must Be A Devil’ has a spaghetti western feel about it, another one of Diplo's strange concoctions that creeps into your brain. On the flip we get four remixes of ‘Wassup Wassup’.”

DJ AYERS & MATTY C Quarter Water Vol. 1 12"
*** "The first in a series of the freshest in party, house, and dance edits. Club-crushing anthems and dance edits guaranteed to bleed the bass from even the most expensive sound system."

JAPANTHER Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt LP / CD
*** "Japanther exist halfway in the world of performance art, and halfway in that of DIY punk. On the surface, that may sound like an odd combination, but this thing is truly a wild romp 'round Africa, the Bronx, San Pedro and Brooklyn, complete with faeries, bicycles and a few cans of spray paint. More focused and rad somehow."

JAPANTHER Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty LP
*** "Japanther gets points for making some of the most memorable, hummable and fun music of any art project in recent memory. Japanther is part Screamers intensity, part Misfits anthemery, part RZA samples/beats and part Lightning Bolt art/freakshow."

LAST STEP 1961 3xLP / 2xCD
*** "Everyone knows Funk as the pioneering breakcore producer, Venetian Snares, but Last Step's 1961 is a joyful collection of jumpy acid maneuvers, funky grooves, and kitsch beats."

MURCOF Versailles Sessions 2xLP
*** "Six compositions made entirely from recordings of 17th century baroque instruments and a mezzo soprano. The Versailles Sessions should not be considered as the successor to 2007's monumental Cosmos, rather as a special project preceding Murcof's next album proper."

NEW GRENADA Energy Shortage LP+MP3
*** METRO TIMES says Energy Shortage is "a concise, hyper-charged slice of indie rock goodness that surely ranks as one of the best records out of Detroit this year."

NITE JEWEL What Did He Say 12"
*** "Nite Jewel is the performing moniker of Ramona Gonzalez. Like her ex-pop peers, Ariel Pink and Geneva Jacuzzi, she records on an 8-track cassette deck, often composing her songs by layered tape edits. In Nite Jewel’s case, however, the quality of her chosen medium is a device to lend an ethereal kind of efficacy to the golden age of alternative disco. Influenced by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and Debbie Deb, 90’s R&B, as well as Experimental, New Age, and Shoe Gaze."

OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fungus LP / CD
*** "One of four solo albums completed upon disbanding AT THE DRIVE IN. The record features tracks that were intended for eventual use by THE MARS VOLTA but reassigned, for one reason or another. Recorded only a few weeks after 'A Manual Dexterity Soundtrack, Vol. 1.'"

SUBMARINE RACES Hard To Look At, Easy To See LP+CD
*** "13 tracks that rock harder and are even more infectious than their debut. Adams's pop chops have never been sharper and his anglophile leanings recall the best tunes of Monochrome Set or Pastels."

WIRE Object 47 LP+12"
*** NOW ON VINYL! Contains the Read & Burn 03 EP.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Barry 7's Connectors, Rong Music, Current 93, Ghostface & more

v/a BARRY 7's CONNECTORS Vol. 2 2xLP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED! Make that "highly recommended." This is another superb collection of library tracks compiled by Add N To (X) frontman, Barry 7 - but this time the tracks have come from the CAM library. Track 1's a DJ's dream. Really good stuff.

v/a NOISE ROOM CD
*** "This is the document of Noise Room, an autonomous surround-sound space built for pre-recorded musical works and sonic experiments. Each piece performed in the Noise Room has been selected, edited, and arranged for a situation in which the audience can dedicate themselves to a maximum listening experience." Feat. exclusive compositions by Lee Ranaldo, Black Dice, Kevin Blechdom, Mouse on Mars, David Grubbs, Vert, Jason Forrest, Daniel Schorno, Sun OK Papi KO, Casey Rice, Robert van Heumen, Jeff Carey, Keith Fullerton Whitman aka Hrvatski, and Michel Waisvisz.

v/a RONG MUSIC NON-STOP Vol. 1 CD
*** "Sweet 11 track mix CD from RONG MUSIC compiled/mixed by BEN COOK & DJ SPUN. Features MICHOACAN, NICK CHACONA, SCOTTY COATS & WES THE MES, SAN SERAC, ROLLMOTTLE remixed by MAURIC FULTON, STRANGER MUSIC and more. Nu-disco and balearic fans will be in heaven!"

v/a THIS IS RONG MUSIC 2xCD
*** "A sweet set of cosmic disco and balearic dance tunes. One CD mixed (live by DJ SPUN) and one CD unmixed. Tracks/remixes from MUDD, CHICKEN LIPS, TUSSLE, WOOLFY, BARFLY, PROJECTIONS, CHICO HAMILTON and more. 25 tracks in all."

ANATHALLO Canopy Glow CD
*** "Among lush pile-ups of Pet Sounds harmony and Sung Tongs texture, Anathallo's Matt Joynt and Erica Froman sing to the rafters, calm and considered yet wide-eyed in approach, and colored by kaleidoscopic detail."

MICHAEL BEAUCHAMP My Northern Voices CD
*** "Michael Beauchamp sings soulful old-timey acoustic tunes about love, loss and good friends."

SETH BERNARD This Here CD
*** "Eighteen months in the making, Seth Bernard’s epic new release, This Here is a tremendous collaboration of Michigan artists, and a testament to Seth’s talents in songwriting, production and orchestration."

SETH BERNARD & DAISY MAY Seth Bernard & Daisy May CD
*** "Seth Bernard and Daisy May’s first duo album was recorded from the U.P.'s Calumet Theatre’s stage."

CURRENT 93 Dogs Blood Rising CD
CURRENT 93 Nature Unveiled CD
*** "Current 93's first two album re-mastered and restored to their original formats. seminal second album. Each reissue comes with a booklet with early photographs of the group members and original insert materials."

DISTANCE Repercussions 2xCD
*** On PLANET MU. "Repercussions is a beast of an album. Heavy, chunky bass lines feature solidly, as well as moody, ambient soundscapes and sharp snares. The CD version of the album includes a second disc with all the releases from Distance's own label, Chestplate."

DJ/ RUPTURE Uproot CD
*** "Uproot, Rupture's first release since returning to Brooklyn after seven years in Spain, offers his most intimate work to date. How many DJs do you know who commission a string quartet for their latest mix? Surely his most "listenable" mix to date, blended seamlessly with elements from UK dubstep and Brooklyn dancehall to Berlin abstraction, not to mention Brazil (Maga Bo), Finland (Clouds), Australia (Dead Leaf) and more...."

DR. DELAY Eastern Bloc Party CD
*** "Dr. Delay, veteran mix tape mogul and envelope shoving Brooklyn dweller, has created what is easily his most dynamic concept to date. Eastern Block Party combines the disgruntled instrumentation of eastern Europe's communist era rock with the rap lyrics of New York's gully golden era."

FALL OUT BOY Folie a Deux CD
*** New! "This album is so ____!" - Fall Out Boy. Includes free download bonus song.

GHOSTFACE KILLAH GhostDeini The Great CD+DVD
*** "Two new songs plus classic hits, rare b-sides & remixes feat. LIL WAYNE, JADAKISS, RAEKWON, and KANYE WEST. Includes bonus DVD of Ghostface tour behind-the-scenes."

TIM HARDIN One CD
*** "An accidental classic originally released in 1966. Tim Hardin 1 remains a folk-rock-blues classic of the highest order. Though Hardin’s work is often known more through other artists’ interpretations his own versions are almost always superior."

JAPANTHER Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt LP / CD
*** "Japanther exist halfway in the world of performance art, and halfway in that of DIY punk. On the surface, that may sound like an odd combination, but this thing is truly a wild romp 'round Africa, the Bronx, San Pedro and Brooklyn, complete with faeries, bicycles and a few cans of spray paint. More focused and rad somehow."

KID 606 Die Soundboy Die CD
*** "A new mini-album with nine original songs that devour and warp current musical trends like dubstep, bassline, ragga, techno, and rave (both old and new!). Dark and scary, bass-heavy jams that all celebrate life while thinking about death."

LAST STEP 1961 3xLP / 2xCD
*** "Everyone knows Funk as the pioneering breakcore producer, Venetian Snares, but Last Step's 1961 is a joyful collection of jumpy acid maneuvers, funky grooves, and kitsch beats."

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND Live Trax Vol. 13 - 6.7.08 Busch Stadium 2xCD
*** Hot heat!

MIRAH Old Days Of Feeling CD
***A collection of out of print and other unreleased tracks from her early years.

MYSTERY GIRLS Incontinopia CD
*** "Adding a dose of psych weirdness to their patented garage-punk-R&B sound has resulted in the band's finest moment. Like Nesmith meets Asheton."

NO NECK BLUES BAND Clomeim CD
*** "After months spent sculpting and recasting the raw material, Clomeim is that rare hybrid - a rock exterior with a cryptic, experimental core; a dense groover and a burning, exploratory psychedelic grimoire for the new dark ages."

PENTEMPLE 0))) Presents CD
*** "SUNN 0))) plus T.O.S. (Moog), Oren Ambarchi (analog effects and supplemental guitar), vokillist Attila Csihar, and Striborg get together for an unholy meeting. This was among the first time that sunn 0))) had worked with live drums and the outcome was completely unprecedented. Oren Ambarchi edited, sequenced and overhauled the EQ to make it as brutal as possible."

PHARCYDE Bobby Evans Mix CD
*** "A 48 minute mega-mix of classic Pharcyde material by L.A.’s revolutionary producer/remixer, Bobby Evans. Tracklisting includes all the hits, the remixes, a couple of songs from Rmxxology and a few rare gems."

OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fungus LP / CD
*** "One of four solo albums completed upon disbanding AT THE DRIVE IN. The record features tracks that were intended for eventual use by THE MARS VOLTA but reassigned, for one reason or another. Recorded only a few weeks after 'A Manual Dexterity Soundtrack, Vol. 1.'"

VETIVER More Of The Past CD
*** "Originally intended as a precursor to their acclaimed recent album, Thing of the Past, Vetiver's companion EP is six more songs that inspired Andy Cabic and friends."

VIRUS SYNDICATE Sick Pay CD
*** "Virus Syndicate is DJ/producer M.R.K.1 (Mark One) and MCs Goldfinger, JSD, and Nika D--Manchester's foremost grime crew, bhangra and electro influences coming to the fore."

Friday, December 12, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Dr. Delay's wizard rock!

DR. DELAY REM Sleep CD
*** From Dusty Groove: "An excellent mix of tripped-out, fuzzy psychedelic records from the 60s and 70s -- all served up by Dr Delay, who gave us the Rajaz Meter batch of Middle Eastern funk! REM Sleep is an assemblage of old, rare records presented in a seamless mix that's filled with plenty of surprises, and which should have us digging even deeper for rare rock gems from the end of the 60s. There's a slightly funky undercurrent to many numbers here, but funk isn't the main focus of the set. A total of 24 tracks."

REM Sleep is a "DJ mix" in that songs flow from one into the next like any other mix but this is some serious wizard rock! Perhaps considered un-mixable by others, these jams aren't particularly upbeat as they are just completely stoned out and drugged up, but it somehow *works* (and apparently Dr. Delay just bumped it off in one afternoon for a pal). It works so well that you'll think -- perhaps after imbibing -- that's it's one... long... awesome... song, dood.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Cat Power, F*cked Up, Vampire Weekend, Sigur Ros & mo'!

BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

BELLE & SEBASTIAN The BBC Sessions 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

CAT POWER Dark End Of The Street 2x10"
*** Double-10" offering of cuts not found on Cat Power's most recent covers outing, this time with tracks originally by CCR, Aretha, and more. Vinyl-only and limited too!

FUCKED UP Year Of The Pig 12"
*** BACK IN STOCK! The reissue of the What's-Yr-Rupture release.

RADIOHEAD Hail To The Thief 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

SIGUR ROS Med sud i eyrum vid spilum 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

VAMPIRE WEEKEND The Kids Don't Stand A Chance 7"
*** Remix by CHROMEO.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Pavement, Common, Kozelek, Justice and Ann Arbor Soul Club

v/a ANN ARBOR SOUL CLUB Mix No. 3 CD
*** BACK IN STOCK! Referred to by some as the "penultimate Soul Club mix," the third soul club mix curated by DJ Robert Wells is a fine-tuned collection of obscure soul, r&b, and modern tracks you're unlikely to ever find yourself. A top shelf compilation recorded straight from the original vinyl.

COMMON Universal Mind CD
*** "The future of hip-hop! Executive producer: PHARRELL WILLIAMS. Co-executive producers: THE NEPTUNES and KANYE WEST." Feat. CEE-LO and MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD among others.

JUSTICE Cross The Universe CD+DVD
*** Subtitled: A Documentary By Romain Gavras, So-Me & Justice. "CD - Live In San Francisco and DVD - A Cross The Universe (a 64-minute documentary)."

MARK KOZELEK The Finally LP CD
*** "A rarities collection including covers of Husker Du, Stephen Sondheim, Will Oldham, AC/DC, Low, and others."

PAVEMENT Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creeders 2xCD
*** The deluxe edition of Pavement's second-to-last album rings in with 44 tracks, all remastered, smothered with rarities, alternate takes, outtakes, and long-bootlegged radio jams. Your collection would be so sad not to contain this gemstone.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CD ))))) Neil Young - Live at Ann Arbor's Canterbury House 1968

NEIL YOUNG Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968 CD+DVD
*** "Available for the first time -- the historic 1968 live solo acoustic Canterbury House performance. Features 13 songs in a special CD+DVD combo-pak. Audio on the DVD is in hi-res stereo for the highest quality audio available."

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

((( EVENT ))) To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie | Tuesday, December 2 | 9:30PM

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Kraftwerk and the late, great Arthur Russell!

KRAFTWERK And The Electronic Revolution DVD
*** 180 minutes in total, this documentary (and bonus features) covers the entire span of their career, beginning with their early group Organisatoin, to the "krautrock" work of their first couple records, to their most celebrated period in the mid-1970s and beyond.

ARTHUR RUSSELL Wild Combination: A Portrait Of... DVD
*** "Wild Combination is a visually absorbing portrait of seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, and disco producer Arthur Russell. Arthur prolifically created music that spanned both pop and the transcendent possibilities of abstract art."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Deerhunter, Madlib, Invader & more

DEERHUNTER Microcastle / Weird Era Cont. LP+CD
*** NOW ON VINYL!

INVADER / BOYWIFE split 7"
*** Whoa! Serious Ypsilanti hardcore insanity featuring Invader and Boywife (re: Invader minus T-Bone). Totally killer on a slightly more Stooges bent.

THE KILLERS Day & Age LP / CD
*** Perhaps you've heard of these mormon gents! This is their new platter!
Italic
MADLIB Beat Konducta Vol. 5: Dil Cosby Suite LP
*** Another installment in the popular Beat Konducta instrumental series. It's been said that 5 and 6 (Dil Withers Suite) are the finest of all. Featuring J.ROCC!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Byrne & Eno, Kanye, Ween, Cuomo & mo'

DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO Everything That Happens Will Happen Today CD
*** Whoa nelly! The long-awaited-in-physical-form collabo from David Byrne and Brian Eno and it's a doooozy. These guys are like the Blues Brothers with better music and no sense of humor. Delicious!

COLDPLAY Prospekt's March EP CD
*** "8 new tracks including "Life in Technicolor II." "Glass of Water," and "Lost+" feat. JAY-Z."

RIVERS CUOMO Alone II: The Home Recordings CD
*** "Cuomo takes you on a guided tour of his brain with these 19 unreleased private recordings."

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Something About Airplanes 2xCD
*** "Deluxe 10th anniversary limited-edition reissue contains a bonus disc of DCfC's first-ever Seattle show from 1998."

FEIST The Reminder: Deluxe Edition 2xCD
*** The original album plus 9 bonus songs and 4 bonus videos on an enhanced CD.

THE FIREMAN Electric Arguments CD
*** Produced by PAUL MCCARTNEY and YOUTH. "The Fireman is no nickname -- simply a warm place in the head."

CHARLIE HUNTER Baboon Strength CD
*** 7-string guitar, keyboard and drums. Ladies and gentlemen, Charlie Hunter (and two other guys)!!

THE KILLERS Day & Age LP / CD
*** Perhaps you've heard of these mormon gents! This is their new platter!

REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE Revolutionary Ensemble CD
*** Deaturing LEROY JENKINS, SIRONE, and JEROME COOPER.

TEEGARDEN & VANWINKLE An Evening At Home With... CD
TEEGARDEN & VANWINKLE But Anyhow CD
*** NOW ON CD! "Teegarden & Van Winkle were a duo who issued two hard to find albums on the Atco label in 1969 and 1970. The duo consisted of David Teegarden (who later went on to work with Bob Seger) & Skip Knape."

WEEN At The Cat's Cradle, 1992 CD+DVD
*** 21 tracks from a '92 show, mostly GodWeenSatan, The Pod, and Pure Guava material and a pre-Mollusk "Buckingham Green." Bonus DVD of rare, live weirdness from 1991 & '92.

KANYE WEST 808s & Heartbreak CD
*** "Featuring the smash singes." A loving tribute to auto-tune!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Parliament & The Who

PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC Live 1976: The Mothership Connection DVD
*** "Give up the funk! This live DVD features GEORGE CLINTON, BOOTSY COLLINS, BERNIE WORRELL and co. in their prime!"

THE WHO At Kilburn 1977 2xDVD
*** "Deluxe 2xDVD set! Two landmark unreleased concerts, newly remastered ub high-definition 5.1 audio. Over 29 of their biggest hits -- over three hours of music!"

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Belle & Sebastian, Dept. of Eagles, Fucked Up,

BELLE & SEBASTIAN The BBC Sessions 2xLP / CD / 2xCD
*** "This lovingly mastered collection of Belle and Sebastian's radio sessions for the BBC from 1996-2001 captures some glowing treasures. The band at the time rarely performed live, and all 14 songs are noticeably different from the studio versions where those exist." Includes FOUR TOTALLY UNRELEASED SONGS.

DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES In Ear Park 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL! No One Does It Like You

EL GUINCHO Alegranza LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

FUCKED UP Chemistry Of Common Life 2xLP+MP3
*** NOW ON VINYL! 180g audiophile pressing with FREE MP3 version of the album.

LOVE IS ALL A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night LP / CD
*** "The fanciful-anachro-charm of Love Is All has matured with the marriage of several members, kids and a true appreciate that love is all. A Hundred Things is a record about excitement, frustration, regret, disappointment and figuring out what's important in finding the relief of the morning's light at the end of a bad nights sleep."

MI AMI African Rhythms 12"
*** BACK IN STOCK! Check these fellows here: http://wazoorecords.blogspot.com/2008/06/recommended-mi-ami.html

NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Mass Romantic LP+MP3
*** NOW ON VINYL! 180g audiophile pressing with FREE MP3 version of the album.

JAY REATARD Matador Singles '08 LP
*** NOW ON VINYL! 180g audiophile pressing with FREE MP3 version of the album.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Belle & Sebastian, Love Is All, New Order among other brilliant gems

88-KEYS The Death Of Adam CD
*** "Includes the single 'Stay Up (Viagra)' featuring KANYE WEST. Also features REDMAN, BILAL, KID CUDI, J*DAVEY, PHONTE and more."

BELLE & SEBASTIAN The BBC Sessions 2xLP / CD / 2xCD
*** "This lovingly mastered collection of Belle and Sebastian's radio sessions for the BBC from 1996-2001 captures some glowing treasures. The band at the time rarely performed live, and all 14 songs are noticeably different from the studio versions where those exist." Includes FOUR TOTALLY UNRELEASED SONGS. The limited, deluxe double CD contains an entire live show that was broadcast on BBC Evening Session in mid-2001. This includes ANOTHER FOUR TOTALLY UNRELEASED SONGS.

ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN Sunday At Devil Dirt CD
*** "An album of dust-bitten ballads and troubled wanderings, the sophomore album by Isobel Campbell (who wrote the material) and Mark Lanegan is even darker than its predecessor."

DIDO Safe Trip Home CD
*** "The stunning follow up to her two multi-platinum albums."

THE DOORS Live At The Matrix 1967 2xCD
*** "The fabled Doors Matrix recordings are finally here in all their glory."

LOVE IS ALL A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night LP / CD
*** "The fanciful-anachro-charm of Love Is All has matured with the marriage of several members, kids and a true appreciate that love is all. A Hundred Things is a record about excitement, frustration, regret, disappointment and figuring out what's important in finding the relief of the morning's light at the end of a bad nights sleep."

NEW ORDER Low-Life 2xCD
NEW ORDER Power, Corruption & Lies 2xCD
NEW ORDER Technique 2xCD
*** "Remastered and expanded 2xCD sets including the original classic album plus a second disc of non-album singles, 12" mixes, b-sides, and rarities."

THE SIGHT BELOW Glider CD
*** On GHOSTLY INT'L. "There’s a beating heart buried in the wintry landscape of Glider, a warm 4/4 pulse that enervates the album’s echoing, looped drones and pulls the listener swiftly through the snow. By pinning barely-there electronic beats to his wisps of guitar melody, the Seattle-based producer turns ambient music into a hybrid strain of breathtakingly intimate, small-scale dance music. A work of vertiginous sonic depth and exquisite melancholy: techno music for a dark winter’s night.”

MAX TUNDRA Parallax Error Beheads You CD
*** "An intricate mosaic of sounds and styles recognizable from the last thirty years of pop, rock, prog, disco, funk, techno, rap, metal, and soul AND MORE. One song can sometimes sound like seven different bands from totally different worlds playing at once. Just call it cosmic glitch-pop R&B."

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Cornelius & Christmas On Mars

CORNELIUS Sensurround DVD+CD
*** "A superb CD/DVD deluxe package from one of Japan's finest recording artists & producers: Cornelius. Contains a CD of remixes, b-sides and exclusive tracks & a DVD that features the individual videos for each of the Senuous tracks."

THE FLAMING LIPS Christmas On Mars DVD
*** The single-disc DVD of The Flaming Lips fantastical film freakout. "Imagine if Stanley Kubrick, Frank Capra, and Jim Jarmusch got into a bar brawl and The Flaming Lips won." UNRATED.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) A Certain Ratio, 12"s, MF DOOM, and more!

v/a FIGHT ON, YOUR TIME AIN'T LONG LP
*** On MISSISSIPPI. "Compilation of sanctified blues recorded between 1927-1934. Twelve songs of pure guitar-driven gospel. This slab is as melodic as it is rockin'. Featuring BUKKA WHITE, WILLIE MAE MORRIS, BO WEEVIL and more."

A CERTAIN RATIO Early 2xLP
*** On SOUL JAZZ. "Thee definitive anthology of ACR recordings from 1978-85. A Certain Ratio were the first group (alongside Joy Division) to sign to Manchester's infamous Factory Records in 1978. As purveyors of dance music in the aftermath of punk, A Certain Ratio led the field, mixing punk, funk and Latin percussion together to make a unique sound."

ATMOSPHERE You b/w Your Glass House 12"
*** New single!

BLACK MILK Give The Drummer Sum b/w The Matrix 12"
*** New single from Tronic featuring DJ PREMIER, PHAROAHE MONCH, and SEAN PRICE.

KAISER CHIEFS Off With Their Heads LP+7"
*** NOW ON VINYL!

MF DOOM Operation Doomsday 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

VIVIAN GIRLS Tell The World 7"
*** 3 tracks. "Irresistible mix of shoegaze, punk, and '60s girl-group sounds with beautiful reverb-drenched vocals."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Numero Group, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Jorge Ben & more!

v/a BASIC CHANNEL CD
*** BACK IN STOCK!

v/a BASIC CHANNEL 2 CD
*** The first CD compilation of Basic Channel releases from 1995 became one of the quintessential electronic music compilations of all time. Now, in a total surprise move, a companion CD, Basic Channel 2, has been released -- featuring full-length versions of six of the label's landmark club tracks released on vinyl between 1993 and 1995. Stylistically, Basic Channel creates their own sub-genre of Detroit techno; slowly developing pulsations and abstractions with a heavy emphasis on post-dub processed crackles, blips and hiss -- the word 'seminal' was invented for moments just like this."

v/a TITAN: IT'S ALL POP! 2xCD
*** On NUMERO. "From 1978-1981 the Titan label issued only eight records, but over the years their tiny catalog has crawled to the top of power-pop want lists worldwide and appeared on scads of bootleg cassettes, building a legacy to rival L.A.’s Bomp or New York’s Ork."

JOHN BAKER The John Baker Tapes Vol. 1 CD
*** Subtitled: Soundtracks, Library, Home Recordings, Electro Ads - Rare & Unreleased Recordings 1954-1985.

JOHN BAKER The John Baker Tapes Vol. 2 CD
*** Subtitled: BBC Radiophonics - Rare & Unreleased Workshop Recordings 1963-1974.

JORGE BEN Jorge Ben CD
*** "A samba soul classic from the Tropicalia era. The tunes explode with an amazing sense of energy -- driven by Jorge's great guitar and a unique undercurrent of funk. This album set a whole generation on fire, and is probably still one of the most-copied moments of Ben's long career."

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Drippers CD
*** "Limited edition scratch-n-sniff EP contains new and hard-to-find songs with a guest appearance by MIKE WATT." Nine tracks.

TRACY CHAPMAN Our Bright Future CD
*** "The new album includes 'Sing For You'."

FENNESZ Plus Forty Seven Degrees 56' 37" CD
*** "Originally released by Touch in 1999, this is Christian Fennesz's second full-length solo album. The album has been out-of-print for two years and was Fennesz's first solo album for Touch, preceding his breakthrough Endless Summer."

THE FLAMING LIPS Christmas On Mars DVD
*** The CD+DVD of The Flaming Lips fantastical film freakout, including the film and the original film score. "Imagine if Stanley Kubrick, Frank Capra, and Jim Jarmusch got into a bar brawl and The Flaming Lips won." UNRATED.

DAVY GRAHAM Folk, Blues & Beyond CD
*** "One of the most important recordings from the 1960s folk revival. Covers of traditional folk standards combine with interpretations of compositions by Bob Dylan, Charles Mingus and more for an eclecticism of repertoire that wasn't matched by many musicians of any sort in the mid-'60s."

DAVY GRAHAM & SHIRLEY COLLINS Folk Roots, New Routes CD
*** "Originally released in 1965 by Decca. An experimental recording bringing together Shirley's haunting traditional song with Davy's guitar improvisations. This album opened the door for Fairport Convention's Liege and Lief and Pentangle's debut."

JURASSIC 5 J5 Deluxe Reissue 2xCD+DVD
*** "3 disc deluxe set includes the debut album, a bonus CD with 15 rare tracks, and a DVD with over 1 hour of exclusive footage."

LUOMO Convival CD
*** "The Luomo project is nothing less than a great tragedian, holding a mirror before a music society that sometimes would like to hear less stories. Nevertheless, he finds the dance music medium most suitable for his pop explorations, which has earned marked respect for its wide-ranging catalog of unique no-frills releases, with Convivial certainly being no exception."

MEGAPUSS Surfing CD
*** Megapuss is Devendra Banhart, Greg Rogove (Priestbird), Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes), Noah Georgeson, and Aziz Ansari. "A legitimate band of talented musicians, capable of effortlessly tossing off the finest in California-style tambourine jams" - Fader. "Please know this: they play pop songs."

THE SMITHS The Sound Of... CD
THE SMITHS The Sound Of... 2xCD
*** The very best of The Smiths curated by Morrissey & Marr. The single-disc has 23 newly remastered tracks and the double-disc has 45 newly remastered classics, b-sides and rarities.

MCCOY TYNER Guitars CD+DVD
*** ''Along with a trio of Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette, Tyner invited guitarists Bill Frisell, Derek Trucks, John Scofield, Marc Ribot, and banjoist Bela Fleck for a studio recording and DVD.''

v/a ECCENTRIC SOUL: THE YOUNG DISCIPLES CD
*** On NUMERO. "With nearly 80 local youths involved from both sides of the Mississippi, the Young Disciples (named for one of the area's most notorious gangs) encompassed solo acts, duos, male and female vocal groups, a massive horn section and a troupe of African dancers. Every sweat-drenched recording included here emerged from this grass-roots organization that changed, if not saved, lives."

Thursday, November 6, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) top notch Michigan power-violence!!

THREATENER The Hammering, The Fastening, And The Bending Of Throats CD
*** "A collection of all output by this 1000mph Michigan mayhem blast squad: EPs, Comps, Radio session plus extra tracks galore. Its pure mayhem, most songs 30 seconds or less - a total audio assault on the senses. This CD is the true definition of blurcore. Easily one of the best fastcore bands from the past decade - hold onto your meat sacks."

Upon hearing both Bad Brains and Minor Threat for the first time, it sounded as though only three tracks had passed by the cassettes' end. Eventually those records stopped being blurs and the spaces between songs became distinguishable. This is what separates those bands from Threatener. These brutal, claustrophobic, and short blasts could be listened to time and time over and they will always fuck you up.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) J.B., C.M., and Tenacious D!

JEFF BUCKLEY Live In Chicago DVD
*** "A complete concert -- over 90 minutes long!" Buckley covers Nina Simone and the MC5!

CURTIS MAYFIELD Movin' On Up: The Music & Message DVD
*** "The definitive documentary on one of the most important artists and greatest groups of all time." Features performances from 1965 to 1973.

TENACIOUS D The Complete Masterworks 2 2xDVD
*** "Jack Black and Kyle Gass are the D! Includes concert, full-length documentary and more -- over 3 hours of footate on 2 DVDs!"

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Mi Ami, DFA singles, Illa J and more (and more)

v/a GHETTO PASS Ep 12"
*** brand new Baltimore club EP from T&A Records featuring DJ TECHNICS (remixing Radiohead!), TITTSWORTH, DJ SEGA, ROB THREEZY, JIM SHARP, and Finland's TOP BILLIN. Five stacked tracks in all.

v/a NOTWAVE SAMPLER Vol. 1 12"
v/a NOTWAVE SAMPLER Vol. 2 12"
*** "It's kinda like No Wave, but Not."

RYAN ADAMS Cardinology LP + 7" + MP3
*** NOW ON VINYL! Bonus 7" and alternate cover art too.

THE BAND The Band LP
THE BAND Music From Big Pink LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

HOLY GHOST Hold On (Mock & Toof Remixes) 12"
*** "Holy Ghost! return for a brief hello and label-mates Mock & Toof do two remixes, both quite different interpretations -- a playful stab at minimal techno and a psychedelic disco funk."

ILLA J We Here 12"
*** J DILLA's little brother rapping over DILLA's beats -- a taster for the upcoming album.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM Big Ideas 12"
*** "The edgy opening two minutes alone could serve as the score to a car chase, to the sudden explosion of choirs, blissful harmonies, and larger-than-life chorus." BABYTALK remixes.

JUAN MACLEAN Simple Life 12"
*** "An effective mixture of dark, arpeggiated synth and militant Italo disco drumming, with each bassline and chord change a step toward the light."

MI AMI Ark Of The Covenant 12"
*** RECOMMENDED "Heavy and frantic dub punk from San Francisco's Mi Ami, featuring two former members of Dischord's Black Eyes. A spacious exploration of 21st century paranoia and psycho-sexual body terror." Debut release from Lovers Rock. Limited to 500 copies.

MOCK & TOOF Underwater 12"
*** "A song so undeniably laid back and catchy, the duo calls it a 'cosmic sea shanty'. With its undeniable Madchester / Beta Band delivery, DFA decided it was more of an E Shanty, especially the dub on the flipside, which blends warm keys, euphoric piano, and a killer bass line."

OS MUTANTES Os Mutantes LP
*** "With the release of their debut LP in 1968, Os Mutantes cracked the already red hot Tropicalia scene wide open. Fusing traditional Brazilian music, psychedelia, rock and a good dose of pure experimentalism, they quickly became giants both in Brazil and in the outer fringes of pop music."

PANTHERS Goblin City (Holy Ghost! remixes) 12"
*** "Panthers used to play aggressive post hardcore before their style morphed into a somewhat sober version of anthemic stoner rock. 'Goblin City' is the lead track from their second record, The Trick (Vice, 2007)."

RADIOHEAD Ok Computer 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

RUNAWAY Brooklyn Club Jam 12"
*** New jam on DFA. "Brennan Green, a mastermind behind the booming NYC disco scene, delivers a can't-miss remix of the thumping, anthemic original."

SKATALITES Stretching Out Vol. 1 LP
*** "Crucial extended jam sessions recorded live at the Blue Monk Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica in Summer '83.

THE STREETS Everything Is Borrowed LP
*** NOW ON VINYL! Fourth album. "A return to form with cinematic storytelling and irresistible pop hooks."

YACHT Summer Song 12"
*** "Originally recorded as a love letter to tourmates LCD Soundsystem, and released for free online." Plus two exclusive tracks.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Deerhunter, Girl Talk, School Of Seven Bells, Tussle & then some

v/a NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING 2xCD
*** "A collection of tracks released by Berlin-based Supersoul Recordings -- krautrock, Italo disco, electro, Chicago house, and Detroit techno."

v/a NOTWAVE CD
*** "It's kinda like No Wave, but Not." "A (somewhat) new take on the early '80s underground of New York City's No Wave sound, featuring new, angular underground pop bands Quad Throw Salchow, Striplight, and Circuits from the UK, sinister techno and funk from NYC's Welcome Stranger and Free Blood, acid rock from LA's Non-Stop, No Wave gems from the legendary James Chance & The Contortions and the UK's Research, disco not disco from Freshro, abstract minimal funk from Rong's own Scotty Coats, and rhythm-heavy dance music from New Jersey's Mr. Chin."

DEERHUNTER Microcastle / Weird Era Cont. CD
*** "The highly anticipated follow-up to 2007’s Cryptograms. The album was recorded as a four-piece consisting of Bradford Cox, Lockett Pundt, Joshua Fauver, and Moses Archuleta." Guest vocals by Cole Alexander of the BLACK LIPS.

DR. DELAY R.E.M. Sleep CD
*** RECOMMENDED WIZARD ROCK! R.E.M. Sleep is a wild, excellently mixed continuous DJ platter of slow-ish psych and psych-folk -- beats are there to be sure, but it's a bit chilled out. Can't recommend it enough! Includes tracks from CARAVAN, YESTERDAY’S CHILDREN, VOX DE, AESOP’S FABLES, CAN, BONNIWELL MUSIC MACHINE, and more.

FEELIES Only Life CD
*** "The third album, originally released in 1988, from one of New Jersey’s most influential and beguiling bands. This is first rate jangle-pop that is equal parts loosely structured and tightly wound. A timeless piece of trance-like guitar rock."

MORGAN GEIST Double Night Time CD
*** "After turning the dance music world on its head with METRO AREA and mining rare disco gems with the seminal obscure disco DJ mix Unclassics, Geist indulges in his own early influences and guilty pleasures: techno-pop, prog rock and pure electronic music." Guest vocals from Jeremy Greenspan of JUNIOR BOYS.

GIRL TALK Unstoppable CD
*** "Years of MTV crammed into a 12 track hyper-edited epic party album. With all genres covered, this release cuts up endless top 40 sources at a breakneck pace to create the perfect A.D.D. club mix, accurately capturing the energetic, rowdy, and non-stop fun nature of Girl Talk live."

EERO JOHANNES Eero Johannes 2xLP / CD
*** "EERO's Scandinavian Skweee music stretches from Italo to electro-funk, Miami bass to R 'n' B, and beyond." On PLANET MU.

KAISER CHIEFS Off With Their Heads CD+7"
*** New album!

LA DUSSELDORF La Dusseldorf CD
LA DUSSELDORF Viva CD
*** "Upon the breakup of legendary Krautrock duo NEU!, drummer Klaus Dinger formed La Düsseldorf in the mid-1970s. These albums are a staggering mix of Dinger's trademark motorik rhythms, glammy synths, pulsing organs, and urgent guitar work that create a sound that, at times, predates both punk and post-punk."

MERZBOW Dolphin Sonar CD
*** "This is an angry protest album full of beats, blasts and broken glass. Clattering smashes are pursued by by pulsing analog whirls like the heart of a dolphin being chased through the bloodied waters of Taiji."

QUINTRON Too Thirsty For Love LP / CD
*** 10th album. "Recorded live in a bizarre 2-track studio set deep in the heart of New Orleans now famous 9th Ward. Quintron's musical partner MISS PUSSYCAT plays maracas and sings backup."

ROOTS MANUVA Slime & Reason CD
*** "Slime & Reason looks back to the roots of 'the old Channel One, Studio One aesthetic.' Skanking carnival anthems, melancholy funk, electro-Bach rhythms and lo-fi gospel."

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS Alpinisms CD
*** On GHOSTLY. "Gentle guitars wrap around jagged beats; silky vocals hide behind grumpy, alien synthesizers and the resulting songs are effortlessly cohesive, and insidiously catchy. Elements of dream-pop, Afrobeat, IDM, and 4AD’s gauzier moments -- a soundtrack according to their own odd, beautiful logic."

SHINY TOY GUNS Season Of Poison 2xCD
*** New album with limited edition bonus disc.

NINA SIMONE Sings Billie Holiday / Gospel According to... CD
*** Two albums on one CD at what we in the business like to call the "nice price".

TUSSLE Cream Cuts CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Cream Cuts finds Tussle expanding upon it's krauty exploration of rhythm, mixing drums, bass & electronics with more color & complexity and pulsating psychedelia!"

WHITE/LIGHT Black Acts CD
*** "Chicago drrrr-oh-oh-oh-oh-ne dudes doing their psychedelic, electric, amplified, instrumental, noisy, makes-your-family-crazy music. This one's dark, as in Dario Argento-style spooky. Guitars and pedals and amps and analog synths and more pedals and more amps, until the shit sounds like it's gonna melt."

ZOMES Zomes CD
*** Asa Osborne of LUNGFISH. "An album full of beautiful loop-like melodies that effervesce while Osborne brings them to life. There is a cinematic quality to the material here that recalls "library music," East German Indianerfilmen soundtracks, and even Blues Control at their most humid.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Mi Ami Pt. II

MI AMI Ark Of The Covenant 12"
*** "Heavy and frantic dub punk from San Francisco's Mi Ami, featuring two former members of Dischord's Black Eyes (yes!). A spacious exploration of 21st century paranoia and psycho-sexual body terror. Debut release from Lovers Rock. Limited to 500 copies, 45rpm, 140 gram vinyl, hand screened covers."

In the vein of their first, excellent, and now out-of-print 12", Mi Ami bring the thick dub/skree in a dark and fevered wall-of-squall. "Ark of the Convenant" is rock at its most strangled and contorted, more discombobulated and obscure than anything Black Eyes laid to tape. The B-side is a significantly more subdued dub version of "Ark" undoubtedly as great (ehhh... maybe even better) as the original. Highly, highly recommended.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Capitol reissues, The Cure, Bon Iver, Serge, Deerhunter, Benoit P.... the list goes on.

THE BAND The Band LP
THE BAND Music From Big Pink LP
*** Part of the Capitol Records reissue series - 180g, audiophile quality.

BON IVER For Emma, Forever Ago LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!
Italic
SAM COOKE One Night Stand At The Harlem Square Club LP
*** 180g audiophile vinyl reissue on Legacy. One of ROD STEWART's favorite live recordings of all time.

THE CURE 4:13 Dream LP
*** 13th album. "Now down to a quartet, the band continue to musically evolve while dealing with subjects like relationships, the material world, politics and religion. The songs are stripped down and 'in your face' while also sounding very much like The Cure."

DEERHUNTER Nothing Ever Happened 7"
*** "The first salvo in a barrage of DEERHUNTER noise. Side A is the unabashed rocker from the album, while the flip side is the demo version of "Little Kids," another album track. A limited, one-time pressing release."

FUNKADELIC Funkadelic LP
FUNKADELIC Maggot Brain LP
*** RE-ISSUED! On fancypants heavyweight vinyl by Four Men With Beards. You can't go wrong.

SERGE GAINSBOURG Requiem Pour Un Con 12"
*** A collection of some of the funkiest film music from French pop legend SERGE GAINSBOURG. Released with DJs in mind, the record features the rare tracks "Requiem Pour Un Con," "Psychastenie," "Cadavres En Serie," "No No Yes Yes," "La Horse," "L'Alouette," and some bonus beats tracks.

GLASS CANDY Beat Box LP+7"
*** "The latest in Italians Do It Better's string of smoking hot tour CDs. GLASS CANDY take the reins with nine tracks of synth-pop dance magic. Includes a bonus 7-inch featuring two unreleased tracks-- "High B" and "The Gate"--and a double-sided full-color insert. Midnight classics from start to finish."

HOLLERTRONIX Vol. 9 12"
*** Diplo, Buraka Som Sistema, Radioclit, DJ Znobia.

BENOIT PIOULARD Temper / Precis 2xLP
*** BOTH of Benoit Pioulard's album get the vinyl treatment from KRANKY. This one's a no-brainer must-have.

ROXY MUSIC For Your Pleasure LP
ROXY MUSIC Roxy Music LP
*** Part of the Capitol Records reissue series - 180g, audiophile quality.

SQUAREPUSHER Just A Souvenir LP / CD
*** This guy never tires! Brand new album from one of Warp's baddest doods. Pitchfork is already throwing dollops of praise at it.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) The Cure, Fripp & Eno, Black Milk, Windy & Carl and, dangit, so much more!

RYAN ADAMS Cardinology CD
*** Did you know Paul Westerberg said Ryan Adams should have his teeth kicked out? Whoa! Let's not mince words! 12 new tracks!

AMP FIDDLER w/ SLY & ROBBIE Inspiration Information Vol. 1 CD
*** "Each album in Strut's new album series pairs current artists and producers with their musical heroes for a mouth-watering one-off collaboration centered around an intensive five-day writing and recording session, the emphasis is on spontaneity and musicianship."

BLACK MILK Tronic CD
*** Guests: DJ PREMIER, DWELE, ROYCE DA 5'9", PHAROAHE MONCH, SEAN PRICE and COLIN MUNROE.

BLOC PARTY Intimacy CD
*** "Intimacy is a fittingly up-close title for an album that is, immediately, in-your-face and in-your-ear. Bloc Party's third album is a thrillingly radical record, bristling with percussive innovation, scorching riffs, orchestral sampledelia, and biting emotional candor." Includes two previously released bonus tracks.

RY COODER The UFO Has Landed: The Anthology 2xCD
*** "Cooder's first-ever anthology -- 34 tracks on two CDs."

THE CURE 4:13 Dream CD
*** 13th album. "Now down to a quartet, the band continue to musically evolve while dealing with subjects like relationships, the material world, politics and religion. The songs are stripped down and 'in your face' while also sounding very much like The Cure."

EAGLES OF DEATH METAL Heart On CD
*** "One part JESSE HUGHES, one part JOSH HOMME, stir and chill in a tall glass of class and it goes down smooth every time."

EL GUINCHO Alegranza CD
*** "A mix of afro-beat percussion, calypso harmonies, psych tropicalia, world music samplers, doo wop, trance repetition, underwater pop, steel drums, and island feeling."

FRIPP & ENO Evening Star CD
FRIPP & ENO (No Pussyfooting) 2xCD
*** RECOMMENDED RE-ISSUED! Two exxxcellent albums from two masters -- both have been long out-of-print, both are remastered and at least one of them was fitted with a bonus disc of alternate versions.

LINDSTROM Where You Go I Go Too 2xLP / CD
*** "Well known for his epic & ultra melodic disco, it might come as a surprise that this album only contains three long tracks. But when you listen to this album, you hear that it is still very much Lindstrom... just more Lindstrom-- bigger, longer, more epic & more melodic."

MF DOOM & NAS Nastradoomus 2xCD
*** "Long unavailable and classic mashup album that combines the beats of MF DOOM and the vocals of NAS, remixing the entire "Nastradamus" LP, as well as classic hits from the catalog."

MY DEAR DISCO Dancethink Lp CD
*** ANN ARBOR'S OWN! "Brand new, debut full-length album from My Dear Disco. Flourishing grooves, a cornucopia of influences, and musical brilliance all entice you onto the dance floor."

SNOW PATROL A Hundred Million Suns CD
*** One of the top-selling UK acts return to eff s*** up. Or whatever. Considered by the band to be lyrically and sonically the best record they've made.

SQUAREPUSHER Just A Souvenir LP / CD
*** This guy never tires! Brand new album from one of Warp's baddest doods. Pitchfork is already throwing dollops of praise at it.

TOBACCO Fucked Up Friends CD
*** "BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW main man explores a darker, starker, and altogether more badass dimension of his complex vision. As always, Tobacco recorded Fucked Up Friends using analog synths and tape machines, which gives his work a timeless distance from digital pop music at large. Fucked Up Friends is equally cosmopolitan and self-contained, the soundtrack for an imaginary underwater cop show, a welcome stranger anywhere in time and space."

VIVIAN GIRLS Vivian Girls LP / CD
*** "In The Red now proudly presents the re-release of this essential pop platter -- the Vivian Girls s/t debut. Swirling noise topped with sweetly angelic vocals is practically a can't-miss concoction, so expect your fruity neighbors and your attention-starved friends to chime in with unabashed praise when you spin this record."

WINDY & CARL Songs For The Broken Hearted 2xLP / CD
*** "Most everyone has experienced love as well as heartbreak. The 10 songs that form the new Windy & Carl album are interpretations of those emotions that run the gamut from pain, anger and longing, to warmth, admiration and joy. Started in early 2007 and finished in the spring of 2008 in the midst of some sudden inspiration, these songs are some of the best Windy & Carl have to offer, and a new mark in their always developing sound."

Thursday, October 23, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Chicago droners White/Light

WHITE/LIGHT Black Acts CD
*** "Black Acts is the new one by Chicago drrrr-oh-oh-oh-oh-ne dudes White/Light. As in drone music. As in psychedelic, electric, amplified, instrumental, noisy, makes-your-family-crazy music. This one's dark, as in Dario Argento-style spooky.

"Guitars and pedals and amps and analog synths and more pedals and more amps, until the shit sounds like it's gonna melt. And then they do it again, with more pedals but fewer amps and maybe this time with an Indian Sruti box instead of a guitar and a bowed cymbal and some contact mics and tremolo and a shit-ton of reverb, and then back out through a spinning speaker and just one mic in the room facing the wrong way."

Sonic Youth's soundguy and his pal create scalding drones that ripple and blister across the brain like some wicked chemical peel. These are NOT passive drones -- this is staring into the void, the content of which being a blinding white light.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) BB, BK, JH, and IT -- reader, read on!

BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds LP
*** BACK IN STOCK! Part of the Capitol Records reissue series - 180g, audiophile quality.

BLACK KEYS Rubber Factory LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

JOLIE HOLLAND The Living And The Dead LP + MP3
*** NOW ON VINYL!

IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE The 3rd World 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Of Montreal, The Sea & Cake, MF DOOM, Gang Gang Dance & other winners!

ELECTRIC SIX Flashy CD
*** Fourth album. "Songs cover everything from their preferred cleaning solution to a throwback to their debut album with 'Gay Bar Part Two'. Unclassifiable, this group blends sounds and influences from glam, funk, rock, disco, punk, new wave, and metal."

GANG GANG DANCE Saint Dymphna CD
*** "GANG GANG DANCE continue to push the musical envelope with Saint Dymphna, the first proper studio follow up to the bands 2005's critically acclaimed 'God's Money'. Tempering the finer elements of pop, dance, ambient and experimental music; Saint Dymphna is both the bands most challenging and forward thinking release to date."

JARBOE Mahakali CD
*** "MAHAKALI is a typically forbidding document, this time a song cycle based on the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali. Jarboe and her collaborators incorporate extended feedback drones, industrial disco beats, elements of Scandinavian-style death metal, and passages of unexpected delicacy into this 15-track set."
Bold
KMD Bl ck B st rds CD
*** RE-ISSUED! Finally! MF DOOM's old group gets proper re-release treatment on Doom's label. Long unavailable.

MF DOOM Operation Doomsday CD
*** "The metal-faced villain returns! MF DOOM (aka ZEV LOVE X from KMD) continues to turn out the goodness originally released on the Fondle 'Em label. A double-album of experimental and abstract underground hip hop for the headz. Features guest action from CUCUMBER SLICE, TOMMY GUNN, KURIOUS and more. Classic and essential."

BENOIT PIOULARD Temper CD
*** RECOMMENDED "With soft-edged vocals and a broad palette of instruments that lately includes harmonium and cello, Benoit Pioulard constructs diverse arrangements that skirt the borders of pop with beautiful, detailed atmospheres. It is no coincidence that the word 'temper' has more than 20 definitions related to basic existential aspects like emotion, behavior, and music; it offers many dimensions but also reveals how scrawny language can be in its attempt to name the abstract. On Temper, Pioulard endeavors to make sense of things in a tumultuous time, inspired by everything from medieval astrology to the poems of T.S. Eliot and the films of the Italian neo-realists. Fully aware of the mission's vanity, he is nevertheless consumed by its path."

OF MONTREAL Skeletal Lamping CD
*** "OF MONTREAL's critical breakthrough, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, catapulted the band to the upper echelon of indie stardom. Skeletal Lamping absolutely delivers. It's a complicated and dense thrill ride packed with slinky grooves that demand a physical response. It's unpredictable, completely unique, and epic."

THE SEA AND CAKE Car Alarm LP / CD
*** Eighth album. "Bracing, like the surge of wasabe on sweet sushi, like the slap of cool water on a diving body, like the head-rush of a rollercoaster just leaving summit. Think of the great working bands, the Charles Mingus Quintet, the John Coltrane Quartet, the Meters or the Minutemen. For them, there was no gaping chasm between the studio and the road; the studio was just another stop, a gig, a continuous part of the flow of playing and working and creating together." Huh. I imagine it's great! Tis the Sea and Cake after all.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Atlanta's Carbonas!

CARBONAS Carbonas CD
*** The much-anticipated third album from Atlanta pop-edged punkers THE CARBONAS. "A taut, brilliant blast of both pop and punk. Given the record's running time, there's 'nary a wasted moment, riff or breath, as the band crams in a host of late-'70s/early-'80s Antipodean and East Coast rock influences, and strains those sounds through the Carbonas' distinctively greasy Southern sonic filter."--Bob Mehr, Commercial Appeal

Totally ripping stuff from the same Atlanta scene that spawned BLACK LIPS and DEERHUNTER on the label run by The Oblivions' Eric Friedl. Embraced by everybody from the likes of Maximum Rock'n'Roll to the infamous 20jazzfunkgreats blog, this stuff sizzzzles, charges, and shouts.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: 7" Vinyl ))))) New gemstones and old favorites!

ARCADE FIRE No Cars Go / Surf City Eastern Bloc 7"
*** Neon Bible-era release. If memory serves, "No Cars Go" might have been Arcade Fire's first single ever, from Asaurus Records.

CHRIS BATHGATE The Asheville Squints 7"
*** Split 7" from Ann Arbor's favorite son. B-side by HEZEKIAH JONES.

BIG BLACK He's A Whore / The Model 7"
*** Classic 7" -- Chicago's Big Black coverign Cheap Trick and Kraftwerk respectively. Both tunes are on their final album but the 7" cover is hilarious.

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Zodiac Girls 7" + MP3
*** New song backed with a remix and featuring a download coupon for both tunes.

BLONDE REDHEAD Slogan / Limited Conversation 7"
*** Top notch SERGE GAINSBOURG cover backed with an original.

VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind 7"
*** Gorgeous Jagger-Richards cover. Vashti's debut single from way way back back in the day.

COCO ROSIE God Has A Voice... PICTURE 7"
*** Brand new jams from Coco Rosie on limited edition picture disc heavyweight vinyl.

DEERHOOF Matchbook Seeks Maniac / Makko Shobu PICTURE 7"
*** A new mix and jam from the 'Hoof featuring art by DAVID SHRIGLEY.

DIPLO Bandida 7"
*** Super-limited 7" of baile funk over DEVO's "Mongoloid."

DIRTBOMBS Play Sparks 7"
*** Two covers from the SPARKS catalog, one of which was included on Dirtbombs' most recent platter.

DYKEHOUSE Chain Smoking 7"
*** OUT OF PRINT - LAST COPIES EVER.

FENNESZ Transition 7"
*** Two new songs from Fennesz, both exclusive I believe, both unavailable in any other format.

FUCKED UP Year Of The Pig 7"
*** US version on Matador. Awesome.

LES SAVY FAV Accidental Deaths 7"
*** Two songs about being hit by things (a car and a train, specifically).

BENOIT PIOULARD Enge 7"
*** OUT OF PRINT - LAST COPIES EVER. Benoit Pioulard's gorgeous debut vinyl release came out a couple years back and must've sounded pretty good to Kranky Records (the label is releasing his sophomore full-length this week). Once it's gone, it's gone! Don't sleep. Clear vinyl.

TYVEK Summer Burns 2x7"
*** One of Michigan's up-and-comers, these fellas BLAZE. I dare you to write a better song than "Air Conditioner."

WOODEN SHJIPS Loose Lips 7"
*** Sub Pop-released single from one of the very, very best contemporary psych bands. Serious grooves with some blistered organ. Don't step on my buzz.

YESTERDAY'S NEW QUINTET Bomb Shelter EP 7"
*** Four songs from MADLIB's YNQ in 2001.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Downtown 81!

ost DOWNTOWN 81 CD
*** "As its title suggests, Downtown 81 is mostly set in New York's East Village and Lower East Side in the early '80s; the movie follows Jean (played by then-unknown 19-year-old painter Jean-Michel Basquiat) through blasted streets looking like war zones and in clubs pulsing with ear-melting music. The film serves as window into one of the most exciting periods in New York's art history with many characters from the no wave scene making cameo appearances in the film. Featuring Basquiat's own band Gray as well as Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Coati Mundi, the Lounge Lizards, James White and the Blacks, DNA, Tuxedomoon, Lydia Lunch, the Plastics, Suicide and many others."

Comparable to the Soul Jazz New York Noise compilations, this killer soundtrack is from what is arguably the most influential era of contemporary music. Jean-Michel is basically playing himself in this film and the appearance by Gray (later to feature a young Vincent Gallo as a member) is one of the few available recordings by the group. The film was recently re-issued and is well worth tracking down along with other 1980s NY greats like Wild Style.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

( NEWS ) Preorder PAVEMENT 'Bright The Corners' deluxxxe & get a bonus LP!


Matador strikes again! The Buy Early Get Now program has earned a fair share of cheers and jeers but they pulled a real nice one for the deluxxxe Pavement 2xCD reissue of Brighten The Corners. Here's the scoop straight from the mouth of the talking horse:

Pre-order PAVEMENT - Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition dbl CD and you will become part of Matador's Buy Early Get Now 6th Pre-Order Promotion so you will receive:
  • Instant stream of album - starting October 10th
  • Bonus track #1 - available October 15th
  • Bonus track #2 - available November 4th
  • Street date - November 18th - pick up the album at your store PLUS a vinyl LP containing an unreleased live show AND a free poster.
The bonus live LP was recorded during the first Brighten tour and scheduled for release as OLE-324 in July 1998, but was then shelved... until now.

It's very easy: just pre-order the dbl CD deluxe edition of Pavement - Brighten The Corners and within a day you will be e-mailed a confirmation and directions to get all of the goods. That's it.

So, hit us up at wazoorecords@hotmail.com if you want to be part of the happening!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Deerhood, Michna, and every Misfits LP around...

DEERHOOF Offend Maggie LP+MP3 / CD
*** "On Offend Maggie a friction between tragic and comic, masculine and feminine, is played out in spectacularly dramatic fashion. This famously cheerful band can certainly summon the thunderclouds when needed. Like the traditional enka music of Japan that Satomi counts among her childhood influences, these songs are often haunted by heartbreak and frustration, but at the same time they're universal, and meant to give courage to the listener."

MICHNA Selections From Magic Monday LP
*** "NYC producer MICHNA (SFC, BONDE DO ROLE, DIPLO) comes correct with skullsnap bets and playful electronics by the pound." FADER says: “With each song, Michna pumps city grit into the watery graves of mixtapes past. Post-bass, ambient, whispers of acid jazz, it’s all there.”

THE MISFITS just about every Misfits LP available LP
*** No, really. We just stocked up. Major stock up. Holy smokes.