Chris Connor - Sings Lullabys for Lovers (1954)

Chris Connor is a jazz vocalist originally from Missouri who went on to perform with various Big Bands throughout the 40's to the early 60's. From there she went on to release odds and end sort of records on random labels. Chris Connor had often been compared to June Christy, who was really a contemporary more than an influence. The two sang in some of the same bands and have mentioned each other as influences.
For being a singer who performed in big bands, Chris Connor's first few albums have a very sensual and stripped down sound. Her soft and rich voice is delivered in such a planned way that she sounds like she may break a smile out of the corner of her mouth any second, but doesn't. At the time placing a single female jazz singer with such a stripped down band was unconventional, but she dominates this album (originally released as a 10").

TRACK LIST

1. Lush Life
2. Out of This World
3. Cottage for Sale
4. How Long?
5. Goodbye
6. Stella By Starlight
7. Gone With the Wind
8. He's Coming Home

Try it.
Buy it.

Also!

Hey a few things!
1) If you downloaded Henry's Dream you'll notice I switched from Megaupload to Mediafire. Sorry I didn't do this sooner, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking.
2) Sorry this blog has been slow lately. I've actually had a life so this suffers. I've got a lot of things I want to put up but just have to buckle down and write some summaries. I might start putting more work into the articles themselves, too.
3) Someone told me they had trouble trying to download the Starburst Crystal Ensemble album. Anyone have this problem with any albums on here? I'd be glad to re upload onto Mediafire, which I will do with that album as requested.
4) Look what I got bitches! I had talked about it on the post for Lust For Life.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Henry's Dream (1992)

After the Birthday Party broke up in 1984 Nick Cave regrouped with a few members to form Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-- a band you've at least heard of. His intense imagery and the literary influence on his music created gnarly stream-of-consciousness sort of short stories throughout his early albums and it was on Henry's Dream where he mastered the balance between storytelling and music writing.
Henry's Dream is said to have an influence from poet John Berryman's The Dream Songs, a collection of 385 poems centering around a character named Henry. The album also has another influence which I felt equally as obvious but less noted. The style, both by sound description and story, has a heavily Southern Gothic influence. Stories of wanderers, violent men, and religious sensationalism delivered in such a heavy handed yet graceful way can only be influenced by the like of Flannery O'Conner, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and Tennessee Williams. These are some of my favorite authors so of course this is my favorite album from Nick Cave.

TRACK LIST

1. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry
2. I Had a Dream, Joe
3. Straight to You
4. Brother, My Cup is Empty
5. Christina the Astonishing
6. When I First Came to Town
7. John Finn's Wife
8. Loom of the Land
9. Jack the Ripper

Try it.
Buy it.

Starburst Crystal Ensemble - 16:9 (2009)

Once again, I am putting my money where my mouth is and uploading my own music. This is my current band's album that is just coming out today. We haven't even played the release show yet. I wrote all of these songs over the past two and a half years. This album has two different lineups that the group has had as well as two songs recorded on my own. The group had two or three other lineups that just never got a recording good enough to release.

This is a cassette that is hand numbered, limited edition of 200. The tapes are spray painted and the liner notes go into full detail to the story behind the band and the songs.

I've been working damn fucking hard on this. I remember I used to read about painters spending years on a single painting and I would wish I had that sort of devotion to something where it would take me years. I realized with this that it isn't a choice, it's an inevitability. This was the case here. But I'm really proud of this. And I hope you guys like it. You've gotten a pretty good look at the sort of music I listen to through this blog and here's the product.

TRACK LIST

1. King and the Countess
2. I'm No Kind of Man
3. Slide Whistle Song
4. Where the Swallows Go
5. Home is a Cold Winter
6. A Man's Pride
7. The Gun Song
8. Duel Citizenship
9. I Wanna Be Young Again

Try it.
Buy it. Let me know if you bought it after hearing it on the blog and I'll try to throw in a special bonus!

Rocket from the Crypt - The State of Art is on Fire (1995)

Rocket from the Crypt albums are excellent, but I've always felt like they were maybe a couple songs too long. Even if all the songs are good, like on Scream Dracula Scream, it just doesn't seem like there needs to be as many as there are. At the same time 7"s are a tease. That's why I think this EP is the perfect RFTC album. It's got the best of all their kinds of songs. It's predominately the hard hitting punk rock with a heavy rock 'n roll influence they're known for, along with their excellent displays of real songwriting ability (like the chorus in "Human Torch"), heavy guitar and horn arrangements (like the end of "Ratsize"), and (on the CD version) flawless covers-- the last two tracks being songs from the Music Machine. This is an excellent excellent EP from one of the best bands of the 90's.

TRACK LIST

1. Light Me
2. A+ in Arson Class
3. Rid or Ride
4. Human Torch
5. Ratsize
6. Human Spine
7. Trouble
8. Masculine Intuition

Try it.
Buy it.

Sandy City - Surfin' WA (2009)

This album has been in constant rotation on my drive to work. It's both very exciting and stoney at the same time. The lo-fi crunchy guitar sound creates a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound which blends perfectly with the strong melody driven vocals cutting through. It's solid songwriting matched with a creative production sound. A definite soon-to-be-favorite for fans of Husker Du, the Beach Boys, hi quality lo-fi, and early Weezer. But still a great album if you hate Weezer.

TRACK LIST

1. Death Wave
2. Westport
3. Wasting Our Time
4. How We Never Met
5. Merry Go Round
6. The Sound
7. Meeper Sleeper
8. 1 2 3 4

Try it.
Buy it.

Dona Ivone Lara - Sorriso de criança (1979)

Dona Ivone Lara (born Yvonne Lara, 1922) is a Brazilian singer and critically acclaimed samba songwriter. She worked as a nurse and sang on the side until her retirement from nursing in 1977. She met a lot of her collaborators through her husband's work as president of a now defunct samba school.
Dona Ivone Lara's singing is so graceful with such a thrilling arrangement backing it. Her songs are delivered with a sweetness akin to Billie Holiday and her band has that classic production not unlike Esquivel and early Fania Records albums. The arrangements are perfectly developed and mastered sambas with an African roots sort of influence. The album has some surprisingly complicated chord arrangements and is just a blast when listening.

TRACK LIST

1. Sorriso de criança
2. Cantei só pra distrair
3. Adeus à solidão
4. O meu amor tem preço
5. Quisera
6. São Paulo, Chapadão da Glória
7. Pot-pourri
8. Amar como eu amei
9. Confesso
10. Por querer liberdade
11. Muro das lamentações
    

Try it.
OOP? I can't seem to find it online.

Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - We're Only in it for the Money (1968)

Frank Zappa is an overwhelming genius and his body of music can be tough trying to figure out where to start. This album is a good place. The satire is well played but headed in the perverse direction he is notorious for. His cynicism is well played and the music has great melodies and harsh noise. From here there are a lot of great pieces (Hot Rats, Sheik Yerbouti, Grand Wazoo, the list goes on and never stops) but this remains my personal favorite.
This album faced extreme censorship when it first came out. Lines were cut from the final mix outright by the record label. Frank Zappa was accepting an award and as he walked up "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" was playing and he noticed lines missing. He then gave a speech about how the award should go to the editors as this was no longer his work. For more information look it up on wikipedia or read his autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa.

TRACK LIST

1. Are You Hung Up?
   
2. Who Needs the Peace Corps?
3. Concentration Moon
   
4. Mom & Dad
   
5. Telephone Conversation
   
6. Bow Tie Daddy
   
7. Harry, You're a Beast
   
8. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
   
9. Absolutely Free
   
10. Flower Punk
    
11. Hot Poop
    
12. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
    
13. Let's Make the Water Turn Black
    
14. The Idiot Bastard Son
    
15. Lonely Little Girl
    
16. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
    
17. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)
18. Mother People
19. The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny
    

Try it.
Buy it.

John Hartford - Aeroplane (1971)

John Hartford grew up by the Mississippi river. His first job was on a steam boat and from there on out he was sold on everything related to Mississippi steamboat culture. He worked on them, drove them, and sang about them. Of course with this comes growing a passion for bluegrass music.
John Hartford helped shape folk music as it is today, tying in relaxed and liberal ideals to American music. Bluegrass and country music were never the same, particularly after this album. His master style of playing the banjo and the violin sound so effortless and this comfort in his ability goes well with his mellow and deep singing. His lyrics touch from goofy tunes for the fun of it to beautiful songs which display an excellent understanding of poetry and reality. Easily one of the best albums to come out ever. My favorite songs include "Back in the Goodle Days" and "First Girl I Loved".

TRACK LIST

1. Turn Your Radio On
2. Steamboat Whistle Blues
3. Back in the Goodle Days
4. Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie
5. Boogie
6. First Girl I Loved
7. Presbyterian Guitar
8. With a Vamp in the Middle
9. Symphony Hall Rag
10. Because of You
11. Steam Powered Aereo Plane
12. Holding
13. Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry
14. Leather Britches
15. Station Break
16. Turn Your Radio On

Try it.
Buy it.

A Gentle Evening with Townes Van Zandt (1969)

This early live album capture's Townes Van Zandt's soft manner and delicate humor just as well as it captures the careful intensity and quiet darkness in his music. Townes Van Zandt's life was full of uncontrollable conviction, unbearable sadness, and overpowering addiction. I first heard of him when I saw the documentary Be Here to Love Me when I visited a friend (at the same house I saw Grey Gardens which, to anyone familiar with the Booby Trap, is humorously appropriate). There were moments in the film where I was almost at tears.

There's a lot in Van Zandt's discography to explore. His studio albums have a great tone and his live albums have a loving atmosphere. This live album was recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1969 and there are points where he seems to almost be whispering and the audience is listening in a hushed awe. This is absolute genius.

TRACK LIST

1. Talking KKK Blues
2. Rake
3. Like a Summer's Thursday
4. Second Lover's Song
5. She Came and She Touched Me
6. Lungs
7. Tecumseh Valley
8. A Joke
9. Talking Thunderbird Wine Blues
10. The Ballad of Ira Hayes

Try it.
Buy it.

fIREHOSE - Ragin', Full-On (1987)

Really a perfect album title.
fIREHOSE is a Southern California band that formed after the untimely death of D. Boon, frontman to the Minutemen. After Boon died in a car accident, Mike Watt and George Hurley were devastated. Watt was invited to work on a record with Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth. After minor involvement Watt and Hurley again joined up along with Ed "fROMOHIO" Crawford to play this record.
I've always felt like this is Watt's bass playing at its absolute prime. This album is fun and does a lot of different things really well. It rocks in that late '80s SST records way. Thoroughly enjoyable.

TRACK LIST

1. Brave Captain
2. Under the Influence of Meat Puppets
3. It Matters
4. Chemical Wire
5. Another Theory Shot to Shit
6. On Your Knees
7. Locked In
8. The Candle and the Flame
9. Choose Any Memory
10. Perfect Pairs
11. This...
12. Caroms
13. Relatin' Dudes to Jazz
14. Things Could Turn Around

Try it.
Buy it.

Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle (1968)

Song Cycle is one of the most expensive albums ever recorded and also one of the worst selling. Van Dyke Parks is possibly known more for his work with other musicians than his own albums. He's worked with artists ranging from The Byrds, Loudon Wainright III, Joanna Newsome, to the Beach Boys' album Smile. He co-wrote the lyrics which Mike Love ridiculed as "acid alliteration".

Song Cycle is an incredible and ambitious album. Parks portrays so many different types of American music with a sweet yet dark twist by using very controlled dissonance, voice alterations, and crafty lyrics. Parks' words are ruthless and scathing critisism of American ideals and the Los Angeles metropolitan garbage of the time (with lyrics like "dreams are stillborn in Hollywood"). The album just has so much going on and so much control over it is used by Parks with ease. I'd go so far as to say this is more impressive than the work on Smile he's best known for.

TRACK LIST

1. Vine Street
2. Palm Desert
3. Widow's Walk
4. Laurel Canyon Blvd
5. The All Golden
6. Van Dyke Parks
7. Public Domain
8. Donovan's Colours
9. The Attic
10. Laurel Canyon Blvd
11. By the People
12. Pot Purri

Try it.
Buy it.

French Quarter (2008)

I wasn't sure if I should put this up or not. So you all totally have to buy a copy. Stephen, James Fella, if you want this taken down please let me know!
Stephen Steinbrink is the singer/guitarist behind French Quarter. He's from Arizona. And he's one of the best songwriters around. These songs are incredible and have such a mellow and basement sound to them. It's one of the best releases of our time and I'm so excited to know this guy. He played at a house I lived in and he and the band helped drink all the alcohol in the house (even a bottle of vermouth) and we sat around listening to Neil Young records and reading Achewood afterwords. Really cool guys.

TRACK LIST

1. Bold with Fire
2. Debt
3. Stay
4. In June
5. Snake Fantastic
6. Before the Sun
7. Judgement
8. Golden Heart
9. For Andy
10. Build Fires

Try it.
Buy it.

A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rythm (1990)

Classic album, revolutionized hip-hop forever. Review to follow soon (probably not really) I'm watching the X-Files right now.

Try it.
Buy it.

Flies Inside the Sun - An Audience of Others (Including Herself) (1995)

Another album I was obsessed with in high school. New Zealand's Flies Inside the Sun is an incredible improvised project that redefines so much in music. The album is both minimal and chaotic, like being in a room full of machinery to the point where it's numbed or being in a room so quiet it's deafening. The drums roll in like thunder while the guitar flows and crashes like rain on a tin roof. Kim Pieters' singing howls like the wind.

This album is much like how Bob Dylan described Roscoe Holcomb, with "an untamed sense of control". It masters post rock while completely throwing out the typical cheesy field recording-violin-crescendo-field recording format that got so boring so quickly. It's full of detuned guitars and messy drumming. It's everything post rock isn't and should be. So of course it makes sense that this came out on Kranky records. I ripped this from a CD years upon years ago and have long since lost the CD, so the sound quality is not as good as the original recordings. I was running Windows '98 back then! So I fully reccomend buying this one. Like the disclaimer says, a place to sample some music.

TRACK LIST

1. Mother's Kiss
2. The Man With No Arms
3. Abscent and Erotic Lives
4. Icarus
5. Sleepwalk
6. The Afternoon Blind

Try it.
Buy it.

Iggy Pop - Lust for Life (1977)

This album means so much to me that I am currently seriously considering getting its title tattooed. Probably in the font they use on American money.
When I was in 9th grade I bought the Stooges' self titled, and the only I had heard about them was Sonic Youth covering "Now I Wanna Be yr Dog" on Confusion is Sex. From there I became a very big Stooges fan. The kind of douchey fan who thinks no one loves or gets this band more than themself. Beyond his incredible antics and stage presence, Iggy Pop is a mind blowing singer and excellent lyricist. I think we'd get along, too.

This album was co-written by David Bowie during his Berlin years. In fact, Iggy Pop's other album from this era, The Idiot, was delayed on its release so the Bowie album (i think it was Low) wouldn't be perceived as influenced by it when really they were written at the same time.

Great, great album. It's funny hearing the song "Lust for Life" on cruise ship commercials and knowing the song is about a heroin dealer. A friend recently pointed out that Lust for Life could have come out in absolutely any era and still be a huge hit.

TRACK LIST

1. Lust for Life
2. Sixteen
3. Some Weird Sin
4. The Passenger
5. Tonight
6. Success
7. Turn Blue
8. Neighborhood Threat
9. Fall in Love with Me

Try it.
Buy it.

PS, Votes on the tattoo? I am really this close to getting it. If I do I'll post a picture.

Le Joshua - Point to the Sky (2005)

Le Joshua's Point to the Sky is one of the best albums you've never heard. This band is a crucial point in local music history for Southern California kids of right now. The album has an incredible delivery; no matter how chaotic it gets it still has a very melancholy and nostalgic sound. The guitar arrangements are brilliant, the singing is raw, and the songwriting is so solid. The last track's epic chant leads to a great recording of a member's grandmother. This album should be everywhere but it's not and that's dumb.

TRACK LIST

1. Take Care of the Babies
2. Nazis Love to Kiss
3. Dead Girls
4. Camp Grenada
5. If a Mountain is Big Enough it Can Create its own Weather
6. Fragger Grenade
7. Sleeping Merry Grey

Try it.
Buy it.

Otis Redding - The Soul Album (1966)

Otis Redding's The Soul Album is not dramatically different from other albums that also feature prime Otis. It's got Stax records' house band Booker T & the MG's, it's co produced by Jim Stewart, David Porter, and Isaac Hayes, and Otis is raging and heavy all at the same time. This album just has some of the best fuckin' songs.
Other albums and collections are all incredible, but sometimes it gets to be a drag listening to songs that everyone on Stax performed, like Respect (which Otis Redding did write). This album has some of the heaviest and most incredible tunes which just weren't hit material, like "Cigarettes and Coffee". This is Memphis soul at its absolute finest.

TRACK LIST

1. Just One More Day
2. It's Growing
3. Cigarettes and Coffee
4. Chain Gang
5. Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)
6. Good to Me
7. Scratch My Back
8. Treat Her Right
9. Everybody Makes a Mistake
10. Any ole Way
11. 634-5789

Try it.
Buy it.

Should I upload music? I have some albums in mind that I really enjoy but I feel like no one reads this blog any more. Speak now or forever hold your peace! Also, were there any favorites?

Rorschach - Protestant (1993)

Rorschach is brutal, this album is heavy, I feel sick.

Try it.
Buy it. SIKE it's out of print.