Last X records you bought, 4th quarter 2003

DMX - new single, title escapes me
Nightmares on Wax - first album (£5 in fopp!)
Domino Records Compilation
Gilberto Gil - ???
Danny Krivit - Edits by Mr K
Throbbing gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
The Clientele - Suburban Light
Kompakt - Schaffelieber 2
V/A - Reggae Gold 2003

This may seem excessive, but it a combination of HMV sale, an amazon order and a trip to sapin all happeneing at once, so noy a usual week's consumption!!

my friend got poison's greatest hits, a patsy cline comp, and two albums of portuguese music. pretty decent haul.

Buying tomorrow:
Belle & Sebastian and Ludacris

Tomorrow buying the new US Maple on vinyl!

Pick of the bunch, the ska box or Dan the Automator.

What do you think of it?

also Yes 'close to the edge', bowie's 'logder', was (not was), elvis costello: all bargain cassete/vinyl.

and during lunch when i went to buy some indoor sport shoes i had to hide from rain & thunder and there, suddenly, i saw a music store! so:

mc5 - 'kick out the jams' [cd]
motorpsycho + jaga jazzist horns - in the fishtank [cd]

Murcof - "Ulysses"
Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance
IAM - Revoir un printemps
Ladytron - Softcore Jukebox

Robert Wyatt - Cuckooland

Ex Models, Zoo Psychology
State Property, The Chain Gang, vol 2

After two listens, I'm unhappy, though they're always hard to get initially. Overall, the energy level seems low. The drumming is much less inventive than in the past, and there's a dreary (and surprisingly faithful) version of "Lay Lady Lay" which hopefully won't be on the CD.

Gripe #2 is that the art and packaging don't live up to past examples. Overall it finally feels like the band isn't progressing, though I'm amazed that they managed four albums before that happened. It's not a disaster, and I may like it more down the road, but it's not what I'd hoped for.

Due to hurricane conditions in the east coast of Canada, today's releases didn't make it to some stores in Newfoundland (like the Ludacris or the Kid Koala). boo to the hurricane.
Also didn't see the new Do Make Say Think anywhere, but not sure if that's hurricane related or not.

listened to the new ladybug transistor, they got lucky with albermarle sound.

plus i just pre-ordered the second Rubble Box

frank lowe/rashied ali- duo exchange
ornette coleman- science fiction LP

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Tom Waits - Farnk's Wild Years
Elbow - Asleep in the Back
Delgados - Hate
Chore - Coastaline Fire
A Silver Mt. blah blah (new one)
Gathering - How to Maeasure a Planet? 2CD
Pulp - We Love Life
Oasis - What's the Story...(recently stolen, not too saddened)
This Mortal Coil - Blood

new cd:
Prefuse 73 - "One Word Extinguisher"

used cd:
Alex Von Schlippenbach Trio - "Pakistani Pomade" (reissue)

Radio 4 - Gotham
Filter - The Amalgamut
The Frank and Walters - Trains, Boats and Planes
Headswim - Flood
Enon - Hocus-Pocus
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
Yes - Relayer (the new Rhino remaster)
Poster Children - Daisychain Reaction
Censurados - Confusão
Our Lady Peace - Gravity
Moonspell - The Antidote
Jane's Addiction - Strays

Afro-Cuban covers of Arabic songs, some unfamiliar, some very famliar to me. It's better than it deserves to be considering what a premeditated and staged sort of fusion it is. I will have to listen to the originals again, since I thought at least one of them was a tango (in the original). I don't know whether or not it's easier to go from a tango to son than or from an Arabic song to a son.

Asmahan is probably dancing in her grave, a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Joseph Ayoub: The Festival of Lebanese Music and Arabic Dabke Vol. 1.

I'd like more Lebanese folks music, and more Arabic instrumental music.

Alice Coltrane - Ptah the El Daoud
Six Organs of Admittance - Dark Noontide
Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages
Archie Shepp - Attica Blues
The Shangri-La's - Best Of (Mercury Years)
Scott Walker - Scott, Scott 3, Tilt
Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels - Rev Up!
Faust - Faust / So Far
Can - Unlimited Edition
V/A - Acid Daze
Joe Meek - The Alchemist of Pop

I am not going to buy any more CDs* until my VISA bill is caught up. That's for real for real, this time. After that, I'm going to cut back so I can start saving more for bigger things. Maybe one or two a month.

Also music-related, I just got A. J.** Racy's new book Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Tarab

Racy is also a pretty good musician, not just an ethnomusicologist/barely-tolerable-musician. I liked a CD he did with Simon Shaheen, despite being skeptical of both of them, after hearing other recordings by each. I've also seen them perform in Brooklyn, which I seem to remember as being good, though I hardly remember the details now.

*(not counting the three that come with the Music of Bahrain book I ordered a couple weeks back, which I'm probably not going to ever see anyhow, since it seems to have been printed in a very small edition)

**That's "Ali Jihad." I wonder if he is going by "A.J." now since it's probably more marketable in the west than having "Jihad" for one's middle name.

aksak maboul - un peu de l'ame des bandits (upgrading to cd, honeymoon killers bonus track is great, who has their album?)
Ami Yoshida - Tiger Thrush
Kaija Saariaho - 6 Japanese Gardens / 3 Rivieres Delta (yawn)
Helmut Lachenmann - Schwankungen am Rand (!!!, !!, !!!!)
Roland Kayn - works for orchestra & ensemble 1957-1974
Michael McNabb - Computer Music
Luc Ferrari - Acoustmatrix 3 Electronic Works
Mike Oldfield - Balm for the Walking Dead (rarities bootleg)

what's this like?

the latter was my introduction to them back then. imo, they hit their peak on these albums. the opening songs to side A and B of BSD (the Seabirds & Wide Open Road, resp.) are glorious songs, and somehow paint a picture of how i imagine Australia (esp. the outback) to be (having never actually been there. yet). it's a shame that David McComb is no longer on this world.

1. Neil Young - "Decade"
2. Bubba Sparxxx - "Deliverance"
3. R.E.M. - "In Time: The Best Of R.E.M. 1988-2003"
4. The Roots - "Phrenology"
5. Drive-By Truckers - "Decoration Day"
6. Self - "Breakfast With Girls"
7. Jet - "Get Born"
8. The Rolling Stones - "Black And Blue"
9. Erasure - "Hits! The Very Best Of Erasure"
10. Brooks & Dunn - "Red Dirt Road"

#1 and #6 were to replace the copies that were stolen from me when hooligans raided my apartment when I lived in San Antonio two years ago.

Ry Cooder and the other guy with the Spanish name: Mambo Sinuendo
Various Artists: Nu Afrobeat Experience

I haven't seen any mention of the second one, on ILM, but it seems pretty good at first listen. It came out last year, sort of another tribute to Fela, but not as overly as Red Hot + Riot. Overall this seems closer to the original Afrobeat sound (and the vocalists sound primarily African to me), though there is some borrowing from house, for example. (The houseified tracks work for me, but I'm not sure what people who are house fans would think.) Includes a Tony Allen track.

chas smith - aluminum overcast
bach - secret of the semitones - andrew lawrence-king, baroque harp
bubba sparxxx - deliverance
wanna buy a craprak?
pluramon - dreams top rock (impeccably simulated, but why? strong reservations)
deadbeat vs. stephen beaupre - it's a crackhaus thing ($3)
aelters - ardchilds' com.undo
yoshihide / takemura - turntables and computers
linda perhacs - parallelograms
mary margaret o'hara - apartment hunting
harold budd - la bella vista
bartok plays bartok - microkosmos
beethoven - diabelli variations - pollini

Marcel Khalife: Caress
Various: From the Libyan Folklor [sic]Music

Very interesting new instrumental album from Marcel Khalife. He's mixing jazz elements with Arab music, not an original idea I realize, but I like what he's doing here more than I like just about any other combination of Arab music with jazz that I've heard. I'm glad he is getting away from the big orchestral works which all sounded the same to me, and which I didn't like to begin with. The personnel includes his sons (I assume): Rami and Bachar Khalife, Peter Herbert (who typically plays with jazz musicians) on bass, and a cameo appearance by violinist Omar Guey (soloing). The first three or four tracks flow together quite nicely, but the fifth--what is this--this thing? I heard something very similar in a song on an older Khalife album. It's like an extended Chopinesque version of "Happy Birthday To You!" Unbelievably sacharine. I have no idea what he is trying to do here. Nothing else on the CD is like that one track, although I'm not crazy about his son Rami's piano playing in some cases. A little too influenced by Romantic era classical piano. (Both his sons are trained in European classical music.) Overall, I like it quite a bit. The use of vibraphones (played by Bachar) adds an unexpected color, which works extremely well with Arab rhythms. The second track has an odd disjunctive sort of rhythm that seems to borrow from free jazz. (It's not Arab, I'm sure, and it's not a straightahead jazz rhythm.) Also, the audio quality is very high. I hope this Khalife CD gets some press. (I hope the label is sending out review copies, and not just to "world music" magazines, but to other places where it might have a chance of being covered.)

I've only heard part of Disc 1 of the 3-CD set of folkloric music from Libya. I guess it's not too different from other Islamic mystical trance-oriented type stuff I have heard from North Africa, though I like it a little better than I usually like such recordings. The melody is very Arab sounding, to me, while the rhythms seem more African. I think this would be great live. The sound quality is not very good, but there is an echoey female announcer at the beginning of a couple tracks, and the lo-fi sound gives that a psychedelic sort of quality. (It's very brief though.)

Now all I've got to do is resist the urge to order anything else for another 13 hours and 16 minutes....

"Remasters" - Led Zep (£3)
"The singles" - The Bluetones (£2)
"Roxy Music" - Roxy Music (£2) - all WH Smiths on Boxing Day
"Asleep in the back" - Elbow
"The singles" - The Smiths - both £5 from MVC.

I'm pissed off as hell about "The singles" because quite frankly, it isn't. If I wanted to compile the versions of the singles on the original albums, I would have done it myself thank you and not paid Warners a fiver for the pleasure. No, I want the proper "Boy with the thorn in his side" thank you, and I suppose I'll have to go and get "The world won't listen" to get it. Sigh.

Goldfrapp - Black cherry
St Germain - Tourist
Teenage Fanclub - Best of
Blur - Think tank
Nina Simone - Misunderstood
O Brother where art thou OST
Pink Floyd - Wish you were here
Ultravox - Vienna
3 CD box of classic disco
Cliff Richard, yes Cliff Richard- 1980's
Big beach boutique II
Dolly Parton - Little sparrow
Pet Shop Boys - Disco 3
Audio Bullys - Ego war
Best of Tony Christie
ELO - Gold collection (harvest era comp)
Prefab Sprout - Swoon
DJ Shadow - Private press

from eBay
Sandy Denny - Listen listen
John Lennon - Mind games
Marianne Faithfull - Kissing time

and 25 lp's and singles from Scope for £3 including an original pressing of Disraeli gears and Lawnchairs by Our daughters wedding. Makes up for getting sod all music for Christmas.

How are the Kites & Wolf Eyes things?

uhm

-- Jens (wimpshak...), November 26th, 2003.

wow.