Listening to my 11 favorite '05 CDs on "random" has left me with more questions than answers...

10. I should add "besides Captain Beefheart" too, smart aleck!

6. The Strokes for one

See, that's really the one that sticks out. Otherwise it seems like you're just talking deep voice and sleekness. But I could be overlooking something.

Is that Fast N Bulbous album out now? I need to pick that up. They were awesome when I saw them play a couple of years ago.

It's pretty stompin'.

But as for stuff that sounds like them, hmm.... that's a tough one. Some Willem Breuker stuff is a bit like that, though more jazzy & less rock. There was a good album from '03 by the Ensemble Pierre Labbe called "Risque et Pendule" that mined a somewhat similar prog-jazz-improv vein. Also maybe some Vandermark Quartet stuff like "Big Head Eddie".

3. Romanian, I think. Could be Slovenian.
4. Songs that contain skits?
6. Early Duran Duran.

4. Har! Apparently my random function hasn't hit one of those yet. That's the only one of the 11 I haven't listened to straight through. Good to know I have something to look forward to!

5. The best things about the Jason Moran album are the tracks with the most guitar. I really like "Jump Up," which almost sounds like it could be by the Blasters. I also like the version of "I'll Play The Blues For You." I haven't listened to it in a couple of months, so it's difficult to mount a top-to-bottom defense. But it is my favorite of his albums since his debut, Soundtrack To Human Motion.

6. The singer reminds me of Jack Whatsisname from TSOL.

1. Conjunto Primavera dude has, indeed, a beautiful voice. I'd put Jorge Hernandez (Los Tigres del Norte) up against him, even as late as last year, when "Jose Perez Leon" knocked me the fuck out, but he sounds pretty shit on this year's album. Those C.P. songs are pretty cheesy, though; I much prefer more tougher honking tuba sounds, like in Banda el Recodo or something.

Actually, my favorite regional singer is Ricky Munoz from Intocable, although they might be DQ'ed as they have always been a Texas band.

Also:
4. No, and that is a very good damn thing.
11. FREE (and/or upgrade) JOHN LEGEND!

3. Definitely Romanian.

1. Hey, thanks for the tip on Tigres. I just checked a couple of their older ones out from the library, so hopefully I'll be blown away. And I know what you mean about tougher honking tuba sounds, because why WOULDN'T you want a tuba instead of a bass, but I had a Primavera vs. Montez battle in my car earlier this year and I think I prefer Primavera just because they sound warmer and fuller. I did, however, just get a rockin' Lamento Show/Alacranes exitos that may blow away any other Mexican stuff I've heard this year. CRAZY tubas and drums!
Haikunym, do you duranguense?

5. Is "Jump Up" the second song? If so, I just heard that one and it's probably my favorite. I sorta like the blues one too, but lots of it sounds just meandering.

3. So we're decided on Romanian. Now, is the 10th song an actual folk song, or just an Abba-esque invention of one? (I realize I should look at credits, but they're all in the car.) (So don't go to any trouble.)

4. Actually I DID hear a couple Mannies w/o skits today. They were very enjoyable.

10. Thanks for the FnB soundalike tips; I'll try to find them on allmusic.

[[4. Is there a Mannie Fresh song that doesn't include a skit?]]

Gregory D & DJ Mannie Fresh - Throwdown (D&D Records, 1987)

I have a question for all who listen to Norteno Music Which Group sings better Tigres del Norte or Conjunto Primavera. I think both of them sing pretty cool

I agree! I just noticed in the last couple weeks how lovely the Conjunto fellow's voice is. But it still bothers me that their new album is almost all ballads as opposed to polkas (way more ballads than their previous one, I believe, though I haven't compared them back to back. It's possible with their previous one, I was just more forgiving.) Either way, the new Grupo Exterminador album blows the new Pasta I mean Conjunto Primavera one out of the water.

Extermindador, eh? Groovy! What are they, norteno? I may be getting a little local radio show, and since my town is big on the regional Mexican stuff I should check them out.

Now does anyone know whether the Orishas cuss? I wanna play them, but I also want to avoid FCC fines.

And speaking of pasta, Xhuxk, have you seen the TV commercials for that glass tube that you stick the pasta in and then pour boiling water over it and let it stand for five minutes and the pasta cooks? What's the difference between that device and a vase?

I hardly ever watch TV, so no! But I'd be skeptical; I've got my pasta boiling down to an exact science (10 minutes for gemelli, 8 for penne rigate, 10 for roasted garlic fettucine, etc), and I wouldn't want any newfangled technological device to mess with that.

As for Exterminador's genre, I have no idea. I'm no good with border genres taxonomy anyway. Narcocorrido via banda, maybe? All I can say is they are funky and funny and badass gunslingers. Start with their '03 best-of *Neustra Historia,* which has my two favorite songs by them "El Venao" and "El Tiburon." But the new *Ahora Con Los Huevos La Mano* is very cool, too. Best track: "Dale Biberon" (a reggaeton hybrid with an African-sounding start and chords similar to "Tequila"), and all the fast polkafied cuts (#1, 6, 9) with wacky sometimes squeaky spoken joking at the start are fun too. Only a couple ballads, fortunately.