defend the indefensible: the aural shit at the bottom of my closet

Josh

thomas brinkmann - urus martan
dynamix ii - electro megamix
clouddead - s/t
roots manuva - brand new second hand
missy elliot - this is not a test
andrea parker - the dark ages
japan - tin drum
ellen allien - stadtkind

roots manuva = wack raps about nothing

clouddead = wack raps about god knows what ... "nobody dated me in high school, so i grew an afro and did too much drugs in college"? been there, done that. i'll make my own clouddead album.

japan = too disappointing that nothing else is as good as "ghosts"

brinkmann = weirdly, it seems to lack momentum

stadtkind = yeah, i should relisten to it. i always enjoy it. i think it's another postrock album, just like autechre's "confield" was a postrock album.

alec empire = i like having it because it's a cool fuck-off album but i can never get through it.

vibracathedral = i dunno, i have all the sunroof albums, but this doesn't do it for me. not forceful enough? it sounds too distant.

What is wrong with you?! Slint? Joy Division? WTF?

slint was ok but i'm just inured to the soft-loud-soft-loud thing by now. the 1st track is really amazing, w/ those weird buzzy overtones in the guitar distortion but i'm not really big on the rest of it.

POV: Unknown Pleasures, The Ascension, Waveform Transmission Vol 2, one of the Neil Landstrumm albums (I always liked him), Spiderland.

Keep ddamage, "Radio Ape" too because I first listened to it based on your suggestion (although admittedly only about half of it is any good, but the good stuff is *really* good).

i bought ascension because i like "lesson no 2" but ... it's different, somehow.

i bought "waveform transmission" thinking it was "minimal nation". i really dig "internal empire" and "art of war" (not as hot on "nighttime world 1 + 2" but i'm keeping them) but this isn't developed enough for me.

haha oh shit I said to keep "Waveform Transmission" but I was thinking of "Internal Empire". Forget what I said -- nobody needs more than two Robert Hood albums because they all sound the same. And isn't WT vol II a Jeff Mills comp?

...$2.50?

The first three songs are brilliant!

I just bought this for $0.01 on Amazon. There are a bunch left too. Looks interesting.

I have the Joy Division, Slint, 23 Skidoo, Neil Landstrumm 'She Took A Bullet' and Liars, and like them all. I have the Cristian Vogel 'Rescate', Missy Elliott, Clouddead, A Minor Forest and Glenn Branca as well, and could probably live happily without any of them

this might be the only album I can think of where I like the remix album (The No Music of Aiff's) much more than the original. "Poison Pit" is all-time favorite.

that's the one ellen allien album i've not heard!

joy division - unknown pleasures
flaming lips - soft bulletin
liars - they threw us all in a trench
23 skiddoo - seven songs
slint - spiderland
japan - tin drum
eric b + rakim - follow the leader
roots manuva - brand new second hand

'Stadtkind' is also worth keeping just for 'Licht'. The point where the strings first fade in kills me every time. I'm a sucker for cheap tricks.

I'd keep the DJ Shadow pieces for nostalgic value. In 20 years, if the format survives (or you transfer these to the then-current format) you can explain all of the "product placement" references to the young'uns.

I thought it had been decided that the correct technical term was a jazz douchebag?

Oh my.

-- jng

ditto!! Fenstermusik isn't far behind either... and for "Shorty" that odd little thing with the minimal (really) off-beat beats on top and the enormous clanging sub-bass wobble underneath (no wonder Ellen likes Dubstep). And "Salzee" with that fantastic bass drop. and the Barbara Morgenstern-goes-industrial of the title track.

Most of "brand new second hand" is so bleurgh it really is worth swapping the whole thing for a 12" of Witness (One Hope).

neil landstrumm - brown by august

I thought that was the canon choice for some reason.

Gag at this if you will, but Unknown Pleasures works very well at low volume during a nice dinner party.

You've got to keep those ones as well.

except GLENN BRANCA - ASCENSION

Keep:
Killer Mike
Cristian Vogel
Slint
Jamie Lidell
ddamage
23 Skidoo
Missy Elliot
ERIC B AND RAKIM WHAT THE HELL MANG
Japan
Ellen Allien
You are not seriously asking whether to throw away those Shadow mixes, are you?!
Liars
Joy Division?!
BRANCA?!

GOTT IN HIMMEL I MUST LIE DOWN NOW

there are at least 3 songs on that album better than "ghosts".

the thought that someone would trash thomas brinkmann and glenn branca records just hurts me. at least give it to a charity store (you have those over there, right?)

Glenn Branca, Eric B & Rakim

i disagree, it's as good as any of those things you listed.

divine styler - wordpower ii: directrix
chemical brothers - surrender
chemical brothers - come with us

i grabbed roy montgomery off hearing his work on "harmony of the spheres". of course, i was much dissapointed by "allegory of healing" because it doesn't sound anything like that. ditto vibracathedral orchestra, i was expected something that sounded like sunroof and instead i got something that sounded like hawkwind being played by woookies.

ERIC B AND RAKIM WHAT THE HELL MANG X 1000 and that's all she wrote.

For a horrifying second I thought you meant the band.

Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss
The rhymes from the microphone soloist
And you sit by the radio, hand on the dial, soon
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Dance wit the speaker 'till you hear it blow,
Then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go
It's a 4 letter word when it's heard, it control
your body to dance (You got it) soul,
Ditects the tempo like a red alert
Reaches your reflex, so let it work
When this is playing, you can't get stuck wit
The steps, so get set and I'm a still come up wit
A gift to be swift, follow the leader, the rhyme will go
Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago

not sure why it bugs so much ... it's like they could be GREAT albums if they just pumped up / down the drum production strategically. like "the test" is ruined by the wack old school breakbeats running under the whole thing (circa 91 hardkiss style) ... meanwhile the dancier tracks like "hey boy hey girl" and whatnot are ruined by being bassline-led instead of beat-led. did they decide that "doesn't matter" was their WORST TRACK EVER and they'd never go down that road again??

joy division - unknown pleasures
liars - they threw us all in a trench
23 skiddoo - seven songs
japan - tin drum

instead of just telling me i'm crazy.

imagine i'm an eskimo, or something.

They Threw Us All in a Trench is the aural equivalent of sticking snow down your pants and trying to dance in snowshoes inside an igloo with a four-foot ceiling.

Tin Drum is aural equivalent of sticking snow down your pants and trying to read a book inside an igloo with a four foot ceiling -- in the dark.

I haven't heard any of Seven Songs.

WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK RAWWWWWWRRRRR WHACK WHACK WHACK WHACK RAWWWWWWWWR

The AMG review on this is utterly brilliant. I have no vested interest in it, of course.

ellen allien's album absolutely IS worth keeping, just for "licht". this track sounds extra good, since i've been listening to so much dubstep and 1994-95 ambient jungle lately.

kudos!