***LQQK*** MATADOR RECORDS 1999-2001 - GROWING PAINS ***LQQK***

otherwise known as the period when Matador went to shit

THE DARK TIMES.

ugh gross

as a former matador employee i want to assure you guys that titles by most of these artists are no longer available from the label.

vote for matmos, of course.

warp influences is pretty killer though

Warp Classics also awesome. Plus BoC, Pole, Matmos. . . after that it gets uh.

i was on matadors promo list for some reason (lol pfork?) so i know damn near all of these - california rhinoplasty has a dope herbert remix, roll out by d-stroy is slept on, n.o.w./de la was decent, funky precedent 2 wasnt tyte like the non matador 1st joint but had some bangers, i jammed out to red snapper (lol) and plone, but yeah - warp 10 + 1 and music has the right to children are probly the 2 keepers outta all this

Khan - No Comprendo (2001)

i haven't thought about this in years but i really loved it at the time

Techno Animal all the way

^^post v much in character

i proudly present, for the lolz, me aged 17, still in high school, reviewing funky precedent 2 for pfork

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/16632-various-artists-the-funky-precedent-vol-2

cyrano-style preemptive self disses - 1. i give reluctant props to an anticon joint - 2. i use british slang picked up from ilm / freakytrigger - 3. i sound like a tard

burger/ink's 'las vegas' is great. for some reason every track on that album has a title that pays tribute to roxy music.

There's some brilliant records on here in almost equal measure to the o_O stuff I reckon. burger/ink is one of my very favourite albums so this is an easy choice for me.

the fuck is guitar wolf doing in that lineup

i also try to sound like i knew more about cali underground shit w/o ever rocking freestyle fellowship just cuz i had some planet asia and rasco 12s and a lootpack cd

xxxpost yeah I've tried to work out if there are Roxy samples on there.

i do kinda miss that late 90s / early 00s cali u.g. shit like zion 1 or whatever rockin a cross between boom bap and trunk-funk

Cornelius - Fantasma + Remixes (1999) <--- this is good

I also liked Live Human at the time but I may have sold it ... "jazzy" trio with drums bass and turntables

"Techno Animal all the way"

Oh I actually really like the Dead Man's Curse EP too. That's the one with Roger Robinson, no?

i do kinda miss that late 90s / early 00s cali u.g. shit like zion 1 or whatever rockin a cross between boom bap and trunk-funk

― it's darn and ielle is hot (and what), Wednesday, February 25, 2009 2:11 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

most recent example of this btw is the lyrics born pack up rmx with evidence + krs 1 highly recommended

xpost w/myself

other than that I think BoC, the two Pole records, and the Warp stuff is all I've heard. and yeah Warp 10+1 probably the best but it's almost unfair.

brutal with the millimeter
br-brr-br brutal with the millimeter

wonder if that Pole stuff has aged well, haven't listened to that in aaggeess

lol I like how the self-selecting nature of my tastes means I've only ever paid attention to the Matador releases that pander to me

4 of those are my fault.

None of the hip-hop full-lengths that Matador did were totally embarrassing, just not great. I still fucks with Techno Animal and Mr. Len. Arsonists not so much.

The Large Professor stuff was awful. As is the Sensational single.

Ick MC Paul Barman.

None of the hip-hop full-lengths that Matador did were totally embarrassing, just not great.

Isn't the Large Pro a full-length?

that large professor album is pretty weak fyi

also got a sensational 12 that was doo-doo

Quickspace was half of Th' Faith Healers, no? Yeah they were uh not good.

I remember the Large Pro being not great, but it's been 7 years since i listened. I think I still have it.

Voting for the Cornelius LP.

Out of a complete list I might have voted for Solex!

there should be a dalek 12" in there too iirc

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

such a weird era, wudn't it? i mean, i JUST learned that half of mount fla. was this other guy!

anyways, vote burger/ink y'all!

4 of those are my fault.

― stirmonster, Wednesday, 25 February 2009 19:19 (29 minutes ago) Bookmark

which 4, stir

inquiring minds...

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

which 4, stir

inquiring minds...

which 4, stir

inquiring minds...

wtf is going on in this thread?

every time I "post", my post doesn't show up, and duplicate posts by others do

anyway, Cornelius

which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ... which 4, stir ... mount florida ...

still listen to couch now and again ('gegen den')

Warp Influences is the best of these but Buger/Ink - Las Vegas is one of the best techno albums of all time.

oh i missed two lone swordsmen, 'stay down' is dope as fuck

contrast between this and their 94-97 discog is striking

ground zero seems to have been 97, w pizzicato 5, solex & cornelius releases. those may have done reasonably well (???), but the sudden and near-total "new business model" flip in 98/99 is still weird as hell. perhaps occasioned by massive succe$$ of the BoC debut?

still, i can't imagine they were losing a ton of money on yo la tengo, guided by voices, cat power & jon spencer records.

...really?

yeah. if they were losing money (and that was the CW), i figured it was on stuff like railroad jerk, come, mecca normal, kustomized, bunnybrains (ha!), bailter space, chavez, run on, 2 foot flame, silkworm, bettie serveert records that weren't palomine. that kinda thing...

lynnfield pioneers ftw!

I remember seeing Wisdom of Harry play at Sound & Fury in 2000 I think. Man, I loved that record store.

other probable loss-leaders: white hassle, sportsguitar, guitar wolf, tobin sprout, barbara manning, pell mell, liquor giants, bassholes, fuck, helium after dirt of luck.

It's a glitch called humor.

― Tuomas, Wednesday, February 25, 2009 4:42 PM (48 minutes ago) Bookmark

Yeah, what I was getting at is OMG I'VE BECOME TUOMAS!

George The next morning, I woke up, and it was going like this. I
can control it if I really concentrate. But otherwise, oh!

Doctor Yes, well, I'm going to have to be perfectly honest with you.

George Please, doctor.

Doctor I've examined you.

George Yes.

Doctor I've looked at your X-rays.

George Uh-huh.

Doctor And I find that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you.

George Hmm. Really? Nothing?

Doctor Nothing that would indicate involuntary spasms.

George Well, it's kind of a mystery, isn't it?

Doctor No, not really.

George How so?

Doctor May I suggest the possibility that you're faking?

George Faking? What makes you think that I have time to see
doctors, take X-rays, make appointments, when there's
absolutely nothing wrong with me? What kind of a person
would do a thing like that?

Doctor I don't know what kind of a person would do something like
that. Obviously a very sick person. A very immature person.
A person who has no regard for wasting other people's
valuable time. Good-bye.

George Now, see here, doctor.

Doctor I said, good-bye.

George Fine. Ow!

i actually liked that Sportsguitar album but lost the disc. was supposed to see them at this weird secret speakeasy type thing near the 9th ward in New Orleans around 97 and their equipment was lost or something. the place was set up like several different living rooms with a big bar. weed smoking permitted. i'm assuming that's why i can't remember exactly why they didn't play. they drank at the bar all night though!

Things from this period I assume were, umm, not really hurting their bottom line:

Modest Mouse -- The Moon And Antarctica
Belle and Sebastian -- Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant
Belle and Sebastian -- Tigermilk
Pavement -- Terror Twilight
Yo La Tengo -- And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Sleater-Kinney -- All Hands On The Bad One
Sleater-Kinney -- The Hot Rock
Cat Power -- The Covers Record
Stephen Malkmus -- Stephen Malkmus
Unwound -- Leaves Turn Inside You
Soft Boys -- Underwater Moonlight ...And How It Got There
Mogwai -- Rock Action
Mogwai -- Come On Die Young

Sleater-Kinney -- All Hands On The Bad One
Sleater-Kinney -- The Hot Rock
Unwound -- Leaves Turn Inside You

aren't these all KRS?

^^ actually some of those bottom ones could go either way, but Moon & Antarctica was surely big for them, and they are not hurting for ongoing sales of B&S, Cat Power, and Pavement to college kids

xpost - good point, Que -- cross-releases, I guess? I just grabbed the relevant section of the catalog on Matador's site

^ nabisco OTM. those are the records that (i assume) allowed them to waste giant piles of money on lynnfield pioneers and khan

yeah wasn't KRS distroed by Matador for awhile? Maybe in Europe?

but yeah, they licensed a lot of big-selling US indie label stuff for sale in europe (just like they licensed belle & sebastian & all the techno/idm stuff for the states)

My UK copy of Leaves Turn Inside You is on Matador.

Seeing that Warp related stuff makes me think of the bands that Warp is releasing now - Battles, Gravenhurst, Maximo Park, Gang Gang Dance, Grizzly Bear. Same sort of midlife crisis? Probably a bit more commercially rewarding though.

plone, just beating out quickspace

I don't know many of these apart from Guitar Wolf, Cornelius and the Arsonists. Yeah I know, lol indie hip hop but As The World Burns is a pretty good album! Voted Jet Generation tho.

I have a few Quickspace 7"s but never heard that album.

Had no idea Red Snapper were still going this late.

My copies of Dig Me Out & Call The Doctor are on Matador. The Hot Rock & All Hands On The Bad One are KRS but I probably mail-ordered them from the US cos I was doing the CDNow thing by that time.

i'm voting for Boy On The Corner.

D-Stroy - Roll Out (2001)

Return of the ultimate/Who's dope as shit/Push you over cliffs with the strength of Hulk Hogan kicks.

a poll with plone!

i vote plone

1 dope single and some pleasant inconsequentiality.

Jega - Geometry is a really good album, if you like AFX & the Warp stuff of the period you should check it out. Quickspace were an amazing live band but somehow that never carried over to the records.

Like Ethan said near the start this is about the time I started being able to blag promos of Matador stuff so this is mostly pretty familiar. I was repping for that first Khan album on the underrated dance albums thread a couple of weeks back, would def still do so - of stuff I actually associate w/ Matador (ie none of the Warp releases) it'd probably be that or the Guitar Wolf album which fuckin floors you the first time you hear it

Was it ever explained why Matador had a like 18 month period of releasing undie rap and then basically never touched it again, or is it as obvious as 'these all sold jack shit, not going there again thx'?

Was it ever explained why Matador had a like 18 month period of releasing undie rap and then basically never touched it again, or is it as obvious as 'these all sold jack shit, not going there again thx'?

weird era.

maybe that was at the peak of its groundswell as well?

http://thebunnybrains.blogspot.com/2009/02/matadors-revenge.html

don't snicker
it could be you someday

Oh no! That's tragic...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

In the end I voted WARP Classics. Listen to it just a touch more than the equally excellent Influences, I think.

weird era. just learned the other day that half of mount florida was optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith.

i vote burger/ink. aging very well fer sure.

plone vs boc

this was a strange period. Wasn't there some connection between mount florida and optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith?

I'm going to say burger/ink. It's help up over the years.

"It's help up over the years."

I disagree completely.

Weird era though.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

What a boring complete predictable result for such a weird era.

If more people knew about the connection between mount florida and optimo/twitch/betty botox/keith, the results would have been different.

Was there a connection? I had no idea.

weird era.

I feel entitled as a total Warp stan to point out once more that the Plone album is inconsequential as fuck.

It is a pleasing kind of inconsequential.

(I loved "Plock", but that is one of... two good tracks on the album? Still, lovely wallpaper.)

As another Warp stan I felt kind of bad that Jega got no votes, and then remembered that I haven't listened to it for at least 6 years either, so, yeah.

Quite happy with results despite above this-stuff-ain't-Matador-to-me reservations.

I've got the CD single of "Plock" as well as the album and tbh the single is enough on its own.

the right album won

i was obliged top vote for myself. AMAZED someone else did. thanks!

weird poll.

I don't think I voted, but it would've been Mount Florida too (if for no other reason than it namedropped the FMBB in the credits). YAY STIR

weird poll.

― stirmonster, Sunday, March 15, 2009 2:21 PM (56 minutes ago)

innit? (btw, i couldn't make it to da GLA due to paris f-week hangover.... next time i swear!)

much of this era has left a lot of cultural residue 8-10 years later, at least here in the states. some might even argue this era of matador is as relevant if not more than 91-96. that was my impetus for the poll. thank you for voting.