NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS: LIVE SEEDS (MUTE, 1993)

This might sound crazy, but it's pretty rare for a day to go by without me listening to at least part of this record. While, at 13 songs, Live Seeds represents an extremely small percentage of Nick Cave's extensive catalogue with The Bad Seeds, I think it is their quintessential release. Almost every song sounds better here than on the (still amazing) studio recordings; Cave performs so masterfully that even through a recording, the listener feels as though they are in a sweltering Southern church with Cave addressing them directly.

From The Mercy Seat, where Cave continually proclaims "I am not afraid to die" while the song crescendos violently, aurally expressing the explosion of an electric chair and the messy departure of a murderer's soul; to the gritty, savage swampland of Papa Won't Leave You, Henry, where the listener can almost taste the sweat, dirt, and blood Cave describes; to Tupelo, where Cave alternately yowls and croons through a fictional tale about Elvis Presley being born during a thunderstorm, it is clear that Live Seeds isn't just another throw-away live album put out as an afterthought; rather, it is the perfect extension of Cave & The Bad Seeds' studio catalogue and a testament to Cave's unmatched skill as a performer. Live Seeds is messy, raw, blood-drenched, and apocalyptic - more powerful than any gospel I've ever heard.

Download via MediaFire: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Live Seeds, 1993
Official Site

AMBIENT: ATLAS SOUND AND PEAKING LIGHTS

These two releases have become the soundtrack for staying up really late alone in my bedroom. Atlas Sound's Weekend EP, whose only distribution was through a free download on the Deerhunter/Atlas Sound Blog in 2007, has been a favorite since I first heard it. The opening track, Friday Night We Took Acid and Laid on Matt's Bedroom Floor Staring at His Ceiling Fan While His Parents Watched T.V. Downstairs is the clear standout; it is eerie and beautiful, and somehow, like all of Bradford Cox's best work, it unravels in a way that makes it seem deeply personal both to Cox and to the listener. Even the track titles on this EP (Friday Night We Took Acid..., Saturday Night We Went Swimming And There Was A Light In The Water, Sunday Evening We Relaxed In Our Rooms And Called Each Other On The Phone) convey the kind of magical teenage nostalgia that almost everyone can relate to.

Peaking Lights' Imaginary Falcons was referred to me in early November by Zach, and has since gotten pretty heavy rotation. From the beginning of the first track, the simply-named Intro To Imaginary Falcons, Peaking Lights plunges the listener into the hypnotic, dream-like fog that is this record, full of analog synth, warm vocal melodies, and blown-up, drugged-out guitar. Wedding Song is a favorite but this record is so cohesive that doing anything but listening to it from beginning to end would be foolish. One of my favorite releases of 2009.

Download via Mediafire: Atlas Sound, Weekend EP (2007)
Atlas Sound Myspace | Deerhunter/Atlas Sound Blog

Download via Mediafire: Peaking Lights, Imaginary Falcons (Not Not Fun/Night People, 2009) RE-UPLOADED, 20 JAN 10
Peaking Lights Myspace

CHRISTMAS ISLAND: BLACKOUT SUMMER (IN THE RED, 2009)

Lo-fi garage pop from San Diego. I've started listening to this one in the morning; it goes well with the day's first cup of coffee. Highlights: "My Baby," a sad, jilted-lover song that descends from 60s girl group laments, and "I Don't Care," a catchy, jangly number about tunnel-vision obsession.

Download via MediaFire
Band Myspace

PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT: SHITGAZE ANTHEMS EP (WOODSIST, 2009)

Everyone seems to hate these guys. Is it because they call themselves shitgaze but more often than not, aren't? Is it because frontman Matt Whitehurst made us all feel kind of bad about liking Wavves?

I'm not sure, but either way, there is something really appealing to me about Psychedelic Horseshit just in theory; it's not that there is a swear in both the name of their band and the name of this EP, and it's not that this EP was released by my favorite label of the moment, Woodsist. It's that they're the weird, bad kids in the back of the class causing trouble. I can't help but identify.

They deliver in practice, too. Shitgaze Anthems, a self-proclaimed "nice, safe compilation of B-sides" boasts some of the catchiest songs I've heard this year (Are You On Glass is especially monstrous) delivered through a fun, textured mess of lazy vocals, handclaps, and distortion.

In a recent interview, Whitehurst proclaimed that everything sucks, including his own band. When the interviewer came back at him with the question "Then why should anyone listen to you?" he replied, "Because we're FUN, duh." Indeed.

Download via MediaFire
Band Myspace

THE MAYFAIR SET: YOUNG ONE EP (WOODSIST/CAPTURED TRACKS, 2009)

The Mayfair Set is Mike Sniper of Blank Dogs and Kristen Gundred of Dum Dum Girls. On this Woodsist/Captured Tracks co-release, Gundred's sweet, 60s vocals effortlessly float among Sniper's eerie shitgaze distortions to create something different from (and at times, better than) any Blank Dogs or Dum Dum Girls releases. Sniper and Gundred are undoubtedly best when they sing together on Dark House, a haunting take on the classic boy/girl duet that conjures images of a crazed Sniper chasing Gundred through a house full of ghosts.

Download via MediaFire
Band Myspace

GRAVEDIGGAZ: 6 FEET DEEP (Gee Street/Island, 1994)

First, forget what critics and fans and Wikipedia and Fangoria have to say about Gravediggaz being "...widely credited as one of the most influential and pioneering groups in the small hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore." It's just silly. This album is in a class of it's own and in no way should be compared to the likes of ICP, Twiztid, Eminem, etc. The need to classify and create new genres (and subgenres) is god damn absurd; it drives me crazy.

Not only is this some of the RZA's best work (lyrically at least), this is a brilliantly conceived masterwork of an album. At the time it was completely unlike anything that the hip hop world had seen. The horror theme that runs through the album exhibits a perfect balance of humor and legitimate scariness. Though a bit campy at times, the lyrics and themes do not lose sight of the concept; it remains remarkably consistent from one song to the next.

Every time I listen to this I feel like I'm sixteen again in the back seat of my friend's car driving through unexplored back roads, fantasizing and causing mild trouble.

Happy Halloween.

"chewed my fuckin arm off and made my escape"

GANGLIANS - GANGLIANS 7" (CAPTURED TRACKS, 2009)

More California psychadelia, this time from Sacramento weirdos Ganglians. Side A, Blood on the Sand, is a catchy as hell, reverb jam and Side B, Make It Up, oscillates easily between classic pop and zombie garage.

To Download (Via Mediafire):

Ganglians: Ganglians 7" (2009)

THE WAKE: CRUSH THE FLOWERS [7"] (Sarah, 1989)

The Wake are a pretty well kept secret. They're a great listen; especially if you're jonesing for something similar to early New Order that isn't a copycat throwback from 2007. In the early days, they were even labelmates.

They put out a good amount of material between the early eighties and nineties. This is the first of two singles released by The Wake on the legendary Sarah Records label.

The two songs on this single are unlike anything else that they released. I don't know what was going on but everything works here better than on any of their other efforts; shame it's only two songs.

Not only are these my two favorite songs by The Wake, they're also two of my favorite songs ever (and I'm not afraid to say it). Both are in my top five Lastfm play count. They are two beautifully and brilliantly written perfect pop songs.

If anyone would like to see more music by The Wake up here, just comment and let me know.

"...but I don't know what to do, why should I listen to you?"

GIRLS: ALBUM (True Panther, 2009)

I have to admit, I was really wary of this album because of the hype. The never-ending comparisons to Elvis Costello and The Beach Boys seemed too good to be true. More Pitchfork bullshit, I thought.

However, casting aside all of that and actually listening to it, I really like this album. The mishmash of pop, surf rock, and psychedelia is pure California but there is something very beautifully and uniquely sad about the way Girls execute it. Frontman Christopher Owens delivers his uncomplicated, lonely lyrics in such a way that it is jarring how easily relatable they are without seeming cheesy or contrived. "I'm sick and tired of the way that I feel," he sings on Hellhole Ratrace, and on Ghost Mouth, "Now I'm a ghost man in a ghost town and I just wish I could get out and get into heaven."

A lot of people have called this a great Summer record, and although there is a song about the season called Summertime, it seems mostly nostalgic, like Summer is just another thing Owens has lost. To me, Album is much more suited to the colorful cold that is Fall.

To Download (Via Mediafire):

Girls: Album (2009) (Re-uploaded, 10 November 2009)

THE ZOMBIES: THE SINGLES COLLECTION: As & Bs (1964-1969, Big Beat)

The Zombies are one of those bands whose songs have made their way into the collective consciousness. Oldies radio, TV commercials, spoofs, etc... We've heard them whether or not we know it.
I first listened to Odessey and Oracle a little over two years ago. I know, I was a little behind on that one. I was astonished at how much Of Montreal shamelessly borrows (or steals) from their vocal arrangements among other elements.
Being their only proper studio album, I wondered where I could find all of their other songs, which I assumed were only released as singles. Naturally, I forgot about this and never bothered to look.
Two weeks ago I was in the library. I literally stumbled upon this cd and figured; why not? It's free after all. The act of "purchasing" a physical cd took me back quite a few years...
Not only is this compilation thorough (including both A sides and B sides of all their singles), It also includes a few bonus tracks and is presented in the originally recorded mono format. Listen to this one with your mom and dad!


...but it's too late to say you're sorry...