got to be a chocolate jesus

we have moved...

2006-12-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

writersbloctober...

2006-10-27T12:28:00.000-05:00

If you can look at that picture without singing Whitney Houston softly to yourself while imagining yourself at a romantic candlelight dinner with the jesus, i'll give you $1.57. Seriously, i frickin dare you.

Sometimes i forget i have a blog, and a duty to sensually thrill your audial and occular capacities. do forgive. it's football season.

i figured i'd post with just a few new-ish bands i've been somewhat digging lately, and of course a track of the week. none of this stuff will be really surprising, but it's all good and people should listen to it.

first is Rock Central Plaza, featuring a few members of Neutral Milk, which is of course evident in the music. Here's a great new tracked called "My Children Will Be Joyful".

next is Annuals, who matter of factly open for Tapes N Tapes this very evening at Cafe Eleven in St. Auggie. No I will not be attending, despite partially wanting to in order to check out this band. maybe next time. They're the new craze, but one that actually warrants a listen. Here's "Dry Clothes"

then we have a jesus favorite, Larkin Grimm, who has a new album out called "The Last Tree"...can't wait to hear the whole thing as "Harpoon" was one of the favs of last year. This track is called "Link In Your Chain"

finally, the track of the week, which is in honor of what should be one of the shows of the year, next friday, again at Cafe Eleven...the wondermongous, splendifiraneous Mountain Goats. A perfect track from a perfect album, "No Children"

g'day kids, and do stay clear of the world's biggest cockswing party, it could get ugly.

2006-09-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

It's instrumental day on the Jesus! Glory hallelou!

There's a fine art to making verseless tunes that still hold the interest in these days of short attention spans, and these folks have it down pat.

A Hundred Thousand - Cowboys From Hell Pt. II - this band, on Threespheres Records, which is a truly awesome mini-label featuring several great bands, only has one EP under their belt. Let's hope for more. This track is along the lines of instrumental Meat Puppets stuff.

Meat Puppets - Aurora Borealis - speaking of the Puppets...this is one of my favorite instrumental tracks ever...and Magic Toy Missing off the same album.

Glenn Branca - Lesson No. 2 - an astounding influential but unknown guitarist, Branca fueled the Sonic Youth sound, which in turn fueled a generation of indie musicians. This is off the great album "The Ascension." Branca chose to spend most of his career composing symphonies for guitar...would have loved to hear more rock ala Lesson No. 2 from him.

Stephen R. Smith - Kilim and Dirt - this is the now guitarist. member of the disbanded Mizra, Thuja, Hala Strana, and various other Jewelled Antler Collective projects. his guitar tone and sound is hypnotic and gorgeous.

The Anaksimandros - The Bones - just to throw us all off the guitar kick, here's the Finnish band Anaksimandros with my favorite track off their debut album "River of Finland." Great percussion and weird instrumentation as is typical of those wacky Finns.

a bright sunshiny day

2006-09-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

Go see Little Miss Sunshine. You'll laugh, you'll cry. you'll generally emote all over yourself.

I haven't posted any tracks in a while so I thought i'd do so forthwith and without haste. this is just a few tracks i've been digging like a hole to china lately. and one bonus, the "track o' the week" which i will post every week that i remember or am not suffering from blogophobia...

Colossal Yes - Just Like a Mademoiselle - not a huge fan of the album, but this is a great track.

Lavendar Diamond - In Heaven There Is No Heat - not well informed on their tuneage, but this one is nice moves.

Joanna Newsom - Cosmia (live) - can not wait to hear the VDP'd version of this song. glorious. en excelsis deo.

Six Organs of Admittance - Assyrian Blood - great track from a Jesus favorite off a split 7" with Om who's track should not be overlooked either.

and, without further ado, the track of the week.....
Sebadoh - Hassle - because it's just plain awesome and probably my favorite Sebadoh track of all times.

take dictation...

2006-08-30T10:50:00.000-05:00

possible shows for Marquette Beekeepers Society to attend:

9/12 - Blood Mtn @ Yesterdays (John Cage Tribute)
9/29 - The Roots @ Plush(???)
10/5 - Xiu Xiu @ Common Grounds
10/14 - Wolf Eyes w/ John Wiese @ TSI
10/16 - Man Man @ Cafe Eleven
11/4 - Mountain Goats @ Cafe Eleven

end dictation.

rocking for diversity...

2006-08-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

oh and thanks to the Yusge for absolutely rocking my socks completely off at S.O.D. 2006::: definitely check these dudes out if you haven't already...they are sort of a cross between Don Caballero and Lightning Bolt...which is a gizz-inducing description if i do say so myself.

updated::::top 20 of the year

2006-08-22T08:40:00.000-05:00

20. Ahleuchatistas - What You Will
19. MV & EE with Bummer Road - Mother of Thousands
18. Mogwai - Mr. Beast
17. Vetiver - To Find Me Gone
16. James Blackshaw - O True Believers
15. Nalle - By Chance Upon Waking
14. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
13. Boris - Pink
12. First Nation - s/t
11. Pumice - Yeahnahvienna
10. The Roots - Game Theory
9. Om - Conference of the Birds
8. Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
7. Bonnie Prince Billy - Then The Letting Go
6. Califone - Roots & Crowns
5. Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
4. Six Organs of Admittance - The Sun Awakens
3. Liars - Drums Not Dead
2. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
1. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies

tell the Jesus yours...

the roots

2006-08-02T10:06:00.000-05:00

they never let me down.

i promised you all a track yesterday...here's one of my favorites off the upcoming album Game Theory....
Living In A New World

also, here's a new track from the savage beasties known as Om...it's part of a split with the aforementioned Current 93...
Rays of the Sun/To the Shrinebuilder

and just cause i'm feeling All Golden inside, here's a couple of Van Dyke Parks tracks...the man's a mad scientist.
All Golden (from 1968's Song Cycle)
The Four Mills Brothers (from 1972's Discover America)

resurrection...

2006-07-31T07:38:00.000-05:00

don't act like you didn't miss me.

no dilly dallying...here's some new tracks from new or upcoming records you need to buy.

Califone - The Orchids - what a criminally underknown (at least in Jax) band. i'm always asking people "do you like Califone?" only to hear "don't know em" or "never heard of em"....why the f not? they're a great band and this is a pretty perfect song off their upcoming album "Roots and Crowns" as always on Thrill Jockey.

Current 93 (feat. Bonnie Prince Billy) - Idumea
Current 93 (feat. Antony) - Idumea
Here's two of the eight versions of Charles Wesley's "Idumea" from Current 93's new album "Black Ships Ate the Sky"...incidentally i'm not a Current 93 fan but there are some great tracks on this album...including one other with Antony, one with the great Shirley Collins, and some work with Ben Chasny of Six Organs, etc. I post these two for one reason each...having now heard BPB's "The Letting Go" i think it's relevant to post another of the many ways Will Oldham is branching out these days (the album is quite a departure from his earlier work)...and to further display that the instrument of Antony's voice needs no accompaniment. it quite suffices on it's own.

The Mountain Goats - Wild Sage - and here's another track from The Mountain Goats superbly quiet upcoming album "Get Lonely"...definitely check it out

what else is new? These guys have new tracks up and a new album coming out shortly. If you're not from Jax, do a solid and ask your local shops to stock it up. The Roots album "Game Theory" is on point as always...i'll post up a track soon. i was fairly disappointed with Matthew Friedberger's double. i probably yoked it with too much expectation though. Winter Woman has some great jams on it, i just don't think either album holds up at all well to any Furnaces album. that's an unfair comparison, but one i can't help but make. the upcoming Yo La Tengo is decent but not great, and i just can't really get into Pajo's 1968. of course Return to Cookie Mountain is vying for top 3 status for the year, and Pelt's Heraldic Beasts is a very solid collection. that's about all that has been going on since the death. leave me some messages and let me know what you folk are listening to these days.

eli, eli, lema sabachtani?

2006-07-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

the jesus is dead.

why? i just don't feel so bloggy these days and i've got the net heebie jeebies like i just can't explain, so.....

my last bit of advice is for you all to immediately go out and pick up ekkehard ehlers "a life without fear" as it is so unbelievably unbelievable that you won't believe it.

and visit the fine folks in my sidebar and in my last post. good people doing good things.

and with that, auf wiedersehen

there is hardly a method...

2006-07-12T07:53:00.000-05:00

this post is going to be solely about things i like. if you don't like that, piss off.

first off, i like Return to Cookie Mountain. you should too. i like you, too, so have a track::: A Method

i like supporting local stuff. i like when people play fourteen hour shows ala Blood Mtn...in fact, i like Blood Mtn. in fact, i'd go so far as to say they (he) are (is) a representation of the future of jacksonville culture.

i like when The Cadets put out new tunes. they're good. and they don't care who knows it.

i like watching films about hobos here and there.

i like rabble-rousers. i like reading this, that, and the other.

i like that they fixed and updated foxy digitalis and posted a new podcast by seht!...i also like that i'm interviewing brad rose for the mushroom! speaking of upcoming publications...i like the sounds of this as well.

i like these guys' new site!

i like my new bike! i like what these folks do with theirs' though i'm not sure i agree totally with the motivations.

i like sports. i like the auburn tigers and always have. i very unfortunately like the atlanta hawks. since first viewing it, i actually like PRIDE better than the aforementioned ufc.

i like food alot too. my wife made some awesome fried tofu battered in bread crumbs and flax seeds last night. i like my wife.

i guess that's about all i like right now. leave me some messages and tell me what else i should like.

The Ultimate Entrance Music Championship

2006-06-29T08:09:00.000-05:00

so i'm ashamedly addicted to UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)...in fact, so much so, i've decided to proclaim myself a mixed martial artist and join. i'm highly adept at pad thai fighting, brew-jitsu, jello and/or mud grappling, and basic no holds barred cage match styles. my striking and ground skills, however, leave alot to be desired. in order to combat this, i've worked on two techniques: the "bitchslap" (i'm growing out my nails for this one) and the fetal guard (it's nearly unpassable.) so now, basically, all that's left is to come up with some entrance music. i've even got headshots...like this::: i don't really think anyone wants any of that. so i thought i'd leave the theme song up to my dear readership. i could go dark, strike-fear-into-my-opponents-heart-style, or i could go ironic-george-michael-style in order to throw them off their game...either way, no "Eye of the Tiger"s or "Mama Said Knock You Out"s or you can consider yourself grappled into submission. please post your votes in a calm and orderly fashion. thanky.

Old ham, just because...

2006-06-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

since i planned to talk about Will Oldham today, there's a really old ham for ya. 100 years old, in fact. it's grey and rancid, and just plain not good for consumption. much like the new Bonnie Prince Billy track. sorry. i'm a huge Oldham fan, but i've tried downing this old ham several times and it just won't digest. judge for yourself.
Cursed Sleep

slightly more digestable is the new Avarus album. it's not a great album (only 3 tracks long, and 2 of them are so-so), but this one is the goodness...check it out.
Lapivesi

and just because i'm feeling sorta doomy, i doom thee with some Lurker of Chalice for thy doom-ed arse...
Piercing Where They Might

and just because once again i'm way behind on a great local band...check out Chinese Horses...a very solid outfit in the vein of Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai...also check them out on tour with Jax glugchuggers Civilization...here's a track...
2

and just because it's one of my favorite songs of all-times and if i ever hear it in your vicinity you should plan to have it singed at you, here's the great Michael Hurley:::
Sweedeedee

WOW! Now That's What Mike Calls Music - 2006 Halfway Edition

2006-06-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

its time for your bi-annual!

being almost to the top of the hump of 2006, it's completely necessary to do a halfway point round-up of the essential and "best of the rest" releases to grace the ears this fine year. let's start with the 5 most essential releases of the year to date...

5. Pumice - Yeahnahvienna (Soft Abuse) - so one of the biggest achievements i made this year in music is to finally discover the New Zealand scene. words fail me when trying to describe this record...it is truly a unique engagement. possibly reminiscent of Alastair Galbraith in tone and mood, but still wholy original and of it's own accord. a beautiful piece of NZ deconstructionist folk....Darkpark

4. Liars - Drum's Not Dead (Mute) - without any minute bit of doubt, the best thing this group has ever put together. Dance punk this ain't. it's moody, tribal, bursting with energy and just plain fandamtastic. it's slid up and down my top 5 ever since it was released, but always remained there....The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack

3. Six Organs of Admittance - The Sun Awakens (Drag City) - may eventually go higher on this list, but being it was just released, i haven't had enough chance to absorb it as i have the top 2 releases. you honestly just can't go wrong with a Ben Chasny release. he blends eastern and western sounds together with such effortlessness it never ceases to blow me away. the godhead of the raga folk renaissance. i've covered them quite a bit, so no need to post a track.

2. Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea (Fat Possum) - perhaps a bit partial because the live show early this year created so much eager momentum for the album for me. alot of folks don't like it. i guess i'm just a Furnaces fan through and through...i've loved EVERY album they've released (yes, even Rehearsing My Choir)...can't wait for the Matthew releases chronicled below either....Benton Harbor Blues Again

1. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (Merge) - initially this album was barely in the top 10, but i find it the album i have listened to on the most consistent basis since it's release. it's just unbelievably infectious. can't stop. won't stop. wouldn't even stop if i could. buy it. once again, see the posts below for tracks.

so there's the best ofs...here's the next five the just missed the cut:::

10. First Nation- s/t (Paw Tracks) - think Animal Collective-female...but different
Female Trance
9. Om - Conference of the Birds (Holy Mountain) - if you had to sum up Om in one word, i have to think "juggernaut" would suffice....to post one song would be to post half the album. go buy it.
8. Boris - Pink (Southern Lord) - is it doom? is it sludge? is it shoegaze? it's all of them really, and more. another great Japanese band for us never to see....Electric
7. James Blackshaw - O True Believers (Important) - excellent Takoma-esque guitarist with so much room to grow....O True Believers
6. Nalle - By Chance Upon Waking (Pickled Egg) - magically delicious Scottish release that gets better with every listen....Midwinter's Dream

and then the could have beens...10 other albums that were worth a solid listen...

Ahleuchatistas - What You Will (Cuneiform)
Bonnie Prince Billy and Tortoise - The Brave and The Bold (Overcoat)
Ariel Pink - House Arrest (Paw Tracks)
Feathers - s/t (Gnomonsong)
Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood - Goodbye (musicyourmindwilllove)
Ben Chasny/Chris Corsano/Paul Metzger - split (Roratorio)
MV & EE with the Bummer Road - Mother of Thousands (Time-Lag)
Josephine Foster - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing (Locust Music)
Emerald Cloud Cobra - Red Rayon Flower, Night Beneath the Sea (Foxglove)
Vetiver - To Find Me Gone (DiCristina Stair Builders)

and to finish up, the top 5 reasons you should continue to live through the next quarter::::

8/1 - TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (Touch & Go)
Tonight
8/8 - Matthew Friedberger - Winter Women/Holy Ghost Language School (859 Records)
Up the River
8/22 - Mountain Goats - Get Lonely (4AD)
Woke Up New
9/12 - Xiu Xiu - The Air Force (5 Rue Christine)
Boy Soprano
9/19 - Bonnie Prince Billy - Then The Letting Go (Drag City)

on the next....chocolate jesus...

2006-06-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

we will explore the best releases of the first half of 2006, and what to look forward to in the second half. stay tuned, or feel the wrath of the British Uncle Sam. in the meantime, tell us your favorites and least favorites and stuff that was kinda ok if you listen through one earphone in mono and pause every 8 seconds for relief. cheers!

my ipod weighs a ton....

2006-06-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

here at chocolate jesus, we love top 10 lists...and we haven't done a post on hip hop to date, so why not today? this is a list of what i consider to be the 10 finest lyricist to grace the hip hop world in the last 10 years. this has zero correlation to album sales, noteriety or any such factor. it is 100% opinion based solely on lyrakz ($1 to skills center radio) and flow.

without further ado..

10. Cam'Ron - i'm extremely late in hopping the Cam bandwagon. but the guy's extremely inventive if nothing else. his infectious flow and think-about-it-twice lyrics have been bitten and copied more than nearly any rapper to come along the past 10 years.

9. Mr. Lif - i've been a fan of Lif since when about 1999 i by relative accident stumbled upon "Elektro" and immediately searched for more. Enters the Colossus is still my favorite Lif album, but he's done excellent work since including a stellar live album and The Perceptionists stuff along with numerous guest spots where he more than often steals the limelight.
DJ Wiz Mo'MegaMix

8. El-P - i might catch some flack for this as many think Producto has no flow and the run-ons can be annoying, but I challenge anyone to go back and listen to Funcrusher Plus and tell me who has brought more originality and innovation to hip hop music before or since. and Fantastic Damage was a beast of an album. i love the guy's flow...but that's just me.
Delorean

7. Aesop Rock - i promise the Jukkie trend will end here. oft criticized for emptying himself on verses and leaving nothing for the hooks, Aes still delivers the wickedest metas and verbal acrobatics to ever hit a mic. i've tracked him since Music for Earthworms and Appleseed, and though he's veered more towards mainstream in recent years, he's still about as far away as hip hop gets.
1000 Deaths

6. Big Boi - i'll go out on a limb and name him the best Southern Rap artist of all-times. Not usually the focal point of Outkast, but definitely has always been the strong center.

5. Aceyalone - i'd put this dude alot higher if it weren't for the sheer volume of his work in the past decade, and some of it's just not good. He makes it this high on the basis of A Book of Human Language, and his work with A-Team and Haiku d'Etat...perhaps the most gifted wordsmith of the bunch.
Headaches and Woes (Remix)

4. Common - again i'd have to put latter day transgressions aside. I didn't much care for Electric Circus and Be was so-so...but modern day classics Like Water For Chocolate and One Day It'll All Make Sense make it un-possible to rank him any lower. if we could only get one more Ressurection though...

3. Black Thought - one of my favorite emcees since i heard the first word of "Proceed"...the best case scenario of a rapper that more than gainfully bridges the gap between underground and mainstream. 4 very solid albums in the past decade (including 2 real gems) solidify his position.

2. Ghostface - simply the most charismatic and lyrically inventive MC of all times, in my humble opinion. the guy is seriously hard not to like!

1. MF Doom - no doubt in my mind. the finest lyricist i've ever heard. and yes, i'm including Rakim, yes, i'm including KRS...respect to the founders aside, none of them EVER came close to the consistent rampage of unbelievable wordplay this guy has. nearly stolen from the world at the demise of KMD....thank you Bobbito for re-introducing the master to us all.
#1 vs. # 2 - Angeles

there you have it...complaints/agreements??? and since we're inundating your hard drive today, why not throw some locals in the mix?if you don't know the aB's (formerly of Asamov fame), then you just ain't from Jax. get to know them and be friendly. get up on Simple Complexity, get up on Just Will, get up on Rob Roy...get up on why Jacksonville, FL may just be the next hip hop hot spot.

mikefest twothousandneverteen

2006-06-14T06:42:00.000-05:00

so i was thinking...what if i curated my own festival, perhaps in the Black Forest on Walpurgisnacht with some sort of Pan theme or something...i don't know, i haven't really thought it out or anything...

who would i invite to play Mikefest?

well, most certainly Hala Strana...they'd probably play something like "Villages"....

then, definitely would have to add Alligator Crystal Moth (who battle out Emerald Cloud Cobra and Kundalini Snakes for best band name of evertimes)...they would surely play "Kerosene Hat"...

then maybe Harris Newman could come by and throw down some "Lords and Ladies"...maybe he'd even bring along his buddies GY!BE who could play this.

in order to add a bit of J'Ville flavas to the stew, Blood Mtn would come by and chip in "Airplane Song"

then i thought...what if i had secretly plotted to create Mikefest way back in say, the early '70s? who would play it then?

and the answer was, why, Algarnas Tradgard, of course! by the way, this is a truly criminally unknown Swedish band who produced some of the most mind fizzlingly great psych of all times...they'd have played "There Is A Time For Everything" at MikeFest '71.

who else? Judee Sill, who'd play "Enchanted Sky Machines" and we'd all laugh and weep gently at how the song (along with everything she ever did) is so ridiculous and ridiculously good at the same time.

and surely plentiful others would join the festivities...but i've only just begun retroactively planning this event. some of the artists are even dead...but what would Walpurgisnacht be without a bit of incantation? why, just the arrival of Spring. and that's alot less interesting.

free(d) burgers for everyone!

2006-06-09T07:34:00.000-05:00

courtesy of the nice folks at Ricotta Park

dan bejar is a beacon of light...

2006-06-09T06:34:00.000-05:00

in the dark ocean of life, beckoning your vessel towards the rocks of safety.

crash into him.

Destroyer's Rubies (reference:::Looter's Follies ((courtesy of strawberry fire) is one of the truly essential albums of the year, as was Your Blues (reference:::It's Gonna Take an Airplane (Live - Radio 3 Session) ((courtesy of kwaya))and Notorious Lightning (reference:::Notorious Lightning ((courtesy of chinese restaurant)).

I'll go so far as to call him one of the last remaining truly great representatives of pop rock. I'm not an avid New Pornagraphers fan, but I will unabashedly sing Jackie, Dressed in Cobras (courtesy of macktronic) or Streets of Fire (courtesy of in house) out my car window at random passers by on a fairly regular basis.

2006-06-08T16:05:00.000-05:00

True, boner-fide entertainment...just ask Ricotta Park and Urban Jax

also, tomorrow night:::Commander Chameleon, Tuffy, Hand of the Host, etc. play Jack Rabbits. keep it at a mice pace for the rat race...

and here's all the delicious music you need, courtesy of kiwi culture creator Stephen Clover (aka Seht) and the lovely folks over at Foxy Digitalis:::Post-Day of the Beast Podcast (tracklist)

best of june

2006-06-05T11:47:00.000-05:00

not the greatest month, not the worst month. but a month nonetheless.

i really couldn't think of a theme to blog about, so i'll just post some tracks from the best stuff coming out in june.

most of you probably have already had this for a couple of months, but hey man, that's illegal...so here's Sonic Youth:::Incinerate

here's new Matador-ians (who incidentally play Gainesville next month) Brightblack Morning Light::::Everbody Daylight

i'm still a Def Jukie at heart...here's Mr. Lif::::Brothaz

we've already talked about Six Organs recently, but can you ever talk about Six Organs too much?::::Black Wall

cheers, folk.

ladies is folks, too

2006-05-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

i basically put that picture up there cause i like it. it has no significance to my topic, which is lady folk singers. it's a work of jan anderzen art for his wunder fool band kemialliset ystavat. anyway, the ladies have been taking over folk music the last couple of years, and i'd like to take the time to pay tribute to a couple of my current and past favorites...

Larkin Grimm is probably tops on my list right now...right there with Joanna Newsom. she has one of the most original sounds out today....here's Pigeon Food

Marissa Nadler is pretty good too...sorta representing the finger picking troubador side for the females...here's her Days of Rum

right up there with Larkin and Joanna is Devendra Banhart protege Jana Hunter, who put out an outstanding album last year, as well as a previous collaborative album with said Banhart. A Bright Ass Light is from that album.

a young woman of interest is Josephine Foster, who is currently three albums deep in her career...Der Konig in Thule is from her latest, "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing", which is an album of German folk songs...very interesting stuff.

also of note, (if you scroll down the page i've added mp3's of these artists as well) are the Finnish folkettes, Islaja and Lau Nau, both of whom put out some of the best albums to be released in '05, of course the great Joanna Newsom, and the roots...Shirley Collins, Karen Dalton, Vashti Bunyan, etc. etc. etc.

get in touch with your feminine side.

knights of columbus, that hurt!

2006-05-22T09:18:00.000-05:00

these guys threw the vinyl show of the year this Sunday (well, no competition but whatever, it was great), so i thought i'd pay tribute by documenting tracks from my spoils....so here goes...

1. The Cure's Love Song b/w 2 Late and Fear of Ghosts

2. The Fugs - Golden Filth: Alive at the Filmore East LP...
here's I Couldn't Get High

3. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks LP...
here's the awesome Madame George

4. Francis Lai - A Man and A Woman (Un Homme Et Une Femme) OST...
Soudtrack to a Cannes winning Lelouch film for only a BUCK!!! here's Stronger Than Us which some may notice from the Nas sample.

also picked up Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, John Fahey - Requia, and Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell - Dueling Banjos LPs, and a handful of 7"s...Paul Simon - Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Getz/Gilberto - Girl from Ipanema b/w Blowin' in the Wind, Richard "Groove" Holmes - This Here b/w It Might As Well Be Spring, Shel Silverstein - Don't Give A Dose, The Meters - Look-Ka Py Py b/w This Is My Last Affair, and a Canary Training Record featuring the Hartz Mountain Master Canaries?!?!

All that and I only spent about $70, so great day. back to work tomorrow. fudge.

VIVA FINLANDIA!!!!!!

2006-05-17T07:32:00.000-05:00

In celebration of tomorrow's coming Film Festival, I thought, what better way to pay tribute than to do a post on the music of Finland? I can't think of one.

The population of Finland is about 5.3 million (thank you wikipedia), and every single one of them is in a band. it's true, government mandated. and not only that, but every band must kick patoot. it's the law.

therefore, let us delve into the treasure trove that is the 187,888 lakes of Finland. a brisk swim, no doubt...but entirely refreshing.

i'll start with Avarus, which is sort of a centerpiece group to the whole Finnish psych community...they're really indescribable and incomparable to anything i can think of. here's a live track recorded in '03 in Turku....

Avarus - Piece 1

next is Islaja, a wonderful vocalist that sounds a bit like Cat Power voice-wise but is a bit more Bjork or Nico in tone and texture. here's a track off her excellent album "Merite"

Islaja - Aallot ja aanet

Kemialliset Ystavat is one of the better known Finnish psych/folk groups primarily based around Jan Anderzen, who's collaborated with memebers of Wooden Wand, Thuja and Jackie-O-Motherfucker. they incorporate alot of far eastern and raga sounds into Rain Dogs-era romps and Avarus type free jams. good stuff. this track is from "Kellari Juniversumi"

Kemialliset Ystavat - Planeetta kaukainen muo kutsuu

Es is a project i've just come in contact with and don't know much about, but here's an outstanding track from their "Kaikkeuden kauneus ja käsittämättömyys"

Es - Sadepäivät

Lau Nau is Laura Naukkarinen's solo album with help from friends. She is a frequent collaborator and member of several psych and folk bands around Finland. Her album is excellent and much more accessible than the other stuff posted today...Here's a track from "Kuutarha"....

Lau Nau - Kuula

and this, friends, is really just skimming the surface....Anaksimandros, Kuupuu, Paivansade...the list goes on for quite a while. do yourself a favor and check out Fonal Records and Eclipse Records and Foxy Digitalis to find out more about the Finnish scene, because it's one of the most fruitful in music today. And to help get you started, here's an excellent and well-researched article (is that a first?) from Pitchfork... Silver Apples of the Moon ...and i'd also highly suggest clicking the link to Foxy Digitalis in my links section. this will probably be my last post until next week, so i expect you all to be ready for a pop quiz next week. good night, and good luck.

this post has nothing to do with s&m.

2006-05-15T08:29:00.000-05:00

...but it is about Soft Abuse Records (sorry, the only kind of soft abuse i could think of was pillow fighting) , a small label that packs a big punch. many of the artists Soft Abuse has released reside in the friendly confines of the Jewelled Antler Collective (with whom you should immediately familiarize yourself if you have yet to do so.) it's also the former home to the new big indie stars like Destroyer, Frog Eyes, Wooden Wand and Skygreen Leopards. so anyway, it's a great label. snuggle up. have a few tracks::::

Pumice - King Korny Remains (from Yeohnahvienna):::: New Zealand is the new Providence.

Wooden Wand - Sundrum Ladies (from Harem of the Sundrum & the Witness Figg)::::James Toth is the new Ben Chasny.

Skygreen Leopards - the heron (from One Thousand Bird Ceremony)::::Leopards are the new Wolf for rock band names.

Langtry - Hobojangle (from As Upon the Road Thereto)::::Langtry is the new somethingorotherthatyoushouldlistento.

Franciscan Hobbies - A Preordained Sequence (from Masks & Meanings)::::Franciscan Hobbies are the new (only?) Wicker Man revivalists.

there you are. enjoy.

Concert Season 2006: Emporer X/Applied Communications

2006-05-12T07:08:00.000-05:00

so, the Discos! Mariscos! Crew rolled into town on Monday (well, some of them just rolled for a few blocks, but uh...) and rocked the figurative pants off of TSI. this post is for those of you not familiar with these fine young men in order to impart said wisdom unto ye.

Applied Communications is a lovely Jacksonville, FL band...here's a fine new track from the upcoming release "Fuck All Ya'll"
Echo Boom

Emporer X is Chad Matheny....in this performance he was helped out by St. Louis's So Many Dynamos as well as the crowd fueled beer can drum line and backup vocals...here's a great track from his latest EP "Dirt Dealership"
Island Long Dirt Dealership

so there you go. check these guys out and support them when they come through your town. and until then check out www.discosmariscos.com for more stuff.

a tribute to drag city

2006-05-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

DRAAAG CITY BABY!!!!today's choc-o-jesus is a tribute to drag city records...perhaps the most consistently good-stuff-market-pumping label of the past decade...i'll highlight a few of the better recent selections from the folk rockin ass LP leviathan that is DCR...

August Born - A Thousand Butterflies August Born is Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance and Hiroyuki Usui of L...and you will let it hold you down and tickle you into submission.

Joanna Newsom - Emily (Live) here's a live version of a track from Joanna Newsom's upcoming release (unknown date.) i'd like to cordially invite the lips all the Joanna Newsom haters to the closest warm spot on my buttocks.

Espers - Widow's Weed top notch track from Espers upcoming album "Espers II"...i missed Espers the first couple times around but i'm playing catchup now...excellent stuff.

that is all, children. sleep tight.

Zither Slither b/w Sprechen Ze Deutschen

2006-05-08T07:48:00.000-05:00

lemme just say - ya'll don't know na'an bout that. check out for it on "The Uninhabitable World of the Gee Whizardry Soundsystem" mixtape soon to grace North Floridian shores.

so i'm going to follow suit with the rest of the blogosphere and post Beirut today, on the off chance that any of you hasn't heard it, cause it's that wholesome goodness...i'll post the same track everyone else is posting, cause well, quite frankly, it's the best on the album.

Postcards From Italy

in other news, Orthrelm will rape your skull and discard the bloody stump. and you'll probably like it. Mick Barr will shred your brain like spaghetti squash and make a tasty slaw out of it.

Untitled Track 3

and just to round out the complete un-theme-liness and lack of focus of this post....here's one of my favorite new bands...it's an all-lady troupe on Animal Collective's Paw-Tracks label, First Nation...if you like this track, definitely check out their album when it releases - you won't be disappointed.

Antelope Attack

japanese rock garden

2006-05-05T06:26:00.000-05:00

in the japanese rock garden, many wonderous creations flourish. first and foremost, you have the kings of the garden, the mighty Boredoms...but they will not be our focus today...today we focus on some psych, a little more psych, and a dash of neo-prog to whet your appetite...so it's time for Commissioner Takeshi Kaga to reveal today's secret ingredients:::::

FLOWER TRAVELLING BAND!!!!!!!!!!!!

elder statesmen of the japanese rock garden, they can be plated as a delicious side dish to King Crimson or Black Sabbath, but taste just as scrumptuous on their own...

Satori Part 1

and our next ingredient....

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

prepared today with a side of Cosmic Inferno, perhaps the most prolific psych outfit in the rock garden delves up another Crimson Sabbath fusion for your pleasure....

Starless and Bible Black Sabbath

and for the final secret ingredient....

RUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a band that's been putting out art-prog since the mid 80s...i think of them as a japanese Mr. Bungle, or vice versa...here's a tasty morsel from 1992's "Burning Stone"....

Praha in Spring

thus concludes our time in the japanese rock garden...konichiwa, bitches.

oh, deer god.

2006-05-04T14:59:00.001-05:00

So my sister responds to a random joke I said today "Oh dear god" and it made me wonder, how many points would a Deer God have? i imagined it to be bijillions, but apparently that up there is him, and he only has 6. kind of a sissy deer god, huh? makes me not even want to capitalize god so that everybody knows i don't really respect him. of course, his beard is pretty awesome, as are the goatlike ears and giant forehead circle thing.

but i digress...what would a deer god, creature of nature and overpopulation he may be, listen to if he was in to rock music and had some spare time from eating twigs and sparring for mates?

one has to think he'd start with a bit of Ahleuchatistas. here's a sample from their latest album "What You Will":

If, Whenever

then maybe a track from Pelt while cleaning his coat of fur

Sunflower River Blues (Fahey cover)

and to finish up, some Sunset Rudbown cause that's apparently what all the "cool" deer are listening to right now:

They Took A Vote And Said No

and then my father in law would probably kill him with a bow and arrow. later, kids.