Q#86 – October – November 2012

Note that the zip file has a password: Q86

 All files available at this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?5afxxso19rf8kkv

Q’s Compilations

Volume #86 – October – November 2012

Greetings! This is my Soul mix, a sort-of companion to the funk mix of Q#76, it is not meant as a “best of” or any kind of definitive selection, but is a rough guide to the genre and a nice contrast of established greats and obscurity. Regardless, it does contain some of my very favourites and while there are some obvious omissions, I think it’s an excellent compilation. I write these notes in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, feeling fortunate and grateful that I didn’t lose power or worse, as so many have.

01) Otis Redding - I Can't Turn You Loose (live): Otis was one of the greats and of course, should need no introduction. My favourite of his releases is the In Person at the Whisky A Go Go live album, recorded in 1966 on the sunset strip in LA (released in 68). The record is a whirlwhind experience, this is the first track on the record and Redding already sounds like he’s poured an incredible amount of energy into it. I love all the false endings too.

02) The Flirtations - Nothing but a Heartache: I have used this on a previous Q-Comp (#74), but it is probably my favourite song of all time and had to make another appearance for the purpose of this mix. There’s some great bass work going on here that is often missed.

03) Ann Peebles - What You Laid On Me: Along with Otis Redding’s In Person at the Whisky A Go Go, Peeble’s 1972 album Straight From the Heart is my favourite soul album. I’ve used a couple of cuts on previous comps, of course. The only blemish on an otherwise flawless record is the insistence to fade all the tracks out during the outro, it wouldn’t have hurt to let some songs end a bit more naturally! Again, check out the bass work on this track, beautiful.

04) Betty Harris - Mean Man: Harris made an appearance on my funk mix thanks to the delightful Break in the Road, which featured The Meters, but for the most part her recorded output is straight-up soul. This is probably her best song.

05) The O'Jays - For the Love of Money: Another band that featured on the funk mix, The O’Jays straddled both soul and funk as well as anyone, and I couldn’t completely leave funk unrepresented on a soul mix. This is on the Ship Ahoy (1973) record.

06) The Temptations - Psychedelic Shack: Another funky number, The Temptations are best known for their early period hits like the timeless My Girl, but after frontman David Ruffin left and was replaced by Dennis Edwards, they went through a style change from R&B motown numbers to a harder and trippy sound. This is an extended version of the song which was previously unreleased until the Psychedelic Soul compilation, an essential 2-CD collection if you like this. 

07) Lee Dorsey – Roverboat: Backed by The Meters, Dorsey’s 1970 Yes We Can album is an effortlessly varied record. Riverboat features a psychedelic groove which just flows over the whole song, sadly it’s over before you know it.

08) Black Merda - For You: This band were a rather shocking omission from the funk mix, so I had to make sure they made an appearance on this one. Considered to be the first all-black rock band, this track shows their soulful side, which opens their second album, Long Burn the Fire, originally released in 1972.

09) Curtis Mayfield - Keep On Keeping On: Another artist that needs no introduction, most people reach for the outstanding self-titled debut or Superfly, but Roots, released in 1971 (snuggled nicely between the debut and Superfly…) is up there with anything he released.

10) Sam Dees - Child of the Streets: Ask anyone who loves soul about Sam Dees and it’s likely they will wax lyrical about 1975’s The Show Must Go On, but he remains an obscurity to everyone else, mustering a depressing 5000 listeners on last,fm. I used Claim Jumpin’ on a previous mix, the album is hard to find so you’ll probably have to make do with a download, it really deserves a proper re-issue.

11) Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, & Durr - You're All I Need to Make It: Led by Virgil Johnson’s distinctive vocal, this group sadly recorded very little, a paltry two 7” records on the capsoul label in 1971/72. This will divide fans who prefer their soul more gritty, but it really is a gorgeous song.

12) Irma Thomas - Turn My World Around: The queen of New Orleans soul, I’ve already featured two other songs from the resplendent 1973 release, In Between Tears, on previous mixes. Once again, pay attention to the bass!

13) The Four Mints - Row My Boat: Another forgotten gem in the soul world is The Four Mints’ Gently Down Your Stream album (another from 1973), which had no less than four strong candidates for this mix. Those who don’t really “do” smoother-soul would do well to give this a fair crack of the whip, there is a lot going on and it really gets under your skin.

14) The Charmels - As Long As I've Got You: The other track on this mix that I have used before (Q#79), I just love it too much to have left it off, and a bit like The Flirtations, there isn’t a song by the group that is near as good to have used instead. Another group who recorded a handful of songs then disappeared, this song was released on Stax in 1967 but has since garnered a cult following thanks to the Wu-Tang Clan, who sampled it.

15) Al Green - Tired of Being Alone: Another big hitter but I figure most casual listeners probably only know Let’s Stay Together thanks to Pulp Fiction (although, granted, this song did make #293 in Rolling Stone’s top 500 songs of all time). I’m not a huge Green listener, it gets a bit too smooth after a while but in small doses he’s as good as anyone and this 1971 single can’t help but induce an embarrassing sway from this particular listener.

16) Little Anthony and the Imperials - Goin' Out of My Head: Forming in the 50s, the group had a hit with their first release, Tears On My Pillow, after a few lineup changes, including Little Anthony pursuing a solo career, the group got back together and released this track in 1964. You’ll probably recognise the song, given that it’s been covered by a staggering number of artists (just find the wiki entry for this song).

17) The Web - The Same Old Me: Compilation and re-issue specialist label Numero released Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up in 2005, a wonderful mix of releases from Belize between 1960 and 1980. The compilation leans more towards reggae but includes this absolute gem of a tune, although perhaps part of the reason this song sits apart from the rest is that The Web moved away from Belize to the US.

18) Baby Huey - Listen to Me: Baby Huey is one of those “almost was…” stories, great voice, tight backing band, signed to Curtis Mayfield’s label, he should have been huge. He was huge, of course, physically, plagued with a glandular problem that kept his weight around the 400 pound mark, which contributed (as well as substance abuse) to his death in 1970 after a heart attack. The album was released after his death and is a bit of a patchwork attempt to fill some gaps to make an albums worth of material, which ends up giving the album a very uneven feel. We’ll never know what might have been released had he been healthy. Taken in isolation though, this song is more than worthy of being on the mix.

19) Eddie Finley And Cincinatti Show Band - Treat Me Right: Information about this group is hard to come by, but they are featured on the recently released Loving on the Flipside on Nowagain records, which I was going to buy, but the next time I went into Other Music they had sold all their copies, will try to get it later. The bass and guitar interplay on this song, coupled with Eddie’s gut-wrenching vocal is an absolute winner.

20) Charles Bradley - The World (Is Going Up in Flames): Part of Daptone’s revivalist label, you could be forgiven for thinking this is from the 70s, but is in fact a single release from 2007 (and featured on his debut album released in 2011, No Time for Dreaming).

21) Black Nasty - It's Not the World: Ending the mix with another relatively obscure but wonderful band, Talking to the People was released on Stax in 1973, but yielded little success, the fine mix of funk, soul and rock should have been a winning formula.

I hope this compilation has been of use, particularly for those that don’t generally listen to the genre. It was a lot of fun to put together, and I needed to put a compilation together a little earlier in the month than normal as I’m heading back home for a few weeks and didn’t want to have to worry about hitting my deadline.

Until next time

Peace and love - Q 

Q#85 - August - September 2012

Please note that the zip file has a password on it: Q85

All files available from this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ea84z7u4jyza4zz

Q’s Compilations

Volume #85 – August – September 2012

Hello! This compilation has a theme to it, and a rather self-indulgent one. It has been a fantastic summer here mainly for one reason, the sheer volume of spectacular free concerts that are hosted in this fair city, this mix features bands that I have seen over the course of the year so far and not had to pay a penny. The mix still manages to omit an impressive roster of artists who I managed to see and many others who I did not (Funkadelic!).

01) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars: I’ve feature Pains… on a few mixes over the years, but have so far not featured any tracks from their EP, Higher Than the Stars (this of course, being the title track). The band played Central Park Summer Stage on a sweltering day that also featured Cloud Nothings, The War on Drugs and Guided By Voices. “This time you should have stopped. But where’s the fun?”

02) Frankie Rose – Night Swim: I’d heard a few songs over the last few months, but probably nothing that stuck in my head, but Frankie played a rather spellbinding set at Prospect Park opening for Little Dragon. Rose has an impressive CV, having been part of early versions of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls. Her second solo album, Interstellar was released this year.

03) Diiv – Doused: Another band on the excellent Captured Tracks record label, I caught Diiv last month at Hudson River Rocks, their debut album, Oshin, is well worth an investment and I featured a track on the last mix as well. “Act like it stops and starts, a gesture here and there, for me is one thing, but I felt every time you blew it”

04) Roomrunner – Aesthetic: I used Roomrunner on the last mix, having been impressed with their set at Hudson River Rocks, playing with John Maus and Dan Deacon (for whom Roomrunner mainman Denny Bowen also drums).

05) Bob Mould – The Descent: Silver Age has just been released and coincides rather swimmingly with the 20^th anniversary of Sugar’s Copper Blue album, which Bob played in full at an immense show in Williamsburg Park. I reviewed the gig here: http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/2012/09/bob-mould-williamsburg-park-7th-of.html and the new album is a corker. “I started out so starry-eyed, full of hope and wonder.”

06) Cloud Nothings – Wasted Days: To be honest I wasn’t completely won over by Cloud Nothings, who opened the day at the Central Park CBGB festival, whose set was marred a little by being a bit too samey. However, drummer Jason Gerycz was a joy to watch with his animal-like drumming and facial expressions. This song didn’t seem to click that much live but I think I have more patience with the recorded version, the wigout section here works.

07) Mission of Burma - Semi-Pseudo-Sort-Of Plan: Opening for Wild Flag at Prospect Park (which seemed to confuse a lot of people who thought it should have been the other way around), it seemed like most of the crowd weren’t really there to see them, but they put on a spirited performance and it was great to see them. No Academy Fight Song in the set though! This track is taken from their latest album, Unsound, released this year.

08) Guided By Voices – Game of Pricks: I’m using GBV for the third time in a row, of course, but I couldn’t put this type of theme together without including them again! Seeing them play this song (a rare classic in a set dominated by newer material) was a special moment. “I've entered the game of pricks, With knives in the back of me, can't call you or on you no more,
When they're attacking me”

09) Eternal Summers – You Kill: Suffering a somewhat nasty hangover, I thankfully managed to get to Eternal Summers free show at Fulton Stall Market. which perked me up! Unfortunately they sold their last copy of new album, Correct Behaviour (on which this song appears) as I got to the front of the queue, but they played a cracking set, well worth checking out. “It’s a piece, of a plot, of a story we are not”

10) Lee Ranaldo – Lost (Plane T Nice): I was fortunate enough to get to see Ranaldo’s record release show for Between the Times and the Tides, playing as an acoustic trio (drummer Steve Shelley was gigging elsewhere) at Other Music. It’s a fine record and Lee was a pleasure to meet afterwards. “When every single dream requires revision”

11) Kurt Vile – The Creature: In a case of “should have been the headliner”, Kurt Vile opened for Dawes (who we endured for a couple of songs then decided to leave) at Central Park. This song features on the EP So Outta Reach which was included on the deluxe edition of Smoke Ring for My Halo. “She said I'm a creature of habits, Oh, she's so cute with her claims, Ain't got time for asking questions, So I just nod and move on, And that's all right for me, So far, So good for me”

12) Veronica Falls – Starry Eyes (demo): Another sweltering evening was spent at South Street Seaport. I featured My Heart Beats on Q#83. This track was a b-side to Found Love In a Graveyard. A lovely song to throw away as a b-side. “Starry Eyes what can I say, Starry Eyes, what can I do for your attention, Starry Eyes Starry Eyes forever shall be mine”

13) Rain Machine – Smiling Black Faces: A gloriously sunny day was had at Union Pool (the heat made bearable by numerous $5 margaritas), which also included an improvised set by Thurston Moore on the 9^th of June. Rain Machine is of course, Kyp Malone’s side-project from TV on the Radio, they played some new songs which sound promising, and I got to meet Kyp afterwards and babble like an embarrassed fanboi.

14) Barry Adamson – Straight til Sunrise: Adamson played a set at Other Music back in February, launching his latest album, I Will Set You Free, it was a nice set albeit a bit karaoke (he mostly just sang while the instrumental versions of the songs played over the speakers), but the album is good. This track is from the previous record, Back to the Cat. “In my head was every word that was said, Reverberating with consonants baiting me, I wish I had done what I said I would”

15) Grimes – Vanessa: Grimes appears to be this year’s hipster sensation, in truth I find the record a little lacking (and some of the fans at the show we were at reaching unknown levels of douchebag-dom), however, some of the tunes are pretty interesting and this one gets under your skin after a few plays. Grimes played at Hudson River Rocks. “hey hey wanna play well baby i can go go, and every other day you're running off the phone, no. Well baby I would call you if I didn't know you but I'm waiting for it”

16) John Maus – Bennington: John Maus played the Hudson River Rocks on the 12^th of July. My wife has become slightly obsessed with Mr Maus, and I think probably needs some professional help about it. Bennington appears on Maus’ latest release, a collection of demos, rather obviously called Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material. Live, Maus is a bit of an enigma, what should amount to little more than a glorified karaoke performance is oddly rather engaging. “Time and time again, I'll see her in my dreams, Time and time again,
Time and time again”

17) Dan Deacon – Lots: Deacon headlined the show on the 12^th of July at Hudson River Rocks and put on a storming performance. Audience participation is a big thing with Deacon (at which point, I made sure I drifted off to the side!), dividing the audience into dance-offs and scattering them into random directions, interspersed with random humour and heartfelt gripes at society. He’s also backed by two drummers who perform incredibly well. “Feel like we've been here before, Without a choice and insecure, Of where we'd be without this net around,
Yet we've always hated it”

18) Little Dragon – Blinking Pigs: Swedish electro-pop band Little Dragon provided a bouncey evening on the 10^th of August at Prospect Park, probably not something I would pay for, but since we live close by it was a fun thing to do, the crowd were really into it and made for a great atmosphere. “Was a distant moan, and a smell of home, Haunting me, from the clouds above, oh the memory of, you”

19) TV On the Radio – Keep Your Heart: Just to put the icing on the cake, I got to see TVotR for free this year as well, heaven! They headlined the Afropunk festival at Commodore Park on the 26^th of August, they played a great set (which also benefitted from a good sound, something that hampered the previous two times I’d seen them). “Outside ecstatic love, what did we think we'd find? Over that broken road,out past the land mines.”

Like I said, it has been a great summer here and I have truly been spoiled!

Until next time

Peace and love - Q 

Q#84 - June - July 2012

Please note that the zip file has a password: Q84
Download files here: http://www.mediafire.com/?va5q1o35i2wlx4t

Q’s Compilations

Volume #84 – June – July 2012

Greetings from sweltering New York! I had been warned about the summers here and they were not joking, at the time of writing we’ve had 14 days of over 32 degrees C (90 degrees F), apparently the average for the year is 15 days of that temperature. Yikes. Anyway, here’s some music.

01) Seapony – Dreaming: I can’t remember where I found this from, I think it might have been a last.fm recommendation. It is, however, perfect summer pop and the album, Go With Me, is generally delightful. “I don't wanna be like everybody else, I don't wanna be stuck on another shelf”

02) Mrs Magician – There Is No God: Atheism has never sounded so sunny! My wife and I have been fighting over who was going to buy their record, even though I obviously like them better, and heard of them first :o) regardless, it’s a wonderful debut (Strange Heaven). “There’s no god la la la there’s no god la la la”

03) Pond – Dig Brother: I didn’t realise when I bought this record (Beard, Wives, Denim) the other week that it’s a side-project of Australian band, Tame Impala. I first heard of them thanks for a compilation that friend, Felix, sent to me recently. The album is heavily influenced by those old Nuggets-style bands.

04) Chelsea Light Moving - Burroughs: This is Thurston Moore’s new project sounds like… Sonic Youth! I had the pleasure of seeing Thurston perform an improvised set a couple of months ago where he basically abused his guitar, a great watch! On the basis of this track I’m looking forward to the record. http://chelsealightmoving.blogspot.com/

05) The Corin Tucker Band – Doubt: Corin Tucker is set to release her second solo album, which reminded me that I actually needed to hear the first (which is called 1000 Years)! Corin is of course, best known for being in Sleater Kinney, and this material is no departure. She’s playing a couple of shows here in September which I’m tempted by.

06) Guided By Voices – No Transmission: I had the pleasure of seeing GBV for free in Central Park recently and they played a great set (whilst also helping me tick off seeing one of my favourite bands that I didn’t think I’d ever get to see). While it was heavy on recent material and very light on classics (although hearing Game of Pricks, I Am a Scientist and Echos Myron will forever be gig-going highlights), new album Class Clown Spots a UFO is actually rather fine and dandy. As Pollard said at the gig, “we had to show them how it was done back then, and we had to come back to show them how to do it again”.

07) Smashing Pumpkins – Quasar: Another band with a recent return to form, Smashing Pumpkins seemed to disappear with a bit of a wimper a few years ago, but new album, Oceania, is an ambitious and varied record.

08) Roomrunner – Spinning: I saw Roomrunner’s first ever gig (or at least that’s what they said, a freebie at Hudson River Rocks) recently and despite a catalogue of technical problems they played a blistering set, check them out! http://roomrunner.tumblr.com/

09) Heavy Blanket – Spit in the Eye: This project is basically an excuse for J.Mascis to guitar solo constantly, which is fine because there are fewer aural delights than a Mascis guitar solo!

10) Superchunk – Why Do You Have To Put A Date On Everything (live): Although I owned the original CD, I love Foolish so purchased the remastered CD that was released last year. The album comes with a download code with a raft of bonus material, which includes a concert recording. I was a bit bummed out recently because they played a free show in Times Square that I had to miss (it clashed with Guided By Voices, all the more annoying that they were supposed to play the day before but had to change venue and day).

11) Built to Spill – Car: I love Built to Spill, but until recently had never gotten round to purchasing There’s Nothing Wrong With Love, which has now been rectified. Car is one of their most well-known songs, of course, but I felt like throwing it on anyway.

12) Diiv – Follow: The band have just released their debut album, Oshin, which is a lovely and dreamy swirl of guitars and this song is pretty representative of the album as a whole. Planning on catching them in August at one of the Hudson River Rocks shows.

13) Blouse – Into Black: From Portland, Oregon, Blouse released a haunting self-titled debut album last year which is well worth a listen.

14) Blood Orange – Sutphin Boulevard: Blood Orange is another alias of Devonté Hynes also known as Lightspeed Champion and member of the now defunct Test Icicles (I always saw their name but never checked them out). I have Felix to thank for recommending this to me.

15) Fanfarlo – Lenslife: On their second album (debut album Resevoir was very promising) the band seem to have ventured into Talking Heads territory, not that that’s a bad thing! It seems a less coherent record (Rooms Filled With Light) but does have some highlights, this was my favourite.

16) Chromatics – The River: The band have just released new album, Kill For Love, on their Italians Do It Better label, all of their music is very reasonably priced (most albums are $5 and they send you a download while you wait for the physical copy). I love the vibe of this song, so simple but effective. “l Watch The Moon Hang In The Air, l Feel The Cold Breeze Through My Hair, My Eyes Blind By Headlights Glare, I'm Still Here Waiting For You”

17) The Flaming Lips – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face: The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends was released on CD recently and is a schizophrenic mishmash of collaborations, this one features Erika Badu and is a cover version, most famously known as a cover version itself by Roberta Flack. The Flips’ version features their typical sonic bombast but still manages to retain a sense of longing for which the song is known. “The first time ever I kissed your mouth, And felt your heart beat close to mine, Like the trembling heart of a captive bird, That was there at my command, my love“

18) Exitmusic – Sparks of Light: I’d heard the name of this band for some time but never got round to listening to them, I don’t know why but I just assumed they would sound completely different to this.

And there you have it!

Until next time

Peace and love

Q

Q#83 - April - May 2012

Please note that the zip file has a password: Q83
All files available from this link: http://www.mediafire.com/?74i2vv93sbvkzar

Q’s Compilations

Volume #83 – April – May 2012

The last couple of months have been beyond hectic. Came to the end of our sublet in Ditmas Park, we liked the area and are comfortable here so decided to stick around! We now have our own proper lease on an apartment in the same area (about a block from where we were), we did move from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished one so have had to do all the fun stuff of picking out new furniture... If that process hasn’t been stressful enough the company I work for is also moving to a new office and I’ve been tasked with most of the move. I’ll manage a few seconds for a sigh at some point when this is done. As a result, I’ve really thrown this together very quickly, but there is a lot of new music on here so hopefully it sounds fresh.

For your pleasure (hopefully), on this mix…

01) La Sera - Love That's Gone: La Sera is the side-project of Vivian Girls’ bassist Katie Goodman (swoon…), who manages the rare feat of having a side-project that is even better than her “main” band. The band just released their second record, Sees the Light, and we managed to catch their only NYC show a few days ago. Both records are fantastic and I would highly recommend them, chockfull of hooks and a good variety of songs. They were also great live. “I love my life without you, You can't say a thing, I feel that I should tell you, Can't do anything”

02) Lee Ranaldo - Off the Wall: The often overlooked Sonic Youth legend has just released a lovely solo record, Between the Times and Tides, and we were lucky to be present at the record release party at Other Music, where Lee’s band played an acoustic set and signed copies of the record either. Lee seems like one of the nicest people you could meet and seemed genuinely interested in anyone who talked to him. “Explosions in the city, explosions deep in me,
Someone in the crowd has me falling at her feet, These days are so uncommon flashing lights and siren’s calls, These days I’m trying hard to keep from falling off the wall”

03) The Men - Open Your Heart: I heard about this album in Other Music and tracked down a few free promo MP3s, of which this is one (from Urban Outfitters Music Mondays that Carrie gets). I’ll probably grab the album at some point as I like what I’ve heard. The beginning of the song sounds a bit like Ever Fallen In Love… by The Buzzcocks.

04) Guided By Voices - We Won't Apologise for the Human Race: It’s great to see GBV back and making music, and while Let’s Go Eat the Factory isn’t the best album they have ever released, it’s a worthy addition to the GBV canon. And to just make matters even better, they are headlining a free show in Central Park this summer, which also includes other fine bands, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The War on Drugs. Just need to make sure we turn up early enough to get in!

05) Violens - Every Melting Degree: The band have upped their game with 2^nd album, True, a more nuanced and melody-driven record than their promising debut. Carrie won tickets to their record release show at La Poisson Rouge, it was a late show however and the band didn’t come on until midnight!

06) Veronica Falls - My Heart Beats: A recommendation from a friend, they’re playing a free show over here this summer. The band have just the one album to date (self-titled) released last year, this is a fun head nodder.

07) Lotus Plaza – Strangers: Lockett Pundt is the guitarist in Deerhunter and has released 2 albums as Lotus Plaza, 2009’s The Floodlight Collective and 2012’s Spooky Action at a Distance (on which this track appears), it’s not much of a departure from his day job, it has to be said, but that’s not a bad thing.

08) Afghan Whigs - Blame, etc: I’m very excited to have tickets to see Afghan Whigs in October (although annoyingly just after I bought tickets they announced a show for the end of this month at the Bowery Ballroom which was also cheaper!). I’ve seen Gutter Twins a couple of times I think it’ll be quite special to see Dulli and co cranking out songs like this, which is on my favourite record, Black Love. “my skin catches fire at the mention of your name”

09) The Magnetic Fields - Your Girlfriend's Face: Stephin Merritt and company return to their synth-based roots with Love at the Bottom of the Sea, which may seem a regression of sorts but just sounds like another fine Magnetic Fields album! This song is the highlight of the record for me, with Merritt’s dark humour to the fore in the lyrics. “So I've taken a contract out on y'all, For make me feel infinitely small, In the evenings I devise your death, Being buried alive on crystal meth”

10) Light Asylum - A Certain Person: I heard this song on youtube months ago after the LCD Soundsystem facebook page recommended it, their self-titled debut has just been released and it’s a fine synth-pop record, which seems to be the in thing these days.

11) Carina Round - Set Fire: Tigermending is Carina’s first full length album since 2007’s Slow Motion Addict, and is another fine collection of songs. As with a lot of independent artists these days, she depends on pre-orders and kickstarter donations, so please do check her out if you like the material - http://carinaround.com/ “when you find the truth cut it out with a razor blade, when you distribute choose your voice like a hand grenade”

12) BLK JKS – Mololtladi: I’ve been a fan of these guys for a few years without buying the album (just never got round to it), but picked it up for $2 in Other Music finally. I first heard of them because they were on TV On the Radio’s top friends on myspace! The band are from Johannesburg, South Africa, and there is a healthy African influence as you can imagine, with a bit of rock and even some proggy moments thrown in for good measure.

13) Sun Kil Moon - King Fish: Kozelek has just released his latest Sun Kil Moon record, Among the Leaves, which for the most part comes across as a slightly low-key and often humourous affair (in his finger-picked acoustic style of his recent output). I must admit to doing a bit of a disservice to the record by using this track, which is the only electric “band”-like track on the album, but I like it, so there.

14) Exlovers - Moth Eaten Memories: Whilst renewing Carrie’s subscription to the Big Takeover magazine, editor Jack Rabid emailed me about Exlovers, who he had seen in Oxford on a recent holiday to the UK. He also sent me his review, which was glowing, this track shows great promise and I’ll have to find the album to see how it stacks up.

15) Life Size Maps - Weird Luck: These guys were the support band for La Sera and they had a good zip and energy to them, whilst obviously hugely influenced by My Bloody Valentine! They were handing out free EPs so it was rude not to take one. They sounded better live, and they played better songs that aren’t on the EP, but they’ve certainly got potential.

16) An Horse - Airport Death: Another support band! This time it was the Nada Surf concert at Webster Hall (they were utterly fabulous as always, and the addition of former GBV guitarist Doug Gillard has given them an extra dimension), a 2-piece from Australia, you could certainly hear why they were supporting a band like Nada Surf. Their style got a bit samey over the course of a set and the same is true for the album, but they work well for a compilation track or two.

17) Darker My Love - Dear Author: Yet another band I found as a result of the La Sera concert, Katie’s band includes members of Darker My Love, so I did some digging and found a couple of free MP3s, they sound up my street and I’ll have to find out more. Anyone know much about them?

18) MV & EE - Too Far to See: This was another tune from one of the urban outfitters music Monday, I liked the vibe and the guitar solo reminded me a bit of Maggot Brain (though not as good) so I thought I’d throw it on. I don’t really know anything about the band.

19) Amiina – Sicsak: A recommendation on BCB, Icelandic band, and when you hear this you won’t be surprised to know that they have recorded parts for Sigur Ros albums. It felt like a nice way to close the compilation.

So there you go, another deadline just hit in time, hopefully I’ll have a bit more time to spare for the next one. The next few months should be interesting, once our office move is done, the summer arriving (hopefully not causing me to completely melt) and a wealth of free concerts with some great bands, you just don’t get that kind of thing back home. Oh yeah, it’s my 7^th wedding anniversary on the 28^th and I’m also turning 30 on the 13^th of June…

Until next time

Peace and love

Q