Q#93 – December 2013 - January 2014

Please note that the zip file has a password: Q93

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Q’s Compilations

Volume #93 December 2013 / January 2014

Happy new year! As usual, this mix is a roundup of my favourite music of the previous year (unless I already used a track or couldn’t fit on due to time constraints blah blah, etc, etc). 2013 was a really great year for music, both recorded and live (I went to 154 shows in 2013!), and I started writing for My Social List which is definitely a highlight!

01) Purling Hiss – Lolita: A latecomer to the mix (though this album, Water on Mars, was released in March), I saw Purling Hiss at Brooklyn Bazaar in December and their fuzzed up Crazy-Horse-esque guitar wigouts blew my mind.

02) Roomrunner – Weird: Ideal Cities is my favourite album of 2013, I shouldn’t really need to say any more than that (I also used Bait Car on Q#91).

03) Crocodiles – I Like it in the Dark: One of the surprises of the year for me, Crocodiles have upped their game with recent release Crimes of Passion, and this song is a wonderful atheist-call-to-arms anthem. “there’s no shining heaven, there are no fires of hell but those of our creation. When I’m crawling away from hell, storm the gates of heaven and be your own god”

04) Anna Calvi – Eliza: Clearly Anna was not going to suffer second album syndrome with the release of One Breath, which is a great follow-up to her exquisite debut album. “So priceless and godless I wait, To leave this soul behind, Untangle the jangle of bells, They ring my fear through the night”

05) Deerhunter – Back to the Middle: I finally got to see Deerhunter this year (which was my favourite show of the year - http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/2013/12/my-favourite-shows-of-2013-and-my-list.html). They played an incredible setlist but didn’t skimp on the new stuff either, Monomania is their attempt at a glam rock record. “Back in the middle, Everyone knows your name now, It's all accidental, Your love is such a sick, sick game”

06) Sisu – Electronic: Another act I can’t really say anything new about, having featured in Q#92, #90 and #88. Light Eyes made my albums of 2013 and it’s no surprise to see them on this mix. Electronic is a moody, slower track than some of the other ones I’ve used previously.

07) bEEdEEgEE – Like Rain Man: Brian DeGraw is a member of Gang Gang Dance, and released his first solo album under the moniker of bEEdEEgEE, I saw him do a set at Union Pool in the summer and it was mesmerising.

08) Follakzoid – Trees: The best thing of 2013 in a music sense was my discovery of Chilean psychedelic bands (see Q#89), and Follakzoid’s album, II, was my second favourite release of the year.

09) The Holydrug Couple – Follow Your Way: Where Follakzoid are, The Holydrug Couple are not often far behind, I saw the two bands at the Mercury Lounge in February for one of the best shows I have seen in a long time. They come from different sides of the psyche spectrum and complement each other perfectly.

10) Blood Orange – You’re Not Good Enough: Dev Hynes has had a topsy turvy year, his second Blood Orange album, Cupid Deluxe won rave reviews though sadly his apartment building just burned down with all his possessions. Tough break!

11) John Grant – GMF: Although this record was released earlier in the year I didn’t get round to appreciating it until almost the very end. I saw him play an incredible show at the Music Hall Williamsburg in December and he gave one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever heard. The album, Pale Green Ghosts, is a lyrical masterpiece, bitingly sarcastic yet open and vulnerable. GMF is a sort-of counterpoint to all those moments of self-doubt and hatred. “You could probably say I'm difficult, I probably talk too much. I over analyze and overthink things.
Yes, it's a nasty crutch. I'm usually only waiting for you to stop talking, So that I can.”

12) Justin Currie – Every Song’s the Same: Hero worship is something I try to shy away from, but Del Amitri’s influence on my formative years is substantial, Justin released his third solo album, Lower Reaches this year, recorded in Nashville it has a slightly more country flavour than his previous work and it took a few listens for things to seep in. However, his sense of melody and songwriting prowess meant it didn’t take all that long.

13) The Men – I Saw Her Face: Another record that made my best of 2013 list, New Moon is a fantastic record and this is probably the most obvious example of the Neil Young influence on it, you could plonk this record onto Zuma and I doubt anyone would notice!

14) Wymond Miles – Anniversary Song: A man who seemingly can’t write a bad song, Wymo is best known for his work as the guitarist in Fresh and Onlys, but his solo work is even better IMO. Cut Yourself Free is his second album, following on from the resplendent Under the Pale Moon.

15) Weekend – Scream Queen: You should be familiar with, Jinx as I used Oubliette on the last mix, but it really is one of the best records of the year so it had to feature again. “You fell in love with a fragrance in a magazine. A scream queen, pleading at the door to a dream”

16) Veronica Falls – Teenage: Another band that said “fuck you” to the idea of second album syndrome, Waiting for Something to Happen is a massive step up from their charming self-titled debut, with a punchier sound and more confident performance, it was hard to pick a track to use. “Driving late at night I’ll let you listen to the music you like. Then I’ll drop you home”

17) Mikal Cronin – Shout it Out: Another double whammy in that Mikal Cronin made both my lists for best albums and shows of 2013 with his Bowery show that also featured Roomrunner and Shannon and the Clams. It is hard to pick a highlight from II because it is consistently strong. “I'm pretty good of making things out of the scene, and turning problems back to me“

18) Liquor Store – Midnight Walker: I saw Liquor Store live 4 times in 2013 and their second album, In the Garden is a fun romp of unashamed classic rock, this tune features some ripping guitar work to boot.

19) Fuck Buttons – Brain Freeze: I featured Stalker on Q#91 and Slow Focus sees Fuck Buttons in fine form after a few years of little activity. After seeing them live I noted that “when our robot overlords take over they will march to this”, and I can’t think of a better way to describe this song.

I have of course missed many great bands/songs/albums in this “best of” mix, many will crop up in the next volume. Brain mush dictates that these notes can’t be any longer…

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#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