Q#87 - December 2012 - January 2013

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Q’s Compilations

Volume #87 – December 2012 – January 2012

Greetings! Well it’s the usual time to look back on my favourite releases of the previous 12 months. I haven’t spent a great deal of time thinking or researching this mix, I just picked what initially came to mind, it has been a pretty good year for music, I think.

01) Mrs Magician – Nightlife: Keen listeners may remember the outstanding There Is No God from Q#84. Strange Heaven is one of the most endearing records of the year and this punchy opens the record and makes for a fine tune to begin this compilation with. “Shot out like an arrow I’m as crooked as a question-mark”

02) La Sera - I Can't Keep You In My Mind: I would say that La Sera’s Sees the Light is my favourite album of the year, it’s understated and uncomplicated and unpretentious, but the songs are gorgeous and there is something about it that keeps me coming back for more. “I know you must feel lost these days, broken lovers tend to go their ways. Haunting ghosts that I can not evade until I turn grey.”

03) Nada Surf - Jules and Jim: I like a hundreds of bands, but Nada Surf has always felt like my band like no other, it was a genuine pleasure to see them three times in their hometown (even if they don’t live here anymore) this year. I love them dearly. Isn’t that last chord one of the most beautiful sounds you’ve ever heard? “Never felt such a pull before I'm hypnotized I'm destabilized”

04) Sharon Van Etten – Warsaw: A fellow Ditmas Park resident, Van Etten has seen much acclaim come her way with Tramp, and those who were a bit late to the party can now pick up a 2-CD version including demos (from which I was very close to using Magic Chords). “here, sing to yourself, tell me you want to be shown or, you only listen to an endless sea you want to be over”

05) The Men - Turn It Around: I used the title track, Open Your Heart back in April, released on Sacred Bones, the Brooklyn band are set to follow-up their good work with another record, New Moon, in March. “I wanna see you when you jump dive, I wanna see you go down, I wanna see you when you look so fine, I wanna see you when you turn it around“

06) JEFF the Brotherhood - Staring at the Wall: Brothers Jake and Jamin Orral are Jeff the Brotherhood, Hypnotic Nights is their seventh album and was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. “One girl said to me, Would you turn around and die”

07) King Tuff - Bad Thing: When you listen to a lot of music it’s easy for things to slip through the net unnoticed when you first hear them, maybe you weren’t in the right mood, or maybe there was a distraction, but it happens. This song was featured on a free sub-pop compilation on record store day back in April, which I listened to a few times. Fast forward a few months and King Tuff releases one of the best albums of the year. “Now I’m going rotten, I’m turnin’ green, ‘cause I’m a bad bad thing”

08) METZ – Headache: I saw Metz cram into a tiny record store (Generation Records) and deliver one of the most pummelling sets I have ever witnessed, their self-titled record is just as relenting. “That even can't see breathe like for me, I can't move, I can't stand, I got gotta gotta gotta, I gotta get, I gotta get away, I get away”

09) Guided By Voices - Hangover Child: 2012 was quite the year for GBV fans, with three albums (their first for 8 years) and a string of shows, while Robert Pollard also released two solo albums. This song appears on The Bears for Lunch and was debuted when I saw them in Central Park on an absolutely sweltering day in the summer. “Hangover child, save your breath, In the way that you’re starring to the face of despairing, You care.”

10) Rush - The Wreckers: Clockwork Angels saw Rush reinvigorated after 2007’s lacklustre Snakes and Arrows (see my review here: http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/2012/07/rush-clockwork-angels-review.html). “All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary of a miracle too good to be true, All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary everything in life you thought you knew, All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary, 'cause sometimes the target is you”

11) Bob Mould - Silver Age: Another artist who rolled back the years was Bob Mould with Silver Age, inspired by the 20^th anniversary of Sugar’s Copper Blue, Silver Age taps into that power-trio style that has served him so well over the years. “This is how I'm gonna spend my days, Gonna fight, gonna fuck, gonna feed, Gonna walk away “

12) Chromatics - The Page: I used The River back on Q#84, this is another standout track from Kill For Love, which can be purchased for a bargain $5 on the Italians Do It Better website. “like the pages of the book i'd never get to write, on the eastside of the city, where the ink is running dry, and if you love me like you say, take this book and burn the page, the rain will wash away the ashes, On the eastside of my heart”

13) Mark Lanegan - Harborview Hopsital: I’ve waxed lyrical about Lanegan’s whisky-drenched voice many times over the course of these mixes, Harborview Hospital manages to contain it in a soaring dreamscape of electronica. “Are they supposed to be as sick as you and me?”

14) Amanda Palmer - Grown Man Cry: Palmer gained a lot of attention this year with the enormous success of her kickstarter campaign, which raised over a million dollars to fund the recording and tour for Theatre Is Evil (I paid for the deluxe version of the album). After all the hype it would have been a bit of a letdown if the music wasn’t actually any good, and thankfully it is, the songs are varied and have depth. “We are standing on the threshold, Of a decent conversation, When I can hear the door slam, I know the face you're making”

15) Animal Collective – Moonjock: It was an almost impossible task to follow up Merriweather Post Pavilion but 10,000Hz is a fine album and it was great to see them live at the end of the year. “And there's no way to remind me of pacific plates or what the text was, No better way to remind me of sun heated seats then "love me do" was”

16) Goat – Goathead: They don’t sound like it, but Goat are from Sweden and produce a fantastic afrobeat fuzz freakout. There aren’t many things better than a screaming guitar solo, turn the volume UP on this one.

17) Carina Round - Girl and the Ghost: I used Set Fire on Q#83 and this is other standout track for me on Tigermending. “Shards of broken dreams, Stuck in your hands, Pick the pieces out put them back, together as best you can”

18) Ken Stringfellow - 110 or 220v: Danzig in the Moonlight may seem like a somewhat throwaway pun-tastic album title but make no mistake about it, the record is filled with Ken’s usual deep and sincere songs pulled from the depth of his being. There are probably better songs on the record, but I love the vocal and lyrics. “Reality is subject to cancellation”

19) Sun Kil Moon - Among the Leaves: This is the title track to Mark Kozelek’s latest release (though he has a new covers album out soon) and was billed as a slightly low-key and at times humorous, which it often is, but there are also some of his trademarks such as this number. “On afternoons I walk the graves, The rusted cars, the mine shaft caves, See a girl sadly unkempt, a child of neglect Under moons I pass the tombs, Cross the highways, smell the fumes, See a girl frighteningly gaunt, somebody didn't want, How do I tell her I don't care, if she sleeps downstairs?“

20) Grizzly Bear - Yet Again: Following up Veckatimest must have felt like a near impossible task, the band haven’t changed formula much with Shields but there was certainly no need to! “Keep score, even playing fields this game, I know when all’s said we’re the same, If I could I would leave it all be, No chance to move backwards and see“

21) Dum Dum Girls - Season in Hell: I saw Dum Dum Girls twice in 2012, first at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in February and then at an in-store performance at Other Music, promoting their EP, End of Daze, which this song closes. “Anything we should know about your change?
From shots, broken hearts, tears from desert eyes, Something new is dreamed, A confession's not a cure, There's always darkness to endure, On the path to be redeemed “

22) Ty Segall Band - Wave Goodbye: I think the easiest way to write about this song is to quote how it ends. FUCK YEAH!

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