BOSS HOG White Out (In The Red) cd 13.98
After the major label debacle of Geffen getting bought up by some other huge megadork, Boss Hog's 4th album needless to say didn't end up on a major. As consolation to returning to the indies, Cristina does appear naked on the cover (as she did on all of her AmRep albums). Musically, Cristina and company (including her husband Jon Spencer) have produced another saucy swampy rock album of bluesy grit.

BOTCH American Nervoso (Hydra Head) cd 12.98

BOTCH An Anthology Of Dead Ends (Hydra Head) cd 11.98
Final missive from AQ faves, the mighty Botch. A wicked math-metal machine spitting out super heavy but surprisingly melodic and complex metalcore. As good if not better than Coalesce and Converge but criminally underappreciated. Maybe that's why they're calling it quits. Must be tough making music this amazing and not being HUGE. Every song is an epic, with earth shaking bass rumble, keening high-end guitar melodies, lots of chugging riffs, stop/start rhythms, pounding drums and one of the fiercest roars around. WAY RECOMMENDED!

BOTCH We Are The Romans (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
Weird and heavy metalcore in the tradition of Coalesce, Isis, Cave-In and other Hydrahead bands. Completely amazing. Maybe even better than the new Coalesce, just for the, uh, weirdness of some of this.

BOTHER, THE The Night Bleeds Gold (Three Ring Records) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local indie combo The Bother make straightforward gentle indie pop with laidback emotive male vocals. Breezy and wistfully bittersweet tunes with a few nice moody embellishments -- an effected vocal, a textural sound sample, a slinky tremolo'd guitar, a flute -- for added atmosphere and loveliness. A bit reminiscent of early Beck and Pavement.
MPEG Stream: "Upon Low Tide"
MPEG Stream: "Our Nameless Glamour"

BOTTLESKUP FLENKENKENMIKE Looks Like Velvet, Smells Like Pee (Brooklyn Beats) cd 13.98
Bottleskup is another twig off of the Godspeed You Black Emperor tree. Actually its the alias of One Speed Bike which is the alias of Aidan Girt. He's also the figure behind Exhaust not to mention being the drummer for GYBE. Whew! As with 1SB, he reveals the rougher, unpolished improv side of the Montreal music scene. Often hit or miss, and often a bit crude in its execution, Girt's work is more about capturing the gritty moments. Loops and samples are thrust through a cloud of belching distortion and processing. Murky, repetitive, and verging on industrial. The first song features a simple dorky keyboard melody awkwardly tapped out with one finger. The final track burbles with the decaying theme song from Entertainment Tonight. Vocals are few and far between but when they do surface, they're muffled spoken or hollered proclamations. All the while foggy four on the floor dance beats churn away like lo-fi house tracks. Ten tracks in all, each with very long song titles like "If anyone in this high school fucks with you for being a freak, just tell me and I'll kick their ass" and "The day I defeated the Dutch shelf toilet".
RealAudio clip: "Canada Post-Rock Machine Gullible Sucker (Godspeed Remix)"
RealAudio clip: "Bronze Medal For Fence Hopping At The Punk Olympics"

BOTTOM Feels So Good When You're Gone... (Man's Ruin / Clearspot) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The hard-rocking midwestern all-female, uh, hard rock outfit Bottom steps up with debut cd release on Man's Ruin. Heavy, with elements of '90s noise/grunge rock and '70s style swagger. Kinda aggro.

BOTTOM OF THE HUDSON Holiday Machine (Absolutely Kosher) cd ep 8.98
Geez, it's getting increasingly difficult to keep up with the flurry of release activity bursting forth from the Absolutely Kosher label these days -- Sparrow, Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, Moggs, Get Him Eat Him, and the list goes on! We welcome this new EP from veteran indie popsters Bottom Of The Hudson as a kind sign that they A.) don't want to crowd out their labelmates, B.) don't want to monopolize the stereo, C.) do want to keep the listener wantin' more or D.) all of the above? For these half dozen songs they've injected a dose of the sullen mope-rock dourness of Interpol into their rough-hewn popcraft a la Guided By Voices to good effect. Lots of those ol' familiar strummy-jangle indie rock guitars, boyish vocals and an occasional lo-tech drum machine percolating up every so often.
MPEG Stream: "Holiday Machine"
MPEG Stream: "One Of Us"

BOTTOM OF THE HUDSON Songs From The Barrel Commando (Happy House) cd 14.98
Here's the latest full length from Bottom Of The Hudson (their follow-up to 2003's The Omaha Record), and it reveals a transformation of sorts. While they're still deeply immersed in their studies at Robert Pollard's School of Fine Indie Pop, they've tempered and toned things down considerably. Gone are the pounded piano lines and crunchy guitars in favor of slower, more contemplative folksy acoustic numbers. Perhaps they've been (re)visiting Pink Floyd's Meddle album? Be sure to stick around 'til the final two songs 'cuz they're definitely the stand-outs (although when the second to last song started we thought it was a cover of k.d. lang's "Constant Craving"... which in itself is a fine song, innit?). And if this isn't enough B.O.T.H. for ya, expect a new ep sometime this summer!
MPEG Stream: "Take Me In"
MPEG Stream: "Hallways Of Rachel"

BOTTOM OF THE HUDSON The Omaha Record (Absolutely Kosher) cd 12.98

BOTULISTUM Pestilential Terror (Target:Earth) cd 14.98
There's all sorts of metal. Death metal, speed metal, doom metal, power metal, thrash metal, grind metal, tech metal, umm... emo metal, grunge metal, peat metal. Woah! Hold on there. What the fuck is 'peat metal'? Well to be honest, we're not entirely sure. But very much like the 'brown metal' of Lugubrum, there is only one true practitioner of the mysterious black art of 'peat metal' and that would be the strangely named Dutch black metal outfit Botulistum. And while 'peat metal' seems to be some strange subset of black metal, it definitely falls squarely into that batch of black metal we often describe as damaged, demented, bizarre, freaked out, fucked up, definite 'outsider'. You know, Dead Reptile Shrine, Benighted Leams, Furze, Rehtaf Ruo, Spektr, Urfaust and all their black brethren. Strangely enough, one of the fellas in Botulistum also does time in aQ faves Urfaust and he and his partner are also in bizarre black metal outfit Fluisterwoud. And it sounds like it. This re-release features one live 30 minute track recorded at their last show in Belgium in 2004 and originally released as a super limited (to 200) edition and also includes a bonus track called "Mergzuigende Veenpulker", from Acts Of Excrement TerrorismŠOn The Holy Trinity a split with more of their black metal countrymen, Domini Inferni. The sound is definitely black, but it's so murky and psychedelic and confusional, it almost sounds like a black metal Butthole Surfers. Processed vocals, howls and grunts and squeals and shrieks, echo and careen wildly from speaker to speaker, weird riffs, angular and jagged, everything drenched in reverb and room sound, the drums a tribal splatter, the sound of the crowd almost as loud as the band. It's like if Abruptum were from Texas and smoked tons of weed. Or maybe it's actually peat these guys are smoking. The bonus track is like the live track only a little more structured, a huge slab of druggy delirium minus the crowd sounds and with the addition of a ridiculous drum machine, the snares programmed so fast it almost sounds like a mosquito buzzing, but still a glorious blackened sludgy swirl of fucked up guitars and bizarre vocals. This is truly some seriously noisy and fucked up drugged out weirdness. As much for black metalheads as it is for folks into the the Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, Violent Students, and other sludgy drug drenched mayhem. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"

BOUGOUNI YAALALI s/t (Yaala Yaala) cd 14.98
You might remember a couple months ago we freaked out over a gritty and gorgeous release out of Mali from Pekos and Yoro Diallo. It was the first release on the new Drag City imprint Yaala Yaala, a label specializing in raw music and field recordings from West Africa. After reveling in their first release for a while we thought it was time to move on to their second outing which we're happy to report is just as mystifying, compelling and pleasing as the first. Bougouni is a small city in Mali and it's there and in nearby Bamako where these sounds were recorded, during hot days and balmy nights. The music was recorded everywhere from house parties, at checker games, under the shade of mango trees, etc. Like the best of the Nonesuch Explorer series and the eccentric tendencies of the beloved Sublime Frequencies label, Yaalaa Yaala has managed to capture the sounds of other cultures in a way much more agreeable to our sensibilities and respectful to the music and musicians themselves then the often manipulated, polished and Western-washed versions that ends up at cafes, on slick compilations and in "world music" sections of most record stores. Often when we've traveled to faraway places we wish that instead of a camera we had a really good tape recorder with us as it's often the raw and unadorned sounds of a place and people that truly captures the spirit of that location more then any photograph ever could.
Thankfully, the sounds on Bougouni Yaalali resulted from just that sort of foresight, someone who did think ahead and managed to record all of these amazing sounds during various travels through Mali, allowing us to really get close to understanding the spirit of a place that most of us have never been to (though would kill to visit!!). With simple yet compelling percussion (some of it wonderfully distorted!) and a slew of various instruments, the extremely minimal liner notes allow us to play the guessing game of trying to identify the sources of particular sounds (is that a thumb piano we hear on lots of these tracks?). And even though we can't understand the lyrics the hypnotic and powerful delivery ring true with a passion and emotional conviction that transcends language. Yaala Yaala is two for two so far, we can't wait to hear more!
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 8"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 4"

BOULDER Ravage & Savage (Tee Pee) cd 15.98
Ohio metal/punk combo, busy making the devil-sign with their hands held high, however with their tongues firmly in their cheeks... But while the vocals betray their punk lineage, the riffs and licks are truly the devil's music. Hot rockin' Flying V worship, that should go down well with fans of Motorhead, Drunkhorse, Lost Goat...in fact, this kicks the ass of The Hellacopters and their ilk, 'cause of the metal element here, however silly it might be. Includes their earlier vinyl-only "The Rage Of It All" lp as bonus tracks. Smart people making dumb metal sometimes doesn't work out so well, but we like this despite the irony.

BOULDER Reaped In Half (Tee Pee) cd 14.98
Ohio punk rockers turned metalheads shed more of their punk rock skin and emerge a bright and bloody hard rockin' butterfly! Hard to tell if this is 'irony rock' or not, but it hardly matters. This is high kicking, devil sign, Budweiser tallboys, T-top camaros, 7-11 parking lot, ass kicking, drug gulping, friday night party metallic rock and roll. Think Hellacopters, Drunk Horse, Grand Funk Railroad, Motorhead and this time around: AC/DC, with the simple stomping 4/4 rhythms and the snake-y noodly riffs. Meathead metal 'n' roll that's mindless and fun as hell!!
RealAudio clip: "Krank It Up"
RealAudio clip: "Live Or Dead"
RealAudio clip: "Ripped In Half"

BOULDER DDASH Alien Folk Trash (Angelika Kohlermann) cd 16.98
This French band is seemingly named after an '80s video game, and aptly so, 'cause that's what a lot of this sounds like. Bleepage from dusty, vintage videogame consoles, but put to use in pretty lil' micro-songs with wistful singing. Simultaneously cute and sad. The title is also apt: alien (that's the video game sounds), folk (that's the melodic element) and trash (that's the distortion), sure. Imagine, say, the melancholic folky music of AQ-fave Greg Weeks colliding with some post-DHR distorted DIY electronics. Very pretty and fucked up. One track will feature acoustic guitar strum, the next quirky Aphex Twin-ish breakbeats. Some, both. It's very personal, homemade sounding stuff, which makes sense 'cause while we called this a band up top, actually Boulder dDash is really pretty much just one guy, a French fellow named Jean-Baptiste Hanak, with additional vocals on four of the twenty tracks by someone named The Very Ape (possibly Hanak's girlfriend?) who is even more sad sounding than he is. But as sad as the singing can be, this is a fun album. There's a song about comic book hero Fillerbunny, and another is dedicated to labelmates Electronicat. Oh, and this disc includes an entire bonus album of mp3s called "The Dark Side Of Boulder dDash" that's rather more crazed and stupid, like Hanak got really drunk and tried to make some hip-hop tracks. Weird.
MPEG Stream: "On The Road Again"
MPEG Stream: "Ur.So (feat. the Very Ape)"
MPEG Stream: "Antinordheim #1"

BOUNTY KILLA Bulls of Chicago (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BOUNTY KILLER Bun A Fire (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).

BOUNTY KILLER Entourage (Killa) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott) b/w "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Eve) rhythm and mystery vocals.

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Crown King (Killa) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Eve).

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Dictionary: The Art Of War (VP) cd 16.98
Oy vey! What ever happened to releasing albums one at a time? I guess maybe there's more fiduciary sense in splitting up a double disc as two separate albums (it seems to have done indie rockers Appleseed Cast well.) Or maybe it's that Mr. Killer is hoping to continue riding his recent world fame acquired thrugh his association with duder rock band No Doubt. With 20 tracks on each one though, you've got to wonder if maybe a little culling may have been in order. Still, rough and tough gangster dancehall man Bounty Killer makes the attempt. The thing that makes Bounty Killer more successful than most of his dancehall contemporaries might be in attempting this feat (in our humble opinion) is that, with Ghetto Dictionary, he avoids the slow jam ballads *almost* entirely. But then again you've probably come to realise that the style of dancehall vocals most appreciated by us AQ folk are ones that are spoken, not sung and preferably by someone who's voice is not entirely suited to sing vocals even when attempted. Of the myriad dancehall vocalists out there today Bounty Killer is on the short list of people who fit this job description. With an almost asthmatic, wheezing voice, Bounty Killer has a way of forcing all his words through his chest that's like a voice instructor's textbook scenario for how not to sing. And that's the way we like it. One of the things that keeps these two discs from becoming stale throughout their extremely long run time is the varied production in the rhythm department. On both albums there's a decent mix of reggae, dancehall and hip hop rhythm tracks here which breaks up what often makes many dancehall albums monotonous.
With its hip hop album intro beginning, one would think that 'Art of War' was going to be either more of a hip hop influenced album, or at least harder than 'Mystery', but actually this is not the case. Weighing the two albums 'Art of War' is perhaps more firmly ensconced in the dancehall tradition. And although it possibly lacks quite as many 'hits' as its companion, it also has nary a single crappy ballad, of which 'Mystery' has three or four.
RealAudio clip: "Man Ah Bad Man The Sequel"
RealAudio clip: "Just Dead"
RealAudio clip: "W.A.R.R."

BOUNTY KILLER Ghetto Dictionary: The Mystery (VP) cd 16.98
Oy vey! What ever happened to releasing albums one at a time? I guess maybe there's more fiduciary sense in splitting up a double disc as two separate albums (it seems to have done indie rockers Appleseed Cast well.) Or maybe it's that Mr. Killer is hoping to continue riding his recent world fame acquired thrugh his association with duder rock band No Doubt. With 20 tracks on each one though, you've got to wonder if maybe a little culling may have been in order. Still, rough and tough gangster dancehall man Bounty Killer makes the attempt. The thing that makes Bounty Killer more successful than most of his dancehall contemporaries might be in attempting this feat (in our humble opinion) is that, with Ghetto Dictionary, he avoids the slow jam ballads *almost* entirely. But then again you've probably come to realise that the style of dancehall vocals most appreciated by us AQ folk are ones that are spoken, not sung and preferably by someone who's voice is not entirely suited to sing vocals even when attempted. Of the myriad dancehall vocalists out there today Bounty Killer is on the short list of people who fit this job description. With an almost asthmatic, wheezing voice, Bounty Killer has a way of forcing all his words through his chest that's like a voice instructor's textbook scenario for how not to sing. And that's the way we like it. One of the things that keeps these two discs from becoming stale throughout their extremely long run time is the varied production in the rhythm department. On both albums there's a decent mix of reggae, dancehall and hip hop rhythm tracks here which breaks up what often makes many dancehall albums monotonous.
On 'Mystery' one particular highlight is a toast over Morgan Heritage's excellent classic "Gunz In the Ghetto" smack dab in the middle of the album and whose production style makes it stick out as though someone has suddenly changed the disc in the player. By the time things slow down on 'Mystery', you've pretty much got your album's worth already. One of the more amusing bad numbers "Evil's of the Mind" is worth going through once at least for kicks. The track features Curly Loxx 2 Loxx who sounds like a cross between fitness guru Richard Simmons and white rapper Eminem. You gotta wonder where Bounty Killer found this guy.
RealAudio clip: "Bakardi Slang Refix"
RealAudio clip: "100 Rounds"
RealAudio clip: "Gunz In The Ghetto"

BOUNTY KILLER Mark Death (Killa) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Wait A Minute" (Ray J).

BOUNTY KILLER Next Millennium (TVT) cd 17.98
Released in 1998 by TVT records, Next Millennium is yet another record that is part of that new breed of dancehall which has almost more in common with hip hop than reggae. The production is filled with breakbeats and scratching and if that isn't enough it features cameos from Noreaga, Mob Deep and Killa Priest.
RealAudio clip: "Next Millennium"

BOUNTY KILLER Roy (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Fiesta" (R. Kelly).

BOUNTY KILLER Stush War (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "What It Is" (Busta Rhymes).

BOUNTY KILLER / MERCILESS No One Cares (RMC) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Fiesta" (R. Kelly).

BOVELL, DENNIS Decibel (Pressure Sounds) cd 17.98
Seems we haven't had a super dub collection come our way for a while, so it's nice to have this wee disc pass through our doors. Before Dennis Bovell came to wider recognition through his efforts producing the Slits and the Pop Group, he could have retired and earned himself a veritable lifetime acheivement award for his efforts not only in shaping the sound of UK reggae, but also in putting on the map in a very Jamaican-centric scene. He had a hefty C.V. including: founding member of England's premiere reggae group Matumbi, running his Sufferer HiFi sound system, running a successful record label and his work with Linton Kwesi Johnson for starters. Though always confident that whatever he and his fellow musicians and producers in the UK were doing was just as good as the newest thing out of Kingston, getting his fellow countrymen and expats to reach the same conclusion was not as simple as saying the proof is in the pudding. There's a really great story in Lloyd Bradley's "Bass Culture" (printed in the U.S. with the less exciting "This Is Reggae Music" title) in which Bovell relates how he got people to stop and listen: the good old fashion dub plate. Every good DJ wants to have a kick ass track that their competitors don't, especially if they think it's coming from Jamaica. Knowing this, Bovell began having his group Matumbi cut dub tracks and release them on 7". They even went so far as to buy a "dink" machine to give them that extra bit of authenticity. See, the 7"s that they'd get pressed in the UK all had the small hole in the middle, where as the Jamaican singles all had the big hole in the middle. The "dink" machine lopped out the hole in the middle so that their singles looked just like those from Kingston. Add a rubber stamped evocative label name, "Rama", to the single and there's no telling the difference. Then they just ran them around town to all the shops and sound systems, selling them direct (which only adds to a sense of authenticity in the world of exclusive dub plates). You have to read Bradley's book yourself to find out how they finally got "caught". Of the 16 dub tracks on this collection several are apparently those self same rare dub plates that fooled the DJ's and public of yore. But rare tracks or no, all of the tracks here (recorded between 1976 and 1983) are excellent, proving Bovell was indeed on par with the best in Kingston. Part of what inspired Bovell to challenge the Jamaican supremacy was his refusal to be content with merely immitating the rhythms already reworked ad nauseum on both sides of the Atlantic. Making the best of both worlds Bovell was un-fettered by the popular trends of Jamaican music while, in a genre almost predicated on creative borrowing, free to take what he liked from a wide pool of sources; be it Sly Dunbar rhythm tweaked with a calypso flavor, or a Congos era Lee Perry intro and bass line. But by throwing in some rock fuzz guitar, suavely lifting a lick from the Beatles here and there Bovell creates some great dubs that were uniquely his own. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Dominion Dub"
MPEG Stream: "Scientific"
MPEG Stream: "Entebbe"

BOVINE LIFE Social Electrics (Bip Hop) cd 15.98
Bovine Life presents a weird album of abstract electronica, sounding like the mid-90s clunky techno of As One or David Moufang with plenty of mechanical sequencing sort of like Tackhead, but with the purposefully angularity of Laurie Anderson to guarantee qualifications of this as "conceptual." Bovine Life offers some collaborations with Smyglyssna (Plug Research), renowned turntable experimentalist Janek Schaefer, and a bunch of unknown factors (Nathaniel "Chief" Forrest, Duodecimo, Octorock, M.C. McCough Dog, Kohn, and Yituey).

BOWERY ELECTRIC (Happy Go Lucky) 12" 7.98
2 new songs, one is drum'n'bass and one features scratchy electro sounds. Pretty cool, and definitely a step forward for this New York formerly-strictly-space-rock-ambient group.

BOWERY ELECTRIC Beat (Kranky) cd 13.98
Fuzzy layers of Kranky-style moodiness with the addition of beats, hence the title. According to the band, the lp (as well as cd) will be issued by Beggar's Banquet early next year.

BOWERY ELECTRIC Bowery Electric (Kranky) cd 14.98
For fans of Jessamine, Bardo Pond, Flying Saucer Attack.

BOWERY ELECTRIC Lushlife (Beggar's Banquet) cd 14.98
The two previous albums by Bowery Electric were amazing extensions of My Bloody Valentine's blurry glide guitar sound fused with an interest in bleak electronica hypnosis. Yet "Lushlife" marks a huge and somewhat baffling leap in direction for Bowery Electric into the more commercially viable trip hop realm, with minor chord strings, smoky Portishead atmospheres, and downtempo breaks. I don't suppose the desire for dollars had something to do with this transformation?

BOWERY ELECTRIC Vertigo (Kranky/Beggars Banquet) 2cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Double cd import of totally cool remixes by the likes of Witchman (Aquarius bows down to the brilliance of Witchman), Twisted Science, Third Eye Foundation, Main, etc. Highly recommended for late night ambient listening.

BOWIE, DAVID Diamond Dogs - 30th Anniversary Edition (EMI) 2cd 24.00
Anyone noticed how many 30th anniversary editions have been popping up in the last couple of years? Quite a sign of the remarkable wealth of great music that was made in the early to mid '70s. Some truly classic albums (case in point, the recent reissues of four albums by Bowie's comrade Brian Eno)! Well, here's another one, a special double-disc commemorative edition that's particularly for Bowie fanatics. While we welcome the reissue of Diamond Dogs, Bowie's album from the tail end of his flashy conceptual Ziggy Stardust period, we have to say that the bonus disc adds little to the Diamond Dogs celebratory experience. It includes a 'K-Tel Best Of' cut of the title song, a U.S. single version as well as a 2003 reworking of "Rebel Rebel", a demo track for a proposed 1984 musical, and a Bruce Springsteen cover. Definitely for completists.
MPEG Stream: "Growin' Up"
MPEG Stream: "Alternative Candidate"

BOWIE, DAVID Heathen (ISO) cd 17.98
First things first, a side note (not solely specific to David Bowie's new album but we'll use it as a timely example): Y'know, something that irks me to pieces is the overuse of the term "classic". It just gets tossed around like any other superlative! Doesn't a bit of time needs to pass before something can deservedly be proclaimed "classic"? And I don't wanna be told that something brand spanking new is classic, least of all on a sticker applied to the shrinkwrap. Grrrrr.
Rant aside, Heathen is Bowie's twenty-seventh studio album. Among those, there've been innumerable highs and lows. Hard to say what the score is now, but reportedly this is his return to his Low / Scary Monsters (ie, high) realm, or more generally a return to form. Interestingly it's a revisiting of one of his truly classic periods rather than yet another pursuit of the newest happenin' sounds for him to adopt and adapt. Also, notably this is his reunion with producer Tony Visconti (who co-produced many if not all of Bowie's greatest albums which certainly helps to recapture the mood and atmosphere of those amazing works), but the best thing about this album is his voice. Not trying to force it into the style of the day, he sings with an ease and aplomb that's been missing from many of his albums of the past two decades. Many songs do occasionally veer into the overwhelming sheen and excess of AOR territory - check out "5:15 The Angels Have Gone" which brought many in-store comparisons to Peter Gabriel - but they're countered by his more arty, idiosyncratic moments. There are a few odd/questionable choices made however, one of them was to cover The Pixies' "Cactus" (not to mention placing it second on the album). This track was met by a chorus of raised eyebrows and groans. He also delivers renditions of Neil Young's "I've Been Waiting For You" and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "I Took a Trip (On A Space Shuttle)" here parenthetically renamed "...(On A Gemini Spaceship)" and made all super hyper-electronic beat-funky. Guests include Pete Townsend and Dave Grohl. A solid Bowie album? Perhaps. A classic? Hmmm.
RealAudio clip: "Slow Burn"
RealAudio clip: "Cactus"
RealAudio clip: "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spacecraft"
RealAudio clip: "5:15 The Angels Have Gone"

BOWIE, DAVID Heroes (Remastered) (EMI) cd 11.98

BOWIE, DAVID Hunky Dory (Virgin) cd 16.98

BOWIE, DAVID Low (Virgin) cd 16.98

BOWIE, DAVID Reality (ISO / Columbia) cd 17.98
Much like its predecessor Heathen, David Bowie's twenty eighth studio album Reality is another revisiting of sort to his excellent Low/Heroes/Scary Monsters period. He's once again joined forces with producer Tony Visconti with very fine results. As on Heathen, he seems very at ease -- no longer hopping on the latest trends, nor the alienated/alienating soul of earlier times, instead he's effectively fused a great deal of the energy and spirit of the old with the composure and technology of the new. His vocals still retain their smouldering edge, and not surprisingly the production is ever so finely detailed and crafted in the most deluxe fashion. The album is quite dandy as a whole, but high points include the lead-off track "New Killer Star" as well as "She'll Drive" and "Days". Plus depending on who you ask, a particular highlight or lowlight of Reality may be the second song, a cover of Jonathan Richman's "Pablo Picasso"!!!
MPEG Stream: "She'll Drive"
MPEG Stream: "Days"

BOWIE, DAVID Space Oddity (Virgin) cd 16.98

BOWIE, DAVID The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (Virgin) cd 16.98

BOWIE, DAVID The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - 30th Anniversary Edition (EMI) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Geez what can be said about this record? So massively important and great, it served as the introduction to Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie's sexy androgynous futuristic alter ego. It also featured Rick Wakeman on keyboards and Mick Ronson on guitar and piano. This 30th anniversary celebration release is bound in a suitably beautiful book, with extensive liner notes including quotes from Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen, Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp, and Marc Riley of The Fall among others recalling their first run-ins with the otherworldly glittering glamrock theatrics of Stardust. The first cd is the original release digitally remastered and the second cd compiles various demos and alternate versions, etc. If you don't own a copy of this, seize this opportunity! And if you are a David Bowie completist then you should get this for all of the extra fanciness and beautiful pictures.
RealAudio clip: "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
RealAudio clip: "Lady Stardust"
RealAudio clip: "Five Years"
RealAudio clip: "John, Im Only Dancing"
RealAudio clip: "Velvet Goldmine"

BOWIE, DAVIE Aladdin Sane - 30th Anniversary Special Edition (EMI) 2cd 26.00
Yet another David Bowie classic album gets its thirtieth anniversary special edition. Just like Diamond Dogs and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars before it, Aladdin Sane has been lovingly remastered and reissued along with an additional disc of rarities (including live recordings from '72 and previously unreleased tracks) and deluxe hardcover book-style packaging. Still sounds great over three decades later -- Bowie frequently hits his jaunty best on this album! Such a treat for his devoted completists.
MPEG Stream: "John, I'm Only Dancing (live)"
MPEG Stream: "Life On Mars? (previously unreleased)"

BOWS Blush (Too Pure) cd 15.98
If you like Emiliana Torrini or Andrea Parker, say "yes, please!" Bows is epic trip hop from Luke Sutherland (formerly of the beloved Long Fin Killie). Fans of Portishead will love this!

BOX Studio 1 (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98
We just love it when a plan comes together. Somebody thought it would be a good idea for these three Norwegians and one American to form a band and knock out some killer electric avant jazz improv jams. And indeed it was! Of course, just WHO these Norwegians and American were made a big difference: Box consists of guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim (Scorch Trio and a million other projects over the years), bassist Trevor Dunn (Fantomas, Secret Chiefs 3, Mr. Bungle, etc. etc.), drummer Morgan Agren (Mats//Morgan Band), and on electronics & keyboards, Stale Storlokken (Supersilent, Humcrush). None of 'em novices at acting and reacting as interesting sound-makers in diverse contexts.
The first track, "Untitled 9", is the longest, at 17 minutes, and pretty much says "Shred". Loud and clear. If you liked the Scorch Trio's scorching disc on Rune Grammofon, you'll probably dig this too. And the remaining five tracks here are also worthy, offering up plenty more moody bass burble, glitchy synth textures, threatening electric guitar, and percussive percolation. And though the disc is entitled Studio 1, we should note that this was all improvised live to analog tape with no overdubs or edits. Just pure badass instrumental interplay from four dudes who know what they're doin'.
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 9"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 13"

BOX TOPS The Best of the Box Tops: Soul Deep (Arista) cd 15.98
"The best of the groundbreaking '60s band led by Alex Chilton."

BOXCAR SAINTS Last Things (Grand Mal) cd 10.98
If you'd like to champion a local San Francisco artist and you're a fan of the gruffy janglings of Tom Waits, this is your ticket! Boxcar Saints sound very much in the vein of Waits, though perhaps a little smoother. Very pretty melodies!
MPEG Stream: "Stranger In God's House "
MPEG Stream: "Ain't Gonna Sleep"

BOXCUTTER Oneiric (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
We're really not sure how we managed to miss this one. Especially with us always dying for more grime. More blissed out dark and doomy dubstep. Well, this is IT!!! This 'it' actually came out almost a year ago! But so what! We just discovered it, and maybe you missed it as well. Boxcutter is everything we've been hankering for. And digging elsewhere. Milanese (a past AQ record of the week), Kode9, Virus Syndicate, that Mary Anne Hobbs comp, the Science Faction: Grime comp, Boxcutter fits right in amongst those killers. And is totally kicking our ass. Maybe more dubstep than grime (although it sounds pretty grimey to us, and we're not even really sure of the difference), this is dense and skittery, blown out dub drenched grimey and and filthy dark-as-fuck electronica. The rhythms throb and shuffle, a hiccuping stutter, that is not so much funky as fucked up and hypnotic, occasional beats get all gnarled up, glitching and buzzing before falling back into line. All around the beats, thick clouds of strange synths and spaced out FX hover and swirl, peppered with melodic fragments, and thick rib cage rattling bass lines.
Some of the tracks are WAY laid back, dubbed out to the extreme, a sort of late night / early morning chill out sound. All dark and druggy, heavy lidded and sort of shuffling drowsily. But other tracks are HUGE and bumping. Bursts of blown out synth fuzz, massive rolling bass lines, streaks of sizzling sound that careen from speaker to speaker, bits of fluttering flute suspended over dense rhythmic tangles, huge smears of undulating low end, kick drums that punch right through your sternum, sounding almost like some killer dancefloor destroying jungle dubplate played at 16 rpm.
Heavy and thick and dark and fuzzed out and spacey and groovy and so fucking great!!
MPEG Stream: "Tauhid"
MPEG Stream: "Grub"

BOXHARP The Tailored Soldier (Glitterhouse) cd 13.98
Boxharp is the solo (with plenty of help) project of the Court And Spark's MC Taylor. So as you might expect, it shares a lot soundwise with the C+S. However, it's a bit more experimental, with much more emphasis on texture and ambience. Boxharp's muted twang and loping, droning country are flecked with tinkling piano and soaring lap steel, otherworldly harmonies and a huge room sound, with plenty of extraneous noise, creaking doors, footsteps, wind, and instrument hum. Dark and achingly beautiful. Essential for fans of The Court and Spark, Uncle Tupelo, Calexico and the like. Definitely worth checking out even if you're not.
RealAudio clip: "Filming Th Desert"
RealAudio clip: "Old Wood In The Waterwheel"
RealAudio clip: "Church In Calhoun"

BOXHEAD ENSEMBLE Niagra Falls (Atavistic) cdep 10.98
'Recordings from the 'Dutch Harbor' United States film screening tour.' Featuring David Grubbs, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Michael Krassner, et. al.