V/A Glory, Dominion, Power, Majesty (PK) 2lp 25.00
Now on vinyl.... From the label that helped put out the swell "Darker Than Blue" compilation comes a new, even more obscure collection of great tracks. Everything on this collection comes from the vaults of the Canadian label / recording studio Half Moon, sort of a Great White Northern version of Wackies and every bit as good. Lots of crispy, crunchy hi-hats and boomy-muffled bass surround the vocalists in a sandwich of audio love. There's a really nice rootsy reworking of Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" rhythm with some vocals by Johnny Osbourne. Along with Osbourne many Jamaican stars came to visit and record with the in house Super 8 Corporation band during the eighties. Included on this set are Joe Higgs, Stranger Cole, Leroy Sibbles as well as the home team's own vocalists. In addition to the vocal tracks there's some really sweet dubs on here to boot, fairly stripped down in style with a little added instrumentation here, a little more spring reverb and delay there -- very tasteful. The recording quality is very reminiscent of Lee Perry's early Black Ark era stuff, cramming as much signal onto the magnetic tape as will saturate (just caint do that darn thing with that digital crap!) Quite nice. Comes packaged in a nicely printed cardboard box. Our only regret with this release is that they shot the wad on the outer sleeve and neglected to include any liner notes, not even a cover for the actual CD case within. But we can't bitch too much, it's a great collection filled with rarities.
MPEG Stream: BLENDERS, THE "Why Did You Run Away?"
MPEG Stream: BONGO OSSIE & THE MOONLIGHTS "Black Society"
MPEG Stream: LEROY SIBBLES & OTRAVIS BAND "Sky Jacking Version"

V/A Goin' Down Slow: Music For Acoustic Guitar (Harha-Askel) cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Goin' Down Slow is a small but super satisfying sampling of modern day free folk cd-r artists who are doing strange and wonderful things with acoustic guitars. It's not just strum and pick and twang anymore, although we do love us some of that too. Instead, these visionaries transform the simple acoustic guitar into strange shapes and wondrous sounds. As with a lot of these comps, there's an exciting collection of known names and favorites, but an even more exciting assortment of folks totally new to us.
Some of the favorites include Tom Carter (from Charalambides), who takes his guitar and stretches it into a slowly slithering raga like buzz, local boy Robert Horton, who offers up a tangled cacophony of detuned strum and damaged jangle, Finnish troubador Keijo who unfurls a very exotic sounding folk jam that is equal parts old scratchy blues and some exotic snake charmer music, Armpit who take a simple strum and a mumbled vocal, and wrap them in thick swaths of distorted electric guitar and dense spacerock FX, The North Sea, who offer up the most straight ahead piece, a dreamy rambling melancholy Appalachia, as well as Sindre Bjerga and Mike Tamburo. The new names here: Andy And Michael Futreal, Don Bosco, Amigo Result, Ville Moskiitto, Stephen Lewis and Mark Dagley offer up their own varied takes on the steel string, from dark and languorous bluesy buzz, to super abstract sine wave wrapped shimmer and strum, to murky percussive fingerpicked tangle to gorgeously languid near ambient folk drift and beyond.
Another amazing collection of guitarists on the periphery, and a beautiful introduction to some new names we definitely want to hear more from.
Packaged in hand painted sleeves, with two printed inserts.
SUPER LIMITED!!! ONLY 80 COPIES PRESSED!! We got about 20, but those are sure to be gone in no time so act fast.
MPEG Stream: TOM CARTER "Arroyo Crawl"
MPEG Stream: KEIJO "On That Windy Road"
MPEG Stream: ARMPIT "A Cooler Spot On The Pillow"

V/A Gold Leaf Branches (Foxy Digitalis) 3cd 24.00
We hope you left some room on your cd shelves next to the recently released Invisible Pyramid: Elegy Box 6cd set we reviewed recently. 'Cuz this almost plays like it could be discs 7, 8 and 9 of that set. That said, Gold Leaf Branches has it's own angle for sure, but sonically it still falls firmly right there in that abstract drone-y free psych folk world we all love. Just a glimpse of the bands should telll you all you need to know: Six Organs Of Admittance, Kuupuu, Hala Strana, Maniacs Dream, James Blackshaw, Keijo, Robert Horton, Wolfmangler, Charalambides, Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood, Rameses III, Claypipe, Marissa Nadler, Hush Arbors, Lost Domain, Lau Nau, Dead Raven Choir... C'mon, that's like the psychfolk dream comp. And that's barely a third of the bands on here! And that's exactly what makes this collection so exciting, so many bands who you've never heard of creating magical music as good as any/all of the bands you're already familiar with. Check out Stuart Busby, Alligator Crystal Moth, Soarwhole, Visitations, Oxblood Reincarnations, Weird Weeds, Snowfoxx, The Magical Folk Of The Faraway Tree, Wax Ghost, Plat Ypus, Agitated Radio Pilot, Terracid and so many more. This comp will no doubt see folks dashing madly to the internet to dig up more recordings by these mysterious groups.
All new and exclusive tracks, packaged in a gorgeous metallic gold inked parchment sleeve (although they really should have sprung for some inner sleeves instead of just using the liner note insert to separate the three discs).
MPEG Stream: SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE "Thousand Birds"
MPEG Stream: HALA STRANA "Fanfare"
MPEG Stream: JAMES BLACKSHAW "No Ghosts"
MPEG Stream: KUUPUU "Haava"

V/A Gold Record Studio: Live At Laney Flea Market (Edgetone Records) 2cd 14.98
BACK IN STOCK! Record collectors, check it out: in a sense, this is a compilation of tracks from some of the rarest records EVER -- even though they were just recorded last year! That's cause they only existed in editions of, like, one. Ok, this is gonna require some explanation. The Gold Record Studio is the latest contraption/conception from our man Jon Brumit (whom we first met when he brought us field recordings from the San Francisco dump!) and colleague Lisa Mezzacappa... Basically a set-up where one-of-a-kind vinyl records were pressed on-the-spot with an antique record cutter for folks who recorded live (and impromptu) in an open-air, homebuilt studio at a local flea market! This was totally free of charge, with instruments and even guest musicians provided, and apparently proved very popular. This took place over several weekends last spring at the Laney College Swap Meet over in Oakland... the City of Oakland actually ponied up some arts-funding money to help make it happen. And it seems like a pretty cool thing, for both the participants (the "recording artists") and now listeners who get to check out the diverse array of talent (and otherwise) who made records at the flea market, the best (and worst? no such distinctions really being made) have been compiled onto this sprawling double disc set. There's contributions from folks of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities. Some musical pros show up (including a couple Serbian prog rockers, and the DJ from the Ghetto Boys!), but also many total amateurs, young kids n' senior citizens. Lots of surprises in other words!
This man-in-the-street, instant-gratification, no-rules recording project really let some folks get, shall we say, expressive. And creative. And downright weird. Portions of this do come off like a rather dubious talent show, or drunk mom karaoke -- but lots of tracks could be some really underground, experimental cd-r fodder, too. As a whole, it's almost like a hypothetical installment of the Sublime Frequencies series dedicated to the sounds of why-be-normal urban America, jumping from track to track with ADD abandon. For instance, among the many tracks of disc one, you've got a woozy improv session with a barking dog factored in, followed a few tracks later by a version of "My Favorite Things" recast conversationally (and humorously) between teenage girls. There's also a pretty badass blues rock guitar instrumental, some crazy scat singing, and a song that sounds to us a lot like The Shitty Listener! And much much more... It's mind-boggling and exhausting and pretty darn special. Even the recognizable tunes that people try (for good or ill) are enhanced in our ears by the bustling flea market field recording happening in the background.
And then, there's a whole 'nother disc. 50 cuts on disc two, starting off with some very lovely solo guitar from "Sam"...which is followed by a much more maniacal track with a shouting child... and then some guy singing "Let It Be"... a super-distorted rap by a teenage girl... and on and on and on. There's definitely some Gong Show moments, which are good for a laugh or can be taken as something maybe unintentionally avant-garde. We really like the more "damaged", confusional tracks (of which there's plenty), where it sorta sounds like the people you hear DON'T know they're being recorded, or at least seem unaware of where the microphone is, or when the song is supposed to start or stop.
Even in the age of mp3 and MySpace, this Gold Record Studio project has taken the democratization of the "music industry" a step further, down to street level! There's just something really joyful about it, possibly due to the serendipitous social interaction happening right then and there at the point of creation. You're getting a glimpse at the inner musical burgeonings of people who until that fateful day they were wandering around the flea market, probably never ever ever dreamed that they would so soon be the proud owners of a physical vinyl artifact with their own singing/rapping/playing/barking/whatever on it, whether silly or serious. And that's pretty cool.
Also, if you get this, you'll definitely have some good material to put on your outgoing answering machine message for months to come... file it with stuff like MSR Madness anthologies of song-poem recordings, or Jacob Smigel's Eavesdrop disc of found sound recordings, although this takes its own unique place in that array of oddity...
MPEG Stream: "Lee, Jon, Suki, Brian, Tom, Jesse"
MPEG Stream: "Emily, Amara, Lucio"
MPEG Stream: "Sam"
MPEG Stream: "Birana, Tanaya, Shelley, Micha"

V/A Golden Age: Eurock, A History of European Progressive Music (Eurock) cd-rom 22.00
Where to begin with a review of a cd-rom that includes over 1,500 articles and reviews? Well, this is what I can tell you upon first examination of this disc, but many many hours could be spent exploring the material to be found here. Basically, this is an cross-platform (Mac and PC) cd-rom archive of every issue of Archie Patterson's Eurock fanzine, from 1973 to today, 45 issues worth. Eurock, as you might guess, specializes in European progressive rock sounds (although you'll also find coverage of scenes in Japan, Mexico, and other non-European places). Beginning in '73, it was initially focused on the contemporary krautrock scene (with features on Can, Amon Duul, Tangerine Dream in issue #1!), but as you browse through the issues you'll find stuff on Magma, Kraftwerk, RIO, Guru Guru, and then soon you'll be reading about Franco Battiato, Nektar, Lars Hollmer...it's endless. The Wire review of this of course bagged on the exclusion of much UK prog-rock (as if you'd rather read about Gentle Giant than Le Orme), but Patterson could hardly go back in a time machine and add stuff to the old issues of his zine -- what they wrote then is what you get now, and that's the beauty of it, the sense of "being there", of discovery, and all that...I almost wish that the magazine had been archived PDF fashion, so that you could actually see the original page layout and funky fonts. At least there's a gallery of cover art (unfortunately not viewable at full-size), for fans of the '70 underground press aesthetic.
Oh, and there's some bonus video material as well, an Urban Sax concert (sorry, haven't investigated that yet...) and a cut each from Amon Dull II ("Eye-Shaking King", goddamn!) and Popul Vuh from German TV. Very cool! Oh, and then the regular audio portion of this cd is some inoffensive New Agey symphonic music from one Hiro Kawahara, which might have its uses when trying to relax after several hours of computer-screen staring eyestrain that this cd-rom will surely cause. A fantastic item for folks interested in this sort of stuff (you know who you are)!

V/A Golden Apples Of The Sun (Bastet) cd 14.98
Much like the Sub Pop 200 comp which came out in 1988 and was filled with then not so well known bands who would soon become household names across the globe (Mudhoney, Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc.) this Arthur Magazine sponsored, Devendra Banhart curated compilation probably did the same for music of this decade. When it first came out names like Antony, Joanna Newsom, Espers, Iron & Wine, Vetiver, Josephine Foster and Coco Rosie weren't at the tip of indie music lovers tongues like they are now. Free-folk, freak-folk, whatever you wanna call it, this is a great collection of artists which also include such AQ faves as Jack Rose, Vashti Bunyan, White Magic, Troll (featuring our own Scott!), Six Organs of Admittance, etc. While none of these bands/people will probably ever get as big as some of those folks on that Sub Pop comp did, this is great document of one of a recent explosion of a sound and style that has pretty much defined much of the great new music coming out recently. Now repressed (it was previously only available via Arthur magazine), so if you weren't lucky enough to have Devendra throw you one at his Amoeba in-store a few years back you can still revel in his mighty fine musical taste!
MPEG Stream: SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE "Hazy SF"
MPEG Stream: IRON & WINE "Fever Dream"
MPEG Stream: TROLL "Mexicana"

V/A Golden State Funk (BGP Records) cd 19.98
With the Bay Area Funk comps that Luv N Haight put out in the last few years we were reminded of what a lot of spirited funk and soul was busting out of the Bay Area during those golden years. Golden State Funk digs even deeper as it mines the dancefloor burners and gritty shakers that were recorded inside Leo Kulka's Golden State Recorders studio here in San Francisco in the late '60s and early '70s.
Many of the twenty tracks on this all hits and no-misses collection were never released before. It's making us want to try to get our hands on anything and everything by the likes of Jeanette Jones, 87th Off Broadway, The San Francisco TKOS, Ramona King, and loads more. These are songs that could hold their weight right next to more well known hits by big names like Ike & Tina, Sly & The Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield. So cool that a recording studio operated by a Czech native which started in LA recording folks like Frank Sinatra and Little Richard really came into its own when it moved to San Francisco in 1965 on Harrison Street and found magic in the soul and funk scene that was about to explode here in the Bay Area. Packed with really interesting and informative liner notes. This is not just an amazing historical document but a record filled with super tasty grooves and deep hitting funk!
MPEG Stream: 87TH OFF BROADWAY "Can't Get Enough"
MPEG Stream: JIMMY BEE "Vida Blue Pt 1"
MPEG Stream: JEANETTE JONES "I'm Glad I Got Over You"

V/A Good For What Ails You - Music Of The Medicine Shows 1926 - 1937 (Old Hat) 2cd 28.00
This is most definitely a lost corner of old timey rhythm and blues music that we had not really thought about too much, let alone even considered there could be a huge amount of lost and undiscovered music worth collecting and releasing. But all we can say now is WOAH. It would take a lot for any collection to rival the also recently released second volume of American Primitive early 20th century gospel recordings, but this one comes darn close. Unlike American Primitive, with its haunting otherworldliness, the tracks here are more about fun and entertainment. This was post Civil War, before radio, or TV, when folks often got their entertainment (as well as elixers and whatnot) from travelling medicine shows. Two discs of fun and funny, playful, foot stomping, catchy and kooky, even a bit randy and risque. Twangy guitars, banjo, fiddle, even kazoo woven together into rollicking blues vamps underpinning tales of no good women, no good men, food, money, cars, cats and dogs, sickness, cops, parents and anything else folks might worry or obsess or want to hear songs about. Packaged in a beautiful six panel digipak, with a MASSIVE seventy page book packed with liner notes on each performer and every track, tales of old medicine shows, an eyewitness acount of travelling in a medicine show, and an amazing batch of rare and never before seen photos!
MPEG Stream: DADDY STOVEPIPE & MISSISSIPPI SARAH "The Spasm"
MPEG Stream: GID TANNER AND RILEY PUCKETT "Tanner's Boarding House"
MPEG Stream: LIL MCCLINTOCK "Don't Think I'm Santa Claus"
MPEG Stream: DALLAS STING BAND WITHCOLEY JONES "Hokum Blues"

V/A Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal (Numero Group) cd 17.98
We've been saying this for a while now but; wow, watch out Soul Jazz! 'Cuz Numero Group is quickly catching up. No other label has managed the quality, aesthetics or the consistency of the many killer Numero Group reissues from the last few years. This time out -- instead of unearthing the work of a long gone and forgotten regional soul label like they have in their "Eccentric Soul" series -- they turn their attention to a greater power if you will...the sounds of raw, catchy, wild gospel funk hymnals. While the two volumes of the Soul Gospel series on Soul Jazz taught us about the unique power and energy of '60s and '70s soul gospel sounds, this collection takes us even higher. Thumping bass, blistering percussion, and vocals sung with so much conviction you can't help but be moved. Gospel Comforters, Universal Jubileers, Apostles of Music, Masonic Wonders - with names like that you know these bands have serious soul power up their sleeves. All 18 tracks on this collection are beyond top notch... giving soul lovers something to drool about once again. Are you a believer? After listening to this it's pretty damn hard not to be!
MPEG Stream: VOICES OF CONQUEST "O Yes My Lord"
MPEG Stream: CLIFF GOBER "A Poor Wayfaring Stranger"
MPEG Stream: MASONIC WONDERS "I Call Him"

V/A Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal (Numero Group) 2lp 18.98
We've been saying this for a while now but; wow, watch out Soul Jazz! 'Cuz Numero Group is quickly catching up. No other label has managed the quality, aesthetics or the consistency of the many killer Numero Group reissues from the last few years. This time out -- instead of unearthing the work of a long gone and forgotten regional soul label like they have in their "Eccentric Soul" series -- they turn their attention to a greater power if you will...the sounds of raw, catchy, wild gospel funk hymnals. While the two volumes of the Soul Gospel series on Soul Jazz taught us about the unique power and energy of '60s and '70s soul gospel sounds, this collection takes us even higher. Thumping bass, blistering percussion, and vocals sung with so much conviction you can't help but be moved. Gospel Comforters, Universal Jubileers, Apostles of Music, Masonic Wonders - with names like that you know these bands have serious soul power up their sleeves. All 18 tracks on this collection are beyond top notch... giving soul lovers something to drool about once again. Are you a believer? After listening to this it's pretty damn hard not to be!
MPEG Stream: VOICES OF CONQUEST "O Yes My Lord"
MPEG Stream: CLIFF GOBER "A Poor Wayfaring Stranger"
MPEG Stream: MASONIC WONDERS "I Call Him"

V/A Good God! Born Again Funk (Numero Group) cd 16.98
You know music is beyond powerful and soulful when it can be all about faith in something you don't personally believe in, yet you can't stop listening to it! The sentiment, passion and energy put into the music transcends any one specific belief and becomes more about the music and its ability to truly tap into raw spirit and deep conviction.
Such is the case for the amazing gospel jams compiled once again by the always dependable Numero Group, in their second volume of gospel burners that we think might even outshine their first installment from a few years back. These are the reeeeal deal, unfiltered sounds that were blasting in black churches in the 1960's. Informed by the soul and deep funk of popular secular music, folks took that inspiration into their churches to create sweaty, impassioned deep grooved fiery and catchy songs that spoke of their deep running spirituality and beliefs. And it's just impossible not to get swept up in the spirit of these songs. Musically it's just some of the most solid, groove filled and exquisitely performed soul music we've ever heard. The equivalent of getting to hear Aretha Franklin or James Brown let it all hang out in the house of the Lord. Most of the tracks here come from Chicago, whose long history of spiritual soul is reaffirmed once again.
While most of us here are everything from Atheists to Buddhists to Jewish to Quaker to Agnostic to worshipers of nature and sometimes even Satan (got to represent out black metal tendencies) we all can't help but testify to the righteous sounds in this collection. For the duration of the eighteen songs on Good God! Born Again Funk, we are all devout believers! Vinyl version coming in a few weeks, by the way...
MPEG Stream: T.L. BARRETT & YOUTH FOR CHRIST CHOIR "Life A Ship"
MPEG Stream: THE INSPIRATIONAL GOSPEL SINGERS "The Same Thing It Took"
MPEG Stream: SENSATIONAL FIVE "Coming On Strong"

V/A Good God! Heavy Funk Covers Of James Brown From All Over The World 1968-1974 (Guerilla Reissues) cd 13.98
The title of this one pretty much says it all! How can you go wrong with ultra raw covers of songs originally by the godfather of soul, recorded during those golden funk years of 1968-1974. All sorts of obscure funk outfits from across the globe were taking their worship of The Funky President to great heights, punching out covers that scream with raw soul and gritty funk. We've been blasting this in the store pretty much everyday since we got it. No matter how obscure the artist, they all totally understood the power and infectious quality of James Brown and his bad ass funk genius. Put this on and everyone around you will immediately start moving and shaking. So fun and funky!
MPEG Stream: ST. VINCENT LATINAIRES "Hot Pants I'm Comin'"
MPEG Stream: SKORPYONS OF JAMAICA "Think (About It)"
MPEG Stream: EAST OF UNDERGROUND "Popcorn"

V/A Good God! Heavy Funk Covers Of James Brown From All Over The World 1968-1974 (Guerilla Reissues) lp 16.98
The title of this one pretty much says it all! How can you go wrong with ultra raw covers of songs originally by the godfather of soul, recorded during those golden funk years of 1968-1974. All sorts of obscure funk outfits from across the globe were taking their worship of The Funky President to great heights, punching out covers that scream with raw soul and gritty funk. We've been blasting this in the store pretty much everyday since we got it. No matter how obscure the artist, they all totally understood the power and infectious quality of James Brown and his bad ass funk genius. Put this on and everyone around you will immediately start moving and shaking. So fun and funky!
MPEG Stream: ST. VINCENT LATINAIRES "Hot Pants I'm Comin'"
MPEG Stream: SKORPYONS OF JAMAICA "Think (About It)"
MPEG Stream: EAST OF UNDERGROUND "Popcorn"

V/A Good Night: Music To Sleep By (Tigerbeat6) 2cd 14.98
These days, the phrase 'electronica compilation' sends shivers down our spines. And not in a good way. Especially when it's the same people, doing the same thing for the umpteenth time. So we were pleasantly surprised by this particular electronic compilation, even though it features many of the same folks -- they've all decided to put us to sleep. On purpose this time! (Ha, just kidding.) This is a gorgeous collection of warm and gauzy, wispy, dreamy, electronic minimalism. Soothing and droney, thick and lush, beautifully late night sounding. And I actually HAVE listened to this going to sleep and it's perfect! Features the ubiquitous Kid606 as well as Stephan Mathieu, Kurt Ralske, Electric Company, Main, Pimmon, Tim Hecker, and Oren Ambarchi. Both discs also feature movies playable on your computer by Kurt Ralske, Electric Company and Pimmon. Our favorite Tigerbeat6 release in a while!
MPEG Stream: TIM HECKER "Indigo Aerial"
MPEG Stream: STEPHAN MATHIEU "A Pillow For Sue"
MPEG Stream: KID606 "Enemic"

V/A Goodbye, Babylon (Dust-To-Digital) 6cd box set 108.00
What do Blind Lemon Jefferson, J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers, The Louvin Brothers, Mahalia Jackson, Rev. Gary Davis, The Carter Family, Flatt & Scruggs, The Stanley Bros., Blind Willie Johnson, Bill & Charlie Monroe, Hank Williams and Uncle Dave Macon have in common? Gospel. And the upstart label Dust To Digital has stepped in to sing the praises of their praises. Be they blues, old-time, country, or bluegrass performers, all of them here dedicated at least part of their repertoire to a higher power. Second only to the earnest passion of the performances on this set is that applied to the design and construction of the box set itself (the art design here was done by the same people that did the beautiful Charlie Patton box). The set contains 5 CDs of early gospel, one CD of early sermons, and one beautifully printed 200 page book filled with lyrics, biblical passages, biographical notations, photos and sundry other historical documents. All of this packaged in a silk-screened wooden box and snuggled together with two clumps of raw cotton. This may very well be the most thorough collection of early gospel music ever captured on wax cylinder, 78, or magnetic tape. Containing recordings dating as far back as 1902 on up to 1960. Along with the more famous names listed above, there are numerous tracks from lesser known artists who are just as worthy of attention. Most in evidence are ghostly a capella groups like The Alabama Sacred Harp Singers that will raise your hair on end. Then there are some truly unique visionaries like Washington Phillips, who accompanies himself on the dolceola, the most delicate of instruments, it's like a mini piano crossed with a dulcimer. It's one of the most beautiful sounds ever committed to 78. The quiet, delicateness of his performances are such that the throbbing drone of the early recording equipment becomes as much a part of his performance as his singing and playing (N.B.: there's a full length by Phillips that we should be getting in here in the near future). And let's not forget the 6th disc of sermons (25 of them) recorded between 1926 and 1941. These are possibly as musical (to be sure, many of the sermons even break into music anyway) as the first five discs and regardless of one's religious affiliation or lack thereof they are a compelling collection of beautiful and historical retoric, the art of which seems to have disappeared in the new millennium. This is one astoundingly compiled and executed collection. If you can't find a spot for it on your own shelf, you can certainly make a loved one happy by letting them find one under their christmas tree. Very highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: ALABAMA SACRED HARP SINGERS "Present Joys"
MPEG Stream: PHILLIPS, WASHINGTON "What Are They Doing In Heaven Today"
MPEG Stream: BLIND MAMIE FOREHAND "Honey In the Rock"
MPEG Stream: REV. WEBB "Moses Was Rescued By A Negro Woman"
MPEG Stream: GATEWOOD, H.C. (D.D.I.M.R.A.) "Well of Salvation"

V/A Goode Tyme Jhamboree (Planet Pimp) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Featuring David Nudelman of Three Stoned Men singing about how he hates vegetables, Gomez, MC Terror T with Nardwuar (the Human Serviette), Man...Or Astroman?, the Hi-Fives, etc. The highlights of this record are the phone calls "Comfy Jones" (Neil Hamburger?) places to the Original Car Thieves. I would like to know how Outpunk, Pansy Division, and others feel about this saga; but here's how it's been recounted to us: Sven of Planet Pimp called up the Car Thieves and said he liked 'em & wanted to release a 7" record. They said 'Great! And you can do the cover art... "Just don't make it too gay." Sven, righteously disgusted, designed the entire package, songtitles and artwork to portray the band as hot leather boys. The Car Thieves reaction? On this compilation, 'Comfy Jones' calls up the band to tell them how happy he is that they're out and proud and that he can't wait for them to play San Francisco. The bandmembers, who are apparently not too bright and thus don't get that they're being ridiculed, protest that they're not gay and that Sven is just making fun of...homosexuals.

V/A Gooom Tracks Vol. 2 (Gooom) cd 15.98

V/A Gorilla Garage: The Jesse Hector Story (RPM) cd 16.98

V/A Got Howls (Pish Posh Of North America) cd 9.98
Killer three way split from three local modern hip hop / electronica outfits, one of which, the awesomely titled Lazer Sword, just so happens to include our very own Antaeus. So let's start with the Lazer Sword, who of the three are probably our favorites, and we're not just saying that cuz of Antaeus, nope, we're saying that, cuz of the three, LS are the hardest and the grittiest, with fierce beats, and crazy hidden hooks, each of the three tracks are full on looped, stuttering, skipping dancefloor fillers, with big beats that shuffle and pound, vocals chopped up into strange hiccuping rhythms, buzzing synths and throbbing bin rattling bass, angular alien melodies, everything sharp and grinding, but warm and thick at the same time. We definitely hear some Justice in there, and boy would Lazer Sword be right at home on one of those Ed Rec comps. But just because Lazer Sword are our favorites, doesn't mean the other two bands don't 'rock' just as hard, cuz they do, only differently. 
Ghosts on Tape is a bit groovier, a little more laid back, "Mogadishu Night Life" has a definite dancehall vibe, with Eastern melodies, and rhythms chopped and looped into some strange circusy hip hop jam, "Port Moresby" is rife with more block rocking beats, weird swooping FX, robotic and machinelike, some cyborg freaked out future funk for sure, and their last track, "Scraped Up", is muted murky slither, complete with a super recognizable sitar sample, but smeared into a blur of fuzzy synths, thumping beats and blown out buzz.
Finally, Hours Of Worship deliver three tracks of swooshy fuzzy pop ambient techno, the beats simple pulses beneath dense clouds of looped vocal samples and swirls of dense FX, strangely propulsive chill out music, minor key melodies, and a bit of cinematic epic-ness, that over the course of their three tracks, drifts from four on the floor pound (but a soft and shimmering pound), two mumbly almost heroin house, to the closer, a dreamy, eighties style slab of New Order-y new wave, complete with rainy day melody and a blurry washed out M83 sheen over the whole thing. So good. 
All we have to say to dance music dorks is fuck Europe, people better start looking to the US (and maybe to SF in particular) for the new breed of dancefloor destroyers, cuz they're right here...
MPEG Stream: LAZER SWORD "Street Scooby"
MPEG Stream: LAZER SWORD "Gucci Sweatshirt"
MPEG Stream: GHOSTS ON TAPE "Mogadishu Night Life"
MPEG Stream: HOURS OF WORSHIP "Visions"

V/A Gozalo: Bugalu Tropical Volume 2 (VampiSoul) cd 21.00
Somehow we missed out on the first volume of Peruvian stompers offered up by the always trustworthy Vampisoul label, but we're more then happy to just dive right in with volume two in their series collecting great Bugalu sounds out of Peru from the late '60s. Such a ripe moment in time for the sound of Bugalu to explode in South America and these 28 tracks offer a nonstop foot stomping snapshot of this golden-era of Bugalu fun. Nice vintage packaging with informative liner notes in both English and Spanish makes this a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about the late '60s music scene in Peru. So fun and colorful!
MPEG Stream: LA SONORA DE LUCHO MACEDO CON LINA PANCHANO "Humo"
MPEG Stream: CARLOS MUñOZ Y SU ORQUESTA "El Conductor"
MPEG Stream: ENRIQUE DELGADO Y LOS DESTELLOS "Boogaloo Del Perro"

V/A Gozalo: Bugalu Tropical Volume 2 (Vampisoul) lp 29.00
Somehow we missed out on the first volume of Peruvian stompers offered up by the always trustworthy Vampisoul label, but we're more then happy to just dive right in with volume two in their series collecting great Bugalu sounds out of Peru from the late '60s. Such a ripe moment in time for the sound of Bugalu to explode in South America and these 28 tracks offer a nonstop foot stomping snapshot of this golden-era of Bugalu fun. Nice vintage packaging with informative liner notes in both English and Spanish makes this a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about the late '60s music scene in Peru. So fun and colorful!
MPEG Stream: LA SONORA DE LUCHO MACEDO CON LINA PANCHANO "Humo"
MPEG Stream: CARLOS MUñOZ Y SU ORQUESTA "El Conductor"
MPEG Stream: ENRIQUE DELGADO Y LOS DESTELLOS "Boogaloo Del Perro"

V/A Grain (Dorobo Limited Editions) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Essentially, "Grain" is the companion disc to the "Variable Resistance" compilation published by local arts group 23five for an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art about Australian sound art. This album features four artists -- Philip Samartzis, Pimmon, Darrin Verhagen, and David Brown -- who had come to San Francisco to perform in conjunction with a lengthy 'listening room' event of many other artists. Samartzis, who had curated the "Variable Resistance" show, opens this album with a tense collage of post-industrial musique concrete that rummages through terse electrostatic cracklings, mutated calliope melodies, indeterminant creakings, and psychoacoustic drone work that is not unlike the Hafler Trio's best work. Ghostly fluctuations of sound mark Pimmon's contribution as these loops are coupled with miniscule digital vibrations, for one of the most sedate compositions we've heard from Pimmon. Darrin Verhagen (perhaps better known as Shinjuku Filth and Shinjuku Thief) also offers a particularly quiet track of meditative tribal rhythms run through a number of quietly glitchy DSP filters. David Brown (who may in fact be Australia's unsung answer to Keith Rowe) scratches a choral number out of vibrating guitar feedback, dischordant orchestral samples, and nervous electro-acoustic tonal fluctuations. Nice stuff.
RealAudio clip: PHILIP SAMARTZIS "Microphonics"
RealAudio clip: PIMMON "Slegner Forgets"
RealAudio clip: DARRIN VERHAGEN "Frame"
RealAudio clip: DAVID BROWN "Voices Of The Air Shaft"

V/A Grain (Dot Dot Dot) cd 17.98
This is one of those smorgasbord compilations, in this case ninety-nine (99) short -- under a minute -- tracks by an extremely international array of experimental musicians. It's a diverse bunch, dabbling everything from droning psych ambient stuff to electronics and noise, proggy rock and even some pop. Some are bands playing 'real' instruments, some are loners with laptops. This diversity is a good thing, for with comps like this, where there's no overall "theme" other than lots of artists/short tracks, success comes from the weird inclusiveness of the project. How many strange, totally unrelated artists can you get to participate? It's a tribute to the compiler's eclectic taste and networking skills. Well Dot Dot Dot's done a good job here. Here's a sampling of the contributors, which include quite a few AQ faves: KK Null, Berkowitz Lake & Dahmer, Volcano The Bear, Disco Operating System, Silver Apples, E.A.R./Delia Derbyshire, Guapo, Toshimaru Nakamura, The Lothars, Scott Jenerik, The Dudley Corporation, Kawabata Makoto, Tamaru, Chie Mukai, Hans Roedelius, Barry Guy, Gunter Muller, Burning Star Core and of course many, many more, lots of whom we've never heard of. (Best name: Sproejtebrueder featuring Schreibmaschinenubumbsprogramm Von Neuz!) You'll find your own favorites, and certainly be exposed to some new artists/sounds if you pick this up. Ok, that pretty much covers it. I mean, what can you say about 60 second songs anyway? Just buy it already. Nice art and layout, by the way.
MPEG Stream: BRIAN LAVELLE "St. Toad's Cracked Chimes"
MPEG Stream: CHIE MUKAI "Untitled"
MPEG Stream: DADDY STOVEPIPE & HIS RUBBER ATTACHMENT "No. 4,827"
MPEG Stream: OB STOKKEM "Deathless Pixel Worm"
MPEG Stream: MONSTER DVD "Balkan Hammer"

V/A Grass Roots Record Co. Family Album (Grass Roots Record Co.) cd 8.98
Who knew Nevada City, CA was such a hot bed for hip now sounds? Well, since that town is home to the cool recording studio Brighton Sound and new record label Grass Roots Record Co., artists have flocked to NC to put their music to tape.
This compilation offers a broad array of those who have been through their doors in the short time they've been open for business. Sessions took place over the course of just two weeks, during which seventeen diverse artists laid their goods down live direct to tape. The who's who: Hella, Biff Rose, Moore Brothers, Alela Diane, Mariee Sioux, Made In, Alina Estelle Hardin, Kings & Queens, Golden Shoulders, Lee Bob Watson, Casual Fog, Jessica Henry, Benjamin Oak Goodman, Them Hills, Reckon Family, The Snegg Band, RF and Neal Morgan. A wonderfully down-home, close-knit yet welcoming community feel.
MPEG Stream: ALELA DIANE "Dry Grass And Shadows"
MPEG Stream: HELLA "Friday The 13th"

V/A Gravity 37: Compilation Video Soundtrack (Gravity) cd 7.98
Soundtrack to the just released Gravity video. Gravity is the super influential, post punk San Diego record label that released records by Heroin, Clickitat Ikatowi, Mohinder and more almost single handedly creating a sound that is now simply known as that 'Gravity' sound. This soundtrack features AQ favorites Crom Tech, as well as Men's Recovery Project, Monorchid, Autumn Fog and the Makeup.

V/A Gravity Video 2 (Gravity) dvd 11.98
Pretty cool visual document of San Diego's Gravity records, featuring mostly bands who did time on Gravity back in the day and since have moved onto bigger and better things. The Locust huddle in a low ceilinged concrete bunker/sewer, tinted a puke-y shade of green and thrashing wildly. The Rapture who since have become the 'next big thing' sort of just look bored, playing in some random apartment looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. Tristeza -- who usually traffic in Tortoise-esque post rock -- explode with a frenzied free jazz, wild and spastic workout, with the video to match, chopped with hyper-quick edits, a sort of sixties, acid-fried visual freak out, After a few minutes the music and the video bliss out and return to much more familiar, and tranquil waters. Black Heart Procession perform a dark piano driven ballad, in a black and white, home movie style video, eyes to the floor, back to the camera, hats pulled low, all somber and evasive. The Men's Recovery Project is one of my two favorties on here, a massively dark and demented, outer space / dirty bathroom creepfest, like the movie Aliens, crossed with a snuff film, and a Roswell alien autopsy film, and directed by Stan Brakhage. So weird and so cool. My other favorite is the Sea Of Tombs video, a dreamy, colorful sampling of undersea life, jellyfish and eels and the like that are quickly tossed into a surreal kaliedoscope, tripped out and druggy, vivid and mesmerising, the screen is split and mirrored and all sorts of indescribable sea creatures melt and bleed into each other. So nice. A pretty good collection and a great reminder that Gravity really knows their shit, having picked up on all these bands years before the rest of us!

V/A Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach (Tzadik) 2cd 21.00
Sure, Tzadik titles've been really spotty lately and it's getting to be hard to tell the good from the bad, but surprise: the label has totally hit the mark this time. Not only do Bacharach's standards cry out for reinterpretation, but this cd functions as a hearty sampler of downtown NYC scene as it stands today. Thus, while Bacharach's used to Dionne and the Carpenters paying tribute (and royalties), this is a weird and 90% wonderful collection of mostly twisted (but some lovely straightahead) covers of his songs, from Wayne Horvitz's *sublime* "Close To You" to Marc Ribot's signature guitarwork on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" to Medeski, Martin and Wood's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," which sounds like it was recorded underwater. Other contributors include Faith No More's Mike Patton, Shelley Hirsch, Lloyd Cole, Robert Quine, Eyvind Kang, Bill Frisell, Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda with Sean Lennon, Dave Douglas, Zeena Parkins, Erik Friedlander, and Guy Klucsevek.

V/A Greece: The Great Octotonal Chant to the Virgin (Ocora) cd 14.98

V/A Greek-Oriental Rebetica: Songs & Dances In the Asia Minor Style (Arhoolie / Folklyric) cd 15.98

V/A Grime (Rephlex) cd 15.98
You know how it is with "next big things", everyone wants a piece of it, and where there were a few folks doing something new and weird, there are suddenly a hundred more trying to be new and weird in exactly the same way. It happened with Chapel Hill, it happened with Seattle. It happened with grunge. And now we've got grime. Grime is the new catch phrase for the scene/sound that spawned Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and a few others. Grime is basically two-step garage (pronounced GARE-ij), a simple and repetetive offshoot of drum and bass, with fuzzy synths, buzzing basslines, and occasionally tongue twisting toasting. We all loved the Dizzee Rascal record, and the recent ep from Wiley, so we had high hope for this sampler of new groups from the burgeoning UK grime scene. And while this comp does have its moments, it doesn't pack quite the same wallop as either of those two records. That's not to say it's not good, cuz it is. But part of the reason this doesn't hit quite as hard is that the tracks on here are mostly instrumental, and Dizzee and Riley added a whole lot to the sound, so without vocals, this stuff is is VERY repetItive and VERY simple. That said though, this shit is heavy and fuzzed out and is perfect for the dancefloor. And should definitely hit the spot for those of us who have been digging the retro sounds of Soundmurderer and Remarc lately and just can't get enough of any sort of big ol' distorted and speaker rattling jungle / drum 'n bass.
MPEG Stream: MARKONE "Stargate 92"
MPEG Stream: SLAUGHTER MOB "Dub Weapon"

V/A Grime 2 (Rephlex) cd 15.98
Ahhh, grime. The next big thing. The new sound that was supposedly gonna sweep the nation. But ummm, what happened? I mean, the UK grime scene did give us Dizzee Rascal and Wiley, but then nothing seemed to happen. Well, Rephlex haven't given up on grime, and neither have we. Grime 2 demonstrates yet again, that his grime stuff is pretty darn cool. Ostensibly some sort of variant of two step garage (pronounced gare-ij), itself a minimal variant of jungle, grime is about as simple as it gets. a bouncy, almost ragga rhythm, that lopps and loops endlessly, with fuzzy bass swells supplying a bit of melody, and random bits of sonic filligree, little bells, a clip from an old kung fu movie, a few extra rhythmic shuffles here and there. Good stuff, but very repetitive and relentless. So unless you're dancing, or chilling out, or are in the mood for some tranced out hypnotic rhythms, grime might be a little, um, uneventful for you. But for us, well, we're always in the mood for some tranced out rhythms and always on the lookout for some good chillout music. The cuts on Grime 2 are simple and mesmerizing, head nodding and hypnotic, and fall somewhere between the extended rhythmic workouts of Muslimgauze, the simple, spartan techno of Kompakt, and the minimal house of Chain Reaction, all with a bit of a ragga vibe. Sounds good to us.
MPEG Stream: KODE 9 "Swarm"
MPEG Stream: DIGITAL MYSTIKZ "Awake"

V/A Grime 2 (Rephlex) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ahhh, grime. The next big thing. The new sound that was supposedly gonna sweep the nation. But ummm, what happened? I mean, the UK grime scene did give us Dizzee Rascal and Wiley, but then nothing seemed to happen. Well, Rephlex haven't given up on grime, and neither have we. Grime 2 demonstrates yet again, that his grime stuff is pretty darn cool. Ostensibly some sort of variant of two step garage (pronounced gare-ij), itself a minimal variant of jungle, grime is about as simple as it gets. a bouncy, almost ragga rhythm, that lopps and loops endlessly, with fuzzy bass swells supplying a bit of melody, and random bits of sonic filligree, little bells, a clip from an old kung fu movie, a few extra rhythmic shuffles here and there. Good stuff, but very repetitive and relentless. So unless you're dancing, or chilling out, or are in the mood for some tranced out hypnotic rhythms, grime might be a little, um, uneventful for you. But for us, well, we're always in the mood for some tranced out rhythms and always on the lookout for some good chillout music. The cuts on Grime 2 are simple and mesmerizing, head nodding and hypnotic, and fall somewhere between the extended rhythmic workouts of Muslimgauze, the simple, spartan techno of Kompakt, and the minimal house of Chain Reaction, all with a bit of a ragga vibe. Sounds good to us.
MPEG Stream: KODE 9 "Swarm"
MPEG Stream: DIGITAL MYSTIKZ "Awake"

V/A Grind Bastards 2 - For The Grind Freaks (Grave / Grindfreaks) cd 14.98
Worth it for the first 51 seconds alone, a mind blowing blast of furious pop flecked grind, but heck, there's also a shit ton of blasting grinding heaviness to follow after that first minute of grindpop bliss...
What more do you need to know!?! It's a compilation called GRIND BASTARDS. Subtitled "For The Grind Freaks". Released on the label run by legendary Japanese grinders Unholy Grave. And check out the band list. Tons of killer groups, and a whole bunch new to us, almost all heavy and brutal and kick ass: Mortalized, Insect Warfare, Butcher ABC, Unholy Grave (of course), Exgreed, Disgust, Top Breeder, Motiveless, Gods Of Grind, Little Bastard, Red, 48, Gate, Spiral and more.
Plenty of downtuned chug, furious blasts, growled cookie monster grunts, wild hysterical shrieks, insane chaotic riffing, most songs clocking in at under two minutes, many of those under one, short sharp jagged blasts of grinding fury, with some songs super well produced and heavy as fuck, others blown out almost Japanoise sounding boombox blur, a handful of crusty D-beat pounding, super varied, but super cohesive, heavy as hell, should totally hit the spot for punk rockers and metalheads alike, as long as you like it ultra heavy, ultra sick and blazing fast. The biggest surprise for us, is probably the 51 second long Mortalized track, "Nailing Descartes To The Wall", which just might be the catchiest minute of grind we've ever heard. Similar to how Jon Chang's new bands incorporate eighties metal and crazy power metal hooks into impossible complex grind, Mortalized sound a little like Iron Maiden on 78, or maybe some super catchy 3 minute pop single spun as fast as it will go, the guitars raging and soaring, the hooks undeniable, even some leads, but that main melody has been stuck in our head nonstop. The only solution seems to be listening to that track over and over again. Which we're still doing. And it does seem to be working. We just. Can't. Ever. Stop.
Packaged in cool fold out punk rock sleeve style with each band getting their own little square for artwork and liner notes.
MPEG Stream: MORTALIZED "Nailing Descartes To The Wall"
MPEG Stream: BUTCHER ABC "Crime Against Humanity"
MPEG Stream: INSECT WARFARE "Death Gate"
MPEG Stream: UNHOLY GRAVE "Marionette"

V/A Grind Bastards 3 (Grind Freaks) cd 14.98
With a title like Grind Bastards, you can safely assume that this comp is indeed directly targeted at you, the grind bastards. And we know there are some serious grind bastards among the aQ faithful. Anyone who has gone nuts in the past for Agoraphobic Nosebleed, or Pig Destroyer, or Discordance Axis, or Last Days Of Humanity, we could go on and on and on, so yeah, dig a little deeper and discover a whole world of grind going on UNDER the underground. Grind Bastards collects some of the best Japanese grind from mostly bands you've never heard of, but NEED to.
Heavy, buzzing, blasting, frenzied, frenetic, pummeling, crushing, a dizzying swirl of metal riffage, furious blast beats, grunted cookie monster vocals, inhuman blackened shrieks, hooks all over the place, and some of the heaviest catchiest under a minute shit you'll ever hear.
Little Bastards, Magnicide, Mortalized, Butcher ABC, Cortecuellos, Brob, Mangirl, Fortitude, Bleeding Humanity, D.I.E., Kutsujoku, Deadly Spawn, Zagio Evha Dilegj and of course Unholy Grave, whose label Grind Freaks released this (and who also run the amazing all black metal and grind and doom record store Grave in Japan). Dense and dizzyingly complex, next level heaviness for sure, fast and crusty enough for punk rockers, riffy and brutal enough for metalheads, and definitely a rad grind primer for the newbies.
BTW: We also have a few copies of Grind Bastards 2, which besides totally ruling as well, just so happens to feature one of our favorite grind jams ever, a 51 second grindpop gem by Mortalized (who have 2 songs here) covering pop punkers Propaghandi.
MPEG Stream: LITTLE BASTARDS "Lie, Deceive, Steal"
MPEG Stream: MAGNICIDE "Misery Of An Existence"
MPEG Stream: MORTALIZED "Funeral Grind"
MPEG Stream: CORTECUELLOS "Don't Call Japanese Hardcore Japcore"
MPEG Stream: MANGIRL "Ghoul Gurumand"
MPEG Stream: UNHOLY GRAVE "Cruel Terror"

V/A Grind Madness At The BBC (Earache) 3cd 15.98
What really needs to be said about this collection? Vintage Peel Sessions (songs recorded live in the BBC studios to later be broadcast live on John Peel's legendary radio show) by some of the most legendary, and influential grind bands EVER. As well as some not exactly grind bands, and some rad obscure (to many) lesser knowns. C'mon, Napalm Death, Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Godflesh, Extreme Noise Terror, Heresy, Unseen Terror, Intense Degree... the names alone should have most heavy music freeks frothing at the mouth, granted much of this stuff has been available before, but much of it has NOT. And for $16!!??
The first three Napalm tracks here: "The Kill", "Prison Without Walls" and "Dead" are quite literally, the most perfect 57 seconds in extreme music history. We first heard those tracks on a John Zorn radio show, and immediately set out to track them down, and that whole Napalm Peel Session totally trumps (to these ears) anything else they've ever done, to this day, so furious and frantic, the recording so hot and in-the-red, seriously still possibly the most extreme sounding music we've heard. The Napalm tracks here include Peel Sessions from '87, '88 and '90. And if you don't have any or all of 'em, they're worth the price of admission alone. Then there's Extreme Noise Terror, whose sound is way more crusty and punk, bordering on grind, but still totally and fantastically punk rock. The Carcass sessions were definitely available at some point, but these too, if you've yet to hear them, they will SLAY you, crushing and heavily reverbed, fierce and totally sloppy, but so goddamn good. And Bolt Thrower, no one can fuck with Bolt Thrower, and they totally shine on their Peel Session, thrashing and crusty and blown out and totally untouchable. Godflesh pops up for a few songs too, and of course those rule too, especially the Peel version of "Like Rats" which somehow sounds even meaner and heavier.
And then there's the more obscure stuff, 38 tracks of wild, thrashing grinding metallic punk crust from Intense Degree, Unseen Terror, and Heresy, all of which are pretty excellent, ID kick out some fierce skate punk slop, UT are a downtuned grunting blast beat terror, and Heresy start out all goofy and poppy with "Flowers (In Concrete)" before launching into a flurry of off kilter chaotic grind.
Killer slipcovered packaging with tons of vintage photos, liner notes, and a lengthy interview with Mick Harris (Napalm Death / Extreme Noise Terror / Unseen Terror)...
MPEG Stream: NAPALM DEATH "The Kill"
MPEG Stream: NAPALM DEATH "Prison Without Walls"
MPEG Stream: NAPALM DEATH "Dead"
MPEG Stream: GODFLESH "Like Rats"
MPEG Stream: UNSEEN TERROR "Incompatible"
MPEG Stream: UNSEEN TERROR "Burned Beyond Recognition"
MPEG Stream: HERESY "Flowers (In Concrete)"
MPEG Stream: HERESY "Belief"
MPEG Stream: INTENSE DEGREE "Hangin' On"
MPEG Stream: INTENSE DEGREE "Vagrants"

V/A GRLZ, Women Ahead Of Their Time (Crippled Dick) cd 16.98
If there's something you haven't been getting enough of lately, it's angular female-fronted post-punk from the late 70s/early 80s! If you don't already own the Slits b-side track cover of "Heard It Through The Grapevine", get this cd now! It could be the only reason to buy this cd, except there are other tracks on here that are just as fist poundingly angularishly toe tappingly awesome -- if not MORESO!!
Maximum Joy's "Stretch", Dorothy's "Softness", Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business", Jajaja's Blondie-esque vocals over trainwreckish spazzmatic bass, ahh!! I'm freaking out. The only weak point might be the jazzy Neneh Cherryesque tone of Rip, Rig and Panic.
So note bene: this is by all means NOT "the current trend" in musical consumerism, HOWEVER, it's an incredibly concise and concentrated comp consisting of totally mind-boggling music. And nevermind the politics, dudes. It's fucking great music!!
MPEG Stream: JAJAJA "Katz Rap"
MPEG Stream: SLITS "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"

V/A Guilt By Association (Engine Room) cd 15.98
It's inevitable! Every few years someone gets a wild'n'craaazy idea for one of these kinds of guilty pleasures compilations. Non-commercial artists covering commercial artists how fun/sick/hilarious is that?! Very. As per the time honored tradition there's some complete song renovations (Banhart's interpretation of Oasis' "Don't Look Back In Anger"), genre switcheroos (Luna gives Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" the lounge croon treatment, Superchunk totally unsouls and unsexes the Destiny's Child hit "Say My Name"), and all-out silliness (Petra Haden's girlish a cappella version of Journey "Don't Stop Believin'") and Mike Watt's strange, loose bowelled and toothless take on Blue Oyster Cult's "Burnin' For You"). A totally mixed bag of coverers and coverees, other artists doing the covering include Will Oldham, Mark Mulcahy, The Concretes, Jim O'Rourke, Money Mark, Mooney Suzuki, and Geoff Farina. Other artists being covered include Shania Twain, Spice Girls, Mariah Carey, Take That, Fall Out Boy, Love Unlimited Orchestra, Cher, Eddie Money, and System Of A Down. Fun stuff.
MPEG Stream: SUPERCHUNK "Say My Name"
MPEG Stream: BANHART, DEVENDRA "Don't Look Back In Anger"
MPEG Stream: WATT, MIKE "Burnin' For You"

V/A Guitar Songs: Tanzania, Zaire, and Zambia (Original Music) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"More enchanting acoustic-guitar recordings by both adults and children. The recordings by children include blind school students playing home made instruments, and a hell-for-leather cut for high pitched vocals and 'tomato-can banjo'" - John Storm Roberts / Original Music.

V/A Guitar Unlimited (Alchemy) cd 21.00
This is the first in Alchemy's "Guitar" compilations and features tracks by Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, ROVO), Jojo Hiroshige (Hijokaidan), Sisho, and Kyoichi Tokuyama (Auschwitz).

V/A Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma) Vol. 2 (Sublime Frequencies) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A complete about face for volume 2 in the Folk And Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma) series of discs. Remember that first one? The manic weirdness was unlike anything we'd heard, nor anything we've heard since. So it's striking that volume 2 is a disc we can at least put in terms we know. What's perhaps most ironic is that the recordings on Guitars Of The Golden Triangle come from a territory of Burma that, while roughly the size of New York State, has been almost completely un-explored by outsiders (Burmese or otherwise). The Golden Triangle (its proper name is the Shan State of Burma) is little known outside its own country, but it is the territory of smugglers, seperatist rebels and some extraordinary opium production. Since it is forbidden for foreigners to visit the Shan State, it's no surprise that its flourishing cottage industry of a music scene would be completely unknown to outsiders. How Mr. Bishop got these tracks is anyone's guess, but as we've seen before the Sublime Frequencies folks have their ways with picking up ripe fruit that others walk straight past. The 21 tracks here, recorded during the early seventies, range between heavy fuzzed out psych -- like something much more likely to have come out in the late sixties -- to sugary crooning pop -- much more akin to its decade. Little is known of most of the artists: for instance the most well represented here -- Saing Saing Maw -- is only known to have been a truck driver originally (shades of Elvis anyone?) and after striking his music career apparently returned to truck driving.
MPEG Stream: SAING SAING MAW "Than Shin Ley Ye Khan"
MPEG Stream: LASHIO THEIN AUNG "You Got What You Got"

V/A GUMMO original soundtrack (London) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Soundtrack to Harmony "Kids" Korine's controversial film "Gummo", featuring much in the way of underground black/noise/death/doom metal sounds, some of them previously unreleased. Some names: Spazz, Absu, Bathory, Burzum, Eyehategod, Brujeria, Sleep, Destroy All Monsters, Namanax and more. Oh yeah, AQ-pal and CMJ metal scribe Ian Christe's Dark Noerd (black metal breakbeat band) appears, and Ian's smart musical aesthetic basically sets the tone for the whole collection. Now the question is, will "Gummo" do for any of these bands what "Kids" did for the Folk Implosion?

V/A Hacienda Classics (Virgin) 3cd 36.00
Thanks in part to the movie "24 Hour Party People" there's been quite a revival in the last few years in curisoity about and reflections of the Manchester party/music scene of the late '80s/'90s. The center of all this dancing, drugging, and going on and on till the break of dawn was none other then the Nightculb Hacienda founded by New Order's Peter Hook. It was within the Hacienda's walls that much of the debauchery, indulgence, and fun/wasted times went down. This 3-disc box set put together by Hook himself compiles the sounds that were blaring out the speakers during its heyday. 808 State, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Jaydee, Eric B & Rakim, Candi Staton and of course New Order are just some the groups found on this here collection. For those of you who have been craving th sights and sounds and tastes more tastes of that wonderfully wicked Manchester club-scene then this is a party in a box for you. Sorry no purple pills included.
MPEG Stream: NEW ORDER "Ruined In A Day"
MPEG Stream: 808 STATE "Pacific State"
MPEG Stream: ERIC B. & RAKIM "Juice (instrumental)"

V/A Halana #4 magazine+cd 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A Halana v.1,n.3 magazine+cd 7.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Worthwhile reading in a nicely designed format. Amiri Barka, John Fahey, David Grubbs, Bernhard Gunter, Alan Licht, Charlemagne Palestine, Motoharu Yoshizawa. CD includes tracks by all these guys. One of our favorite magazines.

V/A Hall Of Mirrors (Emperor Jones) 2cd 13.98
Anyone, ANYONE, who likes their psych all spaced-out and sludgy, with guitars and (especially) effects in full, uh, effect will definitely want to wash their earholes with this excellent new space-rock comp. Compiler Mason Jones (whom you might know as the ex-guitarist of SubArachnoid Space, currently in project called Numinous) knows his stuff and has pulled together tracks from a stellar international cast of rockers who like to freak-out, drone-on, and/or toke-up. Here's who's here: Kinski, Circle, Gravitar, Overhang Party, Tarantula Hawk, Up-Tight, Vocokesh, DMBQ, Bardo Pond, Acid Mothers Temple, Yeti, ST-37, Escapade, Rubble, Abunai!, SubArachnoid Space, Numinous, Farflung, Primordial Undermind, Fuzzhead, Speaker/Cranker, and Transpacific! Whew. As you can see, with Mason in charge, of course the Japanese contingent is well-represented.
The tracks on here are mostly live recordings, and, as far as we can tell, all otherwise unreleased (with the exception of the Tarantula Hawk one, which is an edit from their now-out-of-print Live At KFJC cd-r). Pretty much a killer comp, ranging as it does from the groove of Circle to the grind of Gravitar, with some bands doin' stuff closer to stoner rawk, others more on the bliss-drone side of things. Now, I might have tried to put the more rockin' cuts towards the front end of the discs, to avoid disturbing the slumber of those of us who like to doze off listening to the more blissful stuff (or maybe left off one or two cuts) but that's just me. Overall, Hall Of Mirrors is fully droned, stoned, and ET-phoned. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: KINSKI "Teen Center"
MPEG Stream: OVERHANG PARTY "Le Fantome De La Liberte (edit)"

V/A Halleluwah: Festival Of Enthused Arts - Sept. 1-2, 2006 Disjecta, Portland (Yeti) lp 14.98
Managed to get another handful of these super limited lps, so act fast:
Super limited vinyl document of the Halleluwah Festival Of Enthused Arts that took place in September 1-2 of this year curated by the same folks who do the killer yeti magazine.
Two sides, one quiet, one loud, a bunch of instantly recognizable names, as well as a bunch of unknowns (at least to us) all of it pretty dang amazing, so much so that we were kicking ourselves for missing the festival.
The quiet side features folk legend Michael Hurley, folk legend Vashti Bunyan and Tara Jane O'Neil, as well as White Rainbow, Holysons and Alela Diane. The sound leans mostly toward subtle twang, simple strum, and dreamlike croon, but there are some moments of blissy foggy ambient murmur and some fuzzy murky psychedelic blues.
The loud side features Deerhoof, Sir Richard Bishop and Valet (whose cd-r we raved about a few lists back) as well as three weirdly named ensembles: Nudity, Romancing and Yacht. The loud side veers all over the place, from weird psychrock tribal freakouts to blown out angular indie rock buzz to damaged minimal punk rock bounce to fuzzy psychedelic heavy riffed rock jams.
The packaging is just as impressive, a thick, plain white sleeve through which are visible strange looking inserts, each printed on super thick semi transparent cloudy plastic, the loud side is red on white with an illustration by Kevin Arrow, the quiet side is white on black, and features an amazing illustration by Unica Zurn, the partner of Hans Bellmer! Wow!!

V/A Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets From the WEA Vaults (Rhino) cd 34.00

V/A Hand/Eye (Hand/Eye) 2cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This isn't brand new, but we just managed to get a bunch, and if this isn't just about the perfect compilation for you free-folk, psychedelic, new weird America fans we don't know what is. The track listing should be enough to convince you: Acid Mothers Temple, Kemialliset Ystavat, Amps For Christ, Greg Weeks, Pelt, Martyn Bates, Currituck County, Fursaxa, Dead Raven Choir, Alasdair Roberts, Stone Breath, the Iditarod, Mason Jones, and more!m
MPEG Stream: AMPS FOR CHRIST "False Night On The Road"
MPEG Stream: GREG WEEKS "Night Must Fall"
MPEG Stream: ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE "Le Satyre"

V/A Hard-Headed Woman: A Celebration Of Wanda Jackson (Bloodshot) cd 13.98
Who kicks ass? The true rockin' country maverick Wanda Jackson, that's who!!! And what could be a more fitting tribute than to assemble 21 covers of her songs performed by a crowd of fiery ladies (and some fellers too) cut from the same cloth? The compilation kicks off with a visit from Canada's country sweetheart Ms Carolyn Mark dishin' out a suitably rousing version of one of Jackson's trademark songs "Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad", and the good times just keep on rollin' from there. Also dropping by to tip their hat are many familiar faces from the past and present Bloodshot Records stable as well as some new faces: Neko Case (delivering a rollicking rendition of "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" with Jon Rauhouse and Joey Burns), Robbie Fulks, Trailer Bride (who completely transform one of Jackson's other musical calling cards "Fujiyama Mama" into a druggy, delirious dirge), Kelly Hogan (aah, as dreamy as ever!), Rosie Flores, Wayne Hancock, Laura Cantrell, Bottle Rockets with Sheri Hurst, Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, Nora O'Connor, Candye Kane, Anna Fermin & The Trigger Gospel, Kristi Rose, The Cornell Hurd Band, Jane Baxter Miller, Kim Lenz, Asylum Street Spankers, Gina Lee & The Brisket Boys, Jesse Dayton, and The Ranch Girls & The Ragtime Wranglers (from the Netherlands). Another fine compilation from the Bloodshot ranch.
MPEG Stream: MARK, CAROLYN "Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad"
MPEG Stream: TRAILER BRIDE "Fujiyama Mama"

V/A Harmika Yab-Yum: Folk Sounds From Nepal (Sublime Frequencies) cd 14.98
By now maybe you have (or like some of us, maybe you haven't) had enough of the South East Asian pop, folk, field recordings from Sublime Frequencies. Courtesy of Robert Millis (Climax Golden Twins cohort and curator of the Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums cd) Harmika Yab-Yum takes us on an audio journey through underserved territory. Nestled, nay sandwiched between the geographical and cultural giants of China and India, Nepal's greatest fame lies in its hosting the tallest mountain on our fair planet. It's also the only "official Hindu state in the world" according to the CIA Factbook. On Harmika Yab-Yum Millis elegantly weaves together recordings he made (apparently in 1996) of radio broadcasts, street musicians, religious cermonies, and sermons. About half of the tracks in fact are from radio, though no disc jockey banter is included, which -- whether intentional or not -- gives the recordings an even more of a feel of being totally detached from the influence of the occidental world. By and large the greatest influence on the music here is from India. Tabla percussion, flutes, pump organs, sitars, violins and drones, drones, drones make up the bulk of the instrumentation and to the untrained ear, certainly sound like the dulcet tones of Indian music. The disc starts off with a bang with a track taken from the radio which sounds like feral chanting by some crazed lunatic accompanied by drumming. This is followed by an abrupt segue into a street sermon broadcast over a distant sounding bullhorn, flutes and people talking can be heard over the sermon. For the larger part, such abrupt transitions are not the norm on Harmika Yab-Yum and the grainy, modulating songs recorded off of the airwaves blend nicely with the gritty sounds of daily life on the streets from the clanging bells of a pony train passing by to, chanting monks on Krishna day, to a snake charmer with double reed to the crashing of bands, miscellaneous percussion and other noises for a wedding procession. Very nice.
MPEG Stream: "Radio Nepal 1 / Street Sermon"
MPEG Stream: "Pony Train / Radio Nepal 3"
MPEG Stream: "Radio Nepal 7"