PASSIONISTAS, THE God's Boat (New & Used Records) cd 12.98
A big sticker on the shrinkwrap announces that this cd was produced by Kelley Stoltz! But keep in mind though that doesn't mean The Passionistas' music is gonna sound like Kelley's. Nope, their debut album God's Boat falls into the quirky indie rock barrel of monkeys that recalls late '80s early 90s college rock. Y'know, the kind that wore dress ties with t-shirts. We might even guess that the vocals were being sung by Brak (y'know, of Space Ghost Coast To Coast)! Is that a good or bad thing? You decide! The Passionistas' loopy, light-hearted playfulness also finds its way into the album artwork which features American flag killer whales and a kimono wearing band member (the other two members opted for the more traditional indie rock hoodie and torn jeans ensemble). Loose, laidback and chock full of nuts. 15 songs in all.
MPEG Stream: "God's Boat"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Spurs"

PASSIONISTAS, THE / HARD PLACE split (World Famous In SF) 7" 7.98
The Passionistas have been gaining some well deserved attention here in SF with their super catchy and colorful pop hooks, dipping their musical toes into both power pop and glam, providing the missing link between Big Star and Sparks. Speaking of Sparks, Hard Place open their side of this split with a very Sparks influenced and triumphant sounding pop nugget. There's a very early '80s larger-than-life, arena-ready aesthetic to their sound, yet it's delivered with such earnest spirit. We suspect there is some Van Halen, Andrew W.K. and maybe even a Jefferson Starship record in their collections. We lean a little towards The Passionistas on this split, but pop enthusiasts will find lots to like on both sides of this little piece of wax.

PASTELS Illuminati (Up) cd 13.98
The beloved Scottish pop band gets the star remix treatment from My Bloody Valentine (who contribute 2 tracks), Stereolab, Mouse on Mars, Kid Loco, Cornelius, Third Eye Foundation, Make*Up, Jim O'Rourke, To Rococo Rot, John McEntire of Tortoise, etc. It's an uneven collection that's much more mellow and minimalist than we had anticipated for a tribute to such a rockin' twee group, but still good listening.

PASTELS The Last Great Wilderness (Geographic) cd 12.98
This is indeed a new Pastels album, but it's almost unrecognizably so! That might be due to the fact that it is a soundtrack for the film The Last Great Wilderness. Truly, most of the music here more closely resemble that of any number of jazzy post-rock, and yes, soundtrack-composing combos from Chicago. muted horns, delicate chimes, vocal sighs, subdued bass, plucked guitar notes. This is the case up until the sixth song. That's because the song in question is these earnest, lo-fi Scots' previously released cover of Sly And The Family Stone's "Everybody Is A Star" with dear Katrina singing ever so sweetly. The only other vocal song is the saucy closing number "I Picked A Flower" by The Nu Forest who are in fact the Pastels fronted by the fabulous Jarvis Cocker of Pulp in his ultra-swank croon mode. Film unseen, this does make for a lovely bliss-out listening experience though not necessarily a distinctly Pastels' one.
MPEG Stream: "Dark Vincente"
MPEG Stream: "I Picked A Flower"

PASTELS Yoga (Up) cd ep 7.98
Scottish pop simply doesn't get much softer and twee. On this lil' EP they cover Some Velvet Sidewalk's "Boardwalkin", offer two versions of "Yoga" (one is the album version from Mobile Safari) and and additional track called "Winter Olympic Glory" which I found to be the highlight of this release. Dreamy!

PASTELS / TENNISCOATS Two Sunsets (Geographic / Domino) cd 14.98
If you're looking to get to dreamboat island there really is no better way than to go with the Pastels & Tenniscoats as your dreamy and breezy ship captains. We're not sure how Glasgow legends Pastels and Tokyo's Tenniscoats linked up but it makes complete perfect sense as they each have perfected soft and soothing twee escapades like no one else. Pastels have been around the block, beginning in the 1980's where they helped usher in a new refreshing sound that would influence folks across the globe and plant the seeds for labels like K records. Tenniscoats have been around for the last few years and ever since we heard their pastoral and blissful take on hushed pop we became big fans. Our love of them only increased when their singer Saya performed at an instore here at AQ with Satomi of Deerhoof in their side project OneOne. This is truly a collaborative effort with members from both bands playing on every track and vocals trade off quite nicely and equally between each group, but all together the sounds of each band mesh with each other so well and with such ease that nothing feels forced about the combination of these two groups. So perfect that the artwork inside features a picture of the groups together sitting on such lush green grass, as we always want to be laying in some scenic peaceful park starring into the sky when we hear the dreamy sounds these groups create. Dreamboat island, we have arrived!
MPEG Stream: "Two Sunsets"
MPEG Stream: "Boats"
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Glasgow"

PASTELS / TENNISCOATS Two Sunsets (Geographic / Domino) lp 22.00
Now on Vinyl!
If you're looking to get to dreamboat island there really is no better way than to go with the Pastels & Tenniscoats as your dreamy and breezy ship captains. We're not sure how Glasgow legends Pastels and Tokyo's Tenniscoats linked up but it makes complete perfect sense as they each have perfected soft and soothing twee escapades like no one else. Pastels have been around the block, beginning in the 1980's where they helped usher in a new refreshing sound that would influence folks across the globe and plant the seeds for labels like K records. Tenniscoats have been around for the last few years and ever since we heard their pastoral and blissful take on hushed pop we became big fans. Our love of them only increased when their singer Saya performed at an instore here at AQ with Satomi of Deerhoof in their side project OneOne. This is truly a collaborative effort with members from both bands playing on every track and vocals trade off quite nicely and equally between each group, but all together the sounds of each band mesh with each other so well and with such ease that nothing feels forced about the combination of these two groups. So perfect that the artwork inside features a picture of the groups together sitting on such lush green grass, as we always want to be laying in some scenic peaceful park starring into the sky when we hear the dreamy sounds these groups create. Dreamboat island, we have arrived!
MPEG Stream: "Two Sunsets"
MPEG Stream: "Boats"
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Glasgow"

PASTELS, THE Truckload Of Trouble (Fire) cd 15.98
Time for Pastels fans to rejoice 'cause this wonderful compilation has been freshly repressed! Originally released back in 2007, Truckload Of Trouble collects a heap of these beloved Scottish popsters' singles which were released on Fire Records circa 1986 through 1993. Following on the heels of The Vaselines' Enter The Vaselines reissue, this is indeed a welcome resurfacing of another immensely influential UK indie twee band's music (as a matter of fact, The Vaselines' Eugene Kelly even joined The Pastels fold for a spell!). Sure, the playing chops and singing pitch of these early purveyors of lo-fi might've been somewhat rough-hewn and wobbly through the years, but their melodic hooks were consistently engaging, and their bittersweet lyrics utterly heartfelt. There was a delightful immediacy, an earnest yet wry humor and an abundance of puppy dog exuberance that always shone through. Theirs were the songs of cardigans and crushes which when strung together fashioned the sweetest, ramshackle, jingle-jangle twee pop daydreams! Their cover of Michael Nesmith's "Different Drum" is still one of Cup's favoritest songs for a rainy day. Other blithe standouts include the supremely singalong-able "Nothing To Be Done" and Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" later covered again by their early tourmates Yo La Tengo. You really can trace the sound of so many of our favorite bands back to the inspiration of The Pastels. From Belle & Sebastian, Henry's Dress, Black Tambourine, Camera Obscura, The Concretes, Sebadoh, Pavement, Seam, Jesus & Mary Chain, Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie 500, et al), Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research, Tender Trap, et al) and on and on. Beyond the legendary impact their music has had, these songs still sound so damn great all these years later.
MPEG Stream: "Nothing To Be Done"
MPEG Stream: "Different Drum"
MPEG Stream: "Speeding Motorcycle"
MPEG Stream: "Comin' Through"

PASTELS, THE Up For A Bit With The Pastels (Fire Records) lp 16.98

PATAPHONIE Le Matin Blanc (Gazul/Musea) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Some heavy, mostly instrumental French prog-rock from '78, newly reissued. A generally spooky atmosphere with moments of prettiness, with influences ranging from jazz to classical to (of course!) fellow French jazz-classical progsters Magma... This reissue includes over thirty minutes of live material. Not up there with Magma, Heldon, or Shub Niggurath, but still some second-tier stuff worth checking out for fans of that genre/scene.

PATERAS / BAXTER / BROWN Ataxia (Synaesthesia) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"After last year's Synaesthesia release Coagulate with Robin Fox, and several tracks on his Tzadik debut Mutant Theatre, pianist Anthony Pateras reveals further evidence of his improvising skills on Ataxia, more dazzling proof that the New Music scene in Australia - especially Melbourne - is going from strength to strength. he's joined by percussionist Sean Baxter(Bucketrider, Lazy, Western Grey), one of a growing band of hands-on junk percussionists, and guitarist David Brown, aka Candlesnuffer, in six riotously colourful tracks ranging from the delictae sonic haiku of "Maladroit" to stochastic freakout - Xenakis would have loved the end of "St/chi". While improvising pianists since Burton Greene have been delving inside the instrument in search of new sonarities, very few have explored the prepared piano with much rigour - john tilbury being one - but Paters's piano, as the album photography makes abundantly clear, is stuffed to the limit with rubber, cardboard, screws, coins and crocodile clips, making him sound like a veritable one-man gamelan. It's a truism to say that Bali and Java are as accessible to Aussies today as Blackpool was to Manchester cotton workers 100 years ago.
Should Globalisation one day go beyond exporting Big Mac's, and the indigenous populations of those islands ever move into free improv, it might just sound something like this. The spicy stir-fry of New Complexity and exotic percussion clatter bears more relation to Richard Barrett's "Negatives" - recorded, as it happens, in melbourne ten years ago - than it does to any other recent trend in improv. Coming at this music from directions as diverse as extreme noise meltdown and post-Darmdtadt composition, Brown, Pateras and Baxter have served up one of the year's crunchiest and tastiest dishes so far." - Dan Warburton, The Wire

PATERAS, ANTHONY & ROBIN FOX End Of Haze (Editions Mego) cd 17.98

PATERNOSTER s/t (Green Tree) cd 16.98
This has been a longtime favorite around these parts but was always impossible to keep in stock. So finally we get a chance to relist it for everybody who may have blinked and missed it the first time around. Now reissued in a spiffy digipak and at a significantly lower price!
One of the saddest records ever made. Prime krautrock (from Austria), circa 1972, what goths would have listened too had there been goths back then. Complete with full-blown psychedelic guitar freakouts, coupled with somber church-like organ and a vocalist who sounds on the verge of tears throughout the album. Oh so sad. Here's the lyrics from their song "Blind Children": 'Rotten eyeballs feet between/Hanging down the cheese machine/Hew it strew it do it too/Say it slay it just to do/Try to call yourself on the phone/Surely you are not at home/Sweep the swept floor once again/Stab yourself and feel the pain/Then stand and watch the speed/Clean your eyeballs wash your feet/Listen and repeat'. Or from "Stop These Lines": 'Morning peace dusty air/Clean your teeth comb your hair/Dressed in clothes you always wear/Go to work I won't be there/Lunchtime snackbar eating chips/Ketchup's running down your lips/Deadeyed waiters selling bibs/Which you have to fix with clips/Sitting waiting find an end/Meaningless with no comment/Is this life in your own hand/People are like grains of sand/Pick up streets and pull down skylines/Ravish women blast the mines/Burn the whiskies spill the wines/Find beginnings stop these lines'.
A most melancholic, wonderful record, and it's too bad that it's the sort of thing usually relegated to the prog/psych collectors' corner (y'know, because of the distribution and press that this sort of reissue gets). More people (people without ponytails and huge record collections) should get to hear this. So, even though it's not a really new reissue at all, we ordered a bunch to turn people on to. It's an odd, but excellent, hidden treasure!
MPEG Stream: "Realization"
MPEG Stream: "Stop These Lines"
MPEG Stream: "Blind Children"
MPEG Stream: "The Pope Is Wrong"

PATERSON, MARY-ANNE Me (Sunbeam) cd 16.98
More rare '70s folk from the folks at Sunbeam who brought us the great Roger Rodier (reviewed elsewhere on this list) and Fresh Maggots reissues. Mary-Anne Patterson's sole album is claimed to be one of the rarest records of its time, and after reading her story, it's no wonder. Patterson, daughter and granddaughter of famous Scottish painters, was a drama teacher (and hobbyist guitar player), who had a dream of opening an art centre for children. After a friend with music connections suggested that she cut a record to raise funds to build it, she quickly got a record deal and put together this album using local street musicians as her backing group. But reluctant to play the star and promote the record, the album sank without a trace, along with her dream. The songs here, mostly traditional, are very pretty, with a nice echo-y quality on the voice, guitar and flute accompaniments running through the entire production. The standout track is her version of "Black Girl", a Leadbelly standard, that devolves into a hippie tribal voice and flute freak out. This is a beautiful and overdue peek into the Scottish end of the '60s Folk Revival. For fans of Sandy Denny, Pentangle, and Josephine Foster.
MPEG Stream: "Love Has Gone"
MPEG Stream: "The Jute Mill Song"
MPEG Stream: "Black Girl"

PATHAK, PANDIT ASHOK Ancient Court Raga Traditions: The Pathak Gharana Dhrupad Ragas On Sitar (World Arbiter) cd 16.98

PATHOLOGIST Re-regugitation Over Fuckin' Pathological Splatter (Leviathan) cd 13.98

PATRON SAINTS, THE Fohhoh Bohob (Time-Lag) cd 18.98

PATRON SAINTS, THE Fohhoh Bohob (Time-Lag) lp+7" 20.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We've found a couple copies of Time-Lag's fancy vinyl reissue of this obscure private press psych pop record, recorded by some teenage weirdos in 1969. VERY underground and DIY, quite charming in that regard.

PATTERN, THE Immediately (Lookout) cd ep 7.98
Trashy retro-rock guitars back up former PeeChees vocalist and Lookout! Records' wheeler'n'dealer Chris Applegren's trademark bratty boy nasal howling. Live, they're a lively flailing rock'n'roll party, but on record they've yet to capture that energy. Instead they come across as a rather anemic teen garage channelling of the motor city's finest. While their live shows undoubtedly win them new fans wherever they go, it's open to question whether their records do likewise. Time to revisit the originals, MC5 and the Stooges, who took care of business so thoroughly over thirty years ago.
RealAudio clip: "Breakfast"

PATTERN, THE Real Feelness (Lookout) cd 14.98
In the year of the Strokes and the Vines and the Hives, here is our own local 'where the hell did they come from' wonders. They played the Reading festival, are huge in Europe and are on the lips of all in the hipster retro know. They have that 70's New York / Detroit sleaze rock sound, with the snotty vocals and the relatively rad guitar sound. Apparently influenced by Richard Hell, The Stooges etc. but with a soul flare. All veterans of rock, coming from the likes of The Peechees (vocalist Christopher), Heart of Snow (drummer Scott), Saint James Infirmary (guitarist Jason), Nuisance (guitarist Andy) and The Cuts. Cool.
RealAudio clip: "Fragile Awareness"
RealAudio clip: "Nothing Of Value"

PATTERSON, ARCHIE Eurock: European Rock And The Second Culture (Eurock Publications) book 45.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This, my friends, is a not a book, but a tome. Over 700 pages, collecting together almost every important piece of writing that appeared in Archie Patterson's Eurock 'zine during its existence from 1973 to 1990, and more. Eurock magazine was all about prog / psych / krautrock / space rock / electronic stuff (in later years, entering into New Age territory to be sure), not just from Europe actually but from around the world. The earlier material is particularily cool 'cause Eurock's coverage of bands like Amon Duul and Can is like reading a current magazine's stuff about Godspeed You Black Emperor! or Acid Mothers Temple...it puts things then and now into perspective. There's tons of obscure lore in here to uncover -- paging through at random I found articles about Ash Ra Tempel and Area, a piece on '70s Yugoslavian rock, a recent interview with Magma's Christian Vander, a review of a 1980 Rock In Opposition festival, and even an interview with our favorite '70s Italian prog band Osanna! In addition, as a special bonus, this book includes a seven-page appreciation of Amon Duul written in 1971 (for Creem magazine) by famous rock crit Lester Bangs, that I for one have always wanted to read. Basically, this book, I mean, tome, is highly recommended to all weird kraut / psych / prog music fiends!
NB: All of this and more (excepting some new pieces and the Bangs article), I believe, is also to be found on the still-available Eurock cd-rom production "Golden Age" that we reviewed on AQ list #105 -- but we have to say that the book format is far superior for reading and browsing, though of course it lacks the multi-media content etc. I'd pick this up a lot more often than I'd pop the cd-rom into my Mac.

PATTERSON, BEN A Fluxus Elegy (Alga Marghen) lp 26.00

PATTERSON, BEN Liverpool Soundworks Volume One (Audio Research Editions) cd 17.98

PATTERSON, BEN Liverpool Soundworks Volume Two (Audio Research Editions) cd 17.98

PATTIE BLINGH & THE AKEBULAN FIVE (AKA GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW) Sagala (Ramp) cd 14.98
Cool psych soul/hip-hop project from the prolific and talented Georgia Anne Muldrow.
MPEG Stream: "Reallytho"
MPEG Stream: "Brother: The Point"

PATTON, CHARLEY Electrically Recorded: High Water Everywhere (Monk) lp 22.00
We got another amazing batch of vintage blues reissues from the wonderful Monk label. Look elsewhere on the list for reviews of a two lp set by Blind Willie McTell and an lp by Blind Willie Johnson!
One of two new volumes of Charley Patton's vintage recordings from 1929 on Paramount from the undisputed King of the Delta Blues. This one featuring the two-part "High Water Everywhere", widely considered to be one of the best blues songs ever, and 14 other amazing tracks. With his loud gravelly whiskey soaked and cigarette coated voice, he could pound the fury out of a song and deeply influenced much of the later urban blues that came out of Chicago. Incredible!

PATTON, CHARLEY Electrically Recorded: Jesus Is A Dying-Bed Maker (Monk) lp 22.00
We got another amazing batch of vintage blues reissues from the wonderful Monk label. Look elsewhere on the list for reviews of a two lp set by Blind Willie McTell and an lp by Blind Willie Johnson!
One of two new volumes of Charley Patton's vintage recordings from 1929 on Paramount from the undisputed King of the Delta Blues. This one featuring his more spiritual sides including the devastating "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die". With his loud gravelly whiskey soaked and cigarette coated voice, he could pound the fury out of a song, and here sin and salvation were just two means to get around to the core of some of the most ferocious music ever made!

PATTON, CHARLEY Electrically Recorded: Moon Going Down (Monk) lp 22.00
Anyone who has checked out the aQ lists within the last year will no doubt have noticed the flood of essential blues reissues that have come out on the Italian label Monk. We're sure everyone has their favorites, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone here who hasn't had their minds sufficiently blown by the Charley Patton releases in particular. While all four of the "Electrically Recorded" Patton lps were collected in an awesome and elaborate (and expensive!) boxset limited to 275 copies worldwide, we were waiting for a bit to get a hold of this final set of tunes, and now that wait is up. Moon Going Down collects four separate recording sessions, one from 1930 in Grafton, Wisconsin and three from New York in early 1934, making them the last songs recorded before Patton's death a few months later. It's strange listening to those final songs after familiarizing ourselves with everything that came before. It's sad to think what we are hearing on this lp is the end of the line for Charley Patton, but he sounds just as forceful and self-aware as always, and in death he would become recognized as one of the most legendary American musicians ever to walk the earth. Listening to these songs confirms why things turned out that way. This is it, the source, and if you are even casually interested in blues music, you should do yourself a favor and grab this right away.

PATTON, CHARLEY Electrically Recorded: Prayer Of Death (Monk) lp 22.00
We're pretty excited about this new vintage reissue label, Monk, that's releasing these nice deluxe vinyl versions of early recorded music that are hard to come by these days: blues, folk, country, bluegrass, Western swing and early jazz. Sure there's Mississippi records, but these have nicer packaging, are well researched, and compiled, and just a bit more, well, deluxe. Plus Monk also seems to be focusing on the veritable stars of these genres like Charley Patton, Charlie Poole, Dock Boggs and Django Reinhardt, providing a fine selection of their best early recordings.
Of course everyone should know by now that pretty much everything about the Mississippi Delta Blues tradition began with Charley Patton. From his gravelly voice, his mean bottleneck slide work and his rock-star style stage antics (playing his guitar down on his knees, or behind his back), he influenced plenty of the stars of the next generation including Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and John Lee Hooker as well as John Fahey, who wrote a book about him. Plus Patton's off-stage womanizing, hard-drinking and death at a young age pretty much established the template for rock and blues idols to come. Fourteen of his best tracks are included here on Prayer of Death including his first bonafide hit, "Pony Blues". You can hear the devil calling in each exquisite note!

PATTON, CHARLEY Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues: The Worlds Of Charley Patton (Revenant) 7cd 160.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is seriously one of the most amazing packages we've ever seen. And lucky for us the music easily lives up to the breathtaking packaging. This is the ultimate Charley Patton collection, finally giving props to the man who was tearing it up when Robert Johnson was still a kiddie. 5 discs of every issued and unissued track by Patton and his sessionmates Son House, Willie Brown, Louise Johnson, Henry 'Son' Sims, Bertha Lee, Delta Big Four, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Edith North Johnson as well as talent scout HC Speir. Disc 6 is Pattons contemporaries: Ma Rainey, Howlin' Wolf, Poor Boy Lofton, Kid Bailey, Walter Rhodes, Rube Lacy, Blind Joe Reynolds, Tommy Johnson, and Pops Staples. Disc 7 is all interviews with Pattons associates: Staples, Wolf, Speir, and Booker Miller. Also included is a 128 page book John Fahey wrote about Patton in 1970, as well as liner notes from Fahey, and a host of blues scholars, lyrics, full size reproductions of 6 original 1929 ads, a full set of 78 record label stickers and tons more. But it's the packaging that'll knock your socks off. A huge green fabric 78rpm-style hardcover (something like 14" x 11") slipcase, complete with a pocket for Fahey's book, and all 7 cds mounted on faux 10"s, in old fashioned 10 inch sleeves, which along with the liner notes are all bound on one side just like old multple set 78s. So unbelievably nice. For those unfamiliar, Patton was one of the founders of Mississippi Delta blues. With a palpable anger just below the surface, Patton combined gruff gravelly vocals, heavy handed guitar style, amazing bottleneck slide, and lyrics made up on the spot, into some of the most important music in our history.
RealAudio clip: CHARLEY PATTON "Pony Blues"
RealAudio clip: CHARLEY PATTON "A Spoonful Blues"
RealAudio clip: CHARLIE PATTON "Down The Dirt Road Blues"
RealAudio clip: SON HOUSE "County Farm Blues"
RealAudio clip: UNKOWN CONVICT "Blues"

PATTON, CHARLIE King of the Delta Blues (Yazoo) cd 16.98

PATTON, CHARLIE Primeval Blues, Rags, and Gospel Songs (Yazoo) cd 16.98
Those who own the Charley Patton "Screamin' And Hollerin' The Blues" box set on Revenant can probably skip this, as you got all these tracks already... But maybe you should read along anyway. For this collection producer Richard Nevins searched far & wee for the best extant copies of Patton 78's and made an esthetic decision not to gouge away at the original recordings so much with the audio restoration software that's been all the rage with reissues of early recordings of late (as in for the last ten or so years.) For those of you who couldn't shovel out the dough for Revenant's definitive collection, Primeval Rags... is a great substitution writ small. Almost any 23 tracks by Patton would have been a fine anthology, as there's hardly a track ever recorded of him was anything less than stellar. This is the man after all that the legendary Robert Johnson -- along with myriad other blues and bluegrass musicians alike -- could name as the biggest influence on his playing. They just don't make singing voices like this anymore. Both soft and subtle and powerful enough to knock the doors off your barn and bottleneck guitar playing that will have you sobbing out of pure respect.
MPEG Stream: "Revenue Man Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Troubles Bout My Mother"

PATTON, MIKE A Perfect Place (Ipecac) cd 16.98

PATTON, MIKE Adult Themes for Voice (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Like chilling in the greyhound station listening to Aphex Twin through a shitty boombox... Only it's some guy sitting in a hotel room at 4 in the morning screaming into a 4-track.

PATTON, MIKE Crank High Voltage OST (Lakeshore) cd 17.98
We could go on and on and on about our undying love for the first Crank movie, easily THE most deliriously over the top action movie EVER. Filmed super stylistically as well, so the high (low) concept is reflected by the film stock and speed and angles. For those living under a rock, the movie revolves around a hitman, who is drugged and left for dead, the drug slows down his heart, eventually causing his death, but hellbent on revenge, our 'hero' manages to finds unique and inventive ways of keeping his adrenaline up and thus stay alive, in order to exact his revenge. He does lots of drugs, risks life and limb, fucks with cops, picks fights with gangs, fucks his girlfriend in the middle of Chinatown, but eventually SPOILER WARNING! He falls from a helicopter calling his girlfriend on the way down.
Fast forward to Crank High Voltage, only to discover, somehow he did not die, instead, he was spirited off by Asian gangsters, who remove his heart, replacing it with an artificial heart hooked up to a battery, with an hour's worth of charge. The hook this time around is, he needs to continually charge himself up, while he tries to track down his heart and have it put back in. Far fetched? For sure. But that's the joy of these movies. And who better to score a movie like this than Mr. Mike Patton. But instead of doing crazy voices, and wild shrieking weirdness, Patton has crafted a super weird, ultra varied, practically perfect soundtrack, alternately heavy, freaky, skittery, metallic, jazzy, it is a soundtrack after all, so removed from the images, a little is lost, but this soundtrack stands up pretty well. In fact, besides being blown away by the movie, the first thing we all thought afterwards was "we need to get this soundtrack". So here it is.
The best part is our hero's theme, a simple 6 note melody, that resurfaces throughout the movie in different forms, it's catchy as all get out, appropriately ominous and minor key, and definitely suits the spirit of the character. Beyond that, Patton has cooked up a wild imaginative hodge podge of sonic cues, mini jams, micro epics, dark mood music, and everything in between. Which is important since in the film, the action is all over the place, flitting from extreme violence, to dying-heart stupor, beaten to a pulp wooziness, to recently recharged hyperactivity, and Patton comes whips up the perfect killer jams to accompany the various moods and scenes.
Skittery industrial weirdness wrapped around that main theme, and peppered with circusy synths and spacey effects giving way to pounding punk rock, a creeping moody crawl, chugging muted guitar, chiming melodies, interrupted by bursts of pounding drums, string swells, and thick metallic guitars, groovy sunshine-y almost jungle beneath twangy Summertime guitar and crooned female vox and handclaps, moody Morricone-ish twang and drift, funky retro porno grooves, mysterious Old West style flute flecked accordion weirdness that transforms into a creepy polka, grinding digital metal, with lots of stops and starts, warped and warbly sound effects draped over super haunting vocals whirs and whoops, Jew's harp jams and glitchy electronics, plenty of glitchy stuttery abstract hip hop, tolling bells over distant rumbles and on and on and on. Fans of Fantomas, especially the soundtrackier stuff will probably dig, and folks who are sometimes put off by Patton's wild vocalizing, might just dig this big time.
Needless to say, you should definitely buy this, but you should also see both movies, they're puerile, over the top, hyper violent, and funny as fuck. And they look AMAZING. Be warned though, the first film is much more 'cute', it definitely has a heart of (tarnished) gold, while the second one is much more meanspirited and harsh, but hell, as far as outrageous super stylized ridiculously impossible and hilariously brutal action movies go, you can't beat Crank. And Patton's soundtrack is pretty much the aural equivalent. Which means, ABSOLUTELY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Chelios"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Cream (Redux)"
MPEG Stream: "Organ Donor"
MPEG Stream: "Juice Me"
MPEG Stream: "Surgery"
MPEG Stream: "Car Park Throwdown"

PATTON, MIKE Mondo Cane (Ipecac) cd 16.98
As with most projects endowed with Mike Patton's presence (both past and present: Fantomas, Peeping Tom, Tomahawk, Lovage, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, etc), the production on his latest solo release is absolutely stellar, but also unexpectedly playful and fun! Mondo Cane is a delirious romp through Italian pop music of decades long past. Of course, Patton's vocal acrobatics need no introduction - his ability to leap from silken dinner jacket croon to belching guttural aggression to high pitched histrionic extremities is well documented and arguably unrivalled by any contemporary artist. Here his pipes are in top form. Fluent in Italian, Patton effortlessly and gleefully leaps head first into Italo-pop of the '40s, '50s and '60s, making stops in suave lounge, bold operatics, orchestral opulence, and beyond. Our ears were particularly tickled pink by his rendition of "Deep Down" from Mario Bava's campy psychedelic thriller Danger Diabolik. Debonair, audacious, and wildly entertaining!
MPEG Stream: "Deep Down"
MPEG Stream: "Urlo Negro"

PATTON, MIKE Pranzo Oltranzista (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Mr. Bungle/Faith No More vocalist Patton's debut as composer, following his previous solo Tzadik noise-fest. On this record, he is joined by John Zorn, Eric Friedlander, Marc Ribot and William Winant, for a Naked City-esque bash!

PATTON, MIKE / X-ECUTIONERS General Patton Vs. X-ecutioners (Ipecac) cd 15.98

PAUL NEWMAN Machine Is Not Broken (My Pal God) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a couple of Trance Syndicate releases, Paul Newman (the band whose bassist's name is also Paul Newman) follows the humid instrumental post-rock done Texas style from Winsdor For The Derby or Bedhead.

PAUL NEWMAN Re-Issue (My Pal God) cd 12.98

PAUL NEWMAN This Is How It Is Lost (Emperor Jones) cd 13.98

PAUL NICE, DJ 14 Cold Blooded Breaks (Super Break Records) lp 11.98
DJ Paul Nice's battle breaks for fearless turntablist DJs.

PAUL, SEAN The Trinity (VP) cd 17.98

PAVAN Holy Volt (Harmonia) lp 26.00
SKWEEE alert!!
Import full-length vinyl debut from Finland's Pavan, aka Frans Carlqvist, who is actually the same guy as Limonious, another essential skweee artist who's lp House Of Usher on his own label Flogsta Danshall we highlighted here last year. If you liked that one - or like ANY skweee - you ought to like this. And if we have to explain skweee, well, you haven't been paying attention have you? It's the homebrewed electronic music sub-sub-genre that started in Scandinavia, a mix of video-gamey, chip-tuney electro soundz and instrumental hip hop. Damaged, funky, infectious.
This new lp from Pavan is a great example. Nine tracks of pure groovy skweee, with titles like "Punt Kick", "Holy Volts", "Afrika" and "Crank Up". Pavan lists his gear, for those interested, he's using the Ensoniq ASR-10, Atari 1040ST, Atari STacy, Minod Vorga Prototype, Minod Bit Sampler, Yamaha CS-5, Roland Juno 106, Roland RE-201, and Otari 8-track. Great stuff from one of the masters of skweee!

PAVEMENT Brighten The Corners (Matador) cd 10.98
We wasted much time rolling round the floor laughing at Cory Brown's Pavement 'review', that we thought we'd get some use out if it by reprinting here: "Well, there was this one Lollapalooza show we did, I think it was the middle of the tour, and Bob was getting out of control, as he tends to do. He just started going off, dancing crazily around the stage yelling 'Cacahuate!' Which means peanut in Mexican. Then he got pissed that the kids were moshing to 'Cut Your Hair' for, like, the umpteenth time, so he decided to moon the audience. Just then, some kid threw a tangerine at the stage and it got caught right between his cheeks. That was cool."

PAVEMENT Brighten The Corners (Matador) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We wasted much time rolling round the floor laughing at Cory Brown's Pavement 'review', that we thought we'd get some use out if it by reprinting here: "Well, there was this one Lollapalooza show we did, I think it was the middle of the tour, and Bob was getting out of control, as he tends to do. He just started going off, dancing crazily around the stage yelling 'Cacahuate!' Which means peanut in Mexican. Then he got pissed that the kids were moshing to 'Cut Your Hair' for, like, the umpteenth time, so he decided to moon the audience. Just then, some kid threw a tangerine at the stage and it got caught right between his cheeks. That was cool."

PAVEMENT Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. (Matador) 2cd 15.98
By the time we reached Pavement's Brighten The Corners, the band had ceased being a fucked up lo-fi noise drenched fractured pop underground phenom, and had transformed into something much more respectable. They embodied nineties college rock, they were most definitely indie rock darlings big time. But to be fair, with what sounded like a bid for commercial success, the band did manage to retain plenty of their snarky humor, and the hooks and catchiness that used to be buried under sheets of white noise or recorded from within a tin can on a dictaphone, are now on display for all to see, the sound lush and thick and polished and rocking and heck, it suits them. The opening one two punch of "Stereo" and "Shady Lane" is pretty tough to beat. "Stereo" with it's crunchy guitar, and goofy lyrics about Geddy Lee, and Shady Lane, with it's lilting sing songy main melody, and that super simple guitar line that is more catchy than you might thing at first. And a gorgeously, slightly atonal chorus seals the deal. Fuck it, by this time, we had made peace with the fact that the band would never make another Westing or Slanted, and all that was left to do was to luxuriate in Pavement's twisted crafty pop genius, and so we did. And so we are again. Pop music has definitely changed a lot in the last decade, so it's refreshing to hear this stuff again, and it's comforting to realize just how great it still sounds. The record proper is peppered with some weirdness, some fractured production, some strange druggy jams, some sung spoken Velvets style jams, but those are all part and parcel of Pavement's weird lovable pop universe.
As with past deluxe reissues, Brighten gets all the bells and whistles, a gorgeous digipak, housed in a fancy diecut slipcover, a HUGE booklet with essays and liner notes and track info and tons of photos, and of course, a shitload of B-sides and unreleased tracks, a whole extra disc in fact, including some BBC sessions, a Clean cover (!), some live tracks, live on the radio performances, the aforementioned multitude of B-sides and two versions of the Space Ghost Theme!!!
MPEG Stream: "Stereo"
MPEG Stream: "Shady Lane / J Vs. S"
MPEG Stream: "Transport Is Arranged"
MPEG Stream: "Date w/ IKEA"

PAVEMENT Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. (Matador) 4lp 60.00
Now available on vinyl, a limited edition 4lp set, that includes EIGHT tracks not on the deluxe cd reissue, 5 of which are completely unreleased, ONE of which is NEVER-BEFORE-HEARD!! Also includes a full size 16 page booklet. Pricey but super badass!!
By the time we reached Pavement's Brighten The Corners, the band had ceased being a fucked up lo-fi noise drenched fractured pop underground phenom, and had transformed into something much more respectable. They embodied nineties college rock, they were most definitely indie rock darlings big time. But to be fair, with what sounded like a bid for commercial success, the band did manage to retain plenty of their snarky humor, and the hooks and catchiness that used to be buried under sheets of white noise or recorded from within a tin can on a dictaphone, are now on display for all to see, the sound lush and thick and polished and rocking and heck, it suits them. The opening one two punch of "Stereo" and "Shady Lane" is pretty tough to beat. "Stereo" with it's crunchy guitar, and goofy lyrics about Geddy Lee, and Shady Lane, with it's lilting sing songy main melody, and that super simple guitar line that is more catchy than you might thing at first. And a gorgeously, slightly atonal chorus seals the deal. Fuck it, by this time, we had made peace with the fact that the band would never make another Westing or Slanted, and all that was left to do was to luxuriate in Pavement's twisted crafty pop genius, and so we did. And so we are again. Pop music has definitely changed a lot in the last decade, so it's refreshing to hear this stuff again, and it's comforting to realize just how great it still sounds. The record proper is peppered with some weirdness, some fractured production, some strange druggy jams, some sung spoken Velvets style jams, but those are all part and parcel of Pavement's weird lovable pop universe.
As with past deluxe reissues, Brighten gets all the bells and whistles, a gorgeous ultra deluxe gatefold, a huge booklet with essays and liner notes and track info and tons of photos, and of course, a shitload of B-sides and unreleased tracks, including some BBC sessions, a Clean cover (!), some live tracks, live on the radio performances, the aforementioned multitude of B-sides and two versions of the Space Ghost Theme!!!
MPEG Stream: "Stereo"
MPEG Stream: "Shady Lane / J Vs. S"
MPEG Stream: "Transport Is Arranged"
MPEG Stream: "Date w/ IKEA"

PAVEMENT Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (Matador) 2cd 15.98
It's kind of sad when we hear stuff played to death, no matter how good it is, we find ourselves never wanting to hear it again. That's definitely the curse of commercial radio. I mean, can you imagine if you had never heard Led Zeppelin, or AC/DC or even "Freebird". How totally psyched you'd be. You would have your ass kicked on a daily basis. The same sort of thing happened with nineties indie rock. It was a time unmatched since, with band after band crafting perfect, clever jangly pop songs, but after a while, all it would have taken was hearing "Cut Your Hair" one more time to drive us into a psychotic rage. But given a little distance, and then given the chance to revisit arguably one of the finest moments in indie rock, one can't help but be blown away once again. Westing By Musket And Sextant may have been Pavement's experimental artrock masterpiece, and Slanted And Enchanted was THE ONE, the record that launched whatever you want to call it, indie rock, nineties college rock, slacker rock. But we all know that Crooked Rain was their finest moment. Where their sloppy chaotic need-to-annoy roots perfectly meshed with brilliant song writing, clever and witty lyrics and perect pop instrumentation. Lo-fi only in attitude, Crooked Rain was a solid 10. A perfect indie pop masterpiece. Shambolic and always on the verge of collapse but still so utterly without equal. No filler to be found. Or if there was filler, it was so good that you couldn't imagine the record without it. And then of course there was "Cut Your Hair", maybe the best indie rock song ever, with it's ridiculously catchy melody, ooh ooh vocals and snarky Stone Temple Pilots bashing lyrics.
So here we are ten years later and you know what? It's just as good as you remember. And the icing on the double cd reissue cake is nine single b-sides, two compilation tracks including Andee's favorite Pavement song ever "Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence", a sort-of heartfelt ode to R.E.M. featuring the unforgettably funny (but right on) refrain: "TIME AFTER TIME WAS MY LEAST FAVORITE SONG!!" and a whole frickin' disc of unreleased tracks recorded during the Crooked Rain sessions. Twenty one new (to us at least) tracks plus a Peel session (R.I.P. John Peel) from 1994.
So do yourself a favor and pick this up, and maybe also Guided By Voices' Bee Thousand and revisit indie rock's golden years and come to the somewhat shocking realisation, much like we did, that nothing has even come close since then.
MPEG Stream: "Silence Kit"
MPEG Stream: "Elevate Me Later"
MPEG Stream: "Stop Breathin'"
MPEG Stream: "Unfair"
MPEG Stream: "Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence"

PAVEMENT Live Europaturnen MCMXCVII (Record Store Day) (Matador) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.