SPOOKY, DJ Rhythm Science (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98

SPOOKY, DJ Riddim Come Forward: 50,000 Volts of Trojan Records (Trojan) 2cd 19.98

SPOOKY, DJ Riddim Warfare (Asphodel/Outpost/Geffen) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Surprisingly excellent album from Spooky, full of kickass hip hop (with Sir Menelik and Kool Keith), non-boring drum'n'bass, and obvious-yet-not-irritating influences from bhangra to dub to ketjak to electric-1970s-era Miles Davis. Even the "filler" bits are interesting. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth guests on one track. The cd has a few more tracks than the vinyl version.

SPOOKY, DJ Riddim Warfare (Asphodel/Outpost/Geffen) 2lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Surprisingly excellent album from Spooky, full of kickass hip hop (with Sir Menelik and Kool Keith), non-boring drum'n'bass, and obvious-yet-not-irritating influences from bhangra to dub to ketjak to electric-1970s-era Miles Davis. Even the "filler" bits are interesting. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth guests on one track. The cd has a few more tracks than the vinyl version.

SPOOKY, DJ Synthetic Fury (Asphodel) lp 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
7 songs that completely kick ass and surprise even people like me who have never been all that impressed with the Subliminal Kid. He's cut out all the whooshy filler and noodling, leaving only actual pieces with beginnings, middles, and ends. This even gets AQ-designer Mark Wasserman's full on seal of approval. The best song is a collaboration with Panacea -- that should give you an idea of this record's power. Recommended.

SPOOKY, DJ Synthetic Fury (Asphodel) cdep 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
7 songs that completely kick ass and surprise even people like me who have never been all that impressed with the Subliminal Kid. He's cut out all the whooshy filler and noodling, leaving only actual pieces with beginnings, middles, and ends. This even gets AQ-designer Mark Wasserman's full on seal of approval. The best song is a collaboration with Panacea -- that should give you an idea of this record's power. Recommended.

SPOOKY, DJ System Error. Al-Yamamah Mix (Horus) cd 17.98

SPOOKY, DJ Under the Influence (Six Degrees) cd 15.98
Gap poster boy (in good company, I must say: Tina Fey! Will Farrell! etc.) Paul "DJ Spooky" Miller turns up on the world music leaning electronica label Six Degrees with a DJ mix cd for their "Under The Influence" series, showcasing his influences (natch) rather than current faves... So we hear from Moby, Carl Craig, State of Bengal, Ryuichi Sakamoto/Talvin Singh, Antipop Consortium, Kool Keith, Michael Franti's Spearhead, FSOL, Mix Master Mike, Amon Tobin, Mike Ladd, Saul Williams, Sonic Youth, and others (some being collaborative tracks with Spooky himself). What, no Xenakis???

SPOOKY, DJ VS. THE FREIGHT ELEVATOR QUARTET File Under Futurism (Caipirinha) cd 14.98
While we might not always like DJ Spooky's output (both musical and, uh, academic) we'll always at least give it a try. Working here with the a string ensemble called the Freight Elevator Quartet, Spooky weaves a mostly dubby illbient score (broken occasionally by a funky junglist break or a droning turntablist collage with The Conet Project) for the already haunting Victorian violins, etc. Actually this is pretty good!

SPOOKY, DJ, & NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA Paysage Insolite (Manifold) 10" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Don't know if you've been keeping track, but this is the fifth in DJ Spooky's series of "Elementz DJ Toolz", and sees him teaming up with noted Japanese electronica experimentalist Takemura. PowerBooks set on "fucked". Limited.

SPOOKY, DJ, & SCANNER The Quick & The Dead (Sulphur / Beggars Banquet) cd 13.98
Solipsistic is the only to describe this. It's unfortunate that Spooky (after making some fairly interesting records) would return to the sound of his first recordings which were nothing more than Bill Laswell ripoff - an "illbient" concoction of plodding bass heaviness with a boring display of electronic squiggles. Scanner's samples (which include a less than inspired 'remix' of The Conet Project's numbers stations) don't amount to much on the record. Well at least the packaging is sorta neat with its diecut digipack.

SPOOKY, DJ, THAT SUBLIMINAL KID Object Unknown (Asphodel) 12" 5.98
Kool Keith and Sir Menelik rap SF hallucinations over wonky, spacey beats. Six versions on heavy vinyl. Really surprisingly good.

SPOON Got Nuffin (Merge) cd ep 4.98
What more to say? A new Spoon record! Sure it may only be 4 songs (not 3 like it says on the sleeve), but heck, how long has it been since we've had some new Spoon? Far too long. And "Got Nuffin" is just what we've all been hankering for, nothing super new, no sonic reinvention, but then who wants that, it's just another killer brooding, chugging chunk of moody indie rock, a sound that few other modern rock bands can even come close to. Lots of fuzzy bass, minimal piano plink, some cool effected guitar, and Britt Daniel's unmistakable croon. Catchy and kick ass, sounds like it could have come right off any of their last few full lengths.
The other three tracks are all over the map. "Tweakers" is some cool abstract piano and drum experiment. Just a looping drum jam, super muddy and muted, with the occasional bit of electronic crunch, or atonal piano pound, even a little bit of drone-y high end, but it's mostly just the drums, and it's kinda cool. Leads right into "Stroke Their Brains", a shuffling slow burner, all fuzzy jangle and skittery rhythm, minor key melodies, strange effected vocals, an awesome Daniel vocal part, and lots of woozy twang.
Then after a few minutes of silence is the "Tweakers" remix, which sounds almost exactly the same, slightly altered, the beat subtly effected, the song a bit chopped up and stuttery, really cool, but then for a brief moment, there's some rapping, yep, rapping, really goofy dorky distorted rapping. It's only for 30 seconds or so, and it somehow works, sort of, but we imagine there's a reason it's tucked away after the silence and is unlisted on the sleeve. Maybe that track's for Spoon freeks only, but the rest of this way too brief ep definitely has us chomping at the bit for a new full length!
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"

SPOON Got Nuffin (Merge) 12" 9.98
NOW ON VINYL!
What more to say? A new Spoon record! Sure it may only be 4 songs (not 3 like it says on the sleeve), but heck, how long has it been since we've had some new Spoon? Far too long. And "Got Nuffin" is just what we've all been hankering for, nothing super new, no sonic reinvention, but then who wants that, it's just another killer brooding, chugging chunk of moody indie rock, a sound that few other modern rock bands can even come close to. Lots of fuzzy bass, minimal piano plink, some cool effected guitar, and Britt Daniel's unmistakable croon. Catchy and kick ass, sounds like it could have come right off any of their last few full lengths.
The other three tracks are all over the map. "Tweakers" is some cool abstract piano and drum experiment. Just a looping drum jam, super muddy and muted, with the occasional bit of electronic crunch, or atonal piano pound, even a little bit of drone-y high end, but it's mostly just the drums, and it's kinda cool. Leads right into "Stroke Their Brains", a shuffling slow burner, all fuzzy jangle and skittery rhythm, minor key melodies, strange effected vocals, an awesome Daniel vocal part, and lots of woozy twang.
Then after a few minutes of silence is the "Tweakers" remix, which sounds almost exactly the same, slightly altered, the beat subtly effected, the song a bit chopped up and stuttery, really cool, but then for a brief moment, there's some rapping, yep, rapping, really goofy dorky distorted rapping. It's only for 30 seconds or so, and it somehow works, sort of, but we imagine there's a reason it's tucked away after the silence and is unlisted on the sleeve. Maybe that track's for Spoon freeks only, but the rest of this way too brief ep definitely has us chomping at the bit for a new full length!
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"

SPOON Anything You Want (12XU) cd ep 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New single from AQ pop faves Spoon. Described in a former list as: "rough and raw, simple and dark, late night pop. Breaking up with your girlfriend mixtape pop. Really stripped down sounding with warm guitars and shimmering vibes, and a fucking amazing voice." This single has one track from their recent and brilliant album Girls Can Tell, one non-album track, and a Yo La Tengo cover!

SPOON Don't You Evah (Merge) cd ep 7.98

SPOON Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge) cd 14.98
First things first, we've gotta tell y'all that "The Underdog" otherwise known as the first single off of this new Spoon album sounds SOOOOOOO much like Billy Joel! Go on guys, give us a few bars of "I don't care what you say anymore, this is myyyy life!" Not a bad thing in our books really. We bet they'd do an awesome cover of it. Billy Joel has made some fine fine music over the years, hasn't he? Anyways, this is Spoon at their most buoyantly upbeat and poppy. Their usual whip smart core arrangement of drums (and hand claps!), well defined guitars, undercurrents of piano and Britt Daniel's softly husky voice is polished off with some deliciously effervescent horns. Great!
Really the only problem we have with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is its abrupt end... and it comes much too soon. Thirty six minutes of Spoon? Simply not enough in our books, but...
Note: the limited edition cd which we currently have in stock includes a bonus disc of 22 more minutes of Spoon -- basically a mishmash of odds'n'ends like rough renditions of album tracks such as "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", effected guitar abstractions and the like. Don't know how long they'll last, so if you want one of 'em you'd better act fast!
MPEG Stream: "The Underdog"
MPEG Stream: "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"

SPOON Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge) lp 16.98
First things first, we've gotta tell y'all that "The Underdog" otherwise known as the first single off of this new Spoon album sounds SOOOOOOO much like Billy Joel! Go on guys, give us a few bars of "I don't care what you say anymore, this is myyyy life!" Not a bad thing in our books really. We bet they'd do an awesome cover of it. Billy Joel has made some fine fine music over the years, hasn't he? Anyways, this is Spoon at their most buoyantly upbeat and poppy. Their usual whip smart core arrangement of drums (and hand claps!), well defined guitars, undercurrents of piano and Britt Daniel's softly husky voice is polished off with some deliciously effervescent horns. Great!
Really the only problem we have with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is its abrupt end... and it comes much too soon. Thirty six minutes of Spoon? Simply not enough in our books, but...
Note: the limited edition lp which we currently have in stock includes a bonus 7" (with a demo version of "The Underdog" and a b-side titled "It Took A Rumor To Make Me Wonder, Now I'm Convinced I'm Going Under") plus a free full album download. Don't know how long they'll last, so if you want one of 'em you'd better act fast!
MPEG Stream: "The Underdog"
MPEG Stream: "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"

SPOON Gimme Fiction (Merge) cd 14.98
Geez, life is hard, innit? Don't wanna be a broken record about it, but there aren't enough adjectives in our thesaurus to describe how much we dig this band. Have to admit though, that each time a Spoon release date looms on the horizon, we anticipate it with more than a little trepidation. But there really hasn't been any real cause for concern, Britt and co. have yet to disappoint. Yeah, we totally blew our wad gushing over their brilliant Girls Can Tell album back in 2001, then its follow-up Kill The Moonlight took a little longer to sink its teeth in and find its own cozy place in our hearts. Now its follow-up is here. Marking more subtle shifts in the band's direction and sound, Gimme Fiction definitely dips a toe into some new territory -- very tasteful though, nothing outlandish. Perhaps most noticeable is the lower level of pep and fewer obvious hooks. In their places are darker, somberer tones. The addition of strings, horns and mysterious 'sound effects' build the band's already dynamic mood swings to much more pronounced highs and lows. In fact, the first song "The Beast And Dragon, Adored" is so somber that when we heard the first few piano strains it made us think we'd put on a Black Heart Procession album. Then there's a very strange funky detour on the third song "I Turn My Camera On" in which Daniel affects a Prince-esque falsetto, once again causing us check to make sure that our stereo was indeed playing Spoon. And doesn't "I Summon You" sounds like a scaled down E.L.O. song? In contrast to those three decidedly 'new' directions, there's also lots of warm, familiar Spoonisms like "Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine", "My Mathematical Mind" and "Merchants Of Soul". Great! With guests John Vanderslice, Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachmann, and members of the Tosca String Quartet.
Added Spoon treat, while they last, and only with the cd: you also get a four-song cdep with bonus songs "Carryout Kids" (Byram thought its piano/vocals beginning sounded like an audition for a Broadway musical) and an incredibly distorted, farty "You Was It" as well as demo versions of "I Summon You" and "Sister Jack".
MPEG Stream: "The Beast And Dragon, Adored"
MPEG Stream: "I Summon You"
MPEG Stream: "I Turn My Camera On"

SPOON Gimme Fiction (Merge) lp 14.98
Geez, life is hard, innit? Don't wanna be a broken record about it, but there aren't enough adjectives in our thesaurus to describe how much we dig this band. Have to admit though, that each time a Spoon release date looms on the horizon, we anticipate it with more than a little trepidation. But there really hasn't been any real cause for concern, Britt and co. have yet to disappoint. Yeah, we totally blew our wad gushing over their brilliant Girls Can Tell album back in 2001, then its follow-up Kill The Moonlight took a little longer to sink its teeth in and find its own cozy place in our hearts. Now its follow-up is here. Marking more subtle shifts in the band's direction and sound, Gimme Fiction definitely dips a toe into some new territory -- very tasteful though, nothing outlandish. Perhaps most noticeable is the lower level of pep and fewer obvious hooks. In their places are darker, somberer tones. The addition of strings, horns and mysterious 'sound effects' build the band's already dynamic mood swings to much more pronounced highs (the super snappy second to last tune "They Never Got You") and lows. In fact, the first song "The Beast And Dragon, Adored" is so somber that when we heard the first few piano strains it made us think we'd put on a Black Heart Procession album. Then there's a very strange funky detour on the third song "I Turn My Camera On" in which Daniel affects a Prince-esque falsetto, once again causing us check to make sure that our stereo was indeed playing Spoon. And doesn't "I Summon You" sounds like a scaled down E.L.O. song? In contrast to those three decidedly 'new' directions, there's also lots of warm, familiar Spoonisms like "Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine" and "My Mathematical Mind". Great!
With guests John Vanderslice, Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachmann, and members of the Tosca String Quartet.
MPEG Stream: "The Beast And Dragon, Adored"
MPEG Stream: "I Summon You"
MPEG Stream: "I Turn My Camera On"

SPOON Girls Can Tell (Merge) cd 14.98
Not sure how this band has managed to remain so unpopular for so long, 'cause god damn if Spoon aren't one of the best pop bands around. And not sugary sweet Kindercore pop, or retro sixties Elephant Six pop, but more rough and raw, simple and dark, late night pop. Breaking up with your girlfriend mixtape pop. Really stripped down sounding with warm guitars and shimmering vibes, and a fucking amazing voice. Spoon seem to suffer from the Sloan syndrome; being a really creative and intelligent pop band, that doesn't sound enough like other pop bands to 'make it big', and end up being bounced from label to label and dropped, even after recording amazing record after amazing record. It's hard for me to objectively describe Spoon in terms of 'their sound' and/or other bands since they have been one of my favorite bands for so long now and everything they do seems so unique to them. They obviously fit somewhat comfortably on the various labels they have recorded for (Matador, Merge, etc.) which gives you some idea, but their sound is really unique. Definitely for fans of the above (Matador, Merge, Sloan), but maybe also for those folks who feel like they may have outgrown pop or indie rock.
This just might do the trick.
RealAudio clip: "Everything Hits At Once"
RealAudio clip: "Lines In The Suit"
RealAudio clip: "Believing Is Art"

SPOON Kill The Moonlight (Merge) cd 14.98
Okay, you're all probably just as anxious about this release as we are here. And you're probably wondering, as we were here, "just how the fuck are they going to top Girls Can Tell?"It's a tough thing for any band to take that next step after releasing a -- dare I fucking say -- perfect record. It's twice as hard since everyone is expecting to be blown away from the first beat. So is it as good as the last? Hmmm... Well, it didn't punch anyone's lights out on the first, or second, beats. But after listening through a couple times, 4 out of 6 lovers of the last album feel that this album kicks ass. And while it doesn't have as much immediate impact, or as many sure-fire "hits" on it, that doesn't seem as important. It feels like they're trying something new and completely different. Well, as different as they can be while still retaining their Spoon-isms. A customer new to Spoon described this as the record that Elton John would've made if he had the White Stripes and the Strokes as his backup band. Which is to say it's got a lot of swagger and incandescent hooks, but it's not trendy or prefab in any way -- more like Squeeze with their sparkling, precise, stripped down pop songs. Fucking fantastic. Kill The Moonlight seems like a much more introspective record than Girls Can Tell, rife with a greater amount of studio experimentation and instrumentation. Daniels and crew tinker around with piano, mellotron, *human beat box*, and a great multitude of effects. Which isn't to say that this is an "experimental" record at all. Nor is it all unstructured "jams". No, it's a lean machine with nary an ounce of fat on its almost brief 38 minute run time.
RealAudio clip: "The Way We Get By"
RealAudio clip: "Something To Look Forward To"
RealAudio clip: "Jonathan Fisk"
RealAudio clip: "Someone Something"

SPOON Kill The Moonlight (Merge) lp 14.98
Okay, you're all probably just as anxious about this release as we are here. And you're probably wondering, as we were here, "just how the fuck are they going to top Girls Can Tell?"It's a tough thing for any band to take that next step after releasing a -- dare I fucking say -- perfect record. It's twice as hard since everyone is expecting to be blown away from the first beat. So is it as good as the last? Hmmm... Well, it didn't punch anyone's lights out on the first, or second, beats. But after listening through a couple times, 4 out of 6 lovers of the last album feel that this album kicks ass. And while it doesn't have as much immediate impact, or as many sure-fire "hits" on it, that doesn't seem as important. It feels like they're trying something new and completely different. Well, as different as they can be while still retaining their Spoon-isms. A customer new to Spoon described this as the record that Elton John would've made if he had the White Stripes and the Strokes as his backup band. Which is to say it's got a lot of swagger and incandescent hooks, but it's not trendy or prefab in any way -- more like Squeeze with their sparkling, precise, stripped down pop songs. Fucking fantastic. Kill The Moonlight seems like a much more introspective record than Girls Can Tell, rife with a greater amount of studio experimentation and instrumentation. Daniels and crew tinker around with piano, mellotron, *human beat box*, and a great multitude of effects. Which isn't to say that this is an "experimental" record at all. Nor is it all unstructured "jams". No, it's a lean machine with nary an ounce of fat on its almost brief 38 minute run time.

SPOON Love Ways (Merge) cd 9.98
After an absolutely brilliant and criminally overlooked record on a major label (the absolutely essential 'A Series Of Sneaks' which we also carry), Spoon have made the move to the ever-flourishing Merge label. While still undeniably indebted to the almighty Pixies, Spoon just keep getting better and better. We can only hope that people notice and make them the stars they deserve to be.
'Love Ways' is a brooding and tense record, taking the sounds of Yo La Tengo and the Pixies, stretching them out a bit, adding a gravelly, world weary voice, and a dark intensity, without sacrificing their perfect pop hooks. So recommended!

SPOON Sister Jack (Merge) cd ep 4.98
Spoon completist alert... To keep Spoon on your mind and in your ears and in your eyes, Merge Records have just released this cdep following up their great Gimme Fiction album that came out back in May. There's three Spoon treats to listen to and one to watch -- the album track and video for "Sister Jack", a remix of "I Turn My Camera On" by John McEntire and an additional song "Sunday Morning Wednesday Night". Hurrah!
MPEG Stream: "Sunday Morning Wednesday Night"
MPEG Stream: "I Turn My Camera On (John McEntire Remix)"

SPOON Someone Something (Merge) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A little vinyl teaser for those of us that still have the ability to play it. The A side is from these Texans' forthcoming album on Merge and the B has a couple of exclusive tracks. If this 7" is any indication of things to come, fans of Spoon's last album Girls Can Tell will not be disappointed by Kill the Moonlight. "Someone Something" is much like what Britt Daniel and Co. were doing before: Elvis Costello fused with Pixies pop goodness. The two exclusive tracks include "Is This The Last Time?" driven by a pulsing rhythm guitar riff not entirely unlike AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock We Salute You", does not approach the heavy magnitude of AC/DC, but this is Spoon after all and "In The Right Place At The Right Time" is a spacey little ditty, almost an ambient Spoon track which may not appeal to all but the most die hard fans.

SPOON Telephono / Soft Effects (Merge) 2cd 14.98
It seems like there are a million bands these days doing their best Spoon impressions. And who can blame then? Spoon are awesome. It's no surprise bands want to sound like them. And who can complain really? We love their dour moody groove and propulsive indie jangle. So the more the merrier. As long as it is in some way acknowledged that they were the first, and remain probably the best at being, well, Spoon! But there was a time, when that dynamic was reversed, when Spoon were the ones cribbing their sound from another band. They weren't alone though. In fact some of your past and current faves were right there along with them. Crafting hauntingly oblique angular indie jangle, whispery loping verses and huge crunchy choruses. Sound familiar? You're thinking Nirvana maybe? Nope, but Nirvana were one of the those bands who also borrowed a critical element of their sound from one of the most influential indie rock bands of the nineties. We're of course talking about everyone's favorite outsider indie, loud/soft rockers the Pixies. The band who singlehandedly launched a million bands. And then of course tons of THOSE bands launched a million more.
Back in 1996/97, Spoon were offering up their own take on the Pixies sound. Sometimes it's uncanny actually, Spoon frontman Britt Daniel's crackly croon a dead ringer for Frank Black, the band's loping, muted guitar shuffle and bombastic choruses sounding like they could be some elusive Pixies B-side. In fact the Pixies worship on display here is almost too much for some. Even around here, a bastion of massive Spoon love, a few Spoon fans just can't handle how Pixie-ish these records sound. But heck, every band borrows, the key being to infuse the borrowed sounds with ideas and music that are distinctly your own. And in that respect these two discs are completely brilliant. The seeds of what would blossom into the Spoon we know and love, planted in the rich soil of all the Pixies bombast that came before. Personally, we didn't really notice the Pixies thing until it was pointed out to us. Instead, we dug these records, mostly because they happen to feature Spoon at their most rocking. Imagine Girls Can Tell or Kill The Moonlight supercharged, a little more chaotic and scrabbly, a bit more, dare we say, punk sounding. The guitars are more raw, Daniel's voice is a bit more scratchy and less croony, the arrangements are much more ROCK and a lot more dynamic. It's still Spoon, so there are hooks everywhere, but they're wrapped in big jagged guitars, the drums pound and the production is definitely a hint at Spoon's studio experimentation/mastery to come. On one of our favorite tracks, "All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed," voices and weird sounds careen all over the place in the background, while the band kick out the jams on a track with one of the catchiest choruses ever.
This double set collects the 1996 Telephono full length and the 1997 ep Soft Effects, which features one of our other favorite Spoon tracks "Waiting For The Kid To Come Out", a classic Spoon track for sure, but like the rest of the tunes here, much harder edged and just way more rocking. In fact a few of us here, if forced to pick, might just claim these discs as our favorite Spoon records ever.
Fans of Spoon who have yet to hear these discs will flip. And if there are somehow, inexplicably, some indie rockers out there who have yet to discover the glorious joy of Spoon's dark moody pop world, or for some reason, wish that Spoon would let loose a little more, well then, this here set should pretty much set you straight!
Packaged in cardboard gatefold, housed in a cool two sided slipcover.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Buy The Realistic"
MPEG Stream: "Not Turning Off"
MPEG Stream: "All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed"
MPEG Stream: "Waiting For The Kid To Come Out"

SPOON Transference (Merge) cd 15.98
The return of Spoon always means another batch of subtly kick ass indie rock, and with Transference the same holds true. While lots has changed since the days of Girls Can Tell, still maybe our favorite Spoon record, not counting the early way more rocking ones like Telephono or Soft Effects, later Spoon records seem more like growers, the kind of records the blossom with repeated listens, which is definitely the case with Transference. Minus the obvious single, "Got Nuffin", which was already released on its own, none of the other tracks here leaps out and screams 'Single!' or 'Hit!', but that's the magic of Spoon, that most of the songs here, just like on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, will end up stuck in your head, and most definitely on repeat play after a handful of listens.
Record closer "Nobody Gets Me But You" is our current fave, stripped down and skeletal, with bloopy bass, and some cool little flurries of piano, and a lazily drawled main hook, but "Written In Reverse" with it's falsetto vocals and vampy piano is another contender, as is "I Saw The Light", which definitely harkens back to the rocking old days, with some crunchy guitar and moody vox, but hell, every listen we pick another one to obsess over. And while Spoon would have to do something seriously stellar to top Girls Can Tell, we're perfectly happy digging into Transference. Again and again...
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"
MPEG Stream: "Before Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Is Love Forever?"

SPOON Transference (Merge) lp 17.98
The return of Spoon always means another batch of subtly kick ass indie rock, and with Transference the same holds true. While lots has changed since the days of Girls Can Tell, still maybe our favorite Spoon record, not counting the early way more rocking ones like Telephono or Soft Effects, later Spoon records seem more like growers, the kind of records the blossom with repeated listens, which is definitely the case with Transference. Minus the obvious single, "Got Nuffin", which was already released on its own, none of the other tracks here leaps out and screams 'Single!' or 'Hit!', but that's the magic of Spoon, that most of the songs here, just like on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, will end up stuck in your head, and most definitely on repeat play after a handful of listens.
Record closer "Nobody Gets Me But You" is our current fave, stripped down and skeletal, with bloopy bass, and some cool little flurries of piano, and a lazily drawled main hook, but "Written In Reverse" with it's falsetto vocals and vampy piano is another contender, as is "I Saw The Light", which definitely harkens back to the rocking old days, with some crunchy guitar and moody vox, but hell, every listen we pick another one to obsess over. And while Spoon would have to do something seriously stellar to top Girls Can Tell, we're perfectly happy digging into Transference. Again and again...
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"
MPEG Stream: "Before Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Is Love Forever?"

SPOONBENDER 1.1.1 Stereo Telepathy Academy - 2nd Edition (Studio Version) (The Helen Scarsdale Agency) cd 15.98
Edition 2 (studio version) of the Spoonbender 1.1.1 Stereo Telepathy Academy trilogy...
Simply put, this is a weird-as-hell, warped, late night, difficult-listening 'trip' for all you AQers looking for truly strange atmospheres... Okay, first things first; Spoonbender 1.1.1 is not a side-project of I Am Spoonbender. The duo of Dustin Donaldson and Cup consider Spoonbender 1.1.1 to be a self-contained project that ventures outside the 'populist avant-tronics' of I Am Spoonbender into the realms of sidereal soundtrack music, the transmission of ideas through subliminal means, manifestations of 'third mind' techniques, and the non-logic of chance operations. Not so different on paper, but put another way: there are no drums, singing, or 'songs' in the 1.1.1 project. The material for Stereo Telepathy Academy was debuted during a live performance in which Spoonbender 1.1.1 performed with (appropriately enough) Psychic TV; however, for the second edition of Stereo Telepathy Academy, Spoonbender 1.1.1 recomposed all of the material in the studio -- expanding and elaborating on their live performance, and making for a distinctly new and different listening experience that stand on its own with or without the visual accompaniment. That said, as in the first edition, Stereo Telepathy Academy features "text taken from one film, overlaid on images from another, and the audio score was written around a different, third film... the results appear to be intentional" for a sort of 'Wizard Of Oz/Dark Side Of The Moon' for telekinetics.
The J.G. Ballard-esque text was taken from David Cronenberg's 1969 student film 'Stereo', a faux-documentary detailing the work of a Dr. Luther Stringfellow, which concerns surgical procedures for the advancement of telepathic communication, while the visuals came from 'Crimes Of The Future' (another Cronenberg film, which transpires in an urban dystopia populated by pedophiles and oozing victims from a female-eliminating cosmetics related catastrophe). As creepy and sterile as the images were, we have to say that its Canadian-ness was positively charming, somehow. In their score, Spoonbender 1.1.1 lunges ominously forward with an otherworldly radiance of slow motion electronic pulses and melodies that retain an even darker hue than that of Klaus Schulze, Coil (e.g. Coilans / Time Machines), and Alan Splet, who are probably Spoonbender 1.1.1's closest sonic neighbors. Given the nature of their intense, masterfully detailed sea of electric sound, Spoonbender 1.1.1 hedged their bets that Cronenberg's pseudo-scientific spoken text would situate nicely against their audio. And indeed, this freakish document of prepared-chance context, atmosphere and appropriation works exceptionally well.
PLEASE NOTE: In keeping with the numerological-binding-of-3 theme, there will be 3 released versions of Stereo Telepathy Academy, all with different packaging. The first version arrived as a cd-r edition of 111 copies sporting a white glove as an allusion to 'Crimes Of The Future' (now out of print). This is the second edition, a proper disc that comes with letterpressed artwork in an edition of 333. The final edition will be in an edition of only 3 copies!
MPEG Stream: "Edition 2 Excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "Edition 2 Excerpt 2"

SPOONBENDER 1.1.1 Stereo Telepathy Academy - Live In San Francisco 2004 (Seismic Seance Recordings) cd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Edition 1 (live version) of the Spoonbender 1.1.1 Stereo Telepathy Academy trilogy...
Simply put, this is a weird-as-hell, warped, late night, difficult-listening 'trip' for all you AQers looking for truly strange atmospheres... Okay, first things first; Spoonbender 1.1.1 is not a side-project of I Am Spoonbender. The duo of Dustin Donaldson and Cup consider Spoonbender 1.1.1 to be a self-contained project that ventures outside the 'populist avant-tronics' of I Am Spoonbender into the realms of sidereal soundtrack music, the transmission of ideas through subliminal means, manifestations of "third mind" techniques, and the non-logic of chance operations. Okay, not so different on paper, but put another way: there are no drums, singing, or 'songs' in the 1.1.1 project. The Stereo Telepathy Academy cd-r documents Spoonbender 1.1.1 live in SF while performing with (appropriately enough) Psychic TV.
The J.G. Ballard-esque text was taken from David Cronenberg's 1969 student film 'Stereo', a faux-documentary detailing the work of a Dr. Luther Stringfellow, which concerns surgical procedures for the advancement of telepathic communication, while the visuals came from 'Crimes Of The Future' (another Cronenberg film, which transpires in an urban dystopia populated by pedophiles and oozing victims from a female-eliminating cosmetics related catastrophe). As creepy and sterile as the images were, we have to say that its Canadian-ness was positively charming, somehow. Spoonbender 1.1.1 composed a musical accompaniment for these texts and images to a third film whose identity is both unknown and irrelevant. As Donaldson announces in the introduction to this performance / recording (a sort of 'Wizard Of Oz/Dark Side Of The Moon' for telekinetics), Stereo Telepathy Academy features "text taken from one film, overlaid on images from another, and the audio score was written around a different, third film... the results appear to be intentional". In this score, Spoonbender 1.1.1 lunges ominously forward with an otherworldly radiance of slow motion electronic pulses and melodies that retain an even darker hue than that of Klaus Schulze, Coil (e.g. Coilans / Time Machines), and Alan Splet, who are probably Spoonbender 1.1.1's closest sonic neighbors. Given the nature of their intense, masterfully detailed sea of electric sound, Spoonbender 1.1.1 hedged their bets that Cronenberg's pseudo-scientific spoken text would situate nicely against their audio. And indeed, this freakish document of prepared-chance context, atmosphere and appropriation works exceptionally well.
Special handmade packaging comes with a single white glove (as seen in the film) for your edification.
PLEASE NOTE: In keeping with the numerological-binding-of-3 theme, there will be 3 released versions of Stereo Telepathy Academy, all with different packaging (versions 2 and 3 will be non-cd-r, and on a proper label, with pressings of 333 and 3 copies respectively). Available here at AQ exclusively, this first version is limited to 111 cd-r copies only, so you know what to do!
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

SPOOZYS Astral Astronauts (Jetset) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the land of Cornelius, Buffalo Daughter, Pizzicato Five, and the like (Japan, specifically Tokyo), come space/pop/electronauts Spoozys. Silly, fast guitar and synth based beat-o-rama, like robot B-52s dancing with a hyperactive Kraftwerk. Undeniably fun.

SPRATLEYS JAPS Pony (All My Eye And Betty Martin Music) cd 14.98
We rave on and on elsewhere on this list about the Cardiacs, who are a damaged out-there pop-punk-prog beasty from the UK, described by me as "the Pixies meets the Sweet meets the Toy Dolls meets Uz Jme Doma meets Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack meets XTC but more punk rock, and more prog". Sounds good huh? Well if that sounds good to you (and it should) then check out Spratleys Japs, a logical continuation soundwise of the mighty Cardiacs, with Ms. Spratley, sometime vocalist for the Cardiacs, taking center stage and Cardiacs mainman Tim Smith right there by her side! A little more stariaght forward structurally, the sound is still gorgeous and damaged, with keening high vocals (almost impossible to tell whether it's Smith or Spratley!) perfect hooks, lots of reverbed keyboards, lush harmonies but more space than on the Cardiacs records, lots of shimmer and buzz and stretched out spaces scattered between the dizzying chunks of perfect pop. You might as well buy this one too since I KNOW you're gonna buy both the Cardiacs records and you'll be kicking yourself if you don't!!
RealAudio clip: "Vessel "
RealAudio clip: "Fanny"
RealAudio clip: "pony"

SPRAWL s/t (Trost) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Noise/jazz/improv/rock unit Sprawl has a lineup that includes saxophone legend Peter Brotzmann, bassist extraordinare William Parker and reedsman Alex Buess (of Swiss jazz-industrialists 16-17 as well as Ice and God). Since any of those names by themselves pretty much insures top quality, we had high expectations for this disc, and it's no disappointment. Also in the band, guitarist Stephan Wittiuer and drummer Michael Wertmuller (Alboth!, Caspar Brotzmann Massaker). Fans of those bands, Last Exit, etc., must take note. Looks like a 1997 release, but we've not come across it until now, due to it being a Austrian import.

SPRENGER, KONRAD Miniaturen (Choose) cd 18.98

SPRIGUNS Revel, Weird and Wild (Acme) cd 21.00
Twee olde folk.

SPRIGUNS Time Will Pass (Acme) cd 21.00
Twee olde folk.

SPRILLS OF ORE s/t (self-released) cd-r 5.98
There are no frills on Bay Area's Sprills Of Ore, and none are needed. Just intimate recordings of hushed folksy acoustic guitar, accordion (we think), cello and breathy soft female vocals by Ms Eva Kelly. Nine songs total, and each of them really really lovely!
MPEG Stream: "Midnight Moon"
MPEG Stream: "Blackened Skies"

SPRING HEEL JACK Amassed (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
A follow up to last year's successful "Masses" cd, on which UK electronica duo Spring Heel Jack edited and manipulated the raw improvisations of a host of Downtown NYC (and beyond) jazz musicians, in what was one of the the best and most original entries yet in Thirsty Ear's pretty great "Blue Series" of happenin' now jazz. Like that disc, this one also fortunately eschews the obvious "let's add some techno beats to this trumpet solo" kind of thing you might expect from an electronica remix project, and really approaches the music from within, SHJ using their computers carefully to meld disparate performances together into something that definitely remains jazz -- but with an undercurrent of glitchy crackle and drone. It's kind of like a free jazz version of Radian or Pluramon (to cite two computer-aided post-rock/electronica projects, both faves around here). The SHJ fellows are really listening and reacting, like improvisors do, and there are some great musicians on here for them (and us) to listen to. There's two returnees from the "Masses" line-up: legendary British saxophonist Evan Parker and Blue Series curator Matthew Shipp (on Fender Rhodes). And then there's also the likes of trombonist Paul Rutherford, drummer Han Bennink, violinist Ed Coxon, bassist George Trebar, trumpter Kenny Wheeler, bassist John Edwards, and, the oddball in the bunch, guitarist Jason Pierce of Spiritualized fame (who must be responsible for the distorted guitar noise found on "Maroc" and elsewhere).
With that kind of talent on hand, SHJ had a lot to work with, and they did a great job, creating layered compositions that retain the players' voices even as they are juxataposed into unimagined new situations. The results are moody, melodic but abstract, rarely (but sometimes) abrasive, nicely noir-ish...android jazz for some Blade Runner coctail bar. Dark, dense, lovely.
Jazz purists might scoff, but actually we'd rather listen to this than a lot of straight improv stuff done by the above musicians -- the combination of the instrumentalists' unfettered expression and SHJ's editing and structuring (and sonic additions) really works well here. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Amassed"
RealAudio clip: "Maroc"
RealAudio clip: "Obscured"

SPRING HEEL JACK Busy Curious Thirsty (Island) cd 15.98
Imagine Snakefinger playing drum -n- bass and you're almost there.

SPRING HEEL JACK Disappeared (Thirsty Ear) cd 14.98
The longtime British drum & bass artistes who collaborated with stark indierock minimalists Low on the recent stellar Tugboat ep, here continue to explore the dramatic (emphasis on drama) electronica that they do so well. As usual, with one foot in d&b and one foot in a noir netherworld of soundtrack tech...more of the same, although we kinda wish they had gone even further rather than releasing more of the same, no matter how good.

SPRING HEEL JACK Live (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
Recently, the Spring Heel Jack duo of John Coxon and Ashley Wales took their amazing "Masses" / "Amassed" jazz-meets-electronics project on the road, and we've now got this aptly-titled disc to prove it. Yep, live performances recorded at two shows in England this past January featuring several of the veteran jazz players who appeared on "Masses" and "Amassed" -- Matthew Shipp, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, William Parker -- alongside electric guitarist Jason Pierce of Spiritualized (who contributed to "Amassed") and the Spring Heel Jack guys themselves adding their two cents with electronics and live sampling and so forth. If you're not familiar with the two albums by this project already, basically SHJ recorded a bunch of awesome jazz musicians improvising (not necessarily together), fed that into their computer, edited and manipulated and juxtaposed, and came up with a pretty great jazz/electronics hybrid, that's neither wholly improv nor pre-composed. And it's definitely NOT drum and bass overlaid with jazz samples, fear not. Imagine a jazz version of Radian, if you know that band (another parallel would be to Pluramon). How would it work live, though? A bit differently, but with players of the calibre they've gathered here, it's still gotta be good. SHJ's opportunity for structuring and editing done in post-production is obviously lessened or eliminated, but the duo remain in their role as facilitators, and there's definitely a lot of electricity present, in all senses. The two long tracks here (75 minutes total on the disc) can get really wild and messy with the guitar distortion of "J Spaceman" vying with E. Parker's tenor for supremacy amid a bed of hectic Bennick drumming and SHJ electronic effects. Yet at other times W. Parker's bass and Shipp's Fender Rhodes groove right along with Bennink laying back. The music ebbs and flows, different groupings of players and soloists taking their turns. As a group, everyone seems to be revelling in freedom yet stays responsible to the music the group is making. This would seem a good bet for fans of Sun Ra, Supersilent, Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, and Evan Parker's previous experiments with live electronic accompaniment.
MPEG Stream: "Part I"

SPRING HEEL JACK Million Shades... (Island/Polygram) cd 16.98
English duo's album has been called 'the Loveless of drum&bass' but we think that's just a 'savvy' marketing scheme to make two-years-MBV-deprived fans try out this album, when the right folks are gonna buy it anyway cos, y'know, it's good. If you're fond of the smooth jungle goin' on behind Tracey Thorne on the last Everything But the Girl record, you'll like this. Can anyone confirm that the first piece samples the theme to X-Files.

SPRING HEEL JACK Oddities (Thirsty Ear) cd 13.98
John Coxon & Ashley Wales do have a history with experimental / academic musics that predates their more well known ventures into drum & bass as Spring Heel Jack. "Oddities" is a presentation of their more out-there experiments full of oblique electronic twiddle replete with dramatic electronic swells and Parmegiani / kosmische references. The addition of WS Burroughs voice makes perfect sense here. This unusual album will certainly surprise die-hard Spring Heel Jack fans with its lack of drum & bass breaks.

SPRING HEEL JACK Songs & Themes (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "With Out Words"
MPEG Stream: "1,000 Yards"

SPRING HEEL JACK The Blue Series Continuum: Masses (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
UK electronica artists Spring Heel Jack go up against the avant-jazz artists of Thirsty Ear's Matthew Shipp-curated "Blue Series". The players here include Shipp, Evan Parker, Tim Berne, Mat Maneri, William Parker, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell, and several other international jazz talents. We're not really sure how this collaboration actually worked, but it seems that individual improvisations recorded by the above jazz musicians were collaged and manipulated by the SHJ duo. What you get is a blend of jazz and electronics, with lots of drama and surprises, quiet tension and energy-filled blowouts. Don't worry, it's not your typical "remix" thing, SHJ didn't just add lame beats to the mix -- it's not like that at all. Rather, it's like they took the opportunity to select the best parts of the raw improv material they started with, and via editing and collaging have shaped new compostions (and virtual collaborations of players) that are all quite interesting and effective. Now, sometimes nothing beats witnessing live real-time improv stuff, but also sometimes it doesn't work, and even when it does, the recorded version isn't always as compelling. That's why this is so cool, being a blend of carefully selected, electronically enhanced improv and structured in-the-computer compostion, a worthy synthesis. And hopefully the SHJ name will draw some folks in to eventually investigate some of the excellent current avant-jazz stuff that the Blue Series documents.
RealAudio clip: "Chiaroscuro"
RealAudio clip: "Salt"
RealAudio clip: "Red Worm"

SPRING HEEL JACK The Sweetness Of The Water (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
John Coxon and Ashley Wales (aka Spring Heel Jack) have really got a good thing going with the several electronics-abetted jazz experiments they've been brewing up for the Thirsty Ear label's Blue Series: Masses, Amassed, Live, and now this one, The Sweetness Of The Water. Their usual procedure is to get a bunch of A-list avant improvisers together in various combinations, record, and then create via their deft editing and processing something more constructed and composed, using the computer to do so without obscuring the original spark and feel of the live improviations. In fact it's quite unclear at what point in the recording/mixing process the entirely respectful, subtle electronic elements have been introduced. On this album we hear the talents of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, sax man Evan Parker, drummer Mark Sanders, and bassist John Edwards, alongside the contributions of the Spring Heel Jack duo. There's some scritchy sonic scribbling, and spacious note-lush drone, and lyrical melodicism (often accompanied by that lovely electronic crackle of which we here at AQ just can't get enough) and all kinds of gorgeous playing to be found here, on what's definitely a 21st century jazz album, in a vein sorta similiar to Supersilent or Trapist. As with the others from Spring Heel Jack and their heavy jazz friends so far, recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Track Four"
MPEG Stream: "Lata"

SPRINGFIELD, DUSTY Anthology (Mercury) 3cd 48.00
Deluxe 77-track career retrospective.

SPRINGFIELD, DUSTY Complete A And B Sides 1963-1970 (Eclipse) 2cd 31.00

SPRINGFIELD, DUSTY Love Songs (Rhino) cd 11.98