V/A music inspired by the film 'Scratch' (Transparent) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Okay, I totally lamed out and forgot to go see this movie, argh! Judging from the soundtrack, the film (a feature documentary about scratching) must be amazing, although I'm not sure if any of the tracks here were actually in it -- this album is billed as a Bill-Laswell-construction of music "inspired by" the film. Nonetheless, great disc. It is seamlessly put together, with no pauses between tracks, just very brief interludes where turntablists (Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Grand Wizard Theodore, Mixmaster Mike, Afrika Bambaataa, Qbert etc) speak interestingly about their personal experiences with scratching and its history. There are performances by the Skratch Piklz, X-Ecutioners, Faust, DJ Krush, Afrika Bambaataa and many more, and there's even an over-the-top 2002 version of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" with a buncha DJs scratching like crazy on it. I appreciate the mix of contemporary stuff combined with a look back at the history of turntablism -- if that's what the movie is like then I really missed out.
I find some of the purely turntablist albums a bit much to take in one sitting, and so might you, but this album is so well put together, perfectly sequenced, and refreshingly varied in terms of DJ scratching styles, that I really enjoyed the listen. If you've never bought a turntablist record before, this is a great place to start. And people who've already got turntablist wax in their collections should give it a go too. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: HERBIE HANCOCK, WITH MIXMASTER MIKE, GRANDMASTER DXT, ROB SWIFT, QBERT, BABU, FAUST & SHORTEE "Rockit 2.002"
RealAudio clip: CUT CHEMIST SPEAKS / CAT FIVE VS SNAYK EYEZ "Turntable Transformer"

V/A My Delicious Spaghetti Western (Dagored) cd 14.98
Compilation of non-Morricone Italian soundtrack stuff that also rules. Composers include Bruno Nicolai, Francesco De Masi, Lallo Gori, others. Lp is 180-gram.

V/A My Delicious Spaghetti Western (Dagored) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Compilation of non-Morricone Italian soundtrack stuff that also rules. Composers include Bruno Nicolai, Francesco De Masi, Lallo Gori, others. Lp is 180-gram.

V/A O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Mercury) cd 18.98
The soundtrack to the Coen Brothers film "O Brother Where Art Thou" was recorded before even a single frame of film was shot, so it really is a film that exists as (as Joel Coen puts it), "a valentine to the music." The brothers enlisted the help of T Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch to compile old recordings and also lots of new material recorded specially for the film. Includes the talents of bluegrass sweetheart Alison Kraus, Emmylou Harris, the Stanley Bros, the Fairfield Four, the Cox Family, etc. Yes, the songs that the band in the film (George Clooney, etc) performs are also here, and they ain't half bad. If you want a fine collection of old timey, bluegrass, and country music, go for it. (Also do get this if, like me, you're an Alison Kraus fan, as her rendition of "Down to the River to Pray" is sublime.)

V/A Off The Charts (OST) (Complex Corporation) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the soundtrack/companion to AQ pal Jamie Metzger's brilliant song poem documentary Off The Charts just released on DVD and reviewed elsewhere on this list. The movie, in case you missed it or haven't checked out the review yet is funny, sad, poignant and amazing. So good. This compilation follows suit, compiling many song poem classics as well as tons of our favorites. This is definitely the best song poem compilation yet! For those of you who are new to song poems, there is a whole industry of musicians (and shysters of course) that would set your poem to music for a couple hundred bucks. Often promising fame and fortune. Well, listening to the results it's obvious why fame and fortune eluded most of these folks, but that doesn't mean these songs aren't brilliant, because they are definitely some of the weirdest most amazing songs we've ever heard. From the surreal sixties exotica of Human Breakdown Of Absurdity, to the eighties tinged bizarre tale of...well, um "Non-Violent Taekwando Troopers", to the all time classic "Blind Man's Penis", to the "best song ever" (as Andee and Allan like to call it) "Jimmy Carter Says Yes!" This stuff is just so totally remarkable and satisfying and absolutely genius! The best song-poem compilation yet.
MPEG Stream: NORM BURNS AND THE SINGERS "Human Breakdown Of Absurdity"
MPEG Stream: DAVID FOX "Non-Violent Taekwando Troopers"
MPEG Stream: GENE MARSHALL "Jimmy Carter Says Yes"

V/A Popshopping Vol. 2 (Crippled Dick Hot Wax!) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aaah, the wonder of advertising jingles! Cleverly, insidiously hooking the consumer through the ear. Love 'em or hate 'em, we've all caught ourselves pleasantly humming a tune only to realize it's for some junk food we'd never ever lay a hand on. Pizza on a bagel, anyone? Oops. But what if the melody was for a product from another country? You'd could hear and enjoy the music without visions of the product dancing in your head. Well, that's the case with the Pop Shopping Series from Crippled Dick Hot Wax! Twenty seven ultra-lively tracks from '60s and '70s German commercials. Not as tiki-lounge-y-centric as past like-minded compilations, this one runs the stylistic gamut. Embellished with plenty of playfulness - including but not limited to kooky horns and exuberant voice-overs. Check out the stand-out track "Shoe Shoe Twist"! You just might even hear a bit of "Goldfinger", the theme from "S.W.A.T." or Cat Stevens. Campy, kitchy goodness. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: HERMANN GEHLEN "Exposition K'71"
RealAudio clip: CHARLES NOWA "Super-Nowa-Jingles"
RealAudio clip: FISCHER /MALTZ "Shoe Shoe Twist"

V/A Popshopping Vol. 2 (Crippled Dick Hot Wax!) 2lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aaah, the wonder of advertising jingles! Cleverly, insidiously hooking the consumer through the ear. Love 'em or hate 'em, we've all caught ourselves pleasantly humming a tune only to realize it's for some junk food we'd never ever lay a hand on. Pizza on a bagel, anyone? Oops. But what if the melody was for a product from another country? You'd could hear and enjoy the music without visions of the product dancing in your head. Well, that's the case with the Pop Shopping Series from Crippled Dick Hot Wax! Twenty seven ultra-lively tracks from '60s and '70s German commercials. Not as tiki-lounge-y-centric as past like-minded compilations, this one runs the stylistic gamut. Embellished with plenty of playfulness - including but not limited to kooky horns and exuberant voice-overs. Check out the stand-out track "Shoe Shoe Twist"! You just might even hear a bit of "Goldfinger", the theme from "S.W.A.T." or Cat Stevens. Campy, kitchy goodness. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: HERMANN GEHLEN "Exposition K'71"
RealAudio clip: CHARLES NOWA "Super-Nowa-Jingles"
RealAudio clip: FISCHER / MALTZ "Shoe Shoe Twist"

V/A Porno Groove (Secret Stash) lp 22.00

V/A Roma Violenta (Cinevox) cd 18.98
The subtitle says: "rare tracks from the best Italian '70s crime movie soundtracks". A *great* collection of music from these flicks, with lots of previously unreleased or unreleased on cd stuff by soundtrack composers Cipriani, Vasile, Bixio, and of course the mighty GOBLIN (who did lots of crime movie soundtracks in addition to their famous occult horror film scores). As the liner notes state, the music is "firmly rooted in the atmosphere of the late '70s and early '80s where disco-rock reigned supreme and rhythms oscillated between boogie and funk", plus suspenseful string arrangements for those moments of film tension. So, "Roma Violenta" provides funky, stylish '70s filmic thriller music that can't be beat, appropriate for any car chases or gangster gunfights you might get involved in today (keep it in your car stereo, just in case!). As a single disc collection of some choice cuts in this genre, "Roma Violenta" is highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: GOBLIN "La Via Della Droga"
RealAudio clip: STELVIO CIPRIANI "Mark Il Poliziotto"
RealAudio clip: PAOLO VASILE "Il Giorno Del Cobra"

V/A Rough Guide To Bollywood (Rough Guides) cd 13.98
It seems there's a "Rough Guide" for practically every kind of music from every inch of the world. Sort of like those "Idiot's Guide To..." or "... For Dummies" books which I have to admit are pretty darn helpful and informative, if somewhat insultingly titled. Luckily this compilation series isn't as unfortunately named, but is however less in depth and fulfilling. Certainly it's doesn't proclaim to be more than just an introductory tutorial, but although key figures are included like Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan and Mohammed Rafi, it really barely skims the surface of this amazing genre. So if you're just looking for a basic sampler history lesson in Indian film music, this might do ya fine, but for those looking to delve a little deeper, don't wait another moment to check out the following titles: Doob Doob O'Rama Volumes 1 and 2, Vijaya Anand's Dance Raja Dance, Bollywood Funk, and The Best Of Asha Bhosle. Although these titles focus a lot more on the "golden age" of Bollywood than the more recent decades, they're much more thorough collections.
RealAudio clip: ASHA BHOSLE AND MOHAMMED RAFI "Chura Liya Hai Tum Ne"
RealAudio clip: UDIT NARAYAN "Jaadu Teri Koi"
RealAudio clip: CHITRA "Kehna Hi Kya"

V/A Saturday Morning: Cartoon's Greatest Hits (MCA) cd 14.98
Wait a minute, it's subtitled "Alternative Rock for Cartoon Lovers: Make It a Part of Your Unbalanced Breakfast." And they want to *sell* records with that? I don't know. The only worthwhile piece on it, IMHO, is the Butthole's doing "Underdog," but whatever. I read all the Nancy Drew and Anne Of Green Gables books instead of watching cartoons and now must bravely face the holes in my popcult education. Other pieces people've been oohing & aahing over include Liz Phair (with Material Issue!) doing the Banana Splits theme, Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donnelly (Belly) covering "Josie & the Pussycats."

V/A Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks (Lava/Atlantic) cd 14.98
It had to happen -- but too bad Atlantic felt the need to slap a cease-and-desist order on the indie label (can't recall its name) that had the idea first -- nonetheless this is a surprisingly good compilation, notable mostly for the Deluxx Folk Implosion's impersonation of a very whinyass Bill ("Yeah and *then* I hafta *hope* they make me into a *Law*") and Chavez! Yup, never thought I'd say that about Chavez but there you are: they contribute the liveliest, most creative track on the album, reminds us of "A Day in the Life."

V/A Scott Walker: 30 Century Man OST (Lakeshore) cd 17.98
Don't know if you had a chance to see this documentary about Scott Walker, but we highly recommend it! It has so much awesome footage of the Walker Brothers, his early and later solo career, plus it features the recluse himself, opening up about his long, varied, and eccentric life as he was prepping his last record, The Drift! This is not so much the soundtrack to the documentary as it's a companion tribute record to the enigmatic pop genius (at least we don't remember hearing these cover versions in the film!). On the surface, this can seem kind of bad, but it's actually much better than we thought, though definitely not as good as the originals, but then again, how could they be? There's an interesting mix of folks on here, a few that are new to us (Bee and Flower, Sally Norvell) but also ones that we like a lot such as Damon and Naomi, Saint Etienne, Dot Alison, Laurie Anderson, Ulrich Schnauss, Jarboe, and Peter Broderick. Though it gravitates towards lighter interpretations than we would have preferred, (only Jarboe attempts any song from the Drift) we have a feeling this was meant as an entry point for folks unfamiliar with Walker's wide ranging and sometimes difficult body of work.
MPEG Stream: LAURIE ANDERSON "The Electrician"
MPEG Stream: ULRICH SCHNAUSS "It's Raining Today"
MPEG Stream: JARBOE "A Lover Loves"

V/A Sex Sleaze and Soul (Nice Treat) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Attention all fans of cheesy camp, kitsch, martial arts, blaxploitation, etc! Here's a humungous collection of movie trailers and music tracks from B-movies such as Thunderfist, Naughty Stewardesses, Black Gunn, The Gay Deceivers, Human Tornado, Fists Of Fury, Bare Knuckles, Switchblade Sister and oh yes, lest we forget... The Bummer! Music mostly takes a backseat to the highly entertaining announcements, and also despite the potency of the title, the saucy cover art (nude women with nipples blacked out by stars) and the proclamation on the traycard that this is "The Sexiest, Sleaziest & Most Soulful Motion Picture Collection Ever" and "Adults Only Erotic Soul", we should note that it's all pretty tame by today's standards... yet no less fun! A walloping forty-one tracks in all.
MPEG Stream: "Naughty Stewardesses"
MPEG Stream: "Switchblade Sister: Hold It Whitey"

V/A Sex Sleaze and Soul (Nice Treat) 2lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Attention all fans of cheesy camp, kitsch, martial arts, blaxploitation, etc! Here's a humungous collection of movie trailers and music tracks from B-movies such as Thunderfist, Naughty Stewardesses, Black Gunn, The Gay Deceivers, Human Tornado, Fists Of Fury, Bare Knuckles, Switchblade Sister and oh yes, lest we forget... The Bummer! Music mostly takes a backseat to the highly entertaining announcements, and also despite the potency of the title, the saucy cover art (nude women with nipples blacked out by stars) and the proclamation on the traycard that this is "The Sexiest, Sleaziest & Most Soulful Motion Picture Collection Ever" and "Adults Only Erotic Soul", we should note that it's all pretty tame by today's standards... yet no less fun! A walloping forty-one tracks in all.
RealAudio clip: "Naughty Stewardesses"
RealAudio clip: "Switchblade Sister: Hold It Whitey"

V/A Shake Sauvage (Crippled Dick) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've seen a lot of trippy, groovy compilations of soundtrack music from '60s and '70s Italian and German thriller and romance flicks, but now Crippled Dick provides a look at the world of French cinema orchestrations, and it's as sexy and swinging as you'd imagine. The booket provides notes on each track and full-color poster art, etc. There's many a lush, psychedelic, funky gem to be found on this disc! Nice. The cd has three extra tracks not on the vinyl.
RealAudio clip: PHILLIPE SARDE "Jukes boxes chez Saidani"
RealAudio clip: CLAUDE BOLLING "Full Speed"

V/A Shake Sauvage (Crippled Dick) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've seen a lot of trippy, groovy compilations of soundtrack music from '60s and '70s Italian and German thriller and romance flicks, but now Crippled Dick provides a look at the world of French cinema orchestrations, and it's as sexy and swinging as you'd imagine. The booket provides notes on each track and full-color poster art, etc. There's many a lush, psychedelic, funky gem to be found on this disc! Nice.

V/A Soul Sisters: The Sights And Sounds Of The African-American Underground (Black Beauty) cd 14.98
FYI: if you *don't* like naked ladies, you'll want to avoid perusal of this disc's booklet, which mostly consists of vintage full-color cheesecake shots of a bevy of well-endowed "soul sisters". But don't let that put you off... just forget for one second that this cd is billed as a collection of '70s African-American porno flick soundtracks. For one thing, it sure doesn't sound like the typical "boogie nights" retro-porn soundtrack. No cheesy throbbing synths or disco beats. No orgiastic moans even! Instead, what you get here is avant-groove jazz funk of an almost experimental, freeform nature. The vibe can be lively but not "sleazy"... bad-ass though. Very funky and full of nasty geetar and jamming Hammond organ.
To tell the truth, there's so very little documentation presented here that we can't say we're 100 percent convinced that this is what it says it is, instead of something perhaps made by some clever musicans today (like, maybe...Mushroom?) creating replica vintage avant-funk soundtrack for imaginary x-rated flicks... But supposedly these tapes were recently found in a studio in Oakland, where the recordings we're told took place circa 1972-75, and the musicans that get credited here were, it seems, operating under pseudonyms (for obvious reasons perhaps). The films are alluded to only in the track titles, but who knows if those cited are real (anyone seen "Chocolate Cherry"?). There's no dialogue or sound effects or anything, since this is the original, raw soundtrack music only, what later was to be utilized perhaps in edited form in the finished film. Puzzling. But no matter, this stuff IS great!
There's the aforementioned avant-funk that surely fits into the '70s blaxploitation aesthetic, but this funk is full of sizzling feedbacking guitar that is hard to square with scenes of, um, lovemaking. But actually a lot of this is in more of an introspective mood that the wah-funk stereotype. More laidback that about getting laid. A long portion of track five ("Music From 'Copper Cuties'") consists of variations on a pensively repeating, gentle piano figure, generating a mood far from you might expect to be "exposed" to in an ostensibly X-rated flick. And only the last track "Jam Back At The House" has vocals, they go with that cut's smokey groove but do serve to break the almost mysterious feel set by the preceeding tracks a little. Overall, this is way more amazing than we ever thought it would be. What we though might be kitschy and/or kookily amusing turned out to be downright fresh and intriguing.
Miles Davis had a track on his album Get Up With It entitled "Rated X" -- maybe he'd been checking out the cinema and was inspired by one of the films that used music like this? Definitely this comes close to what we'd imagine would be how that "big freak" would have scored a porno soundtrack!!
So, this is one for fans of those Deep Note porno soundtrack comps and maybe moreso for folks who simply dig weird and wonderful jazz/funk obscurities, which would seem to be a lot of people who hear it (and then buy it) when we've been playing it in the store!
MPEG Stream: "Some Jive Ass Wasting My Time"
MPEG Stream: "Music From 'Copper Cuties'"

V/A Spirit Of Vampyros Lesbos (Sideburn) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Totally cool remixes from the likes of Doctor Rockit, Dr. Israel, Alec Empire, Witchman, Two Lone Swordsmen, DJ Wally, Spectre, etc. Sideburn is a subsidiary of Crippled Dick Hot Wax, and boy do those guys have good taste in electronic music.

V/A Spirit Of Vampyros Lesbos (Sideburn) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Totally cool remixes from the likes of Doctor Rockit, Dr. Israel, Alec Empire, Witchman, Two Lone Swordsmen, DJ Wally, Spectre, etc. Sideburn is a subsidiary of Crippled Dick Hot Wax, and boy do those guys have good taste in electronic music.

V/A Stubbs The Zombie: The Soundtrack (Shout! Factory) cd 17.98
As is stated on the back of this cd, this compilation features "original works and modern treatments of legendary recordings performed by today's top artists" for the video game Stubbs The Zombie.
Totally retro, totally future, totally now! Not that this collection isn't chockful of pop goodies, but noticeably absent are a few formerly omnipresent, like-minded compilation stalwarts Man Or Astro-man?, Apples In Stereo or They Might Be Giants. Participants include The Flaming Lips, The Raveonettes, The Walkmen, Ben Kweller, Cake, Phantom Planet, and Death Cab For Cutie. In the zombie spirit of bringing something back to life, these artists attempt to breathe new life into these vintage (albeit far from lifeless) songs. Some stick pretty close to the originals, while others venture out into their own (outer)space. The former is exemplified by Ben Gibbard and Co.'s cover of "Earth Angel". Anticipated to be one of the highlights, it's definitely pleasant, but surprisingly by-the-books. Ah well, if you're seeking the latter, you'll definitely find it on many of the others. Really, by the time we reached Rogue Wave's dreamy cover of Buddy Holly's "Everyday" we noted that the songs were more juicily infused with the artists' own personal touches. Highly entertaining!
MPEG Stream: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE "Earth Angel"
MPEG Stream: ROGUE WAVE "Everyday"
MPEG Stream: ORANGER "Mr. Sandman"

V/A Super Bad Super Black: Can Y'all Dig That? (Waste Management) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The lowdown on this disc is pretty simple: it's a collection of original radio spots for over fifty different classic (and not-so-classic) '70s blaxploitation flicks. Pretty much all of 'em feature a smooth-talking baritone dude talking up the movie's titular hero or heroine backed by snippets of dialogue, machine gun fire, and all kinds of scorching funk/soul soundtrack music. It actually sounds like the same guy doing the voiceover on about 90 percent of these! You get promo clips for the likes of Black Caesar, Trouble Man, J.D.'s Revenge, Truck Turner, Blacula, Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde, Ghetto Freaks, Sheeba Baby, Black Belt Jones, Trick Baby, Slaughter's Big Rip Off, Shaft, Coffy, The Mack, etc., etc.
Rudy Ray Moore's "Human Tornado" rap is certainly a highlight, though all the teasers about mean super-chicks and jive hustlers are pretty entertaining -- for sure they'll get you running to your local video store hoping their blaxploitation section (if they've got one) is well-stocked. Kitschy and way over-the-top. Here are a few examples:
"She's six foot two inches of black beauty. She handles a car like a gun. She handles a gun like a man. And she handles a man like like Cleopatra. Cleopatra Jones!"
"Coffy. The baddest one chick hit squad that ever hit town... Coffy. She's got a body men would die for. And lately, a lot of them have."
"He drives the most expensive car because second best never enters his mind. He'll bet a hundred thousand dollars on the turn of a card because he don't believe in losing. And he's about to take on a small army with TNT -- he means, 'taint nothin' to it. [explosion] There's only one stud who could rip off New York, ruin Rome and stay alive to run a number in Africa. That Superfly dude is back, black, and beautiful."
On cd and vinyl (cool for the djs!).
MPEG Stream: "Trouble Man"
MPEG Stream: "Black Mama, White Mama"
MPEG Stream: "Black Shampoo"

V/A Super Bad Super Black: Can Y'all Dig That? (Waste Management) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The lowdown on this disc is pretty simple: it's a collection of original radio spots for over fifty different classic (and not-so-classic) '70s blaxploitation flicks. Pretty much all of 'em feature a smooth-talking baritone dude talking up the movie's titular hero or heroine backed by snippets of dialogue, machine gun fire, and all kinds of scorching funk/soul soundtrack music. It actually sounds like the same guy doing the voiceover on about 90 percent of these! You get promo clips for the likes of Black Caesar, Trouble Man, J.D.'s Revenge, Truck Turner, Blacula, Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde, Ghetto Freaks, Sheeba Baby, Black Belt Jones, Trick Baby, Slaughter's Big Rip Off, Shaft, Coffy, The Mack, etc., etc.
Rudy Ray Moore's "Human Tornado" rap is certainly a highlight, though all the teasers about mean super-chicks and jive hustlers are pretty entertaining -- for sure they'll get you running to your local video store hoping their blaxploitation section (if they've got one) is well-stocked. Kitschy and way over-the-top. Here are a few examples:
"She's six foot two inches of black beauty. She handles a car like a gun. She handles a gun like a man. And she handles a man like Cleopatra. Cleopatra Jones!"
"Coffy. The baddest one chick hit squad that ever hit town... Coffy. She's got a body men would die for. And lately, a lot of them have."
"He drives the most expensive car because second best never enters his mind. He'll bet a hundred thousand dollars on the turn of a card because he don't believe in losing. And he's about to take on a small army with TNT -- he means, 'taint nothin' to it. [explosion] There's only one stud who could rip off New York, ruin Rome and stay alive to run a number in Africa. That Superfly dude is back, black, and beautiful."
On cd and vinyl (cool for the djs!).

V/A That's All Folks: Cartoon Songs From Merrie Melodies & Looney Tunes (Rhino / Warner Bros.) 2cd 34.00
On this double cd you'll find the scores to six *entire* classic WB cartoons (including "What's Opera, Doc?"), in addition to tracks taken from hundreds of others. Every imaginable genre is represented: 19th century art songs, nationalistic tunes from the United States and abroad, vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley songs, jazz, songs from musical theater and film, swing, gospel, country, folk, hillbilly, and countless more. All the Warner Bros cartoon composers are featured here -- Frank Marsales, Bernard Brown, Milt Franklyn, and more than anyone else the great Carl Stalling! As I listen to these cds I'm struck with an eerie deja vu feeling by these sickeningly happy songs. Most of us are familiar with these songs and voices but when you stop to listen to the music without the animation you realize these people were musical geniuses doing some really weird shit!

V/A The B-Music Of Jean Rollin (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Another Finders Keepers / B-Music treat here, folks! A collection of kooky, creepy, very cool music from the films (many of them about vampires, and many of THOSE about sexy lesbian vampires!) by French underground auteur Jean Rollin, circa 1968-1979. The late Rollin has been proclaimed the "father of European Horrortica". On the freaky fringes of free jazz and psych rock, the tracks found here are the perfect accompaniment to the director's sexy, surreal cinematic phantasmagorias. And unless we're much mistaken, we recognize one of the tracks here, Acanthus' theme to "Le Frisson Des Vampires", as having been surreptitiously covered in heavier fashion by drugged-out doomlords (and horrotica fans) Electric Wizard on their Witchcult Today album!
Another one of note is Pierre Raph's aptly-titled "Gilda & Gunshots", a track of consisting of excited percussion, jazzy bass and pretty trumpet, overlaid with whipcrack-like gun shots, girlish whimpers and cries. It could almost be some noir-jazz experiment by the Boredoms. What the heck was happening in the film scene this scored, we don't know...
We could go on describing this track by track, but there are 31 cuts in all on this disc! With great titles like "Abstract Procession", "Bizarre Cult 2", "Crotch Batterie", "Crimson Gates", and "Violent Library", these vary widely and weirdly, encompassing spooky theremin-like tones, chamber music drones, somber choirs, flute-laced grooves, melodic reveries, arrhythmic interludes, all sorts of stuff. It's a real cornucopia of suspenseful strangeness and freeform avant-rockin'. Composers/performers responsible include the aforementioned Acanthus and Pierre Raph, along with many more by Phillipe D'Aram, Yvon Gerault, Francois Tusques and others. Much of this is previously unreleased. And of course Finders Keepers provides plentiful, fully illustrated liner notes in the cd booklet.
By the way, we also have a couple copies each of the soundtracks to Rollin's films Requiem Por Un Vampire (1972, composed by Pierre Raph) and Fascination (1979, Phillipe D'Aram) on import 10" vinyl, reissued by Finders Keepers as well (key tracks from which appear on this cd collection, naturally).
MPEG Stream: ACANTHUS "Le Frisson Des Vampires"
MPEG Stream: PIERRE RAPH "Gilda & Gunshots"
MPEG Stream: ACANTHUS "La Chateau"
MPEG Stream: PIERRE RAPH "Jade Lake"
MPEG Stream: YVON GERAULT "Blue Quadrant"

V/A The Best of Edgar Wallace (All Score Media) cd 16.98
Music from '60s German thriller cinema based on the books of Edgar Wallace. Peter Thomas is on here, and others of his swingin' ilk.

V/A The History Of Indian Film Music (Times Square) 10 cd + book box 99.00
Rarely has something showed up in the store that so many of us have wanted so badly, so instantly. An incredible TEN DISC boxset, accompanied by a huge book, tracing the history of Bollywood music, from its beginnings in the 1930s, to the present. All its influences represented, from classical to rock and jazz, new age, disco, hip hop, featuring so many legendary Bollywood vocalists including Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Sonu Niigaam, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi and tons more. 168 tracks total! We haven't actually opened one up yet, but odds are we're all gonna end up buying one, $99 for ten discs and a book, hard to beat, and judging from the tracklisting and the artists included, it's bound to be incredible, just figured we would get it up on the list/site sooner rather than later, and give aQ listers first crack at scoring one of these amazing collections!

V/A The Man With The Iron Fists OST (Soul Temple) cd 14.98
We haven't seen the movie yet, but it looks AWESOME! Check out the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7l3okIqnCg
Holy shit, kinda like the movie the Wu-Tang Clan were always meant to make, or the movie version of the best Wu-Tang jams, or something, regardless, the movie's gonna rule, and the soundtrack is pretty bad ass as well, worth it pretty much for Wu-Tang Clan and Kool G Rap's "Rivers Of Blood" with its haunting Morricone via traditional Japanese folk music opening, RZA's spoken word and then when the track kicks in, BAM, weirdly modulated almost metal guitar crunch, super distorted horn bleats, the whole crew fiercely flowing, a killer chorus complete with fight sounds and wailing funk soul horns. The other new Wu-Tang jam "Six Directions Of Boxing" is another good one, cool old school fuzz funk samples, psychedelic organs, and again the whole Clan in fine form, the only thing missing is O.D.B., R.I.P.
The rest of the soundtrack ain't too shabby either, various Wu-Tang-ers doing their own thing, teaming up with a pretty excellent selection of guests, Ghostface Killah, M.O.P and Pharoah Monche kill it, as do Raekwon, Pusha T and friends, Ghostface and Wiz Khalifa definitely deliver the hit, the brooding, melancholic "I Go Hard", a swoonsome string heavy production courtesy of the RZA, of course. And there's still plenty more good stuff, the Killa Sin jam is pretty fierce, and Kanye does his Kanye thing over a sweet RZA jam, and while there are a few tracks that aren't terrible, but we could do without (The Black Keys, Corinne Bailey Rae), dig the seriously fucked up, sinister buzz-drenched creep of RZA & Flatbush Zombies' "Just Blowin' In The Wind", which channels the horrorcore of the Gravediggaz. So good. Wanna see the movie more than ever now!
MPEG Stream: WU-TANG CLAN & KOOL G RAP "Rivers Of Blood"
MPEG Stream: WU-TANG CLAN "Six Directions Of Boxing"
MPEG Stream: RZA & FLATBUSH ZOMBIES "Just Blowin' In The Wind"
MPEG Stream: GHOSTFACE KILLAH, BOY JONES & WIZ KHALIFA "I Go Hard"

V/A The Sound of Wonder: Rare Electronic Pop From The Lollywood Vaults 1973-1980 (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 12.98
D'oh. We didn't know it when we listed this as an import not long ago, but there's a payoff for any procrastinators who wanted this, 'cause it's now available as a much more affordable domestic release!
Yay! It's been awhile since we've had a new Finder's Keepers release, and this one is amazing!
By now we're all too familiar with the Eastern cinematic pop splendor and sitar funk of Bollywood. But what about Lollywood? Yes, just to the north in Pakistan, the city of Lahore had their own cottage film industry. Perhaps not as well known outside Pakistan, Lollywood was highly profitable in the seventies and eighties, housing a unique music division with its own equivalent of Bollywood's R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle in M. Ashraf and his female collaborator, Nahid Akhtar. With the help of EMI, Pakistani musicians were able to create ambitious music in a world class studio, using far-out instrumentation like Moogs and other synthesizers, accordions, surf-guitars, and tons of traditional hand percussion instruments instead of a proper drum set. It's definitely a far more electric and electronic pop sound , than what we're used to hearing in classic Bollywood music. Having an almost retro-futurist bent in its explosive collision of Eastern and Western musical touchstones: Freak-Beat and Surf Rock meets Space-Age Moog Pop and Urdu Groove! Originally released on 7" mini-lps (a curious marketing scheme was to release one soundtrack on 3 separate 7"s!), this is the first time these wild and delightful cinematic obscurities have been collected. Let's hope more get discovered. This IS the Sound of Wonder!
MPEG Stream: M. ASHRAF "Dama Dam Mast Qalander"
MPEG Stream: TAFO "Karye Pyar"
MPEG Stream: NAZIR ALI "Society Girl"

V/A The Sound of Wonder: Rare Electronic Pop From The Lollywood Vaults 1973-1980 (Finders Keepers) 2lp 27.00
Now available on (import) double vinyl!
Yay! It's been awhile since we've had a new Finder's Keepers release, and this one is amazing!
By now we're all too familiar with the Eastern cinematic pop splendor and sitar funk of Bollywood. But what about Lollywood? Yes, just to the north in Pakistan, the city of Lahore had their own cottage film industry. Perhaps not as well known outside Pakistan, Lollywood was highly profitable in the seventies and eighties, housing a unique music division with its own equivalent of Bollywood's R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle in M. Ashraf and his female collaborator, Nahid Akhtar. With the help of EMI, Pakistani musicians were able to create ambitious music in a world class studio, using far-out instrumentation like Moogs and other synthesizers, accordions, surf-guitars, and tons of traditional hand percussion instruments instead of a proper drum set. It's definitely a far more electric and electronic pop sound , than what we're used to hearing in classic Bollywood music. Having an almost retro-futurist bent in its explosive collision of Eastern and Western musical touchstones: Freak-Beat and Surf Rock meets Space-Age Moog Pop and Urdu Groove! Originally released on 7" mini-lps (a curious marketing scheme was to release one soundtrack on 3 separate 7"s!), this is the first time these wild and delightful cinematic obscurities have been collected. Let's hope more get discovered. This IS the Sound of Wonder!
MPEG Stream: M. ASHRAF "Dama Dam Mast Qalander"
MPEG Stream: TAFO "Karye Pyar"
MPEG Stream: NAZIR ALI "Society Girl"

V/A The Wire: "...And All The Pieces Matter." (Nonesuch) cd 24.00

V/A Trainspotting (Capitol) cd 16.98
Soundtrack to the film. Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Blur, New Order, Lou Reed, Pulp, Elastica etc. All the hotties!

V/A Trekkies 2: The Official Soundtrack (Reboot Music) cd 15.98
It's pretty exciting when two super geek interests collide, creating a pants-wettingly overwhelming geek fantasy come true. And lord know it's a rare occurance. In fact it almost never happens. Imagine Dungeons and Dragons and comic books, or robot wars and pro wrestling, or Star Wars conventions and science fair. Well friends, we have two words for you: Klingon metal! Yes that's right Star Trek meets heavy metal and we couldn't be happier. This is the soundtrack to Trekkies 2, the sequel to the massively funny Trekkies, chronicling the not so normal lives of various Trekkers (as they prefer to be called). The first Trekkies was amazing, and the second is no different. In fact, it might even be better, in that not only does it explore Trekkers all over the world, it explores the weird world of Star Trek rock! Inexplicably centered in the apparently very Trekkie town of San Jose, the "trek rock" scene is quite vibrant and well, really weird. There's the snotty punk rock of No Kill I, there's the new wave-y Warp 11, some truly demented trekkie folkies, and of course the Klingon metal of Stovokor. Stovokor definitely steal the show. Not only are they a great band, a sort of growling death metal meets Gwar, they are also incredibly funny and self effacing in the film, and their costumes are completely kick ass! The soundtrack is packed with soundbites from the film that will definitely have you running out to rent both parts one and two, and the Stovokor tracks most definitely kick some serious Klingon ass. So until we are able to track down a Stovokor full length (which trust us, we are already woprking on), this will have to hold you over.
MPEG Stream: STOVOKOR "For The Glory Of Qo'Nos"
MPEG Stream: STOVOKOR "Life In Exile"

V/A Tribute To Nashville (Mint) cd 14.98
An almost note-by-note, word-by-word, clap-by-clap re-enactment of the soundtrack to Robert Altman's 1975 masterpiece 'Nashville'. If you're a fan of the movie, then you'll know exactly what this is all about! Paying tribute to this film's music is Ms Carolyn Mark (the non-Neko-Case half of The Corn Sisters). A very long-in-the-works labour of love, she convinced and corralled her many musical friends to contribute to her vision. The added unintentionally witty twist is that the "cast" is predominantly Canadian! This distinguishing fact appears strangest during the interspersed "Speech" selections throughout the disc. You know in the film how there's this car with a P.A. system affixed to its roof from which a man's voice spews a continuous rant on political reform? Well, excerpts of that speech are included on this collection and read by Steve Lang in an imitated southern accent. But the thing is that his Canadian accent keeps slipping through -- that unmistakable "oot" and "aboot" -- rendering his performance and the whole concept of this album even more surreal. For anyone unconvinced that Canadians are some of the strangest people in this hemisphere, I point to this album as exhibit A. Strange and brilliant. Features the talents (many in very uncharacteristic personas, and many from the Bloodshot Records roster) of the aforementioned Neko Case, Carl Newman (of the New Pornographers and Zumpano), Tom Holliston (of NoMeansNo, Hanson Bros, and Show Business Giants), Cindy Wolfe (of Tennessee Twin and twin sister to Bratmobile's Alison Wolfe), Dallas Good (of The Sadies), and Kelly Hogan.
RealAudio clip: CARL NEWMAN "Memphis"
RealAudio clip: NEKO CASE "Rolling Stone"

V/A Very Best Bollywood Songs (Outcaste) cd 14.98
The Britain-based pan-Asian label Outcaste releases the third in its series documenting Indian film soundtrack songs from the country's incredibly prolific Bollywood industry. (The first two being Bollywood Breaks and Bollywood Funk.) The songs, called "filmi", found here are some of the biggest hits spanning 1969 thru the '90s. As the liner notes point out, that means there's no stuff from the '50s, or from South Indian cinema (hence no Vijaya Anand, whose AQ-staple Dance Raja Dance is one of our favorite and weirdest of all the comps out there -- you must hear it!), but that's a complaint only for purists as this is a *wonderful* sampler for beginners, and for those already familiar with parts of the Bollywood sound, which is so varied and all-encompassing that it incorporates dub, disco, sappy pop, psychedelic guitar, love ballads, rollicking techno, even (or so the thankfully detailed liner notes claim) ragtime and klezmer. The fact that the songs are all *big hits* means that about half of it sounds relatively more mainstream than we think of as the average AQ customer's taste... but that don't mean it ain't good, and enlightening, and just lovely. We all know there's good music everywhere, even in the mainstream -- and besides, Hindi mainstream isn't mainstream to us. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Chaiya Chaiya"
RealAudio clip: "Choli Ke Peeche"

V/A Very Best Of Bollywood Songs II (Outcaste) cd 14.98
Outcaste continues with their impressive Bollywood film music, or "filmi", series with a second volume of songs culled from India's ultra-prolific industry. This collection spans the greatest historical range of the industry yet, including tracks from as early as 1949 and as recent as 2001. Though, on first listen, it seemed a less successful collection than the previous installment -- all the newest songs included at the beginning of the disc -- it really began to grow on me with each listen. The newer tracks, as saturated with factory synth presets as they are, are still amazing arrangements. It's interesting to see how the industry, its composers, arrangers, studio engineers, etc. have developed over the years, continually innovating and throwing in elements from every possible musical genre worldwide. Be it the completely wacked out "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin" from the film Sholay (1975) with its potpourri of analog synth, banjo-ukulele, harmonica, strings, bolero style horn, fuzzed out guitar and then some. Or how about "Zindagi Ek Safar" from the film Andaz (1971) with its crazy yodelling vocals. All the greatest singers and composers are included here, which leads me to the one small complaint I have about this collection: once again there's a bit of overlap. You'd think that, given the immense number of songs to choose from in such a productive industry, a resourceful label such as Outcaste could find a couple of songs that weren't so recently released on another relatively high profile collection. I speak of two tracks included here by Ahsa Bhosle -- "Chura Liya" and "O Mera Sona" -- that were also on the "Best of Asha Bhosle" anthology released by Manteca last year. For what it's worth, Manteca seemed to get a hold of a cleaner copy of "Chura Liya" for their collection, but I hope this doesn't turn too many people away from this disc.
RealAudio clip: BAKSHI, ANAND "Chalo Chale Mitwa"
RealAudio clip: BAKSHI, ANAND "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin"
RealAudio clip: JAIPURI, HASRAT "Zindagi Ek Safar"

V/A We All Love Ennio Morricone (Sony Classical) cd 17.98
So do we... but we're scared to listen to this tribute, it's got Celine Dion AND Metallica AND Bruce Springsteen on it! (amongst others.)

V/A Wigwam, Cowboys, Roter Kreis (All Score Media) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The third and final (?) installment of soundtrack music from East Germany's notorious Indianerfilmen. The film genre was popular in the sixties through the seventies and consisted of the basic American Western film turned upside down -- with the Native Americans as the heroes battling the evil colonial Europeans. Great concept, albeit surreal execution since all the actors in these films were German (in dark makeup) and the terrain is all Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. **As an aside, local AQ customers can now rent these films on video (with subtitles) across the street from us at Lost Weekend Video. Everyone else should bug their local video store to pick them up, if just for kicks.** Musically, "Wigwam, Cowboys, Roter Kreis" is the most successful collection in the series. The bulk of the tracks here are taken from four films, the scores for which are all equally off kilter in their influences. The score for the film Tecumseh sounds akin to Isaac Hayes' Shaft but augmented by faux-native flutes and motifs. Then there's the bizarre Apachen which boldly attempts a "Latin" feel with it's marimba, flute, trumpet trios backed by orchestra, percussion and even wah-wah guitar. The odd jaw-harp percussion duet "Todesrennen" from the film Blutsbruder is without compare. And, of course, no Indianerfilmen collection would be complete without at least one Morricone homage, and included on this disc are a few tracks from the film Severino which lifts the theme to Once Upon A Time In The West with only the slightest in melodic adjustments. As a bonus there are a few vocal songs including an alternate version of "Love Your Brother" (which was featured on the first Wigwam collection) and a couple other Gram Parsons-on-the-Eastern-bloc cuts. Liner notes covering the composers and the film genre in general are included in both German and English.
RealAudio clip: FISCHER, GUNTHER "Reiter-Duell (from Tecumseh)"
RealAudio clip: HOSALLA, DIETER "Die Plaza (from Apachen)"
RealAudio clip: SASSE, ERNST "Todesrennen (from Blutsbruder)"

V/A Wigwam, Weste(r)n, Weisse Wolfe (Cinesoundz) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wigwam, Weste(r)n, Weisse Wolfe is the second volume of "Indianerfilmen" music from Germany. Those who missed out on the first volume (now out of print?), "Indianerfilmen" is a genre of films that were popular in the East German Republic in the sixties and seventies. This new volume has the added benefit of an English translation of the liner notes inserted inside the booklet, so we were able to get a bit more information about the genre this time. The films, many based on the stories of author Karl May, are an inverse of the classic American western in which the Indians are the heroes battling the evil colonial white man. Now that sounds like my kind of western. Why these haven't had subtitles slapped on them and been distributed in the rep circuit I don't know, but I really want to see them now (we've seen the DVD's available in PAL format floating around the web, but it doesn't look like they've got subtitles alas.) Where the first volume featured mostly lyrical songs (in English and German) this volume focuses on the instrumental orchestral film scores. Most of the tracks date from 1968 to 1974, but there's also one film score from 1983 and a TV score from 1988. The tracks are mostly quite derivitive of the classic American western scores, particularly the sound track to the 1968 film "Spur Des Falken", which borrows freely from the Magnificent Seven. There are a few silly vocal tracks tagged on at the end of the disc as bonus tracks, most notable is the baudy "Die Playgirls in der Yankee-Bar". Like the last volume, there's some great photos of East German stars -- notably Gojko Mitic -- dressed up in Native American drag on the cover, plus some nice stills from the films inside the booklet.
RealAudio clip: SASSE, KARL-ERNST "Spur des Falken (Intro & Main Title)"
RealAudio clip: NEEF, WILHELM "Osceola (Main Title)"
RealAudio clip: SASSE, KARL-ERNST "Klondyke"

V/A You Can Never Go Fast Enough (Plain) cd 14.98
Now here's a nice idea for a tribute, and so lovingly executed to boot. Berkeley resident Filippo Salvadori so loved the cult film Two Lane Blacktop that he had always searched out the soundtrack to this "definitive road movie", only to find one had never been released. So this man of gumption put together his own, commissioning brand new songs from Sonic Youth (gorgeous, echoey soundscape), Will Oldham & Alan Licht, Calexico, Alvarius B, Steffan Basho Junghans, Mark Eitzel & Marc Capelle (doing a totally outta left field throbbing electronic thing), Giant Sand, Charalambides, Roy Montgomery (avec drum machine!) and more. He also got busy licensing previously released tracks from classic solo guitarist Sandy Bull, Village Voice crit faves Wilco, high lonesome Roscoe Holcomb, Leadbelly, and Cat Power (doing "I Can't Get No Satisfaction").
The only low point is the Oldham / Licht track which is weighed down with a sadly unevocative spoken narrative. But the rest of this comp is quite good -- ranging from dusty instrumentals to walls of gentle noise.
RealAudio clip: SANDY BULL "Little Maggie"
RealAudio clip: GIANT SAND "Vanishing Point"

V/A You Can Never Go Fast Enough (Plain) 2lp 15.98
Now here's a nice idea for a tribute, and so lovingly executed to boot. Berkeley resident Filippo Salvadori so loved the cult film Two Lane Blacktop that he had always searched out the soundtrack to this "definitive road movie", only to find one had never been released. So this man of gumption put together his own, commissioning brand new songs from Sonic Youth (gorgeous, echoey soundscape), Will Oldham & Alan Licht, Calexico, Alvarius B, Steffan Basho Junghans, Mark Eitzel & Marc Capelle (doing a totally outta left field throbbing electronic thing), Giant Sand, Charalambides, Roy Montgomery (avec drum machine!) and more. He also got busy licensing previously released tracks from classic solo guitarist Sandy Bull, Village Voice crit faves Wilco, high lonesome Roscoe Holcomb, Leadbelly, and Cat Power (doing "I Can't Get No Satisfaction").
The only low point is the Oldham / Licht track which is weighed down with a sadly unevocative spoken narrative. But the rest of this comp is quite good -- ranging from dusty instrumentals to walls of gentle noise.

V/A (THE NECKS / DAVID GRUBBS / MIRA CALIX / MUTE SOCIALITE / O-TYPE) Strade Transparenti (Staubgold) cd 17.98
Yo, people!! One word: NECKS!!! Whoops, we could have easily overlooked this, a soundtrack to some foreign film we'd never heard of, but thankfully we did happen to notice the artists involved (which, to make sure YOU don't miss this, we've noted above). One of our all time faves, Australian drone-jazz trio The Necks, happens to appear here, track one "Transparent Roads" is theirs, the title track, and it's over 28 minutes long! So, right there, your money's worth, the rest of the disc could be considered a bonus. And a very worthy bonus, considering it includes diverse contributions from a bunch of interestin' artists in their own right, namely David Grubbs, Mira Calix, Mute Socialite, and O-Type. Quite a varied, even unlikely group, we're curious how they all happened to be invited to make music for this project, which was an Italian art film apparently about a bus trip through the Brazilian countryside, a "cinevoyage" visiting both the land and people. The film's director, Augusto Contento, certainly avoided using the obvious - Brazilian music - though a few of the tracks here do give a nod to such, Mute Socalite's song for instance titled "Samba Outlaw".
First, though, The Necks. Their track is, as any fan might guess, glorious. It's a quite Alice Coltrane-ish sounding Necks set, glittering cosmic jazz hypnosis. If you've heard The Necks, you won't be surprised - though the instrumental textures of "Transparent Roads" differ somewhat from their most recent album Silverwater. Skittering drums, repeating, brief piano melodies, and what sounds more like an electric guitar than their usual stand-up bass, all locked into impossibly precise yet organic sounding pulsations, surging, cyclic, building building building. With subtle complexities, incredible control, The Necks are truly masters of their art. Hard to imagine that they use the entirety of his piece on the soundtrack, that would be a bus trip through otherworldly realms, leaving Brazil, however beautiful and fascinating, far behind. Whew!!
A tough act to follow. After that, what? David Grubbs (Gastr Del Sol, Bastro) is up next, his ten and a half minute solo electric guitar track "To Know A Veil" acting as a palate cleanser, sparse with simple clangorous chords ringing out, abstract scrabbling filling the spaces, or not, drones forming in both memory and reality, it's pretty powerful, like a no wave SUNNO))) perhaps. So that plus The Necks, and good grief, this is worth buying twice, already.
Then Warp's Mira Calix contributes "I Carry You In My Heart", a moody pitter patter percussion piece, over twelve minutes long, quite nice (it kinda goes with another release on this particular week's list, the Fairlights Mallets And Bamboo mix of '80s Japanese avant-bliss). That's followed by the Bay Area's own avant-weirdos Mute Socialite, who really begin to echo or suggest some sort of Tropicalia vibe, however abstract. Their rather groovy "Samba Outlaw" (5:23) turns this disc into the sort of dance party to which you'd invite the Sun City Girls... Another good one. And then finally, there's former MX-80'ers O-Type (featuring guitarist Bruce Anderson) offering up an amazing 23 minute finale to the soundtrack, "Shadowgram" giving The Necks a run for their money in fact, in terms of making repetitive, mesmeric music that actually reminds us a lot of Circle (a tropical Circle?), with shuffling rhythms and nervous textures that makes you wonder just where this Brazilian bus ride is going to end up, or if you want to find out.
So, buy this for The Necks for sure, but stay for the rest and you will be extra pleased. Again, we've never seen the movie and are quite curious, just to see how it could live up to its own soundtrack, which rules!!! More Italians should make movies in Brazil and have soundtracks commissioned for release on German label Staubgold, based on how well this turned out...
MPEG Stream: THE NECKS "Transparent Roads"
MPEG Stream: DAVID GRUBBS "To Know A Veil"
MPEG Stream: O-TYPE "Shadowgram"

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS OST (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 15.98
Well, that just does it, doesn't it?! In case their existing catalog, which includes reissues of Selda, Jean-Claude Vannier, Yamasuki Singers, Mustafa Ozkent and Bruno Spoerri, didn't already do it, the Finders Keepers label's decision to release the soundtrack of this awesome early '70s Czech New Wave film (one of Cup's faves) totally confirms that they rule... or at least confirms that they share our taste in music and movies!
Now, we all know that a soundtrack can be an integral, transformative power in a film, no question, but when one can stand alone sans visuals it takes on a whole 'nother life. Needless to say, we're not talking about those recent lazily compiled nostalgia-button pushing collections of familiar pop songs. Seventies films and their soundtracks were a breed all their own. Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders is a perfect example.
A mesmerizing motif-heavy procession of flutes, tinkling bells, harpsichord, organ, and vocal interludes, Lubos Fiser's soundtrack contributes to the establishment and intensification of the nightmare / dream atmospheres of Jaromil Jires' film. At once lulling and unsettling, recurring timorous prepubescent choral incantations are startled by ominous organ exclamations. On its own, the melange of the carnivalesque, music box-y and chamber drones totally captures a distinctly haunting, pixie-dusted delirium.
Sound good? If so, you need this now, and of course see the film as soon as possible (it was recently released on dvd)! Definitely for those who were spellbound by the soundtracks to The Wicker Man (the original movie and not the recent Nicholas Cage remake!) or Suspiria. Yes, three very different works, but all equally affecting. Absolutely recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Magic Yard"
MPEG Stream: "Brother And Sister"
MPEG Stream: "In Flames"

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS OST (B-Music / Finders Keepers) lp 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl!
Well, that just does it, doesn't it?! In case their existing catalog, which includes reissues of Selda, Jean-Claude Vannier, Yamasuki Singers, Mustafa Ozkent and Bruno Spoerri, didn't already do it, the Finders Keepers label's decision to release the soundtrack of this awesome early '70s Czech New Wave film (one of Cup's faves) totally confirms that they rule... or at least confirms that they share our taste in music and movies!
Now, we all know that a soundtrack can be an integral, transformative power in a film, no question, but when one can stand alone sans visuals it takes on a whole 'nother life. Needless to say, we're not talking about those recent lazily compiled nostalgia-button pushing collections of familiar pop songs. Seventies films and their soundtracks were a breed all their own. Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders is a perfect example.
A mesmerizing motif-heavy procession of flutes, tinkling bells, harpsichord, organ, and vocal interludes, Lubos Fiser's soundtrack contributes to the establishment and intensification of the nightmare / dream atmospheres of Jaromil Jires' film. At once lulling and unsettling, recurring timorous prepubescent choral incantations are startled by ominous organ exclamations. On its own, the melange of the carnivalesque, music box-y and chamber drones totally captures a distinctly haunting, pixie-dusted delirium.
Sound good? If so, you need this now, and of course see the film as soon as possible (it was recently released on dvd)! Definitely for those who were spellbound by the soundtracks to The Wicker Man (the original movie and not the recent Nicholas Cage remake!) or Suspiria. Yes, three very different works, but all equally affecting. Absolutely recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Magic Yard"
MPEG Stream: "Brother And Sister"
MPEG Stream: "In Flames"

VAMPIROS LESBOS Sexadelic Dance Party (Motel Records) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

VAMPYROS LESBOS (OST) (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) cd 16.98
Yeah! Back in print and we're thrilled about that. The new reissue has 3 bonus tracks on cd and 5 bonus tracks on the oh so nice double gatefold vinyl edition. Even if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing any of the over 150 Jess Franco's 'horrotica' films from which these songs come from that shouldn't stop you from jumping into this delicious offering of red light sleazy cheesy psych-light instrumental treats. Composed by Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab in 1969 these songs ooze with a playful sexuality that you have to be pretty lifeless not to enjoy. The packaging is exquisite as well with amazing stills from the Franco films and really nice text that gives a background of where these sounds and his films were coming from. Next time you have some people over to your place, turn down the lights, light some candles, put this on the stereo and who knows where the night might take you!
MPEG Stream: "Droge CX 9"
MPEG Stream: "Kamasutra"

VAMPYROS LESBOS (OST) (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl!
Yeah! Back in print and we're thrilled about that. The new reissue has 3 bonus tracks on cd and 5 bonus tracks on the oh so nice double gatefold vinyl edition. Even if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing any of the over 150 Jess Franco's 'horrotica' films from which these songs come from that shouldn't stop you from jumping into this delicious offering of red light sleazy cheesy psych-light instrumental treats. Composed by Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab in 1969 these songs ooze with a playful sexuality that you have to be pretty lifeless not to enjoy. The packaging is exquisite as well with amazing stills from the Franco films and really nice text that gives a background of where these sounds and his films were coming from. Next time you have some people over to your place, turn down the lights, light some candles, put this on the stereo and who knows where the night might take you!
MPEG Stream: "Droge CX 9"
MPEG Stream: "Kamasutra"

VAMPYROS LESBOS SEXADELIC DANCE PARTY (Motel) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Music from 3 original soundtracks to Jess Franco films, he being the Spanish director of more than 150 features released during the '60s and '70s. "...More so than any other filmmaker Franco was singularly responsible for wedding the thrills of cinematic sex and horror into a third *frisson*, which could be described as 'horrotica.' In Franco's universe, the viewer never encounters joyous sex; there is always some dark element of guilt or pain or emotional dislocation involved, and most of the erotic acts he depicts are dramatized in concert with the spectre of death." (--Tim Lucas) Oh, and the music -- nothing like Goblin or Suspiria here; it's actually very fun, sometimes upbeat & ironically so, I would think, not having seen any of Franco's films; judging by its sound, the music probably provided a cheesy counterpart to the horrotica.

WALKER, SCOTT Pola X (Universal) cd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Melodramatic orchestrations by deep-voiced mystery man Scott Walker scored for the film "Pola X" by Leos Carax. Includes original tracks from Smog and Sonic Youth.

WALLACE, EDGAR Best of Edgar Wallace (Cinesoundz) cd 16.98
Not actually recordings by Edgar Wallce, but recordings from the cult thrillers based on his stories. The music on this disk is from such notable film music composers as Peter Thomas, Martin Bottcher and Nora Orlandi.