V/A Detroit Electric (D.E.) cd 10.98
Windy & Carl (no this is not me), Demolition Doll Rods (doing "What Goes On"), Princess Dragon Mom (a.k.a. Warren Defever of His Name Is Alive), Gravitar, etc.

V/A Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock & Electronic Music 1972-83 (Soul Jazz) 2cd 21.00
Leave it to the fine folks at the Soul Jazz Label to bring us a stellar Krautrock compilation that is as heavy on obscurities as it is on classics. Don't let the fact that the Neu!, Faust and Amon Duul tracks will probably be familiar to the most casual krautrock listener, or that pretty much all the classic bands in the canon (save for Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze) are represented, deter you from this well-researched and beautifully sequenced compilation. Why? Well, because this compilation does a great job of showcasing the many diverse facets of the music that defined krautrock: Kosmishe electronica, hippie commune folk, motorik rhythms, proggy jazz-funk and lysergic cinematographic soundscapes. There are plenty of rarities from bands we've barely heard of such as Between, E.M.A.K., Michael Bundt, and Ibliss, as well as bands and artists we love like Kollectiv (aka Kollektiv), Conrad Schnitzler, Deuter and Gila that perhaps casual fans may not know much about. Plus many of the more well known groups are represented by less well known tracks or later periods. The Can tracks, for example. "Aspectacle" and "I Want More" are from later records, while the great Tangerine Dream track "No Man's Land" is from an early eighties record, a less seminal period for most classic Krautrock, but one filled with plenty of amazing discoveries for those brave enough to wade through some crud. Thankfully Soul Jazz did that work for us! Here is the full listing of bands: Can (2 tracks), Between, Harmonia (2 tracks) Gila, Kollectiv, Michael Bundt, E.M.A.K., Popol Vuh (2 tracks), Conrad Schnitzler, La Dusseldorf, Faust, Neu!, Cluster, Ibliss, Moebius, Roedelius, Amon Duul II (2 tracks) Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, and Deuter.
Comes with a full color booklet showcasing the history of the bands and music. Perfect for both newbies and longtime fans! Awesome!
MPEG Stream: BETWEEN "Devotion"
MPEG Stream: KOLLECTIV "Rambo Zambo"
MPEG Stream: MICHAEL BUNDT "La Chasse Aux Microbes"
MPEG Stream: CONRAD SCHNITZLER "Auf Dem Schwarzen Canal"
MPEG Stream: IBLISS "High Life"
MPEG Stream: TANGERINE DREAM "No Man's Land"
MPEG Stream: ASH RA TEMPEL "Daydream"

V/A Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock & Electronic Music 1972-83 - Volume 1 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
Leave it to the fine folks at the Soul Jazz Label to bring us a stellar Krautrock compilation that is as heavy on obscurities as it is on classics. Don't let the fact that the Neu!, Faust and Amon Duul tracks will probably be familiar to the most casual krautrock listener, or that pretty much all the classic bands in the canon (save for Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze) are represented, deter you from this well-researched and beautifully sequenced compilation. Why? Well, because this compilation does a great job of showcasing the many diverse facets of the music that defined krautrock: Kosmishe electronica, hippie commune folk, moterik rhythms, proggy jazz-funk and lysergic cinemagraphic soundscapes. There are plenty of rareties from bands we've barely heard of such as Between, E.M.A.K., Michael Bundt, and Ibliss, as well as bands and artists we love like Kollectiv (aka Kollektiv), Conrad Schnitzler, Deuter and Gila that perhaps casual fans may not know much about. Plus many of the more well known groups are represented by less well known tracks or later periods. The Can tracks, for example. "Aspectacle" and "I Want More" are from later records, while the great Tangerine Dream track "No Man's Land" is from an early eighties record, a less seminal period for most classic Krautrock, but one filled with plenty of amazing discoveries for those brave enough to wade through some crud. Thankfully SouL Jazz did that work for us! Here is the full listing of bands for this volume: Can, Between, Harmonia (2 tracks) Gila, Kollectiv, Michael Bundt, E.M.A.K., Popol Vuh, Conrad Schnitzler, La Dusseldorf, Faust, and Neu!.
Comes with a full color booklet showcasing the history of the bands and music. Perfect for both newbies and longtime fans! Awesome!
MPEG Stream: BETWEEN "Devotion"
MPEG Stream: KOLLECTIV "Rambo Zambo"
MPEG Stream: MICHAEL BUNDT "La Chasse Aux Microbes"
MPEG Stream: CONRAD SCHNITZLER "Auf Dem Schwarzen Canal"

V/A Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock & Electronic Music 1972-83 - Volume 2 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
Leave it to the fine folks at the Soul Jazz Label to bring us a stellar Krautrock compilation that is as heavy on obscurities as it is on classics. Don't let the fact that the Neu!, Faust and Amon Duul tracks will probably be familiar to the most casual krautrock listener, or that pretty much all the classic bands in the canon (save for Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze) are represented, deter you from this well-researched and beautifully sequenced compilation. Why? Well, because this compilation does a great job of showcasing the many diverse facets of the music that defined krautrock: Kosmishe electronica, hippie commune folk, moterik rhythms, proggy jazz-funk and lysergic cinemagraphic soundscapes. There are plenty of rareties from bands we've barely heard of such as Between, E.M.A.K., Michael Bundt, and Ibliss, as well as bands and artists we love like Kollectiv (aka Kollektiv), Conrad Schnitzler, Deuter and Gila that perhaps casual fans may not know much about. Plus many of the more well known groups are represented by less well known tracks or later periods. The Can tracks, for example. "Aspectacle" and "I Want More" are from later records, while the great Tangerine Dream track "No Man's Land" is from an early eighties record, a less seminal period for most classic Krautrock, but one filled with plenty of amazing discoveries for those brave enough to wade through some crud. Thankfully SouL Jazz did that work for us! Here is the full listing of bands for this volume: Can, Popol Vuh, Cluster, Ibliss, Moebius, Roedelius, Amon Duul II (2 tracks) Ash Ra Tempel, Tangerine Dream, and Deuter.
Comes with a full color booklet showcasing the history of the bands and music. Perfect for both newbies and longtime fans! Awesome!
MPEG Stream: IBLISS "High Life"
MPEG Stream: TANGERINE DREAM "No Man's Land"
MPEG Stream: ASH RA TEMPEL "Daydream"

V/A Devil's Triangle (Illinoisan Thunder) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A DFA Compilation #1 (DFA) cd 14.98
It's long been clear that a skilled studio production team can transform a band or artist's music from weak or average into ass-kickingly addictive. Y'know... sorta like polishing a turd. Well, the fabulous DFA production team of Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy brought their expertise to the indie realm. Not only has this duo been instrumental in the metamorphosis of potential college rock fodder into propulsive dancefloor triggers, but also they have brought along a knack for cooler than thou marketing which has spilled over from Goldsworthy's past associations with the once unstoppable Mo' Wax hype machine. An unbelievable example of this was their impressive production / marketing of The Rapture's "House Of Jealous Lovers" last year. Unfortunately this one track drew flocks seeking more of the same from a band whose past recordings were very different and well, somewhat disappointing in comparison. Instead, those folks should've really been searching out more DFA productions, which have been notoriously few and far between. Anyways, fans of The Rapture's aforementioned track will be pleased to hear that the cowbell-laden, Gang of Four makeover reappears on this compilation of DFA produced 12" A-sides. Other highlights include LCD Soundsystem's "Give It Up" as well as their club fave of hipster cynicism "Losing My Edge", plus an older lengthy track and an even lengthier newer one from the very Boredoms-y art punks Black Dice. The latter two proving that DFA are just as deft on non-traditional dance numbers. Eight tracks in all.
MPEG Stream: THE RAPTURE "House Of Jealous Lovers"
MPEG Stream: BLACK DICE "Cone Toaster"

V/A DFA Compilation #2 (DFA) 3cd 22.00
New York's best-presented flash-in-the-pan label and mix-masters, DFA, produce and remix some of the most self-conscious dance music ever made... albeit forced and/or contrived, still very well done and definitely worthy of extreme dancing to. This 3cd compilation contains so many irresistable goodies! Some hi-lites on the first two discs: J.O.Y.'S sparse and cool Slits-style vocals set to a DFA remix of their song "Sunplus", (also recently released as a 12" -- see our earlier review), Juan Maclean's (ex-Six Finger Satellite) sinister "Dance Hall Modulator Dub", Pixeltan's driving non-stop beat attack on "Get Up / Say What", DFA producer, James Murphy's band, LCD Soundsystem, featuring 4/4-beat-man-machine, Pat Mahoney (ex-Les Savy Fav) and their song "Beat Connection", legendary Liquid Liquid's "Bellhead" and The Rapture's "Echoes", just to name a few! *sigh* So much hipster dubby disco dancing, so little time. A third disc is actually a mix cd of DFA tracks, so provided you do not own your own DJ mixing equipment, you can enjoy the DFA hyper-active dance jams in one continous angular movement. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: J.O.Y. "Sunplus (DFA remix)"
MPEG Stream: THE JUAN MACLEAN "Dance Hall Modulator Dub"
MPEG Stream: LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "Yeah (Crass Version)"

V/A Dick Cavett Show - Rock Icons (Shout! Factory) 3dvd 41.00
This is amazing. Been waiting for the old Dick Cavett shows to hit DVD for a long time. Seems like they've decided to release theme packages -- the Hendrix performances, the Ray Charles appearances, the comedians, and this, Rock Icons. Meaning the likes of David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, and Sly Stone. Who will blow your mind in the interview portion!!

V/A Die Grosse Untergangsshow : Festival Genialer Dilletanten (Vinyl On Demand) cd + dvd 60.00

V/A Die Grosse Untergangsshow : Festival Genialer Dilletanten (Vinyl On Demand) cd + dvd + 2lp 94.00

V/A Dielectric Records Volume 1 (Dielectric Records) cd 10.98
A few months ago, we presented the debut quartet of releases from AQ-pal Drew(cifer) Webster's new record label Dielectric. Four stylishly packaged 12" vinyl eps from four diverse, mostly-unknown but excellent sonic architects. Now those four are back, together on this cd, each contributing four tracks apiece -- a total of ten new cuts along with one or two tracks per artist that already appeared on the eps. The disc starts of with Akta Ebtekar aka Sote, who prior to his Dielectric release had already gained some attention with a disc on Warp. Actually two of Sote's cuts are credited to Virgox, Ebtekar's collaboration with Safar Bake. Sote/Virgox produce crunching, stuttering beats and computer melodies -- it's like dance music constructed from the sampled sounds of a mad scientist's laboratory. Definitely in the vein of much Warp/Rephlex/Tigerbeat6/Ambush label material.
Next up is wunderkind Carson Day, operating in an electonica realm not far from that of Sote, but more mysterious, mellow, and pretty -- less house, more home (with headphones). His broken beats, distorted melodies, and digital fuckery meet up with some hiphop flavor on the standout track "Get Hurt" which makes good use of a vocal sample repeating the title phrase. On the evidence of Carson's four cuts here (only one comes from his 12"), he's a match for the likes of Chris Clark, Matmos, and Lesser...
The next four tracks are from Die Elektrischen, the man we know better as Drewcifer. Sure it's his record label, but his music dispels all ideas of a vanity production. It's good stuff. Like Sote and Carson, he brings the beats too, but is much more on the percussive-distorto-drone-extreme side of things. Crinkle, crackle, crumple. There's hints of Merzbow beneath the surface, yet this remains quite musical. Early Scorn meets Philip Jeck meets DJ Scud? Well deserving of his nifty black metal styled Die Elektrishen logo designed by Wrest of AQ black metal faves Leviathan.
Last up is Karen Stackpole, perhaps the most left field entry of these four -- she's no laptop or turntable jockey. Her first track is entitled "Gong and Cello #2" which will give you an idea of the sound: percussion and string drone. We could throw around some descriptive catagories like experimental, Mills College, academic, 20th century avant garde, improv... or we can just say that her stuff is really, really nice. Creepy yet lovely.
Basically, this a great comp, programmed perfectly -- Stackpole's tracks make for fine wind-down at the end after all the electronic/elektrik tracks. If you've already got the vinyl eps you need this too for all the new cuts. If you don't have the 12" records, get this, and if you like what you hear and you have a turntable, then you'll know what to do! We're definitely looking forward to hearing more from these artists -- are full lengths in the offing? -- and to future Dielectric discoveries as well. And we're definitely not saying all this just 'cause Drew's our friend, he'd be the first to tell you that'd be unlikely. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: CARSON DAY "Get Hurt"
MPEG Stream: DIE ELEKTRISCHEN "Kurenai"
MPEG Stream: VIRGOX "Yummy"
MPEG Stream: KAREN STACKPOLE "Gong and Cello #2"

V/A Diggin' Down Argentina (Crazy Apple Boutique) lp 24.00
NOW ON VINYL!!!
Yay! Always cool to get a new comp of crazy, colorful, psychedelic pop rock treats from way back when (and way far off too, internationally speaking).ĘThe comic bookish cartoony cover art gets the swinging '60s (and early '70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
MPEG Stream: DYNAMITA "Toma Tu Tiempo"
MPEG Stream: GIPSYS "Kamasutra"
MPEG Stream: KON-TIKI "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)"

V/A Diggin' Down Argentina: Nuggets From The Rioplatense Scene, 1969-1975 (Crazy Apple Boutique) cd 24.00
Yay! Always cool to get a new 70s) concept across, plus we were already fans of a couple previous comps on the same label, Neurotic Reactions and Some Songs Stuck In My Mind. So we were curious to hear this, and quite pleased with what we heard! 15 cuts full of fuzzy guitars, funky drum breaks, exuberant vocals, Hammond organ orgies, and other facets of freaky, garagey goodness, all from rare 45s by bands straight outta Argentina circa '69-'75, that the detailed liner notes in the illustrated booklet will explain were part of something called the "Rioplatense scene".
The lineup: Bosques, Dynamita, Los Fantasmas, Gipsys, Caballo Vapor, Kon-Tiki, Brujos, Wooky Toky, Los Barbaros, Victoria, Them (no, not that Them), Asfalto, Jarabe De Menta, and Little Green Men. Lots of great stuff. We love the backwards effects on Kon-Tiki's "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)" which sounds like something by Peru's We All Together, old AQ faves. It's actually one of the prettiest, most restrained songs here, the others go for a variety of pop music that, y'know, really POPS. Like, ferinstance, the sheer organ-heavy FUNK of Caballo Vapor's cut. Or the unhinged mayhem of Gipsys' "Oh! Malala" (they get two tracks here, and the other one, "Kamasutra", is pretty wicked too). Wild, wacky, and fun are what you should expect, especially from the band that calls themselves Wooky Toky...
Spanish import, limited to 500 copies.
MPEG Stream: DYNAMITA "Toma Tu Tiempo"
MPEG Stream: GIPSYS "Kamasutra"
MPEG Stream: KON-TIKI "Viaja Al Ayer (Turn Back Time)"

V/A Digital Space (DSP) 2cd 22.00
"Digital Space is an ongoing programme of commissions and events exploring interactive audio, digital sound-synthesis, generative music and algorhythmic composition. This double cd pack is the first in a series of multi-media releases organised by Sheffield's Lovebytes Organisation. The first of these two cds features commissioned audio pieces by Kim Cascone, Smyglyssna, Team Doyobi, Terre Thaemlitz, Scanner and more, while the second cd is a CD-Rom featuring installations and programs by Mikka Massalo, Tonne, Tom Flemming and more. The package itself, worked out and executed by the Designers Republic, features some pretty-stunning use of Scratch-Card technology, with the track details and specsrevealed only once the sleeve's silver surface is scratched off." --press release

V/A Dimension Mix (Eenie Meenie) cd 16.98
Besides being a delightful tribute to '60s electronic pop music pioneers Bruce Haack, Esther Nelson and their Dimension 5 record label, this is also a benefit to raise funds for autism charities. This boasts super-cute graphics, but unfortunately there's very little in the way of liner notes, so for those of you who are unfamiliar with the world of Haack and Nelson, you'll have to do a little or a lot of your own research (perhaps check out the Haack - The King Of Techno DVD released earlier this year). One thing that you should know though is that it appeals just as much to the wee tots as it does to the grown-ups who've chosen a... ahem, chemically altered listening experience. Some of the covers remain faithfully within the realm of the Haack/Nelson's kitschy child-view while others venture out on their own personalized trippy excursions. SF's Oranger's rendition of "Catfish" sounds amazingly like veteran good time popsters Young Fresh Fellows, while Beck's version of "Funky Lil' Song" sounds amazingly like Beck. The star-studded list of participants also includes Stereolab, Money Mark, Apples In Stereo, Tipsy, Eels, Irving, Fantastic Plastic Machine, DJ Me DJ You, Brother Cleve, Geoffrey Owens & Mary Christopher, Anubian Nights, Blue-Eyed Son, The Stones Throw Singers, From Bubblegum To Sky, Chris Kachulis, and Danielson Famile! Pretty neat!
MPEG Stream: THE APPLES IN STEREO "Liza Jane"
MPEG Stream: MONEY MARK "Spiders"
MPEG Stream: BLUE-EYED SON "Upside Down"

V/A Diplo Presents Blow Your Head: Dubstep (Mad Descent / Downtown) cd 14.98
We're always on the lookout for killer dubstep compilations, like most UK electronic music genres, the really great stuff ends up being released mostly as 12" singles or even impossible to track down white label dubplates, so often we look to folks who might just be able to get their hands on the best of the best, and hope that they're willing to share the wealth, more often than not in the form of a banging mixtape. Which is exactly what this is, courtesy of beatmaker/producer Diplo, a seriously banging, bass heavy dubstep mixtape that KILLS. The sounds and styles vary, but almost all the tracks here rule, our favorites being the ones with that relentlessly buzzing bass warble and stuttering big beats.
DZ's "Down" is is the perfect example, a shuffling hiccupping big beat is defined almost entirely by HUGE slabs of buzz, warbly, rumbling, wheezing basslines, sometimes more than one, and constantly being sped up an slowed down, changing the rhythm and the pitch and turning the song into a dizzyingly dense bass dub jam. Doctor P's "Sweet Shop", begins life all bouncy and ravey, with soulful female vox, but after 30 seconds, the track switches gears and sloooows way down, and becomes this dubbed out bass heavy creep, rife with buzzing synths, and whistle like melodies, all wound around some of the fiercest electronica we've heard in ages. And did we mention the bass? This is the sort of shit we'd pump if only we did in fact possess a booming system.
James Blake, who has been getting hyped a lot lately, but who we had never heard, takes a more Zomby-ish tack, a sort of retro eighties pop, but rendered woozy and warbly with processed vox, squelchy synths and heavily effected bass buzz. Dubstep legend Benga of course does not disappoint, after a tangle of high end synthy squiggles, launches into some awesomely twisted bass warble driven skitter. Rusko is another one who starts out with some soft focus radio pop, all diva driven and warm and swirly, only to pull the rug out, and send us tumbling into a swirling psychedelic dubbed out bass synth blowout, only to eventually slip right back into that breezy electronic soul pop. So fucking great. And there's loads more dubbed out bassy goodness, tracks from Ginz, Major Lazer, Diplo himself, Zomby, Untold, Rudi Zygadlo and more more more...
MPEG Stream: DZ "Down"
MPEG Stream: DOCTOR P "Sweet Shop"
MPEG Stream: JAMES BLAKE "Sparing The Horse"
MPEG Stream: BENGA "26 Basslines"
MPEG Stream: RUSKO "Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)"

V/A Dirty French Psychedelics (Dirty) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the same great tastemakers who put together the Dirty Space Disco collection that has become an all-time AQ favorite, comes this collection of sultry and sensual French psychedelia. These are the sounds and artists that have influenced folks like Sebastian Tellier, Air, Islaja, Blonde Redhead, Bjork, Broadcast, Komeda, etc.
And while we of course love the peppy sounds of classic French ye-ye pop, it's the more seductive, warped and tripped out sounds from France in the '70s that really gets us going! When we realized that one of our favorite songs of all time, "Il Pleut" by Brigitte Fontaine (complete with arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier!) was included, we knew there was some mighty fine curatorial work going on here.
But it's not just that one track, not even close, this comp has turned us on to amazing sounds from new-to-us folks like Christophe, Nino Ferrer, Jeanne Marie Sens as well as long beloved AQ faves like Dashiell Hedayat, Ilous & Decuyper, and Francois de Roubaix. While many of their US and UK counterparts were injecting large amounts of blues and hard rock into their psychedelia, the French kept it sensual, steamy and tripped out, realizing an alternate yet completely enticing musical universe. Full on sexy psychedelic seduction! Weirdness too, like the awesome track whose grooves are backed with the sounds of revving race cars.
MPEG Stream: BRIGITTE FONTAINE "Il Pleut"
MPEG Stream: CHRISTOPHE "Sunny Road To Salina"
MPEG Stream: JEANNE-MARIE SENS "Tape Tape Tape"

V/A Dirty French Psychedelics (Dirty) lp 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!!
From the same great tastemakers who put together the Dirty Space Disco collection that has become an all-time AQ favorite, comes this collection of sultry and sensual French psychedelia. These are the sounds and artists that have influenced folks like Sebastian Tellier, Air, Islaja, Blonde Redhead, Bjork, Broadcast, Komeda, etc.
And while we of course love the peppy sounds of classic French ye-ye pop, it's the more seductive, warped and tripped out sounds from France in the '70s that really gets us going! When we realized that one of our favorite songs of all time, "Il Pleut" by Brigitte Fontaine (complete with arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier!) was included, we knew there was some mighty fine curatorial work going on here.
But it's not just that one track, not even close, this comp has turned us on to amazing sounds from new-to-us folks like Christophe, Nino Ferrer, Jeanne Marie Sens as well as long beloved AQ faves like Dashiell Hedayat, Ilous & Decuyper, and Francois de Roubaix. While many of their US and UK counterparts were injecting large amounts of blues and hard rock into their psychedelia, the French kept it sensual, steamy and tripped out, realizing an alternate yet completely enticing musical universe. Full on sexy psychedelic seduction! Weirdness too, like the awesome track whose grooves are backed with the sounds of revving race cars.
MPEG Stream: BRIGITTE FONTAINE "Il Pleut"
MPEG Stream: CHRISTOPHE "Sunny Road To Salina"
MPEG Stream: JEANNE-MARIE SENS "Tape Tape Tape"

V/A Dirty Laundry - The Soul Of Black Country (Trikont) 2lp 31.00

V/A Dirty Space Disco (Tiger Sushi) cd 16.98
AT LONG LAST RE-PRESSED AND BACK IN STOCK!
We've been waiting for this one with all kinds of excitement and anticipation. The always eclectic and forward minded folks at Tigersushi have compiled one of the more intriguing and rewarding comps of recent times. Digging deep into the vaults of the slow and drugged out side of disco's past they have miraculously connected dots that we always dreamed would finally be joined together. Dirty Space Disco brings together folks from the more avant and krautrock worlds like Roedelius (of Cluster), Conrad Schnitzler, and Clara Mondshine, setting their tracks up alongside disco luminaries and obscure dance floor burners from Sylvester, Fern Kinney, Odyssey, Undisputed Truth and more. This is all about the moody, seductive and way late night side of disco.
We've been big fans of the current movement of artists tapping into this seductive sound (Lindstrom, Chromatics, Prins Thomas, etc.) but we're so happy to have the blueprints and origins of those sounds all on one disc. Though he's not included in this collection we know Arthur Russell would be so happy to see this disco / avant-garde match up finally happen. We're in love with so much of this comp but it's pretty much worth it alone for Sylvester's "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight" one of the greatest spaced out disco gems of all time, from his amazing Stars LP which came out in 1979 and features the innovative production of Patrick Cowley, one of the unsung heroes and pioneers of the San Francisco electronic/dance scene.
Luckily just about every other track is just as fantastic. This collection has been at the top of the charts on KUSF (our local college radio station, where both Irwin and Andee have shows) ever since it went into rotation and it's no surprise because it's the kind of collection that easily wins over folks who thought they just weren't into disco just as much as it pleases those of us who are huge disco freaks!! Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: ROEDELIUS "Regenmacher"
MPEG Stream: SYLVESTER "I Need Somebody To Love Tonight"
MPEG Stream: TONY ESPOSITO "Processione Sul Mare"
MPEG Stream: ODYSSEY "Who"

V/A Dirty Water 2: More Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero) 2cd 23.00
Here's the sequel, already, to last year's great Dirty Water comp of proto-punk (sonically and/or spiritually) music from the '60s and '70s, including many often-overlooked, unlikely gems and surprises, plus some "standards" as well. It's another double disc set, with 39 tracks on the compact disc version (and 19 on the slightly less comprehensive vinyl). We were already impressed with what compiler Kris Needs (former editor of British underground '70s rock mag ZigZag) included on the first volume, and this one just as cool. Some bands make a return appearance (MC5, The Silhouettes, Death, the Flamin' Groovies, Suicide, Mott The Hoople), and deservedly so, but there's lots of room for songs by artists dipping into the dirty water for the first time. From famous folks like the Velvet Underground, Bo Diddley, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Captain Beefheart, Blondie, and Big Star to not so well known names like The Vice Creems (Needs was the singer!), The Tidal Waves, The Unrelated Segments, Kilburn & The High Roads, Doctors Of Madness, and The Human Expression, amongst others. This is quite an eclectic collection, and while, say, ESP-label proto-punk bands of radical hippies from downtown NYC like the Godz and The Holy Modal Rounders are obvious choices, many others aren't. For one thing, it's not even all rock 'n' roll. The supposedly "punk" side of jazz is represented here by Albert Ayler and Dizzy Gillespie, the former punk for being so "free" and "out", the latter simply for ripping it up bebop style, we assume! Reggae (Tapper Zukie, Junior Murvin), funk (Parliament, though the track here is oddly more of a gospel tune), and folk (Woody Guthrie) are also included. Krautrock, too, via Faust. The proto-punk thing of course makes more obvious sense regarding entries from the realms of '70s glam, '50s rock n' roll (Eddie Cochran), and '60s garage (The Zachary Thaks) and psych (The United States Of America).
And happily, at least one of the suggestions we made in our review of the first Dirty Water is included here, heavy hippies the Edgar Broughton Band. There's also some more heavy psych from the likes of Blue Cheer, The Misunderstood, and Stackwaddy. So once again, a killer collection of tracks that might be familiar to you (but given new context here) and/or that might not (but you'll be glad to hear), forming a primer part II to a "secret history of rock 'n' roll", elaborated upon in Needs' extensive liner notes that come in a huge 86 page booklet (cd version, at least). It's also quite well programmed, like they way Death's "Freaking Out" segues perfectly into the Dizzy Gillespie track, makes sense!!
One suggestion for vol. 3: Blue Oyster Cult!
MPEG Stream: MOTT THE HOOPLE "Crash Street Kids"
MPEG Stream: DIZZY GILLESPIE "Bebop"
MPEG Stream: EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND "Out Demons Out"

V/A Dirty Water 2: More Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero) 2lp 23.00
Here's the sequel, already, to last year's great Dirty Water comp of proto-punk (sonically and/or spiritually) music from the '60s and '70s, including many often-overlooked, unlikely gems and surprises, plus some "standards" as well. It's another double disc set, with 39 tracks on the compact disc version (and 19 on the slightly less comprehensive vinyl). We were already impressed with what compiler Kris Needs (former editor of British underground '70s rock mag ZigZag) included on the first volume, and this one just as cool. Some bands make a return appearance (MC5, The Silhouettes, Death, the Flamin' Groovies, Suicide, Mott The Hoople), and deservedly so, but there's lots of room for songs by artists dipping into the dirty water for the first time. From famous folks like the Velvet Underground, Bo Diddley, David Bowie, Patti Smith, Captain Beefheart, Blondie, and Big Star to not so well known names like The Vice Creems (Needs was the singer!), The Tidal Waves, The Unrelated Segments, Kilburn & The High Roads, Doctors Of Madness, and The Human Expression, amongst others. This is quite an eclectic collection, and while, say, ESP-label proto-punk bands of radical hippies from downtown NYC like the Godz and The Holy Modal Rounders are obvious choices, many others aren't. For one thing, it's not even all rock 'n' roll. The supposedly "punk" side of jazz is represented here by Albert Ayler and Dizzy Gillespie, the former punk for being so "free" and "out", the latter simply for ripping it up bebop style, we assume! Reggae (Tapper Zukie, Junior Murvin), funk (Parliament, though the track here is oddly more of a gospel tune), and folk (Woody Guthrie) are also included. Krautrock, too, via Faust. The proto-punk thing of course makes more obvious sense regarding entries from the realms of '70s glam, '50s rock n' roll (Eddie Cochran), and '60s garage (The Zachary Thaks) and psych (The United States Of America).
And happily, at least one of the suggestions we made in our review of the first Dirty Water is included here, heavy hippies the Edgar Broughton Band. There's also some more heavy psych from the likes of Blue Cheer, The Misunderstood, and Stackwaddy. So once again, a killer collection of tracks that might be familiar to you (but given new context here) and/or that might not (but you'll be glad to hear), forming a primer part II to a "secret history of rock 'n' roll", elaborated upon in Needs' extensive liner notes that come in a huge 86 page booklet (cd version, at least). It's also quite well programmed, like they way Death's "Freaking Out" segues perfectly into the Dizzy Gillespie track, makes sense!!
One suggestion for vol. 3: Blue Oyster Cult!

V/A Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero) 2cd 23.00
Forget about making your own eclectic mix of edgy proto-punk rock and pop, you don't need to, it's been done. It's all here, folks. Well, enough of it anyway, spread over two cds or four sides of vinyl. 33 alternate-universe "hits" (or 23 on the vinyl version), from underground bands in the '60s and '70s who, if not always properly punk, were still actually punker than most punk bands EVER. That is, if someone had asked us to put together a compilation revealing the gnarled roots of "punk" back in the '60s, and then branching into an examination of some left-field, outside manifestations of the same in the '70s, we couldn't do it any better than this, compiled by Kris Needs, who used to edit the UK rock mag ZigZag back in the '70s. He knows his stuff.
From Detroit, NYC, London, LA and elsewhere, there's slicked back '50s rockers, '60s psych garage, '70s prog singer songwriters, downtown NYC art-noise, pub rock, krautrock, and even reggae... connected only by attitude and/or artistry... some cuts being rare and wondrous one-off flashes of genius, other simply displays of what the band in question was capable of doing all the time. Some tunes you'll have heard before, of course, but need to hear again. And there's probably more than a few that might be new to you too. A definite primer on a secret history of rock n' roll we wish wasn't so secret. Some of it's harder, some of it's poppier, some it's glammier, some of it's weirder... but it's all good.
Some big names/usual suspects: Suicide, Silver Apples, The Stooges (with a distortion-filled, 12 minute long live track, "Do You Want My Love?"), Flamin' Groovies, The Monks, the New York Dolls, The Seeds, T.Rex, even Sun Ra - demonstrating the outside jazz influence on the MC5, with his "Rocket Number Nine", which the compilers follow with the Five's "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)"... About the only obvious band missing, and we can only imagine it was due to a licensing issue or somesuch red tape, are Radio Birdman, but The Saints are here to represent the Aussie punk explosion. The comp even includes recent discoveries Death, from Detroit, nice to see them now written into the aforementioned secret history, a few years ago they were too unknown even for that. Others in the lineup: The Standells, The Deviants, Pink Fairies (doing "Do It", later covered by the Rollins Band, y'know), Gene Vincent, Jook (who dey?), Mott The Hoople, Zolar X (yay!), The Up, David Peel & The Lower East Side, The Silhouettes, The Last Poets, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Third World War, Dr. Feelgood (with "Roxette", if you look it up a performance on YouTube you might get your mind blown), Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator), Can, Red Krayola, Rocket From The Tombs, The Dictators, The Hollywood Brats (doing a Kinks cover, previously unreleased on cd), and Culture. Not bad, eh?? Ok, maybe if there was a third disc we'd expect to also hear Crushed Butler and Amon Duul II and Angel Face and Les Rallizes Denudes and The Sonics and the Imperial Dogs and Gaseneta and the Edgar Broughton Band and a few others, but heck, this is a pretty good start!
And it comes with a HUGE booklet (76 pages) filled with detailed info from Needs on all these artists, crucial and obscure (or both). Really well done. You want a Xmas present to immediately up someone's hippness quotient (or impress them with yours)? Try giving 'em this comp, as well as a copy of Savage Damage Digest zine, also reviewed this list.
FYI, as alluded to above, the double lp format has fewer tracks (lacking, feristance, that Stooges number) and no huge booklet, but is still a good spread of stuff, and comes on 180 gram vinyl, for those that want some proto-punk 'tude for their turntable.
MPEG Stream: THE STANDELLS "Dirty Water "
MPEG Stream: PINK FAIRIES "Do It"
MPEG Stream: THE SILHOUETTES "Get A Job"
MPEG Stream: PETER HAMMILL "Nadir's Big Chance"

V/A Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero) 2lp 23.00
Forget about making your own eclectic mix of edgy proto-punk rock and pop, you don't need to, it's been done. It's all here, folks. Well, enough of it anyway, spread over two cds or four sides of vinyl. 33 alternate-universe "hits" (or 23 on the vinyl version), from underground bands in the '60s and '70s who, if not always properly punk, were still actually punker than most punk bands EVER. That is, if someone had asked us to put together a compilation revealing the gnarled roots of "punk" back in the '60s, and then branching into an examination of some left-field, outside manifestations of the same in the '70s, we couldn't do it any better than this, compiled by Kris Needs, who used to edit the UK rock mag ZigZag back in the '70s. He knows his stuff.
From Detroit, NYC, London, LA and elsewhere, there's slicked back '50s rockers, '60s psych garage, '70s prog singer songwriters, downtown NYC art-noise, pub rock, krautrock, and even reggae... connected only by attitude and/or artistry... some cuts being rare and wondrous one-off flashes of genius, other simply displays of what the band in question was capable of doing all the time. Some tunes you'll have heard before, of course, but need to hear again. And there's probably more than a few that might be new to you too. A definite primer on a secret history of rock n' roll we wish wasn't so secret. Some of it's harder, some of it's poppier, some it's glammier, some of it's weirder... but it's all good.
Some big names/usual suspects: Suicide, Silver Apples, The Stooges (with a distortion-filled, 12 minute long live track, "Do You Want My Love?"), Flamin' Groovies, The Monks, the New York Dolls, The Seeds, T.Rex, even Sun Ra - demonstrating the outside jazz influence on the MC5, with his "Rocket Number Nine", which the compilers follow with the Five's "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)"... About the only obvious band missing, and we can only imagine it was due to a licensing issue or somesuch red tape, are Radio Birdman, but The Saints are here to represent the Aussie punk explosion. The comp even includes recent discoveries Death, from Detroit, nice to see them now written into the aforementioned secret history, a few years ago they were too unknown even for that. Others in the lineup: The Standells, The Deviants, Pink Fairies (doing "Do It", later covered by the Rollins Band, y'know), Gene Vincent, Jook (who dey?), Mott The Hoople, Zolar X (yay!), The Up, David Peel & The Lower East Side, The Silhouettes, The Last Poets, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Third World War, Dr. Feelgood (with "Roxette", if you look it up a performance on YouTube you might get your mind blown), Peter Hammill (of Van Der Graaf Generator), Can, Red Krayola, Rocket From The Tombs, The Dictators, The Hollywood Brats (doing a Kinks cover, previously unreleased on cd), and Culture. Not bad, eh?? Ok, maybe if there was a third disc we'd expect to also hear Crushed Butler and Amon Duul II and Angel Face and Les Rallizes Denudes and The Sonics and the Imperial Dogs and Gaseneta and the Edgar Broughton Band and a few others, but heck, this is a pretty good start!
And it comes with a HUGE booklet (76 pages) filled with detailed info from Needs on all these artists, crucial and obscure (or both). Really well done. You want a Xmas present to immediately up someone's hippness quotient (or impress them with yours)? Try giving 'em this comp, as well as a copy of Savage Damage Digest zine, also reviewed this list.
FYI, as alluded to above, the double lp format has fewer tracks (lacking, feristance, that Stooges number) and no huge booklet, but is still a good spread of stuff, and comes on 180 gram vinyl, for those that want some proto-punk 'tude for their turntable.
MPEG Stream: THE STANDELLS "Dirty Water "
MPEG Stream: PINK FAIRIES "Do It"
MPEG Stream: THE SILHOUETTES "Get A Job"
MPEG Stream: PETER HAMMILL "Nadir's Big Chance"

V/A Dis-Jointed (Dis-Joint) cd 14.98
About a year ago we wrote about a 12" split of a couple of Wackie's tracks that were both amazing in their own ways. The A-Side was Horace Andy's "Musical Episode", an extended 12" mix which is probably one of the best disco mixes we'd ever heard and the B-Side was an absolutely bizarre extended mix called the "Wack Rap" from 1979 and featuring some completely off kilter impersonations of the Sugarhill Gang. Well, Dis-Joint records, the fellas who released that 12", have put together a nice compilation of tracks featuring the aforementioned along with several singles -- new and old -- that their label has released. Now the vinyl-ly challenged can also join in on the enjoyment of these two tracks and then some. There's quite a few rare tracks here, including an instrumental mix of Ronnie Gee's "Raptivity" from 1980, Zap Pow's reggae homage to Kool & The Gang "Lottery Spin" recorded at Dynamic Sounds way back in 1976, plus some new dance floor cuts inspired from the old school by the likes of DJs Cool Chris & Romanowski, Ben Cook & Deep Fuzz, Dub Diablo and more.
MPEG Stream: HORACE ANDY "Musical Episode"
MPEG Stream: SOLID C., BOBBY D. & KOOL DROP "Wack Rap (Version Mix)"
MPEG Stream: HUMAN RACE "Human Race"

V/A Dis-Jointed (Dis-Joint) 2lp 14.98
About a year ago we wrote about a 12" split of a couple of Wackie's tracks that were both amazing in their own ways. The A-Side was Horace Andy's "Musical Episode", an extended 12" mix which is probably one of the best disco mixes we'd ever heard and the B-Side was an absolutely bizarre extended mix called the "Wack Rap" from 1979 and featuring some completely off kilter impersonations of the Sugarhill Gang. Well, Dis-Joint records, the fellas who released that 12", have put together a nice compilation of tracks featuring the aforementioned along with several singles -- new and old -- that their label has released. Now the vinyl-ly challenged can also join in on the enjoyment of these two tracks and then some. There's quite a few rare tracks here, including an instrumental mix of Ronnie Gee's "Raptivity" from 1980, Zap Pow's reggae homage to Kool & The Gang "Lottery Spin" recorded at Dynamic Sounds way back in 1976, plus some new dance floor cuts inspired from the old school by the likes of DJs Cool Chris & Romanowski, Ben Cook & Deep Fuzz, Dub Diablo and more.

V/A Disco Deutschland Disco (Marina Records) 2lp 19.98
NOW ON VINYL!
Oh how we've adored the Germans' take on various musical styles over the years, and we're not just talking about their obvious kosmiche krautrock brilliance. No, it's German musicmakers' handling of the more unexpected genres that have deepened our love affair tenfold. The hip '60s kitten heeled go-go pop of the In-Kraut compilations? The spaghetti (er, sauerkraut?) westerns of the Wig Wam Weste(r)n Weisse Wolfe collections? Yes and yes! Those two genres are unquestionably more commonly associated with French chanteuses and American cowboys, so the unmistakable German inflections that surface always make for a delightful twist on the familiar.
Now Marina Records, who brought us those In-Kraut comps, takes it (or is it retakes it?) to the dancefloor with this compilation of German disco and funk music circa 1975 thru 1980. They're not messin' around. This is straight-up boogie wonderland business. Awesome.
Some highlights include the 8+ minute Supermax track, a lowdown I'm so sexy unstoppable groover... the Giorgio Moroder studio band Munich Machine's classic "Get On The Funk Train"... and a disco-era hit from In-Kraut alumnus Peter Thomas and his Sound Orchestra... among 15 other mainly killer, glitterball dazzlers. Now, if the weird thing is, this isn't really that weird. Heck disco's even back "in" now. Don't go expecting krautrocky craziness, instead just get yer dancing shoes on and yer ass in gear. Seriously, this has been getting spun in the store by AQ staffers just as much or more than anything else lately, and when it's on we've been getting our work done with just a little more groove.
Includes a 14-page booklet of informative liner notes, with such interestin' tidbits as that Berry Lipman's track "Sex World" was used as the theme song for an American porno film, but originated as an instrumental from the German sci-fi TV series Star Maidens...
MPEG Stream: SUPERMAX " Love Machine"
MPEG Stream: LIPMAN, BERRY "Sex World"
MPEG Stream: PETER THOMAS SOUND ORCHESTRA "Opium"

V/A Disco Italia (Strut) cd 14.98
The past few years have been good to disco. Somehow it's managed to rise above the mucky kitsch value in which it had become historically mired. The popular conception that it was just a mess of ridiculous clubs jamming The Andrea True Connection packed tight with sequins and cocaine is apparently not wholly true. Not every club played Andrea True. But amidst the silly outfits and copious drug use, there were some fantastic songs and artists that expanded on the innate dance potential within funk and soul. As the ubiquitous cowbell and 4/4 rhythmic pattern of disco spread across the world like a glamorous plague, different regions seemed to add their own take on the dance phenom. Perhaps most notably were the Italians. Ah, even in pop culture, where would dance music be without the bassline arpeggiations of Giorgio Moroder? The clearest trademark of much Italo Disco, along with the synthetic drum sounds, and the overall spacey, futuristic bent. That is to say, there was a specific sound that became relevant and distinctive. And while this compilation really does have some amazing songs - like the semi-obvious "Now Baby Now" from Kano - not every song really does a good job at conveying what it is that makes this very recognizable genre what it is. Moreover, even as a disco collection, there are some notably weak moments. For instance, Revanche's "1979 It's Dancing Time," with b-rate, throw away choral vocals that cheaply hint at the Philadelphia sound. Not to mention the insanely dated and just plain cheesy title. Then there's D. D. Sound's "Burning Love," a secondhand version of the wonderfully sleazy, inventive Rinder and Lewis work that earmarked the AVI sound from LA - geez, will someone reissue that stuff?! There is a booklet inside, which is fairly informative, if not a little self-serious. An example is contained within the first paragraph where the author of "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life," Bill Brewster, very boldly claims that if not for Italo, then "dance music would have remained decidedly more monochrome and house music would almost never have happened." We're going to say that Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles might disagree a bit. Sure it was definitely an important chapter in dance music history, but let's not get completely carried away. Okay, enough of the negative aspects. There are some great songs on here that are totally worth owning, like Kasso's "Brazilian Dancer." What an amazing song! Totally in the vein of French group Voyage's completely epic and timeless "I Love You Dancer." Bands like Daft Punk and Phoenix can just send them a thank you letter and royalties at any point in time. So, completists will want this, but maybe it's not the best starting place for someone just working their way into this type of music. Although if you're a big fan of disco already, then you have probably been searching for one or more of these tracks at some point.
MPEG Stream: KANO "Now Baby Now"
MPEG Stream: RED DRAGON BAND "Let Me Be Your Radio (Part 1)"
MPEG Stream: FIREFLY "Love (Is Gonna Be On Your Side)"

V/A Disco Not Disco (Strut) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow! As if the Tony Allen reissues and the stellar Club Africa compilations weren't enough, the excellent UK label Strut has undertaken to compile a look back at the early days of *underground* disco when disco was an outgrowth of both New York punk and "No New York" proto new wave. This record is fantastic. It is ass kicking stripped down disco with no affectations and no stupid fashion victim Saturday Night Fever synth action to muck up the groove. Wailing JB's-style horns, chiming guitars and staccato bass, all backboned by totally organic percussion that makes you think "fucking kick ass live drummer" instead of "hmmm, good drum machine programming". Sure, this music has been sitting around for years and most of you have probably heard a track or two contained here, but Strut's stroke of genius has been to compile these tracks *together*, coming as they do from seemingly totally disparate groups who don't (to our ears today) share much in common -- from Yoko Ono (a track she began remixing on the day John Lennon was killed) to Liquid Liquid (the classic "Cavern", whose bassline was stolen, er, appropriated by Grandmaster Flash for "White Lines")... to Bill Laswell, Ian Dury, Steve Miller(!) and Don Cherry(!). The pages and pages of liner notes do a lot to bring these artists together in a musically logical sense, and I have to say that the Loose Joints track "Tell You (Today)" is hands down my fave single of the year -- thank god for "Disco No Disco" or I never would've heard it (we put almost the whole seven minute track up on the website so you can hear it in all its glory -- it starts in one place and ends up in quite another and you're not quite sure how you got there but you're glad).
If the word "disco" makes you cringe, get ready for your world to change. And if you thought that band !!!'s record funkified your indierock life, they ain't NOTHING compared to "Disco Not Disco".
P.S. Someone really needs to tell Neil Hamburger he sounds exactly like Steve Miller on "Macho City".
RealAudio clip: LIQUID LIQUID "Cavern"
RealAudio clip: LOOSE JOINTS "Tell You (Today)"
RealAudio clip: YOKO ONO "Walking on Thin Ice"
RealAudio clip: STEVE MILLER BAND "Macho City"
RealAudio clip: IAN DURY AND THE SEVEN SEAS PLAYERS "Spasticus Autisticus"

V/A Disco Not Disco (3) (Strut) cd 16.98
Strut is back! After releasing 2 amazing comps of the finest in underground leftfield disco and post-punk dance rarities, Strut called it a day. This was heartbreaking news as we were hoping Strut would become a stalwart reissue label like Soul Jazz or Numero Group. Miraculously, they have defied the odds and with the help of K7! and risen once again, hopefully to stay around for awhile. And with their return comes this third volume from the always exciting Disco Not Disco series. Billed as Post Punk, Electro and Leftfield Disco classics from 1974-1986, the bulk of the cuts are heavier on the eighties side with classic tracks from Shriekback, Quango Quango, Material and Konk. But also with rare leaps into Belgian and German territory with Liaisons Dangereuses, Kazino and Gina X performance (which due to an 11th hour dispute may or may not really be a Yellow Magic Orchestra track). Vivien Goldman and Delta 5 represent classic late seventies British post-punk while a Kid Creole remix of James White and The Blacks "Contort Yourself" offers a breezier twist on the New York scene favorite. The proto-disco fusion groove of Isotope is the earliest and our least loved track, but the white hot store favorite status goes to A Number Of Names' "Sharivari" and The Pop Group spin off project, Maximum Joy's minimal dub winddown "Silent Street / Silent Dub". So Killer! Strut's essential comps do not stay in print for very long so don't miss out on the first of 2008's awesome party jams!
MPEG Stream: VIVIEN GOLDMAN "Laundrette"
MPEG Stream: KONK "Your Life"
MPEG Stream: A NUMBER OF NAMES "Sharivari (Instrumental)"
MPEG Stream: MAXIMUM JOY "Silent Street / Silent Dub"

V/A Disco Not Disco 2 (Strut) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This title seems to be out of print, but we just managed to snag a dozen-or-so copies, and at a reduced price. So, back in stock, if very temporarily. If you missed out before, get it now while you can! Here's our review from when we first had it:
As you probably know, the first volume of Strut's Disco Not Disco compilation has been a big hit here at AQ, with customers and staff alike. Well, we're happy to report that volume 2 is also great. It's a look back at the early days of *underground* disco when disco was an outgrowth of both New York punk and "No New York" proto new wave -- and although volume 2 doesn't limit itself to New York (there's Dutch, British, German musicians here), it is still ass kicking stripped down disco with no affectations and no stupid fashion victim Saturday Night Fever synth action to muck up the groove. Sure, this music has been sitting around for years and most of you have probably heard a track or two contained here, but Strut's stroke of genius has been to compile these tracks *together*, coming as they do from seemingly totally disparate groups who don't (to our ears today) share much in common -- from Laid Back's classic "White Horse" to Yello's much sampled "Bostitch", Can's "Aspectacle (Holger Czukay edit)", and yes, there's another Arthur Russell track to match the fucking brilliance of his piece "Tell You Today" on the first Disco Not Disco comp. The only misstep, in my opinion, is the inclusion of the Clash's "This is Radio Clash" at the tail end of the comp. The song is so familiar and even a bit tired, and while we appreciate that it rightfully belongs in this context, it still will make you run to your stereo to see if somehow the radio got turned on by accident. Still, highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: ARTHUR RUSSELL "Let's Go Swimming"
MPEG Stream: LAID BACK "White Horse"
MPEG Stream: ALEXANDER ROBOTNICK "Problemes d'Amour"

V/A Disco Not Disco 2 (Strut) 2lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As you probably know, the first volume of Strut's Disco Not Disco compilation has been a big hit here at AQ, with customers and staff alike. Well, we're happy to report that volume 2 is also great. It's a look back at the early days of *underground* disco when disco was an outgrowth of both New York punk and "No New York" proto new wave -- and although volume 2 doesn't limit itself to New York (there's Dutch, British, German musicians here), it is still ass kicking stripped down disco with no affectations and no stupid fashion victim Saturday Night Fever synth action to muck up the groove. Sure, this music has been sitting around for years and most of you have probably heard a track or two contained here, but Strut's stroke of genius has been to compile these tracks *together*, coming as they do from seemingly totally disparate groups who don't (to our ears today) share much in common -- from Laid Back's classic "White Horse" to Yello's much sampled "Bostitch", Can's "Aspectacle (Holger Czukay edit)", and yes, there's another Arthur Russell track to match the fucking brilliance of his piece "Tell You Today" on the first Disco Not Disco comp. The only misstep, in my opinion, is the inclusion of the Clash's "This is Radio Clash" at the tail end of the comp. The song is so familiar and even a bit tired, and while we appreciate that it rightfully belongs in this context, it still will make you run to your stereo to see if somehow the radio got turned on by accident. Still, highly recommended!

V/A Disco Rallado (Broklyn Beats) cd 9.98

V/A Disco Undead (Device) cd 16.98
How could we resist a disc with cute lil' bitty lo-res computer graphic zombies on the cover? We couldn't! Disco Undead is a theme compilation, an electro tribute to horror movies, especially the Italian '70s and '80s gore and suspense variety, as directed by maestros like Argento and Fulci. So of course you should expect some Goblin worship, and you get it with Bangkok Impact's version of Goblin's seminal Profundo Rosso theme, here titled "The Pianist And The Reporter". Not only that, but the theme to Suspiria also gets covered as well (Solenoid's "Suspiriorum"). We've gotta say, though, that it is just a little weird/lame that Goblin themselves are credited nowhere on this! It's a tribute after all, so why not give credit where credit is due? Other artists/tracks include Gigue's "Fulci's Rotting Children", Negative's "Cannibal Sluts", Orgue Electronique's "Le Notti Del Terrore", Legowelt's "Season Of Samhain" and Porn Darsteller's "Holocaust" among others. Movie themes are plundered and re-interpreted, beats get dropped onto spooky incidental music, and much inspiration is taken from the stylishness of these campy slasher flicks. Just imagine if John Carpenter made electro/techno dance mixes...kinda like his theme to Friday The 13th. Creepy keyboards, distorted computer voices, zombie-plodding rhythms, soulless textures, all good stuff! It's true that some of this comes off a bit like electro elevator music, but that's the case with a lot of the original horror scores as well, which are eerie and sinister mainly due to context, not content. After all, a lot of the best Goblin is more funky than frightening! Anyway, this is a perfect fit for the already-retro electro approach, and that Profundo Rosso version is a classic!
MPEG Stream: BANGKOK IMPACT "The Pianist And The Reporter"
MPEG Stream: ORGUE ELECTRONIQUE "Le Notti Del Terrore"

V/A Discover Indonesia (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 6.98
For those of you who may find the full 20-volume Smithsonian Folkways "Music Of Indonesia" series a little daunting, and don't know just where to begin, the kind folks at SFW decided to release this budget-priced series sampler cd. Featuring 15 tracks selected from the many amazing entries in the series. Everything from xylophone duets to brass bands, from church songs to gamelan, from bamboo tubes to funeral gongs. Totally great. Get this and then begin collecting the volumes from whence comes the music that intrigues you the most on here. We also recommend Vol. 20 ("Indonesian Guitars") and Vol. 2 ("Popular Music of Indonesia") as being good starting points and definite essentials in this series.

V/A DIY-Fest (DHR) cd 14.98
A sound and spoken word collection of international DIYers including contributions from Atari Teenage Riot members Nic Endo, Hanin Elias, and Alec Empire as well as Jello Biafra, Dillinger Escape Plan, Ani Difranco, Creation Is Crucifixion, Mystic of Heiroglyphics, Nicole Blackman, William Upski Wimsatt (author of "No More Prisons" and "Bomb The Suburbs"), and more.
RealAudio clip: DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN VS. NIC ENDO "43 Percent Burnt Remix"

V/A DJ Dank's Biggest (Bong) Hits (Hip Hop History Series) cd 11.98
(Paraphrased from the back cover of this, again, EXTREMELY LIMITED release:)
Hot on the heels of the St. Ides rap compilation "DJ Drank's Greatest Malt Liquor Hits" in the "Hip Hop History Collectors' Series" comes "DJ Dank's Biggest Bong Hits" featuring the best of West Coast 1990's hip hop/rap dank (weed) anthems including Tha Alkaholiks' "Mary Jane," Luniz' "I Got 5 On It (Remix)," and Total Devastation's "Many Clouds of Smoke." With every other hip hop track including some reference to getting high there are tons of rhymes about joys of the sticky green. And one of the best times for weed anthems, especially on the West Coast, was the first half of the nineties (hip hop's "blunted" era) when Dr. Dre released "The Chronic," Cypress Hill reigned supreme, and such classics as RBL Posse's "Don't Gimme No Bammer Weed," Total Devastation's "Many Clouds Of Smoke," The Luniz' "I Got Five On It," and The Pharcyde's "Pack The Pipe" were all released. The so-bad-it's-good "Leprechaun In The Hood" boasts a classic weed moment when Ice T shares "the bomb" with the evil lil green fella ("A friend with a weed is a friend indeed!"). Note that back in 1993 when it seemed like everyone was getting blindly blunted the lone dissenting voice of Boots offered up an alternate view ("ain't no revolution gonna come from the blunted") in "The Last Blunt" on the Coup's debut, "Kill My Landlord."

V/A DJ Drank's Greatest Malt Liquor Hits cd-r 11.98
VERY LIMITED. And we think the blurb on the back of the cd says it best, so we'll just quote it:
Before the appropriately named Alkaholiks DJ/producer E-Swift hooked up with King Tee and DJ Pooh to work on a series of 60-second St. Ides TV and radio commercial spots that they had been commissioned to do: complete with a budget that allowed them to bring in some of the best emcees of the day. These rap commercials were really really good (they sound better than most commercial rap crap today!) and were so immensely popular at the time (early 90's when commercial radio didn't play nearly as much rap as today, esp. West Coast artists) that they resulted in listeners jamming radio station request lines at stations like Wild 107, San Francisco just to hear Cube or the Geto Boys rap about their favorite high-octane malt liquor. Not surprisingly with lyrics like Cube's "Get your girl in the mood quicker, get your jimmy thicker, with St. Ides malt liquor," it wasn't long before controversy soon overshadowed the advertising campaign. Outraged protests followed particularly in African-American and Hispanic communities where malt-liquor billboards and posters were defaced. Additionally the St. Ides commercials were publicly criticized by the U.S. Surgeon General and the New York State Consumer Protection Commission and drew fines from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as the New York State Attorney General's Office. Additionally Korean grocers boycotted St. Ides, but for a different reason, for their use of Ice Cube as their spokesperson. Their protest was based on Cube's derogatory lyrical comments about Koreans in his album "Death Certificate." (Note: McKenzie River Partners, the San Francisco-based maker of St. Ides, consequently temporarily discontinued using Ice Cube.) But the biggest criticism of the St. Ides commercials was that it used hip hop/rap music, a genre most popular with teenagers at the time, to sell malt liquor directly to underage drinkers. This was further enforced when St. Ides blatantly marketed a nonalcoholic drink for kids, boldly using the St. Ides name/logo (check out the lyrics to Ice Cube's "Crooked I For All Ages" track #30). Overall the reaction to the St. Ides ads was so intense that G. Heileman Co., the national brewer that had created the St. Ides label, disavowed any connection with St. Ides. And eventually the commercials were banned altogether and never heard/seen again.
With Ice Cube, Yo-Yo, Geto Boys and Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Wu Tang Clan, Eric B & Rakim, EPMD, and many more. 30 tracks in all. VERY LIMITED.

V/A DJ Hype Presents The Ganja Kru: Super Sharp Shooter ep (BMG) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Including DJ Zinc's awesome "Super Sharp Shooter" track, an old AQ-favorite, previously available only on 12" vinyl. Kick ass drum and bass jungle.

V/A DJ Prank's Greatest Celebrity Phone Calls (Hip Hop History Series) cd-r 11.98
SUPER LIMITED.
Kathy McGinty lovers watch out! If you loved that prank phone call album and wanted to replicate the effect -- a preprogrammed set of responses to unleash upon unsuspecting folks -- here's your chance. And it's all Aaaahnold! Schwarzenegger that is. Plus Pacino and Pesci. You may remember these pranks making the rounds on the net a few years ago -- "I'm Detective John Kimball!" and "Who is your daddy and what does he do?" The calls even made it onto an early episode of the AQ Neighborhood Films series. So we've got 21 tracks of the existing prank calls (answering machine material for days!), 24 of the actual sound bytes so you can make your own calls, plus 9 bonus digital skratch DJ tracks -- perfect for DJs with cd scratchers. 55 tracks in all.
RealAudio clip: "You Love to Say 'Son of a Bitch'"
RealAudio clip: "Gateway"

V/A Do The Pop! (Shock) 2cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
50 songs of Australian garage rock 1976-1987, almost all of it fucking great! Most of us are familiar with the The Saints and Radio Birdman, but included on this compilation are a bunch of amazing lesser knowns running the gamut from dirty rock to jangly pop to crusty garage to Detroit influenced punk. Bands like The Hoodoo Gurus (one of Andee's favorite bands ever), Died Pretty, The Lipstick Killers, The Sunnyboys, The Scientists, The Lime Spiders, The Screaming Tribesmen, The Hard-Ons, The Celibate Rifles, The New Christs, The Eastern Dark, The Exploding White Mice, The Stems and more. 2 1/2 hours!! It's like Christmas or something, I (Sadie) already loved The Saints and Radio Birdman but hadn't heard any of these other bands and I'm freaked out at how much awesome garage rock I've been missing out on. Andee told me that the Celibate Rifles are rad, and they are! Other kick ass bands are the Scientists (who also have a collection on Sub Pop), the Lime Spiders, the Victims, oh I could go on and on! Just buy this. One of the best compilations we've heard in a long time! (Particularily great if you got that excellent recent Sub Pop Radio Birdman collection reviewed on list #118, and want to hear more from their scene, or the scene that they inspired.)
RealAudio clip: THE SAINTS "Simple Love"
RealAudio clip: LIPSTICK KILLERS "Driving The Special Dead"
RealAudio clip: CELIBATE RIFLES "Back In The Red"
RealAudio clip: LE HOODOO GURUS "Leilani"

V/A Do The Pop! Redux Part One (Savage Beat) 2cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A Document 03 - Diffuse (Dorobo) cd 14.98
"Diffuse" is a collection of work produced by the graduates from the Media Arts Department of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, under the guidance of noted Australian electro-glitch composer Philip Samartzis. It seems that Samartzis has clearly taught his students about a number of contemporary electronic manifestations of sound, but has impressed the neccessity for space and silence for sound to breath and move. Thus, none of his students have presented the claustrophobic assaults of noise culture, rather these are nano-technological movements that bridge the Raster / Ikeda purity of digital sound and the Surreal drama of French musique concrete. Artists include Troy Allan, Thembi Soddell, Andie Reynolds, Bruce Mowson, Camilla Hannan, G_S, James Celil, Sianna Lee, Phillip Pietruschka, 24k, and Haima. Heard of any of 'em? Neither have I, but hopefully they'll put out more work soon.
RealAudio clip: THEMBI SODDELL "Pnc"
RealAudio clip: ANDIE REYNOLDS "As"
RealAudio clip: G_S "Outside"

V/A Documenta.II (Agenda) cd 16.98
Let's hope that nobody confuses this compilation with any of the "Documenta" shows, as there is really nothing in common with this compilation and the massive art exhibit in Kassel, Germany. Rather this is the second in a series from Agenda (the avant-rock subsidiary of UK house label Peacefrog), featuring "some of the finest moments in the movement of modern acoustic and electroacoustic grooves." What Agenda means by such half-baked lingo is the groovier side of post-rock, and has gotten together a pretty good sampling from the Hausmusik crowd (Lali Puna, Tarwater, Tied + Tickled Trio, and Notwist), plus cuts from Mum (the Icelandic, not the German band), Labradford, Calexico, American Analog Set, Windy & Carl, Mice Parade, State River Widening, Bergheim 34, Re, and Savath & Savalas. It should be noted that while some of these tracks are qualified as "rare," nothing's unreleased or exclusive.
RealAudio clip: LALI PUNA "Superlotado"
RealAudio clip: CALEXICO "Stinging Nettle"

V/A DOEL Presents NEXTASY Recording Distronica (DOEL) cd 14.98

V/A Don't Fuck With Us (Digital Hardcore) 3cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Alec "The Destroyer" Empire, fed up with the Berlin scene, returned to the New York DHR offices and rummaged through the huge box of demo tapes from numerous underground and largley unheard American artists. These three jam-packed discs feature 35 of those artists in 66 tracks of harshness in the typically darkcore DHR fashion. Features The Shizit, Ronin, Kaar, Schizoid, Dummy Plug Conspiracy (who contribute a track with the great title "All The Worst Albums In The World Were Recorded On Protools"), Edgey, plus 29 others. And according to Empire, this compilation is "just the tip of the iceberg"! Fucking great. Really hypnotic and powerful, avoiding the 'annoying factor' that so often comes into play with other DHR releases. A total listening experience, actually kinda melodic! despite all the hard noise posturing. I ended up listening to all three discs, all in a row the other night. Can't remember the last time I did that with any record, especially a 3 cd set of 'abrasive' electronic music. From Boards Of Canada on steroids, to dreamy droney rhythms, to all out pummelling almost-gabber, to kind-of black metal (track 8 on disc one, Schizoid, is VERY Burzum goes DHR), this compilation is way more satisfying than almost any 'electronic music' compilation in recent memory. And a steal at $15.98 for three discs!
RealAudio clip: SCHIZOID "Indulgence/Compulsion"
RealAudio clip: CATHODE RAY TUBE "Tweaking"
RealAudio clip: THE SHIZIT "Audio Jihad II"
RealAudio clip: CHEAP CZAD "Automobiles"
RealAudio clip: PIVOT "33 Percent Remix (By Technology Scum)"

V/A Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down - A Tribute to Kris Kristofferson (Jackpine) cd 14.98
The first of two Kris Kristofferson tribute albums to come out in this here year 2002, Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down was put together by local man about town Nick Tangborn. Like a Dwight Yoakum of his day, Kris Kristofferson was equally involved with acting AND music. Yep, he wrote "Me and Bobby McGee"! And "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down" (which, if you can find it, was once covered by Hank Ballard stunningly well)! Anyway, except for a jarring track by Dart, whose synthesized drums stick out like a sore thumb, the whole album is uniformly melancholy and slow. So, y'know, the Low and Red House Painters fans amongst you might even like it. Highlights include renditions by Paul Burch, John Doe (a gravelly "Me and Bobby McGee"), Jon Langford & Chip Taylor (doing the theme from Allan's favorite movie, Fat City -- "Help Me Make It Through the Night"), and Kelly Hogan (crooning "Why Me" with Edith Frost harmonizing). Strong entries also from: the deep-voiced local favorite Chuck Prophet, Tom Verlaine, and Hannah Marcus with Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters. Rounding out the collection with (in our opinion) forgettable versions are bands like Polara, Oranger, Mother Hips, and Mover. And there's more, 17 tracks in all.
RealAudio clip: JOHN DOE "Me and Bobby McGee"
RealAudio clip: KELLY HOGAN "Why Me"

V/A Don't Stop: Recording Tap (Numero Group) cd 17.98
The Numero Group goes digging deep once again and come up for air with some mighty fine disco and proto-hip-hop jams from the super obscure vaults of an early '80s NY label called Tap. From start to finish this lavishly packaged collection offers up helping after helping of killer grooves and funky jams, from that magical era where funk and disco were the seeds that would blossom into the hip-hop scene that would soon blow up bigtime.
While names like Jackie Stoudemire, Magnetism, Arnie Love & The Lovettes and Fabulous 3 MC's might not have become household names, after listening to their tracks on this comp you will be wishing you could get your hands on more of their goods. Every time we put this on we start to have fantasies about being in NY during this era and blasting these songs on a playground while we do some double dutch and then catch ESG playing a show in the Bronx, and afterwards heading to the Paradise Garage where we dance the night away with Larry Levan.
This is going to go right up there with The Third Unheard, Big Apple Rappin and the new Funky Nassau collection as one of our favorite party perfect comps of all time. And of course there's a massive booklet with liner notes detailing the full of the story of the Tap label and all the trouble and adventures it took to actually get these amazing sounds into the world. We are so glad they did!
MPEG Stream: JACKIE STOUDEMIRE "Don't Stop Dancin'"
MPEG Stream: FABULOUS 3 MC'S "Rub A Dub Dub"
MPEG Stream: MAGNETISM "Breakout"

V/A Don't Stop: Recording Tap (Numero Group) 3lp+cd 33.00
NOW ON VINYL! The Numero Group goes digging deep once again and come up for air with some mighty fine disco and proto-hip-hop jams from the super obscure vaults of an early '80s NY label called Tap. From start to finish this lavishly packaged collection offers up helping after helping of killer grooves and funky jams, from that magical era where funk and disco were the seeds that would blossom into the hip-hop scene that would soon blow up bigtime.
While names like Jackie Stoudemire, Magnetism, Arnie Love & The Lovettes and Fabulous 3 MC's might not have become household names, after listening to their tracks on this comp you will be wishing you could get your hands on more of their goods. Every time we put this on we start to have fantasies about being in NY during this era and blasting these songs on a playground while we do some double dutch and then catch ESG playing a show in the Bronx, and afterwards heading to the Paradise Garage where we dance the night away with Larry Levan.
This is going to go right up there with The Third Unheard, Big Apple Rappin and the new Funky Nassau collection as one of our favorite party perfect comps of all time. And of course there's a massive booklet with liner notes detailing the full of the story of the Tap label and all the trouble and adventures it took to actually get these amazing sounds into the world. We are so glad they did!
The lavishly packaged vinyl comes with two extra tracks as well as a cd copy of the compendium.
MPEG Stream: JACKIE STOUDEMIRE "Don't Stop Dancin'"
MPEG Stream: FABULOUS 3 MC'S "Rub A Dub Dub"
MPEG Stream: MAGNETISM "Breakout"

V/A Doob Doob O' Rama 2 (Normal Records) cd 15.98
Second volume of this popular collection of Bollywood madness. More bizarrely recorded, genre splicing, manic and sometimes ridiculous Indian film music. Bring on volume 3!!