Le Loup - Family

Le Loup is one of those gems that I discovered grading CD's as a Dejay at WRMC. I definitely had to listen to a lot of shit bands in order to discover good ones but albums like these made it all worth it. Le Loup's first album, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, was my first contact with them in the purple-walled studio and when I saw there new album, Family, on the table this year it was with great enthusiasm that I snatched it up and brought it home.

On their first album I would have described them as a more ambient Animal Collective. Maybe along the lines of Lymbyc Systym. It was a blend of post-rock, electronic, ambient, indie-pop. Family forays into the folkier side of life. The album reminds me a lot of the Akron/Family's earlier stuff, al a Love is Simple. The tribal nature of the songs on the album are engaging and provocative yet they still retain an electronic pace and feel.

Enough indie rock name dropping. Get this album here in ALAC (come on, it's still lossless!

The band's based out of DC, so if you live down there, nudge nudge, go see them!

Paul and Linda McCartney- Ram

This album is for anyone that believes Paul McCartney started sucking the moment he left the Beatles- it turns out he had one more good album in him. Pay special attention to the jam "Monkberry Moon Delight." Somehow, Paul managed to record the first ever Man Man song way back in 1971. Talk about foresight.

World's End Girlfriend - Hurtbreak Wonderland (2007)

Multiinstrumentalist Katsuhiko Maeda makes avant-garde music across a broad variety of genres. Classical arrangements blend with glitchy electronics and whispered samples. He takes his inspiration from the world of dreams and surrealism, but always tries to stay on a human level. It's equal parts bliss and ugliness. It's totally different. It's here.

Bela Fleck - Daybreak

Just look at that hair...

ever wondered what this modern banjo-virtuoso sounded like in the 80s? This disc is from February of '89, released that day my little sister was born.

True story.

Flac ondemand

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

I have been a Bowie fan for a long time but it wasn't until this year that I got Aladdin Sane. I must have listened to Hunky Dory a million times before I discovered this one and I'm glad I've gotten off the porch a bit. I had the same relationship with enchiladas. For years I would only order cheese enchiladas. What's not to like? Cheese, tortillas, more cheese, some red chile sauce, etc. I knew of the presence of meat options but I would always ignore them, settling on my standard cheese version. Then, the past couple years I started to open up to the wide world of enchilada flavors. Last night I got chipotle pork adobo. It was delicious.

FLAC.

Bessie Smith - The Bessie Smith Story

I first listened to Bessie Smith when I was a kid and my Dad would have her on in the car. Then I lost interest until just recently. Ive been reading this book (which you guys should read if you have a sec) about the history of the blues and Bessie Smith was of course featured. She was and is known as the "empress of the blues." which says something... Just like all old blues singers she has some myth surrounding her life and death which only adds to her legend and place in history. Bessie Smith was one of the most successful blues singers of her time and was even featured in a black and white film called St. Louis Blues which was popular amoung blacks and white. Here is a clip of her singing the title track to the movie.


Bessie Smith is a pre-war blues singer, but transitioned to jazz during the war and in the inter-war period like most of her contemporary female singers. During this time, the idea of the blues changed and glamorous female black singers backed by a full bands no longer were marketable as blues, hence her transition to big-band, swing jazz. Blue now was known as "race-music" which was lead by the idea of the guitar slinging lone-wanderer traveling from town to town, scrapping by with his guitar. This idea was pretty much embodied my the likes of Son House and Robert Johnson (two of my personal favorites). Because singers of Bessie's time mostly recorded for singles and compilation type albums, this is a best-of but it includes some of my favorite Bessie Smith cuts. The album transitions between early jazz and blues and at times you hear the twang of what was to become country/bluegrass. Singers of the sing were almost required to know all three to cater to all type of audiences but Bessie was one of the best. Here is the album, enjoy!

Serge Gainsborg - Histoire de Melody Nelson

Spring is in the air and its time for a sexy one that smothered the WRMC airwaves last summer. With lots of repeated themes and elements, the album is more a movement than a collection of different tracks.

The plot is more or less this: A sleasy french dude (Serge Gainsborg) hits a teenage girl (Melody Nelson, played by Jane Birken on the album) on her bike while cruising in his Rolls Royce. He falls in love with Melody and they have an apparently lustful affair.

In summation: What's better than listening to Jane Birken giggle her face off on track 6 in FLAC?

GSY!BE

Yes.

White Stripes - Elephant (2003)

THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON OH-OH THE HARDEST BUTTON TO BUTTON

The best Stripes songs are on this. It's not their best album though.

Phenomenal Handclap Band

This is for those of you who weren't at the Phenomenal Handclap live. Mostly you missed out on the Phenomenal Laura Marin's rhinestone-studded beauty.

5, 10, 15, 20, all that music and nothing to pay for it.

Diego Bernal - Besides

Diego Bernal, the genius DJ who came out with For Corners last year drops his new effort for free download from his label's, Exponential Records, website. Not only is it a free download, but it's your prerogative to specify which format you'd like the album.

Now that's progressive.

Get it from Exponential here

If you dig it and you want For Corners, let me know. I'm still listening to Besides so I have no idea if it is as good as his first effort. So far so good.

Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert

I know many of you might have this, but the Koln Concert is one of my favorite pieces of recorded music. Over an hour and a half of purely improvised genius, complete with grunts, sighs, and ribaldry galore. You should listen to this in order, and not skip around, because one movement just flows seamlessly into another. Notice as he plays in different time signatures with his right and left hand; this is one of many insane virtuosic techniques that Keith is famous for. My recommendation is to spend and hour and a half in a dark room smoking a big fatty to the entire album. Keith Jarrett has much to teach if you're willing to learn. It changed my life.


By popular demand: music should be free