Jack Dangers/Meat Beat Manifesto - Happiness Supreme Dub - from In Dub
Meat Beat Manifesto - Storm the Dub Mix (Twilight Circus Dub Sound System) - from Storm the Studio R.M.X.S.
Akira Yamaoka - The Reverse Will - from the Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack
Annie Humphrey - Spirit Horses - from The Heron Smiled
Hyper - Come With Me (The Crystal Method Remix) - From 2005 Community Service, Vol.2
Akitaka Tohyama - You Are Smart - from the Katamari Damacy Soundtrack
I have eclectic tastes.
I’ve been listening to Harry Nilsson’s Pandemonium Shadow Show a lot lately. It’s his one record that I never really got into, but for some reason it’s finally clicked with me and I’ve been going ape-crazy over Cuddly Toy, 1941, and so on. One of the better and more underrated songwriters, ever. I’ve also been jamming his demos for the Monkees, including a really great off-the-cuff acoustic version of Cuddly Toy.
also -
Mount Eerie - Singers - Phil Elverum, the artist formerly known as The Microphones, takes a bunch of songs that he’s only done live but haven’t turned up on any of his albums, and records them all live-to-tape in a “Campfire Singalong” style with a bunch of his friends and musical cohorts. But this is no “Kumbaya” style party; most of these songs are dark as hell. Gorgeous.
Robyn - Robyn - The blonde scottish chick who had one lite-R&B hit in the late-nineties returns with a crazy record. The production is super-weird and all over the place; half of it sounds like it was produced by the Neptunes, and the other half sounds like Aphex Twin. She sings and raps over the weirdo synth beats with aplomb; this sounds like what Missy Elliot’s last record and Gwen Stefani’s solo record should have sounded like. Hot pop perfection.
David Banner - Certified - It’s a sad state of affairs when mainstream rap is twice as interesting and exciting as the underground, but people like David Banner are the reason why. Though not as immediately gratifying as Mississippi: The Album, almost everything about certified steps it up; the production is particularly better and more varied (courtesy of Banner himself taking the lead, but Jazze Pha drops some great soulful vocals and a nice organ-led beat on “fucking,” which could be one of the album’s stronger singles if not for, well, the title and subject matter. “Lost Souls” starts the record like Lil’John with a conscience, a super-dramatic, emotional paean driven by a typical 808 beat, growling guitars, vocoder, and Banner’s trademark “hey!” shouts.
Archie Shepp - The Cry of my People - Shepp’s Attica Blues has quickly become one of my favorite records, fusing traditional big band, Last Poets-esque spoken word, and torch songs with Shepp’s free jazz-informed sax playing. It’s no Ornette Coleman skronk-fest; we’re talking great vocal-based songs that you can sing along to and get down and nasty to, but with weird and experimental playing on them. The Cry of My People takes it even more in the traditional direction - Rest Enough opens the album with straight Gospel, but then A prayer goes for big band exotica. Also represented - traditional swing, more gospel, some skronking over some Exotica. I love it when the real weirdos break down and make something that people actually want to listen to!
The Blue Nile High
Jamie Cullum Live At Blenheim Castle