Oops, I almost missed my deadline this month, but even at the last moment I have at last the 50 singles that make up Cool Music Central's "Best Singles of 1993" list, which you can check out here!
As usual, I've gone through, literally, hundreds of single and EP releases from the year at hand before applying the special C.M.C. filters and narrowing the list down to the 50 "best", meaning, of course, my personal faves. In the end the race for Single of the Year for 1993 was won by Girls Against Boys debut release for Touch And Go, the mighty fine "Bulletproof Cupid". I was lucky enough to see GVSB live at London's Garage venue that year and I can honestly say it was one of the most exhilarating rock shows I've ever witnessed. My favorite moment: my head being just inches away from Johnny Temple's bass as the band unleashed "Bulletproof Cupid", the ultimate highlight of a tremendous night!
Other stellar singles from 1993 include The Breeders' smash hit "Cannonball", Elastica's debut "Stutter", P.J. Harvey's fiery "50ft Queenie", one of the many highlights from our 1993 Album of the Year "Rid Of Me", and The Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen" - actually, as I'm writing these lines I'm watching the Whigs in action, live from Primavera Sound '12here, while just a couple of days ago I saw them here in Athens in a truly awesome gig which will be the subject of our next post (coming soon)!
Here's our Top 10 Singles of 1993 - click here for the complete Top 50:
London-based, neo-shoegazers 2:54 was one of the bands we were tipping at the beginning of the year and now it's time to see if sisters Hannah and Colette Thurlow will make good on their initial promise. Their self-titled, Rob Ellis and Alan Moulder produced, debut album is coming out today and based on the excellent new single "Creeping" (a reworked version of one of their early tracks) I think it's going to hit the spot. Check out below the brand new video for the track which will be backed by "The March" (listen and download here) on its June 18 7" vinyl release (preorder your signed copy here):
One of our first posts of the year was about the new bands and artists that fit the profile of what we'd like to listen to more in 2012. Olympia, Washington’s Milk Music made the shortlist thanks to the awesomeness of their guitar sound, a raw, powerful yet melodic noise that brings to mind some of the best moments in the history of SST and Sub Pop, two of the leading American noise rock labels of the '80s and '90s. Little did I know back then that a few months later not only would I finally get my chance to score a copy of their excellent debut EP "Beyond Living", but I would also have the opportunity to see the band live, right here in Athens.
Thanks to the efforts of Arte Fiasco, Milk Music made their Greek live
debut at the Six D.O.G.S club accompanied by two local acts, Pockets
Full Of Sand who play experimental weird rock reminiscent of Ween, and
melodic garage-poppers The Mongrelettes (see also here).
Milk Music came on stage a little after midnight enjoying a bottle of wine while tuning their guitars and setting up their drum kit. The 50-minute set that followed was as loud and manic as we’d hoped for, although not without a few technical glitches that broke the flow of the show a couple of times. Those hiccups didn’t stop us or the band from having fun and finally the only complain that we could possibly have was that we didn’t get to hear more than two tracks from "Beyond Living", "Out Of My World" and the same titled one that was saved for the end.
We did have the chance, however, to sample for the first time songs
from their forthcoming debut album and we’re happy to report that the new
material achieves the same melodic yet noisy guitar mix that follows in the
footsteps of bands like Dinosaur Jr. or The Wipers while the powerful rhythm
section drives the music at Hüsker Dü speed. It goes without saying that all
this fine mess was delivered with the appropriate amount of headbanging and
hair-tossing, while the band’s dancing shoes were put to good use. It also goes without saying that if the record sales of "Beyond
Living" on this night were eligible for the local official album charts,
Milk Music would most likely make it in the Greek Top 10 this week!
Here's a taste from Milk Music's new material from their Athens show - if I'm reading correctly the piece of paper with the show's set list, the title of this one must be "Cruising":
Milk Music - Cruising, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, May 23, 2012)
Set list (as transcribed from said piece of paper): Coyote R., Run Away, Out Of My World, Cruising, I've Got A Wild Feeling, Caged Dogs, New Lease, Illegal and Free, Coyote, Beyond Living
The second edition of Plisskën Festival took place almost a year and a half after the first one, this time with even more acts (23 in total) divided between two stages. These are the most memorable performances we witnessed last Saturday at the all-day alternative music event that took place at the "Hellenic Cosmos" Cultural Centre:
Peaches
The previous time we saw Peaches in Athens, she was one of the headliners of the last edition of Sync Festival. It was an interesting coincidence to see her returning to the city as one of the top names of Plisskën, in essence the festival that is stepping in to take Sync's place as the alternative music event of the summer.
This time Peaches' live agenda was to present us in full her debut album, the electroclash classic "The Teaches Of Peaches", but also to take this opportunity to comment on the issue of the rise of the extreme right in the recent national elections, incorporating in her lyrics a few fitting Greek slogans that were greeted with cheers from the audience.
The 2012 live version of the album had a rock'n'roll edge despite most of the music and beats coming from Peaches’ synthesizer and the only other musician on stage being a drummer who didn’t have much work to do. Peaches once again offered a very entertaining show, energizing the crowd and making us forget about the venue's poor sound quality that plagued most of the festival’s performances. Among the highlights of her set was the impressive stunt of crowd-walking (taking a walk over her fans who managed to hold her up for several death-defying steps), the previously mentioned amusing political sloganeering and the show-stoping "Fuck The Pain Away" that closed the main set, before an one-song encore that comprised of "Boys Wanna Be Her", the only post-Teaches Of Peaches song of the night.
Dead Skeletons
Iceland’s Dead Skeletons added psychedelic aroma and dark space rock mood to the festival’s eclectic music mix. In one of Plisskën's most rewarding performances, the band presented tracks from their recent album "Dead Magick", the entry point to a colorful, psychedelic universe that matched the projections shown on the background of the darkened stage. Don’t fear the Dead Skeletons - let them be your guide as you break on through to the Other Side with them!
King Kahn & The Shrines
King Khan with his highly energetic band The Shrines offered perhaps the most fun performance of the festival. The Indo-Canadian musician who was introduced onstage by Peaches (later he returned the favor) proved his reputation as a charismatic performer, while The Shrines delivered a fiery mix of garage rock and soul. King Khan also had a few choice words regarding the local extreme right party which he delivered in Greek much to the delight of his audience - good time rock'n'roll with a message!
King Khan & The Shrines
Other notable performances of the festival included a very early afternoon set by London punk rockers Male Bonding which, unfortunately, was witnessed by very few as most festival goers hadn't arrived yet, a krautrock meets minimal electronica meets free jazz improvisation performance by Neu! co-founder Michael Rother who played together with Berlin based experimentalists Camera, the indie rock - electropop stylings of The Notwist who based their set on their last two albums ("The Devil, You + Me" and "Neon Golden") and the atmospheric beats of Forest Swords, aka producer Matthew Barnes, who mixed material from 2010's "Dagger Paths" with brand new tracks.
Male Bonding
The Notwist
Michael Rother with Camera
Forest Swords
Plisskën Festival promises to return next year for a third time. Let's hope that the event's brave organizers will manage to keep their promise despite the country's economic adversities and even more music acts and fans come together in the next edition of the festival.
Check out below Male Bonding, Michael Rother with Camera, King Khan & The Shrines, Dead Skeletons and Peaches performing at the main stage of Plisskën Festival 2012:
Our favorite spring albums express a confusing mix of contrasting, extreme emotions, from ecstasy to horror, but the one sitting at the top of our list states a clear, bright vision about the present and future of pop music.
"Visions", Grimes’ debut album for 4AD and third overall, bristles with inspirational melodies and playful beats. Claire Boucher, the Montreal-based musician and producer behind the name Grimes (see also here), has the admirable ability to take in all sorts of disparate influences, from Cocteau Twins to Aphex Twin, and use them as ingredients for her unique, inventive dance-pop hybrid. Her ethereal falsetto soars over a troubled ocean of electronic pulses, digital beats and harmonies that come together to create a euphoric, transcendent sound. Grimes’ vision for a perfect electropop future takes shape and form in the glorious 13 tracks of "Visions", an early candidate for "Album of the Year".
Other notable releases that kept our hi-fi busy in the last couple of months included the self-titled psychedelic electro-pop debut of Edinburgh art school graduates Django Django, the ecstatic bedroom pop of L.A.-based experimental composer Julia Holter whose magnificent "Ekstasis" sounds like a Greek tragedy scored by Laurie Anderson, and the brutal sounds of two of Sacred Bones Records finest signings, our recent visitorsThe Men and horror-mongers Pop. 1280. The Men exercise greater control over their adventurous noise creations in "Open Your Heart", while also trying their hand successfully at more traditional rock songwriting, while Pop. 1280 go the way of The Birthday Party in a mission to create pure, post-punk sonic terror - a mission that we can declare accomplished.
Top 12 Albums
1. Visions - GRIMES
2. Django Django - DJANGO DJANGO
3. Ekstasis - JULIA HOLTER
4. Open Your Heart - THE MEN
5. The Horror - POP. 1280
6. Ghostory - SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
7. Port Of Morrow - THE SHINS
8. Animal Joy - SHEARWATER
9. Clay Class - PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL
10. In Time To Voices - BLOOD RED SHOES
11. Last Words: The Final Recordings - SCREAMING TREES
12. Some Easy Magic - FUNGI GIRLS
Top 20 Tracks
1. Oblivion - GRIMES
2. Lazuli - BEACH HOUSE
3. In The Same Room - JULIA HOLTER
4. White Wind - SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
5. Default - DJANGO DJANGO
6. The Full Retard - EL-P
7. V∆! (Nightmare Fortress Remix) - BRUXA
8. You Are The One - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
9. Open Your Heart - THE MEN
10. Burn The Worm - POP. 1280
11. R U Mine? - ARCTIC MONKEYS
12. No Way Down - THE SHINS
13. Forever And A Day - GIANT GIANT SAND
14. Breaking The Yearlings - SHEARWATER
15. Brains - LOWER DENS
16. Jack the Ripper - JAPANDROIDS
17. Lost Boys - DEATH GRIPS
18. Sing Orderly - PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL
19. Cold - BLOOD RED SHOES
20. Doldrums - FUNGI GIRLS
Grimes - Oblivion
And here's one in tribute to the late, great Adam Yauch, The Beastie Boys' MCA:
The record collection of legendary BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, containing more than 26000 LPs, 40000 singles and many thousands of CDs, has become an interactive online museum. This week we were able to check out the first 100 vinyl LPs of the collection classified under the letter A (from The A's to Adam And The Ants) and until October 2012 the creative arts project which is part of a new digital arts and culture media service called "The Space", will be releasing the names and song titles of 100 records a week, for 26 weeks, featuring one letter of the alphabet each time.
Click here to visit John Peel’s virtual home studio and library where you’ll be able to browse this unique and very eclectic collection, listen to clips from the radio shows and the famous Peel Sessions (you’ll need Spotify for that which, unfortunately, is not available everywhere) and see photos, videos and home movies of the late DJ. Can’t wait for June and the unveiling of the 100 records under the letter F to see if there will be any room left for anyone else but The Fall!
Meanwhile, this project got me going through my own record collection to see how many albums I’ve got under the letter A. As it turns out, the number is exactly 100 (leaving out few singles and EPs) and in case you’re curious about the contents of Cool Music Central’s record collection (which, of course, is hugely influenced by John Peel who I listened to for the first time in 1987, on my first trip to the UK, and continued to do so up to 2004, through all possible means - from short-wave radio to streaming audio), here’s what I've got under A:
Artist ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
1998 …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD (LP)
1999 MADONNA (CD)
2002 SOURCE TAGS AND CODES (CD)
2005 WORLDS APART (CD)
2006 SO DIVIDED (CD)
2009 THE CENTURY OF SELF (CD)
2011 TAO OF THE DEAD (CD)
Artist A FRAMES
2005 BLACK FOREST (CD)
Artist A HOUSE
1991 I AM THE GREATEST (LP)
Artist A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
2007 A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS (CD)
2009 EXPLODING HEAD (CD)
Artist A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
1990 PEOPLE'S INSTINCTIVE TRAVELS AND THE PATHS OF RHYTHM (LP)
1991 THE LOW END THEORY (CD)
Artist A.C. MARIAS
1989 ONE OF OUR GIRLS (HAS GONE MISSING) (LP)
Artist A.R. KANE
1988 69 (LP)
1989 " I " (LP)
Artist A.R.E. WEAPONS
2003 A.R.E. WEAPONS (CD)
Artist ABLE TASMANS
1995 STORE IN A COOL PLACE (LP)
Artist ACETONE
1993 CINDY (CD)
Artist ADAM AND THE ANTS
1980 KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER (LP)
Artist ADD N TO (X)
1999 AVANT HARD (CD)
2000 ADD INSULT TO INJURY (CD)
2002 LOUD LIKE NATURE (CD)
Artist ADORABLE
1993 AGAINST PERFECTION (LP)
Artist ADULT.
2003 ANXIETY ALWAYS (CD)
2005 GIMMIE TROUBLE (CD)
Artist AESOP ROCK
2001 LABOR DAYS (CD)
2007 NONE SHALL PASS (CD)
Artist AFRIKA BAMBAATAA
2001 LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT BEAT (CD)
Artist AGE OF CHANCE
1986 CRUSH COLLISION (LP)
Artist AGENT ORANGE
1981 LIVING IN DARKNESS (CD)
Artist ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.
2006 YOURS TO KEEP (CD)
2008 COMO TE LLAMA? (CD)
Artist ALBERTA CROSS
2009 BROKEN SIDE OF TIME (CD)
Artist ALCOHOL FUNNYCAR
1993 TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS (CD)
Artist ALEC EMPIRE
2002 INTELLIGENCE AND SACRIFICE (CD)
Artist ALELA DIANE
2011 ALELA DIANE & WILD DIVINE (CD)
Artist AMBULANCE LTD
2004 LP (CD)
Artist AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB
1987 ENGINE (LP)
1991 EVERCLEAR (LP)
1993 MERCURY (LP)
1994 SAN FRANCISCO (CD)
2004 LOVE SONGS FOR PATRIOTS (CD)
2008 THE GOLDEN AGE (CD)
Artist AMY WINEHOUSE
2006 BACK TO BLACK (CD)
Artist ANASTASIA SCREAMED
1990 LAUGHING DOWN THE LIMEHOUSE (LP)
1991 MOONTIME (LP)
Artist ANGEL CAGE
1995 SOPHIE MAGIC (CD)
Artist ANI DIFRANCO
1997 LIVING IN CLIP (CD)
1998 LITTLE PLASTIC CASTLE (CD)
1999 UP UP UP UP UP UP (CD)
Artist ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
2005 FEELS (CD)
2007 STRAWBERRY JAM (CD)
2009 MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION (CD)
Artist ANITA LANE
1993 DIRTY PEARL (LP)
Artist ANNA CALVI
2011 ANNA CALVI (CD)
Artist ANNE CLARK
1984 JOINED UP WRITING (LP)
Artist ANTIETAM
1985 ANTIETAM (LP)
1986 MUSIC FROM ELBA (LP)
Artist APHEX TWIN
2001 DRUKQS (CD)
Artist APPLIANCE
1999 MANUAL (CD)
2000 SIX MODULAR PIECES (CD)
2001 IMPERIAL METRIC (CD)
2002 ARE YOU EARTHED? (CD)
Artist ARAB STRAP
1999 ELEPHANT SHOE (CD)
2001 THE RED THREAD (CD)
2003 MONDAY AT THE HUG & PINT (CD)
Artist ARCADE FIRE
2004 FUNERAL (CD)
2007 NEON BIBLE (CD)
2010 THE SUBURBS (CD)
Artist ARCHERS OF LOAF
1993 ICKY METTLE (LP)
1995 VEE VEE (LP)
1996 ALL THE NATIONS AIRPORTS (LP)
Artist ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
2004 FUR (CD)
2006 DERDANG DERDANG (CD)
2010 COCONUT (CD)
Artist ARCTIC MONKEYS
2006 WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I’M NOT (CD)
2007 FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE (CD)
2009 HUMBUG (CD)
2011 SUCK IT AND SEE (CD)
Artist ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI
2010 BEFORE TODAY (CD)
Artist ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
1992 3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF… (LP)
Artist ARSON GARDEN
1990 UNDER TOWERS (LP)
Artist ART BRUT
2007 IT'S A BIT COMPLICATED (CD)
2009 ART BRUT VS. SATAN (CD)
Artist ASH
1994 TRAILER (LP)
1996 1977 (CD)
1998 NU-CLEAR SOUNDS (CD)
2001 FREE ALL ANGELS (CD)
Artist ASOBI SEKSU
2009 HUSH (CD)
Artist AT THE DRIVE-IN
2000 RELATIONSHIP OF COMMAND (CD)
Artist ATARI TEENAGE RIOT
1999 60 SECOND WIPE OUT (CD)
Artist ATLAS SOUND
2009 LOGOS (CD)
2011 PARALLAX (CD)
Artist AUF DER MAUR
2004 AUF DER MAUR (CD)
Artist AUSTRA
2011 FEEL IT BREAK (CD)
Artist AUTOLUX
2004 FUTURE PERFECT (CD)
2010 TRANSIT TRANSIT (CD)
Artist AVI BUFFALO
2010 AVI BUFFALO (CD)
Artist AZTEC CAMERA
1983 HIGH LAND, HARD RAIN (LP)
And here's my favorite cut from the last one:
Aztec Camera - Oblivious ((live at Aston University, from the BBC's 'Whistle Test On The Road', 16 December 1983)
Round up of the most interesting albums and singles released in April 2012 including some of the limited edition Record Store Day releases:
Albums
Blunderbuss
JACK WHITE - Blunderbuss SPIRITUALIZED - Sweet Heart Sweet Light MOONFACE - With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery ACTRESS - R.I.P DEATH GRIPS - The Money Store SANTIGOLD - Master Of My Make-Believe ALLO DARLIN' - Europe LOWER DENS - Nootropics ALABAMA SHAKES - Boys & Girls BRENDAN BENSON - What Kind of World GRAHAM COXON - A+E MYSTERY JETS - Radlands WEIRD DREAMS - Choreography LOTUS PLAZA - Spooky Action at a Distance TORCHE - Harmonicraft FLATS - Better Living SCREAMING FEMALES - Ugly GOSSIP - A Joyful Noise KILLING JOKE - MMXII GRAND DUCHY - Let the People Speak THE FLAMING LIPS - The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends DANDY WARHOLS - This Machine BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE - Aufheben THE PRIMITIVES - Echoes And Rhymes THE FUTUREHEADS - Rant ORBITAL - Wonky
