Thursday, May 31, 2012

1993: Top 50 Singles

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 '12 here, 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:

1.   Bulletproof Cupid - GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
2.   Cannonball - THE BREEDERS
3.   Stutter - ELASTICA
4.   50ft Queenie - P.J. HARVEY
5.   Gentlemen - THE AFGHAN WHIGS
6.   Today - THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
7.   Sugar Kane - SONIC YOUTH
8.   Uranus - SHELLAC
9.   All Apologies / Rape Me - NIRVANA
10. Beautiful Son - HOLE

Listen to our 1993 selections by pressing play below:


1993 Singles by ody on Grooveshark

Monday, May 28, 2012

Killer Tracks: 2:54 - Creeping

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):

2:54 - Creeping

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Milk Music, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, May 23, 2012)


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, CruisingI've Got A Wild Feeling, Caged Dogs, New Lease, Illegal and Free, Coyote, Beyond Living

The Mongrelettes
Pockets Full Of Sand

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Plisskën Festival 2012 (Athens, May 12, 2012)

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:


Monday, May 07, 2012

Listening Habits 03-04.12

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 visitors The 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:

Beastie Boys - Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun



 

Saturday, May 05, 2012

100 A's - The John Peel Archive

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)

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

New Releases: April 2012

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

Singles & EPs

Lazuli / Equal Mind
BEACH HOUSE - Lazuli / Equal Mind
ST. VINCENT - Krokodil / Grot
SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - Kiss Them For Me
THE FALL - Night of the Humerons
(stream: Victrola Time)
PRINZHORN DANCE SCHOOL - I Want You
TOY - Motoring
THE CRIBS - Come On, Be A No-One
FUTURE OF THE LEFT - At Magnetic West
THE RAVEONETTES - Into The Night EP
BRENDAN BENSON - Pretty Baby
GRANT HART - So Far From Heaven / Morning Star
KELLEY STOLTZ - Two Imaginary Girls
GRAHAM COXON - What'll It Take
LAURA MARLING - All My Rage
CASIOKIDS - Kaskaden
BI - Surf'n'Turf / Tuf Jak
oOoOO - Our Love Is Hurting Us EP
(stream: TryTry)
HOT CHIP - Night and Day (Daphni mix)
GARBAGE - Blood for Poppies
GORILLAZ, JAMES MURPHY, ANDRE 3000 - DoYaThing
BAT FOR LASHES - Strangelove
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - Tranverse Temporal Gyrus
BLOUSE / CRAFT SPELLS - Gruesome Flowers 2: A Tribute to the Wake
(stream: Pale Spectre by Blouse)
XIU XIU / DIRTY BEACHES - Always / Tu Ne Dis Rien
OF MONTREAL / DEERHOOF - Stygian x} Bisection
(stream: Feminine Effects by of Montreal)
FEIST / MASTODON - Black Tongue / A Commotion
ESG / LAS KELLIES - Erase You
PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. - One Drop