Songs for Cineastes: 2012 Edition

Cate Le Bon (The Control Group)

Click here for the 2011 edition. 

Rather than a list of film scores or soundtracks, the following represents an assortment of music recommended for movie lovers such as myself. Some independent film fans prefer mainstream movie fare. Similarly, some art house aficionados prefer major-label music. There's nothing wrong with that; I just can't relate to it (and try to avoid giving the Man my money whenever possible). If you share my taste in movies, there's a good chance you might share my taste in music. Links lead to reviews and previews for Line Out.

The Tops:
1. Cate Le Bon - CYRK (The Control Group)
2. Julia Holter - Ekstasis (RVNG Intl.)
3. Tie: Neneh Cherry - The Cherry Thing
    and The Cherry Thing Remixed (Smalltown Supersound)
4. Niobe - The Cclose Calll (Tomlab)
5. Tie: Ty Segall - Twins and Ty Segall
    and White Fence - Hair (Drag City)
6. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Cobra Juicy (Rad Cult)
7. FRKWYS Vol.9: Sun Araw & M. Geddes Gengras
    Meet the Congos - Icon Give Thank (RVNG Intl.)
8. METZ - METZ (Sub Pop)
9. Django Django - Django Django (Ribbon Music)
10. Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber (Fat Possum)

 
Runners-up: 
1. Air - Le Voyage dans le Lune (Astralwerks-EMI)
2. Black Bananas - Rad Times Xpress IV (Drag City)
3. Frankie Rose - Interstellar (Slumberland)
4. Scott Walker - Bish Bosch (4AD)
5. Tie: Field Music - Plumb (Memphis Industries)
    and Play the Hits... limited ed. EP (Field Music)
6. Sic Alps - Sic Alps ( Drag City)
7. Soft Moon - Zeros (Captured Tracks)
8. Six Organs of Admittance - Ascent (Drag City)
9. Chrome Canyon - Elemental Themes (Stones Throw)
10. Redd Kross - Rehearsing the Blues (Merge)


Second runners-up: 
1. Cat Power - Sun (Matador)
2. Shintaro Sakamoto - How to Live with a Phantom
    (Other Music Recording Co.)
3. Moon Duo - Circles (Sacred Bones)
4. Bobby Womack - The Bravest Man in the Universe
    (XL Recordings)
5. Blues Control - Valley Tangents (Drag City)
6. Holly Herndon - Movement (RVNG Intl.)
7. Matmos - The Ganzfeld EP (Thrill Jockey)
8. Beak> - >> (Invada)
9. Tyvek - On Triple Beams (In the Red)
10. Lavender Diamond - Incorruptible Heart (Paracadute)



Also worthy of note: Willis Earl Beal - Acousmatic Sorcery (XL Recordings), the Babies - Our House on the Hill (Woodsist), Erik Blood - Touch Screens (self-released), Ceremony - Zoo (Matador), Deep Time - Deep Time (Hardly Art), Dirty Three - Toward the Low Sun (Drag City), Martin Eden - Dedicate Function (Lefse), Elephant and Castle - Transitions (Plug Research), ESP - ESP EP (self-released), Robert Glasper Experiment - Black Radio (Blue Note-EMI), La Sera - Sees the Light (Hardly Art), Shawn Lee - Synthesizers in Space (ESL Music), Levek - Look a Little Closer (Lefse), Dent May - Do Things (Paw Tracks), Marisa Monte - O Que Você Quer Saber De Verdade (Blue Note-EMI), MV and EE - Space Homestead (Woodsist), Nude Beach - Nude Beach II (Other Music Recording Co.), Onuinu - Mirror Gazer (Bladen County-Bad Cop Bad Cop), Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (Dull Tools), Robust Worlds - Emotional Planet (De Stijl), Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse (In the Red), Mariee Sioux - Gift for the End (Almost Musique-Whale Watch), Standard Fare - Out of Sight, Out of Town (Melodic), Terry Malts - Killing Time (Slumberland), THEESatisfaction - AweNatural (Sub Pop), Tomten - Wednesday's Children (Flat Field), the Unthanks - Diversions Vol. 1: The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons (Rough Trade), UV Race - Racism (In the Red), Various Artists - FAC. Dance 02 (Strut) Various Artists - We Are the Works in Progress (Asa Wa Kuru), Vex Ruffin - Same Thing Tomorrow (Stones Throw) [cassette], White Fence - Family Perfume Vol. 1 & 2 (Woodsist), Andre Williams - Hoods and Shades (Bloodshot), Woods & Amps for Christ split LP (Shrimper), and Young Magic - Melt (Carpark).

 

Love what I heard (need to hear more): A Place to Bury
Strangers - Onwards to the Wall (Dead Oceans), Flying Lotus -  
Until the Quiet Comes (Warp), Royal Baths - Better Luck 
Next Life (Kanine), Andy Stott - Luxury Problems (Mod-
ern Love), and Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II (In the Red).

Top Reissues and Archival Material: 
1. Various Artists - Listen Whitey! Sounds 
of Black Power 1967-74 (Light in the Attic)
2. Sensations Fix - Music Is Painting in the Air (RVNG Intl.)
3. feedtime - The Aberrant Years ( Sub Pop)
4. Royal Trux - Accelerator (Drag City)
5. Golden Calves - Collection (Woodsist)



Note: Can's Lost Tapes box set set is on my wish list.   

Love what I heard (need to hear more): Francis Bebey -
African Electronic Music: 1975-82 (Born Bad), Michael Chap-
man - Rainmaker (Light in the Attic), Alex Chilton - Free Again: 
The 1970 Sessions (Omnivore), Franco Falsini - Cold Nose
(Spectrum Spools), Lee Hazlewood - The LHI Years: Singles 
Nudes & Backsides: 1968-71 (Light in the Attic), Patrice
Sciortino - Chronoradial (Omni Recording Co.), Various Artists -  
Beat Frauleins: Female Pop in Germany 1964-68 (Grosse
Freiheit), and Leslie Winer - Leslie Winer &c. (Wormhole).

Songs I didn't hate...at all: Maroon 5 - "Moves Like Jagger" and Gotye - "Someone That I Used to Know." A great melody is a great melody is a great melody. I don't care where it comes from.



Endnote: A work in progress. More sounds and images to come.  

Read more »

Songs for Cineastes: 2011 Edition



Click here for the 2010 edition.

To clear up
any confu-
sion: This
isn't a list
of film
scores or
soundtracks. It's a list of music recommended for movie lovers
such as myself. Some independent film fans prefer mainstream
movie fare. Similarly, some art house aficionados prefer major-la-
bel music. There's nothing wrong with that; I just can't relate to it
(and try to avoid giving the Man my money whenever possible).

If you share my taste in movies, there's a good chance you might
share my taste in music. And to further clarify matters, I've drop-
ped Swingin' from the title of these posts, i.e. Songs for Swing-
in' Cineastes. I thought it was funny, and I can't resist a Frank
Sinatra reference, but I think I'm gonna make 2012 about par-
ing things down and eliminating some of the gobbledegook.

Links lead to my reviews for AndMoreAgain and Line Out.



The Tops:
1. Total Control - Henge Beat (Iron Lung)
2. Moon Duo - Mazes (Sacred Bones)
3. The Dirtbombs - Party Store (In the Red)
4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
5. Tie: Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread (Drag
City) and Singles 2007-2010 (Goner)
6. Soft Moon - Total Decay EP (Captured Tracks)
7. Psychic Ills - Hazed Dream (Sacred Bones)
8. Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls (Slumberland)
9. Widowspeak - Widowspeak (Captured Tracks)
10. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)

Note: I review Total Control live here.



Runners-up:
1. Girls Names - Dead to Me (Tough Love/Slumberland)
2. La Sera - La Sera (Hardly Art)
3. Sonny & the Sunsets - Hit After Hit (Fat Possum)
4. AM & Shawn Lee - Celestial Electric
(Eighteenth Street Lounge/Fontana)
5. Keren Ann - 101 (Blue Note/EMI)
6. Still Corners - Creatures of an Hour (Sub Pop)
7. Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/Dream (In the Red)
8. Swiftumz - Don't Trip (Holy Mountain)
9. Cave - Neverendless (Drag City)
10. The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This
World (History Always Favours the Winners)

Note: listen to the entirety of An Empty Bliss here.



Worthy of note: Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams (Sub Pop),
the Fresh & Onlys - Secret Walls (Sacred Bones), Iceage - New
Brigade (What's Your Rupture), Jacuzzi Boys - Glazin' (Hardly
Art), Jeffrey Lewis - A Turn in the Dream-Songs (Rough Trade),
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop),
James Pants - self-titled (Stones Throw), The Strange Boys - Live Music (Rough Trade), Times New Viking - Dancer Equired (Merge),
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador), Vivian Girls -
Share the Joy (Polyvinyl Record Co.), Rusty Willoughby - Cobirds Unite (Local 638), and Wooden Shjips - West (Thrill Jockey).



Love what I heard (need to hear more): Alvarius B - Baroque Primitiva (Abduction), Charles Bradley - I Believe in Your Love (Daptone), Dirty Beaches - Badlands (Zoo Music), Kaleidoscope - self-titled (Shadoks), King Midas Sound - Without You (Hyperdub), The Men - Leave Home (Sacred Bones), Moon Wiring Club - A Spare Tabby at the Cat's Wedding (Gecophonic), Nouvelle Vague - Couleurs Sur Paris (Kwaidan), Peaking Lights - 936 (Not Not Fun), Roll the Dice - In Dust (Leaf), Sea Pinks - Dead Seas (CF/Recs), Various Artists - Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk 19-
70-1978 (Now-Again), Various Artists - Fac. Dance: Factory Records 12" Mixes & Rarities 1980-87 (Strut), and Various Ar-
tists - Wallahi Le Zein! Wezin Jakwar & Guitar (Latitudes).



Top reissues:
1. El Rego - El Rego (Daptone)
2. Various Artists - C'est Chic: French
Girl Singers of the 1960s (Ace International)
3. The Fabulous Three - Best of... (Truth & Soul)
4. Melvin Davis - Detroit Soul Ambassador (Vampi Soul)
5. Index - Black Album + Red Album + Yesterday & Today (Lion)



On my list: Can - Tago Mago: 40th Anniversary (Mute), The
Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace: Omnibus Edition (Beggars Ban-
quet), Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - The 1st Album (Ana-
log Africa), Brenda Ray - Walatta (EM Japan), The Red Crayola -
God Bless the Red Krayola and Parable of Arable Land (Snapper-
Charly), ROB - Funky Rob Way (Analog Africa), Talk Talk -
Laughing Stock (Ba Da Bing), Vagrants - I Can't Make a Friend
(LitA), and Willie Wright - Telling the Truth (Numero Group).



Top singles (I like pop, too):
1. Adele - "Rolling in the Deep" (Columbia)
2. Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" (Interscope)
3. James Blake - Tie: "A Limit to Your Love"
and "The Wilhelm Scream" (Atlas/A&M)
4. The Horrors - "Still Life" (XL Recordings)
5. TV on the Radio - "Caffeinated Consciousness" (Interscope)
6. Tie: Spoek Mathambo - "She's Lost Control" (Sub
Pop) and Luis & the Wildfires - "Digital" (Wild/Norton)
7. The Pack a.d. - "Haunt You" (Mint)
8. Radiohead - “Lotus Flower” (TBD)
9. Bill Callahan - "America" (Drag City)
10. Cate Le Bon - "It Puts Me to Work" (The Control Group)



Worthy of note: Black Bananas with Kurt Vile - "Before They
Make Me Run" (Drag City), Field Music - "(I Keep Thinking about)
A New Thing" (Memphis Industries), Lykke Li - "Youth Knows No
Pain" (Atlantic), Neverever - "Wedding Day" (Slumberland), and
Young Magic - Tie: "Sparkly" and "Slip Time" (Carpark Records).

Labels of the year: Sacred Bones, Slumberland, and Sub Pop.

Bonus: Jennifer Egan's Pulitzer Prize-winning A Visit from the Goon Squad (paperback edition). Some of the music biz details ring true, some don't, but Egan is a brilliant structuralist, who ties all the disparate stories and eras together in an ingenious manner.

Rest in peace: Trish Keenan of Broadcast. Too fucking soon.



Endnote: The usual disclaimer applies. This list doesn't represent
the best music of the year, but the best of the music I heard (I'm
primarily a film writer, and my movie list provides a more accur-
ate snapshot of my taste). Given unlimited time, financial resour-
ces, and industry connections--which I have in the smallest of
quantities--it might look different. Except for Henge Beat.

Image: My pic of Total Control's Dan Stewart at the Crocodile.

Read more »

Party
Store










A new Dirtbombs record is always cause for celebration. Yesterday, I received word that the Motor City combo will be releasing Party Store, a Detroit techno collection, on 2/1/11.

Here's the first single, "Sharevari." I can't speak for the album
as a whole, but the song and video are great--as long as you don't
mind Mick Collins' fake German accent (I can dig it). And you got-
ta love his call and response with singer/guitarist Ko Melina.



Below: original version as featured on The Scene. Dig those moves!



Press release:
Party Store is an assortment of live band interpretations of classic
Detroit techno music of the '80s and early '90s. These are songs Col-
lins digested when they were originally released--at a time where he
was already making waves with garage-punk legends the Gories.
Songs that run the gamut of subject matter from materialistic future-
disco braggadocio "Sharevari" (originally by A Number of Names) to
cold, post-industrial isolation of "Alleys of Your Mind" originally by
Cybotron) through the instrumental optimism of a worldwide house
classic, "Strings of Life" (originally by Derrick May)... All these themes
encapsulate the climate of Detroit both now and at the time of their
initial release. Let it be said clearly...this is a record that address-
es, at the same time, both the past and the future of Detroit.

With "Good Life"--originally by Kevin Saunderson via his Inner
City outfit, Collins re-contextualizes the upbeat modern dance é-
lan to echo with post-punk zeal as the zest of doubled harmonies
resonates throughout. "Bassbin" (originally by Carl Craig as Inner-
zone Orchestra) features modular synthesizer programming by Carl
Craig himself and is the album's pièce de résistance. Clocking in at o-
ver 21 minutes, the track's original light jazz underpinnings are dif-
fused into a martial, militaristic back beat coupled with fire-raining
feedback screes from Collins' trusty Kent guitar. It is arguably the
most intense recording the Dirtbombs have ever produced.

The end result is nothing short of impressive. The players' recreation
of the sequenced, digital rhythms and melodies stems from an Oblique
Strategies card pulled during the recordings ("Humanize something
that is without error") and they tend to do so with a crisp, Kraut-
rock-like precision. For originals that all contained drum ma-
chines, sequencers, and synthesizers the Dirtbombs tak-
es on these pieces all matter-of-factly and use said tools
only to accent what's laid down by the live unit.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Click titles for my reviews of Dangerous Magical Noise, If You Don't Already Have a Look, and We Have You Surrounded.



Click here for the Pop Matters review.

Endnote: The band's "I Can't Stop Thinking About It," from
1998 debut Horndog Fest, appears in Blue Valentine (with Ry-
an Gosling and Michelle Williams). It opens at Seattle's Egyp-
tian Theater on 1/7/11. For more information about the Dirt-
bombs, please click here or here. Image from Force Field PR.

Read more »

Which One Is Pink?

One of the best singles of the year.

Nice Zombies vibe to this one. 

Endnote: Perth's Tame Impala plays Neumos on Fri.,
12/10 (with Stardeath and White Dwarfs). Click here for
my review of the Black Angels' Phosphene Dream.

Read more »

Fall Heads Roll (Again)

I first discovered the
Fall when I was in col-
lege. They'd already been
around for seven years,
but I'd never heard of
them. That said, I took
a seminar on Albert Cam-
us around the same time,
and that's when I also
discovered The Fall.

I enjoyed The Stranger
and The Plague, but The
Fall was where the Fren-
ch-Algerian absurdist
really kicked in for me. I ended up reading it twice, because I found the narrator so persuasive that I missed the fact that he was completely unreliable. I'd imagine that was also one of the attrac-
tions for Mark E. Smith, who took the band's name from the book.

I'm pretty sure goth-garage extravaganza "Lay of the Land,"
which kicks off 1984's The Wonderful and Frightening World
of..., was the first Fall song I heard. I remember thinking,
"Well, that's weird," but not in a way I found off-putting.

In fact, I was intrigued by all those strange voices whispering
and shouting, "What's the lay of the land! My song!" The more
I listened, the more captivated I became. The track contains
multitudes, and remains one of the most exciting entries in a
crazy-quilt career filled with epithets, fisticuffs, romantic
strife, stylistic zigs and zags, an endless array of players,
and enough drama to fuel a BBC series for years on end.



Naturally, quality control has gotten away from the mumbly
Mancunian on more than one occasion, but he's never really sold
out, however you choose to define that term. A television ad em-
erged five years ago that borrowed an instrumental intro from
Fall Heads Roll, but I wouldn't call it a sell-out move (the All Mu-
sic Guide also mentions the use of 1999's "Touch Sensitive" in an
automobile advert). Heads Roll is the last Fall album I bought.

Here's what I wrote, for KEXP, about 2007's lackluster follow-
up, Reformation Post T.L.C. , "The line-up continues to change,
but the sound remains much the same. Possibly more driving
than before, but also a little less distinctive. For an offbeat cov-
er, try their version of Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever."
Not a complete waste of time, but they've done better.



Which brings us to their 28th long-player, Your Future Our
Clutter, said to be one of their best (crap cover aside). I haven't
heard the whole thing, so I'm in no position to say, but the video
for "Bury Pts. 2 + 4," has me convinced I need to pick up a copy.

I've been describing it as "a buncha youngsters and one ol' geezer,"
and director ThirtyTwo's style really emphasizes Smith's increas-
ingly decrepit age in contrast with the youth and vigor of his rela-
tively new band mates (and also reminds me of Jonathan Glazer's
stately freeze-frame clip for Radiohead's "Karma Police"). And yet,
it doesn't seem exploitative; the eternally Hip Priest appears to
revel in his image as a cranky old man. Long may he kvetch.



Endnote: I'm also rather fond of Peter Whitehead's quasi-doc-
umentary The Fall, but haven't yet seen Tarsem's narrative fea-
ture of the same name. Thanks to Jason Gross for alerting me to
this video, which I've been posting everywhere I can (Facebook,
Twitter, etc.). The Fall poster image from unklerupert's knee.

Read more »

Proper
Procedure


Gil Scott-
Heron's I'm
New Here
comes with
the follow-
ing advice.
I've done
my best
to repro-
duce the original formatting, except for the white text-on-black background (it's the first thing you see when you open the CD).


***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****


There is a proper procedure for taking advantage of any investment.
Music, for example. Buying music is an investment.
To get the maximum you must


LISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.


Not in your car or on a portable player through a headset.
Take it home.
Get rid of all distractions (even her or him).
Turn off your cell phone.
Turn off everything that rings or beeps or rattles or whistles.
Make yourself comfortable.
Play your CD.
LISTEN all the way through.
Think about what you got.
Think about who would appreciate this investment.
Decide if there is someone to share this with.
Turn it on again.
Enjoy yourself.


Gil Scott-Heron


***** ***** *****

Click here for my review of I'm New Here.



Endnote: Image from Elbows Music Blog Aggregator.

Read more »

Songs for
Swingin'
Cineastes:
2009
Edition


Click here
for Movies
for Music
Lovers


The Tops:
1. Sylvester & the Hot Band - The
Blue Thumb Collection (Hip-O Select)
2. Thee Oh Sees - Help (In the Red)
3. Death - ...For All the World to See (Drag City)
4. Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People...
Lazers Do (Mad Decent/Downtown/Atlantic)
5. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us (Graveface)
6. Broadcast & the Focus Group -
Investigate the Radio Witch Cults (Warp)
7. The Inner Space - Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah Records) [reissue]
8. Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics -
Inspiration Information (Stone's Throw)*
9. Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (In the Red)
10. Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited (Matador)

* See also Mulatu Astatke - New York Addis Lon-
don: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965 to 1975 (Strut)



Note: The links lead to my CD reviews. I'm not listing The
Blue Thumb Collection as a reissue, because it consists of
two albums plus bonus tracks, i.e. the material was never
released in this form before. Similarly, 1974's...For All the
World to See never received a proper release until 2009.

Runners-up:
1. King Midas Sound - Waiting for You (Hyperdub)
2. Starless and Bible Black - Shape of the Shape (Locust Music)
3. Various Artists - Dark Is the Night (Matador)
4. Atlas Sound - Logos (Kranky)
5. Sleepy Sun - Embrace (ATP)
6. The Lovetones - Dimensions (Planting Seeds Records)
7. Curious Mystery - Rotting Slowly (K Records)
8. 39 Clocks - Zoned (Bureau B)
9. White Rabbits - It's Frightening (TBD Records)
10. The Bird and the Bee - Ray Guns Are
Not Just the Future (Blue Note/EMI)

Still need to hear (in their en-
tirety): Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
(Domino), Benjamin Biolay - La Su-
perbe (Naïve), Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another (4-
AD Records), Mos Def - The Ecstatic (Downtown/Atlantic), Q-Tip - Renais-
sance (Universal Motown), Shabazz Palaces - self-titled (Templar Label Group), Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (Matador), Various Artists - Daptone Gold (Daptone), Various Artists - Forge Your Own Chains, Vol. 1: Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges 1968-1974 (Now Again), and Var-
ious Artists – Saint Etienne Present Songs for The Dog & Duck (Ace).

Note: Had I but world enough, and time...and money...
and space! But I mostly write about film these days.

Top Reissues:
1. Serge Gainsbourg - Melody Nelson (Light in the Attic)
2. The Monks - Black Monk Time (Light in the Attic)
3. Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle:
30th Anniversary Issue (Beggar's Banquet)
4. Blo - Chapters and Phases (RPM)
5. The Raincoats - The Raincoats (We Three/Kill Rock Stars)
6. Sweet - Action: The Sweet Anthology (Shout Factory!)
7. Bill Fox - Shelter from the Smoke (Scat)
8. 39 Clocks - Pain It Black (Bureau B)
9. 13th Chime - Complete Discography (Sacred Bones)
10. 24 Carat Black - Gone: The Prom-
ises of Yesterday (Numero Group)*

* Thanks to Riz for the tip.



In my dreams: 13th Floor Elevators - Sign of the 3 Eyed
Men [10-disc set] (International Artists Records/Charly Ac-
quisitions Limited), Big Star - Keep an Eye on the Sky [four-
disc set] (Rhino), Rolling Stones - Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out! [three-
CD/one-DVD set] (Abkco), and Various Artists - Where the Ac-
tion Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 [four-disc set] (Rhino).

Top Rediscoveries: Queen - self-titled debut and the Who - Who's Next. Not completely new to these ears, but I played them over and over again, and found the experience more than a little rewarding. And I continue to take inspiration from Arthur Lee, Phil Lynott, Nina Simone, and every other artist who didn't do what was expected of them, regardless as to race, gender, or sexual orientation—and did it better.

Click here for the 2008 edition



Endnote: Thee Oh Sees play the Funhouse
on 2/19. Images from Buddyhead and XLR8R.

Read more »

25 CDs
About Me

Cross-posted at Facebook

With
seemingly
everyone
on Face-
book pos-
ting "25
Random
Facts
About
Me"—
or varia-
tions on that theme—most of which are fascinating, if far from random, I decided to try something different; something less confessional, but not really if you read between the lines...

The CDs piled on top of my boombox and my dresser reveal all anyone needs to know about my taste in music—and by exten-
sion, my personality. Some people are what they eat; I am the music I consume...and the films I watch and the books I read.



Yes, I've run out of shelf space, but these aren't just overflow
CDs. They're the ones I listen to the most because: 1) they're the
latest arrivals, 2) I enjoy them the best, or 3) I haven't quite fig-
ured them out yet, i.e. I keep listening because my impression
changes every time (others sound the same; day in, day out).

So, here they are in alphabetical order sans commentary, al-
though I did review a third of them for Amazon, Fuzz, Reson-
ance, Tablet, etc. Also, I've left off the CDs from my best of 20-
08 list, so as not to repeat other notes or blog entries. Thanks
to the folks, whether friends or publicists—or publicist frien-
ds!—who set me up with or turned me on to these discs.

1. Black Lips - Good
Bad Not Evil (Vice)
2. Vashti Bunyan - Some
Things Just Stick in Your
Mind (DiCristina)
3. Captain Beefheart &
His Magic Band - Trout
Mask Replica (CD-R)
4. CSS - Cansei de
Ser Sexy (Sub Pop)
5. Robert Evans - The Kid Stays in the Picture (New Millenium) [audio CD]
6. Girlschool - The Very Best of...Girlschool (Castle/Sanctuary)
7. Grizzly Bear - Friend EP (Warp)
8. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasur-
es: Collector's Edition (Factory/Rhino)
9. Laughing Clowns - Cruel, But Fair: The
Complete Clowns Recordings (Hot) [import]
10. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (DFA)
11. Phil Lynott - Solo in Soho (Vertigo/Phonogram)
12. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly: Original Mo-
tion Picture Soundtrack (Curtom/Rhino)
13. Nellie McKay - Pretty Little Head (Hungry Mouse/Sony)
14. Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder (Blue Note)
15. Nouvelle Vague - Nouvelle Vague (Luaka Bop)
16. The Oh Sees - Sucks Blood (Castle Face)

17. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (Luaka Bop)
18. Prince - Sign of the Times (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.)
19. Soft Boys - Underwat-
er Moonlight (Matador)
20. Spoon - Ga Ga
Ga Ga Ga (Merge)

21. Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material (EMI/Rykodisc)
22. Thin Lizzy - Thin Lizzy (Deram/Decca)
23. Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the
Western World (Deram/Decca)
24. Various Artists - Jean-Luc God-
ard: Histoire(s) de Musique (CD-R)
25. Various Artists - Two Dozen Little Gems from
the Golden Age of Italian Film Music (CD-R)*

* Compiled by Bob Cumbow, author of The
Films of Sergio Leone. Plus liner notes!



Endnote: It's true: the CD remains my primary music deliv-
ery system. I still have plenty of records, tapes, singles, and
such, but I always come back to CDs. Incidentally, I compil-
ed this list while listening to Vagabonds of the Western
World. Local writer/publicist Chris Estey once asked me
what record I'd write about if I were to tackle a 33-1/3
tome. My answer: Vagabonds! I just don't think I'm
the person to do it, but I salute those who've follow-
ed up on similar impulses. Phil Lynott image from
The Music's Over. All others from the archives.

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Songs for Swingin' Cin-
eastes: 2008 Edition

Click here for 2007's Songs for
Swingin' Cineastes and here for
2008's Movies for Music Lovers

As ever, I like to rock, but
with the '80s revival in full
swing, I decided to give in and
embrace the synth-pop I used
to resist. It never seemed particularly cool or edgy, but rather safe, sanitized, and incredibly bourgeois. And maybe it is. May-
be I am, but I like what I like, and 2008 was a better year for
keyboards than guitars, so I went, willingly, with the flow.

In the end, though, it's still about the voice. My Spanish may be
rusty, but that doesn't matter when it comes to Argentinian TV
star-turned-indie sensation Juana Molina, since she spends as
much time scatting and sighing as she does singing. She could do
anything with that airy voice, and I would gladly follow along.

As for the Dirtbombs,
not only do they rock, but
Mick Collins is one of the
nation's finest vocalists. I
asked him about his style
once, and he laughed. He
doesn't seem to think he
has one, but it's that com-
bination of humility and flexibility that makes him such a great
front man—his guitar-playing is nothing to sneeze at either.

Every other singer below is equally compelling. Not necessar-
ily in a technical sense—whatever that means—but in terms of
personality, sincerity, or even quote-unquote insincerity, i.e.
Gary Numan's robotic drone. Me? I connect with it.

Lastly, I realize there are some old folks on this list. What can
I say? I was born in the '60s, and grew up with these fellows.
Against all odds, they've still got the goods, and yet it's far too
easy to take them for granted. Don't. It's unlikely we'll see their
kind again. Randy Newman, for one, is a national treasure.



The Tops
1. Juana Molina - Un Dia (Domino)
2. The Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded (In the Red)
3. Santogold - Santogold (Downtown/Atlantic)
4. Santogold & Diplo - Top Ranking (Mad Decent)
5. She Keeps Bees - Nests (self-released)
6. Vivian Girls - self-titled (In the Red)
7. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (Warner Brothers)
8. Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight (Yep Roc)
9. M83 - Saturdays = Youth (Mute)
10. Matmos - Supreme Balloon (Matador)

Note: For most of the year, the Dirtbombs were at #1, but I use a
simple litmus test for the top spot: not what's "best," but what I listen-
ed to most, and the answer is Un Dia, a record with no real beginning
or ending; it just flows from track to track. Another litmus test: did I
buy the t-shirt? In the case of the Vivian Girls: yes. (The only oth-
er band t-shirt I purchased this year features a fabulous Queen logo.)



Runners-up
11. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Continued (Kranky)
12. Linda Lewis - Lark (Collector's Choice) [reissue]
13. Howlin Rain - Magnificent Fiend (Birdman)
14. Shearwater - Rook (Matador)
15. Joan as Police Woman - To Survive (Reveal)
16. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours (Modular)
17. Karl Hector & the Malcouns - Sahara Swing (Now Again)
18. Calexico - Carried to Dust (Quarterstick/Touch & Go)
19. Randy Newman - Harps and Angels (Nonesuch)
20. James Hunter - The Hard Way (Hear Music)

Note: Unclassifiable British singer/songwriter Linda Lewis or-
iginally came in at #10, but after some friendly persuasion from
Randall Roberts, music editor of The LA Weekly, I gave her spot
to Maryland-based electronic duo Matmos. What the hell, they
killed it live...also, on 3/8/09, I switched out the Department
of Eagles with Deerhunter after catching up with Microcastle.

Top Reissues
1. Gary Numan & Tube-
way Army - Replicas Redux (Mute)
2. Arthur Russell - Love
Is Overtaking Me (Audika)
3. Rodriguez - Cold Fact
(Light in the Attic)
4. The Shop Assistants -
Will Anything Happen
(Cherry Red)
5. Steinski - What Does It All Mean?
1983–2006 Retrospective (Illegal Art)

Note: Click here for my review of Wild
Combination - A Portrait of Arthur Russell.

Other notable efforts (in alphabetical order): Arbouretum/Pontiak - Kale EP (Thrill Jockey), the Black Keys -
Attack & Release (Nonesuch), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig!!
Lazarus!! Dig!! (Mute), Department of Eagles - In Ear Park (Ma-
tador) Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight (Fat Cat), Al
Green - Lay It Down (Blue Note/EMI), Hercules and Love Af-
fair - self-titled (DFA), the Last Shadow Puppets - Age of the
Understatement (Domino), John Matthias - Stories from the
Watercooler (Counter), Sam Phillips - Don't Do Anything
(Nonesuch), Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08 (Mata-
dor), TV on the Radio - Dear Science (Interscope),
Vampire Weekend - self-titled (XL Recordings),
Various Artists - Thank You Friends: The Ar-
dent Records Story (Big Beat), and Various
Artists - On Vine Street: The Ear-
ly Songs of Randy New-
man (Ace Records).



Top track: MIA - "Paper Planes" (DFA remix)

Note: The song features, quite exuberantly, in Danny Boyle's Slum-
dog Millionaire and also helped to promote David Gordon Green's
Pineapple Express, in which it does not otherwise appear...des-
pite Robert Christgau's Slate-based claims to the contrary.

Top show: The Dirtbombs at Neumos in May. They re-
turned in November, but I missed the second gig. How can
you top perfection? Matmos, Holly Golightly, and Battles
at Bumbershoot were also excellent...and I'm still kicking
myself for missing Howlin Rain, M83, Shearwater, and
the Vivian Girls, who played the same night as Go-
lightly, so thanks to KEXP for broadcasting live sets
from M83 and the 'Girls, who both sounded great.



Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook. The links lead
to my CD reviews for Amazon, AndMoreAgain, and
Fuzz.com (R.I.P.). This year, I also covered music
for KEXP and Seattle Sound. Juana Molina im-
age from Sem Fio; all others from the archives.

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