It’s that time of year again folks – christmas trees, hanookah minorras hanukkah menorahs, kwanza… uh menorahs, (don’t forget Atheist contempt) – And Pure Pop Year Enders! And as with last year, you’re all invited to submit your lists! Because of last year’s overload of submissions and because you never start a sentence with “because”, we’d like to lay out a few ground rules to help keep things organized.

• Your year ender should be relevant to Music, music culture and/or pop culture.
• Your list should be not more than a top 5 (short and simple.)
• Your review should contain at least 2 descriptive sentences / explanation for why you picked said year ender list item.
• Each list item should contain both artist name and title, where applicable, if it’s a film list – film title, maybe director… use your best judgement.
• Who you are. Name, Age, Location, Occupation, social security number and images you want to include… your cat, etc.

You’ve got a few weeks to put your thoughts together, and keep your eyes on the our facebook page and the website for more info. We’ll post up a link to a page where you can submit your list info. We’re gonna try and publish all the lists we get that meet the list criteria, so get crackin’!

Here’s the final installment of my picks for top reissued albums of 2009.  Enjoy & have a great 2010!

3) Eliane Radigue “Vice Versa”/”Triptych”

I love drone.  I love the complexity masquerading as simplicity.  I love the physicality of a live drone performance, the ethereal purr of sine wave massaging my entire body.  I love how the monotony becomes hypnotic and meditative, to the point that I can forget where I am or that I’m even listening to a piece of music.  I love where the drone takes me.

Eliane Radigue, born in Paris in 1932, was a drone pioneer.  A wife and mother of three, Radigue studied piano and composing at an early age, and became enraptured with minimalist music after hearing a radio broadcast of musique concrete by Pierre Schaeffer in the early 1950s, who later became her mentor.  Despite her studies and studio work in the 1960s, she did not start her own career until the 1970’s, with minimalist explorations utilizing tape loops and Arp synthesizers.

Radigue’s work has influenced artists as diverse as Greg Davis and Stephen O’Malley of doom metal band Sunn O))), yet prior to the late 90s, she only had a handful of physical releases, most of which were in very limited runs.  Her popularity amongst fans of experimental music grew quickly when the wonderful Table of the Elements record label released her Adnos trilogy, consisting of three long-form, perfect drone pieces, and soon her new fans were clamoring more.

It takes a special label to take on a major and important drone release.  While fans of drone have increased exponentially over the past decade (possibly because post-rock and doom drone bands have made minimalism hip again), there is still not a large audience for such a release.  At the same time, work like Radigue’s rivals some of the best of minimalist art, so it would be a shame to see one of her masterpieces released on CD-R with a poorly designed cover, while even the worst of Frank Stella’s paintings still hang on international gallery walls and command millions at auction.

The special label that took up the job was, quite fittingly, Important Records, a label known for quality control in all senses of the word.  Important released two of Radigue’s masterworks this year, “Vice Versa, etc.” and “Triptych”, and presented the pieces with the utmost respect, including extensive liner notes and elegant, minimalist cover art befitting the music itself.

“Vice Versa, etc.”, the earlier of the two works, was originally recorded in 1970 and was composed only of tape loop feedback.  While the album was distributed upon its initial recording, only ten hand-numbered and signed magnetic tape copies were created, along with instructions to the listener on how to listen to the pieces.  The options included one at a time, both at the same time, forwards or backwards and at various speeds.  While the CD medium of the reissue makes such experimental listening difficult, Important did include two discs in this release: the first of the three tracks played forward, and the second with them in reverse.   You can always rip the CDs to a digital format and experiment with speed variations as well.  It is quite the interactive listening experience.

“Triptych” was recorded in 1978, when Radigue’s instrument of choice changed from the tape loop to the Arp 2500 analog synthesizer. A return to music after a brief immersion in Tibetan Buddhism and meditation, “Triptych” is truly a sonic meditation in itself, with an enhanced focus on subtlety and masterful patience.  If you’re new to Radigue (or drone in general), I highly recommend “Triptych” as a jumping-off point.

2) Oneohtrix Point Never, “Betrayed in the Octagon”

I’m a firm believer in the connections between dualities.  Not because I’m a New Age mystic/Eastern philosophies type (far from it actually), but because it’s just an incredibly obvious part of everyday life.  Love and hate are connected simply by being a dichotomy of strong emotion– just ask the hands of Radio Raheem.  How many times have you met somebody that just irritates you so much that you just can’t stop talking about them? And then soon the anger turns to intrigue, and then understanding, and soon they’re your best friend.

The same thing happened to me when I first heard Oneohtrix Point Never’s “Betrayed in the Octagon”.  While I was immediately drawn to the darker ambient tracks on the album, I was immediately repelled by tracks like “Behind the Bank”.  See, I was born in the 1980s, and all of the bad music and art that came out of that period.  To me, “Behind the Bank” sounded like the generic keyboard kitsch that was used as background music on the Preview Guide channel.  I had spent most of the 90s trying to surround myself with high art: Bergman films, Rothko paintings, and John Cage compositions.  While I loved and respected pop artists like Warhol and, to a lesser degree, later post-modern artists, I never was able to believe that they actually liked the works that they were using in their pastiche.  It was all ironic, tongue-in-cheek; there’s no way that this work could be paying homage, only putting up a mirror to reflect the ugliness of modern consumerist society.

What bothered me most about “Behind the Bank” was that the tongue was nowhere near the cheek.  This seemed like a true love letter to the sounds of early 80s elevator muzak, the Quarter Pounder with Cheese of music.  How could anyone want to pay tribute to such garbage and waste obvious talent by playing and recording it?  Why would anyone want to listen to it?

Stewing in my distaste, I couldn’t get the song out of my head, with its clichéd synth tones and pitch bends.  Sure there was a elegance to the composition, and an emotional pull.  But that wasn’t what kept it coming back into my mind like déjà vu, a long forgotten collective memory.  It was the fact that it was a collective memory, at least for those of us who grew up in the 80s.  It was a reclaiming of the things that defined us as children, all of the things that we were taught were low and base and garbage and deserved only to be forgotten in a forced amnesia.  John Carpenter movie soundtracks and public access TV shows on VHS and Atari 2600 and hot pink and synth pop.  These were all supposed to be embarrassments, a blip in the timeline of technology and culture than needed to be forgotten and moved past.

“Behind the Bank” was quite simply a rebellion against such mindsets, and a reclamation of our shared cultural history.  It was ok to admit that we had a soft spot for these sounds, because these were the sounds that raised us.  They were a part of us, and saying that we hated them amounted in a way to saying that we hated ourselves.  Once I accepted this fact, “Behind the Bank” became a revelation to me, an opportunity to look back on a time in my life that I thought I had lost and, for the first time, be proud of it.

1) The Beatles discography (stereo and mono)

Ok, I’ll admit it–I bought into the hype.  I bought into it hard actually, listening to nearly nothing besides the Beatles reissues for the first month after they came out.  Is it because I was a huge Beatles fan?  No.  Was it because I never heard the Beatles and this music was all fresh and new to me? No.  Was it because I’m a sucker for a gimmick?  Partly.

What really sold me on these reissues more than anything was simple opportunity.  It was an opportunity to revisit albums that I hadn’t put on in years because they were simply too ubiquitous and familiar to even need to be played.  The Beatles have long been one of those bands that I didn’t feel a need to actively listen to anymore, and I think that is true for a lot of people. Not only can you listen to them on the radio anytime you want to (try scanning the AM and FM dials for five minutes and NOT finding at least one Beatles tune), their lyrics are forever imprinted on our minds, their melodies encoded into the double-helix of our DNA.  Why listen to the Beatles when we are eating, breathing, walking, talking and living the Beatles and the culture they created?

There’s a definite downside to this outlook though, and it’s that while we “know” the Beatles, not actively revisiting the albums in full from time to time causes their music to become a jumbled, ambiguous specter. You recall the best lyrics or the most catchy riff, but you pass by the forgotten gems or the rare throwaway track that served as a transition to a great song.  Listening to the full albums are simply the best way to appreciate what the Beatles were all about.

In retrospect, maybe they weren’t.  The original CD masters really were pretty poor and mono versions of many albums (arguably the way the Beatles were truly meant to be heard early in their career) were unavailable.  This year’s stereo and mono reissues, with their top-notch remastering, were like a face-to-face reuniting with an old friend that we had only spoken to over the phone for the past decade.  There was dimension, clarity and humanity again, and you’ve found a whole new respect and attraction to them.

Hey, it’s my top ten list for this year. Hope you like. It’s been a rough year for me. High school sucks.

7.  The Jesus And Mary Chain, “Automatic”

This tape is really cool, but too short even though it has two extra songs on it. It has a really neat rocking sound with electric drums. Triple-X has been playing “Head On” a lot but I like “Blues From A Gun” way better. I don’t care about the state of my hair!

This was a strange music year for me. After spending the past few years immersing myself almost entirely in ambient, drone, and various strains of dance music, I inadvertently returned to my “indie roots” (sorry, pretentious) and listened to a lot more of the straightforward albums that Pitchfork was slinging. I found stuff like the new Flaming Lips, A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Memory Tapes, and, of course, Animal Collective to be refreshing, and it kind of restored my faith in indie music. I gotta throw it out there that I didn’t check out nearly as much new music this year as I have in the past few, so I feel like my list could be stronger. The truth is, I spent a good chunk of the year listening exclusively to Unwound’s Leaves Turn Inside You. Oh, and there were a couple of months when all I listened to was Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday. And nowadays, I’m basically only playing Rage. I was told this is because I’m angsty. So anyway, here’s my top ten albums of 2009:

10. Deuce – EP + Planetary Assault Systems rmx

The techno fans out there are probably well aware of the splashes that both Shed and Marcel Dettmann made last year, with Shedding the Past and Berghain 02 respectively, but for those who aren’t in the know, these two are pretty much putting out the best techno there is right now. While this collaboration yielded very little output this year (a three-track EP and a Planetary Assault Systems remix), they made up for scant quantity with four mind-bending grooves of the highest order. These collective 23 minutes are the most punishing, relentless dance music I heard all year, with the obvious reference point being Jeff Mills’ fabled 1995 DJ set at the Liquid Room in Tokyo and methamphetamines.

9. Ben Frost – By The Throat

Imagine a dude who makes vicious, distorted swells (and the odd wolf growl) with his instruments. Then think about how awesome they might sound paired with Sigur Ros’ string section, Aniima. And then if he added Nico Muhly, a dude from Arcade Fire, and some Swedish metal band. Might as well reference Twin Peaks while he’s at it, huh? Now look at that cover. You want some of this.

8. Brock Van Wey – White Clouds Drift On and On

Perfectly titled, this is a dubbed out, gorgeous collection of overlapping drones, which, much like the clouds overhead, are continually morphing, expanding, and contracting despite seeming stagnant. It’s important to throw it out there that this is on Echospace, which means you’re definitely not dealing with your run-of-the-mill drones here. Even better is that Steve Hitchell (Intrusion) was so enamored with the music, he busted out a track-for-track remix album to be included with the release. If Echospace is one of your go-to labels, make this the next album you check out.

7. Bear in Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth

This one really took me be surprise. Despite my stubborn insistence that indie rock needs to be stuffed with experimental flourishes for me to enjoy it, it turns out that, no, solid songwriting, tons of hooks, spot-on production, and a kick ass drummer is all it really takes to make me happy. Plus, the whole thing smacks of the 80s (in terms of melodies, not production), and the singer kind of sounds like Peter Cetera to me. So there’s that.

6. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

OK, first off…There’s a track on here called “Should’ve Taken Acid With You,” so you get a pretty good idea of what you’re in for. This right here is some straight up ear candy. Like Daft Punk or Tispy before him, Neon Indian takes ridiculously cheesy sound sources and melds them into heady, ass-kicking tracks. There’s not a second that goes by without a sound bouncing all over your headspace, and he coats everything in delay, reverb, phasing, flanging, and anything else that’ll make it sound like a jet passing overhead. Oh, and it’s surprisingly effective for getting toddler-aged girls to shake their booties on a Saturday morning.

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Kommissar Hjuler & Mama Bar-Asylum Lunaticum (Intransitive)

A couple of Danish sound poets/artsy fartsy folks who come up aces with this compilation of some of their ultra limited cdrs. Lots of mouth noises and asking yourself what the hell is going on. The centerpiece is a 25 minute recording of a bike ride Mama Bar took with her young son where she sings to him the entire time.

MF Doom-Born Like This (Lex Records)

The most evil villain strikes again. Worth it just to hear a sample of Bukowski spitting molten lava over Doom’s beats.

Bill Orcutt “A New Way to Pay Old Debts” (Palilalia)

The guitarist from Harry Pussy released a 7″ and this lp this year and both are the tits. It’s just him on an acoustic “4 string Kay.” His playing is pure slash and burn. It’s one part Sonny Sharrock, one part Lightnin’ Hopkins, and five parts awesome!!!!!

Def Leppard “Pyromania” Deluxe Edition Reissue (Polygram)

I love this album. When it comes down to it, this could be my favorite album of all time. It hits all the right buttons. It’s probably due to the fact that this was the first album I ever bought and loved. I remember seeing photos of Steve Clark playing his Flying V and just thinking that it doesn’t get much cooler than that. So not only do you get the album all cleaned up and sounding better than ever, as a bonus, there’s a second disc of Leppard live at the LA Forum in 1983 at (INHO) the height of their powers. I’m a firm believer that when Rick Allen crashed his Corvette in 1985 a lot more was lost than just his arm. Early Leppard is a wonderful combination of NWOBHM, Glam Rock (Bowie and T.Rex to be precise), and some good old Goffin-King songwriting that is catchy as hell. This live show is a testament to their powers as musicians and performers. It’s unbelievable that their new member at the time, Phil Collen, was two weeks away from his 20th birthday. What were you doing when you were 19? Get this and thank me later.

Chris Corsano “Another Dull Dawn” (Ultra Eczema)

Mr. Corsano is a master drummer, trained in the art of fire music. Over the last few years he’s applied his skill to creating homemade instruments that squeal and rattle and cause you to check you ears. Dennis Tyfus owner/operator of Ultra Eczema provides incredible artwork as usual to stimulate your vision as well.

Dugites “Gay Guys”

When Toby and Greg, Stellar Om Source, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Mark McGuire came to town they put on a hell of show. The strange thing is the highlight for me was discovering this track. It came on in between sets and the whole room bobbed their heads along and many even danced a jig, it was infectious. I had to ask Christelle, of Stellar Om who it was. I managed to hunt down a copy of this lp, and have played it for as many people as possible. I’ve yet to see anyone stand still.

Knight Action “Single Girl” (Drone Disco)

Another techno/house/disco whatever you kids call it these days track from back in the day. Real clean and simple, and with some great dialogue in the beginning about how this girl’s friend has a man and and a curfew. The song is a celebration of being a single woman out on the town. Another out of nowhere discovery that had many spins over 2009.

Tarnished Thighs “Butterball Rock” and The Andrew Allsgood Experience “Macho Wizard” (History Clock)

Aside from having the best titles this year. This re-edit label put out these monsters either in 08 or 09. Butterball Rock has some coked out guitar, heavy disco beats and incredibly stupid lyrics. That’s a winner in my book. Macho Wizard is a re-edit of Heart’s Magic Man. It extends all the right parts and when the vocals drop in it hits you like a bomb.

Alpha 66 “Pax Sovietica” (KSV)

Tom Smith from To Live and Shave in LA has quietly been putting out some of the most challenging and life affirming releases over the past year. I’ll let the man explain this one “…this paean to Cuban-American paranoia was hatched in Miami Beach during an impossibly muggy, appropriately ominous June afternoon by yours truly, and quickly filed away after an ex-girlfriend implored me to burn the tapes, lest I be murdered by anti-Castro extremists. I merely plopped a cassette into a boombox, tuned the unit to a local AM station specializing in overdriven salsa and merengue, and edited the proceedings in real time.”
The results are spectacular.

Josh F is 1/2 the of noise damaged black metal garage punks “Black Beauty”

Best of 2009

I have to admit that I don’t like making year-end lists. First, I’m lazy. I can’t remember what the hell I listened to last month, forget last March. Second, I think the idea of actually naming the “best” albums of the year is a bit dramatic. Do we really need a bunch of opinionated music fans/critics claiming they know what is “best”? Really? (Ed Note: Yes, yes we do.)

All I can do is tell you about a few albums, perhaps a few songs, that I enjoyed listening to this year. Take it for what it is. (Third, I don’t really “follow” everything going on in music as the year goes by, so as I always listen to “older” music, I may have to include it as part of my “best” of 2009.)

Two more things: First, I love songs. Especially ones I can sing along to. Direct songs. What can I say: I’m a simple man. Second, I spent a lot of time hanging out with Vermont musician/composer Michael Chorney this year, so his name pops up a few times.

So, now that you understand me utterly and completely:

It Disappears by Seth Eames & Michael Chorney

Michael gave me a copy of this in the cold months of early spring, right around the time my stepfather had a severe stroke. I drove I-89 and I-91 a lot during that time, and I can say these stripped-bare recordings with Seth Eames’ world-weary lyrics and vocals were a perfect soundtrack to those damp, gray days. A perfect album for imperfect times.

“The Way It Will Be” by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

A recommendation from Mr. Chorney, who kept talking about this unreleased Gillian and David song that sounded like something off Neil Young’s On the Beach. In the best of the available videos on YouTube, David and Gillian lock into one of their infamously slow, dirge-like acoustic-guitar rhythms, then start singing in beautiful, haunting unison. Dave Rawlings has an uncanny ability to sing behind Gillian in a way that you’re not even sure he’s there; his voice is more like light on a table or a ghost hovering near her. The chorus has one of the best lines I heard all year: “The way you made it, that’s the way it will be.”

Hadestown by Anais Mitchell

Anais Mitchell’s folk opera Hadestown has grown up a lot over the last few years. It started as a stage production playing rooms in Vermont like the Barre Opera House and Vergennes Opera House. The songs were catchy, the acting honest, and the orchestra, Michael Chorney’s Magic City, lent a funky, expansive drive to the musical numbers. The rough mixes of the forthcoming Hadestown album are a completely different animal: With vocals by Bon Iver, Ani DiFranco, and Greg Brown, and a band that includes some of Brooklyn’s finest jazz musicians, the album has drama, drive, and a musical sophistication that prove Anais Mitchell is far more than a folksinger. It’ll either blow up in 2010 or become a criminally underappreciated classic.

Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear

I tend to ignore a lot of hype about flawlessly dressed bands of skinny white hipsters from Brooklyn and all their ultra-smart indie pop. That doesn’t mean I should. It’s just jaded foolishness. But I was curious about Veckatimest, so I bought it on vinyl. At first, I didn’t get it. It didn’t grab me. But then I moved into a new house, set up my turntable, and started listening to the vinyl instead of the files. Suddenly the rhythmic interplay between the acoustic guitar and drums demanded attention. (“Idiot!”) The understated drama of the lead vocals pulled me in. The harmonies killed. (“Oooh!”) I was hooked. I’ve turned more friends on to this album in the last few months than any other this year. And all I had to do was play it. It’s was 100% the “I’m now going to sell five copies of Three E.P.s by The Beta Band” scene from High Fidelity. No one had even heard of Grizzly Bear before hearing them. If you want to sell records, track two, “Two Weeks,” is the one to play over and over.

“Temezcal” by Monsters of Folk

I didn’t really get into the Monsters of Folk album. The idea, of course, was great: put Connor Oberst (Bright Eyes), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward (She & Him), and Mike Mogis together and you get the folk-rock supergroup of the decade. But I found the album hard to get into. It had that feeling of three distinct talents and a producer all bringing songs, each of which ends up sounding like the records each guy makes without the other guys in the band. But then I found a YouTube video of the quartet playing Oberst’s “Temezcal” with M. Ward singing lead vocals. His deep, echo-enhanced vocal has crags and valleys of dark mystery that match the lyrics perfectly, making this the best song the band recorded for the album—but didn’t release.

Demo2009 by Surprise Me Mr. Davis

I’ve been waiting for this album ever since the band recorded it with Brett Hughes in Burlington’s own Old North End in the summer of 2008, after singer/songwriter Nathan Moore was turned away at the U.S.-Canada border. (They don’t let felonious musicians into Canada, apparently.) A collection of songs the band wrote in spring 2008, this record has sweat stains on its shirt and grit under its fingernails; it’s evidence of four guys who have been on the road constantly for well over a decade hitting their collective stride and writing some of the best songs of their careers. The biggest surprise and delight is Brad Barr showing some old-school, Sam-Cooke-style pop-love on “That’s the Way.” It’s my favorite song right now.

Phish’s performances at Bonnaroo

I grew up listening to Phish, just like a lot of kids did, during the mid-90s. They turned me onto so many things—bluegrass, country, jazz, doo-wop, Zappa, fusion, the use of tension, release, and humor in music, and most importantly, improvisation. (I was a shut-in until ’93.) What that really means is they taught me how to listen. I’m not the most rabid of Phish fans, and I hadn’t seen the band since their unfortunate implosion at Coventry in 2004. But I can say that after dozens of artists perform at Bonnaroo—from Allen Toussaint to Nine Inch Nails to Merle Haggard to Of Montreal—I can say that Phish’s two nights on the main stage were a master-class in live performance that every artist should have been invited to.

As far as I know, there is not one band that has taken 20th-century music in its many forms, listened to it, learned how it works, and put all of that knowledge to work to create something new and unique the way Phish has. And I am certain there is no band that can improvise as freely, while keeping the music accessible, as Phish does. Though many folks may not think of them this way, they’re the world’s most popular experimental band. They use American pop and folk music forms to launch into fearless group improvisation, creating new music in the moment in a way that makes tens of thousands of people feel something extraordinary. They feed the mind easily as much as the body. I won’t deny their shortcomings, but I know they should be seen as one of the most vital, innovative electric bands playing American music today.

Ok, we’re back with the second installment of “The Top 10 Reissues of 2009″.  Seeing as all such lists are completely subjective and as such subject to the whims of their imperfect, ego-driven, sex-god authors (well, at least this list is), you can expect to see a few albums you may not agree with, or maybe never even heard of.  Yes, I’m that cool—I listen to albums you’ve never even heard of.  Sometimes albums that haven’t even been written yet.  Albums that only exist in my own warped, feeble mind.  MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, I lead a sad life.

Anyhoo, I chose the albums that I did not in the hopes of being esoteric and cool (I’m thirty, work a corporate job and have a double chin and a bad haircut; I gave up on pursuing “cool” a while ago) but because I really, truly love these albums.  They are my “desert island” albums, my shoulder to cry on when I’ve had a bad day, or a friend to dance with when I need to celebrate.  I know I could find real people to fill these roles, but it’s easier to buy things.  Plus most of the people I know don’t make very good music.  Herb for example.  (Just kidding Herb.)

So here’s #6-4 of my favorite reissues of the year.  If you haven’t heard them, pick up a copy at Pure Pop (or have them order you a copy if it’s not in stock).  If you end up loving the album, buy me a beer.  If you hate it, kick me in nuts and demand your money back.  Or just leave a comment in the field below.  Enjoy!

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6) Marble Sky – “The Sad Return”

Underground cassette culture can be a curse or a blessing.  While it can be truly amazing to discover the next great noise god on your coveted, handmade uber-limited release C-20, it can also be incredibly frustrating when (because you were too broke or not in the know enough to purchase it) the album everyone is talking about goes out-of-print.

This was the case with “The Sad Return”, the first album by Marble Sky (side project of Impregnable/Secret Abuse/Roman Torment/etc. etc.’s Jeff Witscher). Released originally in a run of only 15 cassette copies on Callow God in 2007, “The Sad Return” became one of the most talked about underground albums of that year.  The lo-fi, blissful synthesizer drones on the album recalled everything from Brian Eno’s “Apollo…” to Eliane Radigue’s Arp works to New Age pioneers like Steven Halpern or Laraaji, yet had a unique, decayed beauty that was distinctly its own.

While low-quality mp3 rips of the album existed online, for the fans clamoring for a physical copy it seemed like a proper reissue would never come.  Finally, nearly two years after the initial release, the wonderful Students of Decay label released a gorgeous, remastered version of “The Sad Return” on CD, with sophisticated and evocative artwork pro-printed on a standard digipak.  This time, they did a run of 500 copies, so this one should stay in print for a little while….but I wouldn’t sit on it.

5) Klaus Schulze – “X”/”Mirage”

2009 was a big year for reviving 70s progressive synth and Berlin School electronic music.  While new artists like Oneohtrix Point Never paid homage with bliss riffage that owed heavily to the period, the nostalgia kick was also fueled by vinyl and CD reissues of some classic albums from two of the original masters, Klaus Schulze and Kraftwerk

Klaus Schulze started his career as a drummer for prog ambient legends Tangerine Dream and later was a founding member of Ash Ra Tempel.  However, he is probably best remembered for his solo works, which constituted some of the first true “ambient” music.  “Mirage” and “X” were two of his greatest works from what is arguable his greatest working period, the late 1970s.

“Mirage”, first released in 1977, is easily the darker of the two albums, with an abundance of minor keys and heavy, brooding oscillations.  The album starts off with the haunting and lovely “Velvet Voyage” sounds just as its name implies, moving gentle from one theme to the next and blending lovely synthesized vocal and string choruses with sequenced rhythms and burning riffage.  The simple chiming, xylophone-esque sequence that starts off the second track, “Crystal Lake”, could easily be mistaken for an early John Carpenter movie soundtrack.  However, the track quickly moves along to introduce increasingly complex polyphony as sequence builds upon sequence, then fading out to a beautiful, droning New Age bliss-out.  The final track, “In Cosa Crede Chi Non Crede?”, is the shortest piece on the album (it still has an epic 19-minute+ runtime) but provides a nice gentle, jingling comedown from the heaviness of the previous two 1/2 hour epics.

“X” was Schulze’s 1978 follow-up to “Mirage” and despite the short amount of time between releases, it shows a tremendous amount of growth.  The compositions are more complex and allow for much less subtle displays of technical skill and mastery of dynamics.  Compared to the relative sedateness of “Mirage”, “X” simply rocks out. From the proggy riffage of “Friedrich Nietzsche” that could put Rick Wakeman to shame through to driving motorik of “Frank Herbert”, “X” is in many ways a more confident and arguably more commercial Schulze release that foreshadows his work in the 1980s, while still retaining some of the Berlin School elements that make his 1970s work so powerful.

4) Kraftwerk, “The Catalog”

Everybody knows Kraftwerk.  Even people who told listen to electronic music (hell, even your mom) will recognize the main riff from “Autobahn” or recognize a picture of the group from their heyday.  Whether it’s the kitschy, commercial quality of their later work or the famous “man-machine” robotic quality of their stage presence/marketing persona, Kraftwerk somehow became an ubiquitous part of our modern cultural zeitgeist.

So  Kraftwerk is the most famous German electronic group of the 1970s…..but how many people do you know who own their albums?  They’re one of those bands that everyone has heard of, but not that many listen to.  A big part of the reason is that their sound is frozen in time, encased in early electronic music kitschy-ness that can turn some people off.  But a bigger reason is availability and quality of the existing recordings.  The original vinyl releases have become increasingly rare and expensive for good quality copies, and the original CD releases suffered from poor mastering.

This year, all that changed when Kraftwerk reissued eight of their best-known albums individually and as a boxed set called “The Catalog” (the name is a bit misleading, as it doesn’t include Kraftwerk’s more experimental, krautrock inspired early work) on both CD and vinyl formats.   Finally, you get to hear Kraftwerk as they were meant to be heard, and if there was ever a band whose albums demanded the ultimate in pristine quality, it is Kraftwerk.  While they wrote some melodies and vocal harmonies that rival The Beatles and The Beach Boys (well, at least their lesser works….) the real star of the Kraftwerk show are the synthesizers.  Hearing these albums remastered makes you realize just how powerful it must have been to hear these machines live for the first time, the completely inorganic zippering highs and gut-thumping low end.

An analog synthesizer is a beautiful thing, and Kraftwerk’s songs were nothing more than an ode to the machines they loved, just like a e.e. cummings love poem is as much an ode to the words themselves as to any human object.  It’s no accident that Kraftwerk called one of their best albums “The Man-Machine”.  They wanted to be robots; they wanted to be nothing more than passive operators of this wonderful equipment, the ultimate “gear heads”.  As a result, it makes Kraftwerk’s rise to popular success even more impressive.

More than anything though, these are just fun songs that provide a nice historical look at the origins of modern electronic dance music.  If you’re a Kraftwerk initiate, I recommend picking up “Computer World” or “The Man-Machine” and going from there.  Just don’t be surprised if you develop an overwhelming desire to become a robot.

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Ok, that’s it for Part 2.  Join us next week for Part 3, featuring the three best reissues of 2009!

First off, let me introduce myself.  My name is Jay Blanchard, but some of you probably know me better as Spitting Out Teeth, the moniker I’ve used for my now-defunct music blog and radio show on 105.9 The Radiator.  It’s also my nom de plume on the comments fields of various local music and culture blogs, including Aether Everywhere, The Contrarian and the very Pure Pop blog you’re reading right now.  I’m also an experimental musician, recording and/or playing live with Solah, Yellowknife, the le duo and my solo project, VIKOMT.

But who cares about me….you’re here for music.  Specifically, lists about music.  Even more specifically, lists about good music that came out in 2009, which is what I promise to deliver.  While I could easily write a top ten (or twenty….or fifty) list of my favorite CD, vinyl, cassette, reel-to-reel, wax cylinder, etc. releases from this glorious annus horribilis (didn’t this year suck?  and doesn’t that phrase look like “horrible anus”?  didn’t he steal that joke from “Saxondale“?), I’ve decided instead to focus on some of the amazing reissues that came out in 2009.

Why focus on reissues?  Well, partly because in this post-modern age with ever-advancing technology, I believe in a work of art as a living document, and I’m amazed by how a great technician can improve on an already great album and introduce it anew to a modern generation.  Or I’m just an old fogey who’s locked in the past.  Tomayto, Tomahto.

Ok, less talky, more listy.  Here ’tis.

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10) Warp20 box set

Like many of you, I came of age musically in the early-to-mid 1990′s, a epic time of musical innovation, especially in electronic music.  While genres such as House and Jungle were finally starting to reach much broader audiences (did anyone over the age of 15 in 1995 not know at least one person with a set of turntables & a mixer?), more esoteric forms of electronica were starting to show up in the underground.

While most of the electronic music showing up in clubs had steady beats and easy ambient trance synthlines, more avant-garde explorers of the format were creating harsh digital glitches and cut-and-paste rhythms that were anything but danceable.  While the music went under many different names, it was most commonly known as “IDM”, or Intelligent Dance Music.  At the forefront were artists such as Autechre, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Plaid, Prefuse 73, Richard Devine and Jamie Lidell.  While there music varied greatly, they all shared one thing in common—Warp.

“From MTV intros to movie soundtracks to television commercials, the sounds of Warp became a pervading part of the cultural landscape, almost subversively gaining mass appeal through its rapid appropriation.”

Warp Records (founded in 1989) was one of the first, and most definitely the most prominent, of IDM record labels.  Starting in 1989, Warp blended cutting-edge album artwork with music that challenged both the mind and emotions.  In many ways, Warp releases became the soundtrack of the mid-90s, a fractured timespace of pre-millennial chaos and exploding technological change.  From MTV intros to movie soundtracks to television commercials, the sounds of Warp became a pervading part of the cultural landscape, almost subversively gaining mass appeal through its rapid appropriation.  I certainly can’t think of another example where avant-garde music so quickly and completely became embraced by the mainstream media.

However, the hottest fires burn out the fastest, and as the confusion of the late 1990s led to post-millenial malaise, IDM quickly lost its fanbase.   Taken out of its cultural context, the music failed to have the same appeal, and experimental audiences turned in droves to  the sedate post-rock, ambient and drone sounds coming from labels such as Kompakt, Kranky and Constellation.  However, Warp somehow soldiered on as a label, continuing their excellent taste in artists with releases by Boards of Canada, Grizzly Bear, Broadcast, Bibio and many others.

To celebrate its 20th birthday, Warp released the Warp20 box set this year, a massive 4xCD, 3xLP collection of some of the best tracks they ever released.  This is one set that truly looks as good as it sounds as well, featuring Warp’s famous minimalist white-and-purple design style and abstract 3D imagery.  My only complaint about the set would be the lack of a DVD of Warp’s highly influential music videos, but a great collection of Warp videos already exists and can be purchased separately.  For anyone who wasn’t old enough to have heard this music at the time of its creation, or for those of you who want to relive your halcyon days, this is your time to get a true Warp experience.

9) King Crimson “In the Court of the Crimson King”/ “Red”

Ok, I’ll admit it—I’m not a big prog rock fan.  As much as I appreciate the complex time signatures and love the analog synth riffage, it’s just a genre that appeals more to me in theory than in practice.  That said, I was still pretty blown away by listening to these two reissues by the legendary King Crimson.

First off, I’ve been doing a lot of production lately so I’m becoming more and more of a tech geek by the day.  As a result, I’m always in awe of a really good remix or remastering of an album.  It’s amazing how some fader tweaks & a bit of EQ and compression in the right hands can make a dull album shine like a diamond (or vice versa in the wrong hands–think Metallica’s latest).  For “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “Red”, the great Robert Fripp teamed up with Steven Wilson to create a new (and MUCH better) stereo mix of each album, as well as a 5.1 surround sound version.  Each album also features a bonus disc of alternate takes or mixes of album tracks.

Another reason to love these albums—King Crimson isn’t your standard sterile virtuoso prog band.  There are some absolutely beautiful moments on these albums, full of true emotion.  And did I mention these guys can rock a metal riff?  Some very Sabbath-like moments on here. So whether you’re a prog fan or not, these albums are worth picking up.

8 ) The Rolling Stones – “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” (40th Anniversary box set)

Ah, The Rolling Stones.  Say what you will about their laughable entries into psychedelia in the mid-60s….or their even more laughable forays into reggae in the 70s….or their just plain piss-poor attempts at a return to blues-rock form in the 80s.  One thing you can’t deny however is that from 1968′s “Beggar’s Banquet” until 1972′s “Exile on Main Street”, these guys were untouchable.  And while their albums from this period are masterpieces of down-and-dirty rock and roll, many who lived through the period would argue that the studio tapes just didn’t capture their best work, which was happening on stage during their raunchy and drug-fueled live performances.

“Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” is the Stones’ sole official live release from this era, capturing what is arguably their greatest performance ever, a November 1969 show at NYC’s Madison Square Garden (along with a few songs from a Maryland show on the same tour).  Some of you may know this show from the Maysles’ brothers’ documentary “Gimme Shelter”.  While the film helps give the performance context, you don’t need images to release that this show was pure electric magic.  With Mick’s vocals ranging from seductive purr to brutal lion howl and Keith’s guitar licks cutting like a razorblade, it’s no surprise that the great Lester Bangs said ” I have no doubt that it’s the best rock concert ever put on record.”

This year, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the performances, the album was reissued in box set form to include previously unreleased bonus tracks from the concerts, as well as tracks by show openers B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner.  Long live rock and roll.

7) The Stone Roses, “The Stone Roses”

I will always remember the first time I heard The Stone Roses.  It was 1997 and I just couldn’t shut up about Radiohead.  My friend Mike, who was a few years older than me, was getting pretty sick of it & decided it was a good time to try to turn me onto something else.  He asked me “Have you ever listened to The Stone Roses? No? Then borrow this.  But it’s my favorite album, so I want it back.”

Skeptical that I could appreciate anything other than OK Computer entering my earholes at that moment in time, I reluctantly took the album.  Half just to humor Mike, and the other half because I was intrigued by the Jackson Pollock-esque cover art (which I later discovered was created by the band’s guitarist, John Squire).  I went back to my apartment and popped the CD into my stereo.  About 30 seconds into “I Wanna Be Adored” I was completely sold.

While the Ian Brown‘s ethereal siren song vocals and the lush production is enough to make this album a classic, it’s really the tremendous variety of sounds encompassed during its 11 tracks.  From the post-punk overtones of “I Wanna Be Adored” to the jangle-pop of “She Bangs the Drums” to the abstract looping beauty of “Don’t Stop” to Irish folk song on “Elizabeth My Dear”.  I can hear echoes of everyone from The Beatles to The Kinks to Syd Barrett to Joy Division to Happy Mondays to…..you name it.  This is truly a postmodern pop album, completely unafraid of genre-hopping and paying homage to influences.  NME’s claim that this is “the greatest debut album ever” is more than arguable, but it’s definitely a contender.

This year, on the 20th anniversary of the album’s release, “The Stone Roses” was reissued as either a single CD, a single LP, a 2xCD & 1xDVD deluxe set, and a massive “collector’s edition” 3xCD, 3xLP, 1xDVD set for the true obsessives.  No matter what version you pick up, you’re in for a treat.

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That’s all for now folks.  Look for part two of this saga, selections #6-4, next week!

You + me = something

I worked for Pure Pop after many years of distracting its employees from doing that very thing…so it’s only fair.

Pure Pop was one of the last of my iconic Burlington jobs…and although I was fairly certain I was unqualified for all those previous positions, I was least qualified of all for Pure Pop. I mean, sure…I was cynical, sarcastic, and opinionated and with a soupcon (Ed. – You mean soup can, right?) of misanthropy…but what Vermonter isn’t? Of all those employable assets, last on the list was musical knowledge. I couldn’t tell my Pete Zorn from John Cage (Ed – Never even heard of John Zorn…) …I just liked drawing pick cards, eating chips and salsa and putting on my fair share of Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. After work I would join those fabulous co-workers at Metronome or Higher Ground to just shut the fuck up and listen…and that was rapture.

My whole lifetime in Burlington feels like one gigantic rock show…my memories from the years 2000-2006 smell like cigarettes and beer…but they have a great soundtrack. I wasn’t a fan of music before I moved out east, but a few accidental friendships turned into a backstage pass to the thrill of a live show.

I miss those shows. Now that I’m back here in Cincinnati (Doing great! Working here! Doing this!)

I wish I’d taken better notes and taken more pictures…So my list for this article are some of the top shows I saw in those days and with those people.

Beginning with Casey nearly dragging me to the Frank Black in-store at Pure Pop – I had no idea who Frank Black OR the Pixies were…and most of what I remember from that show was that I was standing in the midst of about 40 people that were all just staring at Black Francis…I felt the appreciation in the tiny cavern of Pure Pop…and seeing those people who were becoming my friends openly thankful of the opportunity to be in such a tiny audience lit the flame of being a fan in me.

When I was unemployed, I traded a bootleg copy of Photoshop for a space on the list of The Beta Band show at the Winooski Higher Ground. For that show, I went by myself, ran into a crush who was making out with another girl…and then the band came on the night exploded. I had seen them before in Olympic Park, but being in a club on a freezing February night felt so much more intimate…

The Coral – first in Montreal and second in Boston – Although I would never be so presumptuous to say that I discovered The Coral, I felt like I got in on the ground floor with these guys. The first time, Mia and I drove to Montreal with only the Skeleton Key EP to listen to. The Coral was the opening act that night…and we knew all the words even then…six months later, Mia and I drove to Boston to see them headline, with Jet as the opener. I skipped Jet (unfortunately) but was back in time to make my way to the front and watch this 6 piece band from Liverpool command the room.

Did you know that Sue Norton can defy gravity? That’s what happened during the Interpol show…again at HG in Winooski. It was during NYC that Mia and I looked over and Nortie was full on floating. If you know Sue, you know that’s a true story.

I first saw the band Tarantula at 242 (I think….this is where the better notes come in) and I can’t remember who turned me on to them, but I remember seeing them at least 2 more times in rapid succession…at Metronome and in the new Higher Ground’s second stage. I loved them from the first moment because the crowd they drew was fabulous…they pulled members of ever musical fandom…although the audiences were sort of small, it still felt like everyone was there.

I can’t leave out the local bands…but I can’t narrow down even my top ten shows…I will however say that if it wasn’t for Carrigan, The Cancer Conspiracy, Brett Hughes, Neil Cleary, Missy Bly, Charles (Dead or Alive, Swale, Led Loco, The Interior, The Magic is Gone, The Jazz Guys, Barbacoa, The Smittens and a million others, my life would have been so boring.

Well, it’s coming around to that time of year again, kiddies, and if you’re anything like me (God help you), your listening habits tend to be influenced by the weather.  Darker days call for darker ambient, and what better holiday to bust that shit out than Halloween?!   Throw out those spooooooky Halloween sounds cassettes (or at least splice and sample them for beats or something), and click below for your new freakish soundtrack.  You can do what you want with it, but my plan is to rock it on my front porch while I pass out candy, which will most likely be a huge hit with all of the burgeoning experimental music fans up here in St. Albans.

1) “Suspicious Drone” – Demdike Stare

2) “No. 1″ – Nuda Veritas

3) “Zenit” – Rumforskning

4) “Lambing” – Philip Jeck

5) “Consigned to a Yesterday” – The Caretake

6) “Why Are You Fearful” – Desiderii Marginis

7) “Dead People’s Things” – Deathprod

8 ) “Listen, The Snow is Falling” – Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet

11) “Drivis” – Elegi

12) “Ictus” – Letum