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• Unsung geniuses of Jamaican soul (The Fader)

• These musicians were pioneers. They built everything from the ground up… (XLR8R)

• Incredible (Everett True, Village Voice)

• Theses reissues are revelatory. (All Music Guide)

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• December 31, 2009 at 02:58 AM

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC 3RD ANNUAL YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  

  It's happened again, the year, slow and ponderous, has churned to an inevitable conclusion.  It's been a year of vast changes in the world and right here in the underground liar of Light In The Attic.  And so much change has occurred - from the death of pop stars to the election of an African-American president - we knew that our little lists couldn't do it justice.  Thus, as we've done now two years running we've reached out the good folk that we love the world over and asked them for their top ten lists.  And we've deemed it, again,:

  READ YEAR ONE HERE!

  READ YEAR TWO HERE!

  We've got lists from musicians, writers, editors, bloggers, co-owners of certain record labels, Spanish music curators, and on and on and on and on ... there's a staggering pile of information below and we implore you, dig in, it'll be well worth your while.

  This year we'd like to thank our main man Strath Shepard for bringing together that fantastic image above.  You're a gem Strath Shepard, a goddamn holiday gem.

  So please, order some pizza, cracked three or four beers and get ready ...

  IT'S THE 3RD ANNUAL LIGHT IN THE ATTIC YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  Our Light In The Attic Brethren: Robbie Hill, Black On White Affair, Robbie Hill’s Family Affair, Wheedle’s Groove

  

  Favorite Things of 2009 All Time Entertainer/Performer - Michael Jackson Movie - a. Wheedle's Groove, the Movie b. The Temptations Food - Mexican Club to Perform In - The Triple Door Holiday - Christmas Music - ANYTHING by Michael Jackson Candy - Butterfingers TV Show - America's Most Wanted Stephen John Kalinich, Poet

  

  5 Favorite Poets… Walt Whitman Rainer Maria Rilke T.S.Eliot Shakespeare Edwin Markham... 5 Favorite LA Restaurants Spago Peppones Le Votre Sante Pacific Dining Car Saketini 5 favorite Home Run Hitters Ted Kluszewski Mickey Mantle Hank Aaron Babe Ruth Willie Mays Ever Kipp, Tiny Human Publicity 1 The Sheng: It’s a bowl of flutes! 2 Chipotle peppers: Still awesome despite media oversaturation. 3 Milt Jackson: So vibey! 4 Eggs over easy 5 Pre-verbal toddler-speak: language of the nitrous-huffing wood elves. 6 Owen Roe 7 Starting your own company: terrifying, and terrifyingly gratifying. Eddie Shaw, Bass, Monks

  

  Happy New Year, Light in the Attic. Having had my first fifteen minutes of fame and now my second fifteen minutes, to be a Monk does not feel all that bad. The group survived because the Monks are a “we” group, not an “I” group.  There was no “I” until there was a “we.”  Let’s face it. I’m a monk. You’re a monk. We’re all monks – just like the people monking around, above. For 2010, I am finishing a new book PASSING THROUGH MINNESODA AND OTHER ALTERED STATES (732 pages). There are a couple of chapters about the monks in it, but basically it’s about a trumpet player who thinks he’s a pigeon. Even as I do a lot of text writing, music is still the defining activity for me.  I don’t like to listen to old music because the moment of its relevance is normally past.  I’m always looking for the new.  I’m looking for salvation.  I’m looking for an answer. FAVORITES FOR 2009 Favorite places to hear new music:  Austin, TX (naturally) and Buffalo, NY Favorite new groups: (changing all the time) Here’s a couple – 1. Ghostland Observatory – Two zany/weird guys prove that the smallest group possible, is not a trio.  They’re way out there – probably causing a lot of people to scratch their heads and say, “Huh?” 2. Phoenix – There are a couple of different versions of them..  When they test the limits they go somewhere. 3. And there are my friends: The Nuns – Them Bird Things – Kelley Stolz – Grave Brothers Deluxe – 5,6,7,8s – Mike and The Ravens. - Nista Niji Nista – The Raincoats - I have forgotten a few, I know. Favorite older groups: 1. Nine Inch Nails – I saw Trent Reznor live in Reno.  It was my favorite live performance; better than Charles Aznavour who I saw in L.A. (even through I did like his performance). Who says French Chanson singers are not interesting? NIN was over the top. “I want to Fuck You Like An Animal” made me hide underneath my seat. 2. Radiohead – Their pop music always sounds new, even as the singer often sounds like he’s whining. That’s a compliment because there is a lot to cry about. 3. Faust – Klangbad never gets old - so perhaps the context from which it came was ahead of its time. 4. Masserati – A group of guitar players who know how to arrange and play. Great guitar music. 5. Propelerhead – for hip hop, of course – as well as Chemical Brothers - and Eminem – don’t tell anyone. 6. And there are my friends: Henry Rollins – Wayne Kramer - Mark E Smith – Genesis P’Orridge - I have forgotten a few, I know. Favorite jazz: For me, jazz lasts longer than pop-rock-country-folk. At one time or another almost all the jazz musicians were my favorites. My favorites change from day to day. For today they are: 1. Flatland – interesting arrangements 2. Brad Mehldau – jazz piano – rock drums – rough on purpose. 3. Mathias Eick – German trumpet player who plays sparse long notes. On a long rough airplane ride from Warsaw to NYC, he kept me totally in one piece (meditating). Favorite Country: I haven’t been near a cow or a pig in a long time. 1. Charlie Haden’s new release, Rambling Boy - Charlie is also a great jazz bass player - best known as working with Ornette Coleman. Favorite Classical: 1. Still it’s Henryk Góki – perhaps classical music has a longer shelf life. Favorite Light in the Attic Recordings: I haven’t heard all the Light in the Attic artists. 1. Karen Dalton – LITA’s Billie Holiday.  My wife listens to it constantly. 2. Wheedle’s Groove – reminds me of a group I used to work in. “Jesus Christ Pose” got my attention. 3. Black Angels – Rough, raw – in your face. I could get in a barroom fight with this music in the background. 4. Oz Mutantes – a lot different than Milton Nasciemento (one of my favorite Brazilian singer/songwriters.  These songs make me think because they have so many different influences. 5. Free Design – They were too good to make it in NYC – part jazz, part Hi-Lo’s, part ABBA; good singers. Some groups sound better live. Free Design is one of them. They have great back-up musicians.  One of my favorite cuts is an old Duke Ellington tune, “I Like The Sunrise.” I first heard this song, many years ago, sung by Mahalia Jackson. Yes, they are too good to be pop/rock stars. Noah Sanders, Mr. Blog, Criterion Quest

  

  It's been a hell of a year folks. Big moves, upheavals aplenty on the emotional front, and hell, I moved in with a lady. Along the way I've listened to a whole lotta tunes, eaten a whole lotta good food, and seen a whole lotta good shit on various sized boob-tubes. It's been a challenging one, but let me agree with Matthew Sullivan when I say, one of the best. Hope it was just as hard and just as rewarding for you. Top of the Pops - 2009 1. Justin Vernon. The man does nothing wrong. Call me a softy, call me a sell-out, this man makes my heart swell and my pants short. You, you're a cold-hearted grinch. 2. San Francisco. Fuck bread bowls and rice-a-roni, this is the wackiest city in the U.S. of A. Nicknamed the "City of the Perpetual Teenager" and for all the right reasons. 3. The Sandwitches. A late entry to my playlist, but this trio manages to ride the line between 50s doo-wop, Neko Case and oh, I'll say it, Dolly Parton. Matt Sullivan poo-pooed this, but I poo-poo him. 4. Discovering the ones I previously spited. My brother used to try and push his twangy country crap on me and I rebuked him at every turn ... turns out the dirty bastard was correcto and now I'm swimming in the seas of Cohen, Waits, and Bill Callahan. Justin, you're not so much a wanker after all. 5. Garage rock's gritty revival. Perhaps I'm a little deeper 'cause of the SF scene, but Jesus I dipped myself baptismal style in to modern garage rock this year, and for every cigarette burn, I found a gem or four. Call it hipster music, I call it rock 'n' roll. 6. Upheaval - emotional, locational, whatever - it's good for the soul. 7. Alex Healy. Strath Shepard Art Director/Graphic Designer, Pacific Standard

  

  Eirik Johnson at the Henry (up through the end of January). No Age playing a live score to L'Ours (The Bear), the 1989 film by Jean-Jacques Annaud at the Triple Door. The early-'70s d.i.y. architecture influences in this Hussein Chalayan ad campaign, the color in this Miu Miu campaign, and the vast minimalism of this Jil Sander campaign. Richard Avedon at ICP. The opening of the Highline.

  

  Isabel Toledo at FIT. This Miranda July and Roe Ethridge photo series for Vice Magazine. RIP, Irving Penn, Dash Snow, Sam Haskins, et al. Jake One "Home" video (directed by Zia Mohajerjasbi). Lil' Bacon. Sipreano, DJ, writer, producer, Light In The Attic, beyond

  

  1) The Sadies featuring The Mighty Pope - Wow! Late addition y'all. From the ashes of Jamaica to Toronto comes Canada's #1 soul brother with holy musical backing from cosmic country/rock/garage/R&B brothers, The Sadies. LIVE on this year's The Hour Christmas Special (CBC, airing late December 2009, check your listings for local airtimes)! More history in the making! 2) Vancouver - Returned to the coast after 3 years living in Toronto. Loving the beach (Third), ocean (Pacific), mountains (North Shore), Power River (Haslam Lake), friends (you know who you are), family (ditto), food (Chinese, Japanese mostly), and nuff music (Sports, Lightning Dust, and Pink Mountaintops all released new albums in 2009!) 3) Sweet Grass Music - Was stoked to lay down a new 2009 mix ("Sweet Grass Music") for long time homies, Sandinista/2Step from Tokyo, Japan. All-Canadian folk, rock, and psych from the archives. 4) Rodriguez in Vancouver - June saw Vancouver's first taste of Detroit-singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez at the dearly departed Richard's On Richards. Was lucky enough to play vinyl at this event (which also included a solo set from Stephen McBean's Pink Mountaintops and more than able backing from SF's The Fresh & Only's). 5) Vinyl recap - Well, my passion for vinyl has ebbed and flowed quite a bit over the past year. Blogs and Ebay have killed many musical mysteries for us. At this point, I'm looking for the unknown. All genres. Listening with open ears. Biggest find of 2009 is easily Art Snider's Corny Songs I Play On My Organ (Sound Canada). Here's to more... Matt Sullivan, Co-Owner, Light In The Attic

  

  No question the best year of my life… Tying the knot When the economy hits bottom build a bar in your garage Leaving South By Southwest at 8 AM to visit Snow’s BBQ The year of Sixto Rodriguez – seeing the man play at the Barbican in the UK, then having the honor to tour manage the West Coast jaunt Wheedle’s Groove film wraps.  Soon after wins Audience Award at Indie Memphis Film Festival A Great Day In Seattle, Garfield High School, September 27, 2009 Kris Kristofferson & Merle Haggard at The Paramount Theater, Seattle Visiting Stax Museum and meeting Stax alum Lou Bond, Deanie Parker and Al Bell, along with Communications Director Tim Sampson. 2009 Light In The Attic Road Trip – once again we embarked on a fruitful journey.  3,000 miles, 10 days, 50 record stores. Sandy, Cody, Troy & Tyson:  THANK YOU! Deep Water – Film Documentary Eating the best meal of my life at Table, Asheville, NC followed by good times with the crew from Harvest Records Leonard Cohen at WAMU Theater, Seattle Big S Bar, Memphis, TN with the one and only Andria Lisle The Story of Anvil Big Star – Keep An Eye On The Sky WFMU Record Convention – every record you’ve ever wanted under one roof “Song of a Sinner” by Top Drawer from the compilation Forge Your Own Chains (Now Again) – highly recommended when cruising the Los Angeles highways.  Put on repeat and float away New sounds… Bill Callahan, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Soundcarriers, Naomi Shelton, The Amazing, Heartless Bastards, Fruit Bats, Animal Collective, The Fresh & Onlys, Phosphorescent, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Malakai - Snowflake 12", El Perro del Mar, Strange Boys… Best Blog – Pacific Standard Still Bill – I could sit and listen to Bill Withers talk for hours. Seeing the premiere of Twilight: New Moon in Houston, Texas with my wife, her two girlfriends, and thousands of fanatical teenagers and forty year old ladies.  8 sold-out screens in one theater all at 12:01 am.   Could this be the end of the world as we know it? And working on our 2010 release schedule. Thanks for making this far and away the greatest year at Light In The Attic.  All of us here at the label are incredibly grateful for your continued support! The Mighty Pope, Jamaica to Toronto

  

  Calgary Folkfest. working and meeting great people/artists Working with Jason Wilson and friends Road trip to Montreal in the summer Hanging with the Mighty Sip CBC The Hour Discovering a new way to cook salmon Grateful for good friends and family Pat Thomas Top 5 releases of 2009: Big Star - Keep An Eye On The Sky -  Rhino Neil Young - Archives (Volume 1) 1963-1972 - Warner/Reprise Rolling Stones - Get Your Ya-Ya's Out! (3 CD box & DVD) - Abkco John Martyn - Solid Air(2 CD deluxe edition) - Island McCabe & Mrs. Miller - Time For Leaving - Magnetic Sandy Wilson, Film & Television Guru, Light In The Attic I had a lot of things to be grateful for in 2009, here are a few of them in no particular order; The Monks "Boys Are Boys And Girls Are Choice" on Californication The Black Angels "Bloodhounds On My Trail" in the Harley Davidson Iron 883 commercial The Black Angels "Manipulation" in Drew Barrymore's Whip It starring Ellen Page The Black Angels "Sniper At The Gates Of Heaven" on CBS' Numb3rs Finally getting to see The Black Angels "Black Grease" in the film No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos air on PBS' Independent Lens. I'm a HUGE fan of both of those guys, and it was awesome that our music was a part of that film. The Free Design "Love You" again rocking the global ad world in 2009 with a Toyota spot that spanned the EU The Free Design "Love You", in addition to being the closing song for the WEEDS season 4 finale, also appeared on the 2009 soundtrack release along side The Soul Swingers "Brighter Tomorrow" (Wheedle's Groove). So yeah, that's two of our songs on the WEEDS soundtrack release. Damn. Patrinell Staton's"I Let A Good Man Go" (Wheedle's Groove) appeared in film Fighting starring Terrance Howard (Hustle & Flow) Sleepy Sun "Lord" (for ATP Recordings) on Showtime's Californication, also appearing on the soundtrack release. The Blakes "Don't Bother Me" appearing on 90210 The successful completion and release of 3 films that I worked on this year, True Adolescents (Mark Duplass, Melissa Leo) which premiered at SXSW this year, The Wheedle's Groove documentary that won the Audience Choice Award at the Indie Memphis premiere, and Funky Prairie Boy which is still tearing up the festival circuit. The LITA 2009 Road Trip with Black Daisy. From what I remember (i.e. whatever was filmed) we had one hell of a good time. How could you not have a good time with that crew while spreading the gospel according to LITA. Hallelujah! And last but not least, another wonderful year with my amazing girlfriend Leigh. I'm grateful for every day that she puts up with me. Thanks baby! => end transmission, Kirk out <= And the rest of you beautiful people ... John Ballon, Must Hear, liner notes writer for Betty Davis’ Nasty Gal 10. The Beatles Box 9. Barack Obama 8. The L.A. Food Truck Scene 7. Lacoste Red! Collection 6. Green Shoots In The Economy 5. 3 weeks in France 4. David Weidman's art 3. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression by Stud Turkel 2. Elizabeth Vitanza (and her pizzas) 1. My dad, William Ballon, my he rest in peace Brian James Barr

  

  1) My Cameras: Nikon F2 and Canon AE60. This is gonna sound dramatic, but taking pictures literally changed my way of thinking and, more so, changed the way I see everything. 2) Visiting Ernest Hemingway's Birthplace in Oak Park, Illinois: According to Hemingway himself, Oak Park was a place of "wide lawns and narrow minds." He had no great love for the Chicago suburb as he did for Paris, Key West, Venice, and Idaho, but standing there in the very room in which he was born, everything about the man made sense. 3) Bob Dylan @ WaMu Theatre 10.5.09: The man was on fucking fire this night. Hunched like a vulture over his keyboard, oggling the ladies as he traded licks with Charlie Sexton on "Lay Lady Lay", striking Bobby Darin poses during "Beyond Here Lies Nothing", and that voice...it's not about delivering words anymore, but about pure raw energy and emotion, siphoned up from his charred lungs through a rusty tailpipe of a throat. 4) Duke Ellington - Indigos: Coming home from work one night, my wife said, "Life would be so much nicer if I could walk through the door and hear this every night." From 1957, Indigos is music that lowers the blood pressure and relaxes the shoulders. And like all Ellington's work, it is smooth and utterly cool. Though not considered a high water mark in Ellington's catalog, I think that criticism is unfair and lazy. Anybody who listens to this record and comes to that conclusion must despise beauty. Indigos is as lovely as autumn leaves falling. 5) White Center and Richard Hugo: Middle of this year, I learned my wife and I live two blocks from where the writer Richard Hugo was born and raised, in the South Seattle neighborhood of White Center. Seattle loves to claim Hugo for itself, but he is a White Center boy through and through and I am very proud to live in his hometown. The house was torn down in the 80s, the New Nick is now the Triangle Tavern, the grassy boulevard on 16th Ave SW ripped out and paved over, but much of Hugo's White Center remains intact. 6) William Eggleston: I never would have considered photography had I not seen the work of Bill Eggleston. Pure fucking art, period. 7) Mushrooms: My wife brought home a pocket guidebook called All That The Rain Promises And More and a massive shroomopedia called Mushrooms Demystified. Walking in the woods became a whole different experience thanks to these books. 8) The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell: The most important writer in the country right now, Padgett Powell actually brings something new, awe-inspiring, and, most importantly, fun, to the stale fiction market. The Interrogative Mood is a wild ride driven by Powell's own impulses. It's a prose work of nothing but questions, each one telling multiple stories. Do you miss Tab and do you fully understand its disappearance? Do you regard yourself as a connoisseur of anything? Do you anticipate having sex again? Assuming you might have as a child, could you eat Chef Boyardee canned noodles today? Are you lazy? 9) Glacier National Park: We hiked to the tops of mountains where Bighorn sheep looked at us, blankly. We drank beer as we drove. We stood with an Australian couple peering at a mother grizzly and her cubs in the valley below. We ventured to Polebridge, the end of the line. We ate dinner alongside Blackfeet Indians. We did not see any buffalo. 10) Turning 30: For whatever reason, this one felt important-feeling in a way that I cannot quite describe but don't really need to. Bill Bentley, Sonic Boomers Best of 2009 Mayer Hawthorne, A Strange Arrangement (Stone’s Throw) Wilco, Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch) Mulatu Astatke & the Heliocentrics, Inspiration and Information (Srut) Dawes, North Hills (ATO) Staff Benda Bilili, Tres Tres Fort (Crammed Discs) John Fogerty, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again (Verve-Forecast) James Hand, Shadow on the Ground (Rounder) Jesse Winchester, Love’s Filling Station (Appleseed) The Avett Brothers, I And Love And You (American) Long John Hunter, Looking for a Party (Blues Express) Peter Blecha, Author, Sonic Boom Top-5  Fresh Local Artists: 1. The Fabulous Hammers:  A band that has captured the old-school "Northwest Sound" with their all-original instrumental tunes. In a day & age when the sound of this region's first strains of rockin' R&B are essentially extinct on the live-music scene, this quintet suddenly appears & brings the form back to life with a vengeance. 2. Lion's Ambition:  A hip-hop group whose original tunes boast endless pop hooks, & whose blend of raps & melodic vocalizing are simply magic. It was my pleasure to serve on the judging panel that awarded them top prize at last summer's exhilarating Battle of the Tech Bands event produced by the Washington Technology Industry Association. 3. Out From Underneath: Far from being just another same 'ol everyday rap-metal band, OFU brings it all to the table: pounding rhythms, punishing riffs, excellent musicianship, great vocals, & memorable melodic hooks. Did I mention scary lyrical themes? Great rock (with some addictive hip-hop inspired beats) -- & nice guys too! 4. Gameboy:  I'm no hip-hop expert -- only been studying the music since I first stumbled across KNHC back in 1982 -- but I do know what I like. Met Gameboy at the U District Street Fair last May, got his brand new It's Already A Classic CD, & was immediately impressed by his pop sensabilities. You wanna hear hooks? Try spinnin'' Gameboy. In my mind, he's already a Northwest classic. 5. The Flanagan Precept:  It would be forgivable to presume -- based on their name alone -- that these guys are an Irish band. However, this rock crew are a Seattle-based group whose collective musicianship, winning vocals, & superior songwriting skills should see them in the town's top ranks before, I predict, next St. Patrick's Day. Zach Cowie, DJ Turquoise Wisdom

  

  1. california 2. fitzy's DOODcast. follow these instructions: go to your itunes at the top click ADVANCED   -  select subscribe to podcast  - copy paste this URL and get ready to party! 3. the first showing of STAR TREK at the arclight dome in los angeles. best vibes ever. 4. selected DJ'ing highlights: the weddings of kevin & amy and ben & zooey. touring with animal collective and then the fleet foxes. every guest spot i jammed at DR WHO. the animal collective big sur after party with me, all the a/c dudes, fitzy, braddax, and cabic all throwing tunes (and getting wasted enough to play the moonshake 45 twice!). the dublab 10 closing party. hearing votel & sheep at hollywood forever. the bobb trimble show in brooklyn. 5. must plays: darrow fletcher - now's the time for love pt 2 45 philwit & pegasus - elephant song 45 chico magnetic band - my sorrow 45 affinity - s/t LP brigitte fontaine & areski - ca va faire un hit 45 u.s. warren & the genghis pea - hard headed woman 45 pentangle - i saw an angel 45 shoes - black vinyl shoes reissue LP larry sanders - child of december 45 circuit rider - s/t reissue LP raekwom - only built 4 cuban linx II LP fairfield parlor - bordeaux rose 45 forever amber - love cycle reissue LP lifetones - for a reason DIGITAL john kongos - he's gonna step on your again 45 mario ft gucci mane - break up DIGITAL cold sun - dark shadows reissue LP amon duul II - archangels thunderbird 45 jay-z - the blueprint 3 DIGITAL alasdair roberts - spoils LP elephant's memory - mongoose 45 3 hur el - hurel arsivi reissue LP the sweet - juicer 45 both the b-music/finders keepers well hung and drive in, turn on, freak out double LP's alessi bros - seabird 45 breakout - na drugim brzegu teczy LP stones throw's forge your own chains double LP anything j dilla anything brian eno anything kanye (still!) Chris Daly, Les Enfants Terribles Top Ten Lessons for New Zombies 1. Braaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiins. (Actually, that's pretty much it.) Kyla Fairchild, No Depression Favorite Albums of 2009 Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers - S/T Vandaveer - Divide and Conquer Gregory Alan Isakov - This Empty Northern Hemisphere Amanda Shires - West Cross Timbers Sam Baker - Cotton Andrew Bird - Noble Beast Built To Spill - There Is No Enemy Neko Case - Middle Cyclone Cave Singers - Welcome Joy Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk Andy Fischer, Vinyl Films Top Five U.S. Craft Beers of the year (in no particular order): Duck Duck Gooze - The Lost Abbey Brewing Company, San Marcos, CA.  A Belgian-style sour, this is one of the greatest summer beers ever.  Crisp, tart, refreshing and delicious. Nelson - Alpine Beer Company, Alpine, CA.  They call it a Golden Rye IPA, I call it the hoppiest loaf of Rye bread you'll ever drink.  Insanely great and probably my beer of the year. Theobroma - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE.  I may be cheating on this selection since it may have come out in 2008, but it is by far the most complex, incredible beverage I've ever tasted.  Hints of cocoa, chilies... it simply has to be tasted to be believed. Consecration - Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, CA.  This Cabernet barrel-aged monstrosity is another genius addition to the Russian River slate of Belgian-style Ales, this one brewed with Currants. Complex, complicated and amazing - and for me definitely a sipping beer at 10% abv. Sculpin - Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, CA.  As tasty as an IPA gets, this limited edition single is happy with hops - do whatever you can to get your hands on a few of these. Matt Grady, Factory Twenty Five

  

  Julian Cope - POSTPUNKSAMPLER...A streaming album of the month on Cope's Head Heritage site. Stone Roses 20th Anniversary Limited Collector's Edition...One of the best Box sets of all time w/Vinyl, Prints, CDs, a lemon shaped usb, and a DVD. 92nd Street Y in Tribeca...It may be a pain to get to but has turned into the film venue with the best curation in NYC. Food at the Brooklyn Flea...Papusas, Fish Tacos, Brick oven pizza (from a home made portable oven) and so much more...best food and deal in town...I've waited 45 minutes for a Papusa-and it was worth it. WFMU's Free Music Archive...So many discoveries made on this site (which did lead to many vinyl purchases) FAVORITES OF 2009 Currin Grayson, Independent Weekly The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Team Edward forever, y'all.) The bands in my particular area of North Carolina (So crazy right now, y'all.) Andrew WK (His thoughts alone are worth the soul-evaporating cost of signing up for Twitter, y'all.) Touring with The Avett Brothers for some magazine (Nicest dudes, y'all. Greatest live band at the moment, y'all?) Inauguration Day (Snow in North Carolina. No work. Outdoor hot tub party? Barry O)))bama, y'all) The prolificacy of Tiger Woods' "one-iron" (Hopefully he'll be on Season 8 of VH1's terr(ific/ible) Sex Addicts, y'all.) Big Ears (Knoxville, Tenn., experimental festival with P. Glass, Antony, Matmos, The Necks? Fuck yeah, y'all. KNOXVILLE!) Counter Culture's Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley (Blueberries-n-coffee via Ethiopia via Durham, y'all.) Barista (Revolutionary Portland coffeeshop, y'all.) Meeting Neil Young (at a gas station in Texas, y'all.) Hometapes (This label's killing it, y'all. Best SXSW party people, too.) The Jazz Loft Project (And we thought we knew jazz, y'all.) Alice (the name of my dog, the name of the remarkable finale on Sunn O)))'s new record, and the hottest Twilight character, y'all! ) Cable "Five Inches of Pain" Griffith

  

  Top 5 Things with "5" in the Title (in no particular order): The Jackson 5 (1964 - 1976) Full Fathom Five, Jackson Pollock (1947) Take Five, Dave Brubek Quartet (1959) Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut (1969) Five Fingers of Death, Chang-hwa Jeong (1972) Nancy Guppy, Art Zone TOP TEN THINGS FROM 2009 Herb & Dorothy, a documentary film about a librarian and postal worker from New York who amassed a world-class art collection The awesome SuttonBeresCuller exhibit at Lawrimore Project Working with Greg Pecknold, the phenomenally talented creative director of SHOUT, on a new open for ArtZone Breaking a King Size Nestle Crunch Bar into approximately 32 equal sized pieces, placing them into a small blue bowl, and savoring each chunk while watching old episodes of Perry Mason Local actress Amy Thone in absolutely anything Eric Elbogen's new record Oohs and Aahs Attending the first annual Theatre Puget Sound Gregory Awards Serving Cafe Lago lasagne at my husbands 54th birthday party The debut of Humpday from the wonderful writer/director, Lynn Shelton The seriously talented Reggie Watts & Tommy Smith in Transition @ On the Boards Iñ, Vampi Soul

  

  Music wise. Stuff that keeps repeated again and always. In no special order: 1- BIG STAR BOX SET . The due is paid, and the set is awesome.  None can ever get tired of that stuff, listening to that thousands of times. 2- KAREN DALTON VINYL. The first album delivers so many THINGS that is priceless. You can just play that over and over and get hit harder and harder 3- FRED NEIL - ELEKTRA LP on Sundazed. Released a long time ago but still gets played over and over again. No folk revival gets any better than THIS. 4- JONATHAN RICHMAN LIVE. Nowdays hes giving much better shows than in the past 20 years. He's even playing Modern Lovers songs 5- THE RATIONALS REISSUE. One of the best groups of the 60’s finally reissued properly. All you would expect from white kids from Detroit loving the Kinks and Motown. NOW its time for a BOB SEGER plan. 6- WAU Y LOS ARGGGHS LIVE. Not so many bands deliver so mucho on stage these days. Imagine Jello Biafra fronting We The People. 7- 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS - SIGN OF THE 3 EYED MEN. The Box set 8- STRANGE BOYS LP. From Austin Texas, same as the 3 Eyed Men. Very good debut album with all the elements that a juvenile rock & roll combo must have. 9- FATAI ROLLING DOLLAR. A master of African music that must be reissued no later. 10- PLASTIC PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE. From Prague. The definition of Underground . You got to learn the lesson. Michael Jaworski, Mt. Fuji Records

  

  Favorite 10 records of 2009 (that I can remember, and in no particular order) The Intelligence - Fake Surfers - I really wish I could have played guitar on their fall tour. Amazing record. How does Lars do it? Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another - Best live band going today. Best live show of the year x 2. Great record. I miss Mclusky less now. Box Elders - Alice and Friends -  One of the funnest records of the year. Great songs, super catchy rock n' roll. Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T -  horrible live band, but this record kills me. Blissed out pop gems that are so infectious. The Dutchess and The Duke - Sunset / Sunrise - someone called them campfire punk. I just call it great folk, rock n' roll. Obits - I Blame You - I am such a sucker for Rick Froberg's songs. Great record but I still miss the Hot Snakes Reigning Sound - Love and Curses - Like a lot of folks, I couldn't wait for this one. Greg Cartwright and crew delivered again. Great rock n' roll album. Cass McCombs - Catacombs - Beautiful record that got a million spins on my turntable. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug - I never knew I liked the Arctic Monkeys. Maybe it has something to do with Josh Homme producing. Killer record. Sonic Youth - The Eternal - Arguably the most important band of my generation makes yet another classic record. Lauren, Music Snitch Favorite Albums of 2009: (No particular order) Passion Pit – Manners Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum Freelance Whales – Weathervanes Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest Say Hi – Oohs & Aahs Flaming Lips – Embryonic The Xx – Xx We All Have Hooks For Hands – Made Up Of Tiny Lights Noah and the Whale – The First Days Of Spring Favorite Artists/Bands of 2009: Sunbears, Princeton, The Middle East, Animal Collective, Micachu & The Shapes , Girls, Cold Cave, Mumford And Sons , Spiral Stairs, Lost In The Trees, The Avett Brothers, Yacht, Nurses, Dirty Projectors, Florence And The Machine, The Drums, Port O’Brien, Fever Ray, The Antlers, Sunset Rubdown, Tempo No Tempo, The Cave Singers, Winter Gloves, Electric Tickle Machine, Free Energy, Neon Indian, Banjo or Freakout, Washed Out, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Cribs, New Ruins, Matt & Kim, Cursive, Hot Panda, Memory Tapes… DaVe Lipp, Short and Sweet NYC Top Singles of 09 Solid Gold – Get Over It Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms Papercuts – Future Primitive Hockey – Too Fake Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll Yeasayer - Ambling Alp Silversun Pickups - Panic Switch St. Vincent - Actor Out Of Work Jay-Z – Empire State of Mind Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls Brent Locke, Universal Music Vegas Faves My business travels this year took me to Las Vegas 5 or 6 times (lost count…go figure). Here are the top places I enjoyed (or remembered).  There is “another” list but I can’t post it in public XS Nightclub at Encore Lavo Nightclub at The Palazzo The Foundation Room at House of Blues Mandalay Bay N9NE Steakhouse at The Palms Koi Restaurant at Planet Hollywood Mon Ami Gabi Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas Pho Kim Long (Vietnamese restaurant in a strip mall away from the main strip) Mairead Case 1.  The Megabus – Get most anywhere in the Midwest, for cheap. Sometimes the bus is late and sometimes you get stuck in a corner and can’t open the windows, but it’s always cheap. Why argue with cheap? 2.  Seeing Your Friends Dress Up – So we used to dress all punk whatever, right? But a couple of times this year – weddings, funerals, elections, etc. – we’ve dressed for reasons other than Immediate Self-Expression. Other than Getting Laid. It’s not selling out! It’s getting better at listening and lasting and coming home. Plus it’s not like we got rid of the combat boots or anything. I’m really proud of us 3. This poem, again 4. The Public Collectors Tumblr 5.  Kate Greenstreet reading her poetry – holy shit, man. If she was a band and I was sixteen, I’d wait in a block-long line and buy the t-shirt, too 6.  The Martians Meet the Clock – as my sister pointed out, it would be nice if we could hide our eyeballs in our lips every time we got scared 7.  At Random – There’s this bar in Milwaukee and it has mirrors and mood lighting and waitresses who say “Sweetie” and a chandelier and statues of naked people and ice cream drinks with liquor in them.  Amazing! 8.  Steel Shavings, a journal publishing oral histories from Calumet, IN 9.  Kristine McKenna, asking Iggy Pop which songs make him cry. "Dionne Warwick's," he says. 10. John Ashbery on A Wave. Molotiu on Blogspot. Woodring on Youtube. My So Called Life on Hulu (“Life of Brian” especially). Beth Ditto and Lady Gaga, owning weird on national television. Asterios Polyp. Wave Books. The Raincoats! You. And the bells in Los Jaivas’ “Foto de la Primavera Comunion” Steven Matrick, Kepler Music 1. The Decemberists- Hazards of Love 2. God Help the Girl- God Help the Girl 3. A Place to Bury Strangers- Exploding Head 4. Sharon Van Etten- Because I Was In Love 5. Au Revoir Simone- Still Night, Still Light Michael McDonald, Music Lover, Vinyl Junkie 1. Famous as The Flying Sweet Angel of Joy LP. 2. Sensational Brown Brothers - Stand By Me: A Tribute To Mother 3. Carol Kleyn - Love Has Made Me Stronger LP 4. Guitar Ensemble - The You-N-You LP 5. Ronaye Shandler - Affinity LP 6. Ed Hartman - The River LP 7. Gabrielle - Time Journey 7" 8. Alice Baze - The Gift 7" 9. Daniel Schell & Dick Annegarn - Egmont and The ff Boom LP 10. Little Ann - Deep Shadows Jon Naito, Furloughed writer/bar stool pundit Random things I generally enjoyed about 2009 1 - Weddings. I'm not a romantic by nature, but the three weddings I attended this year were soirees of the highest caliber. A tip of the hat to each party, ace gents and fine dames all. 2 - Old Overholt. Economical and Don Draper approved. I take mine in an Old Fashioned. 3 - Mad Men. The finale was worth watching the entire season alone. Wow. 4 - Tacos El Asadero. LITA co-jefe Matt Sullivan will beg to differ, but my vote for best taco truck (it's actually a school bus painted white) in the city. 5 - The French Onion soup at Cafe Presse. Nothing hits the spot better on a fall evening in Seattle. 6 - The 69 series at Northwest Film Forum. Great idea, perfect execution. 7 - Wallace Stegner. Can't believe it took so long for me to discover him. A true Western writer (in the best sense), and criminally unappreciated. 8 - The Roanoke Tavern. For being the quintessential neighborhood bar (in the best sense), and also within two blocks of my house. 9 - Girls, Album. I don't know if this was the best record I heard all year, but I listened to it more than any other. I'm listening to it right now. 10. Kanye West. Pop stars don't act like stars anymore. Kanye, I love you for your unabashed narcissism, rampant egotism, and doing your damnedest to personally embody all the excesses and untoward behavior of pop stars past. Adam Perry, Boulder Weekly, Westword, Alibi Favorite albums of 2009: 1. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast (Deluxe Edition) 2. Alela Diane - To Be Still 3. Cotton Jones - Paranoid Cocoon 4. British Sea Power - Man of Aran 5. Flaming Lips - Embryonic 6. Heartless Bastards - The Mountain 7. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 8. Phosphorescent - To Willie 9. Dodos - Time to Die 10. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion Megan Petty, Les Enfants Terribles 1. Alabama football: As an Alabama alum, I couldn’t be more thrilled about the season my beloved Tide has had. Undefeated and gunning for a national title (#13?), and the school’s first Heisman winner to boot (yay Mark Ingram). 2009 was a great year to be Crimson.

  2. SXSW 2009: For a first-timer it was daunting, but a thrill. I loved my introduction to Austin's biggest fest, from the numerous Bang! Bang! Eche! sightings to the crazy intimate and amazing Ringo Deathstarr gig at Headhunter's, to the walking all over downtown Austin in not-yet-broken in cowboy boots. Visting Waterloo Records was an added bonus. 3. Records: Records make my list for the second year in a row. I've accumulated several hundred over the past year, and am still convinced vinyl is just better. I'm obsessively collecting Rolling Stones records, and seem to keep buying Leon Russell. Send recommendations, please. 4. Netflix: I tend to be behind the curve on things, but this year I signed up for Netflix and have been constantly glad I did so. My queue always hovers around 400 things, so I'm probably way behind the curve seeing movies, too. 5. Turning 30: It's the new 20, I hear. 6. Living on Richmond's Monument Avenue: Sure, my apartment leaks and the heat doesn't really work, and I don't have many mod cons, but living on THE poshest (and very historic) street in Richmond makes me really happy. 7. The Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction Tour: Seeing both of these bands together in June (in Maryland) was so very special. Definitely one of the best shows of all of 2009. And of course, meeting one Mr. Reznor, didn't hurt either. 8. Trysts: probably shouldn't require explanation. 9. Music Trivia at Cous Cous: One of my favorite activities in Richmond happens every Tuesday night, at my favorite Richmond watering hole. Music trivia, not for the faint-of-heart (or light of knowledge) at its most unfailingly entertaining, especially when my former team, David Bowie's Nipple Antennae, was constantly emerging as champs. Chris Porter, One Reel, Bumbershoot Festival TOP 5 LIVE SHOWS IN SEATTLE Leonard Cohen - WAMU Theater (one of my Top 5 for the decade!) Raphael Saadiq - Bumbershoot Festival Paul Weller - Moore Theatre Motorhead - Showbox SoDo Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tractor Tavern TOP 5 CD RELEASES The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heat Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement Shawn Lee - Soul in the Hole Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is Various Artists "Where The Action Is!  - Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968 Honorable mentions to Atlas Sound, Devendra Banhart, The Heavy, and The New Mastersounds Steve Quenell

  

  Top 21 list of the best psyched-out, sitar-laden, organ jams and library sounds I stumbled upon in 2009: 1) Affinity "Night Flight" (1970)/Brainticket "Radagacuca" (1972)/Julian's Treatment "6th Chapter: Altarra, Princess Of The Blue Women" (1970) I'm a sucker for any psych with floating, sometimes Leslie-soaked, female vocals and these three tunes are prime examples. They're what you'd expect to hear while going down the rabbit hole. 2) Al Stewart - "Turn To Earth" (1966) Yes, THAT Al Stewart. Mr. Year-of-the-Cat started as a psychedelic goof ball. Regardless (or because of that), this Yardbirds cover eclipses the original with its haunting vocals and jazzy instrumentation. Broadcast (who I love) totally ripped this song off! 3) Annie Girardot "La femme faux cils" (1968)/Delphine "La fermeture éair" (1966)/France Gall "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" (1964) I thought I'd had my fill of the French pop ladies, but there are still a few nuggets out there that ruled my world this year. Each one of these sends me into fits of yééages. 4) Aphrodite's Child "The Four Horsemen" (1972)/"Altamont" (1972) If The Who were a Greek proto-prog band that did Kenneth Anger soundtracks? Yes! Both songs are off the album "666." Yes! 5) Roger Roger "Safari Park" (1972) Library music master "Roger Roger" wrote countless songs, background music and themes for the BBC and Chappell studio. Not all of them are great, but this sleek, dirty and downright funky song may be his finest moment. 6) David Axelrod "The Smile" (1968)/The Electric Prunes "Holy Are You" (1968) Axelrod's production always floors me and these two songs of his are at the top of this year's most-played list. 7) Ennio Morricone - "Svolta definitiva" (1970)/"Fruscio di Foglie Verdi" (1968) In my constant search for more of his work, El Maestro never ceases to astound me with his output from the 60's & 70's. "Svolta definitiva" grooves hard ala Vampyros Lesbos and "Fruscio di Foglie Verdi" with its haunting mix of Italian choir vocals atop a go-go beat shakes the senses. 8) Los Bravos - "Getting Nowhere" (1967) Los "Black Is Black" Bravos top their more famous hit with this sweet, fuzzed-out rave up. Imagine Gene Pitney doing "My Little Red Book" or just see for yourself. 9) John Cameron - "Swamp Fever" (1973) All around amazing British studio composer, arranger and musician, Cameron did it all including this brooding, flute-filled solid groover. One of the best library tracks ever written. 10) Ozdemir Erdogan Ve Orkestrasi - "Uzun Ince Bir Yoldayim" (late 60's/early 70's) If Procol Harum were Selda's back up band you'd have something closely resembling this sun-soaked, Turkish instrumental delight. Thank-you Ozdemir Erdogan Ve Orkestrasi! 11) Piero Umiliani - "Nostalgia" (1975)/"A New Experience" (late 60's/early 70's) Like fellow composer Morricone, Umiliani was also cranking out some of the sweetest soundtracks and library jams back in his day. These songs both represent what Piero did best: his own brand of hazy, mellow early 70's synth sounds. 12) Marc Moulin/Placebo - "Humpty Dumpty" (1974) Sounding like the theme to a gritty 70's crime drama, Moulin (with his band Placebo) laid down some serious Herbie Hancock-style, punchy horn/smooth rhodes jazz with this mind-blowing track. 13) Serge Gainsbourg - "La Horse" (1969 with Jean-Claude Vannier) I really can't believe how fantastic this Serge instrumental is. It starts off sounding a bit like a John Barry espionage thriller until the beat drops around the 30 second mark and then it's all over. It grooves so hard (fleshed out by a sweet bass line and Vannier's string section) and then, when you think it can't get any better, the drums break it down, followed by a moment of silence, a BANJO SOLO(!), and then it kicks right back into the original jam. My favorite song of the year. Pat Riley, Domino Records That Petrol Emotion live at The Bellhouse, Brooklyn, NY- the band rocked, jumped, wailed and thumped like it was 20 yrs ago. There was kicking of ass AND fun! Animal Collective live at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY- I got to work their merch booth with my pal Adam and give away posters to fans on a perfect summer night. Dirty Projectors live with guests The Roots and David Byrne at Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan, NY- It just felt like a special night even without the guests. Jesus Lizard live at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza, Manhattan, NY- 15 or so years since I last saw them and Yow is still in your face incredible while being quietly funny. Tour Managing Max Tundra at SXSW and meeting his Japanese superfan. He spoke to her in Japanese sending her into an ecstatic laughing fit where all she could say was "Oh, Max Tundra! Oh, Max Tundra!" then ran away. Rainbow Bridge - Big Wave Rider Atlas Sound - Walkabout Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Jay Z - Empire State of Mind The Big Pink - Dominos Stuff that I can't exclude Guest spinning with DJ Mona D on East Village Radio The Beastie Boys reissues Nirvana - Bleach reissue Stuff I came to late Q-Tip - The Renaissance Various - Born Bad Vol 1-7 Robert Wyatt - The EPs I will deeply miss Jim Carroll and Lux Interior Kevin Serra, Writer, Kevchino.com Top 13 Albums of 2009 001 | Natureboy - Natureboy Self Released 002 | Warpaint - Exquisite Corpse Self Released 003 | Masterface - Freedom Tower Self Released 004 | Real Estate - Real Estate Woodist 005 | Cass McCombs - Catacombs Domino 006 | The Antlers - Hospice French Kiss 007 | Sharon Van Etten - Because I Was In Love Language of Stone 008 | Beat The Devil - Idiot’s Guide Self Released 009 | Grizzly Bear - Vecktimest Warp 010 | Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers - A Fish Hook An Open Eye Self Released 011 | The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T Slumberland 012 | Volcano Choir - Unmap Jagjaguwar 013 | Wildbird & Peacedrums - The Snake The Control Group Steven Severin, Neumos / Wake Up Productions (in no particular order) The Avett Brothers Bourbon and Ginger The Wire Matts in the Market Vacation NBA season Matthew Smith, Outrageous Cherry 1. Dennis Coffey every Wednesday night at Northern Lights Lounge in Detroit...jamming from 7 to 11 PM...four hours of funk and fuzzbox freakout. 2. Amboy Dukes reunion...4/17/09 in Detroit...Ted Nugent's feedback-drenched solos blaze like an expression of anarchistic hippie idealism that threatens to undermine Ted's weird political notions...especially on "Baby Please Don't Go"! 3. Rhys Chatham's "A Crimson Grail", performed at Lincoln Center, NYC, 8/8/09 with 200 electric guitars...an incredible experience...and Liquid Liquid was on the bill too! 4. Throbbing Gristle in Chicago 4/26/09...the "hits" set was cool, but the film/improvisation set was T.G. in full flight. 5. Flower Travellin' Band live at SXSW...the guitarist plays an instrument that looks like a giant cinnamon roll. The Soundcarriers

  

  Records: There’s been a fare few releases, re-releases, re-visits and purchases this year, which have given The Soundcarriers camp a tilt in their kilts. Well worth mentioning include:

  

  Pish – Inner Space LP (Akarma/Wah Wah Spain LPS061)/ Various Artists, The Sound Of Wonder (Finders Keepers FKR023LP) Martin – Sly Stone, Rock Dirge 45 (Woodstock Records WOO001) / Serge Gainsbourg, Historie De Melody Nelson LP (Light In The Attic LITA040) Leonore –  Mazzy Star, Among My Swan CD (Capitol 7243 8 27224 2 7) favourite track: "Rhymes Of An Hour" Hazel – Rodriguez, Coming From Reality Fashion:

  

  Since 1784, John Smedley have been producing the finest quality knitwear in the beautiful setting of Lea Mills, Matlock, not far from the breathtaking Peak District, Derbyshire -  And in 2009 have been keeping The Soundcarriers warm in winter and cool in summer. John Smedley knitwear is truly sublime, the finest 30 gauge knit is fully-fashioned and hand-linked in the most luxurious Merino wool and Sea-Island cotton. Pish wears - Hepworth in muscovado Adam wears - Elliot in pine needle Dorian wears - Tarquin Cardigan in navy Leonore wears - Dolly in charcoal and Gabo gloves Bands: Adam - Fraser King – The Witch and Mr. Woo Nightclubs: Two fantastic nights we’d like to mention: Martin - A good few beers were sunk, and some great 45s spun at Rock’n’Roll Soul.  Downstairs at the deliciously loungey club The Phoenix, Cavendish Square, just off London’s glittering Oxford St, there’s a great night happening once a month; previous guest DJs include Acid Jazz legend Eddie Piller, Jazzman Gerald, The Bees, Andy Lewis and a couple of drunk cats who go under the tag The Soundcarriers DJs. Reputed to have ‘More Soul Than A Shoe Shop’ – and endorsed by the late Arthur Lee – this is a top night! London Pride served on draught in proper mugs, too. Expect to hear: Johnny Jones & The King Casuals – ‘Purple Haze’; The Faces – ‘Stay With Me’; Pigmeat Markham – ‘Here Comes The Judge’

  

  Pish – Raw Rockabilly, Blues Stompers, Surf Instros, Garage & Frat, New Orleans R&B and anything Titty Shaker related... all on 45. Not a compact disc insight? Then, that’ll be Nottingham’s strictly dancefloor rock ‘n roll night The Rubber Room Heavyweight collectors Martin Lawrie and Nick Smith spin the wild sounds up at The Maze, creating a soundtrack made for nipple tassels and leopard print. Books/Publications: Martin – It’s been a real honour to have been featured in some brilliant magazines this year, and none more so great than the fab and happening Shindig!. Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills and crew have a really good thing going on here. In-depth and informative articles on everything great in this musical world of ours. Highlight – Julie Driscoll feature. Fab! Leonore – Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer Adam – Black Snow by Mikhail Bulgakov Pish - Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley Novels Exhibitions/Galleries: Pish – The Museum Of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. Portobello Road, Notting Hill, London Martin – I really drew the short straw here! I couldn’t handle the 30 minute queue at The Royal Academy Of Arts, so left George to enjoy the magical delights of Anish Kapoor on his own, whilst I spent 30 minutes on the tube, and 20 mins in heavy rain to get to the Tate Modern to view Pop Life: Art In A Material World, which I’m not going to even say one word about in case I’m mistakenly accused of promoting this travesty of an exhibition. Whereas George had a time of his life! The towering pile of large chrome balls (Tall tree and the eye) reaching for the sky in the museum’s courtyard: reflecting buildings, people, sky, is breathtaking alone, and sets the standard for a fantastic exhibition of modern, ingenious and challenging sculpture.

  

  Hazel - Passion for Fashion & Fine Textiles including an Important Audrey Hepburn Collection – Kerry Taylor Auctions  - Fantastic pre-Auction viewing of Audrey Hepburn’s infamous wardrobe. Blog: Martin – Paul Smith. Love this man’s blog! It’s just hard not to feel lazy when you read how much he gets up to! Film: Adam- A Serious Man – The Coen Brothers Event:

  

  Martin - Got to be really self-indulgent here, but the event of my year has to be my wedding to my beautiful new wife Hazel. It was an unbelievably special, emotional day. Set in the home where Hazel grew up in Braunston, a historic canal-side village, we were so touched by how many people dear to us traveled great distances to share our special day (cheers Jules for coming all the way over from Japan), eat fresh North Sea lobster, dance to some of the greatest records and drink some of the finest ale. And huge thanks to The Soundcarriers for rocking the World War II marquee! Pish - This time last year, we were still celebrating the continued success of legendary independent record store, Selectadisc, Nottingham. Sadly, but with dignity still in-tact, Selectadisc ceased trading earlier this year. Ex-staff from all over the shop’s 43 years of supplying records to the residents of Notts and further afield, came along on its last day and leant their services in what can only be described as a wake. As the shutters came down for the last time on this much loved shop, tears in many people’s eyes, the partying continued into the small hours, with many of the staff DJing their record collections purchased over the years from one of Nottingham’s institutions, Selectadisc. Much missed. Gigs/Festivals: We all had a fantastic time at the superbly organised, super friendly festival The Green Man. It was a real treat to open the main stage on the Saturday. Other highlights include: Leonore – “The Dirty Three live was one of the best things I’ve seen in years”; Joe Boyd reading and expanding on extracts from his book White Bicycles; having a ‘Gong Bath’; Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve slick DJ set... A brilliant festival set in the beautiful Welsh Brecon Beacons

  

  Martin -   The Godfathers Of Groove, Jazz Cafe, London. Rueben Wilson, Bernard Purdie and Grant Green Jr. The line-up and title says it all. Legends! Pure Hammond and guitar groove from the originators. Witnessing Wilson’s effortless B3 style was worth the ticket price alone, whilst Purdie’s a complete all round entertainer. Just a shame Purdie’s kit has lost that baggy Blue Note sound and raspy snare – instead a bit flat and Rock School sounding. Apart from that minor gripe, a night in groove heaven. Sookie Sookie People: And finally, we’d like to mention a few names who have helped to make 2009 a year to remember in the Soundcarriers world: Dave Cooper at Melodic, Will Lawrence at In House Press, Matt Sullivan at Light In The Attic, Chris Dedrick, White Denim, Justin 'The Professor' Spear, Jon 'Mojo' Mills, George Vedmore, Jim Cooke, Jo and Danny at The Green Man, Charlotte Foy at John Smedley, Jon Matthews, Keith Haworth, and Kieron Tyler for voting Harmonium as album of the year Gabe Spierer, Beggar's Group Five things I liked this year (not the definitive year-end list, but a LITA exclusive): an album: The Horrors - Primary Colours a dog: one specific Dachshund named Dorothy a country: Brazil a rookie: Brandon Jennings (got to watch him for the first time last night on my just-purchased NBA League Pass. Milwaukee, who's psyched?) a concert: Nine Inch Nails live at Bowery Ballroom Jeff Terich Editor, Treblezine.com Top 10 events/albums/songs, etc. of 2009 1. Getting married 2. Dining on Octopus, tuna and patatas bravas at Inopia in Barcelona 3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 4. Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" (but not so much the rest of Blueprint 3) 5. covering Fugazi's "Waiting Room" with a tuba player for Musical Pursuit at the Whistle Stop 6. Baroness at The Casbah 7. Baroness' - Blue Record 8. Raekwon's - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II 9. 30 Rock 10. Grizzly Bear at The Belly Up, incorporating mason jars as lights into their stage setup Kieron Tyler, Writer Top Eleven Albums Of The Year The Soundcarriers - Harmonium (Melodic) 1. The Amazing – S/T (Subliminal Sounds) 2. Benjamin Biolay - La Superbe (Naï) 3. Shogun Kunitoki - Vinonaamakasio (Fonal Records) 4. Blk Jks - After Robots (Secretly Canadian) 5. Oh No Ono – Eggs (Morningside) 6. Soap & Skin - Lovetune For Vacuum (PIAS Recordings) 7. Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want (Memphis Industries) 8. Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw) 9. Pierre Lapointe - Sentiments Humains (Audigram) 10. MúSing Along To Songs You Don’t Know (Morr Music) Top Eleven Reissues Of The Year 1. Various - Where The Action Is (Rhino) 2. Harmonia & Eno ’76 - Tracks and Traces reissue (Grönd) 3. Various - Clap Your Hands Stamp Your Feet (Excelsior Recordings) 4. 13th Floor Elevators - Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men (Charly) 5. The Inner Space (i.e. Can) - Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah) 6. Various – Saint Etienne Present Songs For The Dog & Duck (Ace) 7. The Master’s Apprentices – S/T (Aztec Music) 8. Various – Britain Learns To Rock (Fantastic Voyage) 9. Jacques Dutronc – Et Moi Et Moi Et Moi (RPM International) – I know it’s one of mine, but it’s great, so there. 10. Heldon – S/T (Wah Wah) Pari Zangeneh – The Series Of Music For Young Adults Iranian Folk Songs (Institute For The Intellectual Development Of Children And Young Adults) – ok, it’s a bootleg, but how else are you going to get an Iranian album for 1976? Greg Vandy, Host, KEXP - The Roadhouse Pickathon (in Portland): the heat! the dust! the music! Cliff Lee trade to M's: solid one-two in the rotation! Frank Fairfield LIVE In The Roadhouse: time travelin'! Mad Men: the set designs alone.... Rodriguez @ Triple Door (& party at Sully's pad): sugarman! No Depression Fest @ Marymoore Park: rapping with the stars! The Roadhouse Summer Sell-Out Radio Show: cuz it's summer and it feels good... Breaking Bad: tuco! ring! Wheedle's Groove Documentary: bold soul sister! Alela Diane: #2 album- super sweet Fire In My Bones Compilation: #1 album- old rare raw black gospel! My Wedding @ Sodo Park: featuring performances by Michael Vermillion, Mark Pickerel, Shane Tutmarc, & Zoe Muth! thank you!! Adam Voith, Billions Top 5 Cheats While Trying to Lose 25 lbs: 5: Entire package of Pinwheel Chocolate Covered Marshmallow cookies 4: Large Double Chocolate Fudge milkshake from Steak n Shake 3: Twelve 100 Calorie Packs of Chips Deluxe cookies in one less than one hour 2: Two Limited Edition Fudge Snickers candy bars in less than twenty minutes 1: Wendy's Double w/ Cheese for lunch, Steak n Shake Double w/ Cheese for dinner Geoffrey Weiss, Hollywood Records Some highlights of 2009: The Hunches - Exit Dreams.  Oddly emotional, completely vicious, the Hunches were a unique band, and this swan song is worthy of the titanic legacy that will grow up around them. Cold Sun - Dark Shadows -  I don't know when the fancy new version actually came out (the '80's version on Rockadelic was awesome, but this is even better), but I played it a lot in 2009, and it really is that rarest of things, a lost psychedelic masterpiece.  If it had come out when it was recorded, there would be bad tribute albums to it.  Get the vinyl, get the CD, download it, or sing it to yourself. Francis Harold & the Holograms - Who Said These Were Happy Times? An illustration of the subjectivity of the listening experience.  I play this, and  feel waves of bliss like when Loveless was new,  I play it for other people and they cover their ears and run away.  Folks compare FHH to other things and I just don't know what they're talking about. Lost Abbey - 10 Commandments Ale - Event Beer.  If I've got one in the fridge, II look forward to opening it all day.  I should also mention Golden State on Fairfax, because Jason there has real enthusiasm for what he does, and he always has great beers on tap. The Thomas Function - I love "In the Valley of Sickness."  The words that come out of Josh Macero's mouth surprise me every time. Lucky Luke - Traveling for a Living- As mossy and flinty as the best UK folk, with real forward momentum.  This album has been a few years coming, but when you play it it's whenever  you  want it to be.  Harvest, Vertigo, Trailer, Transatlantic, Mexican Summer. Ed Solo- Watch Your Eyes -  Maybe there is lots of electronic music this odd and immediate, if so please tell me.  At my house, this is a game ender. Scrotum Poles- Auchmithie Forever - I haven't actually played the vinyl yet, but just the idea that this came out in 2009 makes me happy.  And I have all the songs, and they're all great, so it's not a complete abstraction. Where the Wild Things Are - (the movie).  Beautiful, odd, soulful.  A great, insightful film.  I don't know if it's for kids, but it's for me. John Wenzel, The Denver Post National albums: 1. Metric – Fantasies (PIAS/Metric) 2. Smug Brothers – Fortune Rumors (self-released EPs) 3. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic (Warner Bros.) 4. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glass Note) 5. Siriusmo – The Uninvited Guest (Monkeytown Records) 6. Tortoise – Beacons of Ancestorship (Thrill Jockey) 7. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (Merge) 8. Telekinesis – Telekinesis (Merge) 9. Kings of Convenience – Declaration of Dependence (Astralwerks) 10. The Mountain – Heartless Bastards (Fat Possum) Runners-up: Jawbox – For Your Own Special Sweetheart Headlights – Wildlife Boston Spaceships – Zero to 99 David Bazan – Curse Your Branches The Thermals – Now We Can See The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant Albums from Denver bands: 1. The Jim Jims – Bottom of the City EP 2. Everything Absent or Distorted – The Great Collapse 4. Houses - Summer EP 3. Wentworth Kersey – (O) EP 5. Bad Weather California – Young Punks 6. d. biddle – Beds and Monsters 7. Aakash Mittal – Videsh 8. Pacific Pride – Pacific Pride 9. Meese – Broadcast 10. Pretty Lights – Passing Behind Your Eyes 11. Everything Absent or Distorted – The Lucky One 12. Gregory Alan Isakov – This Empty Northern Hemisphere 13. Houses – Spring EP 14. Paper Bird – A Sky Underground 15. Churchill – Churchill Michelle Witten, Editor/producer, Wheedle’s Groove, Editor, Scout’s Honor Favorite meats I have eaten this year after 18 years of vegetarianism: 1. roasted duck with creme de foie gras 2. oxtail stew 3: lamb birra tacos 4. wild boar sloppy joe 5. uncured applewood smoked bacon Andy Zax Top 11 Experiences of 2009: Getting yelled at on the phone--twice!--by Country Joe McDonald (who later apologized) Flying 3000 miles to see Van Der Graaf Generator "Take Me Round Again" by The Fiery Furnaces Everything that has ever been--or will ever be--released on Ghost Box The Experience Music Project Pop Conference Being nominated for a Grammy The Tuscan Vegetarian sandwich at Columbine in Tribeca Stumbling across Noveller's "Brilliant Colors" on a rental car radio while driving through the middle of nowhere Tearing the shrink wrap off of a sealed original of David Axelrod's Earth Rot The ceeFrenzy iPhone app Ommegang Rouge sour ale Jonathan Zwickel, Freelance Writer Ed. Jonathan Zwickel threw together a list for you and yours this holiday season. All you need to do to download it is send an email to zwickelicous@gmail.com. Well worth the small bit of effort. We promise.

• December 23, 2009 at 04:56 AM

  A CHRISTMAS TREAT FROM SIPREANO!

  Holi-daze continues! Just got this in from our man in the Great White North, Sipreano, and ooooooh weeee it's got our wreaths a'whirlin'. The Mighty Pope (he of the JTOT series) performing live with The Sadies live on the CBC's Hour Holiday Music Special.  Chiggity check out "White Christmas", it'll blow your stockings off. Kevin, to you we hand the microphone.

  

  The Sadies (November 24, 2009).

  Photos by Kevin "Sipreano" Howes

  WOW! I'm still spinning, a little dizzy like, and dreamy about it all. From the ashes of Jamaica to Toronto comes Canada's soul brother #1 The Mighty Pope with none other than cosmic country and tough R&B brethren The Sadies LIVE on CBC's The Hour Holiday Music Special. For you international LITA fans, the CBC is our very own national broadcasting corporation (aka a BIG deal). They needed a like-minded yet eclectic pairing of real music people to celebrate the holiday season and boy, did they get it! I was lucky enough to get myself over for this historic meeting/performance which taped in November and the results were aired on PRIME TIME Canadian TV last night (December 21). Here's to more musical magic between these artists, but in the mean time, here's a little Xmas cheer for folks everywhere, an inspired take on Otis Redding's version of "White Christmas." With love, from The Mighty Pope and The Sadies.

  

  Love,

  Sipreano

  http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/content/holiday_music_2009.html

  More info:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Pope

  http://www.thesadies.net/

• October 19, 2009 at 04:00 PM

  LOOK WHAT'S BACK ... ON VINYL!

  We've produced some albums we're mighty fond of in our tenure as a prestigious record label for the reissue loving masses. You know, some solid gems, that due to one reason or another we had to pull from the sagging shelves of vinyl love and relegate to the shiny, spinny world of the compact disc. But, two of our hands down most favorite releases we've ever dropped on the wide world of discerning listeners. What are they, you discerning listener, might ask? Well, let us tell you:

  

  The Black Angels, drone psych masters they are, released Passover in 2006, melting the minds and faces of fans the world over.  C'mon, this album has the growling, acid-fueled road trip of "Young Men Dead", the low-end blast of "Manipulation", and a host of other guttural odes to the cracked psychedelic deserts that populate their songs.   People have been clamoring for this for years, and we, your drone psych dealers are peddling it again.

  Buy it HERE.

  Jamaica to Toronto - Soul, Funk & Reggae: 1967 - 1974

  

  Reggae, funk, soul - all from the wild woods of 1960s and 1970s Canada?  Indeed.  There's a huge amount of history poking out of the slow-talking forests of the Great White North, and we, after kicking around a few other, more different releases, compiled this, the first of a two definitive compilations of the bumps and beats of Toronto.  We're so happy to see it back on vinyl we're soul clapping and rump shaking.  Seriously, Matt Sullivan rump shaking, has got to be seen.

  Listen to the single: Jo-Jo & The Fugitives - Chips-Chicken-Banana-Split

  Buy it HERE.

• October 11, 2009 at 05:03 PM

  BETTY DAVIS WEEK DAY SIX: AN INTERVIEW WITH POSTER DESIGNER VINCENT COOK!

  

  In honor of our brand new Betty Davis reissue and release we had our good friend Vincent Cook cobble together an absolutely breath-taking limited-edition poster of Ms. Betty Davis (which you can win right HERE).  We sat down with this very talented graphic designer and fashion designer to pick his brain about the poster, music in general, and that wiley Canuck, Sipreano.

  

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC: What was the inspiration behind the design for this limited edition Betty Davis poster? VINCENT COOK: I wanted to create something that was simple and iconic and reflected the more classic side of Betty (i.e. more of a Blue Note vibe rather than the heavy space-funk vibe). LITA: You also run a clothing company (2Step/Sandinista), I wonder what the difference is in the creative process between designing clothing and crafting this truly beautiful packages. VC: Designing in the fashion world is inevitably going to be trendy - what I mean by this is that you are reacting to trends, whether to follow or try to stand apart from the current trends.  Things are changing pretty fast in fashion, everything is becoming homogeneous and trends come and go in a 2-3 month cycle now because of blogs and look-books posted online.  Designing for music is a lot more fun - I personally feel there is more depth in music culture.  I also have a much more personal connection and passion for music, digging in the crates, making mix tapes and so forth, so the stuff I do for LITA is very enjoyable and rewarding. LITA: You've also done the design work for both of our Rodriguez issues, the entire Jamaica to Toronto series and Doug Randle. What draws you to these releases? VC: One big draw was that a good friend wrote all the liner notes for the releases.  And he also [re]-discovered a lot of the music.  Being Canadian and a huge fan of West Indian roots music, the Jamaica to Toronto series was obviously a must-do project! LITA: Also, is there a favorite Light In The Attic title you've worked on? One that sticks out as your absolute highlight? VC: I would have to say Jamaica to Toronto, in particular the first, self-titled compilation.  It was done totally analog style, with the only digital work being at the very end for production layout (I am referring to the cover and gatefold; I did not design the booklet for that one).  I made and assembled all the elements for the main image, and we had an amazing photographer shoot the whole scenario.  We had all these crazy lights set up in a furniture factory.  That stuff just doesn't happen anymore. LITA: What are you obsessed with right now in terms of music, food, movies, etc.? VC: Sipreano's new mix for the Sandinista website is sublime.  I'm also a big fan of DJ Harvey and The Force of Nature Crew from Tokyo (what's up Wakkun!).  Food should be local and organic if at all possible.  One love for all the heritage brands such as Filson, Russell, Moccasin, Danner, Woolrich, Pendleton, etc ... they are finally getting some recognition.  Simple and timeless design will always win out over stupid trends.  Blatant localism and quality island time are high priorities right about now. LITA: What are you currently working on? What can we look forward to from Vincent Cook in 2010? VC: I want to dedicate more time to some product and furniture design which I've been sadly neglecting lately.  Matt [Sullivan, co-owner of Light In The Attic] also has a top shelf re-issue project for LITA that I'm hoping to be involved with.  I'm sure he will make it happen.  I should also log more time on The Rivet, and if anyone is interested, I sometimes, but rarely update my blog. http://www.sndnst.com/vancouver/

• October 08, 2009 at 04:00 PM

  BETTY DAVIS WEEK DAY FIVE: WHO WANTS A LIMITED EDITION POSTER?!

  

  A limited edition poster that looks just like this!  Designed by Vincent Cook (he of Sandinista fame, as well as both of our Rodriguez albums, and Doug Randle and our Jamaica to Toronto series) this poster reflects the sultry blue-note days of the silver-booted funkstress we know and love.

  It's limited edition and we've hand numbered all 100 of them.

  How might you, the lucky Betty Davis-ite, win one?  BD once wrote, "My middle name is game," well, we want to know, in a perfect world where Betty Davis sat on a space ship throne and lorded over all, what you're Betty Davis middle name would be? Just put your full Betty Davis-ified name in a comment and our Light In The Attic Middle Name Robots will pick their favorite.

  See this Alex Healy, Betty Davis write-up for some tips!

  Not feeling like a poster, win our recent Betty Davis reissue/release right HERE.

  Or just buy the beautiful thing HERE.

• September 20, 2009 at 04:00 PM

  SIPREANO'S GOT A NEW MIX, AND HE'S HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT!

  It's been a while since we've heard from our man Sipreano (he of Jamaica to Toronto series, he of the vast mind full of musical knowledge) and, honestly, we were starting to miss him.  But, like the golden phoenix, spreading its wings and careening in to the sky, the ashes cascading from its shoulders, Sipreano has returned. He's got a new mix up (which you can grab below), so we sat down with this musical database to figure out what in the hell he's been doing the last few months. PICK UP SIPREANO'S NEW MIX - SWEET GRASS MUSIC - RIGHT HERE!

  

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC: What's the inspiration behind this most recent mix, Sweet Grass Music? SIPREANO: The initial spark was def my friend, LITA graphic designer (Jamaica-Toronto series, Rodriguez, Doug Randle), Vincent Cook, who commissioned this mix via his 2Step/Sandinista clothing company based out of Tokyo, Japan. Over the years, I've done many eclectic music mixes for them (Super Reggae & Soul V. 1-4, Straight Jack, Music Machine) and wanted to start reflecting more of my deep love for lesser-known Canadian sounds spanning folk, psych, soul, jazz, MOR, electronic, and singer-songwriter. The outlaw, the loner, the cosmic, the thinker, the blues…

  

  LITA: We're always asking you about what gems you've been digging out lately, I wonder what you're feeling lately in terms of new music? S: Though I often find myself immersed in the musical past, there's lots of new music coming at me from every angle. Locally in Vancouver, I enjoy Ladyhawk, Pink Mountaintops, Lightning Dust, and Black Mountain but additionally, there are the artists who shun the spotlight while still making great music, folks doing it for the love and craft. Here's a big salute to them! Decaf, WZRDRY, Seekers International!!! LITA: It seems as it been a while since we had a Sipreano update, could you tell us what the last few months have been like for you?  - what you've been working on, what you've been obsessing over, etc. S: Well the last few months have been a period of transition. I've driven across Canada in my trusty car looking for old dogs and records, enjoyed a sand, water, mountain, and sun-fuelled summer on the west coast, endured some monumental heartbreak and frustration, and now, looking forward to some serious head-to-the-grindstone work over the fall and winter to get things back on track. I'm still tackling From Yard To Yonge: Jamaica To Toronto documentary, which charts the musical migration of young West Indian musicians in the late 60s-early 70s as well as hopefully convincing LITA co-owner Matt Sullivan into re-releasing some of my favourite music EVER!!! Current obsessions would have to be my new-old home stereo and record collection which I've been reunited with, iPhone technology, hanging with old friends, 3rd Beach vibrations, lake swimming, exploring cheap yet affordable eats with good company, the Rickshaw Theatre at Main and Hastings in downtown Vancouver (old Shaw Brothers kung-fu movie theatre transformed to great live music venue), following the career of talented artist/musician/writer/actor/comedian and Toronto transplant Robert Dayton (SO TALENTED!!!), Lightning Dust LIVE (go see them!!!), Psych Night at the ANZA club, Kaewonder/Arcee's "Cratery" mixes, Jerry Dammers, and the Pet Shop Boys!!! LITA: The year is slowly creeping to a close, any observations? Highlights? Thoughts on the future? S: Time goes by so fast these days it's scary. Guess I look forward to a productive and creative 2010 for everyone. This past year has been a serious challenge from head to heart to toe and I can't wait to see what the future will bring. On the global scale, I think we could all learn from Danish synth-pop maestros Laid Back. They're holding the secrets man, I tell you. Listen to the grooves. LITA: What are you excited about in terms of reissues right now?  Any huge ones on the horizon that you're keen on? S: The world is saturated with mediocre reissues. Sorry for adding to the glut. Lol! Psych! Believe it or not, I have a long list of culturally significant and time sensitive projects I'd KILL to work on. Always comes down to money and resources. Thank the highest for LITA and the handful of other labels (Mississippi, Honest Jon's, Beatball, Em, Waxing Deep, Numero, etc…) that are really doing solid work in this arena. For me it's all about preserving the original vinyl artifact in today's oft-disposable digital world. We are loosing history by the second, unless people take the time to dig a little deeper and share what they've learnt. Saving pioneering music from a time where over-documentation (internet, digital photography) wasn't omnipresent as it is now. If you look back to today from 40 years in the future, you'll have no trouble finding out anything you want about most bands, many of who are simply pillaging the creative efforts of original 60s-70s-80s artists. There will be an electronic trace. But looking back at the folks from back in the day that started it all, their maverick history could be lost if not documented now. I find that almost criminal. It's an endless process really, though I'm certain that not everything from the past is worthy of bringing back. Good music is good music and always transcends place and time. This is my focus.

• August 24, 2009 at 04:00 PM

  WHAT'S BREWING AT LIGHT IN THE ATTIC?

  Matt Sullivan speaks!

  

  We’ve been meaning to update the blog more often with news on what we’re working on, listening to, loving, hating, and all that. Raise your glasses, here’s to round number one… Working on the release schedule for 2010, which is coming together very nicely. Not sure we’ll ever top Cold Fact but we’ll try in ’10. What’s in store? Well, we can’t spill the beans just yet though. Sit down, sit down, more news coming soon. Small hints… gems from Memphis and Nashvile; another glimpse into the world of all things Gainsbourg and once again a glorious re-mastering by Dave Cooley at Bionic in Los Angeles. I only wish Dave could have re-mastered Serge’s entire catalog. Serge certainly deserves it. Oh, and a project that’s been in the works for five lonnnnng years – close to the life of the label – will FINALLY see the light in 2010. Thank the heavens b/c I don’t know how much longer we could have kept quiet. We’re deep in the midst of a major site redesign. One day soon you won’t have to experience our ancient, clunky site. A friend said it best – your site looks like the nineties. The new site will give us the freedom to quickly update the site with news of what’s going on, video, exclusive mix tapes, limited edition goodies. Thanks for sticking with us.

  

  It’s been a wonderful week - the mailman delivered the goods and our arms got weak carrying it all in… Sometimes we forget the significance of exercise. Must pull away from the office more often or invest in an elliptical machine and Light In The Attic headbands. Anyways, outside our office door we discovered boxes and boxes piled high. Tucked inside were finished copies of our upcoming releases:  Wheedle’s Groove – Kearney Barton (LITA 043), along with the long overdue reprint of our seminal 2004 comp Wheedle’s Groove: Seattle’s Finest in Funk & Soul 1965-75 (LITA 009).  A few years back local DJ and collector Mr. Supreme opened our eyes to a long forgotten Seattle soul scene of the 60s and 70s. Yes, Seattle had an incredibly vibrant funk and soul scene, which birthed notables like Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones, but loads of others who sadly went forgotten. Soon after we spent a solid year tracking down the bands, musicians, engineers, and labels who brilliantly produced these wicked and rare 45s back in the day. Licenses ensued, then a deluxe compilation, followed by much acclaim around the globe and a handful of sold-out shows. The times were too good to disappear once again so we put the musicians back in the studio. Not just any ordinary studio though. We shot for the stars and came close… recording for three solid days at Kearney Barton’s legendary Audio Recording Studios in Seattle. Kearney Barton is the Pacific Northwest sound engineer who recorded many of the original tracks on the 2004 release, including songs by Black On White Affair and the Soul Swingers. Well, the man – nearing 80 – was still hard at it – with his studio doors still open, still using the same archaic analog gear as he had with the aforementioned bands and other Northwest staples that he recorded since his sound design days launched in the late ‘50s – The Sonics, Ventures, Wailers, Don & The Good Times, The Frantics. And loads of national acts from Cal Tjader to Les McCann. You could say he’s the George Martin of the NW sound.  Kearney kindly opened his doors to our Seattle soul supergroup who cut one hell of a record, all straight to analog. We’re completely honored to be releasing this record. Album producer Dynomite D. and music director Johnny Horn were the glue that made this one happen. The album art was the genius of Jamaica to Toronto series photographer Chris Gergley, who kindly took the bus down from Vancouver on a number of occasions, snapping pics at Kearney’s studio. I may have drove him to the brink but fortunately he still picks up the phone. Expect deluxe hand-numbered vinyl on new album - LITA 043. We’ll also be reprinting wax for LITA 009. CDs will drop on September 8th. Vinyl soon after. We’ve gone through 4 test pressings and I think the bastards may have finally got it right. IT MUST SOUND PERFECT!  Too much love has gone into the project to have anything less than absolutely mind-numbingly magical. WOW! As I’m sitting here writing this on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Seattle, the phone rings – it’s Rodriguez and his daughter Regan calling from half away around the globe. The man is in Cardiff, Wales having just walked off stage at the Green Man Festival. Things went very well – fantastic new back-up band, enthusiastic reception, and what sounded like his favorite UK performance to date. He was sad to have missed reconnecting with Animal Collective, but caught Wilco. Seeing the man finally get his due is such a high. I can’t think of anything we’re more proud of over the last six plus years. All of us here feel so lucky to have met the man and his music. Good people don’t come around too often, at least not often enough. Next up… in September he’ll be touring South Africa for the first time in a few years, followed by an early October date at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Recent office favorites – The return of free summer concerts at the Mural Amphitheater at the Seattle Center. Does anyone remember the glory of Pain In The Grass? Fruit Bats – Ruminant (2009, Sub Pop) – none of us expected this to be so damn good. Madmen, Madmen, Madmen – Joan Holloway, please be our intern. ??? Ernie Hines – Electrified (1972, We Produce) The bar in the Moondoggies’ garage. Watch out for the homemade Moonshine. Blogs like Waxidermy and Aquarium Drunkard. Thank the heavens for these two sites delivering the goods day in and day out. Consistency is a beautiful thing. Beck – One Foot In The Grave 2xLP reissue (2009, Iliad/K) – Miss the old Beck like One Foot, Midnite Vultures, and Mellow Gold. Why’d he have to start taking himself all serious? Must hand it to him for his site though – digging the web features Record Club and Irrelevant Topics. Pacific Standard – designers of our upcoming Betty Davis reissues (more info TBA). Best design firm on the planet.  We are lucky bastards to be graced by their presence. Soundcarriers - Harmonium (2009, Melodic) Paseo Caribbean Restaurant – it never gets old. Best sandwiches on the planet hands down. Two blocks away from our office and the scent percolates through our walls. Duane Eddy - Does Bob Dylan (1965, Colpix)

• June 26, 2009 at 01:45 AM

  MATT SULLIVAN TOURS THE WEST COAST WITH RODRIGUEZ - DAY 2: Seattle to Vancouver and back again ...

  Matt Sullivan, co-owner and ticking brain of Light In The Attic, is on the road playing tour manager with the best there is, Rodriguez himself.  He's in a mess of excited blogging and we're here, ready and willing to continue to broadcast his adventures.

  Today: Rodriguez journeys to the seedy holy ground that is LITA Headquarters.

  Sirs, please take it away.

  

  Wake up early in Seattle, Rodriguez and Marc grab some tea, and we're quickly off to the office to pick up the tour merch. Rodriguez at the LITA HQ on Aurora Avenue?! Another beautifully surreal moment. We all geek out, grab some photos, and we're soon on the road, heading north for Vancouver to kick off the West Coast Tour. This marks Rodriguez's first ever Canadian show in his entire life. The man never even played Toronto or Montreal in the 60s/70s. We stop by Avalon Records in Bellingham to say hello and meet Chris and Nils. Good people and store. Rodriguez loves meeting the people. Another reason why he's a truly special soul. Fairly smooth sailing into the Canadian border (surprisingly much stricter and less friendly than the U.S. side). We scan through the radio but don't find much. I remember that Stefan at PIAS France, our fine French distributor told Rodriguez all about Serge Gainsbourg's "Historie de Melody Nelson" LP during Rodriguez's recent trip to Paris. We put on the disc and wig out over the brilliant arrangements and production. Roll into Vancouver and hit the club Richard On Richards. A family reunion ensues... Rodriguez and I reunite with San Francisco band The Fresh & Only's. I love these guys! They're Rodriguez's band for the West Coast dates + the almighty Marc Capelle. The only other time they've been together was during Rodriguez's 36 hour magical trip to San Francisco last November - performing at the Great American Music Hall and an in-store at Amoeba. Bless their hearts. Guitarist Wymond Miles and his wife just had their first son last month but the man is here! Soon in walks Kevin "Sipreano" Howes - liner notes writer for Cold Fact, Coming From Reality, the Monks, and the mastermind behind the Jamaica to Toronto series. Another man that I must say, bless his heart! After a few years in Toronto, Kevin just moved back to Vancouver last month. It's good to see the man. And Kevin brings Stunt Man, mastering wizard behind the Summer Records Anthology and "Innocent Youths" by Earth, Roots & Water. I finally meet the Stunt Man. He is for real.

  

  Sound check goes well and we roll over to Zulu Records for a signing. Good crowd and the staff at Zulu were super cool as always. We grab a quick bite at a diner up the street. Rodriguez scarfs down his favorite meal of choice - soup, soup, soup - while the rest of us grab some sandwiches and tacos. Head back to venue and meet Stephen McBean (Black Mountain/Pink Moutaintops), another man that can do no wrong. I geek out again while meeting Stephen and then once more hanging out with both Rodriguez and Stephen. It's Bushmills, red wine, and smoke. Everyone is all smiles in anticipation for showtime. You can feel it in the air. Side note - pick up Black Mountain's "In The Future" LP if you don't already have it. The world's tightest band and my favorite LP of 2008. This is truly the greatest Canadian welcome - McBean as Pink Mountaintops (Solo) opens the show and Sipreano spins endless 45 gems - psych (Painted Ship), soul (Eddie Spencer), and various other recent finds.

  

  Rodriguez backed by the Fresh & Only's hit the stage around 10:45 with "Inner City Blues" - such a wicked opener. The crowd loved every minute of it, especially the South Africans in the house. And bless their hearts! "Crucify Your Mind" was a personal highlight. I never tire of hearing the tune. Continue to get goosebumps and teary eyed throughout the set and having a hard time comprehending this is reeeeaaaaaliteeee. A big thank you to Rob at Neptoon Records for holding down the fort on the merch table. After the show, Rodriguez came out to say hello and thank everyone that saw the show. Serious class. It quickly turned into a beautiful mob scene, endless autographs and photos. The highlight - a lovely South African family got to meet their hero ("You don't understand, you changed our country. I have listened to Cold Fact every day in my car for over 19 years."). These moments can bring you to tears. And the man is so humble about all the adoration. The next day is a special KEXP radio session in Seattle, so we drive back after the madness dies down. Head out by 2 AM, listening to AM loony toons talk radio (Coast to Coast AM. We need Art Bell back though!). U.S. border guard looks at our passports and asks Rodriguez, "What's your music sound like? Why do you go to South Africa so often?") Good times continue. On the other side, hit the first gas station which happens to be in Blaine, WA. Not a soul in sight and 1920's jazz playing on the gas station speakers. Surreal. An hour later, eyes are getting heavy so we stop at McDonald's for a big ass cup of joe. Who ever told me that McDonald's had good coffee may need a lobotomy (Yes, I can't believe I believed them either). Quite possibly the worst coffee on the planet. But... it got us home. Pull into Seattle at 4:30 AM and we slept like a rock. The next day IS-THE-DAY! Follow the whole thing live on Twitter

• March 04, 2009 at 01:44 PM

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC CANADA, REJOICE, SIPREANO SPINS THIS WEEKEND

  

  Kevin Howes a.k.a. Sipreano is master of many trades: writing (have you seen the Jamaica to Toronto liner notes), musical knowledge (the man is a steel trap of information), and of course, of course, knocking down the house with a monster DJ set of some of the rarest, most untapped cuts. Well, Sipreano is gearing up to bring down the house again this weekend and he wanted us to pass along the information.  So, looksie down below, 'cause that's where the information is.  Feel lucky Canada, you've got a real treasure in your midst: Host: Sipreano and DJ Body Beautiful Start Time: Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 8:30pm End Time: Monday, March 9, 2009 at 2:30am Location: The Ossington Street: 61 Ossington Avenue City/Town: Toronto, ON Sit....Listen....Feel.... MOODS Sipreano and D.J. Body Beautiful spin a boutique mix of: ELUSIVE DREAMINGS/PRIVATE PRESSINGS/FREE FORMS/CAN CON CONCRETE/B SIDE EXCURSIONS/ELECTRONIC PRIMITIVA/EMOTIONS/EURO HORRORS/INTENSELY PERSONAL VISIONS/DEEP PSYCH/UN-EASY LISTENINGS AND BALLADS/PRISON SOUNDTRACKS/FANTASTIC JOURNEYS OF WONDER/ ORGAN-ISMS/NEO-BAROQUE *With a candlelight night recitation by Robert Dayton, Junior To Hurting People, Since we are struggling with pain, even at this moment, we have first hand knowledge of what it is like to experience the silence of God. Sometimes the immense loneliness of pain-whether physical, mental or emotional-is completely overwhelming! As you listen to us spin, let the music wash over your brokenness as great healing waves of God’s merciful love until you hear the music once again. From our hearts to yours, Sipreano and D.J. Body Beautiful Christened by the son of thunder, Sipreano can rock a party with folk songs. Born in the east and raised in the west, he roams our fair country to uncover its little-known sound heritage. He is a curator of sounds, archival materials, and previously undocumented history, as showcased in Light in the Attic Records' six album Jamaica-Toronto reissue series ("Wayne McGhie & the Sounds of Joy", "Jamaica to Toronto", "Noel Ellis", Jackie Mittoo-"Wishbone", "Summer Records Anthology", and "Earth Roots & Water's "Innocent Youths"), Sixto Rodriguez' "Cold Fact" and "Coming From Reality", The Monks' "Black Monk Time", and most recently, Canadian composer-arranger Doug Randle's "Songs for the New Industrial State (CBC, 1970). MOODS will see Sipreano reach deep into his oddball crates to project serious atmospherics, vibes, and provide an emotional deep feeling soundtrack to the week's final comedown. D.J. Body Beautiful is Robert Dayton, a personality of living flesh and blood. Robert regularly contributes illustrations, features, obits, and quips to Roctober, Cinema Sewer, Free Drawings, Broken Pencil, and $2 Comes With Mix Tape, as well as the books “Lost In The Grooves: Scram’s Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed” and “Nog A Dod: Prehistoric Canadian Psychedooolia.” And as an artist he exhibits fully. Robert is a performer and songwriter with: hot new Toronto band WET DIRT; melodramatic glitter rock act Hallmark; defunct acid downer folk trio Points Gray; legendary longtime lucidly malleable act July Fourth Toilet; modern song and dance duo Canned Hamm. As an actor Robert Dayton starred in the feature “Male Fantasy” , as 'theatre teacher' in a shelved Hillshire Farms commercial, and appears in the upcoming “Leslie, My Name Is Evil”. Due to his candour he has been a Master of Ceremonies as himself and as other bizarre personae. As D.J. Body Beautiful he spins at MUSK. But at MOODS he will console you. NO COVER

• February 23, 2009 at 02:26 PM

  STORE OF THE WEEK: SOUNDSCAPES, TORONTO, ONT

  Alright, alright, stop sending hate letters to Intern Ralph demanding that we jump start the defunct Store of the Week post.  It isn't Intern Ralph's fault, he's just a big sensitive man whom we've propped up in front of the gates to take the majority of your slings and arrows and we couldn't appreciate him more for it. We're frantically busy right now throwing together a slew of new releases that will, we promise, blow your mind and sometimes, just sometimes, some of our favorite columns fall to the wayside. That said, we got in contact with one of our favorite record stores from The Great White North, Soundscapes in Toronto, and badgered them in to answering a few of our favorite questions.  These guys and gals have been great to us from the get-go and we couldn't be happier to shower them with a bit of praise. Take it away gentlemen: STORE OF THE WEEK: Soundscapes, Toronto, Ontario

  

  1.  Store Description, history...etc- Soundscapes opened it’s door almost 10 years ago in July 1999.  I had been working as an accountant but got tired of punching the calculator, so I quit my cushy office job and decided to open a music store.  Soundscapes is known for its eclectic selection of music that veers to the more overlooked and offbeat artists of the past and present.  We carry all the usual genres of music but also have unique sections for Psych/Garage, Prog/Art Rock & the British Invasion.  We also have one of the best selections of music books & DVDs. 2.  What is your favorite record right now? My favorite record is the self-titled debut release by a band called Surf City.  Last January when I was in Auckland, New Zealand, I ventured into the local record shop and asked them what the best local music was and they handed me this CD.  It recalls the urgent, jangly guitar sound of the classic Flying Nun bands like The Clean.

  

  3.  What is your favorite LITA release? There are so many great releases on the label but our favorite is undoubtedly the Jamaica To Toronto series and specifically the initial Jamaica To Toronto compilation. 4.  Favorite record to play in the shop? Whenever we play Karen Dalton we see customer’s jaws drop and inevitably field the question “Who is this singer?” 5.  What is the best in-store performance?

  

  So many highlights including Feist & Broken Social Scene, last March, Bon Iver performed long before his most recent success.  One of our most unique in-stores was a book signing by Eddie Shaw of The Monks so we’re excited about your upcoming reissue of Black Monk Time. 6.  Funniest story about the shop? Many years ago Little Steven Van Zandt of the E-Street Band stopped by and bought up half of our Psych/Garage section, much of which we later heard him play on his radio show.  But the thing I remember most about his visit was the site of his plumbers crack as he was browsing for music.  Yes, even rock gods are human! --- Thanks guys! Soundscapes Official Website Soundscapes on Myspace

• December 11, 2008 at 04:46 PM

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC 2ND ANNUAL YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  

  As the year rumbles to another cliff-hanging conclusion, we here at Light In The Attic are reminded of a few things.  First, we've got a a lot of people who've helped us out this year and last year and all the many years that have come before.  Second, we don't have the money to buy each of them a gold plated Rolls Royce like we wish we could.  And finally, we reached out to these solid gold peeps last year and asked them to help us out with a little something we called THE LIGHT IN THE ATTIC YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  Well, we're just as damn thankful this year, so we reached out again, and asked just one thing: give us a Year End List.  It doesn't matter the subject, the length, the allusions to your past lovers - we just want to know what made you smile, made you happy, made you exist this year.  Again, we've received a staggering amount of amazing lists from a diverse and wonderful group of people including musicians, record store owners, publicists, authors, bloggers and on and on and on ...

  Once again, thanks to the always brilliant Drew Christie for putting together another staggeringly cool Year End Extravaganza banner.  You're the best Drew, and we promise we'll give you back your medicine now.

  So, please, sit down, take a deep breath, 'cause here we go again:

  THE SECOND ANNUAL LIGHT IN THE ATTIC YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  Rodriguez

  

  I know I'm from the old century, but I still like to hear what all the young bloods are listening to today. There's Duffy's Mercy and the new album by David Holmes. I've listened to tracks by the Arctic Monkeys, The Liars and Deerhoof...there's just so much out there! Of course, there's always great sounds from the past like Buffy Sainte-Marie (who I saw play in Detroit earlier this year) and really early Dylan or Jimmy Reed. I still like to listen to Ike Turner's Rocket 88 or anything that features Dennis Coffey. He played lead guitar on my album Cold Fact. Then there's his own classic piece Scorpio. There's also a DJ from Paris called Space Cowboy. He turned my tune Sugar Man into his own song called These Dreams and it really gets people dancing! It's all international now. I hear bhangra tracks from India, fado from Portugal and ballads from Sweden. Sometimes I don't understand the language, but I still like to hear it. It all has musical value to me.

  Sipreano, Writer, Producer, DJ (Jamaica-Toronto and beyond...)

  

  1) Roti - My (almost) daily bread here in Toronto. Locals or folks visiting should go to Ali's West Indian Roti Shop on Queen West for some Trini goodness (loving Barb's out in Mississauga too!!!). 2) Looking ahead - 2009 is shaping up to be a good one with Doug Randle's Songs For The New Industrial State (LITA/Kanata/CBC) reissue hitting the shelves shortly (January 27, iTunes on the 13th). It's the then 40-year-old composer's personal What's Going On (recorded a year before!!!) and an all-time twisted sunshine pop favorite (David Axelrod meets the Free Design??? also featuring Laurie Bower from the Mutual Understanding and Tommy Ambrose on vocals, w/ jazz legend Gene Lees and super producer Dave Bird involvement). Please support this reissue! Keep your eyes peeled to www.lightintheattic.net for more information. 3) Travel - NYC (Black Mountain live!!!), Detroit (see below), Vancouver (miss my friends, especially on the beach or at any number of killer eateries), Seattle (hanging w/ dad, free lunch w/ LITA honcho Matt Sullivan is always top, seeing Josh and rest of LITA posse, Big Chan session, participating at the EMP Pop Conference, amazing burritos at the Burlington Tacos Guaymas on the way back north), Winnipeg (Birdapres "Toothpaste" EP, Alycia's, Portage and Main not 15 below), Regina (Western Pizza, architecture), Saskatoon (Prairie fire), and a few trips to Montreal (JA/TDOT live, poutine, ODB, and zoomer walks)... 4) Blogs are killing it (w/ free music and more, sup Kamandi??? Kaewonder???), but LPs, 12"s, and 7"s just sound (look and feel) so much better (Kam and Kae know this too!!!): Comus-First Utterance, dozens of oddball non-charting Canadian singles (my ever growing obsession, "German Stalker"??? WTF???), nuff reggae bits and bobs, 80s UK, vintage electronic pop/dance, Quebecois ("Je me souviens"), Pacific Northwest Oceanic (small-hole Capilano, thanks Morgan!!!), dusted bar rock, more MOR, Warpig-s/t, and so on. My vinyl addiction is in full swing again... 5) Rodriguez and The Monks - Gotta shout out to Sixto and Regan Rodriguez for hosting me in Detroit (time to bundle up), showing me the sights, breaking bread, and sharing your history. It was a total honor and I'm really looking forward to the re-release of Coming From Reality. Live soon. Also stoked to rap w/ the remaining Monks for two upcoming LITA reissues. Black Monk Time (and The Monks' Demos) really penetrated my brain's grey matter (and should enter yours too)!!! 6) T&T - My favorite (hangover) hang-out in Toronto (bar Pope's kitchen). Samples, cafe-style eats, tunes, and so many rad Asian groceries. 7) Sandinista/2Step - Japanese family from way back. Thanks for letting me do yet another mix for y'all ("Share The Land", CDN folk, psych, space, and mellow). http://www.sndnst.com/music_mixer.html. Also wanna shout to Fuku at Nonnative for the mad support!!! 8) Truth & Soul and Rostarr - Big ups for the HIGH EXPLOSION podcast link (and photo magic from Ro vs. Decaf!!!)... 9) Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, and Ice Palace - Love hanging with these fine folks anywhere. Your music inspires me (somebody please release IP's For The Birds, produced by BM's Josh Wells, best album you've never heard... yet)... 10) Flickr - Thanks to Decaf from WZRDRY (and fellow music/photo maestro Chris Frey) I jumped on the Flickr bandwagon. Love taking snaps. Tilson, The Saturday Knights

  

  1. Made it into the July issue of Ukrainian Playboy 2. Was a model for The Goods product catalog 3. Met Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – has pictures, still needs to print them 4. Wyclef show at The Showbox (the first time he played Seattle, not the second) 5. Definitely will be playing Santa at a party in the immediate future - no details as to where 6. Says he got a “dope, dope, dope Circa Backpack” 7. In the works: clothes are being designed for him 8. Got to do shows... got to be on TV (w/ Nancy Guppy) 9. Went to a lot of meetings, as he says “It means you’re about to do something…” 10. Got Boondocks box-set 11. Was elected Mayor... of his own imagination.

  *Honorable mention: Lost a commercial spot to the RZA: “It happens.” - Tilson LIGHT IN THE ATTIC PEOPLE:

  

  Matt Harrow, All-Seeing, All-Knowing Top 5 Oasis Songs of 2008: 1. Falling Down 2. Soldier On 3. The Rapture 4. Get off Your High Horse Lady 5. Bag It Up Noah Sanders, Blogspert Top Six Reasons Why I Survived Another Year: 1. Let The Right One In - the Swedes seemingly know two things: outstandingly tall, gorgeous blondes and awkwardly endearing flicks about 12 year old boys falling in love with ageless vampires. A strange combination of gore and heart string yanking that makes for one of the better movies I've seen in a while. 2. Sub Pop 20 - I've been to a lot of festivals and never before have I experienced such a since of shared community and history. Also, I was on the VIP list, and having a mansion full of booze and chow at my disposal (and boy oh boy did I take advantage of that) really put a sunny glow on the whole occasion. 3. Mad Men - I've been talking up The Sopranos as the best show in the world for a while now, but if Mad Men can keep up the brilliance of it's first two seasons, I'm ready to throw my hat in that ring. Don Draper is as sexy a man as I'll admit, and each and every word in this series is licensed to kill. If you're missing it you're dumb. That is all. 4. Sifting through Matt Sullivan's CD/Record Wall - Sullivan has this shelf in his office where he just has this amazing, random assortment of albums. I'll make up some excuse to go in there and just babble away while I sift through all of his fantastic music. Sullivan gets edgy after a while, but raise a fist to the little guy and he'll quiet right down. 5. NYC - There's a lot of hype about the Big Apple and each and every word of it is completely and totally deserved. This is the greatest city in America and fuck any and all who worry about it's overwhelming size or the rudeness of people. Hopefully at some point my future lands me there. 6. Criterion Quest - If you don't know, now you know ... Matt Sullivan, Co-Head Honcho TOP 18: THANK A HIGHER POWER FOR… 1) Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Rodriguez 2) Skagit River Ranch Bacon - best bacon I have ever tasted 3) Harold & Maude Soundtrack - Vinyl Films couldn't have done it any better 4) The Wire: the epic, final season aka the greatest show on any planet, ever made, ever. 5) Mad Men - runner up for the greatest show ever 6) Aaron Zon & Music Manufacturing Services in Toronto. Thank the lord above! 7) Charles Aaron on Labi Siffre at EMP Pop Conference, Seattle, WA, April 12th 8) Rancho Bravo - tasty tacos of the finest caliber 9) The Saturday Knights 2008 Doughnut Eating Contest - long live Billy The Fridge! 10) Stop Smiling Magazine - best magazine ever 11) The Emerald City making a much needed comeback - Moondoggies, TSK, Curious Mystery, Fleet Foxes, Dyme Def... 12) The Vaselines (with Belle & Sebastian as Frances & Eugene's back-up band), Sub Pop 20 Festival (aka most organized festival ever), Marymoor Park, Redmond, WA, July 11th 13) Roky Erickson & The Black Angels - Tour of the Century 14) Ocho, Ballard, WA - tapas and drinks. Get the Chorizo de la Mancha and the Patatas Bravas 15) Vetiver - Thing Of The Past 16) The Meeting: Rodriguez & Stephen John Kalinich - 11:15pm PST, Fri, Nov 21st, 2008 17) Dolly Parton at WAMU Theater, Seattle, August 8th 18) Black Mountain - In The Future 19) Randy Newman - Good Old Boys - thank you Mr. Johnny Horn for showing me the light TOP 7: PLEASE MAKE ME FORGET… 1) Thingmakers - the shittiest manufacturer on planet earth. And the worst decision we ever made. Whatever you do, find another manufacturer. 2) Sarah Palin - America almost went nuts. Almost. 3) Speaking to mom and pops about politics 4) The Wire - HOW CAN IT BE OVER? 5) Mad Men - And how will one survive 12 months without Don Draper and Christina Hendricks? 6) Drunk bicycling 7) George Jr. Sandy Wilson, He Of The Television 1) The Black Angels "You On The Run" in the upcoming Jim Jarmusch film THE LIMITS OF CONTROL 2) Getting 2 placements on WEEDS this year, The Free Design's "Love You" on the season 4 finale and The Soul Swingers "Brighter Tomorrow" on episode 2. 3) Brent Amaker & The Rodeo's "You Call Me The Devil" on season 2 / episode 6 of Showtime's Californication 4) The Black Angels "Young Men Dead" on the 1st episode of J.J. Abrams's new FOX series FRINGE 5) When The Free Design's "Love You" scored another killer foreign commercial - this time for Norway's FREIA Chocolate 'SMIL' spot 6) When The Free Design scored yet another spot on a German spot ("I Found Love" from the Re-Designed comp) for CAMPINA dairy products 7) ...and then The Free Design scored another Australian spot - this time for Cadbury Spring Juices. 8) And even another Australian spot - but this time for The Sound Carriers "I Had A Girl" for McCain's Pizza 9) Every time that Tilson came by the office to hang out and cast his rays of sunshine upon us - or any of the times that The Blakes came by and brought booze. Josh Wright, Mr. Distribution Fav 10 from 08' 1. Apple Cup 2. Eric Levin's AIMS speech 3. TSK & The Budos Band live! 4. Rodriguez @ Joe's Pub 5. Albert Walker 6. Paseo 7. Midem 8. Ph*sh reuniting (shhh) 9. Agua Verde 10. Suck out's Akoustik Anarkhy, DJs, Record Label

  

  1. Our new home The Deaf Institute in Manchester 2. Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - Ark 1 3. Ruby Suns appearance at aA and their album Sea Lion 4. New bands 'the animal collective' - its a buffalo, Cats In Paris, Slag Rabbit, Three Trapped Tigers and more obvious Fleet Foxes 5. BBC Radiophonic Reissues 6. Fujiya & Miyagi's remix of Mercury Rev 7. Neil Young live in Amsterdam, Hop Farm, the BBC documentary, upcoming Sugar Mountain release and the hope of the archives in 09 8. Lexie Mountain Boys 9. DJ Mujava - Township Funk 10. Fleetwood Mac – ‘Never Going Back Again' (Tom Croose Edit) Shawn Anderson, Bumpershine, Thus Spake Drake I've still got a bit of a blindspot to the first half of 2008... 5. Early 90's guitar bending bands reunite/tour (My Bloody Valentine, Polvo, Swervedriver) 4. Sundance's Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... is the best thing to happen to music on tv since Night Music. 3. Sub Pop 20 festival - seeing all the kids of us old rockers playing together added to the nostalgia 2. News that Guided By Voices songs are to be the basis for a Steven Soderburgh 3D musical about Cleopatra. 3D! 1. November 4, 2008 Andy & Jen, Band In Boston Song we can't wait to hear on an album: Akudama - Johnny Appleseed Best Bands You Should Know Akudama Doomstar The Soft Drugs Low Red Land Best Album Apollo Sunshine - Shall Noise Upon Angie, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: Delta Spirit – Ode to Sunshine Nick Cave - Dig, Lazarus, Dig Carrie Rodriguez – She Ain’t Me Jason Collett - Here's To Being Here Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes Blitzen Trapper – Furr The Black Keys – Attack & Release David Byrne/Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today MGMT - Oracular Spectacular Rodriguez – Cold Fact Next 5: Jim White – Transnormal Skiparoo Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree Dr. Dog – Fate Calexico – Carried to Dust Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in the Grain Doug Arnold Owner, Dusty Groove Top Records of 2008 Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) Motown Bo Diddley  - Road Runner -- The Chess Masters 1959 to 1960 Chess/Hip-O Select (reissue) Giant Sand - proVisions Yep Roc Jay Reatard - Matador Singles '08 Matador Portishead - Third Mercury Gene Shaw - Break Through Argo/Dusty Groove (reissue) Nabil Ayers, The Control Group, Sonic Boom Records, The Long Winters ALBUMS I ENJOYED El Perro Del Mar  - From The Valley To The Stars Black Mountain - In The Future Lykke Li - Youth Novels Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It... Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game In Town Deerhunter - Microcastle The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust SONGS I REALLY LIKED Santogold "L.E.S. Artistes" MGMT "Time To Pretend" Sons & Daughters "Gilt Complex" TV On The Radio "Crying" Death Cab For Cutie "I Will Possess Your Heart" SHOWS THAT WERE GREAT Deerhoof @ Irving Plaza Black Mountain @ Jon Treneff's house Lykke Li @ Le Poisson Rouge El Perro Del Mar @ El Rey Bad Brains @ Irving Plaza Kinski @ Sub Pop Festival Teenage Fanclub @ some festival in Barcelona Lavender Diamond @ my wedding Matthew Bailey Virgin Music 1.       Bell X1 – Flock 2.       Nada Surf – Lucky 3.       Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke 4.       Robyn – Robyn 5.       Kings of Leon – Only by the Night 6.       Sia – Some People Have Real Problems 7.       Amy MacDonald – This Is The Life 8.       Jason Mraz – We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. 9.       Earlimart – Hymn and Her 10.   Martha Wainwright – I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings, Too 11.   Adele – 19 12.   Ron Sexsmith – Exit Strategy for the Soul 13.   The Weepies – Hideaway 14.   Duffy – Rockferry 15.   Beck – Modern Guilt 16.   Paddy Casey – Addicted to Company 17.   Peter Bradley Adams – Leavetaking 18.   MGMT – Oracular Spectacular 19.   Sunny Levine – Love Rhino 20.   The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely Noteworthy Tracks 1.       "Giggling Again for No Reason" – Alanis Morrissette 2.       "Orbiting" – The Weepies 3.       "Move for Me" – Kaskade 4.       "28 Butts" – Little Jackie 5.       "Where I Stood" – Missy Higgins 6.       "A New Sky" – The Presets 7.       "Lost!" – Coldplay 8.       "Great DJ" – The Ting Tings 9.       "I Want You to…" – Jem 10.   "Brittle Bones" – Richard Walters 11.   "Trouble Is a Friend" – Lenka 12.   "Freeway" – Aimee Mann 13.   "You Don't See Me" – Keane 14.   "Fish in a Womb" – The Faint 15.   "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance" – Black Kids 16.   "Everybody but Me" – Lykke Li 17.   "Pretty Please (Love Me)" – Estelle featuring Cee-Lo 18.   "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" – Madonna 19.   "All I See" – Kylie Minogue 20.   "My Baby…" – Juliana Hatfield Kevin Barker, Currituck Co. 1. As I'm sure many others here will note, Barack Obama and Joe Biden defeat Sarah Palin and some other dude in history's most important World Series. 2. As I'm sure no one else here will note, the Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in history's 847th most important World Series. 3. Fire Joe Morgan blog - the sadly ended blog by a couple of writers from the American Office and their buddies about how blockheaded baseball writers and commentators are. Along with reading Michael Lewis's Moneyball, this blog made me wish I actually followed baseball. 4. Vetiver - Thing of the Past - sure, I'm biased, since I played a couple licks on this album, but seriously: Show me a better record released this year and I'll...I'll...I guess download it illegally off the internet? 5. The part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Paul Rudd goes, "I wonder if the carpet matches her pubes." Also watching Sarah Palin eat shit in Katie Couric's interview. I don't know which of the two were funnier so I put them both. Note to Saturday Night Live, don't try to do a Forgetting Sarah Palin sketch, because I just made it up, right here while typing this list, and I'm registering it with the WGA as we speak. Brian Barr, Writer, Seattle Weekly 1) Saiva Siddhantha Hindu Temple, Kaua’i, Hawaii: The weather was hot and thick and the mosquitoes were vicious. But that all faded away as we knelt down in the temple to meditate. 2) Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - Lie Down in the Light: What all great records are made of: Singing songs of god, nature, and family, while pleading for a woman to suck you off in public. 3) Dana Goodyear’s profile of Gary Snyder in The New Yorker: “Being Buddhist doesn’t necessarily mean being a good Buddhist.” 4) Hillary Clinton: What can I say? I dig powerful women. Catherine the Great. Queen Hatshepsut, Cleopatra, Empress Wu Zeitan, Isabella of Castile, The Iroquois decision-makers, I could go on and on. 5) Mudhoney: Standing there in the Sunset Tavern, watching Mark Arm and Steve Turner scorch the faces off of every pickle-faced hipster in the joint with their timeless psychededelic-gut-bowl-blues-raunch. The kinda music that puts hair on your chest. 6) West Seattle and Easy Street Records: Imagine an entire neighborhood anchored by an incredible independent record store. 7) Georgetown Brewing Company: Growlers refills for $6! Plus they come cask-conditioned so the beer won’t go flat by the time you get it home. 8) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah (Part One): I'm also a sucker for freak genius women who make great records and offer zero apologies for being who they are. 9) The New Yorker’s George Packer: My professor once told me “Good writing is just clear thinking on the page.” 10) The Saturday Knights - Mingle Interviewing Bill Cosby for 30 Minutes Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil Lou Reed - The Bells Rodriguez - Cold Fact Thomas Pynchon Against the Day (took me 2 years, but I finally finshed it) John Cale: “Dying on the Vine” Lillian Ross Portrait of Hemingway Abe Rosenthal Thirty-Eight Witnesses William T. Vollmann The Rifles and Riding Toward Everywhere Norman Mailer (R.I.P.) Miami and the Siege of Chicago Nick Tosches The Devil and Sonny Liston Harold Pinter Old Times Finding Gary Snyder's translation of Cold Mountain Poems at that bookstore in Hanapepe. Elana Berman, Rhapsody My top 5 at age 25 Fave new artist: Ben Sollee (a talented classically trained cellist turned folk singer songwriter works it out) Fave new song: Kid Kudi "Day N Nite" (get into it here: play.rhapsody.com/kidcudi/daynnite) Fave new town: Nashville, TN (I hope to live there one day) Fave concert: JJ Grey & Mofro at The Independent in SF, CA Fave new restaurant: Mi Lindo Peru Restaurant (a small hole in the wall gem in the Outer Mission District) Andy Beta, Writer Extraordinaire 2008 was not just a blur, but a dreamy one at that. From starting off the new year with a bang in Bangkok to having my ears (and mind) blown out at the My Bloody Valentine ATP Festival, it was one of the more profound calendars of my life, which a Top Five can just scarcely skim the surface of. Anyhow, peeps like listicles... 5) Pad Thai in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Bangkok. About to head to Suvarnabhumi International Airport (way before protests shut 'em down), a friend took me to the dopest street eat spot around. Set up (no shit) in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven, this was the most bomb Pad Thai I've ever eaten in my life. The locals flipped for it too and the vendor would sell out massive batches of the stuff in under five minutes. I probably saw them mix up five huge batches while I ate. Spicy, fresh, aswim with these dried shrimps, I bought another parcel of it to eat during the 17-hour flight home. 4) Disco dancing at the No Ordinary Monkey party I've written a few articles about the renaissance of this music and keep digging deeper into the grooves. Euphoric, hedonistic, covert, cheesy as shit, I dug everything from the disco edits of Pilooski and Betty Botox to scores of Claire's "High On Love," Boney M, and Sylvia Striplin, to the late-night parties of N.O.M. Favorite tunes dropped at this Chinatown dinner buffet party palace: Lime "On the Grid," Slim Harpo's "Shake Your Hips" (as edited by Thom of Rub-n-Tug) and Gloria Gaynor's "Do It Yourself." 3) In-N-Out Burger I sat in four hours of traffic out in LA, and then sat in the drive-thru lane at In-N-Out Burger for another 45 minutes. Totally worth it after spending heaps of dough buying --what else?-- disco records at the dreamlike Amoeba store on Sunset Blvd. 2) All My Friends Not the LCD Soundsystem song (though that's glorious as well), just the people I got around me these days. Love 'em to death. Being with them up at ATP Festival in Monticello was three days of the most delightful strains of madness. 1) Election Night And then to see them all openly weeping on this night gave me a great sense of peace and hope. And natch, we then set it off and danced to "All My Friends." Bill Bentley, Sonic Boomers Best Albums of 2008 Bobby Charles - Homemade Songs (Rice ‘N’ Gravy) Carlene Carter - Stronger (Yep Roc) Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin’ (Lost Highway) Brett Dennen - Hope For The Hopeless (Dualtone) Bon Iver - For Emma, Long Ago (Jagjaguwar) Bo Ramsey - Fragile (BRR) Al Green - Lay It Down (Blue Note) James Jackson Toth - Waiting In Vain (Rykodisc) Debashish Bhattacharya - Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey (Riverboat) Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine (Rounder) Heather Browne, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends Favorite Things of 2008 Albums: Nada Surf - Lucky Frightened Rabbit - Midnight Organ Fight Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago Hold Steady - Stay Positive The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine Centro-matic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks Neil Halstead - Oh! Mighty Engine Everything Absent or Distorted - The Great Collapse Little Joy - Little Joy Favorite EPs: The Avett Brothers - Second Gleam EP Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers - Confiscation EP Honorary/should have been on last year's damn list: Radiohead - In Rainbows (physical release) Film/documentary: Rape of Europa Jenny Bulley, MOJO New albums Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago The Hold Steady – Stay Positive The Week That Was – The Week That Was Foals - Antidotes Reissues: New Order - Movement Mudhoney - Superfuzz Big Muff My Bloody Valentine – Loveless Rodriguez – Cold Fact Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue Caribou

  

  1. Theo Parrish - Love Triumpant / Goin' Downstairs (Sound Signature Sounds) 2. Koushik - Out My Window (Stones Throw) 3. Thai Orchestra - Thai Orchestra (Mississippi Records) [reissue] 4. Benge - Twenty Systems (Expanding Records) 5. Valerio Cosi - Collected Works (Porter Records) Drew Christie, Artist, Scholar, Genius

  

  1. Listening to Folk Songs of Idaho and Utah (by Rosalie and Jim Sorrels-Folkways 1961) while driving down the Oregon coast with my sweetheart. 2. Playing Michael Hurley's Candolin (fiddle/mandolin made out of a paint can) 3. Getting tips from Mike Seeger on building instruments 4. Finding two Roy Bookbinder albums at Bop Street 5. Seeing Leon Redbone play from 5 feet away Claire, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: TV on the Radio - Dear Science Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward Nick Cave - Dig, Lazarus, Dig Beck – Modern Guilt MGMT - Oracular Spectacular Justice – (Cross) The Kills - Midnight Boom Cat Power – Jukebox The Black Keys – Attack & Release Ratatat – LP3 Next 5: David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea The Black Angels - Directions to See A Ghost Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On Justin Cosby, Head Honcho, Intertia Distribution (Australia) ** DISCLAIMER – Delivered & selected under extreme duress. Top 10 Records Alberta Cross – The Thief & The Heartbreaker Amazing Baby – Infinite Cross A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago Burial - Untrue Frightened Rabbit – Midnight Organ Fight MGMT – Oracular Spectacular Nick Cave – Dig Lazarus Dig Plants & Animals – Parc Avenue We Were Promised Jet Packs – Quiet Little Voices EP Deerhunter – Cryptograms Terry Currier, Owner, Music Millennium (Portland, OR) Top Records 1) Derby - Posters Fade 2) David Grissom - Loud Music 3) Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal 4) Helio Sequence -Keep Your Eyes Ahead 5) Blitzen Trapper - Furr 6) Darker My Love - 2 7) Love Psychedelico - This Is 8) Patty Loveless - Sleepless Nights 9) Paul Thorn - Love Way From Tupelo 10) The Strawbs - Broken Hearted Bride Top Reissues 1) Van Duren - Are You Serious 2) Eddie Bo - In The Pocket With Eddie Bo 3) Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue 4) Larry Norman - Anthology Tony Davis, CIMS Music Top 10 Records of 2009 1. Nightmarchers - See You In Magic - Swami Records 2. Radiohead - Wed 27 August 2008 Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, CA, USA 3. My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges - ATO Records 4. TV on the Radio - Dear Science - Interscope 5. Gutter Twins, July 10, 2008  Roxy in Los Angeles 6. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains DVD 7. Portishead - Third 8. Obits -One Cross Apiece 7 inch 9. Dengue Fever - Venus on Earth 10. Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue Pak David Dickenson, Suicide Squeeze 10 highlights from 2008 (In no particular order and excluding Suicide Squeeze related shit) Successful back surgery for my dog Mary My surprise birthday trip to Los Angeles (thanks beast!) Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. [Kranky Records] Al moving to Seattle Flying Lotus - Los Angeles [Warp Records] Barack Obama Late night drives with Adam at SXSW 2008 Gang Gang Dance live at The Triple Door Pineapple Express day trip Adele “Chasing Pavements” {single} DJ Supreme LA Rock 5. DJs selling their OG Vinyl because they use MP3's now 4. The Resurrection of my "Soul, Style & Truth" Radio Show 3. The ltd. edition TITS x DJ Supreme Collaboration T - Shirt 2. 7" 45rpm vinyl serato controllers 1. Barack Obama winning the election Martin Doyle Ivy League Best Albums Of 2008 1.     Bon Iver -  For Emma, Forever Ago 2.     Eddy Current Suppression Ring -  Primary Colours 3.     Wooden Shjips – Volume 1 4.     The Black Angels – Directions To See A Ghost 5.     Black Mountain  - In The Future 6.     David Vandervelde – Waiting For The Sunrise 7.     Pivot – O Soundtrack My Hear' 8.     Santogold – S/T 9.     Diplo/Santogold – Top Ranking 10.   The Bug – London Zoo Best Lost and Found Discoveries of 2008 1.     Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription 2.     Rodriguez - Cold Fact 3.     Mulatu Astatke - Ethiopiques 4 (2nd year running) 4.     Alice Coltrance - Journey In Satchidananda 5.     Champion Jack Dupree - Blues From The Gutter 6.     Ten Years After - Self Titled 7.     Brian Jonestown Massacre - Their Satanic Majesties Second Request 8.     Neil Young - Greatest Hits 9.     Leaf Hound - Growers Of Mushrooms 10.   The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico Greg Dulli, Twilight Singers, Afghan Whigs, Gutter Twins

  

  1. Frisky Dingo Seasons 1 and 2. Hands down the greatest cartoon of all time. If I were to answer the Proust Questionnaire query about my favorite hero of fiction; my answer would be Killface, the shallowest, deepest and most conflicted and tortured soul ever committed to whatever cartoons are committed to. I cannot adequetely describe the genius that is consistently on display every second of every episode. Adam Reed, the creator (and voice of Killface, Xander Crews, Wendell, Ronnie the Xtacle and Nearl ("Is this really Babar's House?"), has apparently pulled a Dave Chappelle and gone on walkabout. I can only hope that he pulls it together to give us Season Three. Please God. 2. Istanbul. What can I say about the most beautiful city in Europe/Asia? Have breakfast in Europe and then cross the Bosphorus for lunch in Asia Minor. It is the jam. There are mosques next door to discos and everybody smokes. Muslim extremists could learn a thing or two from their more laid back brethren. I think it was that fact and being able to smoke legally in an elevator that made me finally quit smoking cigarettes. What more had I to do as a smoker? I had reached the pinnacle. 3. Terry Callier. I not only got to see him perform for the first time in Ireland this summer, but he sat with Lanegan and I before his set and answered all our fanboy questions like a kindly uncle. Then he got up, walked to the stage and tore the motherfucker down. Terry Callier is a giant among men. 4. Tinariwen. Have loved their records for years and finally got to see them at the same Irish festival. They are mesmerizing, hypnotic, transcendent and all the things you want a band to be when you're doing mushrooms on the side of their stage. 5. Slumdog Millionaire. You know how it's going to end in the first ten minutes and you don't care. You just take the ride and watch the fairy tale unfold. It's like Great Expectations and Oliver Twist transported to modern India and it is electric. A great film by a great director and the kids at the beginning are fucking priceless. I loved it. Chris Estey, Writer, Publicist

  

  420 & A COP'S SKULL FULL OF RUM OF THE SOUL: Artist of the Year: LoveLand - The Beautiful Truth Musical Comeback of the Year/Reissue Album: Rodriguez - Cold Fact Spoken Word Reissue: Iceberg Slim - Reflections TV show: Mad Men Book(s): Carl Wilson's 33 1/3 on Celine Dion; BOMP by Greg and Suzy Shaw Live show: The Saturday Knights at Bumbershoot Indie rock album: Damien Jurado's - Caught In The Trees Film Comeback: RocknRolla (Guy Ritchie) Pop Con Performance: Greil Marcus on the Roots Bumbershoot Performance (other than TSK): Old 97s Block Party Performance: See Me River (Triumph of Lethargy ruled too) Comics: Marvel Zombies, Hotwire #2 Booze: Bacardi Silver Wife: Heidi Joe, Euclid's Records CD/LP Starling Electric - Clouded Staircase Sam Phillips - Don't Do Anything Troubador Dali - Troubador Dali Loudon Wainwright III - Recovery Prisonshake - Dirty Moods Future Clouds & Radar - Peoria Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs Patricia Barber - The Cole Porter Mix Rodriguez - Cold Fact Terry Adams - Love Letters to Andromeda REM - Accelerate Chris Ligon - Crazy Dazy CONCERTS: Bob Pollard Boston Spaceships - Bluebird, St. Louis Big Jay McNeely - New Orleans Jazzfest The Gourds - Wood House Concert, St. Louis Charlie Louvin - Gazebo Concert Series, Webster Groves, MO Bruce Springsteen - Savis Center, St. Louis Ronnie Spector - House of Blues New Orleans Alison Krause - Robert Plant - New Orleans Jazzfest Ponderosa Stomp 2008 - House of Blues New Orleans The Hard Lessons - Darwin's Pub, Austin Steely Dan - Fox Theater, St. Louis Terry Adams Rock and Roll Quartet - Wood House Concert, St. Louis Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 - Euclid Records Future Clouds & Radar - Off Broadway Return to Forever - Fox Theater, St. Louis REM - Austin City Limits Studios Robbie Fulks - Wood House Concert, St. Louis Guy Forsyth - Euclid Records Ian McLagan & The Bump Band - The Duck Room, St. Louis The Collins Kids - House of Blues New Orleans Ben Fasman, Stop Smiling Magazine 1. The High On Fire burger at Kuma's Corner - 1/2 pound burger on a pretzel roll with Siracha hot sauce, proscuitto, roasted red pepper, grilled pineapple and sweet chili sauce. (Runner-up: The specials at Hot Dougs. So unfuckwithable) 2. Templeton Rye - The secret to staying warm in Chicago winters. (Runner-up: Bulleit Bourbon) 3. Accidents At Home and How They Happen - A brilliant, hilarious, sad, moving film by video artist / filmmaker Jennifer Reeder. Her earlier experimental video work won her a spot in the Whitney Bienniel and all sorts of attention, but this is her first narrative film. While it follows a narrative structure, it clearly has its roots in video art, with long, lush shots, able to sift the enormity of experience into the smallest of gestures and, perhaps even more impressively, vice-versa. Killer original score by Jeremy Boyle. (Runner-up: Let The Right One In) 4. Sheer Magic - First Wednesday of every month at Danny's Tavern in Chicago - Famed record collector Dante Carfagna and partner-in-crime Cortland Green have been throwing their monthly funk and soul night for a decade, aka way before you and everyone that you know was a "soul DJ". They still throw the best funk and soul party that I've ever been to. (Runner-up: Tuesdays at Rodan w/ Jeff Parker, John Herndon & Josh Abrams. I still can't believe this thing isn't packed to the gills every Tuesday) 5. BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA (or at least the sentiment that he inspired in millions of people over the past year). (Runner-up: Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impressions.) Honorable Mentions, aka Other Things That Brought Me Joy This Year - Falling in love, the reissue labels all stepping up their game and putting out some incredible releases, moving into the treehouse, Rebecca Fasman, Jon Fasman, Double Dee & Steinski's "Who Owns Culture" live set, DJing on election night after the acceptance speech and playing my "Fight The Power" 12" and having the entire bar rush the dancefloor and half of them were crying, getting taught a lesson in humility when a 4 year old spit on me for being mean, bloody mary's with a shorty of beer, MRT, Lynn Williams - "Don't Be Surprise" [sic], seeing Getachew Mekuria & The Ex play at Grant Park, Thomas Hooper's tattoo work, Phil Cohran's "Singles" collection, Brutal Truth, Pig Destroyer, Eddie Hinton, wool socks, continual inspiration from the illest friends anyone could ever ask for, and so much more. Jesse Flores, Promotions, Easy St. Records (Seattle, WA) Top 6 In Store Performances of 08: #1 Wanda Jackson - She was as gracious and amazing as a living legend could and should be.  And boy can she sing! #2 Natalie Portman Shaved Head - They killed it and had the crowd dancing in the isles. #3 Carlene Carter - She was so funny, she could do stand up, but then she sang and you knew you were amongst royalty. #4 Star Anna, Mark Pickerel & Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter - First ever Record Store Day Performance.  Amazing to have all these great people helping us celebrate.  Jesse looked gorgeous. #5 Karl Blau - Although there were a few technical difficulties, Karl shone through.  What an amazing talent. #6 Mudhoney - because they are fuckin Mudhoney, that's why! Jesse's top 6 records in no particular order: Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson - Rattlin Bones Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirts Star Anna - Crooked Path Mark Pickerel - Cody's Dream Karl Blau - Natures Got Away Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash Jesse's 6 kick ass shows of 08 The Breeders @ Neumos Carolyn Mark & The Meat Purveyors @ The Tractor Tavern Exile In Imaginary Girlville - Three Imaginary Girls Tribute to Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville Lucinda Williams @ The Showbox (first night) Neko Case @ Bumbershoot Moondoggies @ Reverb Fest. John Garcia Buyer, Amoeba Music (San Francisco, CA) Anthony Braxton - The Complete Arista Recordings Carlos "Zingaro"/Dominique Regef/Wilbert De Joode - Spectrum Kayhan Kalhour/Brooklyn Rider - Silent City Getachaw Mekurya/The Ex - Moa Anbessa Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten Quintet - The Year Of The Boar Robbie Basho - "Bonn Ist Supreme" Live At The Kulturforum, Bonn, Germany, 11/24/80 V.A. Give Me Love: Songs Of The Brokenhearted - Baghdad 1925-29 Mike Osbourne - All Night Long Curlew - Curlew/Live At CBGB's 1980 Rachel Unthank & The Winterset - The Bairns Britt Govea, (((folkYEAH!))) Presents in a random order: 1. Cluster finally playing live in CA! (LA, Big Sur, SC Mountain, SF) 2. Bonnie “Prince” Billy live sets in Big Sur and SF (Swedish Music Hall) 3. Entrance Band live sets @ Festival in the Forest 4. Phillip Glass live @ Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. 5. Rodriguez w/The Fresh & Only’s/Matt Baldwin Electric Band/Sleepy Sun live sets @ GAMH in SF!!!! ((serious runner up)) Howlin Rain live set @ Hammerstien Ballroom in NYC Dawn Greany, Manager, Twist & Shout Records (Denver, CO) Lord Dog Bird - Lord Dog Bird Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Sigur Ros - Heima (DVD) TV on the Radio - Dear Science Ten Kens - Ten Kens All The Saints - Fire On Corridor X Pacific UV - Longplay V.2 Dead End Armory - Hope You're Good Tindersticks - Hungry Saw Russian Circles - Station Duke Spirit - Neptune Great Northwest - Widespread Reign of the Great Northwest Whisper in the Noise - Dry Land Coldplay - Viva La Vida Thalia Zedek - Liars & Prayers Portishead - Third LOCAL: Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Cipher Wovenhand - Ten Stones Rabbit is a Sphere - Hope is a Cinder That Blinks Quietly Until You Die Devotchka - Mad & Faithful Telling Everything Absent or Distorted - Great Collapse Nancy Guppy, Seattle Channel's Art Zone TOP TWO FAVORITE THINGS FROM 2008, PLUS EIGHT MORE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER: Barack Obama winning the Presidency of the United States, (fall 2008) Sarah Palin returning to Wasilla, Alaska, (fall 2008) The "Fleet Foxes" show at The Moore Theatre, (fall 2008) Paul Morgan Stetler's performance in "The Adding Machine", the inaugural play from New Century Theatre Company, (fall 2008) Discovering "NARS" brand bronzing powder, color: "Laguna", (summer 2008) The "Red Dress" show at Egan's Jam House the day after Thanksgiving, (fall 2008) "Photographs from the Inside of a Whale", Isaac Layman's show of photography at Lawrimore Project, (summer 2008) "The Saturday Knights" performance at Top Pot Donuts, (summer 2008) "Lost Action", modern dance performance choreographed by Crystal Pite for Kidd Pivot at On the Boards, (fall 2008) The debut of the weekly local arts show "Art Zone In Studio" on the Seattle Channel 21, (winter 2008) Heather H. Sonic Boom Records (Seattle, WA) in no particular order: 1. ludacris theater of the mind 2. ice cube the predator 3. my biff 4. "special" treats 5. dj randy travis Gerald Hammil, Other Music A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, 2008: My son's first birthday. He wasn't so much into the birthday cake as he was the celery Election Night!!! Slow Food MUSIC (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) Arthur Russell - Wild Combination DVD (Plexifilm) Atlas Sound - Let the Blind Lead Those Who See but Cannot Feel (Kranky) El Guincho - Ale Granza (Discoteca Oceana) Fripp & Eno - No Pussyfooting (Water) Helios - Caesura (Type) Hercules & Love Affair - s/t (DFA) FAVORITE SONGS: Jeff Britton "Rub Out" Tom Tom Club "Lorelei" LIVE No Age on the Lamar Pedestrian Bridge – Austin, TX (3/15) Manuel Göching @ Lincoln Center – NYC (8/15) Actually a highlight and disappointment all in one. I only caught the last part of his performance of "E2-E4" (still enough to make it on my year end list), but Rhys Chatham's "200 Guitars" was scrapped due to bad weather. My Bloody Valentine @ The Roseland - NYC (9/22) My ears are still ringing. Liquid Liquid @ Santo's Party House – NYC (11/19) Johnny Horn, Producer, Musician, DJ, host KEXP’s Preachin’ The Blues, and Wicked & Wild on Thursday nights at The War Room. New project is a soul instrumental group called The Satellite 4

  

  * The Upsetter Movie Someone finally did it right, the life story of Lee “SCRATCH” Perry. I was floored during a recent Seattle premiere, the exclusive photos and footage of Perry at the Black Ark were augmented with surprisingly coherent commentary from the man himself and noted others like Jamaican actor Carl Bradshaw- Free designer beer and popcorn made the thing a well attended EVENT * Menahan Street Band Bringing Bushwick’s moody, heavy vibes to vinyl via real tape in a real studio, these cats are some of the recent additions to Daptone’s Brooklyn-based stable- I got their first forty five quite a while back, and was eager to hear more- The full length set doesn’t disappoint, it even includes a hidden song * Crap Jazz Covers This site is ridiculous, they have posted tons of god-awful jazz lp covers that will make you laugh, cry or kill- They are particularly merciless to Richie Cole- Take a look when you need a good escape from life’s daily stress * North Shore Hawaiian BBQ in Seattle Located right in the city at Yesler and Boren in the old Lloyd’s Rocket building, this place offers a full Hawaiian style menu of Asian and Island delicacies- They have all the details and good prices, and it’s not way out of the way * Alcatraz Authentic Mexican Food is one of many many places like it on Seattle’s southend, but opened recently and has a refreshing regional style that I can’t pinpoint * Up on Beacon Ave. is another favorite: El Quetzel, a family place with incredible food *  Versions Galore A creative blog that collects cover versions with great presentation- “I know loads of cover versions that are regarded as being better than the original” –John Peel *  La Lupe Born in Cuba as Guadalupe Victoria Yolíaymond, this singer of boleros, guarachas and latin soul had a remarkable life story- She is gone now, but her voice is spellbinding, dripping with emotion that is missing from most music- Check out her story, her music and her life- She was TOO HOT *  Hot Mama’s Pizza- Still the best in town, making soggy Tutta Bella look ridiculous! *  Wheedle’s Groove- Kearney Barton - Maybe I’m prejudiced, since I’m involved in this forthcoming Light In The Attic release, but an era of Seattle’s soul music was documented with taste on this record. Wes Howerton, Barsuk

  

  My top 10 Albums of 2008 1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago 2. Black Mountain – In the Future 3. Why? - Alopeica 4. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes 5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! 6. Rodriguez – Cold Fact 7. Retribution Gospel Choir -  S/T 8. Richard Swift – Ground Trouble Jaw 9. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park 10. Damien Jurado – Caught in Trees Other records by “The” bands that I loved: The Whigs -  Mission Control The Constantines – Kensington Heights The Hold Steady – Stay Positive The Moondoggies – Don’t Be A Stranger The Muslims – S/T The Black Keys – Attack & Release The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely Top 10 Songs of 08: 1. Richard Swift – Lady Luck 2. The Whigs – Right Hand on My Heart 3. Flash Lightnin – Coming on Strong 4. T- Pain – Can’t Believe It 5. Estelle – American Boy 6. Flo- Rida – Low 7. Usher – Love In This Club 8. Death Cab for Cutie – I Will Possess Your Heart 9. Damien Jurado – Best Dress 10.  The Muslims – Beside Myself Carlos Icaza, Los Fancy Free, Evil Hippie, El Pan Blanco, Las Comadrejas

  

  SHOWS: Kampion, Daedalus and Marlowe, terraza CCE, downtown Méco City Harmonia live at le Poisson Rouge, NYC Ariel Pink´s Haunted Graffiti at El Imperial, Méco City The Cannanes at El Garage, Monterrey, Méco Phenomenal Handclap Band at 205 Christie, NYC Damo Suzuki & Evil Hippie at Pasaje America, Méco City Daptone Records fundraising party for Obama at Southpaw, NYC RECORDS: best reissue of the year: Rodriguez: Cold Fact (light in the attic, hats off!) BEST MEXICAN RECORDS: Los Guanána - heartbeats Los Margaritos - Rocanrolandia jessy bulbo: Taras Bulba (nuevos ricos) los fancy free: nevergreens vol 2 (silicon carne) Gustavo Pimentel - percusiones (orfeon, 1966) Monna Bell - De Repente (orfeon, 1974) BEST TACOS: la Superior, berry & south second, Williamsburg NYC taqueria cocula, lopez and delicias, downtown, mexico city. taqueria bagdad, downtown, Puebla, mexico. BRAZILIAN FOOD: Salada Record, downtown Sao Paulo: ask for virado paulista. BRAZILIAN MUSIC: Astronete Bar, Matias Aires btw. Augusta and Haddock Lobo Sao Paulo. simply the coolest bar in the world. in NY: brazilian brooklyn beats, sundays at black betty, brooklyn. Michael Jaworski, Mt. Fuji Records, The Cops, The Sunset Tavern, Al’s Tavern, and all taverns the world over!

  

  1. Being alive to witness and participate in the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. 2. Having great tours with my band, The Cops, and getting to play with some amazing bands like The Blind Shake, Big Business, Red Fang, The End of the World, The Long Winters, Spiral Stairs, and The A-Sides, among others. 3. Spending 2 weeks in Costa Rica with my lovely lady. Mucho gusto! 4. Having another happy and healthy year with my family and friends who continue to inspire and amaze me. 5. Getting to hear great new records by the following (in no particular order, and I'm positive that I'm forgetting a hundred more): The Roots - Rising Down Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends Point Juncture, WA - Heart to Elk The Muslims - The Muslims They've since changed their name to The Soft Pack. Great band from San Diego. The Night Marchers - See You in Magic The Whore Moans - Hello from the Radio Wasteland! The Oh Sees - The Master's Bedroom is Worth Spending a Night In The Blind Shake - Caramel Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes The Hold Steady - Stay Positive Past Lives - Strange Symmetry Here's to 2009! Andy K. Sub Pop Ranking Baker's Dozen—Top singles picked up in '08 13. King Kong—Niceness 7" (Black Scorpio) 12. Eric Bubbles—Rebel Lion 7" (Decendence) 11. Mike Brooks—Come One Come All 7" (Coptic Lion) 10. Billy Boyo in the Area/Yellowman—Lost Mi Love 7" (Jah Guidance) 9. Knowledge/Tapper Zukie—What's Yours 12" (Stars) 8. Al Campbell—Repatriation 7" (Well Charge) 7. Junior Byles—Lorna Banana 7" (Pressure Sounds) 6. Jackie Edwards—So Jah Say 7" (Gorgon) 5. Peter Tosh—Oh Bumbo Claat 7" (Intel-Diplo) 4. Prince Alla—Heaven Is My Roof/Rod Taylor—Don't Give Up 12" (Archive) 3. Tenor Saw—Golden Hen 7" (Hummingbird) 2. Nicodemus—Eagles' Feather 7" (Jammy's) 1. Michael Palmer—Don't Smoke the Seed 12" (Hitbound/Channel One) Ethan Kallet, Berkeley Place http://www.berkeleyplaceblog.com/the-best-of-2008-so-far/ Khal, Rock the Dub 01/Elzhi ft. Royce Da 5’9 “Motown 25” 02/Elucid “Automatic Writing” 03/Presto ft. Sadat X, O.C. & Large Professor “Conquer Mentally” 04/The Roots “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)” 05/Pete Rock ft. Jim Jones & Max B “We Roll” 06/Akrobatik ft. Talib Kweli “Put Ya Stamp On It” 07/Big Boi ft. Raekwon & Andre3000 “Royal Flush” 08/Nas ft. Busta Rhymes “Fried Chicken” 09/MAGr “Dealings” 10/Heltah Skeltah “The Art of Disrespekinazation” Ever Kipp, Barsuk Asparagus + Morels = awesome Black Keys – Attack & Release = hugeness from the former rubber capitol of the world Babies, specifically Violet Merriweather Minton-Kipp Russian Circles – Station = massive Michael Chabon – Gentlemen of the Road = Jews with swords Jon Kirby, Wax Poetics 5 Favorite Things of 2008. New York Club that Feels like a New York Club: Santos. Santos has a great sound system and pretty clever programing. I went there to see Q-Tip and Rich Medina. The bass was so deep, I felt like I could see the air vibrating. Like heat over hot asphalt. The first time I went here was on my birthday (May 23rd) and that thing happens where you walk through the corridor and everything starts happening in slow motion. Popular people give you high fives and pretty girls give you euro kisses. I think for that reason, it will always hold a special place in my party heart. Dark Horse Lunch Spot: Vegetarian Ginger Like most people with office bound work weeks, I am violently sick of the available lunch spots in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Whenever I see guys from Turntable Lab or Fat Beats, I see the proximity pain in their eyes. Vegetarian Ginger opened in the neighboring barrio of Brooklyn Heights and I am thrilled! It looks super nice, the lunch specials are 6 dollars, and come with all the veg-friendly trimmings. Me and Idris have to deal with the hippie-based hazing from our co-workers, but until the imaginary Pulled-Pork Emporium starts delivering, chill. Favorite Piece of Reissue: Carolina Funk. A bit biased, me being a Tarheel and all, but this thing is incredible. Jason Perlmutter really outdid himself here. Not only did this Carolina-educated Chemistry major provide insightful descriptions of each record and the circumstances surrounding them, but identified the instrumental regions of both Carolinas, tying the whole compilation together into one cozy quilt of Southern funk. And the music? Incredible! North American Travel Destination: Mexico City. I been singing Montreal's praises for many minutes, but Mexico City is exploding with cultural expression. It reminds me of the South a bit: Country good, but city quick. There is food everywhere, as if to say, "Yeah, we're cooking a pig on this park bench...And?" Everything is affordable, public transit is near magical, and the folks are, for the most part, friendly. Carlos Icaza tour guided me around the city on a recent Mexodus and I couldn't have had a better time. "Chido" is the 80s equivalent of "Rad," and like Visa, it's everywhere you want to be. Best, "Dude, you got to hear this" band of 2008: Francis and the Lights: I feel in most instances, the more these artists are touted, the more likely we are to tune them out. For the sake of brevity, Francis is the authentic Prince of blue-eyed soul. My favorite instance of the word "strawberry" ever incorporated into metered rhyme. It's harder than you think. Mark Klebeck, Top Pot Doughnuts BEST CD: The Saturday Knights – Mingle (My wife and I play this over and over and over…) BEST RESTAURANT: Machiavelli (Some of the best Italian food in the nation served by the friendliest staff) BEST DJ: John Richards (Same as last year…There’s nobody better) BEST ILLUSTRATOR: Ed Fotheringham (I love his work) BEST PIZZA: MOD Pizza (Corner of 6th and University downtown) BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN: Todd Hardman (at Whiz-Bang…great soccer goalie too!) BEST WEB DESIGNER: Christine Godlewski (at Genius Creative) BEST SCRATCH BAR: Sun Liquor (Yeah, I know…biased) BEST BREAKFAST: PORTAGE BAY CAFÉ(Great breakfast!) BEST RECORD STORE: Sonic Boom (Great independent place for music!) Jon Kurtzer, KEXP, Zune Top 10 Albums of the year - Umalali - The Garfina Women's Collective DJ Dolores - Real Buena Vista Social Club - Live at Carnegie Hall Seun Kuti - Suen Kuti and Fela's Egypt 80 Chiwoniso - Rebel Women Justin Adams - Soul Science Dub Colossus - A Town Called Addis Hector Zazou and Swara - In The House of Mirrors Debashish Battacharya - Calcultta Chronicles Toumani Diabete - The Mande Variations John Laird, Side One: Track One All of us in the SOTO family (which includes LITA's own Mr. Noah Sanders) have completely listed ourselves to the point of no return, so instead of music or film, I present to you five of the best ways that I wasted my time this year in Austin, TX. The Alamo Drafthouse (the best theater in the world) Halo 3/Left 4 Dead/Gears Of War 2 (violent video games are such a blast) The Flying Saucer (beer is good) ESPN 1/2/News/The Ocho (sports are fun…to watch while on the couch) Gmail Chat (probably the slickest way to look like I'm working) That's it. Feel free to join me in these activities at any point in 2009! Kevin Ledoux, Seattle Subsonic TOP BEARDS OF 2008 http://www.seattlesubsonic.com/2008/12/12/the-era-of-the-new-hair-band-top-beards-of-2008/ Beau Levitt, Five Bucks On By-Tor The 10 Best Old Canadian Records I Found In 2008 (in alphabetical order): The Bob Brooks Music Co. and Chorus - To Keep This Land Alive: Winnipeg trucking company film soundtrack split evenly between folk and '70s-era electronica. Ron Harrison - Moods Of The Wild: Easy-listening nature film soundtrack tracks with a funky edge. Jerry Jerome & The Cardells - Hot Steel: Rootsy covers of Bob Marley, Tower Of Power and Nancy Sinatra by a Rexdale hotel band. Kensington Market - Avenue Road: Late-'60s Toronto psych band. Claude Leveillee et Andre Gagnon - Leveillee-Gagnon: Stately instrumental Quebecois classical/jazz. Maestro Fresh Wes - Symphony In Effect: Classic LP by the godfather of Canadian hip-hop. Jackie Mittoo - Let's Put It All Together: Reggae-fied pop by Jamaican-born keyboard maestro who lived in Toronto throughout the '70s. Marg Osburne - The Best Of Marg Osburne: Country and folk with a jazzy touch by a powerhouse singer. Syrinx - Long Lost Relatives: Way ahead-of-its-time prog album. David Clayton Thomas and The Shays - A Go-Go: Surprisingly gritty garage rock and blues by the future Blood, Sweat & Tears frontman and a Toronto r&b group. Eric Levin Owner/Founder, Criminal Records, AIMS Coalition Top 10 Records of 2008 1. Anna Kramer & The Lost Cause - Rustic Contemporary Sounds of… 2. Augustus Pablo - The Rockers Story 3. Bauhaus - Go Away White 4. Earth, Roots & Water - Innocent Youths 5. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah (Part One) 6. Gentlemen Jesse & His Men - S/T 7. Lady Dottie & The Diamonds - S/T 8. Noot D'Noot - Goofer Dust 9. Rodriguez - Cold Fact 10. Warren Zevon - S/T (deluxe reissue) Lawrence Lui, Astralwerks Top 25 in no order! 1) Portishead - Third (best album) 2) Howlin Rain - Magnificent Fiend (second best album) 3) Smoke Feathers (best unsigned band) 4) Esau Mwanwaya & Radioclit (best mixtape) 5) Rodriguez - Cold Fact (best reissue) 6) Septicflesh - Communion (best metal record with massive orchestral flourishes) 7) Dreadzone 'For A Reason' (best song to put a smile on your face) 8) Vira - Demo (best unsigned metal act) 9) Guilty Simpson (most slept on) 10) RZA 'Long Time Coming' & GZA '0% Finance' (best Wu Tang Clan tracks) 11) Prince @ Coachella (best festival gig) 12) The Ex with GétchèMèrya @ Lincoln Center NYC (best free show) 13) Seun Kuti @ Summerstage NYC (second best free show) 14) Mavis Staples @ BB Kings (best show at an awful venue) 15) WangWen @ The Spot Festival (best Chinese spacerock show in Denmark) 16) Bob Dylan 'Cocaine Blues' (best live vocal performance on a record) 17) Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (guiltiest pleasure) 18) Sunday Best, Brooklyn (best Brooklyn party) 19) Special Disco Version, NYC (best Manhattan party) 20) Times New Viking - Rip It Off (lowest-fi) 21) Buenos Aires, Argentina (best trip) 22) Duffy (best excuse not to miss Amy Winehouse) 23) My Bloody Valentine - Live @ ICA 6/13/08 (best bootleg) 24) Substantula.com (best shameless plug for my blog) 25) Obama (best reason to be hopeful) Jennifer Maas, Evil Bunny Films

  

  Top Five Food Things 1.  Black Bean Soup with Apples This Black Bean Soup is based on a recipe from the Herbfarm Cookbook.  Soak two cups of beans in 6 cups of water for a couple of hours. Cook 6 pieces of finely chopped bacon over medium until most of the fat is rendered, but not yet crispy. Add or remove enough fat to make 1/3 cup. ...  Read MorePut in a finely chopped onion, four finely chopped celery stalks, and 3 finely chopped garlic cloves. Cook for a few minutes until they are soft. Add two tablespoons of ginger, a teaspoon of allspice and a half a teaspoon of cayenne. Stir around for a second. Add 7 cups of chicken broth, a couple of bay leaves, and the beans. Boil, then simmer for two hours or so until the beans are soft. Add 3 apples (I used two granny smith and a fuji) in small cubes, two tablespoons of maple syrup, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons finely chopped each of rosemary and thyme, and cook until apples are soft (about 10 minutes). I think that's it. 2. Ruby on Rails Okay, it's not a food thing as much as it is a programming language / web framework. I really love it, but if I start talking about I'll just sound like a brainwashed cult member, and your eyes will be frantically looking around the room for a way out of the conversation.  I'll just say that it's everything I ever wanted in a programming language.  Word.  And if there were any way to eat it, I'm sure it would be very delicious. 3.  Hurricane Ike Turkey Tacos My parents got hit pretty bad by Hurricane Ike, so my brother and sister and I all rushed down to help pick up the pieces a few days later.  We actually had a blast that week, and my brother and I made ground turkey tacos one night from the random stuff that the grocery store had left after the storm.  This recipe is best made using a hotplate run by a generator.  Saute a chopped onion in oil (this will take a while with on a hot plate), then add the ground turkey, some cumin, a little chili powder, some salt, and cook until turkey is done.  On a second hotplate, heat some oil, and fry up a few cans of black beans.  Make enough guacamole to go swimming in (guac is good for morale).  Serve with chips, chopped tomatoes, and tortillas.  Also, even though it's kind of a pain to do dishes with no hot water, use real dishes! 4.  Chipotle Chilies I bought a bag in Mexico City last November, and they have taken my Tex Mex game to a new level this year.  They are smoky and flavorful and hot and perfect. 5. Homemade Chicken Stock I save my onion, carrot, and celery scraps in the freezer.  When I have a chicken carcass, I put it in a stock pot with my vegetable scraps (and some fresh veggies if I've got them), sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, and a spring of parsley.  I cover the mess with water, bring to a boil, skim the gross stuff off the top, and then let it simmer for a few hours.  My process is nowhere near perfect, but the result is still ridiculously great.  And I swear it cures colds in a day and makes your hair grow about three times faster. Michael Maly, Sonic Itch Music I feel fortunate to have a life full of wonderful music related moments, and putting together a list of the more memorable or relevant, is a bit of a daunting task. But, how can one resist the invitation from the fine folks @ Light in The Attic? Some of my most memorable music related experiences from 2008 as best as my memory can serve. In no particular order of relevance. My Morning Jacket @ The Parish (400 capacity venue) in March: This is the first venue that I saw the band perform live, back in 2003 I believe, and I was completely blown away then. The lineup has changed, the hair is gone, but the magic still exists, and experiencing it in this environment is how it should be. Fleet Foxes self titled album: Being a fan of guitar forward rock-n-roll, this album was an unexpected beautiful surprise and delight. Simple, complex, and incredibly touching this band is and just so amazing on so many levels. Cat Power @ Stubbs: My faith and appreciation for Chan Marshall was all but shattered after a dismal performance @ the 2007 Fun Fun Fun Fest, but the girl rebounded nicely. Marshall shined in a performance that showcased her stage presence, working the crowd with her sensual vocal delivery along with her ability to connect to the listener. Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008: Set in Waterloo Park in the middle of downtown Austin, TX. Fun Fun Fun Fest showcases some of the best up and coming in the music scene, while paying tribute to some of those who paved the way in earlier years. The venue is great, the vibe is awesome, and there’s a ton of great music. You’ll experience it soon enough. The Walkmen @ The Parish: Always a bit curious about the records and enjoying them to an extent, the band’s live performance was nothing less than stellar. In a day and age when most bands rely on electronic compliments, The Walkmen are pure and almost completely straight forward. An amazing performance reproducing the stripped down, classic sounds on the albums, with classic guitars and amps. The Walkmen seem to exist in a time almost forgotten, but deliver sounds that fit in the now. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: Justin Vernon spent time away from the society most of us know, and the end result reads like a musical recap of each and every detail of that experience. You can feel the isolation of the soul, the voices of the wind in the trees, the chill of the winter, and the crackle of the wood burning stove. Colour Revolt @ Austin City Limits Festival: Three days of crowds, heat, and performances that walked the line of mediocrity at best were rescued by the performance of Mississippi’s Colour Revolt. Beautiful guitars, passionate screaming, and songs wrapped in dark introspective lyrics have never been so welcomed. A truly underrated band, whose time in the spotlight may never come to the fruition that it should. Dead Confederate - Wrecking Ball: Standing on the shoulders of giants they may, as many do in this day and age, but to infinite glory this band has created an amazing rock record. Rock might be an unpopular subject these days, but I’m still a believer. Spoon @ The Parish: I’ve been a fan from the first recording, and have seen the band as many times as convenience would allow. It’s been a long relationship most recently accented with this performance in which Brit Daniel and company killed the new material live and reached back into their lengthy catalog of seemingly never ending hits. A fine reminder of how much the band has been and still remains relevant in the current modern music scene. Mark, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: Black Crowes – Warpaint TV on the Radio - Dear Science My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely MGMT - Oracular Spectacular Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes Cold War Kids – Loyalty to Loyalty Dr. Dog – Fate Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend Gary Louris – Acoustic Vagabonds Next 5: Thievery Corporation – Radio Retaliation King Kahn – Supreme Genius of King Kahn Kings of Leon – Only By the Night Trey Anastasio – Original Boardwalk Style David Byrne/Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Martin, Adam, Pish, Dorian and Leonore The Soundcarriers

  

  The Soundcarriers debut album will be released March 2009 Record: The Natural Yogurt Band – ‘Away With Melancholy’ (Jazzman Records) With a definite nod towards classic library composers [Hawkshaw, Mansfield, Moorhouse], debut LP Away With Melancholy features a hole array of vintage instruments and production techniques, resulting in a warm sounding,  groove-filled, unpretentious masterpiece, recorded under totally analogue conditions. Brilliant! DVD: O Lucky Man [dir. Lindsay Anderson 1973] Malcolm McDowell stars in this, probably the best of the Anderson trilogy. With many of the cast playing multiple roles, Arthur Lowe, Jeremy Bulloch and Helen Mirren, the film itself is a series of movies within movies. A story of corruption and lies, a highly influential yet often over-looked film, finally has its digital release. As well as a cameo role, Alan Price provides the killer soundtrack. Surreal Film: London Loves, BFI Outdoor Screening, Trafalgar Square Outdoor large screen viewing under Nelson’s Column on a clear, winter’s night, watching recently unearthed delights of familiar London sights, to the more bizarre aspects of city life, the programme included The Smallest Car in the Largest City in the World (1913) in which a miniature Cadillac dodges the city's omnibuses while young Hackney residents can be seen enjoying a spot of competitive bun-eating in beautiful colour home movies shot by Lt. James in the early 1950s; accompanied with live piano, violin and drums. Priceless Gig: The Pentangle [original line-up/UK tour] An incredible, and probably never to be repeated evening in the company of the band’s original line-up: Bert Jansch, Terry Cox, John Renbourn, Jacqui McShee and Danny Thompson. A well chosen set-list, including tracks Wedding Dress, Light Flight, Sweet Child, Bruton Town; performed by this magical, influential, ground-breaking band, sounding as timeless as on record. Masterful musicianship, retaining all subtleties. For once, a reformed band who kept it real. Radio: Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour How could Bob’s radio show disappoint? Courtesy of XM Satellite Radio, 6 Music lets the UK listen in on these eclectic hand-picked selections from the man himself. Deep Music Festival: Supersonic, Custard Factory, Birmingham (July) Leonore’s favourite avant-garde noise fest; and she’s not alone, voted ‘the best organised and most wisely curated festival’ by Plan B magazine. Best band of the festival: Fuck Buttons Shop: Selectadisc, 21 Market Street, Nottingham, NG1 6HX This national institution entered 2008 under uncertain terms, but lives to fight another day after being bought out be Sister Ray. Trading since 1966, a much loved independent high street store, which, in its lifetime has played host to many instore gigs (Soledad Brothers, The Clash, Magic Numbers) keeps on supplying diverse and extensive record and CD buyer’s needs, while its commitment to keeping vinyl a viable commodity is above and beyond the call of duty. Re-Issue: The Inner Dialogue – The Inner Dialogue Not sure exactly when this LP was re-issued, but I didn’t hear of it until this year. On a Free Design, 5th Dimension, Sound Of Feeling tip, soft-psyche sound with clunky bass and tuff drums. Original release on Ranwood Records RLP-8050 from 1969. Sunshine Restaurant: Gourmet San, 261 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 After reading Jay Rayner’s recommendation in The Observer Magazine, I really had to check this place out. And it didn’t disappoint. My words can’t do this place justice, so I’ll let you read the original review: I took Jay Rayner’s advice, and ordered the Chilli Crab and Pig’s Trotters, and not only did the food live up to the review, it wouldn’t even fit on the table! A fascinating and affordable Szechuan menu, probably not for the faint hearted, featuring Waist of Rabbit, Chilli Frog’s Legs and Cow’s Stomach. Pub: Old Olive Bush, Flecknoe, Warwickshire, CV23 8AT I probably shouldn’t really be plugging this unspoilt gem, just in case it doesn’t stay that way. Val, the landlady, will give you the warmest welcome, be you a local, walker, tourist, boater, whatever, to this wonderful true public house. In the space the size no bigger than most people’s living room, customers are shoehorned in the bar, clutching caramel coloured pints of local brew, faces red from the open fire. No music. Just chit chat. In summer, the rolling garden overlooks the beautiful valley below, whilst you’re sat with a pint of IPA amongst bumble bee’s favourite fauna. Recommended: pint of Hooky and a home-grown pickled egg Bar: Dulcimer, 567 Wilbraham Rd, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0AE Fine Ales and Fine Folk! Owned by partner of B-Music/Finders’ Keepers Records, The Dulcimer is a wonderful antique filled, acid folk drenched busy bar and live music venue. An incredible line-up of acts have played here: Dando Shaft, Tudor Lodge, Meic Stevens, Heather Jones, Magic Carpet, Robin Williamson (Incredible String Band), Spirogyra and regular DJs include Lee Janda and Andy Votel. Friendly staff and atmosphere; recommended: Thwaites Flying Shuttle 4.6% Cask Theatre: Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter [Kneehigh Theatre production] A humorous, affectionate and detailed adaptation of Coward’s 1930s classic playlet ‘Still Life’. With wonderful detail, Kneehigh take you back to a 1930s style cinema, with actors showing people to their seats while musicians stroll around the auditorium singing songs such as Roll Out The Barrel and Run Rabbit Run. Innovative and imaginative. News: Barack Obama What’s left to say? City: Berlin Art Exhibition: Cold War Modern: Design 1945-1970. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Incredible exhibition of art and culture from ‘both sides of the Iron Curtain’. This is still on until mid Jan 09, well worth checking, exhibits include: a Sputnik and an Apollo Mission space suit, films by Stanley Kubrick, paintings by Robert Rauschenberg and Gerhard Richter, fashion by Paco Rabanne, designs by Charles and Ray Eames and Dieter Rams, architecture by Le Corbusier, Richard Buckminster Fuller and Archigram, and vehicles including a Messerschmidt micro-car. Cold Art Installation: Cildo Meireles, Tate Modern Encompassing work from this Brazilian artist over the last four decades. Highlight: Fontes 1992/2008, a structure of 6000 rulers, 1000 ticking clocks and 500000 vinyl numbers following the spiral formation of the Milky Way, draws you into a maze-like world, with its hypnotic ticking soundtrack. Art Festival: Whitley Arts Festival A free local festival of Art, Music, Dance, Drama, Film, encouraging participation from the local residents of Reading. Highlight: The Experimental Film Evening. Traders: Candle Bridge Carrying Co. We met Tom, skipper, at Watford last March on one of those typical still, icy-cold, sun-filled winter sundays, and what a sight for sore eyes: a pair of historic working narrowboats, brimming to the gunwhales with coal for sale! He truly saved the day along a barron stretch of canal, with our own coal supply rapidly depleteing. School-leaver Tom had just bought the pair of boats to become a proper working boatman, supplying heating fuel for boats moored along the southern Grand Union Canal and London. We wish him, and dog Maggie, good luck in keeping this tradition alive without becoming a tourist attraction. His beautiful boats, Archimedes and Ara (1935 Star Class) can be seen here in their former glory. Matt, Strictly Disc (Madison, WI) Top 10: TV on the Radio – Dear Science Sleeping in the Aviary – Expensive Vomit in a Cheap Hotel Okkervil River – The Stand Ins Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III The Walkmen – You & Me Mount Eerie – Lost Wisdom Silver Jews – The Joos Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend Flying Lotus – Los Angeles Next 5: Hot Chip – Made in the Dark Islands – Arm’s Way Man Man – Rabbit Habits The Notwist – The Devil, You + Me Spiritualized – Songs in A&E Ben "Mouse" McShane, Classical Geek Theatre Classical Geek Theatre's Top 10 Albums from LA Bands 2008 1. The Henry Clay People - For Cheap or For Free The normal kids were listening to Coldplay and Radiohead, the cool kids were listening to No Age and MGMT, and The Henry Clay People released an indie rock record that references Neil Young, CCR, and Tom Petty before borrowing from Pavement and The Replacements. In other words, For Cheap or For Free is a rockists' wet dream, a poptimists' envy, and a finger in the eye of the Pitchfork aesthetic. Those are three great reasons to own it. (Buy This Record) 2. No Age - Nouns For teenagers and twentysomethings living in the 21st century, Nouns is the musical recording equivalent of Henry David Thoreau Walden. This is an "It will set you free" kind of record, and probably the most culturally relevant release of 2008. (Buy This Record) 3. The Mae Shi - HLLLYH LA's most angular noisepunk band becomes LA's catchiest electropop act. All of the the guys in the band (who are a mix of atheists, agnostics, and a true-believing Christian) wrote songs about the nature of god. Then they put a 14 minute long dance mix of the record in the middle, specifically so you would skip a track, emulating a "Side A and Side B" vinyl effect on CD. Genius. (Buy This Record) 4. The Airborne Toxic Event - self titled It's the best "epic indie rock" record of the year, from LA or otherwise. Music snobs dismissed this one as a poor man's Interpol, but the lyrical content is so much more genuine and cathartic, perfectly complimented by the dynamic instrumentals. Airborne had already broken-out when the record was released, but it was the live performances of these songs that launched their career. (Buy This Record) 5. The Movies - Based on a True Story Based on a True Story only came-out last week but it's an instant Silverlake classic. Nobody makes synthesizers sleazy like these guys do. If only the world wanted rock stars... (Available at Spaceland every Monday in December) 6. Thailand - The Remote Controller Absorbs the Place (EP) Brutal synth rock by subtraction. This five-song EP is a constant battle between the band's passionate expressions and their totalitarian songwriting discipline. There's anger in the quiet spaces, and that's not easy to do. (Buy This Record) 7. Divisadero - Lefty California desert rock is dime a dozen, but California desert rock as a concept album telling the story of a retired boxer? Not so common. This full-length is beautiful, dark, twisted stuff. I can never aptly describe it because every listen is like a half-forgotten dream. (Buy This Record) 8. The Happy Hollows - Imaginary EP Los Angeles' premiere artrock outfit finally released a collection of songs worthy of their electric live performances. It's phenomenal, mind bending stuff... and these are the five songs that didn't make the upcoming full-length?! (Buy This Record) 9. Death to Anders - Fictitious Business Death to Anders worships at the altar of Stephen Malkmus, Thurston Moore, and Thom Yorke... but they make records that have more in common with a Cohen Brothers movie. Cinematic alt-indie with an alt-country twang. (Buy This Record) 10. The Mezzanine Owls - self titled (EP) Breathtakingly majestic shoegaze. Six songs torturously too short. "Temporary Health" makes my top 5 songs of the year list. Released as a 7" vinyl with a digital download card. (Buy This Record) Trent Moorman, The Stranger, The Saturday Knights, Head Like A Kite

  

  Top 5 Albums to Listen to While Driving a Tour Van Late at Night: (through miles and miles of open road and the night sky, when no one else is awake in the van except you and the stereo): 1) Miles Davis – Panthalassa 2) Rachel's – Systems & Layers 3) Trans Am – Sex Change 4) Ry Cooder – Paris, Texas 5) Yume Bitsu – The Golden Vessyl of Sound Top 5 Breakfast Cereals: 1) Fruity Pebbles 2) Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch 3) Cinnamon Life 4) Cracklin Oat Bran 5) Count Chocula Tarin Muir Promotions, Amoeba Music (San Francisco, CA) Top 10 things that I liked for 2008 - 1. Great American Music Hall in San Francisco 2. Obama, Obama, Obama. 3. Radiohead - In Rainbows... I cant stop listening to it. 4. Crown Royal 5. Nirvana Thai Restaurant in the Castro 6. Britney Spears acting sane again... yeah right! 7. The Glass Castle - Book 8. Kathy Griffin 9. Sexy Straight San Franciscan men who like to dance to Cindy Lauper! :-) HAPPY HOLIDAYS! The Music Slut http://themusicslut.com/2008/12/tms-presents-matts-top-25-singles-of-2008/ http://themusicslut.com/2008/12/the-music-slut-presents-matts-top-50-lps-of-2008/ Ruben Mz, Coconut Coolouts, Sonic Boom Records, Haunted Horse Records, The Shackles TOP ten...er...  TOP 16 .... 7"s from 2008. 1.  Barbaras - Summertime Road (Goner) 2.  The Dutchess and the Duke- Scorpio (Horizontal Action) 3.  Wounded Lion- Carol Cloud (S-S Records) 4.  Catatonic Youth (Horizontal Action) 5.  Vivian Girls -  Wild Eyes (Plays With Dolls) 6.  Johnny and the Limelites/Slippery Slope - Summer of Fun Split Single (Florida's Dying) 7.  World's Lousy With Ideas Compilations #1-6 *****all of them****(Almost Ready Records) 8.  LOVETAN (Sweet Rot Records) 9.  Batman and Robin- I'm a Bat, I'm a Rock N Roll Animal (Bachelor Records) 10.  Catatonic Youth - Piss Scene (Horizontal Action) Jon Naito, Writer, Seattle P.I. Beach House - Devotion Rodriguez - Cold Fact Department of Eagles - In Ear Park The Walkmen - You & Me Elzhi - The Preface Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls V/A - Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds, and Nigerian Blues 1970-6 V/A - Titan: It's All Pop! The Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke M83 - Saturday = Youth Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me A couple of hip-hop mixtapes: Paper Route Gangstaz - Fear and Loathing in Hunts Vegas and Wafeek - The Aristocrats Mixtape Nate, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: TV on the Radio – Dear Science Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes Santogold - Santogold MGMT – Oracular Spectacular The Roots – Rising Down Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago Girl Talk – Feed the Animals The Cool Kids – Bake Sale Deerhunter – Microcastle Next 5: The Dodo’s – Visiter Q-Tip - The Renaissance Blitzen Trapper - Furr Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On Kings of Leon – Only By the Night Chad Nelson Sales Rep/Great Guy, Super D TEN THINGS I LIKED IN 2008 1. Rodriguez - Cold Fact reissue on Light in the Attic (Even if this wasn't their website, I'd still put this as my number one. I got to see him twice in New York—THE comeback story of the year!) 2. Delta Spirit - "Trashcan" (good, sloppy rock'n'roll the way it's meant to be played) 3. Noah & the Whale - "5 Years Time" 4. The Heavy - "Girl" 5. Elbow - 'The Seldom Seen Kid' and live 6. Honeydrips - "I Wouldn't Know What to Do" 7. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2008 - Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello doing 'Friend of the Devil' and a frail, but strong-voiced Odetta were the highlights of the incredible festival) 8. The Shortwave Set - 'Replica Sun Machine' 9. Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool on Yeproc (even my kids love this!) 10. Madmen-Season 2 on AMC (preferably with a highball in my hand) Nate Nelson, Stones Throw Favorite TV Show: Ken Burns The West Favorite Guilty Pleasure: “Electric Feel” MGMT (Justice Remix) Favorite Gadget To Pass The Time: Nike + iPod Running Combo Favorite Trainwreck To Watch: Sarah Palin Favorite New Beer: American Ale by Budweiser (shit is good.  I mean for realz) Favorite Seed to Watch Grow: East Los Angeles, CA Favorite Shout Out To Light In The Attic: “suuuuuuuuugar man” Molly Neuman, Label Director, eMusic What I liked in 2009 - The Teenagers - Reality Check Deastro - Keepers Delorean's re-mixes of The Teenagers, Big Pink and Lemonade www.Desparrame.blogspot.com www.simplesocialgraces.blogspot.com Natural Gourmet Institute- Chef's Training Program www.dessertofthemonthclub.blogspot.com Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico Sapelo Island, GA Mike Nipper, The Stranger 1. My tiny Canadian friend Bay Bay 2. Falling on my face biking home in August and getting a black eye 3. Nice titties 4. Having a much more smiling baby and not much of a crying baby 5. My component CD burner Grant Olsen, Arthur & Yu

  

  Top 5 more perplexing and interesting quagmires than the Great Economic Doom Crisis of 2008: 5) The Seattle Windshield Pitting Epidemic of 1954 4) The Dancing Plague of 1518 3) The 1962 Laughter Epidemic of Tanganyika 2) The Penis Panic Manias of Asia and Africa (various times in history) 1) The Nun Biting Hysteria of 1844 Peanut Butter Wolf, Stones Throw

  

  Top 10 DJs in LA you may not know if you don't live here. These gys keep the party moving without resorting to the obvious hits. In no particular order. 1) Kutmah - One of those guys that always has me running up to the turntables asking "what was that?". Possibly too known outside of LA for this list, but oh well. 2) Coleman - When he's not taking photos for the Madvillain album cover, he's rocking various weeklies and house parties around the city and reads the crowd perfectly. He stole the show at my friend's going away party. 3,4,5) Randy Watson/Laroj/Billy Goods - They all hold down Funkmosphere along with Dam-Funk. No hits. 6) Max - He's got good taste for the soulful stuff from every era. He should spin out more. 7) Jun - He's been doin it for years and doin it well. Almost doesn't count for this list also cuz he's too known. 8) Mona Lisa - Been in the music industry for years, but just started spinning out. Hearing her, you'd never know it though. 9) DJ Jedi - not only is he a good DJ, but he brings the energy when he's not spinning as well. I'm gonna have to start hiring him to stand in the crowd during my gigs to cheer so everyone else does. 10)J Logic - might be too known to be on the list as well, but he won with his 80s rock set at Do-Over a couple of weeks ago. There's plenty of others so if I left you off, I either haven't heard you spin lately or you're too known. Sorry. Dave Pehling aka Sasquatch Barracho SF Weekly contributor, Web editor for KTVU.com and part-time DJ Best albums Cloud Cult - Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes) Craig Minowa and company mixed soaring orchestrations, existential lyrics and the odd glitchy beat for one of the most emotionally intense albums of the year, Pitchfork haters be damned. Dub Trio – Another Sound Is Dying Blindingly heavy and engagingly tuneful while still exploring the spacious sound of their namesake style. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh The most frighteningly talented heavy band this side of Mastodon and Meshuggah, these eco-minded French prog/death metallers dealt out crushing brutality that didn’t shy away from ambient experimentation or an urgent message to save the planet. Jay Reatard – Matador Singles Between this and the In the Red comp spanning singles from the two previous years, fans got an avalanche of Reatard’s brilliant feral punk vs. jittery new wave menace. If the guy can just manage to extend his live sets to something approaching an hour, he’ll take over the universe. Melvins – Nude With Boots Since bringing in young sensei from Big Business, the Melvins have produced not one but two of their best albums ever. More bands should hit this kind of an apex a quarter century into their careers. Best live shows Gilberto Gil at Masonic Auditorium While seeing one of Brazil’s living legends backed by a full band didn’t quite match the transcendent magic of his solo acoustic show in Berkeley last year, Gil remains one of the warmest, most engaging stage performers alive. Melvins at Slim’s As good as the studio stuff is, hearing the eight-limbed percussive beast that is Cody Willis and Dale Crover propelling the big ‘fro frontman tandem of Jared Warren and King Buzzo onstage elevates the songs to a whole new realm. Opeth at the Grand Ballroom Neck-snapping death metal with elegiac Pink Floyd atmospheres and some of the most hilarious deadpan stage banter ever from main man Mikael Akerfeldt made this a night to remember. Rodriguez with Sleepy Sun at the Great American Music Hall Hearing Sixto Rodriguez perform songs from his lost classic Cold Fact live ruled, but local psych juggernaut Sleepy Sun had me kicking myself for not discovering their bluesy, Black Mountain-style epics long ago. Triclops! at multiple venues One of San Francisco’s best live bands, Triclops! deals out churning, corrosive prog-punk that serves as a launching point for frontman John Mink’s hallucinatory lyrics and unhinged onstage antics. They never disappoint. Matthew Perpetua, Fluxblog Top 5 Comics 1. Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley 2. All Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely 3. Achewood by Chris Onstad 4. Bottomless Belly Button by Dash Shaw 5. Final Crisis by Grant Morrison, J.G. Jones, and Carlos Pacheco Top 5 Blogs That Are Not Read By Nearly Enough People 1. What A Fool Believes 2. For Your Pleasure 3. Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat 4. Mindless Ones 5. The Knowledge For Thirst Pat Riley, Domino Records This is in no particular order Joe Higgs - Life Of Contradiction - An incredible reissue by the criminally underrated 60's and 70's reggae great. I first heard him on a Jimmy Cliff live record as a back up singer and was just blown away by his voice. LOC was originally released in 1975 and is brilliant. The Secret Machines - Secret Machines - I just really like this band. Fucked Up - The Chemistry Of A Common Life - As my friend Morgan says "Whenever I listen to the Fucked Up record the only thing I want to do is listen to the Fucked Up record again." The Stills - Oceans Will Rise - This is an amalgam of the hooks of the first album and the depth of the second album. They were awesome live at the Music Hall of Williamsburg this fall. Motorhead live at Stubbs in Austin, TX- It was just tremendous. I can't wait for the Lemmy the Movie to be released in 2009. The trailer looks awesome! Daddy "Santa Claus" Roberto, Owner, Goodfellas Distribution *20 records I heard a lot this year:* Seun Kuti - Many Things (Tout Ou Tard) Karl Hector & The Malcouns - Sahara Swing (Now Again) Dusk + Blackdown - Margins Music (Keysounds Recordings) Pete Molinari - A Virtual Landslide (Damaged Goods) Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing (ATP Recordings) Black Mountain - In The Future (Jagjaguwar) Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Heartcorem (The Leaf Label) Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost (Light In The Attic) Pinch - Underwater Dancehall (Tectonic) Eli Paperboy Reed - Roll With You (Q Division Media) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part One (4th World War) (Universal Motown) Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It (Sony) Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking (Daptone Records) Herbie Hancock - Hear O Israel (Jonny) Rodriguez - Cold Fact (Light In The Attic) Mary Queenie Lyons - Soul Fever (Vampisoul) Tony Allen - Afro Disco Beat (Vampisoul) V/A - Reggae Anthology: Randy's 50th Anniversary (VP Records) Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) V/A - 1970's Algerian Proto-Rai Underground (Sublime Frequencies) *Mixtapes I Like:* Santogold vs. Diplo - Top Ranking (Mad Decent) DJ Nuts Embalo-  Joven Mochilla Ent. DJ Rupture - Uproot (The Agriculture) *Movie/Book:* Roberto Saviano - Gomorrah *Sport:* A.S. Roma Football Club bless Daddy "Santa Claus" Roberto Travis Ritter, Sonic Boom Records, The Stranger Five Points on The Best Music of 2008 1. #1 Band in Heaven Why wasn't Sparks nominated for a Grammy this year? 2008 was a pinnacle year for the legendary, serious-not-serious rock band. Playing twenty-one shows in London, performing every album they've recorded in sequential order is no easy task (by my calculation, that's around 260 songs they had to relearn and store in their musical memory!). They closed with the live unveiling of their latest pop masterpiece, Exotic Creatures of the Deep, which is fantastic. I simply can't wait to see them play that and Kimono My House in LA on Valentine's Day! They are the #1 Band in Heaven living on Earth. 2. Two Discoveries R. Stevie Moore - 4 From Phonography EP R. Stevie Moore should be the sole rightful owner to the term "Do-It-Yourself. The lo-fi power pop extraordinaire from Nashville was at least a decade ahead of future 4-tracking oddballs. This super rare 4 song EP from 1976 is evidence of that. It was found in an unclaimed box full of 45s that was in my garage while moving out. Many people couldn't avoid hearing me proclaim the genius of this treasure I found in that box. (Other finds: a really early Husker Du 45, a Rollins Band Sup Pop Singles Club w/ test pressing, and a mysterious recording of two people having sex on a 45 labeled "Young Girl" b/w "Experienced Woman."). YouTubers should seek R. Stevie Moore videos out immediately. Crystal Antlers – EP (Touch and Go) Like Pleasure Forever and Comets on Fire having druggy love sex with one another, wrapped up in a sonic bed sheet. Organ-asmic delights. Demands repeat back-to-back listens, a million times over. 3. Three Words For Three Records That Move Me Hauschka - Ferndorf (Fat Cat) Willowy prepared piano Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (Kranky) Narcotic midnight lullabies Leila – Blood Looms and Blooms (Warp) Liquefying aural expansions 4. Four For The Floor Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair (DFA) Smart, super gay, and utterly divine disco with feeling. Doc Delay - Eastern Block Party (self-released) NYC mixtape messiah Doctor Delay flavors up some golden era rap a capellas with the some former communist block rock. Hot. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours (Modular) These Australian magical makers of melody aim at heart and feet, and make a direct hit. Cheesy but aged and flavorful. Michna – Magic Monday (Ghostly) Fresh beats and city streets make my skateboard wheels roll ahead. 5. "High" Five Indian Jewelry – Free Gold (We Are Free) Flying Lotus – Los Angeles (Warp) Kurt Vile – Constant Hitmaker (Gulcher) Boredoms – Super Roots 9 (Thrill Jockey) La Dusseldorf – Viva and La Dusseldorf reissues (Water/4 Men With Beards) Ron, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: David Byrne/Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today Jason Collett - Here's To Being Here The Dears – Missiles Jim White – Transnormal Skiparoo V/A - Nigeria Disco Funk Special: Sound of the Underground Lagos Delta Spirit – Ode to Sunshine Belleruche – The Express Dr. Dog – Fate Gecko Turner – Manipulado Carrie Rodriguez – She Ain’t Me Next 5: Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns Bob Dylan – Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Sings Blitzen Trapper – Furr Calexico – Carried to Dust Langhorne Slim – Langhorne Slim Ryan, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: Okkervil River - The Stand Ins TV on the Radio - Dear Science Q-Tip - The Renaissance She and Him - Volume One Sun Kil Moon - April The Roots - Rising Down Santogold & Diplo - Top Ranking Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreaks Jason Collett - Here's To Being Here Next 5: Blitzen Trapper – Furr Shawn Jackson – First of All Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Nick Cave - Dig, Lazarus, Dig The Hold Steady - Stay Positive Melanie S. Manager, Sonic Boom Records (Seattle, WA) MY 10 - In no particular order : *  My Daryl Hall-way (of Hall & Oates. His album covers adorn the wall in my entryway) *  My blog about Football - melFL.com *  My DJ night at Hazelwood; where else are you gonna hear "We didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel? *  My boyfriend taking me to see Cirque Du Soleil. If you think you're too cool for this shit, you're wrong. *  My dudes - Josh and Matt - finagling me into a sold-out Budos Band/Saturday Knights show. HOT! *  And for reissuing Rodriguez. HOT HOT! *  My trip to Xilitla, Mexico. Surrealistic Sculpture Garden in a jungle village. Amazing. *  My Halloween outfit as San Diego Charger Defensive Lineman Igor Olshansky. (see attached photo.) *  My Top Ten! (see attached) Get your own copy of it in the Sonic Boom Holiday Zine. Its Free! *  My file folder at work filled with pictures of cute aminals. There is nothing in the world that will make you feel better than otters holding hands. *  My Caffe Fiore Hot Chocolates. I have at least one EVERY DAY. That's why I look so good.  : ) Naomi Salazar Promo Manager, Amoeba Music (San Francisco, CA) Top Tizzle I. The Fresh & Only's II. Rodriguez - Cold Fact III. Vivian Girls - Tell The World IIII.  Boy A (both the book and DVD) IIIII. Let the Right One In IIIIII. Brent Cash - How Will I Know If I'm Awake IIIIIII. Victrola Favorites - V/A IIIIIIII. Spaced: The Complete Series - Season 1, Directed by Edgar Wright IIIIIIIII. The Tamale Girl (Oakland, CA) IIIIIIIIII. The Bug - Poison Dart IIIIIIIIIII. Resident Advisor Podcast IIIIIIIIIIII. Gary Panter - Gary Panter Book IIIIIIIIIIIII. HG Lewis at Amoeba, SF Bob Schick, Head Buyer, Plan 9 Music 1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Dig Lazarus Dig (Mute) 2. Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago (jagjaguar) 3. Fucked UP - Chemistry of Common Life (Matador) 4. Drive By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (New West) 5. Joe Higgs - Life of Contradiction (Pressure Sounds) 6. Woody Herman - Complete 1945-1947 Columbia Recordings (Mosiac) 7. Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Volume 8 (Columbia) 8. Rodriguez - Cold Fact (Light In The Attic) 9. Sigur Ros Med Sud.... (Matador) Strath Shepard, Art Director/Graphic Designer Millions of images going online with new archives from Life Magazine, the Smithsonian, and the City of Seattle. Tacos from Rockaway Taco and The Saint The Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene Mitzi Jerman's bar, Cleveland Driving across the country. I was lucky enough to do it twice this year (once in three days, and once in three weeks) and there's no way to pick a highlight, the whole experience is epic and overwhelming. Marc Silverman, ADA The Skull Defekts - Blood Spirits & Drums Are Singing Fuck Buttons - Street Horsing Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil The Bug - London Zoo Fabulous Counts - Jan Jan reissue Thee Oh Sees - The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In Tricky - Knowle West Boy Haunted George - Pile ‘O Meat Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days 100 Nights –also the best live performances of the year. Isaac Slusarenko, Owner, Jackpot Records (Portland, OR) MY TOP FIVE RECORDS OF 2008: ( in no particular order) 5. Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends 4. The Mohawks - The Champ - funk reissue from 1968 on Vampi Soul 3. Young Widows - Old Wounds 2. Metallica - Death Magnetic - yes I know let the debate begin 1. Carbon Whales - South Matthew Smith, Outrageous Cherry, Rodriguez, Nathaniel Mayer 1. Rodriguez' first proper gig in his hometown, The Park Bar, Detroit, 9/20/08 I got to play lead guitar with one of my favorite artists.  Great performance, awesome audience.  Rodriguez sounded fantastic! 2. The Plastic People of the Universe at The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, 9/8/08 Czech psych freaks with screaming violin and sax, famous for being jailed often in the 70's by the Czech authorities.  Their fans got together and plotted the overthrow of the government and then took over the country!  Even today, these guys drone and blast with the intensity of early Hawkwind and Gong. 3. Jandek. Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann Arbor, 5/16/08 A free Jandek show.  After an hour or so of weird and disturbing sounds, the audience began to realize that Jandek didn't exactly come to entertain them.  A three hour symphony of claustrophobia and psychic collapse unleashed on a bewildered audience.  Brilliant. 4. Peter Hammill. The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI, 10/9/08 Alone with acoustic guitar and grand piano, Hammill hammered at the piano like Cecil Taylor.  The perfect accompaniment to the most extreme voice in progressive rock. 5. Jack Scott at some weird suburban carnival in Warren, MI, 9/27/08 Jack Scott still sounds as great as he did in the 50's.  He's as legendary as Johnny Cash or Elvis Presley.  I think he's used the same guitar amp since the 50's.  He keeps a low profile in the Detroit area.  This appearance in Warren, MI was SPELLBINDING.  He's an intimidating, dangerous-looking 50's rocker obsessed with Hank Williams who deserves a wider audience. Spense, Strictly Discs (Madison, WI) Top 10: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago Marty Finkel - The Good Life TV on the Radio - Dear Science The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords The Kills - Midnight Boom Coldplay - Viva La Vida James Hunter - The Hard Way Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust Next 5: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges Ween - At the Cat's Cradle, 1992 Tricky - Knowle West Boy El Guincho - Alegranza Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue Mike Stax, Ugly Things Best new album: Clinic – Do It! (Domino) These surgically masked Scousers really hit their stride on this, their fifth full-length release. Echoes of the 13th Floor Elevators, Seeds, Electric Prunes, VU and Syd’s Floyd, but with a slightly disturbed spin that is all their own. Best live show: Roky Erickson and the Black Angels at the El Rey Theatre in Hollywood on Halloween night. After turning in a pretty great set of their own, the Black Angels did a fantastic job of backing Roky on a selection of favorites from his back catalog, including 13th Floor Elevators songs he hadn’t performed in 40 years, like “Roller Coaster” and “Reverberation,” complete with jug! Roky’s voice can still send chills up your spine. When he hit the middle eight of “Splash One” the emotional punch almost sent me to the floor. Best reissue: The Masters Apprentices – Apprenticeship in the Garage, 1966 (Nickoff) A second volume of early ’66 rehearsal tapes by these Aussie garage-punk-R&B behemoths. Recorded live on a reel-to-reel tape recorder sitting atop a car in a dingy garage in Adelaide. Jaw-dropping versions of Chuck, Bo, Wolf, Pretty Things and Stones tracks, plus a newly discovered rockin’ original, “Bye Bye Baby.” Best reading: Lawrence Durrell: The Alexandria Quartet. Durrell’s masterful series of novels set in Alexandria, Egypt just before WWII was the best thing I read this year. Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea (written 1957-60) take place in the same general place and time, with a similar cast of characters, but each book observes and explains the events from a completely different perspective creating an utterly absorbing multi-layered, multi-plotted mystery/thriller/romance. Best moment of 2008: Election night. Whatever happens next, we shared a euphoric moment in history that will never be forgotten. Lucas Steuerwald Label Rep, Inertia Distribution Top 10 albums of the year 1.    Eddie Current Suppression Ring – Primary Colours 2.    M83 – Saturday = Youth 3.    Goldfrapp – Seventh Tree 4.    The Greasers – The Greasers 5.    Endless Boogie – Focus Level 6.    Suarasama – Fajar Di Atas Awan 7.    Girl Talk – Feed The Animals 8.    Empire of the Sun – Walking On A Dream 9.    Neon Neon – Stainless Style 10.  Deerhunter – Microcastle Craig Stewart, SXSW any Allan King flick (Canadian filmmaker) Richard Bausch shorts Otis Taylor Coloured Balls K-Rino Lou Bond crazy Vizslas Kang Tom T. Hall & Miss Dixie's new album Laura Studarus, Confessions of a Would-Be Hipster The Would-Be Hipsters (wouldbehipster.com) are traditionalists and thus are saving our official "best of" lists until the actual END of the year. And so, we present a very untraditional list of our top ten favorite bits of 2008, as dictated by LMS, lmc, ako and L.A.R. (m.a.b. sends her regrets from the design dungens where we last saw her.) 10. Favorite album: Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer 9. Favorite LA bar conducive to good times over PBR: The Cha-Cha Lounge, Silverlake, CA 8. Favorite Show: Sunset Rubdown @ the Black Cat in Washington DC 7. Favorite Tea: Swedish Southern Blend (if anyone in America knows how to get this I can be reached via Wouldbehipster@gmail.com) 6. Favorite unnecessarily vague figure in Spanish-American history: Don Gaspar de ? 5. Favorite French Electro-Pop Album: Sebastien Tellier - Sexuality 4. Favorite Reason to get out of bed in the morning: Pizza 3. Favorite Post-Concert jaunt: House of Pies 2. Favorite chord: Cadd9 1. Favorite Shameless Self-Promotion: Buy our Charity Album Please! Terrible Chris, Les Enfants Terribles Top 10 Top 10 Lists of 2008 10. Top 10 Numbers Between 1 and 10 9. Top 10 Mimes 8. Top 10 Crayola Colors That Need to be Invented 7. Top 10 Phrases that Appear Sexually Explicit at First Glance (But Aren't Really) 6. Top 10 80s Cartoons 5. Top 10 Breakdancing Moves 4. Top 10 Ninja Moves 3. Top 10 People Named "Fred" 2. Top 10 Minor Star Wars Characters 1. Top 10 Smurf Names that Sound Vaguely Dirty Terrible Megan, Les Enfants Terribles 8 Things to Love about 2008 In no particular order… 1. Richmond – I moved from the DC metro to VA's capital a little over a year ago, and I've loved just about every minute of it. I could wax on and on and on about RVA for a good long while, but I'll abbreviate. Richmond's got great people, tons of local pride, gorgeous architecture, and a burgeoning music scene (be on the lookout for bands like Hot Lava, Cinemasophia, and Snack Truck to name but a few). What else could anybody need in a place to call home? 2. All Tomorrow's Parties – By far my favorite concert of the year. Summer camp meets the Shining meets a time-warped parallel universe in which My Bloody Valentine and Mercury Rev not only play but walk among us regular people. Garish wallpaper, strong drinks, and amazing performances by every single band I was fortunate enough to see. I'm already excited about next year. 3. The Black Angels – I'd have to say these Austinites are my favorite band of the year. Between their killer second album Directions to See a Ghost and the DC show they put on back in July (that damn near rendered me deaf), I'm completely in smit. 4. Control – I didn't make it to the movies too often this year, but I'm fairly certain Control would've been my favorite movie even if I had seen hundreds of flicks. It's one of the stories you know the ending of, but keep wishing up until the bitter end for the fickle finger of fate to point in a different direction. Well-acted, well-shot, and a great testament to the spirit of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. 5. My cat, Bear Bryant – As of the end of August, I've got a new man in my life. He's wearing a black and white tuxedo, he's got furry tufts between his paws, and his tail is reminiscent of a feather duster. He's my new hellion of a cat, Bear Bryant, named in honor of the greatest football coach my alma mater (Roll Tide), and the college universe in general, has ever seen, Paul "Bear" Bryant. He's pretty much the cutest cat ever. 6. Biographies – I began the year reading about Madame Pompadour, Mary Queen of Scots, and Bob Dylan, the latter of which ("Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan" by Howard Sounes) was probably the best bio I've ever read. I've since acquired bios on Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dick Cavett, Rock Hudson, Terry Bradshaw, and Dolly Parton, and am constantly on the prowl for more. 7. Brian Wilson – The man, the myth, the legend. Seeing him in concert was incredible enough, meeting the man ranks as ten of the best, most heart-stopping seconds of my life. 8. Records – I'm finally paying attention to vinyl and stockpiling a collection. Richmond is making it easy for me by having serious stashes hither and thither to plunder. I've bought close to 40 records in a little over a week, and see no end in sight to my newest obsession. Mike Toppe General Manager, Revolver USA Music: The Week That Was Santogold vs Diplo Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends Rodriguez - Cold Fact Grace Jones "Corporate Cannibal' Video Movies: My Winnipeg Happy Go Lucky Reads: Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Paul Krugman in NY Times And 2008 would have been a total drag without THIS. Adam Tutty, Manager, Easy Street Records (Seattle, WA) TOP 10 CD's for the year: 10. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals 9. Thao – We Brave Bee Stings & All 8. The Baseball Project – Volume 1:Frozen Ropes & Dying Quales 7. My Morning jacket – Evil Urges 6. Old 97's – Blame It On Gravity 5. R.E.M. - Accelerate 4. Vampire Weekend – s/t 3. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology 2. The Moondoggies – Don't Be A Stranger 1. Liam Finn – I'll Be Lightning A few of my DVD's of the year: BOTTLE ROCKET (CRITERION COLLECTION EDITION) IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA SEASON 3 ROBOT CHICKEN – STAR WARS Twist & Shout Records Our Number One winner for 2008, with 11 votes: Portishead – Third Our Number Two placer for 2008, with 9 votes: Dungen – 4 Our Number Three shower for 2008, with 6 votes: TV on the Radio – Dear Science Our Number Four mentions for 2008, tied with 5 votes each: Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes Flying Lotus – Los Angeles Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It Our Number Five mentions for 2008, tied with 4 votes each: Black Mountain – In the Future Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On MGMT – Oracular Spectacular Santogold – Santogold Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea Will Tyler, Shade of Soul, 385 Forest Avenue As I look back-over this past year a lot has changed in my life. I moved to a different state, got a divorce, lost all my money, almost was knighted, gained 30lbs, lost 30lbs, my dog got hit with a chainsaw, but through it all I have kept a smile. Not for the fact that I have been basically fucked all year, but rather because its time again for LITAs top lists again. So sit back, sip on some thug passion, cause I'm gonna hit you like 2 day old crack........peace Top 10 Most listened to Albums of 08' * Madvillain - The Remixes * Portishead - Third * TSK - Mingle * Compilation - The Soul of Black county Vol. 1*Common / be * Pete Rock - Petestrumentals * G Love - Lemonade * Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power * The Helliocentics - Out There * J Dilla - Ruff Draft * N.E.R.D  - In Search Of.... Top Anthem song for 08' * TSK / Nobody Beats Us (get some bitches) Top 5 Interests of 08' * Magic * Hayrides * Politics * The Hills * Alpaccas Top 5 TV Shows * True Blood (ole sookie sookie) * Dexter (I like his ways; I don't like you, I kill you) * The Shield ( what a guy with a fucked up life, the show makes my chest hurt) * Chelsea Lately (mad funny and she is mad hot to boot) * The Hills (I am really worried about LC, Heidi, and Audrina) My Top 5 Playlists that I rock on my ipod * Mike Fuller Experience Vols 1-7 / Most are 25 tracks (only dopeness for the masses; from the lounge to the club...jaylib, common, tribe called quest...) * Beef-A-Ronie Throwdown  / 18 tracks ( Merle Haggard to Public Enemy. Every time I listen to it I get too drunk and piss off the side of my back deck) * Armadillo On My Back Porch / 23 tracks (G Love, Marshall Tucker, Robert Bradley, Ben Harper, etc...(makes me feel cooler than I really am) * Word Up Bits! / 12 tracks (Pantera, Ozzy, SlipKnot, Korn...makes me want to kick the cat) * Killa Couga Mix Vols 1 & 2 / 50 tracks ( The Roots, Floetry, Mos Def...songs to get ‘em on the floor then to take em' down on the brass bed yo) Top 5 Things I purchased from the Walmart Pharmacy * Cialis 5 pack * the second pill * the third pill * the fourth pill * the fifth pill (boo-yah) Top Cougars to get with * Mrs. Robinson (ultimate cougar smack-down) * Linda Tripp ( the only chick Clinton didn't turn out) * That hoe from Golden Girls (word up trick) * Barbara Bush (in the right light, after 5 jager bombs, and with enough X in my system.*side note* she made the list due to my recent addiction to mature porn*) * All of the OG Charlie’s Angels (all them ladies got mad skillz. It would be like a cougar sandwich) Top 5 songs that I didn't write and perform due to various reasons * Happy Birthday. (If I owned points on it I would have more loot than the beatles) * stevie wonder / hey love ( no funny comment my favorite stevie song of all time makes me want have deep thoughts and get laid) * 2 live crew / if you believe in having sex. (When u think about it who can sing about some raunchy ass shizzle and get the dance floor, house party, or general throw down session going. This aint am gold bitches) * the black angels / doves and surf city (these are songs that would play in a serial killers head). * the saturday knights / 45. ( I can't rhyme but I can nod my head like a white boy. Yeah baby back that azz up on big will t) Top 5 Accomplishments of '08 * Voted for OBAMA * Didn't vote for McCain * Stripped my life all my material goods ( the divorce helped me with that, but dam it felt good to get rid of everything **PS Kept my record collection**) * Requested to be knighted by TSK (word up…did I get in?) * Told my ex wife to take a hike. DJ Nobody DJ

  

  Top Psych Discoveries 2008 1. Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle LP (1969) I had 2 songs off of this LP on a mixtape and had been searching for years.  I found it this year and was not rprepared for the total awesomeness.  This LP instantly entered my top 10. 2. US 69 - Yesterday's Folks LP (1969) Cool Chris at Groove Merchant hipped me to this LP.  The song Space Odyssey is a masterpiece, ending with an ambient outro that sounds like it was made this century.  Stunning! 3.  Waterproof Candle - Electrically Heated Child 45 (1968) My co-host on She Comes in Colours hipped me to this.  A perfect pop-psych ballad with twisted lyrics. 4.  Donnie and Joe Emerson - Dreamin' Wild (1979)  Two brothers locked in a barn with 70's home recording gear and an equal love for Sabbath and Motown soul, yet coming out more like a super stoned Shuggie Otis record. 5.  70's psych - Oh yes, even I was not aware that the lysergic vibes continued well into the 70's, tucked away secretly on albums of early metal and glam.  Scorpion "Evening Wind" and Styx "Man of Miracles" come to mind. Dan Ubick aka Connie Price Producer, Musician: The Keystones, The Lions, Big Daddy Kane

  

  Top 5 LP's of the last year: 1. COLD FACT (Re-issue) by Rodriguez 2. NINETEEN SIXTY-SIX by Little Willie John 3. ESPERANZA by Esperanza Spaulding 4. PERSEVERANCE by Percee P/Madlib 5. SHADES OF BROWN (Re-Issue) by S.O.B. Greg Vandy, Host, KEXP - The Roadhouse The Best: 1) Obama 2) Dexter Street Stompers 3) Michael Shelly, Saturdays WFMU 4) Chris Rock @ Paramount 5) The Saint (tequila!) Honorable: The Sonics @ Paramount; Chilly's wedding in Tulum, Mexico; The Mighty Hannibal @ Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans; SlackFest in Skagit Co; King Kahn @ Chop Suey; NW Washington Fair in Lynden (old-timey!), Hayes Carll @ Sunset, Keith Olberman special comments, Karl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force The Worst: 1) Seattle Sports 2) Howard Shultz (The Wheedle Grooves No More, thanks Howard) 3) Taj Mahal in The Roadhouse (total dick) 4) Palin 5) McCain Miserable: My Fantasy Football team (The Hand Bananas) Fabienne Van Koninxloo, Label Manager, PIAS Belgium Top 5 : (very high fidelity) 1. Javier Guzman : stand-up comedy show 2. Carissa's Weird : Songs About Leaving (whole album : every year again) 3. MGMT : "Kids" 4. Whitest Boy Alive @ Dour Festival (concert) 5. Part Of The Weekend Never Dies (documentary) Allison Wasilewski General Manager, Carrot Top Top Records of 2009 Portishead - Third (Mercury) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar) Notwist - The Devil, You & Me (Domino) Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (XL) School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms (Ghostly International) Anathallo - Canopy Glow (Anticon) Love Is All - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night (What's Your Rupture) Deerhunter - Microcastle (Kranky) Santagold - S/T (Downtown) Fredrik - Na Na Ni (Kora) Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound) Windy & Carl - Songs For The Broken Hearted (Kranky) Gregor Samsa - Rest (Kora) Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain (Drag City) Spiritualized - Songs in A & E (Fontana) Jennie Wasserman, Joe’s Pub *  Most transcendent on-stage moment: backing Maxine Brown and Baby Washington with the Sweet Divines at Joe’s Pub - 6/7/08 *  Best NYC bar/restaurant/jukebox combo: Great Jones Café*  Fave Joe’s Pub show: Gilberto Gil solo acoustic - 9/23/08 *  Fave TV show: Mad Men *  Most magical, impromptu performance: Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers and Cornel Dupree at Celebrate Brooklyn! - 8/9/08 *  Best Broadway show: Passing Strange *  Fave indie rock show: Fleet Foxes at Bowery Ballroom - 7/9/08 *  Fave vacation experience: going to NOLA for Ponderosa Stomp *  Fave outdoor summer concert: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at Central Par Summerstage - 8/17/08 *  Fave reissues: Rodriguez - Cold Fact!! Mason Williams, Rhino Endless Boogie - Focus Level MGMT - Oracular Spectacular The Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost (not kissing your ass or anything, you know how much I love them) The Sword - Gods of Earth Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple Willy Wilson, Magic Bag Publicity Top Eleven New Releases (not in any order): Buffalo Killers - Let It Ride - Alive Records Hank Williams - The Unreleased Recordings - Time Life Plastic Crimewave Sound - Plastic Crimewave Sound - Prophase Music Graham Day & The Gaolers - Traveled & Unraveled - Damaged Goods Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded - In The Red Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis - Two Men With The Blues - Blue Note Elvis Costello & The Imposters - Momofuku - Lost Highway Black Keys - Attack & Release - Nonesuch Blanche - Last Year's Leaves - Little Amber Bottles - Original Sound Yohowa 13 - Song Portation - Prophase Music Paul Weller - 22 Dreams - Yep Rock Top Reissues (not in any order): Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette - Tompkins Square Music Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Band - Puckey Puckey: Jams & Outtakes - Rhino Handmade Willie Nelson - One Hell Of A Ride - Columbia/Legacy Elton John - Elton John/Tumbelweed Connection (Deluxe Editions) - Geffen The Coasters - There's A Riot Goin' On: Complete Atco Recordings - Rhino Handmade Squeeze - Argybargy (Deluxe Edition) - A&M UK Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition) - Columbia/Legacy Otis Redding - Otis Blue (Expanded Edition) - Rhino George Jones - The Hits. Then 'Til Now - Time Life Roy Orbison - The Soul Of Rock & Roll - Monument/Orbison/Legacy Black Sabbath - Rules Of Hell (Dio Years) - Rhino Bo Diddley - Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-60 - Hip-O Select Various Artists - Atlantic Vocal Groups 1951-63 - Rhino Handmade Love - Forever Changes (Expanded Edition) - Rhino Gladys Knight & The Pips - Claudine/Pipe Dreams - Shout Factory Little Willie John - 1966 (The Axelrod & HP Barnum Sessions) - Ace Rodriguez - Cold Fact - Light In The Attic Fave Local Releases so far. (not in any order and not including 45's): The Pop Project - Stars of Stage and Screen - Suburban Sprawl Mick Bassett & The Martha's - Here's The Whirlwind - Self Released Javelins - Heavy Meadows - Suburban Sprawl JSB Squad - Blue Circle, Rubber Bands - Self Released Grayling - Spilling Over - Self Released Various Artists - A Squared (Of Course) - Ace/Big Beat Deanne Iovan - Just Like You & Me - MoPop Hot Club of Detroit - Night Town - Mack Avenue The Muggs - On With The Show - Self Released Nomo - Ghost Rock - Ubiquity Mazinga - Open The Blast Doors - Transmission Fave shows for 2008 so far: Creepy Rick's Birthday Bash with Fortune & Maltese, The Hentchmen and The Meltdowns at the Berkley Front Simply Saucer/Human Eye at the Bohemian National Club The Muggs (Private Party) at the Auto Show Tom Petty & Steve Winwood at the Palace Anti-Freeze Blues Festival featuring Bettye LaVette & The Hodge Brothers at the Magic Bag Powertrane featuring Deniz Tek at the Elbow Room The Romantics at the Stars & Stripes Festival Big Block/Grayling/Drinking Problem at Smalls Grande Nationals/Gorvette/Silverghost/Dial Tones at the Magic Bag Rodriguez at the Park Bar Eagles Of Death Metal at Smalls Cheech & Chong at the Fillmore (Detroit)

• November 17, 2008 at 02:19 PM

  HOLIDAY SALE: FEATURED ITEM - JAMAICA TO TORONTO LP BUNDLE

  Second monstrous week in our monstrous 1st Annual Light In The Attic Holiday Sale and we're just tossing out more and more discounts to help lighten the stress on your wallet this holiday season.  Our second featured bundle is a doozy ... you might need to sit down, maybe get a brown bag for you hyperventilators, because we present to you:

  This week's Featured Bundle: JAMAICA TO TORONTO LP BUNDLE!

  

  Ohhhhh, we see, you're one of the in-touch individuals who've already dug deep in to our critically acclaimed Jamaica To Toronto series.  You've grooved out to Jackie Mittoo, felt the low-key shiver of Earth, Roots and Water, and the sweet softness of Noel Ellis. And oh man, how we applaud you for your intitiative in searching out some truly under-loved treasures.  We ask you this though friend, how many of these jams do you have in the beautiful, big, love-soaked format of the vinyl LP?  Oh, none?  You don't even own a record player?  Hmmmm ... well, uh, jeez, you should get on that, and then when you do, you should add this stunning set of LPs to your (obviously minute) record collection.  They'll change the way you not only look at that stack of clunky CDs you have piled next to your 80s ghetto blaster, but the way you listen to this treasure trove of absolutely blissful cuts. Jamaica To Toronto LP Bundle Includes: *  Summer Records LP *  Earth, Roots, & Water LP *  3 7"'s of our choosing *  Jamaica to Toronto Sampler

• September 22, 2008 at 01:37 AM

  YOU WANT TO HEAR JAMAICA TO TORONTO LIVE?

  

  We don't know what the weather is like in your section of the world, but the grimness of our summer is slowly turning in to an even grimmer seeming fall.  Clouds, rain, the chilly wind of winter blowing through the streets - lets be honest, even for a Seattlite, it's a little depressing.  Thus, when all-knowing, all-seeing, all-forgiving co-owner of Light In The Attic Matt Sullivan sent this hot pill of sun-shiny goodness down our collective gullets, we couldn't of been more estatic. We've been hyping the impressive live show of the reformed Jamaica to Toronto band (you know featuring a handful of performers from our brilliant JTOT and Summer Records releases) for a good while now, but now, well now you can hear it for yourself.  The CBC, you sweet fucking Canucks you, not only recorded the entirety of their recent performance at, er, Sunfest (a Canadian world and jazz festival seemingly) but are now streaming each individual song for your enjoyment. Jamaica to Toronto does Bob Marley, Otis Redding AND Jimmy Cliff, as well as few of their own, deeply loved originals.  We're not saying you HAVE to go check this out, we're just saying if you don't, the waves of pity that will wash over you will be too much even for the most iron willed of human ... or something. JTOT, LIVE, HERE!

• January 07, 2008 at 02:08 AM

  JAMAICA TO TORONTO ROCK THE HIGH LIGHTS FESTIVAL

  It's not even 10 in the morning yet and so far Light In The Attic has given you, our loyal amazing fans: The brand new video for The Blakes "Don't Bother Me" Juicily tantalizing tidbits about The Black Angels new album, Directions To See A Ghost And we aren't even done yet. Jamaica to Toronto, our cobbled-together band of Canadian reggae legends (Jay Douglas, Everton Pablo Paul, and The Mighty Pope) have booked another rare, absolutely amazing show. This time the soul/reggae gods have signed on to rock the masses at Montreal's High Lights Festival. The group will be taking the stage on March 1st at Club Soda, and if you're any where in Canada (and you gotta believe I'm talking about you Ice Shield residents) get on your preferred method of transportation and get your frigid asses on down. This. Is. Not. To. Be. Missed. The official info after the jump. Jamaica to Toronto (featuring Jay Douglas, Everton Pablo Paul, and the Mighty Pope) From 1967 to 1974, Canada — and especially Toronto — experienced a large influx of Jamaican immigrants. In the process, the music scene was transformed, although much of that brilliant music was believed lost to the vaults of history. Kevin Howes, aka DJ Sipreano, has worked tirelessly to unearth it, both on disc and onstage. With Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae, he’s brought that era to life, featuring original voices so original they predate the popularity of the genre itself! It’s a rare musical trip through time to rediscover the anthems and largely-unknown original songs of a crucial era in Canadian riddims. Reggae lovers and nostalgists, rejoice! Don’t miss this must-see event, the “feel-good” party of the year!

   

   

  Price: $19.50 (plus taxes and service charges)

   

  Tickets : 514 908-9090 / ticketpro.ca

  HIGH LIGHTS FESTIVAL, Montreal March 1st, 2008 @ Club Soda (1225 St-Laurent Blvd.)

• December 26, 2007 at 05:09 PM

  LIGHT IN THE ATTIC YEAR END EXTRAVAGANZA!

  We here at Light In The Attic get a lot of help from a lot of people. Musicians, publicists, record stores, bloggers, writers - the list goes on forever. This year we decided to show our unlimited gratitude to these great folk by showcasing, well, them. We asked everyone we knew for their top five, year-end 2007 favorites - from albums to restaurants to airlines to breakfast cereals. Everyone from Caribou to The Blakes to Peanut Butter Wolf responded and we couldn't be happier. What follows is a collection of these lists (literally hundreds) from people all over the world that we know and love. Quickly, big thanks to Mr. Drew Christie, the amazing artist (with a list below!) who did the art for both our New Years Extravaganza and our subtle, yet wonderful X-Mas card. Drew, you're a god amongst men. So, either in your pre-New Years excitement or your post-New Years drunken haze, settle in, we are quite sure you'll enjoy. And with that said, THE LIGHT IN THE ATTIC NEW YEARS EXTRAVAGANZA: Christian Bland, The Black Angels 1. The Wooden Shjips 2. 'Eye Mind' (the psychedelic history of the 13th Floor Elevators written by Paul Drummond) 3. A Place to Bury Strangers 4. The Warlocks - Heavy Deavy Skull Lover 5. Vietnams' debut album runner up - Greg Ashley - Painted Gardens Tilson, The Saturday Knights Photo by Hillary Harris Top 5 Shoes, Shows, Intern, Food, 1. Spizikes, Nikes with Spike Lee on the back 2. Run's House, it's good,watch it! 3. Jenna, Light In The Attic's future 4. The Cafe, Hillside Quickies at 15th on Capitol Hill 5. Rugby and Circa (tie) The Blakes Photo by Michael Maly Bob Husak,Drums Top 5 of 2007 5. Mormon Tabernacle Choir records for 50 cents at Goodwill. 4. A can of potted meat product as a reminder of the hardships of tours past. 3. Commiserating with Grandma about the scandalous styles of dress worn by young women today and sympathizing with the inability of those her age to find respectable clothing for themselves. 2. Pronouncing the word "fish" as "feesh" in mock tribute to generations past (as in, "don't forget to warsh your hands before you eat your feesh"). 1. Any opening band that cancels a show because its drummer threw out his back going for an especially difficult fill in practice. Also, any sound guy that goes home early from a show because he twisted his ankle going for an unorthodox mic placement. Garnet Keim, Vocals, Guitar 5 things you take for granted on a winter tour: 1 showers 2 conversation 3 reptiles 4 feeling in your toes 5 summer tours Snow Keim,Vocals, Bass top 5 "pains in the ass" 5. hollywood writers strike 4. scabies 3. conflicts of interest 2. Lame (ass) Promoters 1. meeting the outrageous demands of record executive Matt Sullivan Kevin Howes aka Sipreano, mastermind behind the Jamaica to Toronto Series... 1) Jamaica to Toronto LIVE in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto Still find it hard to believe that Jamaica to Toronto has taken on a life of its own, from crate digging missions at the turn of the millennium to career resurrections for some of the finest people I have ever met. Props to Jay Douglas, The Mighty Pope, Everton “Pablo” Paul, and the rest of the talented folks who have helped make this project come to life. From Yard To Yonge: The Documentary coming soon… 2) Red Bull Music Academy Information Sessions Interviewing Cut Chemist, Bernard Purdie, and Tiga in front of Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal audiences was a professional highlight unlike any I’ve encountered. What a blast!!! 3) Third Beach (Stanley Park, Vancouver) in July One of the most surreal city/surf experiences on the planet. I often find myself day dreaming that I’m still there, drink in bag, smoke in hand, and the Pacific Ocean at my feet… 4) Yes, still buying music Haven’t immersed myself in the world of downloading yet, but when I had a few spare bucks in my pocket this year I couldn’t resist spending it on CDs and LPs like Lightning Dust-s/t, The Book Of Lists-s/t, The Besnard Lakes-The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, Jarvis Street Revue-Mr. Oil Man, Rick Wilkins And The Mutual Understanding-Peace, and Peter Tessier-By Turning A Knob… 5) Sipreano with Decaf and The Stunt Man Big shout outs to Steven Balogh and his hand crafted 1777rex imprint (http://www.myspace.com/1777rex) who released a 100-copy run of a very memorable collaboration (for me anyway) between yours truly, producer/photographer Decaf, (www.wzrdry.com) and engineer/musician The Stunt Man (www.titansound.com)… 6) Living in Toronto for 1 year Well, it’s been over a year now and while this journey has definitely had its ups and downs, I’m glad to call this city home… 7) Food stuffs Records are rad and all, but I’m digging the good (and cheap) the eats these days. Ontario highlights include Ali’s West Indian Roti Shop, T'amp;T Supermarket, Gandhi’s/Mother Of India/New York Subway, Ali Baba’s, Island Foods, Ding Tai Fung in Markham, and The Mighty Pope’s kitchen… 8) Summer Records Anthology 1974-1988 dual disc Wanna send some love to Summer honcho Jerry Brown and his eclectic cast of reggae heroes. It was a total honour helping to put this one together. Reggae, reggae, reggae from Johnny Osbourne, Bunny Brown, Bobby Gaynair, Earth, Roots & Water, Adrian “Homer” Miller, Noel Ellis, Ranking, Willi Williams, and Unique Madoo (Ska Doo). Sound + Vision. “It’s party time!!!” 9) Black Mountain and Ladyhawk LIVE With BM’s In The Future and Ladyhawk’s Shots en-route in the first quarter of 2008 (January and March respectively), I’m excitedly recalling the maximum vibes felt after seeing both of these Vancouver-based Jagjaguwar recording artists perform across Canada in 2007. To me, there’s no rock finer… 10) Preparing Doug Randle’s Songs For The New Industrial State Many moons ago, I found an old record in an old box that changed the way I consume music, informing my personal aesthetic, and teaching me so much about the world we live in. Over the last year I’ve been getting a reissue of this masterful twisted sunshine pop album together with composer Randle, Kanata Records’ Dave Bird and Gene Lees, sublime vocalists Laurie Bower and Tommy Ambrose, and my good friend and Jamaica-Toronto series graphic designer Vincent Cook. Light In The Attic will release this 1970 produced landmark in 2008 (with big help from the CBC). Keep listening… The Mighty Pope, Jamaica to Toronto 1) West coast tour with Jamaica to Toronto...,especially Vancouver 2) Jacque Lane flying out and surprising me at the Yale Club show 3) Having a few days in Vancouver after the festival to relax and enjoy the city 4) Mighty Sipreano driving me through Stanley Park at night to see the lights of the city … 5) And Gini smith flying to Montreal to surprise me at the show Sandy Dedrick, The Free Design Books: "The Candymaker's Son - Memoirs of Kenneth G. Mills" "Talks With Great Composers: Candid conversations with Brahms, Puccini, Strauss, and others by Arthur M. Abell" Music: CD "Evgeny Kissin Plays Chopin" DVD "The Art of Piano" Great Pianists of the 20th Century DVD "Christmas Is The Day" by Art Dedrick (my Dad) This was a Christmas present from my youngest brother, Jason (My Brother Woody) and is a collage of early family Christmas pictures he put together with the song "Christmas Is The Day", sung by early Free Design in the background. Overton Berry, Seattle Legend, Wheedle's Groove ... 1. Recording...Possibilities.....Herbie Hancock 2. D'jan's Thai Restaurant....Seattle, WA. 3. Concert.....October 20th, Whidbey Island...with Jessica Williams 4. Event....Queen's Birthday in Amsterdam, Holland 5. City.....Seattle, WA. Allison, Carrot Top Radiohead - In Rainbows (Self-Released) Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino) Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge) Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna (Polyvinyl) Betty Davis - Self Titled (Light In The Attic) Andy and Jen, Band in Boston Top Albums for 2007 hands and knees - self titled release aeroplane pageant - wave to the moon deertick - war elephant viva viva - 10 songs drug rug - self titled release emergency music - you'll be the death of us all honey eldridge rodriguez - this conspiracy against us vinyl skyway - from telegraph hill dr dog - we all belong the bees - octopus Josh Arnold, Best Buy Music: Amy Whinehouse-Back To Black Linkin Park- Minutes to Midnight Radiohead- In Rainbows Fiest- Reminder Wilco- Sky Blue Sky Films: Across The Universe Transformers No Country For Old Men Juno Bourne Ultimatum Restaurants: CPK (how can you go wrong?!?!) Eat. El Cilo Sushi Roku Roys Cities: Boston Las Vegas Chicago New York London Shows: Coachella all the way…enough said. Blogs: Engadget Perez Hilton Mac Rumors Postsecret Books: So you wanna be a rock n' roll star? Nabil Ayers, Co-Owner, Sonic Boom Record Stores, Owner, The Control Group Label Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Is Is" Studio "West Coast" Figurines "When The Deer Wore Blue" Menomena "Friend & Foe" Schoolyard Heroes "Abominations" Paul Azevedo, Slinky Music 1. pantha du prince - this bliss (dial) 2. burial - untrue (hyperdub) 3. little dragon - s/t (peace frog) 4. cinematic orchestra - ma fleur (domino) 5. studio - west coast (information) Kevin Barker, Currituck, Co. 1. Frankie's 457 Olive Oil Manufactured in Sicily and imported by Frank and Frank, sold in their two amazing restaurants (Court St in Brooklyn and Clinton St in Manhattan), this is the best olive oil I've ever tasted. They call it "green gold" because, well, it's green, and now it's being sold at Whole Foods in New York, so it's gold. Next years batch is rumored to be even better than the 2007. 2. www.audiokarma.org The go-to website when you have a question about what value of grid leak resistors to put on your 6BQ5 output stage, or when you want to talk about how the price of the good-but-not-great Dynaco PAS preamp is getting out of hand. (FWIW - which stands for "for what it's worth" - the phono stage in the PAS sounds great to my ears, and it's the line stage that's a dog. Thank god for mods!) 3. Devendra Banhart "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon "Who wrote the book of Job? Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? Devendra did! Devendra did! 4. Tiengarden - 170 Allen St b/t Rivington & Stanton St in Manhattan Their hot & sour soup makes most hot & sour soup taste like boiled pickle brine. And they do it all without the use of the five impurities: onion, garlic, leek, shallot, and tobacco. Everyone makes jokes about "what, no tobacco in my stir fry?", but the real mind-blower is how great everything is with no onions and garlic. YOU try to make something delicious without them. I dare you. (Note: avoid the potato curry, It's supposedly bland, but I was never dumb enough to order potato curry at a Chinese restaurant.) 5. The Valerie Project If for no other reason than that Greg Weeks and Co. got a brand-fucking-new 35mm print of "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" struck from the original negative that lives in the Czech film archive in Prague (or wherever it is). Their print makes the Facets DVD look like boiled pickle brine. Additionally, the project has a Werner Herzog-ian mania to its ability to lose money. If you missed this when it came through your town, you fucked up. Buy the record and cry to it. Cheree Best, Silver Platters In no specific order! Miss Teen America Pageant - Miss South Carolina, third runner up tries to explain how unfortunate it is that most kids cannot locate the US on a map. - HILARIOUS The Saturday Knights/Donut Eating contest at Silver Platters! Transformer's the movie - I'm a NERD Albums I like released this year * Lady Sovereign, Killers- Sawdust, The Blakes, The Cave Singers – Invitation Songs, Blue Scholars –Bayani.The 2007 FJ Cruiser BAM! BAM! Harvey Brooks, Producer, Karen Dalton In My Own Time, Bassist for Bob Dylan, Miles Davis... 1. "Pilgrimage" by Michael Brecker Performing alongside Brecker are Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Jack DeJohnette. 2. 17th Street Market in Tucson Arizona Incredible specialty food shop & Music Store online @ treasureshidden.com 3. "Back To Black" Amy Winehouse 4. The resurgence of the single tune mentality of the "78" & "45" record eras. 5. The James Cotton Blues Band - Re-release on Lilith - Great Chicago Blues. Jenny Bulley, Reviews Editor, MOJO 5 NEW ALBUMS... Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino) The Arcade Fire – The Neon Bible (Sonovox) LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (DFA) Yoko Ono – Yes, I Am A Witch (Parlophone) Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Nonsuch) 5 REISSUES... Neil Young Live At Massey Hall (REPRISE) Culture Two Sevens Clash (Sanache) David Crosby If Only I Could Remember My Name (Rhino) Various: The Very Best of Ethiopiques (Union Square) The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday (Full Time Hobby) Caribou, Musician, Andorra 1. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 2. Battles - Mirrored 3. Burial - Untrue 4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 5. No Age - Weirdo Rippers Robert Christgau, "Dean of American Rock Critics" mia gogol bordello tabu ley rochereau on stern's africa arcade fire lucinda williams Drew Christie, Democracy For The Cartoons Blog 1. Mike Seeger's Early Southern Guitar Styles (Listened to it in 2007) 2. Grizzly Wintergreen (Chewed it in 2007) 3. ?ywiec (Polish Beer, drank it in 2007) 4. Polish Home Association (ate there in 2007) 5. Polish Chicks (would've liked to bone them in 2007) Terry Currier, Music Millennium Top 5 Music Graham Parker - Don't Tell Columbus Sloan - Never heard The End Of It John Jorgenson - Ultraspontane Blanche - Little Amber Bottles Dolorean - You Can't Win Dan, End Of An Ear Best New Album: Robert Wyatt "Comicopera" / Dungen "Tio Bitar" Best CD Reissue: Betty Davis CD's (hands down, no bullshit dude) Best LP Reissue: Os Mutantes vinyl Best DVD: Films Of Alejandro Jodorowsky Box Set Best Books: Wax Poetics Collection / Acid Archives / New York Noise /Japrocksampler Robinson Devor, Director, Zoo, Police Beat Best of 2007 Best Seattle live show: Prefuse 73/Nuemo's Best New Work/Local Band: Visqueen Best Local DJ new work: ndcv Best Seattle Film Screening: Pedro Costa at the NWFF "O Sangue" Best Classical Music Re-issue: Henryk Gorecki/"Symphonie" Worst Classic Rock Band Upcoming Tour Name: "Rush: The Snakes and Arrows Tour" Scottie Diablo, Manager White Denim, MTV guru TOP 6 for 2007 1. White Denim - Let's Talk About It (EP) 2. Hall & Oates - War Babies (LP) 3. Sweat - The Story of the Fleshtones, America's Garage Band (book) 4. The Taco Zone - Los Angeles' best taco truck in the city 5. Inside American Jail - from the creators of Cops 6. THE HUMPERS reunion show at Safari Sams in Hollywood (June 2007) The Humpers lead singer Scott Drake has to be the most underrated songwriter and talent in the past 20 years. period. 'nuff said. David Dickenson, Owner, Suicide Squeeze TOP 5 SHOWS I WITNESSED IN 2007 1. Bjork – live at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington May 26, 2007 2. Animal Collective – live at Neumos in Seattle, Washington September 14, 2007 3. Blood Brothers – live at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, Washington July 27, 2007 4. Jay Reatard – live at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle, Washington November 8, 2007 5. El P – live at Buffalo Billiards in Austin, Texas March 15, 2007 DJ Nobody 1. School of Seven Bells Both on record with "My Cabal" on 7" being rocked in every one of my DJ sets to touring with them live and having them blow my mind night after night... This is new music... catchy yet hypnotic, dark and banging. 2. Star of Siam Thai Food in Long Beach Never really got into this place though my good friend Brittanie swore by it... Got really into it this year making the Blank Blue record with Niki... THis is the best Thai food in the world... Others from Germany to Boston now pale in comparison... 3. Richard Twice This album from 1970 is the best record I found in the past year... Every single person who hears it falls in love with it and asks for a rewind... 4. Dungen - Tio Batar There is no other psych band that nails it like Dungen... this ones got a hip-hop feel in some of the joints too... your grandkids will pilfer this surely... 5. Os Mutantes Live Best concert I have ever seen in my life... Showmanship and musicianship filtered through more phase and distortion that one can usually handle... DJ SANTO 1. Stevie Wonder Live at Edgefield 2. Sharon Jones Live Anywhere 3. Budos Band - The Budos Band II - Daptone 4. Zap Mama - Supermoon - Heads Up 5. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin Up - Light in the Attic Litsa Dremousis, Writer, Esquire, Filter Top Five of 2007: 1) Werewolves and Lollipops, Patton Oswalt: One of the smartest, most insightful, and completely fucking hilarious comedy discs ever. If Oswalt's rant against KFC's Famous Bowls, "America Has Spoken", can't make you laugh, you are already lying in a cold, pine box. 2) Emerald City, John Vanderslice: The Vanderslicer maintains his distinct and idiosyncratic voice on what might be his finest record yet. When he implores, "White dove/ what are you thinking of?" on "White Dove", it slays me every time. 3) Keep Reachin' Up, Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators: Unquestionably, what critics and fans have said about Keep Reachin' Up is true: it's an alacritous and irresistible linchpin of retro-soul. What gets lost in all the accolades, though, is that Willis is a great storyteller. Songs like "Invisible Man" make you want to dance and find out what happens next. 4) New Moon, Elliott Smith: Aching, lovely, and note-perfect, Smith's outtakes are more fully realized than most records, novels, or films. It feels strange and adolescent to miss someone I never met, but I do, completely. The vocals on the "some enchanted night/ I'll be with you" line on the early version of "Miss Misery" are as close to perfect as any of us comes in this lifetime. 5) Back to Black, Amy Winehouse: Released at the end of last year, but essentially of '07. "Rehab", sadly, was subject to a million pun-infused headlines, and it'll be awful if Winehouse's personal life overshadows her talent because she's 85% cocoa in a landscape gurgling with Hershey's syrup. Regardless of how happy I might be in any given moment, the title song can reduce me to tears and conjure images of every break-up I've experienced since eleventh grade. Greg Dulli, Twilight Singers, Afghan Whigs, The Gutter Twins The 5 Best Shows I Saw in New Orleans This Year: 1) Fats Domino at Tipitina's /May 2007 Last May, Fats played his first show since Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home. He only played for a half hour but you knew every song. Hit after hit after hit.... 2) Johnny Rivers at the Fairgrounds/May 2007 One of my favorite singers of all time and I had never seen him play live before. He blew my fucking mind. 3) Robert Plant and Lil' Band O' Gold at Tipitina's/April 2007 Again, I'd never seen him live before and he did not disappoint. 2 Fats Domino songs, 2 Elvis songs, "Sea of Love" and then, as the band played "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Shake Your Hips", he scatted "Black Dog" and "Whole Lotta Love" over top of them. We all freaked out like teenage girls. 4) Roky Erickson at House of Blues/May 2007 He was on fire. Great band and every motherfucker in that place was smiling and dancing. The couple next to me had sex while he played. Seriously. 5) The Melvins at One Eyed Jacks/October 2007 I hadn't seen The Melvins since 1992 and was not expecting one of the greatest rock shows I have seen in recent years. But that is exactly what happened. The Dale Crover/Coady Willis lefty/righty drum team was magnificent to behold and Buzz was spraying riffs like a flamethrower. My neck hurt bad the next day.Go see them if they come to your town. Electric Horseman Top 5 Persona's of E. Horseman: 1. Rustic Cowboy 2. 60's French Pop Star 3. Guy with an internal struggle between Merchant Marine and Cowboy 4. Ordinary Cowboy 5. Homo Christian Skater Punk Rocker Greg Errico, Producer, Betty Davis (1973), Drummer Sly & The Family Stone City: London Country: Italy Film: I Am Legend Neighborhood: North Beach (SF, Ca.) Sushi Bar: King Of The Roll (Larkspur, Ca) Doug Freeman, Austin Sound While it's been a big year for Austin bands, from the Black Angels, Ghostland Observatory, and Octopus Project, to excellent releases from top acts like Okkervil River, Bill Callahan, and Spoon, 2008 is promising an even more stellar crop of ATX acts. Here is our rundown of 10 relatively new Austin bands to know in the new year, in alphabetical order: The Archibalds Black Joe Lewis Brazos Horse + Donkey Lomita Leatherbag Mothfight! Peel The Strange Boys White Denim Derek Fudesco, The Cave Singers 1. "Peacebone" by Animal Collective 2. Cochinita Pibil Tacos from Yuca in Los Angeles 3. Camping on Clam Beach with Lightning Dust 4. "Icicle Tusk" by Fleet Foxes 5. "History" by Lightning Dust Justin Gage, Aquarium Drunkard www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2007/12/09/aquarium-drunkard-2007-year-in-review/ John Garcia, Amoeba Music Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino) Richard Thompson - Sweet Warrior (Shout) Pienza Ethnorkestra - Indiens d'Europe (Soleil) Marc Ribot/Asmodeus - Book Of Angels Vol. 7 (Masada Book Two) (Tzadik) Keith Tippett/Julie Tippetts/Louis Moholo-Moholo & Canto Generàiva La Black Live At Ruvo (Ogun) Chris Geddes, Belle & Sebastian 5 from 2007 New album: Voice of the Seven Woods (Twisted Nerve). Honorable mention: LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver (DFA/EMI) Compilation/Reissue: Brazil 70 (Soul Jazz). Honorable mentions: Twinight's Lunar Rotation (Numero), Sarolta Zalatnay (Finders Keepers) Radio Show/Podcast: Downtown Soulville presented by Mr. Finewine (WFMU). Honorable mentions: Freak Zone presented by Stuart Maconie (BBC 6Music), Beats in Space by Tim Sweeny (WNYU), In Our Time presented by Melvyn Bragg (BBC Radio 4). Book: Jay Griffiths, Wild: an Elemental Journey (Hamish Hamilton). Honorable mention London, The Biography by Peter Ackroyd (Vintage) (not from this year but I seem to have spent most of the year reading it). Drink: Pedro Ximinez Sherry. Glen Goetze, Modular People Top 5 Discoveries Of The Year Cycling It's not like I never knew it existed but I lost my license this year and was forced to find an alternate way to get around, so I bought a bike when I was on holiday in NY, and ever since I'm using it not only to get around but whenever I get some spare time I'm out with my bike gang, trying to buy frames on ebay, building imaginary bikes on velospace, it's taking over and just another way to drain my non-existent savings. The Holy Mountain OMFG, what a brainmelter of a film, incredible. Turkish Delight I don't really know why but I totally got into it this year. Ram by Paul and Linda McCartney Not sure how I rediscovered this but I've had it forever but never really listened to it and now I'm listening to it every week, the production is beautiful The Heat Warps My favorite website. Matt Grady, Plexi Film 1. Japrocksampler by Julian Cope (book) Don’t write Cope off as an acid casualty just yet, he released his best album in over a decade with You Gotta Problem with Me and wrote the quintessential book on Japanese rock. Japrocksampler takes a thorough look the culture, history and musical trends of post-war Japan. Cope’s passion for Japanese sixties and seventies psych is contagious and the book is filled with stories and studies of incredible bands and records that were rarely ever heard outside of Japan. 2. Burgers I’ve had the 3 best burgers of my life this year. Le Tub in Hollywood, Florida was hands down the best burger and fries I have ever had. I believe the fries were double fried in bacon or duck fat...The No Bad Day’s Cafe in Napa, California was amazingly juicy and Burger 67 in Brooklyn’s Blue burger will blow any carnivore’s mind. 3. Spiritualized: Acoustic Mainlines (Concert) @ the Apollo in Harlem and Union Chapel in London Spiritualized without electric guitars didn’t sound like best idea but the string section, gospel choir and the Spacemen 3 songs more than made up for the lack of feedback. 4. 45 Revolutions by Mario Panciera (Book) This brilliant 1190 page limited edition book took twenty years to write focus’ solely on 45’s released in the UK and Ireland over a three year period of 1976-79. One of the best documents of punk and new wave, this book is just as good as the highly sought after, out of print, International New Wave Discography. 5. Unsilent Night in NYC My first year as one of the thousand people walking through the streets of the East Village with 100’s of boomboxes blasting an experimental symphony was truly remarkable. Unsilent Night has been going on since 1992, getting bigger and bigger every year and is now in cities all over the world.Runners Up: PJ Harvey Concert in NYC, taco trucks in Napa, David Shrigley’s Worried Noodles Book/CD, Sly and the Family Stone box set, Flight of the Concords, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, Fay Grim by Hal Hartley, Panda Bear - Person Pitch, Radiohead box (the packaging more than the music) and all of the BBC sessions released on CD for the first time. Dawn Greaney, Twist and Shout (in no particular order) 1. Nina Nastasia & Jim White - You Follow Me 2. Grizzly Bear - Friend 3. White Magic - Dark Stars 4. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 6. Bela Karoli - Furnished Rooms 7. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs 8. Besnard Lakes - Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse 9. Kinski - Down Below It’s Chaos 10. Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall Pierre Hallett, Rotate This In no particular order! Odd Nosdam - Level Live Wires (Anticon) Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog (Sub Pop) Massey Ferguson - 150 Diesel w/ Loader, 540 PTO (1962) CPC Gangbangs - Mutilation Nation (Swami) Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin' Up (Light In The Attic) Tom Hauserman, Baker & Taylor 1. Rogue Wave - Asleep At Heaven's Gate 2. Bloc Party - Weekend In The City 3. Editors - An End Has A Start 4. !!! - Myth Takes 5. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha Heath & Jason, Landlocked Music This is so tough, I am going to try to speak for our store as a wholehere, by some sort of weird weighted equation, we get this - thingswe could all agree on... Landlocked Music's Most Agreed Upon Music of 2007 Wooden Shjips - s/t (Holy Mountain) Spacemen 3 meets the Stooges. So simple, but so good. Eagerly anticipated performance at Terrastock 7 in Louisville in 2008. Pissed Jeans - Hope for Men (Sub Pop) Scuzz-rock from Allentown, PA. Like the Electric Eels after learning a few chords. Real rock for real people don't come from New York City, sorry. RIYL Melvins, Jesus Lizard, Flipper. Deerhunter - Cryptograms + Flourescent Grey EP (Kranky) Stunning psychedelic wastoid rock. Delay-bathed and atmospheric but it doesn't sound a bit retro. Atlas Sound is great too, reminds me of local heroes Marmoset. Daptone Records Sharon Jones absolutely slayed everyone again with her live show and awesome new album with the Dap-Kings. During the downtime, the new joint from Budos Band also ruled. Not to mention the obvious cherry on top with the exposure they got from Amy Winehouse. We pray for a Daptone Revue Tour. Pop Levi - The Return to Form Black Magick Party (Counter) Hyper-active bumblegum glam with soul. Somehow this hasn't made any year end lists that we've seen. We hope to shed some light... Greg Horne, Redeye Distribution 1 - Ian Hunter - Shrunken Heads - new album 2 - John Fogerty - Revival - new album 3 - Robert Plant & Allison Krause - Raising Sand - new album 4 - Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival - concert 5 - David Gilmour - On An Island concert Wes Howerton, Barsuk Records Richard Swift – Dressed Up for the Letdown The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse The National – Boxer Low – Drums & Guns Grinderman – S/T Matt Huddy, Red Eye Records 1 Field Music - Tones Of Towns - precise pop songs with edges andsubstance. 2 Tim Rutili (I've spent a lot of this year listening to Califone & OldRed Red Meat albums) 3 Mad Men . Finally something to fill the void left by the Sopranos 4 Dimmer live at the Annandale in Sydney. 5 Season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm. - the most ridiculous hour of(scripted) tv this year. Carlos Icaza Concert: George Clinton and the P-Funk allstars, B.B king music hall, NYC mid sept. simply a knock out! more than 3 hours of non stop dancing party, a 25 min. Maggot Brain version and Clinton at his best!!! still got the funk! New Album: Hidrogenesse, "Animalitos" Austrohungaro, Spain This side project of the great spanish pop band Astrud put out their second album 8 years later than the first one. Hidrogenesse, formed by married gay couple Carlos Ballesteros and GeníSegarra blend La Düorf´s second album sound with incendiary pop, social and political amazing statements, and of course, a lot of daylife poetry . New Single: Ween, "The friends" A 5 song amazing EP! the title theme is ween-meets eurodance! and a great song. the rest is: crappy salsa, a sweet Michael Bolton style ballad, a track produced by master King Jammy at Kingston, and another killer poppy fuelly loaded dancefloor ween instant classic. What a piece of band! Reissue: Chantal Goya, "Masculin-Feminin" EP soundtrack 6 songs by Jean Luc Godard´s film masterpiece. Singed beautifully by Goya, nouvelle vague goes soft ye-ye. Personal Discovery: Aldemaro Romero & Monna Bell "La onda nueva en Méco" Vampisoul, Jazz, Joropo, Ranchera music, Bossa, Pop. The new wave of modernity in latin american music in 1970. Brilliant Aldemaro´s arangements (sadly he passed away this last sept.) and Monna´s wonderful voice in an all-time classic. Inigo, Co-Owner, Vampi Soul/Munster/Forever Changes 1. YOU ARE GONNA MISS ME - The movie ! 2. KAREN DALTON - Its My time... No matter is due now, still playin twise a week 3. BEASTS OF BOURBON live. Forget about any other reunion... 4. BOMP'S book. It makes me proud 5. TONY ALLEN Reissues on Vampisoul., "This is some of the funkiest, catchiest, most challenging dance music ever created." Jared, Waiting Room Records TOP 5 - RECORDS BETTY DAVIS - Betty Davis/They Say I'm Different [reissues] (Light InThe Attic) CD GRINDERMAN - Grinderman (Anti) CD JOY DIVISION - Closer/Unknown Pleasures/STill [reissues] (Rhino) 2CD PISSED JEANS - Hope For Men (Sub Pop) CD MAPS - We Can Create (Mute) CD TOP 5 - OTHER Dark Knight Trailer Getting A New Shelf For My Cds "Truck" my cat Chicken Sausages Didn't die Michael Jaworksi, Mt. Fuji Records, The Cops, The Saturday Knights, The Sunset Tavern Top 6 of 2007: 1. Getting engaged to my girl, Julia. 2. Being in The Cops and making our new record "Free Electricity" this past November. 3. Being asked to play guitar with The Saturday Knights and getting to play some amazing shows with them at Sasquatch, Bumbershoot, among others. 4. Landing my dream job, booking shows at The Sunset in Ballard. 5. Finding "In The Bowl" all vegetarian restaurant in my hood, Capitol Hill. 6. Another solid year spent with my amazing friends and family. Jason Kirk, Freelance writer, former editor Seattle Sound Magazine My five favorite albums of 2007, in no particular order... Public Enemy - How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul??? (Slam Jamz) Hearing Public Enemy return with such confident, career-defining bravado can damn near shear the scalp off of any serious hip-hop enthusiast. Chuck D doesn't just get better with age, he makes the age better. Play it loud! Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter - Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul (Barsuk) If an eerier, more revenantly melodic opus saw release this year, shout its name from the rooftops. If not, sing this one's praises, lest someday, some archivist of Americana look back on us and wonder, disapprovingly, how this album didn't make a bigger splash. Glenn Gould - Bach: The Goldberg Variations 1955 Performance: Zenph Re-performance (Sony Classics) This computer-rendered re-enactment of Gould's seminal recording is a dead ringer for the canonical original. As for its importance, well, if humans alone can't stay the death throes of the classical recording industry, let the robots have a crack at it. The Bad Plus - Prog (Heads Up) Having reached a level of compositional self-propulsion only hinted at in their early albums, the Bad Plus now sound every bit the giddy major-label escapees. And Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" never, ever sounded so good. Dizzy Gillespie - Live at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival (Monterey Jazz Fest) Even if this performance didn't capture well-loved standards like "Trinidad, Goodbye" and "A Night in Tunisia" with such breathtaking freshness, "Dizzy's Comedy Sketch" alone vaults this concert to the top of Gillespie's vaunted annals. Mark Klebeck, Owner, Top Pot Doughnuts Best Radio Station: KEXP 90.3 FM (No station in the nation comes close) Best DJ: Sir Johnny Boy Richards (I can still remember John as a student and volunteer at the station. It blows my mind how talented this guy is.) Best Restaurant: Machiavelli (Great atmosphere, Incredible food, amazing staff and affordable) Best Bartender: Erik Chapman-Sun Liquor (Yeah whatever, maybe a slight conflict of interest here but tough because NOBODY is better than Erik ) Best CaféTrophy Cupcakes (Both the place and product are incredibly beautiful) JanKeira Knox, The Jet City Redhead Let’s go over a few high/low points in the national/international music scene this year – a totally a mixed bag. Nickelback is still selling gazillions of last year’s record (how did they do that?); Amy “Wino” Winehouse’s messed up life in the news all the time (but damn, she does have great songs); then there’s the pop princess “B” girl whose sad life has gone down the toilet like so much after-party puke; Poor Lily Allen can’t even make it into this country to do a concert; people are catching on to Fall Out Boy (I must say they do have the BEST song titles around); Mary J. Blige is totally workin’ it; M.I.A. is kicking ass all over the planet; Radiohead gave us fabulous, essentially free music; and then there’s the amazing duet of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – what more can I say? Interesting and mind-boggling at the same time. There was much happening this year and too much to talk about here. In the greater Seattle area, we had wave after wave of fabulous stuff being churned out. Local station, KEXP 90.3, plays a major part in how folks find out about that great music. Then there are those of us who frequent the gigs at local venues; when we hear great music (or really bad music) we know it. Cool stuff that. There are so many talented local musicians and too many to give props to, but here’s a list of my favorites for this year: The Blakes – The Blakes (Light in the Attic) Mono in VCF – Mono in VCF (SR) Band of Horses* – Cease to Begin (Sub Pop) The Myriad (MTV2’s Dew Circuit Breakout artist 2007) – With Arrows With Poise (Kosmos) The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs (Matador) Blue Scholars - Bayani (Rawkus) The Cops - Free Electricity (The Control Group) Brandi Carlile – The Story (Sony/BMG) The Shins – Wincing The Night Away (Sub Pop) Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic) Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog (Sub Pop) Alma Villegas Quintet – Alma Villegas (SR) Carrie Akre - Last the Evening (Loveless) Rocky Votolato – The Bragg and Cuss (Barsuk) Tullycraft - Every Scene Needs a Center (Magic Marker) Velella Velella - Flight Cub EP (SR) Will Lawrence, In House Press Top 5 compilations for 2007 for cosmic pop tarts and an aid for lazy deejays ... 1. Fairytales Can Come True - Volumes 1 & 2 (Fairy Cakes For Tea)(Psychic Circle) 2. Tea & Symphony (The English Baroque Sound 1967-1974) (Castle Music) 3. Welsh Rare Beat 2 (Finders Keepers) 4. Now We Are Ten - A decade of strange and beautiful music from Trunk Records (Trunk Records) 5. Steam Kodok - 26 A-Go-Go Ultrararities from the 60's - Singapore and South-East Asia Underground (Grey Past Records) Beau Levitt, Five Bucks on By-Tor Daft Punk - Alive 2007 Sheer sonic bliss. Feist - The Reminder Currently being run into the ground on a bunch of commercials near you, but all in all, a stunningly diverse collection of mellow soul. The Harry J All-Stars - Liquidator: The Best of The Harry J All-Stars 25 tracks of organ-led reggae instrumentals, courtesy of one Harold Johnson and the cream of Trojan Records’ session crew. I could listen to these guys all day. Mogwai - Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait - Original Soundtrack The film, in which 17 cameras track French football god Zinedine Zidane over the course of a complete game, is a bit of an endurance test, but the album is a perfect flow of hypnotic, ominous instrumental soundscapes. The Rheostatics’ final show On March 31st, the Canadian cult legends bowed out with one last show at Toronto’s historic Massey Hall. At the very end, as the band waded into the audience to stand with their families and lead a singalong of “Record Body Count,” there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Sigur Rò Heima (DVD) A film about Sigur Rò2006 tour of Iceland, a series of free, mostly unannounced shows in venues as far-flung as an old herring oil tank, community halls, fields and caves. Accompanied by gorgeous footage of the Icelandic countryside. V/A: It Came From Canada, Vol. 1-5 Five compilation albums of mid-’80s Canadian college rock, touching on everything from psychobilly to goth to Sonic Youth-style noise rock. Never re-issued on CD, so keep your eye out for the vinyl. V/A: Working Man’s Soul A reissue compilation of rare funk, rock, soul & jazz from the UK cabaret, social club and public house scene of the 1960s and ‘70s. Hidden gems from records that were, almost without exception, privately pressed and printed in miniscule numbers. V/A: Wyld Canada, Vol. 1-5 148 shots of red-hot Canadian ‘60s garage rock madness, from better-known acts like The Guess Who and David Clayton-Thomas to The Mynah Birds, otherwise known as Neil Young and Rick James’ band. Ween - La Cucaracha Ween don’t get older, they get better. “Your Party,”the good brothers’ take on ‘80s adult-contemporary cheese - complete with saxophone solos by David Sanborn himself - is worth the price of the album on its own. Mark Linn, Delmore Recordings 1. Karen Dalton - Cotton Eyed Joe I've listened to these 2 CDs more than any other music this year, which makes me biased in more ways than one. 2. Peter Walker - live in his backyard Waking up to the sounds of Peter Walker practicing his guitar playing, and then hearing / seeing more throughout the day reminded me of the mystical, therapeutic, inspirational power of music. 3. Barbara Manning - Super Scissors 3 CD box set released by the mighty Pat Thomas, who also found time to resurrectPtolemaic Terrascope and put together a perfectly mind expanding CD to accompany it. 4. Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story The rare TV / Swedish clips are unreal...Robert Gordon has done an incredible job telling the inspirational story. His Jack Clement film was finally released on DVD this year, and it's also great. 5. Diana Darby: poem of the day Sometimes deeply poetic, sometimes an intensely private journal entry. Romantic, sad, addictive...and lot's of rabbits. Josh Lovseth, Sound on the Sound This list is consists of only "Seattle" rock bands and only the best the town has to offer. This isn't the "best band in town" list, this is the "best rock bands in town" list. And this list isn't just about albums, it's about having the best complete package over the last year, the year 2007.This list is about volume and performance and having the best show overall in town. This list is about THE ROCK and who in Seattle made the year 2007 their bitch better than anyone else. So, without further ado...Seattle's Twenty Five Best Rock Bands of 2007 1. The Whore Moans 2. Thee Emergency 3. The Blakes 4. Ice Age Cobra 5. The Lashes 6. Siberian 7. Ms Led 8. The Hands 9. Das Llamas 10. Schoolyard Heroes 11. Grand Archives 12. Feral Children 13. The Hopscotch Boys 14. Young Sportsmen 15. The Lonely H 16. Bloodhag 17. Kultur Shock 18. H is for Hellgate 19. Spanish for 100 20. The Resets 21. Whalebones 22. Pleasureboaters 23. The Cops 24. Presidents of the United States of America 25. Thunderbird Motel Lawrence Lui, Astralwerks 1) The Boredoms with 77 drummers in Brooklyn (best live show) 2) Persepolis (best movie) 3) The Jai-Alai Savant 'Flight Of The Bass Delegate' (most underrated rock record) 4) Dalek 'Abandoned Language' (most underrated hip hop record) 5) Betty Davis 'Betty Davis' (best reissue!) Lunatron, Luna Music tracey thorn - out of the woods arctic monkeys - favourite worst nightmare burial - s/t nicole willis & the soul investigators - keep reachin' up little wings - soft pow’r lawrence - lowlights from the past and future radiohead - in rainbows budos band - II sharon jones & the dap kings - 100 days, 100 nights v/a - buzzin' fly volume four top 5 tracks of the 07: 1. the green men - blink 2. milton jackson - cycles 3. tracey thorn - grand canyon (king unique's wrong road dub/lunatron's edit) 4. martin landsky - let me dance for you (sebo k mix) 5. midlake - roscoe (beyond the wizard's sleeve mix) Jennifer Maas, Evil Bunny Films Top-5 Recipe Discoveries for 2007 Celery Root and Leak Puree--------------------------------------- Don't be afraid of the celery root. It looks very Jim Hensen, butit's so frick-ass good you won't believe it. Soften leaks inbutter. Add peeled and cubed celery root and cook for a fewminutes. Cover with broth, and cook until celery root is soft (about20 minutes). Use submersion blender to puree (or carefully usecounter-top blender to puree in batches.). Season with salt. Oyster Tarragon Soup------------------------------ Soften leaks in butter in soup pot. Put oysters in with the leaks,cook them for a few minutes, and then take them out. Add chickenbroth and the liquor from the oysters to the leaks, bring to a boil,and then reduce heat. Add fresh tarragon and cream, and cook foranother couple of minutes. Remove from heat and add the oystersback in. Garnish with more fresh tarragon and season with salt.(When I made it, I actually let a few of the oysters cook to long inthe beginning, which makes them rubbery. So I just left them inthere the whole time and then pureed the whole thing with asubmersion blender before I added the tarragon. It was kind of niceto have those little oyster bits, but I probably wouldn't do it likethat again :) Garlic Smashed Potatoes--------------------------------- Put quartered small potatoes (I like German Butterball) into a sautepan, cover with water and add like 6 garlic cloves. Bring water to aboil, reduce, and cook until potatoes are soft. There will be somewater left, pour off all but about 1/4 cup. Put everything into abowl with cream and smash with a smasher or a fork. Stir in saltand fresh tarragon. Cooking the garlic with the potatoes makesa huge difference -- the garlic isn't pungent or overpowering, it justbrings out the sweetness in the potatoes. Beet and Avocado Salad---------------------------------- Wash some beets and put them in a big foil pouch. Cook then in theoven at 375 for about an hour. Meanwhile, let some shallots in amixture of orange juice, lemon juice, salt, and vinegar for abouttwenty minutes. Drizzle some olive oil into the mixture to make adressing. Cut up some avocados. When the beets are finished, letthem cool for a bit so you don't burn yourself and remove the skins.Cut them up however you want. Arrange the beets and avocadoson a plate, drizzle dressing over. I like a mix of yellow and red beets. Fancy eggs---------------- Heat some butter on medium-low in a nonstick pan (you can usesomething else if you're brave -- I'm not). Crack two eggs intothe pan and cover -- you want to maximize the runny yolk andminimize runny white. You shouldn't have to flip them. After theyare in for about 2 minutes, grate some fresh parmesan over thetop. Warm some thin-sliced ham in the same pan. Meanwhilemix a good garlic aioli (homemade is preferable) with a goodEnglish mustard (not whole-grain). Put the ham down on a plate,top with the egg, and then put a generous dollop of the aioli-mustardcombokit on top. This would probably be my death-rowmeal if I got to pick. Malik, Boo Boo Records Top 5 albums 1. Roots Of Chicha - V/A Cumbia fuzzed out with psychedelic? Yes, please. 2. Panda Bear - Person Pitch Making cutting-edge safe for the next generation. 3. Budos Band - Budos Band II The perfect amalgamation of soul-jazz and afro-funk. 4. After Dark: Italians Do It Better - V/A Giorgio Moroder will forever be sexy. 5. M.I.A. - Kala The only good thing to come out of the U.S.'s tightened Visa policy. My new heroine of the free world. Larry Mansdorf, Newbury Comics top 5 records of 2007: 1. beatnik filmstars - cat scan aces 2. township - coming home (local boston band) 3. kaze shabu shabu (restaurant in boston) 4. dexter - season two 5. moby grape reissues Martin, Jim, Pish & Everyone Else, Selectadisc 1. The Soundcarriers - I Had A Girl/Without Sound (Heron) 2. St. Pancras Railway Station, London - Restoration Project 3. If - DVD release (starring Malcolm MacDowell) 4. This Is England - movie (dir Shane Meadows - local lad!) 5. Morecombe And Wise - Christmas TV Shows - re-issue DVD set Steve Matrick, Kepler Events, Manager, A Place To Bury Strangers Top five APTBS shows of 2007. I figured this list would be a good thing to contribute considering I’ve seen them almost thirty times this year: 1. Death by Audio- Pitchfork TV shoot on September 16, 2007 2. CMJ Music Hall of Williamsburg show with Yeasayer, Foals and Cadence Weapon on October 17, 2007 3. Bowery Ballroom with the Black Angels & Spindrift on November 7, 2007 4. Dionysus Disco at Oberlin College on November 11, 2007 5. Mezzanine in San Francisco with Here Here and Film School on December 5, 2007 Larry May, CD Cellar 5. I love the foolhardy fat girls who still choose to wear pajama pants in public. Hey, big girl, you're not quirky, you are just sloppy. Put on some real pants or a dress, and spare me the gut wrenching pain of watching you murder those Fruity Pebbles at Wal Mart while awaiting your turn at the self check out. 4. The reluctance of any college football team in the Top 10 to keep from getting their asses kicked. This further proves my theory that college students are so exhausted from the 12 hours of class they skip every week that they can't be bothered to play football on Saturdays. Entitlement has a price tag, you weiners. 3. I love the quilt that Tenza's grandmother gave us. On icy Alabama nights, nothing cuts the chill quite like her tattered, antebellum old quilt. Northerners don't shit about quilts. 2. The blessings that the deity Reese gives us each year at the holidays. She makes chocolate and peanut butter treats at Easter, Halloween and Christmas. 1. I'm thoroughly enamored of the numbness I possess that keeps me from beating the guts out of every dickhead that askes me if downloading hurts sales at my store. Michael, Pitchfork Media Top 5 (I'm going with a mix bag) 1. Dear and the Headlights- "Small Steps, Heavy Hooves" Obviously the name of the band and the title of the album are automatic reasons to shun. But you'll be surprised to find one of the most listenable records of the year. 2. Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal; BSS/Kevin Drew- Lucky Ones; Blonde Redhead- 23; Battles- Atlas; LCD Soundsystem- All My Friends; Band of Horses- No One's Gonna Love You; Deerhunter- Spring Hall Convert 3. Show I wish I saw- Battles, Deerhunter @SouthStreet Seaport, NYC. I really disappoint myself sometimes. This one takes the cake. 4. Reno 911 the movie. I think thats a given. 5. The girl from the American Apparel Unisex Flex Fleece V-Neck Sweatshirt ads. Becca Minkoff, Marketing Associate, The Triple Door! Feist and Grizzly Bear at The Moore Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War Jesse Sykes - Like, Love, Lust & the Open Halls of the Soul Chuck Klosterman - IV A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas Rancho Bravo Tacos in Wallingford David Miranda, Everyday Music 1. LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver" CD/2LP + show @ Showbox 2. Bang Gang Deejays Present "Light/Sound/Dance" 2CD 3. Boris w/Michio Kurihara "Rainbow" CD/Deluxe 3LP Boxset + show @ Chop Suey 4. Francisco Lopez & Matt Shoemaker performance @ Good Shepherd Center - July 2007 5. Keith Rowe & friends performing Cornelius Cardew @ Good Shepherd Center - October 2007 Mr. Hill El-P – I'll Sleep When You're Dead Rob Sonic - Sabotage Gigante Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs Silas Blak – Silas Sentinel Pushkar Ojha, Radio K 1 Electralane - No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure) 2 Fog - Ditherer (Lex) 3 Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum) 4 White Magic - Dark Stars [EP] (Drag City) 5 Deerhunter - Cryptograms LP/Fluorescent Grey EP (Kranky) Dimos Passas, Rock n Roll Circus 1. album: BUILD AN ARK - DAWN (Kindred Spirits)the grooviest Pharoah Saunders record Pharoah Saunders never made 2. album cover: SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS - 100 DAYS 100 NIGHTS (Daptone)a cover you can dance to 3. dvd: Respect Yourself: Stax Records Story/Stax Volt Revue Tour 1967 (Universal)once you been there, you know it's home... 4. radio show: THEME TIME RADIO HOUR WITH HOST BOB DYLAN (XM Radio)dreams, schemes and themes from another world 5. beach: AI HELIS (Kefalonia Island - Greece)rumors say that Serge wrote "Sea, Sex and Sun" for this place Tanya Palmer, Easy Street Records High on Fire – Death is This Communion Audionom – Retrospectiv Boris w/ Michio Karihara – Rainbow Shellac – Excellent Italian Greyhound Mono – Pheonix Tree EP. Favorite Movie: Bourne Ultimatum Favorite DVD: Office Volume 3 Peanut Butter Wolf, Owner, Stones Throw Top US airlines used this year 5. tie: United/American I've used these airlines for years because of the golden handcuffs they each supply me in the form of frequent flier miles. I have enough with both airline to travel the world several times over. Trouble is, I haven't used any miles with either. I wanna use them to go somewhere really far, but never have time to plan a vacation. At the same time, they are the hardest to make last minute adjusments, charging STUPIDLY high change fees. The food is terrible, especially on oversees flights where you are forced to eat it cuz you've been without food for as much as 12 hours. I can't really say anything good about them really. 3. Southwest I'm a sucker for SW. They're the opposite of United and American, giving me a lot of leaway if I wanna change a flight. I go back and forth from the Bay to LA a lot and insist on them since it's a quick hour flight anyway. One time, I even wanted to change which airport I was leaving out of AFTER buying the ticket and they did so for me with no charge! Only thing with them is don't fly out of LAX if you are using them out of the Los Angeles area. The worst lines ever. Only do Burbank. 2. Jet Blue Any airline with that much leg room and your own TV screen with tons of channels wins my vote. 1. Virgin America Now granted I haven't used them much yet, but I think I'm sold. They've taken everything that Jet Blue did (your own TV screen, extra leg room, etc) and added even more stuff. For example, when I'm on a plane, I can never get enough water and I don't wanna be constantly ringing my bell for service and waking up the people around me. With Virgin, you go to the back of the plane and they have a vending machine with free bottles of water. Obvious idea, but nobody's done it yet. I'd say either Jet Blue of Virgin America if given the choice. Let's see who comes with the free wireless on the plane first. Rodrigo Perez, MTV, The Playlist Blog 1. There Will Be Blood. 2. Margot At The Wedding Soundtrack 3. Lavender Diamond - Imagine Our Love 4. The New York Film Festival - my first year in as press, woo. 5. Diving Back into my Dylan addiction – discovering the Basement Tapes, finally reading Chronicles (thanks I’m Not There) 6. my soundtracks blog, a sense of joy for me: theplaylist.blogspot.com Tim Perlich, Now Toronto TOP 10 ARCHIVAL RELEASES OF 2007 1) Jim Ford - Sounds Of Our Time (Bear Family) The vastly underrated country soul classic Harlan County by singer/songwriter Jim Ford -- who wrote Aretha Franklin's Niki Hoeky, Bobby Womack's Harry Hippie and quite possibly Bobbie Gentry's Ode To Billie Joe -- is reissued with a load of amazing unreleased songs from tapes he had stashed in a plastic bag. Sadly any hopes that this release might lead to a comeback were dashed on November 18 when the 66 year old Ford was found dead in his California home. 2) Twinight's Lunar Rotation (Numero Group) This beautifully illustrated double disc blast of Windy City getdowns is not just the best Twinight collection, it's the best label excavation job in the Numero Group's classy Eccentric Soul series and that's saying something. 3) Góo! Bugalu Tropical, Vol. 1 and 2 (Vampi Soul) Spain's Vampi Soul label blows the lid off the Peruvian 60s tropical music scene with back-to-back compilations of the pan-Latin scorchers recorded for the MAG label. Muy caliente! 4) Ethiopian Soul And Groove: Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 1 (L'Arome Productions) Don't let the words "urban" and "modern" scare you off, this is primo lowdown Ethio-funk filled with skronky saxophone blurts and rickety organ wheeze just as Haile Selassie intended. 5) The Dictators - Every Day Is Saturday (Norton)The best and rawest recordings by New York's wrestle rock kings you never heard. Pure ignoroid genius. 6) Life Is A Problem (Mississippi Records) An explosive vinyl-only selection of lo-fi spirituals, testimonials and finger-pointing sermonizing from the golden era which makes the case that no one rocks like a rock 'n' roll hating gospel evangelist. 7) Barbara Manning - Super Scissors (Rainfall Records) How do you improve on Barbara Manning's two fab indie-rock classics Lately I Keep Scissors and One Perfect Green Blanket? Package them together in a box with a an extra disc of demos, outtakes and singles tracks. Nice. 8) Billy Wooten - Lost Tapes (P-Vine) Japanese reissue powerhouse P-Vine wasn't content with reissuing Billy Wooten's tough-to-catch In This World and the Wooden Glass albums. Nope. They had to go for the gusto by unearthing Wooten's fantastic overlooked Naptown nastiness from the vaults for Lost Tapes. 9) Porter Wagoner - The Rubber Room: The Haunting, Poetic Songs of Porter Wagoner 1966-1977 Twenty nine of the most troublingly twisted songs the late great Porter Wagoner ever imagined could be country chart hits, each delivered with bone-chilling conviction. 10) Moussa Doumbia - Keleya: Malian Funk Of The 70s (Oriki) The packaging is lame, the notes are a disappointment and the sound quality isn't stellar but Moussa Doumbia's monstrously pounding jams more than make up for it. Scott Reitherman, Throw Me The Statue Top 5 MySpace Music Pages That Were a Welcome Discovery in 2007: It can be exhausting being on The MySpace and getting endless friend requests from bands. Here though, are five of my discoveries of this year that were welcome exceptions to that rule. In no meaningful order,... Wallpaper A local band, made up of three guys with a strong penchant for Mod, 60s brit invasion/frat-rock style. To me they might be the next best thing about Seattle's music scene. Sleeping States The alias of Markland Starkie, who seems to be a music composition student in London. Signed to Misra in the states, his video for the song "Rivers" convinced me instantly. Sorcerer A young guy from Oakland making songs that remind me in the best way of some of the worst of the music my Dad listened to while I was growing up. Casey Holford Great earnest pop folk/rock songs. One of the only people this year I feel like I kind of got to know over MySpace after listening to his music and felt like I already knew him a bit because of his songs. Sweet Potatoes The Seattle musical project of a lady named Jenny. Wonderful. Another artist where the experience of their songs make you feel like you have shared a conversation. Pat Riley, Domino Records 1) Jackie McCarthy- I married her, of course she is #1! 2) Hiro, my dog 3) My bike 4) OM "Pilgrimage" 5) Rachel Flortard with the John Rauhouse Sestet Sept 6th at Union Pool Brooklyn NY6) Pet Genius "Pet Genius" 7) MIA "Kala" 8) Jesu "Lifeline" 9) Alicia Keys "No One" 10) LCD Soundsystem "Sound of Silver" 11) Prizhorn Dance School "Prizhorn Dance School" 12) Patton Oswald "Pennsylvania Macaroni Company" 13) Radiohead "In Rainbows" 14) Black Lips at the Siren Festival Coney Island NY Rochelle, MTV My Top 5 Albums of the year: 1. Rilo Kiley – "Under The Black Light" 2. Paramore – "Riot" 3. Common – "Finding Forever" 4. Band of Horses – "Cease To Begin" 5. Kanye West – "Graduation" Gabriel Roth, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Daptone Records Top 5 Records I enjoyed in 2007: 1. Ben E. King It's All Over Atco 2. Lou D. Washington and the Professionals Since I've Fallen In Love with You Steeltown 3. Holland-Dozier Don't Leave Me Invictus 4. The Pirates I'm Gonna Love You 'Till I Die Mel-O-Die 5. The Swan Silvertones Sign of the Judgement Vee-Jay Dave Sanford, President, Spectre Entertainment Group 1. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass - Def Jux 2. Georgie James - Places - Saddle Creek 3. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation - self-released 4. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead - Def Jux 5. Menomena - Friend and Foe - Barsuk Joe Schwab, Euclid Records Top 5 Records Future Clouds and Radar Kaiser Chiefs - Your's Truley, Angry Mob Radiohead - In Rainbows The Blakes - The Blakes Electric Soft Parade - No Need To Be Downhearted Top 5 Concerts The Hard Lessons Roky Erickson Future Clouds and Radar Terry Adams R & R Quartet Barbara Lynn Top 5 TV 30 Rock Weeds The Office Extras Curb Your Enthusiasm Blogs Bedazzled I Rock Cleveland WFMU Beware The Blog Boogie Woogie Flu Radio Shows WFMU-Dave The Spaz WFMU-Michael Shelley Indie 103.1-Steve Jones Jonesy's Jukebox WEVL- The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn WFMU-Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terri T. Michael Seiwerath, Executive Director, Northwest Film Forum 1. Caféresse, Joanne Herron and Jim Drohman (cheap french food) 2. No Country for Old Men, The Coen Brothers 3. Backroom Anthology, Matthew Stadler, editor (Clear Cut Press) 4. Seventh Climate (Paradise Reconsidered) John Roloff (2006 holdover) 5. Killer of Sheep Charles Burnett (1977 revival) Steven Severin, Neumos Top 5 in no particular order... Greenleaf - I think every item on that menu is great. I'm ordering everything in order down the line. Grand Archives EP & the anticipation of the new full length. Who does 5part harmonies anymore. Nobody, just these bad asses. Against Me and Eric Dolphy is getting heavy play right now too. 2 weeks in Kauai. Enough said Christopher Moore. Every book that dude writes has me in stitches. A crisp pair of new sneakers. Right now I'm stoked on my new Zoo York's. Gary Smith, Easy Street Records 1. The Intelligence "Deuteronomy" 2. Hyphy Hits "V/A" 3. Jens Lekman "Night Falls Over Kortedala" 4. Coconut Coolouts "Party Time Machine" 5. The Stooges "Weirdness" Jeff Smith, Modern Tonic Here is what bopped, hip-hopped and flat-out rocked Modern Tonic’s world in 2007. Mark Ronson, Version Producer/DJ of the year Ronson brings mad skills – and a who’s who of collaborators (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen) – to his dance-floor mash-ups of new and old U.K. faves. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, 100 Days, 100 Nights They don’t just kick it old school, they are old school. If you want to know why that’s a powerful thing, ask Amy Winehouse, who used the Dap-King’s as her Back to Black band. Nicole Atkins - Neptune City This exile from the Jersey shore strolls down the boardwalk of her memory and finds herself in a funhouse mirror of pop styles, from Doris Day to Rilo Kiley. Alicia Keys - As I Am She’s crazy in love; you can feel it in the buoyant grooves and declarations of her fidelity. In an R&B world of hurt, Keys’ catchy optimism is – pardon us – truly a modern tonic. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black That’s Black as in ‘the blues’; and, as we all know by now, Winehouse doesn’t just know the territory – she owns it. Carrie Underwood - Carnival Ride Her voice as vast as the heartland, the first countrified American Idol winner two-stepped past the sophomore slump with big hooks, big attitude, and big, big fun. Across The Universe - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack If the movie’s a phantasmagorical trip through the 60’s, the soundtrack, sung by actors and pop stars, is the time-released drug that sustains the hallucinatory vision. Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion The fop who brought back Freddie Mercury’s mischievousness — and vocal range — Mika’s the new ambiguous queen of pop playfulness. Kylie Minogue - X Kylie liberates herself with a celebration of hot-stepping nightlife that’ll help everyone dance away those blues. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible With a sound that goes from big to enormous in the space of one album, these Canadians converted non-believers and confirmed their place as the new U2. Jonathan Smith, A Place To Bury Strangers Here are my top 5 favorite venues played in 2007, in no particular order: 1. Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY 2. Mezzanine - San Francisco, CA 3. The Black Cat - Washington, DC 4. Headliners, Louisville, KY 5. Webster Hall - New York, NY SONIC BOOM / SPECTRUM / EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO RESEARCH / SPACEMEN 3 PANDA BEAR - PITCH PERSON amazing l.p. from Animal Collective member. one of my favourite discs in ages IF Malcolm McDowell/Lindsay Anderson classic finally out on DVD MISA LUBA (IF.... soundtrack of African tribesmen singing latin Mass) DRIVA MAN - MANFRED MANN amazing track from the Mannfred Mann 4 cd box out in 07 DEAN & BRITTA - VARIATIONS remix mini-lp of tracks from the amazing 07 l.p. Gabriel Spierer, Vice Records 1. new friends. some really good ones this year. 2. The Black Lips I love everything about them. Their enthusiasm, their tireless work ethic, their effortless charm and of course their incredible music. They have made my working year worthwhile. The model for what a band should be - genuine people, brilliant songwriters and untouchable live performers who believe in what they are doing as much as anyone else possibly could. 3. Since this is just a Top 5, I'm going to cheat. Some of the records that made 2007 slightly more bearable: Panda Bear - Person Pitch, Arcade Fire - Neon Bible, Ash Pool - World Turns On Its Hinge, The Cave Singers - Invitation Songs, Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa, Malcolm Middleton - A Brighter Beat, Bottomless Pit - Hammer of the Gods, Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks, John Vanderslice - Emerald City, Jesu - Conqueror, Cheeseburger - Cheeseburger, Xasthur - Defective Epitaph, Lifelover - Pulver, The New Pornographers - Challengers 4. Music, in person Big Melvins (Melvins + Big Business = Big Melvins) 4 times, Jay Reatard countless times (esp. SXSW aka the beer-chucked-at-my-balls show, and Chicago at the Hideout), the New Pornographers countless times (esp. Webster Hall w Dan and Neko and strings and horns), Grizzly Bear a few times (esp. acoustic at Bookeaters - wow, these guys steal every show they play), Arcade Fire at Randall's island (from the side of the stage looking out at 20,000 - it was real true magic, esp. on mushrooms), all McCarren Pool shows (esp. the Thermals' covering Built to Spill's Big Dipper)...There were so many more, but none quite as magical as: GZA performing Liquid Swords, in its entirety, at the Pitchfork festival in Chicago - a singular highlight of my life. 5. Kevin Durant A young god. (esp. his season at UT - 30 and 10 in conference? really? and - his getting drafted by the Sonics. save them. somebody.) Ben Swanson, Secretly Canadian 1. M.I.A. - Kala / LIVE Best show of the year...by far and wide...what i imagine seeing the talking heads in '81, still constantly discovering their boundaries, a totally raw process of discovery for all present... 2. Le Loup - The Throne... (Harly Art) A world unto itself, i really don't know what else to say.... 3. Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free) All the right ways... 4. Stockholm in February Freezing cold like back home, how i've missed you... 5. Butter Chicken at Shanti I really think Bloomington has one of the best India restaurants around...i know for sure that i'm wrong, but i try to eat it wherever i go, and i've yet to find a rival... Tom Szwech, Bag of Songs I listened to so many great records this year that even a list of 50 would shortchange something. The ones that really stuck with me and got played to most are the ones that ranked higher in the long run. 1. The Swimmers - Fighting Trees One Of Philadelphia's finest, far and away the one record I listened to most, in the rotation since January and still going strong. The perfect balance of catchy hooks,vocal harmonies and intelligent lyrics. 2. The Broken West - I Can't Go On I'll Go On Jangly, smart, power pop. And it shows that they're musically well schooled, the last time I saw them live they threw in covers of Tegan And Sara, Yo La Tengo , and Buffalo Springfield. 3. Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up The best overlooked album of the year. Emotional, ragged and real with a sound that falls somewhere between fellow Canadians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Forget Feist you need this. 4. The Clientele - God Save The Clientele Smooth like a Sunday morning pop, filled with sixties overtones but never sounding retro or dated. 5. Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain Nation What Wilco could've sounded like if they didn't sand the edges off. One of the best live shows I saw all year. 6. Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter One of the best new songwriters of a generation, Josh amped it up a bit on this one and created a classic. 7. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Their first, Funeral did nothing for me, but only one clunker (Black Wave) on this one kept it just shy of perfect. Embracing their Springsteen influences openly into their sound didn't hurt. 8. LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver James Murphy obviously honed his ear for what works during his time as a bouncer at Trenton's punk rock club City Gardens all through the mid to late eighties and delivered an album that put all that knowledge together for something relevant right now. 9. Creeping Weeds - We Are All Part Of A Dream You're Having One of Philly's most original sounding bands this manages to run the gamut from desolate spacey piano, to jagged edgy guitar rockers and all points in between, and it all works. And having seen them live like 8 or 9 times this past year I can tell you they're an awesome live band as well. 10. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha 2 solid midtempo pop songs filled hooks,violin, whistling and more, what else could you ask for. It plays really well as a whole, one of the best sequenced albums of the year, each song perfectly setting up the next, just like a great mix tape Jason Taylor, Redeye Distribution 1. Boris w/Michio Kurihara 'Rainbow' 2. Deerhunter 'Cryptograms' 3. Liars 'Liars' 4. Battles 'Mirrored' 5. Sharon Jones '100 Days, 100 Nights' Jeffrey Taylor, Wall of Sound Records, Climax Golden Twins Top 5 Nice Things For 2007: 1) My mother moving to Tazewell, Va. (In beautiful S.W. Virginia) 2) My band's first European tour 3) Completing work on and having published a book 4) Playing as much music as possible with numerous friends (TinyVipers, A Frames, Wally Shoup, Sir Richard Bishop....) 5) Selling records and meeting nice people that like good music Mike Toppe, Revolver USA chris garneau "music for tourists" fiery furnaces "widow city" panda bear "person pitch" burma superstar (the only restaurant worth the 2 hour wait) the visual effects/sound editing for the movie "Sunshine" Jordy Trachtenberg, The Orchard's "Give Me Five in Five" In no order; 1) Music:Sharon Jones, Justice, M.I.A., O Quarto Das Cinzas, Sensacional Soul 2) Live:Gogol Bordello, Bonnoroo, Hold Steady, Justice, SXSW 3) Reads:Vice, Bangkok Babylon; The Game; Mojo; Practicing 4) Places:Pattaya, Bahia, Amsterdam, Berlin, Memphis 5) New People I met in 2007: Dirty Disco Daryl, Tom Windish, Jerry Hopkins, Josh Wright and every person that I got to shake hands and talk with along the way. Will Tyler, Shade of Soul Top 5 Most listened to Records of 2007 1. Aloe Blacc "Shining Through" 2. J Rawls "The Liquid Crystal Project" 3. J Dilla "Donuts" 4. Kero One "Windmills of the Soul" 5. The Blakes Debut Top 5 Guilty Pleasures 1. The Hills 2. The Hills 3. The Hills 4. The Hills 5. The Hills ( I wish I could walk around all day with theme music ) Top 5 websites 1. Shadeofsoul.com 2. inhabitat.com 3. treehugger.com 4. e2-series.com 5. pbs.org/art21 Top 5 youtube videos 1. Ian Manoochin 2. Miss South Carolina 3. The Saturday Knights 45 video 4. Nail Salon 5. Steve Miller Band Top 5 Best Things I did in 07' 1. Quit my fucking corprate job!! 2. Told my former boss he sucked at what he did 3. Became a born again pagen 4. Won a Mr Rodgers look-a-like contest 5. Cashed out my 401K to build my dream house and start a design company Top 5 Things I Should have won in 2007 1. The Saturday Knights Coloring contest ( Not famous enough ) 2. NYC Marathon ( too fat and to too slow) 3. Americas Next Top Model 4. Push Up contest with my brother 5. The Saturday Knights Coloring contest ( Not famous enough ) Uncle Garth, DJ, KCRW TOP 5 OF 2007 1. ALBUM Marvin Gaye - Here My Dear: Expanded Edition (Hip-O Select) There was some serious competition for the top album - great debut by Little Dragon, modern hip hop classics by Little Brother and Aceyalone, Viker Duplaix's sumptuous "Bold and Beautiful", etc. BUT, Hip-O Select pulled off a last minute holiday miracle with the limited on line re-release of a Marvin Gaye masterpiece. Here My Dear, like the movie Scarface, was trashed by critics and consumers at the time of its original release, and praised as classic and critical years later. The Expanded Edition has the original album on one disc, and a second disc filled with new arrangements by the likes of Mocean Worker, Prince Paul, Salaam Remi, Questlove and James Poyser. Any Marvin Gaye fans and soul music connoisseurs would be wise to procure this gem. 2. FILM The Great Debaters - Directed by and Starring Denzel WashingtonT ransformers had my vote until I attended a screening the other night. Based on a true story about the Wiley College debate team and its dramatic triumphs during a tumultuous 1935 in Texas, the film should be mandatory classroom and home viewing for every child rearing family in this country, especially all my wayward black folks. 3. TV SERIES The Wire I thought Showtime held it down with "Weeds" and "Californication", HBOs "The Wire" is just too awesome to not vote for. I would like to personally thank the writers, producers, cast, and crew for helping this country see itself for what it really is. 4. CITY Baltimore Because that's where they film "The Wire". 5. BOOK Why Do Black People Love Fried Chicken? - answered by YourBlackFriend.com a.k.a. Nashieqa Washington, M.B.A. Nashieqa offers insight and understanding to questions that many non-African Americans have about our peculiar behaviors, habits, opinions, and preferences. Although the title conveys stereotyped comedy, the book goes deeper and is a refreshing take on the played out concept of keeping it real, and a break from the constant bombardment of the media induced "Negroes-in-a-box" coma. The website is off the hook too: yourblackfriend.com Greg Vandy, KEXP Moore Theatre 100 year anniversary celebration Xel Ha Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center City of Dust Blog "River Lost" by Blaine Harden Behind 3rd Base dugout @ Wrigley Field Aladin's antiques & records in Bellingham Michael Shelly on WFMU www.wfmu.org The Ringside in Portland Rich Vining, Cable vs. Tweed http://cableandtweed.blogspot.com/2007/12/c-favorite-music-of-2007.html Adam Voith, The Billions Corporation Top 5 Double Cheese Burgers Steak 'n' Shake - 3/7/07 Wendy's - 6/8/07 Steak 'n' Shake - 7/28/07 Steak 'n'' Shake - 8/18/07 In and Out Burger - 12/2/07 Derek Weiler, Bury Me Not http://www.burymenot.com/2007/12/what-job-what-job.html http://www.burymenot.com/2007/12/round-up-usual-suspects.html Geoffrey Weiss, Hollywood Records 5 great things in 2007: Okkervil River For once everybody is right The Omnivore's Dilemma A profound, practical book. Eddy Current - Suppression Ring The show in San Fransisco was excellent, the album is magic, and "It's' All Square" is perfect. The Thomas Function This band is so good I can't believe they exist. I could tell you what they sound like, but they're better than that. Buy their singles, go to their shows, anticipate their album, and your life will improve significantly. Fucked Up - Real Rage The kind anti-depressants and irony almost eliminated. Punk rock that is neither retro or pathetic. Jill Wenger, Owner, Impulse Botique Impulse’s (or Jill’s — whichever, I’m the Mastermind) Top 11 of 2007 (see, it rhymes) Music: Noel Ellis, Self Titled, Light in the Attic Painters: Georg Baselitz and Clifford Still Experience: Attending the Yohji Yamamoto runway show in Paris Accomplishment: Writing Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons Spring 08 Outfit: Acne Jeans (Hug and Tube) paired with an oversized cardigan (worn buttoned) More music: Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon Design: Brian Roettinger Experience: Working on Totokaelo (coming January 2008) Local talent: Martine Workman Accolade: Being named one of the ‘Top 10 Boutiques: New Visionaries’ in the US by national rag, Lucky More Design: Wayne Daly Jimmy Winter, Music Arsenal Top 5 Discoveries of 2007 1. China Mist Prickly Pear Tea Being a discerning drinker of iced tea I am always on the search for the world’s greatest. Well I finally found it. If you want the best iced tea I’ve ever had, this is it! 2. Sirius Radio/Howard Stern After years of not getting the fuss I finally gave Howard Stern a shot this spring. Where have I been the past 25 years of his career?! 3. The Waiting Room Lounge Finally my town of Omaha has a great venue with great sound. 4. Bob Log III I way into this one man band sped up delta blues sound. 5. Transfer/ColdSpring/Model-Glue I’m a programmer so I’m going to nerd it up. These three ColdFusion frameworks are saving me a lot of time in my new code development. Erik Wofford, Cacophony Recorders Top 5 for 2007: Best Movie: No Country For Old Men Best Band To Work With This Year: The Black Angels (of course!) Best Product: Iphone Best Salsa: Vivo in Austin, TX Best Reason To Go Outside: It was never too hot or too cold. Global warming has its ironic upsides Jason Womack, Bassist, Juliette & The Licks 1. black rebel motorcycle club - baby 81 2. the good the bad and the queen - the good the bad and the queen 3. stars of the lid - and their refinement of the decline 4. scissors for lefty - underhanded romance 5. suffrajett - black glitter Pablo Yglesias, Author, ¡Cocinando!: Fifty Years of Latin Album Cover Art New: Tropidelico - Quantic Soul Orchestra (R)evolucion - Jose Conde y Nueva Ola Akoya Afrobeat - President Dey Pass Killion Floor - Orgone Keep Reachin' Up - Nicole Willis Out There - Heliocentrics Reissue: They Say I'm Different - Betty Davis Achilifunk (Gypsy Soul) - Various Gozalo Vol. 2 Tropical Booglaoo from Peru - Various Super Afro Soul - Orlando Julius Funk Revival (Sounds From The Subtropics) - Various Dan Zachs, Waxing Deep Records Coleccionistas on Calle Neptuno Havana's classic source for "well loved" Panart sides and the Juan Pablo Torres catalogue. You can meet your locksmith needs at the booth next door. Benromach Organic Scotch Whisky An extremely pleasant way to cure any ache worth curing courtesy of Speyside distillers and virgin oak from environmentally managed forests. Twilight Ascent of Bonnie's Roof, The Gunks Glorious views of the HudsonRiver Valley from some very airy and very fine quartzite (there are records in New Paltz and Poughkeepsie, too). Sven Libaek "Inner Space" Reissue on Votive Records One of my favourite reissues of the past year. Moody Australian bossa and jazz that is a perfect accompaniment to a wintry night. The Soper River, Baffin Island One of the last rivers with water clean enough to drink straight, it winds through an especially beautiful part of the Canadian arctic. Baffin Island is one place where I guarantee you will find no records. Not even Anne Murray 'Snowbird' singles. There are polar bears, though (at least until global warming kills them off).Thanks to all our contributors and everyone who's read this! We had fun putting it together, so we hope you had fun reading it!

• December 18, 2007 at 03:34 AM

  Sad News From London

  Our good friend Sipreano sent over this saddening news story this morning: "Alton Ellis, the man acclaimed as 'The Godfather of Rocksteady', has, for several weeks now, been in hospital in London undergoing treatment for cancer of the lymph glands and is scheduled to start chemotherapy soon. " Alton Ellis is one of the great figures in reggae and has played alongside some of the all-time legends. He is Noel Ellis' father and appears on our very first Jamaica to Toronto release Wayne McGhie and The Sounds of Joy. In the words of The Observer's Basil Walters: "Alton Neamiah Ellis was born 63 years ago and is regarded as one of Jamaica's finest musical treasures for almost 50 years." Read the whole story HERE. So, during all the joy and happiness of the holiday season, make sure you keep Mr. Alton Ellis in your thoughts and prayers. Everyone here at Light In The Attic surely is.

• November 26, 2007 at 07:49 AM

  SUMMER RECORDS IN PITCHFORK TOP 10 REGGAE!

    You may have heard of a little website called Pitchfork Media.  They, uh, like review music and talk to bands, and are pretty much the biggest online independent music reviewers, well, ever. Old Pitchfork is revving up the old end-of-the-year-list machine, and they've started it out with writer Dave Stelfox's "Top 10 Reggae/Dance Hall of 2008" list.  Not to ours, or anyone's surprise, it looks like our Jamaica to Toronto series re-issue Summer Records Anthology landed firmly at number seven on this prestigious little list, right between I Wayne and Ray Darwin.   Sure, it smarts a little that we got beaten out by Sean Paul, but seriously that work he's done with, snicker, Busta Rhymes, giggle, is really unbeatable ... You can check out the whole list right HERE.

• November 02, 2007 at 05:05 AM

  JAMAICA TO TORONTO PLAYS TORONTO

  This is fucking exciting.  The kings of Canadian dub/reggae, Jamaica to Toronto, are heading back to the place where many of them made names for themselves to play what you could describe as a homecoming show.  Anyone that saw them at Pop Montreal this year (young, old, deaf, blind, beer-gutted) can attest that this is not an occasion to be missed.  These guys have been doing this music thing for years and years and years, and every ounce of experience is reflected in their outstanding live show.  Just look how fucking cool The Mighty Pope is rocking out at Club Lambi at Pop Montreal.  You want to go to this show. This is going to be fucking amazing.  Get on a plane, take a boat up a river, have your man-giant friend Ted carry you on his back - doing anything to see this show. Jamaica To Toronto:
  Soul, Funk and Reggae 1967-1974
  with special guest The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio
  music by DJ Chocolate & Patrick Roots
  Thursday December 13, 2007
  @ Mod Club Theatre (722 College St.)
  Tickets are $20.00 in advance and available at Ticketmaster, Rotate This, Play De Record & Soundscapes
  ** Tickets On-Sale Thursday November 1, 2007 @ 10AM ** 19+ Event, Doors @ 7:00pm, Show @ 8:00pm
  www.ramosent.com If you want to read the full press release, it will be after the jump. CKLN PRESENTS
  JAMAICA TO TORONTO:  Soul, Funk and Reggae 1967-1974
  with special guest The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio
  music by DJ Chocolate & Patrick Roots (TORONTO- Tuesday October 30, 2007) – REMG & CKLN proudly present Jamaica To Toronto: Soul, Funk and Reggae 1967-1974 featuring Jay Douglas (of The Cougars) with The Mighty Pope and many more! In 1963, the flight from Jamaica to Toronto was 8 hours. Today it's 3 1/2. Countless people have made the dwindling journey over the years, but in the sixties and seventies there was a new breed of traveler: the finest ska, rocksteady, and reggae recording artists the West Indies have ever produced. We're talking Studio One, Treasure Isle, Trojan, and WIRL veterans Jackie Mittoo, Johnnie Osbourne, Wayne McGhie, Lloyd Delpratt , The Mighty Pope, Noel Ellis, Jo-Jo Bennett, and many more. Arriving in their new Canadian home, these talented singers, songwriters, musicians, and performers simply did what came naturally to them. One by one, they hit the studio and captured some of the hardest tunes this side of Kingston. The Jamaica to Toronto tradition continues with the release of the Summer Records Anthology (1974-1988), the 5th release on Light In The Attic's Jamaica To Toronto series. The Summer Records Anthology captures a killer cross-section of the producer/label owner Jerry Brown's massive talent pool. Johnny Osbourne, Earth Roots & Water, and Adrian "Homer" Miller are all represented in the expansive package, which also includes a 25-minute documentary containing never-before-seen period footage of the Canadian reggae scene. Over the past year Elizabeth Shepherd has been nominated for a Juno Award, played "Live In Session" on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 and Matt Galoway's "Here and Now" on CBC Radio One. Elizabeth has established herself as a true player in the Toronto and international jazz scenes. Don't miss this historic show Thursday December 13, 2007 at The Mod Club Theatre.

• October 12, 2007 at 05:54 AM

  It Just Keeps Spreadin' ...

  ...this Jamaica to Toronto love. Seriously folks, we tried to warn you about just how amazing the Jamaica to Toronto show at Pop Montreal was going to be. We talked it up months in advance, implored you to buy plane/bus/train/flying unicorn tickets to get to Club Lambi to see what was sure to be a monumental show. And in truth, the show was, hands-down amazing. We here at Light In The Attic have literally been sifting through an enormous stack of amazing reviews of this rare show, trying to pick just the clipping to showcase what you missed. We've got an entire team of drugged-up interns working 24-hours a day in shifts just to organize it all... But finally we've found it. Jason Keller of NOW Magazine in Toronto (think The Stranger, but bigger ... and cooler) absolutely raves about the sheer greatness of this show in the most recent issue of the magazine. It is a thoughtful, well written piece and we're pretty much ecstatic about it. An excerpt: ..."Initially, NOW's Jamaica To Toronto showcase looks under- attended for the midnight slot and Montreal debut of this band of soul funk saviours. But after they put their noses to the funkstone on a few intro throwdowns, I recheck over my shoulder and discover a rammed Club Lambi, bobbing heads and a dance floor ready to ignite. And then the Pope arrives. Earle "the Mighty Pope" Heedram belongs to a rare breed, the kind of hard-charging frontman who can a turn a party out with a few hot- footed dance moves and a warm, powerful Otis Redding-type voice that booms over the reggae funk beat... Jeez, we're all a-titter with smiles and blushes. Tee hee. You can read the rest of the article right HERE.

• October 08, 2007 at 02:40 AM

  Jamaica to Toronto ROCKS Pop Montreal

  There were many, many reasons as to why we here at Light In The Attic felt an empty space in our soul for being unable to attend this year's seemingly majestic Pop Montreal Festival. At the top of this very, very long list was a Friday night performance by the kings of Canadian reggae, Jamaica to Toronto. In the words of T'Cha Dunlevy of The Montreal Gazette (read it all HERE): "It was a "Soul shakedown party" (thanks, Bob), as a crew of old-timer Torontonian reggae-R&B studio session vets showed that they still have the chops to move the dance floor." And from our favorite Canadian musical renaissance man Sipreano: here i am in montreal, typing on a french keyboard.  pop montreal was truly rad and it was great to see the mighty pope, jay douglas, and everton pablo paul return to the town they hold so dear. in the sixties and seventies these soul brothers ruled the roost at clubs like the esquire showbar and their club lambi trip brought all of the magic back with great sound to boot... the montreal massive responded with much love and fancy footwork. pope hammered home a killer set of tough rhythm and blues and douglas gave folks a taste of island ska and reggae all with pablos rocksteady beat... all the best to everyone from pop montreal for making this happen and the beautiful audience who made history repeat itself ... love,  sipreano Pangs of jealousy cut us to our very core.

Listen & Buy

• 

  Jamaica to Toronto

  Summer Records Anthology (1974-1988) (CD,2xLP,MP3)

  LITA 029

  For many locals and traveling Jamaican musicians, Jerry Brown’s Malton, Ontario-based Summer Sound Studios – known as Canada’s answer to Lee Perry’s Black Ark – was a creative haven that tapped deep into the depths of universal reggae consciousness. Located just outside of Toronto, the label fired their first shot in 1974 with Johnnie Osborne’s “Sun Rise” backed with the heavenly bounce of “Love Makes The World Go Round” (co-produced by Brown’s one-time collaborator and Half Moon Records founder, Oswald Creary). Throughout most of the seventies, Canadian-produced reggae music was a commercial non-entity, bar a thriving underground scene of ex-pats who simply did what came naturally to them in small studios and private dances.

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  • CD $11.00 BUY| WISH
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• 

  Jamaica to Toronto

  Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967 - 1974 (CD,MP3)

  LITA 019

  In 1963, the flight from Jamaica to Toronto was 8 hours. Today it’s 3 1/2. Countless people have made the dwindling journey over the years, but in the sixties and seventies there was a new breed of traveler: the finest ska, rocksteady, and reggae recording artists the West Indies have ever produced. We’re talking Studio One, Treasure Isle, Trojan, and WIRL veterans Jackie Mittoo, Johnnie Osbourne, Wayne McGhie, Lloyd Delpratt, The Mighty Pope, Noel Ellis, Jo-Jo Bennett, and many more. Arriving in their new Canadian home, these talented singers, songwriters, musicians, and performers simply did what came naturally to them. One by one, they hit the studio and captured some of the hardest tunes this side of Kingston. Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk and Reggae 1967-1974, details this crucial sonic migration and stands tall as the second helping of Light In The Atti’™s new Jamaica to Toronto series, compiled by DJ/Canadian music historian Sipreano, along with Light In The Attic.

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  • CD $12.00 BUY| WISH
  • Status Message
  • MP3 $8.99 BUY| WISH
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