JOAN OF ARC How Can Any Thing So Little Be Any More? (Jade Tree) cd 10.98
Well, once we got past the first few tracks (that included a mildly annoying song about fucking strangers and a recording of a child singing some '70s ballad) things settled into quite a nice spartan mellowness for this posthumous Joan of Arc EP. Seemingly randomly scattered acoustic guitar and piano melodies make friends with spacy drones and distortion. And throughout, the plaintive voice of Tim Kinsella meanders. Culled from tracks recorded during sessions for (but not included on) their final album The Gap.

JOAN OF ARC So Much Staying Alive And Lovelessness (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
Okay, so what's goin' on with Joan Of Arc? Shortly after the release of their last album The Gap a couple of years ago, they officially called it quits. Then less than a year later providing a little more closure, there was a posthumous cdep. It seems though that there's something in the water that makes Kinsella bros' bands come back to life. Case in point? Another of their early combos, The Owls were quickly ressurrected filling the postrock-y emo space vacated by JOA. Now, this new cd has surfaced. Yes, they're back -- sounding quite refreshed we might add, but much more subdued and controlled. The somewhat tedious jazzy noodling and intrusive experimentations on The Gap have been honed and better encorporated into the big picture. There's a nicely arranged interplay between the soft, emotive vocals, gently meandering keyboards and guitars. Pleasing, delicate post-rock. Welcome back JOA.
RealAudio clip: "Mean To March"

JOAN OF ARC The Gap (Jade Tree) cd 10.98
Gastr Del Sol meets Red House Painters, or maybe The Promise Ring. Either way, kinda pretentious and not quite intelligent enough to know when to stop the 'avant-garde' noodling. And, the record is named after The Gap.

JOAO, KARE 2 (Jester) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second album (duh) from this Norwegian rock band led by a former Turbonegro roadie. We did like their first one, Sideman, quite a bit, but this one seems a bit too poppy and polished for us, this time out. It's just awkwardly balanced on the cusp of cool '80s retro (Hacienda-era Factory bands could be what they're going for) and maybe not so cool '80s retro (The Fixx?), with a definite nod to more modern radio-friendly fare of the Britpop persuasion. Spiritualized might be one comparison. So, the spacey, psychedelic elements we dug about the debut aren't totally gone, but it's hardly the Floyd/MBV/Spacemen Three styled trip we were hoping for based on the successes of Sideman. Check out the sound clips, though, if you liked the poppier parts of that album.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Don't"
MPEG Stream: "Too Soon, Too Fast"

JOAO, KARE Sideman (Jester) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Jester (the unclassifiable Norwegian record label run by frontman Garm of the formerly but no longer black metal band Ulver) has rapidly become one of our favorite labels, what with releases by When, Ulver, Arcturus, Rotoscope, Esperanza, Bogus Blimp, Single Unit, and Origami Galaktika -- we've liked 'em all, actually! So whenever Jester puts out something new, even if we've never heard of the artist before (which is often the case) we make sure to check it out. Thus we ordered a few of this album by Norwegian musician Kare Joao without knowing at all what to expect. Turns out it's a psychedelic rock record along the lines of Pink Floyd (or even the Beta Band), Spacemen Three, Pharoah Overlord, and My Bloody Valentine. We've since learned that Kare was a roadie and sometime singer for AQ dirty rock faves Turbonegro! Some guys from that band, along with Garm himself, play on this. As for the sound, we were immediately enthralled by the "Tomorrow Never Knows" vibe of the seven-minute-plus lead-off track "Captain Trips", full of heavy psych guitar wash, echoey seagull synth sounds, tripped out guitar effects, and, last but not least, repetitive, catchy hooks. The rest of the album continues in this vein, pretty much. There's one track that's a little heavy on the vocals with backing Beach Boys style "oooh ooohs", maybe it's their stab at a Stranglers (or Strokes!) kinda song but it doesn't work that well for us in comparison to the rest of the disc, which definitely gets a big thumbs up. Hmm, high time we made a Jester section in our bins!
RealAudio clip: "Captain Trips"
RealAudio clip: "Channel Five"

JOBRIATH Creatures Of The Night (Collector's Choice Music) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As you might expect from "the world's first openly gay rock star" (or make that would-be rock star), the music of seventies singer Jobraith is pretty darn glammy and campy, a blend of '70s hard rock histrionics and even more overtly showtune tendencies (Jobriath had performed on Broadway, actually, in the musical Hair, and was also a trained classical pianist), full of over-the-top pop and not-so-ambiguous sexuality.
He's part David Bowie (very much David Bowie!), part Marc Bolan, part Elton John, part Mick Jagger, even part Bee Gees (that high voice)... You can hear all that for yourself on these two new cd reissues of Jobraith's two Elektra albums, his notoriously overhyped self-titled debut from 1973 and its '74 follow-up, Creatures Of The Night. We'd gotten familiar with Jobraith via an earlier collection, Lonely Planet Boy, which featured songs selected from these two records, but it's nice to hear 'em in their entirety, and it turns out that comp missed out on a few of the many gems to be found among Jobraith's compositions.
Unfortunately the Jobriath story is a tragic one, his career fizzling after these two albums (both expensive flops), his brushes with fame always far-fetched and fleeting, Jobriath ultimately dying in obscurity, a victim of the AIDS epidemic, in 1983... though about ten years later, according the the story recounted in the liner notes, Morrissey tried to find Jobraith to take him on tour, unaware that he'd passed away long before.
So, while in retrospect there's for sure a patina of sadness over Jobraith's music, it's better tribute perhaps to Jobriath's memory to enjoy these albums in the fun, flamboyant spirit in which they were intended.
Both albums have their merits, we don't know if we could choose between 'em. The debut boasts the oh-so-Bowie "Space Clown", along with the piano-ballad bombast of "Be Still" (somewhere, this MUST have been a hit). You can party down to the proto-disco prog of "World Without End" or the funky "Earthling", and rock out to the fuzzy "Rock Of Ages" or the braggadocious "I'm A Man". There's also a bunch more piano-y crooner tunes on the softer side: "Inside", "Blow Away", and "Movie Queen", all quite good (the latter, quite, umm, gay as well).
Creatures Of The Street perhaps veers even further into campy, cabaret territory than the debut (or maybe it's just that "Dietrich/Fondyke" is so much that way) but also offers up a fair bit of rockin' and also just plain weirdness. At times we're reminded of Sparks, and one of the best tracks here is a folky, quirky, quite catchy number entitled "Scumbag"! Other standouts include melodramatic opener "Heartbeat" and the walk on the wild side that is "Street Corner Love". As with the debut, there's plenty of piano, plenty of orchestration, and plenty of drama... The image/identity conscious Jobriath was always striking poses, both on album covers and in his lyrics.
While the world wasn't ready for Jobriath back in the '70s (even though his music is oh-so-'70s), obviously we've come a long way since then. Jobriath's excesses can be forgiven (those of his management too) and his cult status can only grow, as his actual music is still quite a kick. Heck I was in a bar the other night and the DJ was playing "I'm A Man"! Good to have these both individually reissued on cd at last, with liner notes by Ritchie Unterberger (author of, among other things, the excellent Unknown Legends Of Rock n' Roll, which didn't include Jobriath but probably should have).
MPEG Stream: "Heartbeat"
MPEG Stream: "Scumbag"

JOBRIATH Lonely Planet Boy (Attack) cd 17.98

JOBRIATH s/t (Collector's Choice Music) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As you might expect from "the world's first openly gay rock star" (or make that would-be rock star), the music of seventies singer Jobriath is pretty darn glammy and campy, a blend of '70s hard rock histrionics and even more overtly showtune tendencies (Jobraith had performed on Broadway, actually, in the musical Hair, and was also a trained classical pianist), full of over-the-top pop and not-so-ambiguous sexuality.
He's part David Bowie (very much David Bowie!), part Marc Bolan, part Elton John, part Mick Jagger, even part Bee Gees (that high voice)... You can hear all that for yourself on these two new cd reissues of Jobriath's two Elektra albums, his notoriously overhyped self-titled debut from 1973 and its '74 follow-up, Creatures Of The Street. We'd gotten familiar with Jobriath via an earlier collection, Lonely Planet Boy, which featured songs selected from these two records, but it's nice to hear 'em in their entirety, and it turns out that comp missed out on a few of the many gems to be found among Jobriath's compositions.
Unfortunately the Jobriath story is a tragic one, his career fizzling after these two albums (both expensive flops), his brushes with fame always far-fetched and fleeting, Jobraith ultimately dying in obscurity, a victim of the AIDS epidemic, in 1983... though about ten years later, according the the story recounted in the liner notes, Morrissey tried to find Jobriath to take him on tour, unaware that he'd passed away long before.
So, while in retrospect there's for sure a patina of sadness over Jobraith's music, it's better tribute perhaps to Jobriath's memory to enjoy these albums in the fun, flamboyant spirit in which they were intended.
Both albums have their merits, we don't know if we could choose between 'em. The debut boasts the oh-so-Bowie "Space Clown", along with the piano-ballad bombast of "Be Still" (somewhere, this MUST have been a hit). You can party down to the proto-disco prog of "World Without End" or the funky "Earthling", and rock out to the fuzzy "Rock Of Ages" or the braggadocious "I'm A Man". There's also a bunch more piano-y crooner tunes on the softer side: "Inside", "Blow Away", and "Movie Queen", all quite good (the latter, quite, umm, gay as well).
Creatures Of The Street perhaps veers even further into campy, cabaret territory than the debut (or maybe it's just that "Dietrich/Fondyke" is so much that way) but also offers up a fair bit of rockin' and also just plain weirdness. At times we're reminded of Sparks, and one of the best tracks here is a folky, quirky, quite catchy number entitled "Scumbag"! Other standouts include melodramatic opener "Heartbeat" and the walk on the wild side that is "Street Corner Love". As with the debut, there's plenty of piano, plenty of orchestration, and plenty of drama... The image/identity conscious Jobriath was always striking poses, both on album covers and in his lyrics.
While the world wasn't ready for Jobriath back in the '70s (even though his music is oh-so-'70s), obviously we've come a long way since then. Jobraith's excesses can be forgiven (those of his management too) and his cult status can only grow, as his actual music is still quite a kick. Heck I was in a bar the other night and the DJ was playing "I'm A Man"! Good to have these both individually reissued on cd at last, with liner notes by Ritchie Unterberger (author of, among other things, the excellent Unknown Legends Of Rock n' Roll, which didn't include Jobraith but probably should have).
MPEG Stream: "I'm A Man"
MPEG Stream: "World Without End"
MPEG Stream: "Movie Queen"

JOCOY, JIM We're Desperate (powerHouse Books) book 28.00
Jim Jocoy's unnarrated book of photos, never published before this year, is an amazing collection of images captured in and during San Francisco and LA's fertile punk scene of '78-'80. Taken spontaneously at clubs, the images show youths dressed to the nines in all the leopard print, skinny jeans, and eyeliner you can handle. Aquarius is super proud to be hosting Jocoy's first San Francisco event celebrating the publication of his photos. Meanwhile, enjoy his book. Here's what others have said:
"Buildings crumble; social signifiers fissure and evaporate. This much is forever; art students simultaneously discovering perceived oppression and thrift-store shoppong. Maybe that's why We're Desperate packs such timeless reverb. As a student living in San Francisco in the late '70s, Jocoy reported from the front line of the burgeoning punk scene by training his eye on the fans. Using a camera purchased at a garage sale, Jocoy photographed scenesters posed against club walls, capturing their ripped nylons, pegged jeans, leather jackets, and vinyl anything. Bookended by an introduction by Marc Jacobs, who has repeatedly referenced the era's Converse-and-logo-tee aesthetic, and a tender elegy by Exene Cervenka, of L.A. punk band X fame. These are DIY Star Search episodes played to one hand clapping, lasting shots from a short runway." ÑV Magazine
"...the longer you look...the more you begin to see what it took to remake yourself as a freak, as a social idiot, as someone you weren't meant to be.... soon enough, you're seeing real people everywhere." ÑGreil Marcus' Real Life Rock Top 10, Salon.com

JODIS Black Curtain (Hydra Head) cd 17.98
Record number two from this heavy rock super group, featuring Aaron Turner from Isis, House Of Low Culture, Hydra Head, etc., James Plotkin of Khanate, O.L.D., Phantom Smasher and Tim Wyskida also of Khanate, and like the first record, Black Curtain too is a spare, haunting affair, all atmospheric and lovely, drifting and ghostly, psychedelic and abstract, but where that record hinted at a slowcore side to the group, this new one full embraces that part of the band, the vocals way up in the mix, sounding like an actual pop band at time, pop in the sense that it's not so explicitly experimental, like much of these three guys' output. Granted this is still experimental, but it's a sort of experimental pop, the guitars unfurl lush layered streaks, the drums are minimal, and restrained, it never gets really heavy, instead the vibe is super space and shimmery and surreal, the guitars crunch and howl and feedback, moan and squeal, but those elements are deftly sculpted into something downright lovely. And while opener "Broken Ground" is pretty open, and free, lots of space, lots of long notes and slow decay, by the end, it sounds more like Talk Talk or Cave In, and the next track, "Silent Temple", pushes that sound even further, definitely reminding us of a slightly heavier Codeine or Seam, but the vocals, it's uncanny how much they remind us of Cave In, which is not a bad thing at all, just surprising.
There's still plenty of tension, in fact every song here remains an exercise in patience, push and pull, slow release, gradual ratcheting up and down, the band's at their best when they harness that tension to something impossibly melodic. "Red Bough" sounds like some strange otherworldly Peter Hammill ballad, brooding and majestic, epic and expansive, and yeah, downright pretty. It's definitely possible that heavy music fans will be bummed out on this, which would be a shame, cuz while it's not traditionally heavy, it is dense and dark, and emotionally heavy, even sonically in places, but that heaviness is wielded not as a hammer, but as something much more delicate, but no less dense and devastating. The final track does get downright heavy, the guitar is fierce, downtuned and distorted, the drums pounding, but even here, the vocals soar and melodies abound, a gorgeous fusion of melody and emotion, dark energy and sonic heft. A gorgeous surprise, and a new favorite for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Broken Ground"
MPEG Stream: "Silent Temple"
MPEG Stream: "Beggar's Hand"

JODIS Black Curtain (Hydra Head) lp 19.98
Record number two from this heavy rock super group, featuring Aaron Turner from Isis, House Of Low Culture, Hydra Head, etc., James Plotkin of Khanate, O.L.D., Phantom Smasher and Tim Wyskida also of Khanate, and like the first record, Black Curtain too is a spare, haunting affair, all atmospheric and lovely, drifting and ghostly, psychedelic and abstract, but where that record hinted at a slowcore side to the group, this new one full embraces that part of the band, the vocals way up in the mix, sounding like an actual pop band at time, pop in the sense that it's not so explicitly experimental, like much of these three guys' output. Granted this is still experimental, but it's a sort of experimental pop, the guitars unfurl lush layered streaks, the drums are minimal, and restrained, it never gets really heavy, instead the vibe is super space and shimmery and surreal, the guitars crunch and howl and feedback, moan and squeal, but those elements are deftly sculpted into something downright lovely. And while opener "Broken Ground" is pretty open, and free, lots of space, lots of long notes and slow decay, by the end, it sounds more like Talk Talk or Cave In, and the next track, "Silent Temple", pushes that sound even further, definitely reminding us of a slightly heavier Codeine or Seam, but the vocals, it's uncanny how much they remind us of Cave In, which is not a bad thing at all, just surprising.
There's still plenty of tension, in fact every song here remains an exercise in patience, push and pull, slow release, gradual ratcheting up and down, the band's at their best when they harness that tension to something impossibly melodic. "Red Bough" sounds like some strange otherworldly Peter Hammill ballad, brooding and majestic, epic and expansive, and yeah, downright pretty. It's definitely possible that heavy music fans will be bummed out on this, which would be a shame, cuz while it's not traditionally heavy, it is dense and dark, and emotionally heavy, even sonically in places, but that heaviness is wielded not as a hammer, but as something much more delicate, but no less dense and devastating. The final track does get downright heavy, the guitar is fierce, downtuned and distorted, the drums pounding, but even here, the vocals soar and melodies abound, a gorgeous fusion of melody and emotion, dark energy and sonic heft. A gorgeous surprise, and a new favorite for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Broken Ground"
MPEG Stream: "Silent Temple"
MPEG Stream: "Beggar's Hand"

JODIS Secret House (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
What might you expect from a band made up of two parts Khanate, and one part Isis / Grey Machine / House Of Low Culture? Probably nothing as pretty and haunting as this. That's right, we said pretty. We were definitely expecting some crushing slo-mo heaviness, figured if that much of Khanate was involved it would have to be screechy and torturous.
And while Jodis is doomy, it's also moody, and atmospheric, slow and spare, spacious and strangely lovely. Occasionally the guitars rev up and get way louder, and it sounds like the band might explode into some sort of bellowing dirge, but instead, they sprawl into an ominous creep, the guitars shimmery, the notes spaced way out, as much about the decay and overtones as the initial note or the overall melody. The vocals are weary and washed out, reverbed and down in the mix. If anything this reminds us of some classic slowcore, maybe Codeine or Seam, albeit a little more abstract, a little less indie rock, but the same sort of moody drift, the same kind of minimal melody, emotional and dark and haunting and dreamlike.
Surprisingly, the drums are super restrained, in fact, the first few tracks sound almost drumless, minus a few cymbal shimmers, some flares and accents here and there. On "Secret House" the drums are active, flurries of fills all over the kit, but not for bombast, again for texture, almost like playing chords on the drums, there are some harsh vox on "Secret House", and they almost sound out of place, disrupting the strange slow tranquility. But once we move on to the next track, we're back to that gauzy melodic drift, the drums again super skeletal, the guitar drifting in the ether, the vocals choral, almost monk-like, super meditative and ethereal.
And the rest of the record plays out in a similar fashion, long drawn out slow burning epics writ small, the three exploring the space around the notes, finishing off with the gorgeous 9 minute "Slivers", the guitar unfurling a fuzzy blurry drone, the drums more active, a bit tribal, but still muted, and the vocals a falsetto off in the distance, the track, heaving and pulsing and shimmering, before slipping into a more abstract drone and then blinking out.
Some seriously gorgeous stuff, a surprise new favorite for sure, getting lots of play late at night, lights turned low, consciousness at rest, on the cusp of some other plane...
MPEG Stream: "Ascent"
MPEG Stream: "Continents"
MPEG Stream: "Secret House"

JODIS Secret House (Hydra Head) 2lp 25.00
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL! Two 180 gram lps, housed in a super thick, super swank full color gatefold sleeve, includes a bonus track not on the cd...
What might you expect from a band made up of two parts Khanate, and one part Isis / Grey Machine / House Of Low Culture? Probably nothing as pretty and haunting as this. That's right, we said pretty. We were definitely expecting some crushing slo-mo heaviness, figured if that much of Khanate was involved it would have to be screechy and torturous.
And while Jodis is doomy, it's also moody, and atmospheric, slow and spare, spacious and strangely lovely. Occasionally the guitars rev up and get way louder, and it sounds like the band might explode into some sort of bellowing dirge, but instead, they sprawl into an ominous creep, the guitars shimmery, the notes spaced way out, as much about the decay and overtones as the initial note or the overall melody. The vocals are weary and washed out, reverbed and down in the mix. If anything this reminds us of some classic slowcore, maybe Codeine or Seam, albeit a little more abstract, a little less indie rock, but the same sort of moody drift, the same kind of minimal melody, emotional and dark and haunting and dreamlike.
Surprisingly, the drums are super restrained, in fact, the first few tracks sound almost drumless, minus a few cymbal shimmers, some flares and accents here and there. On "Secret House" the drums are active, flurries of fills all over the kit, but not for bombast, again for texture, almost like playing chords on the drums, there are some harsh vox on "Secret House", and they almost sound out of place, disrupting the strange slow tranquility. But once we move on to the next track, we're back to that gauzy melodic drift, the drums again super skeletal, the guitar drifting in the ether, the vocals choral, almost monk-like, super meditative and ethereal.
And the rest of the record plays out in a similar fashion, long drawn out slow burning epics writ small, the three exploring the space around the notes, finishing off with the gorgeous 9 minute "Slivers", the guitar unfurling a fuzzy blurry drone, the drums more active, a bit tribal, but still muted, and the vocals a falsetto off in the distance, the track, heaving and pulsing and shimmering, before slipping into a more abstract drone and then blinking out.
Some seriously gorgeous stuff, a surprise new favorite for sure, getting lots of play late at night, lights turned low, consciousness at rest, on the cusp of some other plane...
MPEG Stream: "Ascent"
MPEG Stream: "Continents"
MPEG Stream: "Secret House"

JODOROWSKY, ALEJANDRO The Films Of Alejandro Jodorowsky: Fando Y Lis, El Topo, The Holy Mountain (Anchor Bay) 4dvd/2cd 49.00
Visionary cult cinephiles get ready to drool! If you were as excited as we were about the recent reissue of Kenneth Anger's early films, then this incredibly packaged and affordable 4dvd+2cd box set of the early films of Chilean theatrical genius Alejandro Jodorowsky will surely make your head explode!!! Fando Y Lis! El Topo!!, HOLY MOUNTAIN!!!! Marvelously restored and beautifully remastered, there is so much amazing material here that has either never been available before, or only available previously as extremely hard to find poor quality transfers from mediocre prints.
AND there's more! This set also includes the absolutely killer SOUNDTRACKS to both El Topo and yes, Holy Mountain!!! The Holy Mountain Soundtrack has never been released before and it so totally kills, and why wouldn't it, Don Cherry is all over it! But more about that in a minute, there's also bonus features, interviews, deleted scenes, audio commentary, a documentary and a short film from 1957 that was presumed lost until it was found early last year.
So for those who may be unfamiliar with Jodorowsky's films, a bit of back story:
Born in Chile and struggling to become an actor, Jodorowsky became fed up with the idea of scripted theatre and moved to Paris to study mime. Working with the great mime, Marcel Marceau while at the same time influenced by the Surrealists, Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty, Jean Cocteau's mythical fantasias, and the European Art House cinema of Fellini and Bunuel, Jodorowsky relocated to Mexico to form the theatre troupe, The Panic Movement, which would stage early happenings (involving lots of nudity and rotting food) and existentialist plays by Ionesco, Beckett and Fernando Arrabel. It was Arrabel's play, "Fando Y Lis" that would inspire him to move away from the theatre into cinema, but far from any structured or direct form of filmmaking. Jodorowsky wanted to re-interpret Arrabel's play by filming it completely from memory and in a remote and ruggedly extreme locale. Here he would bring together all the soul-baring psyche of experimental theatre, the role-playing excess of costumes, props and pageantry, the ritualistic entanglements of violence and beauty as catalysts of transformation, and most importantly the notion of existence as a journey through all kinds of personal and mystical revelations both sacred and profane. All of these qualities permeate each of the three films here.
Ok, you get the idea. So let's just break it down for you, what you get from this awesome box set:
--Fando Y Lis (1968): Jodorowsky's first full length black and white feature started riots at its premiere at the Acapulco Film Festival and was banned in Mexico due to its violent sexual imagery and ritualistic mocking of church beliefs. Based on Arrabel's play about a pair of dysfunctional lovers (one impotent, the other paralyzed) in a Fellini-esque quest for the spiritual city of Tar.
Extras on this disc include the 1994 French documentary, La Constellation which features interviews with Marcel Marceau, Peter Gabriel (who was inspired by El Topo, when he wrote The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway), and the French sci-fi illustrator, Moebius, who began working with Jodorowsky on the failed attempt to film Frank Herbert's Dune, which sparked Jodorowsky's interest in graphic novels.
--El Topo (1970): The bloody surreal western that spawned the Midnight Movie. Funded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, this film is like a Sergio Leone film on a serious dose of brown acid.
Extras include an interview with Jodorowsky about the Midnight Movie phenomenon.
--Holy Mountain (1973): The ultimate spiritual quest film. Jodorowsky takes us through every imaginable belief system only to completely shatter our preconceptions about spiritual enlightenment.
Extras include deleted scenes and commentary about Jodorowsky's continuing interest in the Tarot.
--La Cravate (1957): A 35 minute silent film in color based on Thomas Mann's The Transposed Heads about a girl who sells heads and the men who are her customers. This film was presumed lost until its discovery last year in someone's attic in Germany!
--El Topo Soundtrack: 18 tracks composed by Jodorowsky and John Barham inspired by both the soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota. Full of flutes and droning horns, accordions and organs and twisted Mariachi styles.
--Holy Mountain Soundtrack: 24 tracks composed by Jodorowsky, Don Cherry and Ronald Frangipane. Ranging from spiritual free drones to acid rock to Moroccan desert jams to pensive marches to soft jazz and everywhere in between. There are even themes for each of the nine planetary characters. Such a wild, weird, and wonderful soundtrack and it alone is worth the price of admission.
Phew! So can you guess, that this is totally and absolutely recommended!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "La Catedral De Los Puercos (The Pigs Monastery)"
MPEG Stream: "Vals Fantasma"
MPEG Stream: "Las Flores Nacen En El Barro (Flowers Born In the Mud)"
MPEG Stream: "Trance Mutation"
MPEG Stream: "Psychedelic Weapons"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Snakes"

JOEL, BILLY 52nd Street (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

JOEL, BILLY Turnstiles (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

JOHANNES, EERO s/t (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
That's right, we're not crazy. We knew we'd be hearing some more skweee soon. Skweee? That's the Scandinavian DIY funked-up, glitched-out instrumental electro subgenre that we got all addicted to when we discovered it last year. We raved about two rad skweee comps, the Museums Of Future Sound Vols. 1 and 2, released by the Swedish skweee-centric Flogsta Danshall label. And we figured we'd be hearing more, once word really got out.
Well, it's England's Planet Mu label who now takes the lead in getting down with the skweee, signing Eero Johannes for his debut album. Eero had a track on MoFS Vol. 2, which also appears here (re-recorded?): "Finnrexin". That one is killer, but there's lots more here besides that's cool too, from the nervous blip-blip-blippage of "HAL Manifesto" to the 8-bit-y video game funk of "Natt I Sparvagnen" to the utterly catchy "We Could Be Skweeeroes" (which we'd encountered before on the internet)...
Indeed, all 13 tracks on this eponymous disc find Eero droppin' the bass with some slammin', squelching fat beats, gettin' jiggy with it, yet somehow (mostly) stayin' chill and relaxed at the same time. He's got a knack for working catchy melodies into his tracks, however frantic they may be. While our preference in skweee leans towards the stuff that's most lo-fi damaged and fucked up, and Eero's music, whilst crunchy, is sorta on the somewhat more polished/produced side of skweee, we're digging it plenty, spinning it a lot in the store.
Heck, didn't we tell ya? This is just the beginning. Warp had better make a skweee signing soon too.
Best skweee album of the year, so far!
MPEG Stream: "Natt I Sparvagnen"
MPEG Stream: "Katt With 700 Watts"
MPEG Stream: "We Could Be Skweeeroes"

JOHANNES, EERO s/t (Planet Mu) 2lp 17.98
That's right, we're not crazy. We knew we'd be hearing some more skweee soon. Skweee? That's the Scandinavian DIY funked-up, glitched-out instrumental electro subgenre that we got all addicted to when we discovered it last year. We raved about two rad skweee comps, the Museums Of Future Sound Vols. 1 and 2, released by the Swedish skweee-centric Flogsta Danshall label. And we figured we'd be hearing more, once word really got out.
Well, it's England's Planet Mu label who now takes the lead in getting down with the skweee, signing Eero Johannes for his debut album. Eero had a track on MoFS Vol. 2, which also appears here (re-recorded?): "Finnrexin". That one is killer, but there's lots more here besides that's cool too, from the nervous blip-blip-blippage of "HAL Manifesto" to the 8-bit-y video game funk of "Natt I Sparvagnen" to the utterly catchy "We Could Be Skweeeroes" (which we'd encountered before on the internet)...
Indeed, all 13 tracks on this eponymous disc find Eero droppin' the bass with some slammin', squelching fat beats, gettin' jiggy with it, yet somehow (mostly) stayin' chill and relaxed at the same time. He's got a knack for working catchy melodies into his tracks, however frantic they may be. While our preference in skweee leans towards the stuff that's most lo-fi damaged and fucked up, and Eero's music, whilst crunchy, is sorta on the somewhat more polished/produced side of skweee, we're digging it plenty, spinning it a lot in the store.
Heck, didn't we tell ya? This is just the beginning. Warp had better make a skweee signing soon too.
Best skweee album of the year, so far!
MPEG Stream: "Natt I Sparvagnen"
MPEG Stream: "Katt With 700 Watts"
MPEG Stream: "We Could Be Skweeeroes"

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees (NTOV Phonoautogram) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees (Type) cd 15.98

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Copenhagen Dreams: Music From The Film By Max Kestner (NTOV) lp 21.00

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Dis (The Worker's Institute) cd 14.98
After two stunning records of orchestral filmscores released by the stellar Touch Recors, Iceland's Johann Johannsson presents his score for the film Dis through The Worker's Institute (who also recently released the lovely debut disc from Amina, Sigur Ros' string section). There is a significant sonic difference between the work Johannsson did for Touch (e.g. a grandiose impressionism for large chamber ensembles augmented with electronics) and this album, which features an almost saccharine pop, '80s feel with repeating motifs and melodies, seemingly designed for particular scenes / emotional ambience within the movie. Johannsson's score for Dis is a fantastic simulation of a dreamy bubble-gum sentimentality, the sort evoked through many of John Hughes soundtracks; to top it off, the repeating motif throughout the Dis is deadringer for the Mickey & Sylvia track "Love Is Strange" which appeared on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. Seriously. As Johannsson envisioned this soundtrack to capture the zeitgeist of 21st Century Reykjavik, one has to wonder if Johannson is comparing Reykjavik to the Breakfast Club / Fast Times teenage American drama of twenty years ago?
MPEG Stream: "Bangkok Nordursins"
MPEG Stream: "10 Rokkstig"

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Englaborn (Touch) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Founding member of the Kitchen Motors arts organization in Reykjavik, Johann Johannsson has been at the forefront of adventurous music in Iceland, performing with the Apparat Organ Ensemble and working with some of the more acclaimed Icelandic exports (i.e. members of Sigur Ros, Mum, Stilluppsteypa, Halfer Trio, etc.). "Englaborn" is the first album for Johannsson, who reconstructed this album from the score he wrote for the stage play by Havar Sigurjonsson. Johannsson stated that "The play is extremely violent and disturbing; and basically, when faced with the script, I decided to work against it as much as possible and just try to write the most beautiful music I could." While we do not have the benefit of witnessing the play itself or any images for that matter (beautiful Jon Wozencroft photographs of the sea grace the cover of this album), Johannsson invokes a profound sadness through his descending chord progressions for the Epos Spring Quartet which he augments with spartan use of percussion, electronics, piano, computerized voices, and harmonium. Where Sigur Ros has crafted grandiose operas of Icelandic melancholia, Johann Johannsson simplifies his scores into poignant short stories that nevertheless resonate with those emotions.
RealAudio clip: "Odi Et Amo"
RealAudio clip: "Eg Atti Graa Asku"
RealAudio clip: "ef Eg Hefdi Aldrei..."

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Englaborn (4AD) cd 10.98
AN OLD FAVORITE NOW AVAILABLE FROM 4AD AT LOWER PRICE!!!
Founding member of the Kitchen Motors arts organization in Reykjavik, Johann Johannsson has been at the forefront of adventurous music in Iceland, performing with the Apparat Organ Ensemble and working with some of the more acclaimed Icelandic exports (i.e. members of Sigur Ros, Mum, Stilluppsteypa, Halfer Trio, etc.). Englaborn is the first album for Johannsson, who reconstructed this album from the score he wrote for the stage play by Havar Sigurjonsson. Johannsson stated that "The play is extremely violent and disturbing; and basically, when faced with the script, I decided to work against it as much as possible and just try to write the most beautiful music I could." While we do not have the benefit of witnessing the play itself or any images for that matter (beautiful Jon Wozencroft photographs of the sea grace the cover of this album), Johannsson invokes a profound sadness through his descending chord progressions for the Epos Spring Quartet which he augments with spartan use of percussion, electronics, piano, computerized voices, and harmonium. Where Sigur Ros has crafted grandiose operas of Icelandic melancholia, Johann Johannsson simplifies his scores into poignant short stories that nevertheless resonate with those emotions.
MPEG Stream: "Odi Et Amo"
MPEG Stream: "Eg Atti Graa Asku"
MPEG Stream: "ef Eg Hefdi Aldrei..."

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Englaborn (Touch) lp 16.98
This AQ favorite, finally available on vinyl!
Founding member of the Kitchen Motors arts organization in Reykjavik, Johann Johannsson has been at the forefront of adventurous music in Iceland, performing with the Apparat Organ Ensemble and working with some of the more acclaimed Icelandic exports (i.e. members of Sigur Ros, Mum, Stilluppsteypa, Halfer Trio, etc.). Englaborn is the first album for Johannsson, who reconstructed this album from the score he wrote for the stage play by Havar Sigurjonsson. Johannsson stated that "The play is extremely violent and disturbing; and basically, when faced with the script, I decided to work against it as much as possible and just try to write the most beautiful music I could." While we do not have the benefit of witnessing the play itself or any images for that matter (beautiful Jon Wozencroft photographs of the sea grace the cover of this album), Johannsson invokes a profound sadness through his descending chord progressions for the Epos Spring Quartet which he augments with Spartan use of percussion, electronics, piano, computerized voices, and harmonium. Where Sigur Ros has crafted grandiose operas of Icelandic melancholia, Johann Johannsson simplifies his scores into poignant short stories that nevertheless resonate with those emotions.
MPEG Stream: "Odi Et Amo"
MPEG Stream: "Eg Atti Graa Asku"
MPEG Stream: "ef Eg Hefdi Aldrei..."

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Fordlandia (4AD) cd 14.98
Dunno what happened here, but Johann Johannsson totally blows it on Fordlandia. His previous records had tip-toed around the ideas of big Hollywood filmscores, exaggerating the emotional rigor to describe the banal, or composing quietly sad scores to counterpoint a hyperviolent play. But here, the Icelander goes for a full-on melodramatic orchestration, something that would make for the big crescendo on a Jerry Bruckheimer film. Amidst the massive string symphony, some Guitar Hero wannabe rockstar dons the role of The Edge with some tricked out delay appreggiation on his politely 'artful' riffs. Is this supposed to be ironic? Ugh.
MPEG Stream: "Fordlandia"

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN IBM 1401 : A User's Manual (4AD) cd 15.98
The Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson has now signed to 4AD, after a couple of mighty fine albums released through Touch; and 4AD is certainly the right outlet for this album, as Johannson's grandiose scores for orchestral arrangements, vocal chorales, and electronics enjoys the same weighty sentimentality heard in many a Dead Can Dance or This Mortal Coil album. Lush, cinematic, and utterly dramatic, this album curiously is not a soundtrack (although it has all of the repeating leitmotifs and syrupy pathos of a big budget Hollywood film of the tragic / romantic genre); rather Johannsson contextualizes all of these majestic, post-classical elements as a tribute to the IBM 1401, a state of the art computer from 1960. The computer came with a audio training manual from which he culled samples about the machine's maintenance. While some of the exchanges of Michael Nyman-esque orchestral phrases with the authoritarian vocals from the manual are quite interesting, the album is wholly saccharine in scope, rendering whatever nostalgia for technologies past as something of a quaint detour from the orchestral bombast.
MPEG Stream: "Part 2 - IBM 1403 Printer"
MPEG Stream: "Part 4 - IBM 729 II Magnetic Tape Unit"

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Virdulegu Forsetar (Touch) 2cd 17.98
Johann Johannsson is fast becoming one of the bright lights in the already talent rich Icelandic underground music scene. Having helped found the Kitchen Motors arts organization in Reykjavik, Johannsson has also performed with the Apparat Organ Ensemble as well as members of Sigur Ros, Mum, Stilluppsteypa and more.
We raved about Johannsson's debut album Englaborn. But while this new release is sonically quite different, it retains many of the elements that we found so appealing on Englaborn. Virdulegu Forsetar is an hour long piece written for 11 brass players (trumpets, horns, tuba), percussion (Glockenspiel and bells), electronics, organs and piano.
Virdulegu is not as much of an all drone record as his debut, but most definitely still contains many drone-y parts and drone-like elements. A brooding, slow building, minor key, cinematic epic. Warm and lush, rich with harmonic overtones, and melodically very grandiose. The sounds here are very visual and definitely bring to mind vast expanses of land or space, whether it's the sun slowly rising over the desert, the moon peeeking from behind a planet, a slowly spiralling galaxy, and even the Olympics. Huh? Yep, the Olympics. The melodies and instrumentation are quite similar to the fanfares used during the opening ceremonies, or over montages of past Olympiads. It's a little distracting, but quite lovely nonetheless. And of course much darker and dronier than any of the music actually used for the Olympics. Each epic fanfare / flourish dissipates into a rumbling subterranean drone, where it hovers and slowly shifts until another fanfare surfaces in it's place, shines briefly, only to quickly sink back into the inky darkness. This would be the perfect music for the Drone Olympics that we plan on holding in 2006!
MPEG Stream: "Part One"

JOHANNSSON, JOHANN Virdulegu Forsetar (Touch) 2lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A reissue of the 2004 album Virdulegu Forsetar from Iceland's post-classical composer Johann Johannsson. Since the release of this album, Johannsson has jumped from Touch to 4AD, with international acclaim following right along. Virdulegu Forsetar is an hour long piece written for 11 brass players (trumpets, horns, tuba), percussion (Glockenspiel and bells), electronics, organs and piano. Virdulegu is all brooding, slow building, minor key, cinematic epic. Warm and lush, rich with harmonic overtones, and melodically very grandiose. The sounds here are very visual and definitely bring to mind vast expanses of land or space, whether it's the sun slowly rising over the desert, the moon peeking from behind a planet, a slowly spiralling galaxy, and even the Olympics. Huh? Yep, the Olympics. The melodies and instrumentation are quite similar to the fanfares used during the opening ceremonies, or over montages of past Olympiads, lovely nonetheless. And of course much darker and dronier than any of the music actually used for the Olympics. Each epic fanfare / flourish dissipates into a rumbling subterranean drone, where it hovers and slowly shifts until another fanfare surfaces in it's place, shines briefly, only to quickly sink back into the inky darkness.
MPEG Stream: "Part One"

JOHANSON, CHRIS You Are There book 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What fits within a 4.25" x 7" x .25" space perfectly? SF artist Chris Johanson's glossy pink covered paperback book. It's positively bursting at the seams with his creations - many from his gallery installations. Pages of drawings and text printed on pink blue and yellow paper are interspersed with oddly sized foldouts and full color photos. His rough often blurrily inked depictions and commentary on local street life reveal a sea of often disembodied faces - homeless, business men, clowns - and a clutter of speech bubbles. Recent exhibits all over the place. Here's your chance to see what the hubub is all about.

JOHANSSON, JERRY Next Door Conversation (Kning Disk) cd 14.98
Sitar raga music from Sweden? Sure! On the Swedish label Kning Disk, who last brought us cds by Wolf Eyes and James Blackshaw -- so we'd expect just about anything (interesting) from them. Composer/arranger Jerry Johansson is a sitar player (who studied with sitar master Roop Verma, who was taught by Ravi Shankar). Here he presents his piece "Next Door Conversation", in two parts, 53 minutes total. His sitar is the lead instrument, and in traditional style he's accompanied by santour and tambura -- but also by a violin/violin/viola/cello string quartet from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra! Shades of Kronos, eh?
It's a dreamy, slowly unfolding, sitar n' strings soundscape, the Eastern twang of Johansson's sitar calmly contrasting with the more cinematic sweep of the string quartet, each recontextualizing the other. With sounds from the subcontinent and Swedish folk motifs both incorporated, this is a gorgeous East-West hybrid indeed, and crosses over other borders to somehow remind us of everything from Spaghetti Western soundtracks to Chinese orchestral music. Gosh, there's not much more to say other than, enjoy!
MPEG Stream: "Next Door Conversation Part I (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Next Door Conversation Part I (excerpt 2)"

JOHANSSON, SVEN-AKE Schlingerland / Dynamische Schwingungen (Atavistic / UMS) cd 14.98

JOHN DAVIS Leave Home (Communion) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One half of the Folk Implosion (the other half being Lou Barlow) doing very quiet, stark, Daniel-Johnston-like solo stuff.

JOHN DAVIS Leave Home (Communion) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One half of the Folk Implosion (the other half being Lou Barlow) doing very quiet, stark, Daniel-Johnston-like solo stuff.

JOHN FRANCIS, THE On The Moments We Share (Rerum Novarum) cd 7.98
We've long had a soft spot for the darkest of country folk twang -- Mark Kozelek, Tindersticks, Jesse Sykes, and Hotel Alexis to name just a handful. The last couple months have brought us a few more residing a little closer to home. Case in point, The John Francis' smoky blues filled On The Moment We Share. Deep deep male vocals and slow creeping tempo keep the mood bleak and somber. This album fits well right alongside the latest from fellow SF band The Black Swans. Music that never leaves the shadows? We're right there with 'em. Thanks for sharing!
MPEG Stream: "Grace For One"
MPEG Stream: "Future Americana"

JOHN MCENTIRE / SEA AND CAKE Music from the Motion Pitcure: Reach the Rock (Hefty) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Sea and Cake track appears on the straight-to-video John Hughes film called Reach the Rock, and although the McEntire track does appear in the film, it's not gonna be on the full length cd soundtrack, so we guess that's your reason for getting this single (although its similarity to Windham Hill-style Shadowfax new age lite might turn you off just a bit). Yikes.

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Five Pillars Of Soul (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
For those of you who missed out on the super limited handmade Five Pillars Of Soul cd-r's JWB released one at a time over the last couple years, you can once again thank your lucky stars, you've been saved. And those of you who did manage to get em, well, why not get this handy disc that collects all 5 cd-r's onto a real cd with even more extensive liner notes added.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes. Short and sweet (each clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Melvin Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and Yoko Ono. They also throw in some covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma but turn them into punky soul-fuck explosions... Good stuff. Although I'm still clinging to the belief that the sixth pillar must be BRUCE WILLIS!!!
MPEG Stream: "Sweetback's Gonna Make It"
MPEG Stream: "See Through Sound"

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Five Pillars Of Soul Vol.1: Melvin Van Peebles (Affirmation) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Melvin Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
RealAudio clip: "Sweetback's Gonna Make It"
RealAudio clip: "Brer Soul Is On The Street"

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Five Pillars Of Soul Vol.2: Tania Hearst (Affirmation) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
RealAudio clip: "SLA Popcorn"
RealAudio clip: "A Butcher's Tale"

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Five Pillars Of Soul Vol.3: Albert Ayler (Affirmation) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
RealAudio clip: "They Dont Like Me In This Town"
RealAudio clip: "Death Of A Jazz Musician"

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Five Pillars Of Soul Vol.4: Marc Bolan (Affirmation) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While this is purportedly a tribute to soul music, the soul music seems to be mostly implied here, like 'soul' in spirit, in concept, in intention, but not in execution. Which is not a bad thing. This -is- soul music, but the way it can only be played by middle class, white, mid-western boys. All shrieking, skronking, sweaty, pounding, rocking and GROOVING. You can catch glimpses of the Make Up, the Blues Explosion, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, as well as Alice Donut (especially in the vocals). Weird and pretty wonderful. Spazzy, soulful, glammy ROCK AND ROLL. There are 5 volumes (we have the first four). Short and sweet (almost too short, clocking in at 10-15 minutes) and all in honor of JWB's peculiar ideas of the pillars of soul: Mario Van Peebles, Tania Hearst (Patty Hearst with her SLA name), Albert Ayler, Marc Bolan and the as yet to be announced 5th pillar.
Nice handmade sleeves with cool/funny liner notes. They do covers of the Zombies, the Fugs, and Mission Of Burma and turn them into punky soul explosions... Good stuff, here's hoping the fifth pillar is BRUCE WILLIS!!!
RealAudio clip: "Academy Flight Song"
RealAudio clip: "Rock 'n' Roll Star"

JOHN WILKES BOOZE Telescopic Eyes Glance The Future Sick (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98

JOHN'S CHILDREN The Complete John's Children (Burning Airlines) 2cd 30.00
Here is a 2cd release collecting all of the best (and the rare, and the radio sessions etc.) of John's Childen, the rebellious, punk ass, late '60s, psych pop band who at one point included Marc Bolan, later of the legendary T-Rex. JC are maybe best known for being thrown off a Who tour for upstaging them theatrically and for being louder!! On this album are very early versions of songs Marc Bolan would later re-record under his own name and as Tyrannosaurus Rex, such as "Mustang Ford", "Desdemona", and "Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith". Contains a fancy book with extensive liner notes by band members, filling you in on all the dirt on this short lived British band.
RealAudio clip: "Just What You Want - Just What You'll Get"
RealAudio clip: "Jagged Time Lapse"

JOHNNY LUNCHBREAK Appetizer / Soup's On (* (asterisk)) cd 14.98
We're not sure if the Numero Group's small subsidiary label, *(asterisk) is still continuing or not. Dedicated to obscure full album releases of private press records (namely in the soul, folk, and R&B vein), it's been over a year since their last release. Quite frankly, with the exception of the great Boscoe album, we just weren't as excited by this sub-label's releases as we have been with most all of the Numero Group output. But we recently discovered we still had a few copies of this Johnny Lunchbreak release that we never reviewed before, and after the Boscoe, it was our second favorite release on the label, mainly because it was so different from the others.
While Johnny Lunchbreak, an early-seventies post-Velvet's rock band from Connecticut, never recorded a full album, an acetate of nine demo recordings made between 1974-75 had turned up mysteriously and been released as a limited lp on Zero Street Records a few years ago, and *(asterisk) made it into a full cd release. Like the Modern Lovers and other East Coast rock bands of the era, Johnny Lunchbreak have a softer New York sound, clean but Velvety riffs with sort of a surfy twist and vocal melodies that are less insistent then either Jonathan Richman's or Lou Reed's. Apparently the band was trying for an early Bee Gees sound, but didn't quite reach that potential. Still the songs are pretty catchy, and for a band that spent its two years of existence focusing more on merchandising than playing live, the songs are surprisingly well-written and recorded. Worth checking out!
MPEG Stream: "The Same Could Happen To you"
MPEG Stream: "Never Found"
MPEG Stream: "Take Me Baby"

JOHNNY TRUANT In The Library Of Horrific Events (Under Groove) cd 17.98
There's a point at which music can get no more frantic, no more noisy, no more heavy. The point at which the sound of music just becomes a blur of sound, a mess of noise. The trick is, especially with extreme music, is to get as close as possible without slipping over that line. Plenty have come close, and the closer they come, the more they hit that indescribable spot. Punk rock got close way back when, then metal got even closer, then the variants of metal pushed closer and closer thrash metal, metalcore, death metal, black metal, each generation of band, each new genre trying its best to get as close to the edge as possible. At moments on In The Library Of Horrific Events, Johnny Truant manage to get pretty fucking close. Their sound is a dizzying blend of ultra technical grind metal and classic heavy metalisms, each song an ultra complex downtuned chugfest, blast beats careen through dense fields of squiggly riffing, crushing crunchy sludge and howled vocals, half time breakdowns butt up to impossible buzzing grind workouts, but occasionally, out of a dense wild swirl of grinding chaos will emerge some incredible hooky dual guitar harmony, or some strangely melodic breakdown, as if Iron Maiden was somewhere under Johnny Truant's barbed blackened spiked exterior trying desperately to hack their way out.
MPEG Stream: "I Love You Even Though You're A Zombie Now"
MPEG Stream: "The Bloodening"

JOHNSON, BLIND WILLIE If I Had My Way, I'd Tear The Building Down (Monk) lp 22.00
We got another amazing batch of vintage blues reissues from the wonderful Monk label. Look elsewhere on the list for reviews of two more volumes of Charley Patton recordings and a double lp set by Blind Willie McTell!
If I Had My Way, I'd Tear The Building Down is a compilation of recordings Blind Willie Johnson made for Columbia records between 1927 to 1930. Having recorded 30 songs in total, this compilation gathers nearly half of his entire recorded output. Hailing from Texas, and blinded at a young age by his stepmother (who accidentally threw lye water in his face that was meant for his father while they were fighting) Johnson became known as one of the most talented bottleneck guitar players around (though his slide was actually a pocketknife!), having honed his style on various homemade guitars he built as a kid. His blues style was heavily gospel-influenced, singing with a gruff bass voice so he could be heard above the noise of the street, as he used his music as a preaching tool. He was later joined by his wife, who added 19th century hymns to their repertoire and joined him on some of the later recordings as the high end response to his low-end calls. While she is featured on four of the tracks here, most of them are just Johnson and his beautiful slide guitar!

JOHNSON, BLIND WILLIE Sweeter As The Years Go By (Yazoo) cd 16.98
In his entire musical career Blind Willie Johnson recorded almost exclusively spiritual songs, and did so in one the most unforgettable, hair-raisingly beautiful, gravel filled voice -- a voice that could make Tom Waits and Howlin' Wolf blush. If that's not enough, Blind Willie Johnson also played a truly inspired slide guitar.

JOHNSON, CALVIN What Was Me (K) cd 14.98
That Calvin Johnson is one very peculiar fella... always has been. Whether he's contorting himself like a pretzel with the funky Dub Narcotic, or crooning a bittersweet Beat Happening lo-fi luv song in his impossibly deeeeep voice, he is a distinct, unmistakable presence. His new solo album is distinct also, but in a very strange way. For some reason, the K Records kingpin has fancied himself as a blues singer from the deep south. Bizarre to say the least. It drew a chuckle or two when it was played in the store. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but certainly an acquired taste. If you like him, then here he is in all his glory (often without instrument accompaniment), and you'll probably enjoy this. On the other hand, if you're not a Calvin fan, this solo record will probably not win you over. And if you're completely unfamiliar with Mr. Johnson, you just might wanna check out a couple of his other records first like Beat Happening's Dreamy or Dub Narcotic's Out Of Your Mind or his collaboration with Built to Spill's Doug Martsch as the Halo Benders on God Don't Make No Junk.
RealAudio clip: "The Past Comes Back To Haunt Me"
RealAudio clip: "Nothing To Hold Us Here"

JOHNSON, CALVIN What Was Me (K) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
That Calvin Johnson is one very peculiar fella... always has been. Whether he's contorting himself like a pretzel with the funky Dub Narcotic, or crooning a bittersweet Beat Happening lo-fi luv song in his impossibly deeeeep voice, he is a distinct, unmistakable presence. His new solo album is distinct also, but in a very strange way. For some reason, the K Records kingpin has fancied himself as a blues singer from the deep south. Bizarre to say the least. It drew a chuckle or two when it was played in the store. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but certainly an acquired taste. If you like him, then here he is in all his glory (often without instrument accompaniment), and you'll probably enjoy this. On the other hand, if you're not a Calvin fan, this solo record will probably not win you over. And if you're completely unfamiliar with Mr. Johnson, you just might wanna check out a couple of his other records first like Beat Happening's Dreamy or Dub Narcotic's Out Of Your Mind or his collaboration with Built to Spill's Doug Martsch as the Halo Benders on God Don't Make No Junk.
RealAudio clip: "The Past Comes Back To Haunt Me"
RealAudio clip: "Nothing To Hold Us Here"

JOHNSON, CALVIN & THE SONS OF THE SOIL s/t (K ) cd 14.98
As K Records website tells it, a few years ago The Blow's Khaela Maririch and Wolf Colonel's Jason Anderson were musing about the question "What if Calvin Johnson played all his best songs from over the years, with a band of real music-making people?"
We take particular issue with the last part of that query. Don't you think it's a total insult to everyone Mr. Johnson has played with over the years? If Heather, Heather, Bret, Chris, Doug et al weren't "real music-making people", then what were they?! Isn't that exactly what Beat Happening were all about? Breaking down limitations and expectations? And we're not even taking into consideration a little thing called 'musical chemistry'!
Anyways disgruntlement aside, apparently the well-meaning duo along with K label mates Kyle Field of Little Wings and Adam Forkner of Yume Bitsu fancied themselves to be the abovementioned "band of real music-making people" and formed the Sons Of The Soil.
So, what's it sound like? Well, to be utterly frank, Calvin Johnson minus Bret and Heather (aka his Beat Happening buddies), minus Doug Martsch (his fellow Halo Bender), and minus Chris Sutton and Heather Dunn (aka his Dub Narcotic co-horts) sounds like a drunken sailor cast adrift in a karaoke bar... woozily sea sick, rambling stage banter, and as atonal as ever. Try as they might, all the young'uns can't support Uncle Calvin. We're sure they had a great time, but listening to it is nothing but a flat flat flat experience. Bummer.
MPEG Stream: "Lies Goodbye"
MPEG Stream: "Tummy Hop"