Q-TIP Amplified (Arista) cd 17.98
Debut solo disc from Tribe Called Quest mainman Q-Tip! Busta Rhymes guests. Pretty good.

QBERT Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Features that legendary tear-up of Rush's "Tom Sawyer" before Z-Trip or Mix Master Mike ever got a hold of it. Includes bonus cuts with DJ Disk and Shortkut. This is a Japanese compact disc pressing of the rare samenamed cassette issued by the Piklz.

QBERT DJ Qbert's Wave Twisters: The Movie (Thud Rumble) dvd 27.00
Finally out, it's the DVD film of Wave Twisters, which is a truly incredible film edited to correspond exactly with Invisibl Skratch Pikl DJ QBert's album of the same name. Even the vocal snippets from the record become dialogue on the film, a seamless integration! Needless to say, the film is hilarious, with the hero Inner Space Dental Commander trying to revive the four pillars of hip hop (graffiti, breakdancing, rapping, and DJing) while the evil villains played by the Skratch Piklz thwart his attempts... There's all kinds of animation too -- stop motion, photographic, etc. Also included are film stills presented specifically so people can animate them themselves, creating new episodes in the Wave Twisters saga, the trailer for the turntablist film Scratch, deleted scenes, a commentary track from the filmmakers, subtitles in French, German, Japanese, Russian, etc, and extra live footage of the Scratch Piklz in action. Pretty incredible! This dvd has been flying out the door ever since we got it a few weeks ago.

QBERT Qbert's Wave Twisters the movie video 21.00
50 minute video starring former Skratch Piklz Qbert, D-Styles, DJ Flare, and Yogafrog. All animated! We haven't seen it yet, but hear that the story involves personifications of the four arts of hip hop (MCing, B-boying, Graffiti, and DJing) who are being oppressed by an evil lord. For those of you who don't want to buy this video, we are renting it (local customers only).

QBERT Wave Twisters (Galactic Butt Hair) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first proper album from the mad scientist of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz is "a trans-galactic deconstructed symphony of head-wringing turntablist godliness with booty-bruisin' beats communicated via microcosmic creatures hidden deep within the grooves. Layered in vinyl generated sound collages, samples, and of course Q-Bert's unequaled skratch style, it's an orgasmically dental fresh hip-hop sound explosion of the first order!"

QBERT Wave Twisters (Galactic Butt Hair) lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first proper album from the mad scientist of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz is "a trans-galactic deconstructed symphony of head-wringing turntablist godliness with booty-bruisin' beats commucnicated via microcosmic creatures hidden deep within the grooves. Layered in vinyl generated sound collages, samples, and of course Q-Bert's unequaled skratch style, it's an orgasmically dental fresh hip-hop sound explosion of the first order!"

QBERT & YOGA FROG Canadian Kung Fu (ISP Vision) videotape 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"In Turntable TV 5.0, take a journey to the north with Yoga Frog and Q-Bert to the cold lands of Canada. Take a sneak peek at a behind-the-scenes look at the pre-DMC practice sessions with the Turnstyles crew and other Canadian DJs. Plus hear some cool interviews with all the DMC contestants as well. Watch ultra rare scratch sessions with Mix Master Mike, Q-Bert, Shortkut, and D-Styles. To top it off experience the deadly kung fu lessons by no other than the infamous toadman, with fight scenes of DJ Fat Blubber Belly."

QBERT, DJ Cop Porn Breaxxx (Dirtstyle) lp 14.98
His name doesn't appear anywhere on this record, but Qbert is da guy what compiled these breaks for your inner DJ. The sleeve is pretty brilliant too, it folds into a popcorn box! Perfect companion to your new Qbert how-to dvd that you bought last week!

QBERT, DJ DJ Qbert's Complete Do-It Yourself Volume 1: Skratching (Thud Rumble) dvd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Bay Area's own DJ Qbert, one of the most famous turntablists in the world, proves himself a pretty great teacher and comedian in this how-to-scratch DIY dvd. Whether you're a turntablist or not, this is *delightful* to watch. He demonstrates over 25 different scratches, beginning by talking about each scratch's history -- who invented 'em and when -- then breaks the move down into its parts. The demos loop so you can just leave 'em playing until you've mastered the crab, the lazer, the phaser, the swipe, etc., not to mention you can view the scratch demos from four different angles! Qbert looks at the camera a lot so you feel like he's talking right atcha, plus he's totally sweet 'n nice, not a trace of attitude, no talking down to the viewer at all. There's a whole section of tips and tricks where he demonstrates how to set up your turntable and customize it to your own liking, how to make your own slipmats, how to fix a record that's wobbly cos its center hole is too big, explains why fingertip moistener is better than lickin' yer fingers, even how to count bars. There is a volume issue with the dvd, though, it keeps fluctuating, but it's not terribly annoying and it never drops out completely. (And I suspect that it's my computer, not the dvd, at fault.)
There's even a battles section with several djs for you to trade scratches with. OK, this is how brilliant Qbert and his cohorts are: instead of taking the easy way out by just filming himself scratching, with pauses for you to scratch back, each of the battles (which are arranged in order of difficulty) have visual themes, like level 1's Dek Demon who is wearing a black cape, way oversized devil mask, and is surrounded by flames. Really. Another cute one features Spiderman scratching on a bus while another masked man is stitting next to him steering the bus. Pretty funny shit, you could just set it up at a party and let it run. Makes learning fun!
As if all that wasn't enough, there's some plum extras, like a mock "other videos in this series" section where Q demonstrates how to do plumbing repair with the help of a sock puppet, the trailer for his animated film Wave Twisters, even a hidden surprise.
The tone of the whole thing is casual and precise, he's constantly making jokes, and his love for the craft is clear. Get this dvd! You never know when you're gonna wanna learn how to scratch, plus, this glimpse into the mind, craft, and funny bone of Qbert is just about the nicest, friendliest, most hilarious thing I've seen in a long time. Highly recommended.

QBERT, DJ DJ Qbert's Complete Do-It Yourself Volume 2: Skratch Sessions (Thud Rumble) dvd 26.00
The first volume of DJ Qbert's Complete Do-It Yourself scratching DVD was a huge hit 'round these parts due to its irresistable combination of both useful how-to-scratch DJ tips and humor. Even if you yourself wouldn't want to scratch a record with a ten foot pole, as long as you have an interest as a listener in hip hop and turntablist music, it was a pretty fascinating introduction to the basics of scratch DJing (or 'skratch' as they spell it). And Qbert is just such a charming guy. Volume one seems to be out of print at the moment (hopefully just between pressings or something) but here's volume two! Subtitled "Skratch Sessions" this takes up where volume one left off, providing budding scratch djs with TONS of stuff that'll help improve your skills (or just entertain). Over 20 top DJs appear in various band or battle situations where you can "jam" along with them at home. Multiple video angles and audio tracks make this one extremely interactive DVD. And the DIY lessons don't stop with just DJing, you get Qbert & co.'s home improvement tips as well. Super great.

QBERT, DJ Live : Australia - Asia (Turntable TV) dvd 19.98
Ok turtablist fans, you all know that DJ Q-Bert is the bomb. Seeing him master his custom-made QFO (a battery-powered turntable with built-in mixer) is totally amazing. It would be great if a dvd about him actually showed his skratch-wizzardry predominately throughout. However, Live: Australia-Asia shows a little too much of all the most boring parts of being on tour: the airports, the non-partying hotel rooms, sitting in cabs, etc. Q-bert seems to be having good time though, what with the crowds, the ladies, the female DJ he crushes out on... Die-hard fans of Q-bert will want to see this regardless of the poor editing, just simply to see footage of him skratching up a storm and to get a feel for the man behind the QFO. We just wish there was more skratching footage throughout this region-free dvd.

QBERT, DJ Y (Thud Rumble) lp 14.98
Turntablist pro Q-bert here has compiled a *great* breaks record for aspiring DJs. (That's right, his name's not on it but that's who put this together.) There're dozens of tracks, long enough for scratching yet also short enough that if you put this on at a party and just left it alone it wouldn't get too boring. The breaks are uniformly fun and exciting -- lots of James Brown yelps, and I also heard Chic and Run DMC in there. Funk, hiphop and disco experts will recognize much more than I did. A PERFECT companion to Q-bert's DIY Turntablist dvd.

QUAD s/t (Acme) cd 14.98

QUAILS, THE Atmosphere + (Inconvenient) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The kids love this energetic San Francisco trio, who have recently been seen touring about with Erase Errata and Sleater Kinney. And Sleater-Kinney comparisons, while sometimes arising out of a reviewer's lack of familiarity with a broad range of female oriented post punk sounds, are relevant here to describe The Quails girl-girl-boy vocal interchanges. At points, the heavily affected vocal stylings make us here put our hands over our collective ears, although "Atmosphere" is definitely not as ouch! as their testicle liberation opera "Bon Soir." If you do dig the vocals, or at least don't mind them, you'll have a great time getting down to their highly accessible, poppy take on the arty punk thang.
RealAudio clip: "Riding The 5"
RealAudio clip: "Soon The Rest Will Fall"

QUAILS, THE The Song Is Love (Mr. Lady) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Who can resist feisty art punk with horns? If you can't, the first song on this album is for YOU! Made us eager for more, but unfortunately the trumpet only appears on that opening track. Dang! But the rest is pretty great nonetheless, packed with edgy female vocals (still drawing comparisons to Sleater-Kinney's Corin Tucker) occasionally coupled with more subdued male backing vocals, angular raw guitars that veer and twist as if teetering precariously on a cliff, and a driving firecracker drumbeat that seems considerably tighter than on previous releases. Actually the whole picture seems a lot more feverishly focussed (and a little less poppy) that their last full length, the well received Atmosphere+. Hmmm, a bill of The Quails coupled with Erase Errata and Sleater-Kinney would make for a damn fine show. Yeah, I know this has already happened -- these bands have toured together in the past. However on The Song Is Love, The Quails are bursting with an increased confidence and attitude that would surely add ample fuel to such a blistering fun evening of rock. Indeed The Quails seem to be the bridge between those two bands -- particularly in the aforementioned swooping grrrl vocals of S.K., the jagged postpunk dissonance of E.E., and the volatile energy of both. Right on!
MPEG Stream: "More Gender, More Of The Time"
MPEG Stream: "What I Saw"

QUAILS, THE We are The Quails (Inconvenient Press & Recordings) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local trio featuring Jen Smith, Julianna Bright and Seth Lorinczi formerly of Circus Lupus (although *don't* take that to mean that if you liked the late great Circus Lupus, you'll necessarily like The Quails). Herky jerky quirky pop with all members trading off vocals, duelling lead guitars that weave together, and a hefty dose of Raincoats-style DIY arty punk.
RealAudio clip: "Don't Do That"
RealAudio clip: "Brighter"

QUAKE BREAX Volume 1 (Quaketrap) 12" 7.98
We don't sell a lot of breaks records here, but we know a few of you folks out there dig em so once in a while when we stumble across a good one we like to let everybody know about it. Most breaks records are tools and nothing but. A straight listen through would bore you to tears. But this Quake Breax 12" is a whole 'nother ball of wax. I just listened to it the whole way through and instead of being boring, it's super repetitive and hypnotic. It doesn't sound all that straight up danceable to us, but that's a point in its favor. It's funky, but in a creepy, proggy Goblin (yes, THAT Goblin) kind of way, with brooding basslines, haunting synths and some wicked live funky drumming. It's all very intense and sad and, well VERY prog sounding. Which if you know us, is obviously a good thing! These Goblinesque breaks are augmented with all sorts of weird little glitchy extras: minor key piano, super distorted lo fi drum machine breakbeats, stuttery chopped up loops. Good stuff. And if you're actually a DJ don't sleep on this one!

QUANNUM Spectrum (Quannum) cd 15.98

QUARTETO 1111 Singles and EPs (World Psychedelia) cd 17.98

QUARTZ s/t (Majestic Rock) cd 17.98
BLACK SABBATH! There. Got your attention. Now let's explain.
We thought we were pretty up on all the bands that followed the Sabbatherian path: Witchfinder General, Angel Witch, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Cathedral, Candlemass, Pentagram, etc. etc. But we'd missed out on one -- Quartz, from Sabbath's hometown of Birmingham, England, in fact. Turns out that this New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) band definitely also deserves a place in that list -- because they're very, VERY Sabbathy and also an awesome band! First off, this, their self-titled debut LP from 1977 (ok, predating the NWOBHM explosion by a couple years actually, though their later records were in the thick of it) was produced by none other than Black Sabbath's riff king Tony Iommi!! And, also, one of the Quartz guys, Geoff Nichols, ended up playing keyboards for the Sabs later on...
Yet Quartz don't sound very much like any of those other aforementioned Sabbath-worshiping bands. Not at all. That's because, with Iommi at the helm, this takes after what Sabbath sounded like at the time, albums like Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy ('76), and Never Say Die ('78). If you're familiar with those, you'll definitely hear their influence here! This later '70s Sabbath sound isn't as often emulated, being so much more proggy and polished than their rawer, earlier, doomier LPs. Which is great, 'cause it's not a done-to-death sort of Sabbath sound. As the Sabbath clones proliferate, even today, -these- guys still sound fresh. It also helps that they seemingly share the Sabbath attitude that they're just playing rock music, not something as strictly defined as 'heavy metal'. There's no metal formula being followed. So while this IS heavy and metallic '70s style, there's bombastic prog and pretty pop and acoustic folkiness here too, with Tony Iommi contributing an uncredited flute solo to "Sugar Rain". (Ozzy apparently also sang back-up on that track!) Furthermore, Quartz, formerly known as Bandy Legs, had their roots in '60s psych-pop (featuring members of obscure acts Idle Race and World Of Oz). Though sounding -most- like Sabbath, you'll also hear Yes and Queen and Rush and the Beatles and more...
But if it's Sabbath parallels you want, you got 'em: their vocalist exudes sincerity and emotion, echoing Ozzy's loss-of-control laments. And Tony's mid-seventies guitar (and synth) sound is reproduced perfectly...apparently he's playing on a couple tracks, in fact. The riffs on here could have been written by the man -- "Around and Around" sounds like it should have been on Sabotage! And leadoff track "Mainline Riders", one of the heaviest here, sounds remarkably like Sabbath's "Heaven And Hell" even though the latter wasn't recorded until three years later... hmm, who was influencing whom?
Ultimately, Quartz' debut is a great, varied, hard-rockin' album that uniquely captures all the energetic yet melancholic charm of the latter days of Ozzy's original tenure with the Sabs, unlike any other band ever did. A lost classic for sure. We wish someone had told us about Quartz before, which is why we're duty bound to tell you about 'em now that we have this new reissue!!
MPEG Stream: "Mainline Riders"
MPEG Stream: "Sugar Rain"

QUARTZ Stand Up And Fight (Majestic Rock) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Last list (#249) we reviewed the reissue of Quartz's amazing 1977 debut album. For those who missed it, we've got two words for ya: Black Sabbath! Quartz were pals of the Sabs, hailing from the same industrial city in England's grotty midlands, Birmingham. And Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi produced that first record of theirs, helping Quartz create what amounts to a great lost late '70s (pseudo-) Sabbath album: same guitar sound, same songwriting vibe, same riff magistery. Hearing that, who wouldn't want more? Hence, now we're listing this, the cd reissue of Quartz's second studio album, originally released in 1980. And it's definitely another slab of classy bashing from this shoulda-been-big, Black Sabbath meets New Wave Of British Heavy Metal sounding bunch.
The title cut is an vigorous, must-hear NWOBHM classic if there ever was one. That's followed by "Charlie Snow", which we'd be forgiven for thinking was song stolen from Sabbath's Born Again sessions! And we should also mention the grinding "Wildfire", which you could slag for being re-write of "Megalomania" from Sabbath's Sabotage album (yeah, the riff is certainly similar!), but while it's playing you'll certainly be banging your head -- and besides, Sabbath seemingly borrowed one of Quartz's tunes themselves on another occasion. Then there's the bonus track, a b-side called "Circles" that features uncredited guitar work from Queen's Brian May, and uncredited vocals from Ozzy Osbourne!! That's some b-side! Heck, everything on this disc is pretty killer, driving metal rockers with few peers outside of Sabbath's albums of the era. "Can't Say No To You" is the only sorta skippable track here, veering dangerously close to Foreigner or Bad Company territory. Not to say that's bad, but their Black Sabbathy stuff is way better... and this album is indeed recommended to all who appreciate the brilliance of later '70s, early '80s (end of Ozzy era through Dio and Gillan) Black Sabbath! And also the best melodic n' heavy NWOBHM stuff as well, of which this is a prime example.
MPEG Stream: "Stand Up And Fight"
MPEG Stream: "Circles"

QUASI Early Recordings (Touch & Go) cd 12.98
These early tracks reveal a much moodier, heavier, tweaked Quasi which seems to have resurfaced on their newest "Sword of God" album. Kinda like the Olivia Tremor Control's entwined pop melodies and swirling sonic experimentation, but more rocked up and out. There's a lot more guitar riffin' happening than on their considerably more keyboard-anchored later stuff. Nevertheless the trademark Quasi-pop hooks and Sam'n'Janet vocals never fails to shine through - if a little rougher around the edges. This compilation of 19 songs from 93/94 (in case you're keeping count, that's 3 by Janet, 11 by Sam and 5 co-written) was originally released in '95.
RealAudio clip: "Gaping Holes"
RealAudio clip: "Monkey, Mirror"

QUASI Featuring "Birds" (Up) cd 13.98

QUASI Field Studies (Up) cd 14.98
Well-crafted pop from Sam Coomes (Donner Party) and Janet Weiss (Sleater Kinney). Farfisa organs, dreamy strings, girl/boy harmonies, catchy hooks, and a dollop of full-on rock to boot. Fans of Built to Spill's 'Keep It Like a Secret' and the Flaming Lips' 'Soft Bulletin' take note. Added attraction: Elliott Smith plays a little bass on three songs.

QUASI Hot Shit! (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
On our first couple of listens to this new Quasi (and an additional couple of looks at the rather uncharacteristic cover art), well, we really weren't sure what to make of it! Taking into consideration the most recent oddity from Quasi mainman Sam Coomes -- the swampy psych-blues stomp of Blues Goblins -- we already knew things were taking a different path from the dreamy, yet sometime crunchin' pop of Quasi's past. Has Mr. Coomes lost his marbles? Hopped aboard a boxcar? Freed his mind? All of the above? Whether it be the second song's endless riffin' on a single note, the third song's odd false start and subsequent super rawk guitar solo or the anguished handwringing of "No One", it sounds as though they're determined to let it all hang out. Very somber, tripped-out and tormented by Quasi standards with loose-limbed guitars and seemingly stream of consciousness lyrics. In fact, the only thing that seems on solid ground is Janet Weiss' drumming. Nonetheless, not unlike each of Quasi's past releases, this seems to have the strong potential of a 'grow on you' kind of album, and we don't hesitate to recommend it.
MPEG Stream: "Seven Years Gone"
MPEG Stream: "Drunken Tears"
MPEG Stream: "No One"

QUASI Hot Shit! (Touch & Go) lp 12.98
Yup, it's on vinyl too. On our first couple of listens to this new Quasi (and an additional couple of looks at the rather uncharacteristic cover art), well, we really weren't sure what to make of it! Taking into consideration the most recent oddity from Quasi mainman Sam Coomes -- the swampy psych-blues stomp of Blues Goblins -- we already knew things were taking a different path from the dreamy, yet sometime crunchin' pop of Quasi's past. Has Mr. Coomes lost his marbles? Hopped aboard a boxcar? Freed his mind? All of the above? Whether it be the second song's endless riffin' on a single note, the third song's odd false start and subsequent super rawk guitar solo or the anguished handwringing of "No One", it sounds as though they're determined to let it all hang out. Very somber, tripped-out and tormented by Quasi standards with loose-limbed guitars and seemingly stream of consciousness lyrics. In fact, the only thing that seems on solid ground is Janet Weiss' drumming. Nonetheless, not unlike each of Quasi's past releases, this seems to have the strong potential of a 'grow on you' kind of album, and we don't hesitate to recommend it.

QUASI The Sword of God (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
Portland, Oregon's guitar/drums indierock duo Quasi deliver a fourth album (not including their recently reissued Early Recordings) on a new label, Touch and Go. It may be their best one yet. The boy/girl harmonies are pristine, the melodies are heartbreakingly pretty minor key ditties, and the guitar solos are wistful. You may already know that drummer Janet Weiss also pounds skins for Sleater Kinney, and that Sam Coomes is all over the new Built to Spill album. But Quasi is unlike either of those bands, preferring to recall the sweetness and the measured tempos of the Beatles and Big Star's Chris Bell, the skillfull tunesmithery of Steely Dan and High Llamas. The Sword of God also features some of Quasi's heaviest moments to date, with epic instrumental passages worthy of the White Album or somethin', and sections of wailing free jazz-style horns. Highly recommended, even if you've never heard Quasi before this will make a fan of you, we promise.
RealAudio clip: "Fuck Hollywood"
RealAudio clip: "Better Luck Next Time"

QUASI The Sword of God (Touch & Go) lp 14.98
Portland, Oregon's guitar/drums indierock duo Quasi deliver a fourth album (not including their recently reissued Early Recordings) on a new label, Touch and Go. It may be their best one yet. The boy/girl harmonies are pristine, the melodies are heartbreakingly pretty minor key ditties, and the guitar solos are wistful. You may already know that drummer Janet Weiss also pounds skins for Sleater Kinney, and that Sam Coomes is all over the new Built to Spill album. But Quasi is unlike either of those bands, preferring to recall the sweetness and the measured tempos of the Beatles and Big Star's Chris Bell, the skillfull tunesmithery of Steely Dan and High Llamas. The Sword of God also features some of Quasi's heaviest moments to date, with epic instrumental passages worthy of the White Album or somethin', and sections of wailing free jazz-style horns. Highly recommended, even if you've never heard Quasi before this will make a fan of you, we promise.

QUASI When The Going Gets Dark (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
AQ faves Sam Coombes and Janet Weiss are back with their sixth Quasi album... with the worst cover art... ever. Whoa, what an eyesore. Fortunately the same can't be said about the music. Whew, Quasi fans rejoice. Yaaaaay! Weiss is an aggressive dynamo on the kit, likewise Coombes on the piano and guitar. When The Going Gets Dark features some of his most valiant cascading piano flourishes. Their performances are looser and more impassioned than ever. We always wish she'd sing more, but we're somewhat disappointed to report that this album has the fewest appearances of Ms Janet on the mic. On the rare occasions when she does chime in with Sam on vocals, the sun shines a little brighter. On his side of things, Coombes has exhibited some bizarre behavior on his own solo releases (for instance the swampy bluesy psych of Blues Goblin), and some of it has definitely trickled into the Quasi pot. This is evident right from the get-go, as the first track "Alice The Goon" comes tumbling out of our speakers. As well, our musical antennae picked up a few oddly familiar melodic progressions that we more than suspect he nicked from some old classics -- the closing song "Invisible Star" shockingly trickles into Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale" territory, and the second to last song "Death Culture Blues" has an ominous plodding section that strongly recalls Brian Wilson's "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". But then again, Quasi always toss in a couple of eyebrow raisers to keep up on our toes. Apart from the cover art, the only other downside of this album is the somewhat murky sound quality. This is a little surprising since studio whiz David Fridmann was at the production helm, but despite his successes working with other pop wonders such as the Delgados, Flaming Lips, and Janet's other band Sleater-Kinney, his overdriven, blown-out style seems to overwhelm and disrupt the Quasi pop balance. That said, nothing can really tarnish the radiant force of Quasi. Their greatness always shines through, and so we proclaim, "Recommended!!!"
MPEG Stream: "Beyond The Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Poverty Sucks"
MPEG Stream: "Merry X-Mas"

QUASI When The Going Gets Dark (Touch & Go) lp 14.98
AQ faves Sam Coombes and Janet Weiss are back with their sixth Quasi album... with the worst cover art... ever. Whoa, what an eyesore. Fortunately the same can't be said about the music. Whew, Quasi fans rejoice. Yaaaaay! Weiss is an aggressive dynamo on the kit, likewise Coombes on the piano and guitar. When The Going Gets Dark features some of his most valiant cascading piano flourishes. Their performances are looser and more impassioned than ever. We always wish she'd sing more, but we're somewhat disappointed to report that this album has the fewest appearances of Ms Janet on the mic. On the rare occasions when she does chime in with Sam on vocals, the sun shines a little brighter. On his side of things, Coombes has exhibited some bizarre behavior on his own solo releases (for instance the swampy bluesy psych of Blues Goblin), and some of it has definitely trickled into the Quasi pot. This is evident right from the get-go, as the first track "Alice The Goon" comes tumbling out of our speakers. As well, our musical antennae picked up a few oddly familiar melodic progressions that we more than suspect he nicked from some old classics -- the closing song "Invisible Star" shockingly trickles into Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale" territory, and the second to last song "Death Culture Blues" has an ominous plodding section that strongly recalls Brian Wilson's "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow". But then again, Quasi always toss in a couple of eyebrow raisers to keep up on our toes. Apart from the cover art, the only other downside of this album is the somewhat murky sound quality. This is a little surprising since studio whiz David Fridmann was at the production helm, but despite his successes working with other pop wonders such as the Delgados, Flaming Lips, and Janet's other band Sleater-Kinney, his overdriven, blown-out style seems to overwhelm and disrupt the Quasi pop balance. That said, nothing can really tarnish the radiant force of Quasi. Their greatness always shines through, and so we proclaim, "Recommended!!!"
MPEG Stream: "Beyond The Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Poverty Sucks"
MPEG Stream: "Merry X-Mas"

QUASI / MARS ACCELERATOR / SPACE PANTS split 7" (Lizabean Technology Group) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now would this qualify as a compilation or is it still a split? At any rate this is a gorgeously packaged record that is now in its second pressing. Quasi graces this release with a very lovely number entitled "Desire and Love". Hurry hurry! This is limited to 1100: 450 on copper, 650 on beautiful blue paper with added embellishments. We have the blue ones. The first pressing featured four different sleeve designs, but unfortunately it is very sold out. Don't miss out this time around.

QUASIMOTO The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas (Stones Throw) cd 14.98

QUASIMOTO The Unseen (Stones Throw) cd 15.98
Cool, playful sort of goofy hip hop, like KMD or De La Soul, except that the main rapper's vocals have been sped up giving Quasimoto the opposite dynamic of Public Enemy: a whiney, helium voiced chipmunk rapper, backed up by an assortment of gruff baritones. Weird and funny and pretty great.

QUEEN ADREENA Taxidermy (WEA) cd 27.00
Part two of my huge high school/college 'Kate' crush (the other being Kate from Haysi Fantaysee). This is Katie Jane Garside's new outfit. You may remember her as the filthy little waif in a tattered sackcloth dress and wild blonde dreads from Daisy Chainsaw. While Daisy Chainsaw was all pent up teenage agression and buzzsaw guitars, Queen Adreena is slow simmering bitterness and warm languid instruments over Portishead-y rhythms. Don't be fooled by track one, it's definitely a winner; a crashing and monstrously heavy two minute barn burner that could have been a PJ Harvey 'Dry' era outtake, the rest of the record, while not as rocking, is certainly worth a listen. Dark and brooding and intense, almost goth. Fans of Portishead, PJ Harvey and the like should check this out. Includes a video for your computer, nice Quay brothers/Charlie Chaplin mix, with a nude (!) Katie astride her bandmate. BIG import price, not sure when/if the domestic is coming.

QUEENADREENA The Butcher And The Butterfly (One Little Indian) cd 16.98
Queen Adreena is everything PJ Harvey should have been. Could have been. And sort of was, for a brief spell there. Groundbreaking, threatening, inspiring, empowering, controversial. Unfortunately for us Americans, Queen Adreena has remained a barely heard, mostly unattainable, always incredibly expensive mystery, until now. Imagine PJ Harvey, if she were a filthy, waifish, sexed up firebrand, with a mop of tangled blonde curls and dressed in tattered doll like dresses, with a voice that swings from a sultry croon to a glass shattering Bjorkish squeal to a raspy wail, all in a single line, fronting a motley groop spitting out a pill popping, gas huffing, crazily chaotic, swaggering, smoldering sexrock with LOUD fuzz guitars pounding tribal drumming and wild and unhinged and insanely sexy vocals. Some sort of bastard spawn of PJ Harvey, Bow Wow Wow, Kate Bush, heavy metal and seventies glam rock. Lots of grinding guitars, breathy breakdowns, slithering seedy sexiness, and some unbeleivably killer songs. Often maligned as the "sleaze-metal PJ Harvey" in the UK press, but that's actually a pretty darn good description if you ask us. And if someone told us about some band that sounded like that we'd be all over it in a second. This is one of those records we've been listening to so much it's hard to put into words exactly what it is about it that drive us so crazy. Just listen to the sound samples and you'll immediately hear how ferocious and fucking amazing this record is.
MPEG Stream: "In Red"
MPEG Stream: "Princess Carwash"
MPEG Stream: "Suck"

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Era Vulgaris (Interscope) cd 15.98
Era Vulgaris is Josh Homme and co's fifth album. At this point he's got quite the well oiled stoner rock cruise mobile. Willfully poppy amid his more testosteroned hard rock brethren, Homme ably brews up some big beef and grit from the guitars and drums while his unmistakable multilayered vocals satiate any sugar fix with those candy-coated choruses. He definitely doesn't shy away from the tasty hooks. It's a full course stick-to-yer-ribs meal. Always great late night driving music. Distinctly west coast-y, and almost as sun baked as his old outfit Kyuss. Features a guest appearance by The Strokes' Julian Casablanca.
MPEG Stream: "Turnin' On The Screw"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Designer"

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Lullabies To Paralyze (Interscope) cd 16.98
Ok, c'mon. Do we really need to tell you about Queens Of The Stone Age? Seems to us that pretty much everyone we knows loves 'em. Whether you're an MTV teenybopper, a stoner rock dude clinging to some sort of misplaced Kyuss loyalty, a metalhead who likes the occasional melodic rock record, or a total music nerd who finds QOTSA a perfect guilty pleasure. But what's there to be guilty about? This stuff totally rocks and absolutely rules! Warm fuzzy guitars wrapped around perfect pop hooks and Josh Homme's velvety croon. There seems to be a lot less all out rocking this time around, and a lot more almost-ballady crooning which is fine, those songs are still killer, but it's when Homme's semi-secret stoner desert rock past peaks through that things get good. Rollicking and riff heavy, head banging and fist pumping. Crashing drums and that umistakable fuzz guitar. How can you feel guilty about that?
MPEG Stream: "Medication"
MPEG Stream: "Tangled Up In Plaid"
MPEG Stream: "In My Head"

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Over The Years And Through The Woods (Interscope) cd + dvd 21.00

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE R (Interscope) cd 17.98
The post-Kyuss band formed by guitarist (and now vocalist) Josh Homme follows up their great self-titled debut (a sleeper hit here at Aquarius, and elsewhere), with this new album for Interscope. Not nearly as all-over laid back and catchy as the debut, this disc is more eclectic (with a variety of guests and instrumentation--everything from lap steel to piano to a horn section). Mark Lanegan shows up to sing on a couple of songs, and they've even pursuaded Rob Halford to do some backing vocals on one track (tho why you'd want him to do backing vocals rather than the lead puzzles me, especially when your own lead vocals are passable but certainly not up to the "Metal God"'s standards!). "R" veers from raucous drug-fueled grunge to the more mellow "desert rock" Homme & Co. coined in Kyuss, to some avant-garde pseudo-jazz shennanigans. Will this get played on the radio? Hard to say.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Songs For The Deaf (Interscope) cd 15.98
Now, WITHOUT the limited bonus dvd disc! Here's what we said about this last time for those that somehow overlooked it... This one scarcely needs a review. By now you've been hearing this record on the radio and MTV and in malls. Odds are you already own this if you like the Queens Of The Stone Age previous albums, or you bought it for the single. Or you loved Kyuss and think the Queens suck. But setting all that aside, and taking this record just on its musical merits, 'Songs For The Deaf' is a kick ass hard rock/pop rock record. Great sound, great songs! What's not to like? This is easily their best record since their super heavy debut. 'Songs For The Deaf' has it's heavy moments, and the warm fuzzy Kyuss guitars are still in effect, but it's way more of a pop record. And while they do stretch out occasionally, with headbanging stoned desert jams, things always return to the hook. Which is not a bad thing. Just the opposite. And the addition of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees and solo) have added a lot in terms of sonic breadth and songwriting complexity. Way more dynamic and WAY MORE CATCHY. Listen to the sound samples and you'll be sold. The last "hidden" track is a piano driven, string laden psychedelic pop epic. It -sounds- great, but just wish it was a better song (although our friend Drew is convinced it is a 'masterpiece'). But so what? This record is full of great songs!! Plus lots of weird guests: Dean Ween, Twiggy Ramirez, Casey Chaos, Blag Dahlia! The only downside, which has been an annoying QOTSA quirk from the beginning, is their relentless in-joking. This record is rife with said in-jokes, a bunch of stupid fake radio DJ's, occasional joke songs and the like. Easy to skip by but they tend to kill the flow of an otherwise solid record.
RealAudio clip: "No One Knows"
RealAudio clip: "God Is In The Radio"
RealAudio clip: "Hangin' Tree"
RealAudio clip: "Go With The Flow"
RealAudio clip: "Song For The Deaf"

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Songs For The Deaf (Ipecac) 2lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Available for a limited time as a double lp, and with a bonus track EXCLUSIVE to this version!! Here's what we said about this last time: This one scarcely needs a review. By now you've been hearing this record on the radio and MTV and in malls. Odds are you already own this if you like the Queens Of The Stone Age previous albums, or you bought it for the single. Or you loved Kyuss and think the Queens suck. But setting all that aside, and taking this record just on its musical merits, 'Songs For The Deaf' is a kick ass hard rock/pop rock record. Great sound, great songs! What's not to like? This is easily their best record since their super heavy debut. 'Songs For The Deaf' has it's heavy moments, and the warm fuzzy Kyuss guitars are still in effect, but it's way more of a pop record. And while they do stretch out occasionally, with headbanging stoned desert jams, things always return to the hook. Which is not a bad thing. Just the opposite. And the addition of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees and solo) have added a lot in terms of sonic breadth and songwriting complexity. Way more dynamic and WAY MORE CATCHY. Listen to the sound samples and you'll be sold. The last "hidden" track is a piano driven, string laden psychedelic pop epic. It -sounds- great, but just wish it was a better song (although our friend Drew is convinced it is a 'masterpiece'). But so what? This record is full of great songs!! Plus lots of weird guests: Dean Ween, Twiggy Ramirez, Casey Chaos, Blag Dahlia! The only downside, which has been an annoying QOTSA quirk from the beginning, is their relentless in-joking. This record is rife with said in-jokes, a bunch of stupid fake radio DJ's, occasional joke songs and the like. Easy to skip by but they tend to kill the flow of an otherwise solid record.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE / BEAVER Split (Man's Ruin) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Intercontinental stoner rock summit between Queen of the Stone Age (the reincarnation of Kyuss, although they freshen up the Kyuss sound with seeming nods to Foo Fighters and Black Flag) and Beaver, sludge rock from Holland, where you'd think there'd be lots of competition in the stoner rock field, and yep, they're good.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE / BEAVER Split (Man's Ruin) 10" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Intercontinental stoner rock summit between Queen of the Stone Age (the reincarnation of Kyuss, although they freshen up the Kyuss sound with seeming nods to Foo Fighters and Black Flag) and Beaver, sludge rock from Holland, where you'd think there'd be lots of competition in the stoner rock field, and yep, they're good.

QUELLET, ISRAEL Oppressum (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98
Just who the heck is Israel Quellet? Somebody who sent a really cool home-recorded cd-r in to the Sub Rosa label that's who. The back cover of this digipack contains text all about finding Quellet's demo in their office slush pile, giving it a listen, and realizing, hey, here's something that really doesn't sound like anything else! And thus, it's now a Sub Rosa release.
Quellet's intimate and unique sound-world is built from simple sounds, generated by ordinary means like striking a metal oil tank, dragging a bucket across the ground, tapping a telephone keypad, or playing with a noise-making toy. Quellet's French-speaking voice, laughter and "throat sounds" also are heard to much mysterious and evocative effect. But actual musical instruments? Who needs 'em? About the only "real" instrument appearing here is his Swiss town's church organ, and even that still fits into his "field recording" aesthetic. (Oh, and there's also several percussion instruments here too: a bass drum, gong, timbales etc.)
As depicted on the cover, which features a photo of a stereo-mic'd electric sander, Quellet's REAL instrument is the microphone and with it he zones in on a level of a level of blown-up, microscopic detail that makes "saturation" (or distortion) another common and crucial element to his "music". He then mixes and edits these recordings of his various sound-ingredients, musique-concrete style, never adding too much, keeping it simple, focussing on just a few specific sounds and employing them to their fullest. Some tracks are percussively rhythmic, others distorted and droning, some simply bursting with joyous cacophony. All these pieces are carefully constructed, though, never randomly noisy. It's about method, not madness.
Something this abstract needs verve and vision to be a good listen, and this has all that to a fascinating degree. Always bold and surprising and alive. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "01 (For tank strokes, percussion & voice)"
MPEG Stream: "04 (For percussion and sound toys)"
MPEG Stream: "08 (For percussion, sander & telephone keyboard strokes)"

QUEST FOR BLOOD s/t (Ektro) cd 14.98
It may be difficult to believe at this point, but we don't actually love everything from Finland. Nor do we love everything from Japan. And what might be equally hard to believe, is that we don't love every band with a crazy name, a monicker equal parts ridiculousness and ultraviolence, Lord Of The Rings and Star Wars, medieval and futuristic. Nor does the presence of flute supersede all other sonic considerations. And being chaotic and damaged and heavy and downright baffling is not, on its own, enough (although it's very very close).
But, and this is the very big BUT we must concern ourselves with here, we do love EVERY SINGLE band we've heard who hail from Japan, via Finland, with an awesomely over the top super metal name, who are heavy and noisy and mathy and fucked up and sort of black metal, and have tons and tons of FLUTE. But then again, there's only one band that fits that description. Japan's Quest For Blood. Released on Jussi from Circle's Ektro label, championed by Reverend Bizarre's Albert Witchfinder (who also did the artwork and wrote the band's bio on the Ektro website), who create a dizzying complex bombast of proggy heaviness, of complex arrangements, of blackened metallic majesty, all gnarled riffing, furious drumming, riffy and groovy and buzzy, and flute everywhere, and it's the flute that defines the sound of Quest For Blood, whose sound is both metal and some sort of jazz, equally composed and abstract, black and buzzy, epic and deliriously dense, heavy yet folky and free. Quest For Blood began life as a slightly more traditional black metal band called Magane, but after a chance meeting with Yukihiro Isso, who had in the past played with Tatsuya Yoshida and Keiji Haino, the band changed direction, and blossomed into something else entirely, creating a sound never really heard before, and a sound that we now realize is one we had been fantasizing about for ages, black metal, Japanese folk, wild free flute, blast beats, weird chanted vocals, well, okay, we -would- have fantasized about it, had we ever imagined a band like that could actually exist. Well...
If you're anything like us, you'll be hooked after the first track, which begins with what sounds like Jew's harp and marimba, before launching into some blackened post metal riffing, over which a flute flutters and soars over the top, at once intense and melodic, but also airy and ethereal, it's like super dense metallic math rock meets black metal meets jazzprog, until suddenly the band drops out, leaving just solo flute, for 2 plus minutes, wild free jazz fluttery, folky, freaky, the melodies chaotic and complex one second, gentle and lilting the next, squeaks, skronks, wheezes, whistles, the sound falling somewhere between traditional Shakuhachi folk music and manic free jazz. Until finally, the band return, with some Japanese chanting, and epic Viking style riffery, the flute flitting right along, in its own way as aggressive and intense as the riffing beneath it. The second song follows suit, a roiling churning melee of riffs and blast beats, of serpentine riffing, of buzz and crunch, the flute again weaving dense tangled webs of melody draped over everything, a constant fluttering flitting sonic presence, relentless and breathless and truly dizzying.
The whole record is truly relentless, the flute in full on wild solo jam mode continuously, as the band wind and weave various metallic frameworks underneath. And while the sound is dynamic in its own way, it's also utterly ferocious and unrelenting, occasionally allowed some space, when the song unwinds and the flute is left to drift in long stretches of abstract shimmer, or the band slips into something slightly less manic, but for the most part, this is a gloriously mind blowing progjazzmathmetal onslaught.
As if the record wasn't already weird enough, it gets even weirder, and more varied, near the end, as the songs become more dynamic, the arrangements more stop / start, the various woodwinds offering up underwater gurgles and squiggly manic melodies, than more traditional flute sounds. "Yayema" sounds almost gospel-y, very melodic and dramatic, a little over the top, the melodies major key and majestic, but of course peppered with bursts of furious blasts and wild squall of flute freakout. "Uchina" begins like many of the other tracks, a jazz metal blow out, this time with raspy creature-like vocals, and some pounding piano, until the band drops out, leaving just drums and flute and vocals, reminding us a bit of a more freaked out version of that Dave Lombardo plays Vivaldi record, but with far out chanting, distant raspy vocalizations, all very tribal and weird, with a definite Ruins vibe, before launching back into full on metal mode, now with wailing guitar leads all tangled up with the wild flute.
The final track begins with solo flute, before the band joins in, all rough and raw and lo-fi, pounding out a simple mesmerizing riff, almost Circle style, the drums a murky thud, the flute ethereal and transcendent, eventually, the drums sputtering into some wide open space, before getting all wound up with streaks of scrabbly off kilter guitar in some sort of Ginn-ish guitar drum duel, laced with atonal piano pound, fiery flute and crumbling noisy chaos, finally finishing off in a blaze of metallic murk and abstract black jazz whatthefuck.
So awesome. And confusionally genius. Some seemingly impossible mix of black metal, free jazz, Italian prog, traditional Japanese folk, math rock and noise rock; a mind bending, ear melting mash up of Osanna, the Ruins, Absu, Solar Anus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Comus, Cromagnon, Ghost, Finntroll, Jethro Tull, Circle, Xynfonica, and who the fuck knows what else.
Needless to say, or perhaps worth saying over and over and over. WAY RECOMMENDED. And another contender for metal (or whatever) record of the year.
MPEG Stream: "Takasago"
MPEG Stream: "Noise"
MPEG Stream: "Rakuseki Kakugo"

QUEST FOR QUINTANA ROO s/t (New Disorder) cd-ep 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hardcore intensity that veers into math-y territory at times. Seriously shredded vocal chords. The harsh and raw side of California emo-core. Recorded by Ryan Massey of American Steel.

QUEST, DJ Attack of the Killer Cuts cassette 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Yo quiero DJ Quest!" Space Travelers DJ breaks out with a very cool new tape. Wild scratching and imaginative samples make this perfect for the car (it's been in Windy's car deck since we got it last week and shows no sign of being usurped except when I get in a Kid Koala mood). Recommended.

QUEST, DJ questSIDE (Untold Tales) (Hip Hop Slam) cd 14.98
SF's own DJ Quest has been winning solo scratching competitions worldwide since the early '90s, while also making music with first the Bulletproof Scratch Hamsters (later to become the Space Travellers) and then with the groundbreaking jazz/scratch outfit Live Human. This record spans eight years and all of the tracks, whether solo excursions or collabs, have never been released before. Quest's ears are firmly populist; he'll play with fun, recognizable samples, everything from Cybotron's electro classic "Clear" to Tears For Fears' "Shout", and sometimes he'll even pick up a violin and mess with it gloriously. For fans of the Future Primitive Soundsesions series with ZTrip, Short Kut, etc, this is super fun turntablism everyone can enjoy. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Bulletproof Traveller (Treble Lord)"
RealAudio clip: "Moments (Part II)"
RealAudio clip: "Shout (Hip Hop Mix)"

QUESTION MARK? AND THE MYSTERIANS Do You Feel It Baby? The Captivating Live Sounds Of... (Norton) cd 14.98