HALLOWEEN (OST) (Compass) cd 16.98

HAROLD & MAUDE (CAT STEVENS) OST (Vinyl Films) lp+7"+booklet 42.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
How could a movie so tightly integrated with music not have released a soundtrack? Well, in the case of popular cult film, Harold and Maude, whose creative usage of many of Cat Steven's most well known and widely available songs instead of a proper score, a soundtrack release at the time must have seemed like throwing money down a well. All of Steven's songs were available on his own albums, and the audience for the film at the time, which has overwhelming increased in years following, was very small. So finally, The Harold and Maude soundtrack has been made available on vinyl for the first time and it comes with a 36 page full color booklet on the making of the film and a bonus 7" of alternate versions of two songs not previously available anywhere. It's a bit pricey, but the package is deluxe and the vinyl is high quality, and any soundtrack collection of sixties and seventies film music would be remiss without it. And who doesn't love Harold & Maude??

HARVESTMAN Trinity (Neurot) cd 14.98
We've got a bountiful harvest of, ah, Harvestman this list, two releases from the psychedelic alter ego of menacing Neurosis guitarist Steve Von Till, and that's very much okay by us, seeing as how we loved the first Harvestman album Lashing The Rye, and then utterly freaked out over the second one, In A Dark Tongue (made it a Record Of The Week in fact). Now, this week we've got Harvestman doing Hawkwind covers on a three-way split with U.S. Christmas and Minsk (highlighted nearby) and this, the third "official" Harvestman full-length. So far, they've all been a bit different, beginning with the druidic Brit-folk elements of the debut, morphing into the mindblowing space rock mantras of album number two, and now, an Italian horror soundtrack??? Literally, yes! Not long ago, Von Till received a commission to score an Italian film of psychological suspense oddly entitled h2Odio (or, for English speaking audiences, Hate 2 O). So, he entered his remote upper Idaho home studio and basically let his beard take over, eventually resulting in this instrumental soundtrack... don't expect spooky prog-funk a la Goblin, though! This seems more inspired by the cosmic kraut soundtracks of Popol Vuh. It's a spacey, mellowed out affair, hushed and hypnotic, full of quietly meandering psych guitar, ghostly synth pulsations, and washes of distorted drone, lovely and dark... it's not really scary scary music, just somewhat sinister, but equally soothing. We don't know much about the movie itself, this soundtrack is sufficient pleasure for us anyway, but we do imagine that if the characters/victims in the film could actually hear this music, they'd probably feel quite resigned to their fates.
And now it's been released in a numbered, limited edition, in a spiffy black cardstock wallet. 71 minutes, 16 tracks, of which five, however, originally appeared on Lashing The Rye (we'd guess the director especially wanted those in his film, and then asked Von Till for more?). Listen meditatively, and become resigned to YOUR fate.
MPEG Stream: "Trinity"
MPEG Stream: "Dig"
MPEG Stream: "Pure Phase"

HAYASAKA, FUMIO & MASARU SATO Akira Kurosawa's Movie Soundtracks (Doxy) 4lp box 80.00
Most folks who would be interested in something like this probably don't even need to read the review. C'mon, it's a 4lp collection of Akira Kurosawa soundtracks, that's Akira Kurosawa soundtracks ON VINYL, in a cool multiple gatefold sleeve, it includes the soundtracks to such classics as Roshomon, Seven Samurai, The Throne Of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Ikiru and Record Of A Living Being. To be fair, it's been a while since we've seen these films, but if we remember correctly, and we're pretty sure we do, the music was, and IS, incredible. AMAZING. Allan even had a friend of ours pick up a pricey Kurosawa soundtrack cd box for him years ago when she was visiting Japan, at the time the only way to get that music, but this is the first time we've ever seen these ON VINYL! We've only been ordering one of these at a time, cuz of the steep price, but every time we get one in, some one nabs it right away. So if you want one, by all means, order it, if we run out we should hopefully be able to get more pretty quickly. There's not a single person who works here who isn't insanely tempted to take this home. So probably better if someone out there buys it before someone here does!!!

HAYES, ISAAC Shaft (OST) (CMG / Stax) cd 10.98

HAZLEWOOD, LEE A House Safe For Tigers OST (Light In The Attic) cd 16.98
Light in The Attic continues their awesome Lee Hazlewood archival series with this rarest of rare releases, a 1975 soundtrack to the last (and least known) of the many films for Swedish television Hazlewood made with longtime collaborator Torbjorn Axelman. Half surrealist anecdote and half documentary, A Room Safe for Tigers is a bizarre self-portrait of the artist as he embarks on a new life in a new land. Filmed on the island of Gotland, Hazlewood shoots various scenes with the local townsfolk, running a marathon, trying to convince Swedish children to take sides against Nixon, and seeking protective spells from a witch. The centerpiece of the soundtrack, the song "Soul's Island", reads like a pastoral response to the Nancy & Lee classic, "Some Velvet Morning" with its epic orchestral sweeps and never-ending fade out. There are a couple of revisitations from the back catalog, namely "The Nights", a spoken-sung epic about Native American genealogy and genocide and an early Shackletons' cover, "Little Boy Blue". But the bulk of the release is material never released before including instrumentals, some country-funk numbers and a strange duet with Axelman as he recites all of Hazlewood's lines in Swedish. As seen with the last archival release, The LHI Years, Hazlewood's less heard '70s Swedish output was just as vital and essential as the famed sixties material he was best known for. Kudos to Light in The Attic for continuing to make the work of this eccentric American voice more widely available.
MPEG Stream: "Souls's Island"
MPEG Stream: "A House Safe For Tigers"
MPEG Stream: "Absent Friends"

HAZLEWOOD, LEE A House Safe For Tigers OST (Light In The Attic) lp 22.00
Light in The Attic continues their awesome Lee Hazlewood archival series with this rarest of rare releases, a 1975 soundtrack to the last (and least known) of the many films for Swedish television Hazlewood made with longtime collaborator Torbjorn Axelman. Half surrealist anecdote and half documentary, A Room Safe for Tigers is a bizarre self-portrait of the artist as he embarks on a new life in a new land. Filmed on the island of Gotland, Hazlewood shoots various scenes with the local townsfolk, running a marathon, trying to convince Swedish children to take sides against Nixon, and seeking protective spells from a witch. The centerpiece of the soundtrack, the song "Soul's Island", reads like a pastoral response to the Nancy & Lee classic, "Some Velvet Morning" with its epic orchestral sweeps and never-ending fade out. There are a couple of revisitations from the back catalog, namely "The Nights", a spoken-sung epic about Native American genealogy and genocide and an early Shackletons' cover, "Little Boy Blue". But the bulk of the release is material never released before including instrumentals, some country-funk numbers and a strange duet with Axelman as he recites all of Hazlewood's lines in Swedish. As seen with the last archival release, The LHI Years, Hazlewood's less heard '70s Swedish output was just as vital and essential as the famed sixties material he was best known for. Kudos to Light in The Attic for continuing to make the work of this eccentric American voice more widely available.
MPEG Stream: "Souls's Island"
MPEG Stream: "A House Safe For Tigers"
MPEG Stream: "Absent Friends"

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (OST) (Hybrid) cd 17.98

HERRMANN, BERNARD Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (El / Cherry Red) cd 17.98
This is a reissue of a 1957 broadcast of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's classic tale of future shock that launched countless sci-fi movie references from THX-1138 to Wall-E. Adapted for radio, narrated by the author with a score by Bernard Herrmann, this broadcast harkens back to the classic Orson Welles War of The Worlds radio era, while creating a chilling picture of the future that still rings true. What makes it most chilling is Herrmann's wonderful score which is featured by itself on the first 9 tracks. Consisting of harpsichords and glockenspiels, the score is light but impressionistically foreboding, reminding us a bit of the soundtrack to TV's The Prisoner, and other beautifully creepy scores of British horror movies. Brrrrrr!
MPEG Stream: "Track 4"
MPEG Stream: "Track 6"
MPEG Stream: "Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Part 2"

HERRMANN, BERNARD Psycho (Doxy) lp 27.00

HERRMANN, BERNARD The Wrong Man / Vertigo / North By Northwest (Doxy Music) 4lp 80.00
This one really doesn't need too much in the way of a description. Vinyl freaks rejoice! Three classic Bernard Herrmann Alfred Hitchcock soundtracks, presented in a luxurious 4lp set, all pressed on 180 gram vinyl, from the same label that brought us that amazing Kurosawa soundtrack set a while back. If you remember that one, you have an idea of how bad ass this looks and sounds. Massive gatefold sleeve with tons of photos and extensive sleeve notes as well as reproductions of the original movie posters, includes the original mono soundtrack to 1956's The Wrong Man, and the original stereo soundtracks to 1958's Vertigo and 1959's North By Northwest. So incredible. A bit pricey, but pretty much worth it. We only have a couple of these in stock, but fear not, if we run out, we can get more in a matter of days. That said, who knows how long these will list, best get one before they're gone for good...

HERRMANN, BERNARD Vertigo (Varese Sarabande) cd 15.98
Part of this amazing, twisted, sadistic Hitchcock thriller's greatness lies in the distinctive soundtrack music, available now on this new compact disc.

HILMARSSON, HILMAR ORN & SIGUR ROS Angels Of The Universe (Fat Cat) cd 12.98
We're really happy that this is back in print, originally released back in 2001 this was the score to the Icelandic film Englar Alheimisins (Angels Of The Universe). Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson is an amazing composer whose brooding, moody and elegant post-classical sounds evokes such a dark and heavenly cinematic quality. He has collaborated over the years with the likes of Current 93, The Hafler Trio and Psychic TV. It makes so much sense that he enlisted Sigur Ros to join him for this score. Don't be expecting a Sigur Ros record though, as this really is the brainchild of Hilmarsson, but you can still hear the band's sound very clearly on a few of the tracks, hints of Sigur Ros' distinctive dark and dreamy sounds. Elegant and lush, with a haunting quality that's made this a favorite of ours for those late rainy nights and somber afternoons.
MPEG Stream: "Journey to the Underworld"
MPEG Stream: "Bium Bium Bambalo"
MPEG Stream: "Degradation"

HOTTEST STATE, THE OST (Sony) cd 13.98
The soundtrack for Ethan Hawkes' latest movie (based on his first novel) sure reads like a who's who of the hip and the cool: Cat Power, Feist, Bright Eyes, The Black Keys, M.Ward, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, Brad Mehldau, Rocha, Tony Scherr, and Jesse Harris... Uhh, wait a sec, that last name on the list might not ring any bells as clearly as the rest of the bunch... yet! But he's the fella who wrote all of the songs on this soundtrack. Close pal Mr. Hawke thought Harris' songwriting skills would be a perfect match for The Hottest State. Not having seen the movie, we can't say for certain whether it fits or not, but as a stand alone compilation it's pretty darn solid. Heck, this should come as no surprise really because we've all probably unwittingly heard his superlative songwriting abilities before. He wrote Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why" single for gosh sake. And how's this for timing? Harris' own album Feel was just released last month so if you find your ears itching for more....
MPEG Stream: NELSON, WILLIE "Always Seem To Get Things Wrong"
MPEG Stream: CAT POWER "It's Alright To Fail"

HOWLING, THE (OST) (Studiocanal) cd 16.98
One of those movies we weren't allowed to watch as a kid, but managed to see it anyway, I mean, c'mon WEREWOLVES! We had nightmares for weeks. The soundtrack is pretty scary too....

HR PUFNSTUF AND OTHER SID & MARTY KROFFT FAVORITES (Gazillion) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Gather 'round "kids"! Twenty seven theme songs and fun tunes from those vibrant Saturday morning tv shows of the '70s. Are you ready for... Witchiepoo, Far Out Space Nuts, Electrawoman & Dynagirl, Bugaloos, Dr. Shrinker, Land Of The Lost, Bigfoot & Wildboy and so much more? Yeah, we sure are! Fantastic (in the true sense of the word), trippy and at times pretty darn fucked up. This is what the fabulous Mr. Show modelled the Altered States Of Druggachussetts after!
RealAudio clip: "HR Pufnstuf Theme"
RealAudio clip: "Bugaloos Theme"

HULL, SCOTT Requiem (Relapse) lp 15.98

I'M NOT THERE (V/A) OST (Sony) 2cd 19.98
Here's the double disc soundtrack to the new movie about Bob Dylan which stars no less than six actors, including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, and Richard Gere, ALL as Bob Dylan. Whoa. It's like Casino Royale. As a matter of fact, both the movie and the soundtrack are star studded to ridiculous proportions! Thirty four covers of Dylan songs performed by a mix of hip young things and venerable veterans such as Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder, Calexico, Willie Nelson, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, Tom Verlaine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O, Antony & The Johnsons, John Doe, Stephen Malkmus, Iron & Wine, Richie Havens, Roger McGuinn, Los Lobos, Jeff Tweedy, The Black Keys, Mark Lanegan, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Sufjan Stevens, The Hold Steady, Charlotte Gainsbourg and The Band! A perturbing thing we noticed about these renditions though is that it seems like many artists were trying to sound like Dylan... and strangely enough many ended up sounding like Neil Young instead! Weird.
MPEG Stream: SONIC YOUTH "I'm Not There"
MPEG Stream: CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG & CALEXICO "Just Like A Woman"

ICHI THE KILLER (KOROSHIYA ICHI) (OST) (Cinema Monsoon) cd 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BOREDOMS!! BOREDOMS SIDE PROJECT! LIMITED. JAPANESE IMPORT!! WON'T BE AROUND FOR LONG!!
Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way so those of you who NEED everything Boredoms, and don't really care what it sounds like, can stop right here and order this before they're all gone. In fact, you've probably already ordered this from us. For those of you who are less well versed in all things BOREDOM, let's delve a little deeper.
First, it's a soundtrack for Takashi Miike's Ichi The Killer, an unbelievably tasteless, disgusting, ultraviolent, hilarious Manga cartoon come to life (it's actually based on a popular Japanese Manga) with lots of blood, cum, killing, torture, and violence. Some of you may recognise Miike's name as another of his films, the horrific The Audition, recently got a lot of attention in the US. Anyway, who better to score the ridiculous mayhemic bloodbath that is Ichi The Killer than the purveyors of ridiculous musical mayhem, Boredoms. So what you have here is a group calling itself Karera Musication, featuring Yoshimi p-we, ATR, Hilah, and Seiichi Yamamoto, which basically amounts to Boredoms without Eye. But what does it sound like you ask? Let's put it this way, if someone played this for you and told you it was the new Boredoms record, you wouldn't bat an eye. Lots of spaced out, percussive jamming, trippy sound effects, chimes, chopped up / processed electronic squiggles, weird seventies porn funk, full on Japanoise, blissed out Krautrock (sounding a lot like old Kraftwerk), little vocal bleats from Yoshimi, drum vocal raveups ala old Boredoms, thick distorted guitar rock, dreamy tranced out spirituals and everything in between. Andee says go rent the movie or buy a copy on eBay, but even if you're not up for an ultra-violent movie about a nerdy guy in a leather superhero suit (equipped with razor sharp boot-blades) who jacks off while he watches pimps beat up prostitutes and then loses control whenever he is teased and dismembers everyone within arms reach, you can still enjoy this! And you Boredoms fanatics will get the fix you need until the next proper release.
RealAudio clip: "One"
RealAudio clip: "Two "
RealAudio clip: "Three"
RealAudio clip: "Four"
RealAudio clip: "Five"

IFUKUBE, AKIRA King Kong Vs. Godzilla (OST) (La La Land Records) cd 16.98
We were recently visiting another store here in town, and were totally struck by whatever it was they were listening to. It was exactly the sort of thing we love here at aQ, it was creepy and dark and droney, sort of familiar, but totally strange and alien at the same time. Huge moaning horns, lots of incredibly low brass, emitting cacophonous groans, strange monk like chanting, it sounded a little like something we could have heard, maybe Hermann Nitsch, or Arvo Part, it was sort of choral, but also tribal, and those horns, it was like the sound they made was a physical entity, a brass wave filling the room, eventually we had to swallow our pride and ask just what the heck they were listening to. The answer was of course King Kong Vs. Godzilla. WTF?! KING KONG VS. GODZILLA? Now we love us our King Kong, and our cheesey, men-in-rubber-suits monster movies, but we certainly didn't remember the music being so... weird, and heavy, and haunting, and beautiful. Now that we've been listening to this soundtrack for a week or two, it's nearly impossible to imagine how this could be the music for a battle between those two classic movie monsters. And if we do, we can't help but imagine the typical clumsy rubber suited battles transformed into impossibly arty ballets, drenched in blacks and greys, gauzy and arty, like some hellish painting brought to life.
King Kong Vs. Godzilla, originally released in 1962, was the most maligned and misunderstood, as well as somehow the most successful of all the Godzilla movies. Unlike the films before it. KK Vs. G was a bit more light hearted (you would never know from the score!), the monster suits less scary, the whole film a subtle satire of Japanese commercialism. For it's American release it was tinkered with, chopped, edited and poorly dubbed. The result while obviously a far cry from the original's intent, resulted in a film that still appealed to the American market's love for cheesy monster movies and was thus a sucess here too.
Sadly though, when the film was re-edited for US release, the score was mostly replaced with music from The Creature From The Black Lagoon! Apparently that's not totally unheard of, since once a film is dramatically re-edited, the original music just doesn't sync up, but once you hear Ifukube's score it's impossible to imagine anyone wanting to replace it.
Since this is a soundtrack, there are definitely tracks that exist to support particular onscreen visuals, be it a melancholy bit of old timey jazz, some festive marching band music, a bit of playful calypso pop, some tribal drum / chant interludes, but for the most part, Ifukube's gives us a series of creepy, haunting orchestra driven chunks of dramatic moodiness, forboding and sinister, evoking not so much images of giant apes and lizards, but instead of human misery and terror, the frailty of human existence in the face of monsters and demons. Bleak and oppressive, funereal and somber, but with glimmers of hopefulness, and stretches of what sounds like resilliance in the face of doom, calls to arms, an amazingly emotional score for a monster movie, all conveyed via the aformentioned moaning horns swooping ominously above martial drumming and booming tympani's, balanced by bits of soaring strings and chanting vocals. We want to see this movie now so bad, but at the same time it almost seems like these sounds would be tainted, even though they were composed to accompany those specific images, having heard them on their own, the music has taken on it's own life, its own meaning, and exists fully realized simply as music, even (especially?) removed from it's visual counterpart.
We imagine that this was most likely re-released to coincide with the recent Peter Jackson King Kong remake, which is also probably why you won't find ANY images of King Kong anywhere in the booklet or on the sleeve. But don't let that keep you from discovering this amazing recording.
Extensive liner notes including the fascinating and convoluted history of the film as well as notes on each track.
Sidenote: Recognize the recurring theme? Check the sound sample for "Godzilla's Resurrection." We did the second we heard it, those low horns, that stacatto 'dun dun dundun'. It's the loop from Pharoahe Monch's 1999 hit "Simon Says" (which you might also remember as the song Sam Rockwell dances to in the first Charlie's Angels as he gets ready to torture Drew Barrymore)!
MPEG Stream: "Main Title"
MPEG Stream: "The Sparkling Iceberg / Pashin Commercial"
MPEG Stream: "The Seahawk's S.O.S."
MPEG Stream: "Godzilla's Resurrection"
MPEG Stream: "The Devil Of The South Seas / Drums Of Battle / Giant Octopus Vs. King Kong"

IKEDA, RYOJI See You At Regis Debray (OST) (Syntax) 2cd 23.00
Ryoji Ikeda scored the soundtrack for CS Leigh's film See You At The Regis Debray; and this two disc set is the entire soundtrack to the film split into two sections, approximately 45 minutes each. We've not seen the film; but from what we can gather, it describes a few days in 1969 when Andreas Baader (of Baader-Meinhof fame) spent with the French intellectual Regis Debray, while Baader was on the run from the German authorities. Debray himself had quite a storied past, having spent time in a Bolivian jail for associating with Che Guevera.
Ikeda's soundtrack begins as you would expect any Ikeda album to start: with a slow-building ascension of precisely micro-shifting digital tones. Ikeda cuts to a collage of the jarring ring of telephones that dissolves into a repetitive strum of a low-slung guitar that sounds very much like a Morricone sample from The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly. This detours into a subterranean field recording of various clanks, muffled rumblings, and distant voices. Then an elegiac chorale of reverb saturated drones with snippets of radio transmission (bells? gongs? chimes? those same digital tones?) completes the first disc. The second disc returns to that Morricone riff, only flushed out this time, given more of an Achim Reichel energy of bad-ass Western twang matching futurist arpeggiation. These 15 - 20 minutes of the soundtrack are the highlight of the album, and make us wish Ikeda would do more of this type of work. The rest of the second disc consists of an eerie collage of someone panting heavily transitioning to a collage of chimpmunked AM radio hits then to dissonant guitar squalor sort of like early Nurse With Wound, before turning to a collection of old Spanish political speeches, perhaps Che Guevera?
MPEG Stream: "01"
MPEG Stream: "MoRT"
MPEG Stream: ""

ILAIYARAAJA Fire Star: Synth-Pop & Electro-Funk From Tamil Films 1985-1989 (Bombay Connection) cd 17.98
The Maestro strikes again! You should already know prolific South Indian film score composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and his "Electronic Pop Sound" from a couple Finders Keepers compilations we've highlighted: his own Solla Solla, and also the one featuring singer K.S. Chithra, with music by the Maestro. If you thought those two discs were over the top and irresistible, just get a load of this new one! (And even if you missed those, well, you probably have an idea of what we're talking about, if you've been exposed to any Bollywood/Kollywood/Lollywood craziness, as represented by other recent collections like Bollywood Bloodbath and Life Is Dance.)
Compared to those other Ilaiyaraaja's, this is similar, but with perhaps even more "video-game-iness" in the goofily orchestrated mix. It's VERY '80s electro synth sounding, and groovy too, as the subtitle promises. There's a big kitsch/cheese factor no doubt, but that's a big part of this genre's charms, really! Plus, this shit's tight, every element - electronic beats and sweet vocals and synthesized string sections and ethnic instruments and startling sound FX - in its place, everything and everybody dancing to the tunes of the Maestro. Hott stuff. 16 tracks, 65 minutes, you'll be grinning gleefully the whole time.
And you gotta love the cover, right? Icing on the cake of this swank trifold digipak, which includes a 30 page booklet with info on each of the films from which music was taken.
MPEG Stream: "Thangamana Raasa"
MPEG Stream: "Oruvar Vaazhum Aalayam"
MPEG Stream: "Punnagai Mannan"

ILAIYARAAJA Fire Star: Synth-Pop & Electro-Funk From Tamil Films 1985-1989 (Bombay Connection) 2lp 28.00
Sweet! Now on lp, that great cover pic thus bigger and better on this swank gatefold sleeved vinyl version.
The Maestro strikes again! You should already know prolific South Indian film score composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and his "Electronic Pop Sound" from a couple Finders Keepers compilations we've highlighted: his own Solla Solla, and also the one featuring singer K.S. Chithra, with music by the Maestro. If you thought those two discs were over the top and irresistible, just get a load of this new one! (And even if you missed those, well, you probably have an idea of what we're talking about, if you've been exposed to any Bollywood/Kollywood/Lollywood craziness, as represented by other recent collections like Bollywood Bloodbath and Life Is Dance.)
Compared to those other Ilaiyaraaja's, this is similar, but with perhaps even more "video-game-iness" in the goofily orchestrated mix. It's VERY '80s electro synth sounding, and groovy too, as the subtitle promises. There's a big kitsch/cheese factor no doubt, but that's a big part of this genre's charms, really! Plus, this shit's tight, every element - electronic beats and sweet vocals and synthesized string sections and ethnic instruments and startling sound FX - in its place, everything and everybody dancing to the tunes of the Maestro. Hott stuff. 16 tracks, 65 minutes, you'll be grinning gleefully the whole time.
MPEG Stream: "Thangamana Raasa"
MPEG Stream: "Oruvar Vaazhum Aalayam"
MPEG Stream: "Punnagai Mannan"

ILAIYARAAJA Ilectro (B-Music) cd 15.98
Yay, more delightful music from Ilaiyaraaja, illustrious composer for South India's Kollywood (not Bollywood, but close) film industry. Finders Keepers / B-Music has previously brought us a couple other comps full of Ilaiyaraaja's tremendously enjoyable and unusually arranged tunes, so hopefully you know all about him already and are eager for more, 'cause look out, here's another seventeen tracks of the man's colorful and creative East-West mashup music, circa the synth-pop Eighties (his prime), full of electro funk drum machine grooves, '80s future shock synthesizer (Yamaha DX7 keyboard in the house!), orchestral flourishes, and the often amorously impassioned vocalisations of a variety of famous playback singers including K.S. Chitra, aka the "Tamil Nightingale".
Ilaiyaraaja himself can lay claim to the honorific "The Maestro". He's also been called "The Crown Prince Of Tamil Pop", and it's easy to hear why from this disc of so very lively and infectious and not overly-serious music, joyful songs designed to get characters in Tamil films - and maybe you too - singing and dancing.
Apparently Ilaiyaraaja, currently 69 years of age, has written/recorded over 4,500 songs in his career (and counting), so we can probably look forward to more collections from Finders Keepers and other equally hip labels, but don't let this one slip by, it's got a lot of gems on it. Imagine if Axel F went to India...
Extensive, interesting, informative (as usual) liner notes from DJ Andy Votel are included, the disc having been compiled by Votel and Doug Shipton.
Import double vinyl version also forthcoming, by the way, we should have that in time for our next list.
MPEG Stream: "Adi Rani"
MPEG Stream: "Ponmani"
MPEG Stream: "Sangeetham"

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla Volume 1: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
Yay!! Now in stock, in quantity, on nice fancy import vinyl, in two parts. And each of the lps contains a bonus track not found on the compact disc version! Here's what we said about the cd:
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here [18 on the vinyl, spread over the 2 lps], each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
MPEG Stream: "Thanimayil (Featuring Vani Jairam & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Solla Solla (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam)"
MPEG Stream: "Sorgam Madhuvile (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & Chorus)"

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla Volume 2: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
Yay!! Now in stock, in quantity, on nice fancy import vinyl, in two parts. And each of the lps contains a bonus track not found on the compact disc version! Here's what we said about the cd:
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here [18 on the vinyl, spread over the 2 lps], each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
MPEG Stream: "Kholapurase Kudasathrivasi (Featuring S.P. Sailaja & Chorus)"

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) cd 15.98
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here, each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
FYI, we also have (or can get) this on import vinyl, in two volumes, $24.00 each. Vol.1 contains a bonus track.
MPEG Stream: "Kholapurase Kudasathrivasi (Featuring S.P. Sailaja & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Thanimayil (Featuring Vani Jairam & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Solla Solla (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam)"
MPEG Stream: "Sorgam Madhuvile (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & Chorus)"

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (SOUNDTRACK) (Higher Octave) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love was one of the best films of 2001. At least that's the thought round here! Starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as starcrossed lovers married to others and too proper to consummate their relationship, it's a wonderful movie. And let's just pause for a moment to recall how fucking gorgeous Maggie is in her Chinese dresses. When I saw the film, the people in the theater audibly gasped everytime she entered a scene with a new outfit.
Anyway, Wong wanted the soundtrack to reflect the era during which the film is set -- the mid-'60s. Thus we have a few Latin-tinged Nat King Cole numbers plus some extra special, ever so charming Chinese pop songs of the day. Rounding out the album is a lot of moody sad violin soundtrack stuff from Michael Galasso, and a single composition by Umebayashi Shigeru which is the main theme of the film. It's mostly achingly sad violin and it's simply gorgeous. The entire record evokes the film -- a success, no throwaway material. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: UMEBAYASHI SHIGERU "Yumeji's Theme"
RealAudio clip: DENG BAI YING "Shuan Shuan Yang"
RealAudio clip: ZHANG YUN XIAN & LI HONG "Shuang Ma Hui"
RealAudio clip: NAT KING COLE "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas"

INNER SPACE, THE Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah) cd 22.00
This is one of those records that we always thought we were just going to hear about, maybe hear a song or two on some compilation, but never actually get to hear in its entirety. So we're THRILLED to see this pre-CAN album, a soundtrack to a film that never came out (how come those are always the best?!), finally seeing the light of day. And what a tripped out, acid soaked, free-pop-jazz-rock odyssey it is!
Recorded in 1968 by a lineup that included Irmin Schmidt, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit who a year later would make their debut as Can with the release of Monster Movie, listening to these sounds one for sure can hear the seeds of what would become Can's distinctive krautrock sound, but this also displays a much more fried, disjointed and mind altering side to these way ahead of their time music makers. While mostly an instrumental affair that at times reminds us of the equally colorful and fucked up Jean Claude Vannier concept album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, there are a few tracks which have vocals courtesy of Irmin Schmidt, but the true show stopper is when Rosy Rosy, a film actress in Germany at the time, takes the mic for "Kamerasong", a track we imagine folks like Broadcast and Stereolab have played on repeat a billion times (like we have now!). While plenty of the songs here hint at the more song based Can records to come, lots of Agilok & Blubbo is much more about sprawling, scrappy, tripped out and fucked up delight, the kind of sounds modern day colorful noise makers like Kemialliset Ystavat and Sunburned Hand Of The Man would bow down to. What makes the record so enjoyable is how its paced, just when things have gotten way deconstructed and abstract they snap into more of a catchy, driving melody and then continue on in more bizarre directions and into outer dimensions. Warped, damaged and engaging in all the right ways!
MPEG Stream: "Es Zieht Herauf"
MPEG Stream: "Kamerasong"
MPEG Stream: "Michele Ist Da"

INNER SPACE, THE Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah) lp 30.00
NOW IN STOCK ON VINYL!
This is one of those records that we always thought we were just going to hear about and be teased by a song or two on a rare compilation but never actually get to hear all of. So it was with total excitement when we saw that this pre-CAN album recorded as a soundtrack to a film that never came out (how come those are always the best!) is finally seeing the light of day. And what a tripped out, acid soaked, free-pop-jazz-rock odyssey it is! Recorded in 1968 by a lineup that included Irmin Schmidt, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit who a year later would make their debut as Can with the release of Monster Movie. Listening to these sounds one for sure can start to hear the seeds of what would become Krautrock legend, but this also shows a much more fried, disjointed and mind altering side to these way ahead of their time music makers. While mostly an instrumental affair that at times reminds us of the equally colorful and fucked up Jean Claude Vannier concept album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, there are a few tracks which have vocals courtesy of Irmin Schmidt, but the true show stopper is when Rosy Rosy, a film actress in Germany at the time takes to the mic for "Kamerasong" a track we imagine folks like Broadcast and Stereolab have played on repeat a billion times (like we have!). While a few tracks like that do show and hint at the more melodic, song based side of Can that would emerge brightly on records like Ege Bamyasi and Tago Mago, lots of Agilok & Blubbo is much more about sprawling, scrappy, tripped out and fucked up delight that modern day colorful noise makers like Kemialliset Ystavat and Sunburned Hand Of The Man would drop their jaws in awe and take notes as they listened. What makes the record so enjoyable is how its paced, just when things have gotten way deconstructed and abstract they snap into more of a catchy, driving melody and then continue on in more bizarre and outer dimensions. Warped, damaged and engaging in all the right ways!
MPEG Stream: "Es Zieht Herauf"
MPEG Stream: "Kamerasong"
MPEG Stream: "Michele Ist Da"

ISIDORE DUCASSE s/t (Blackest Rainbow) lp 17.98
Super limited new lp from the duo, Isidore Ducasse, which is Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (Root Strata, Tarentel, etc.) and his ex-Tarentel partner Trevor Montgomery. Named for the 19th century French poet better known by his pen name Comte de Lautreamont, this unit was originally formed to create the soundtrack for a Western, and while the film never materialized, the eventual soundtrack, this record right here, works just fine on its own, being darkly evocative and well able to conjure up visions of some lost West in the minds of the listeners.
Definitely mining territory similar to groups like Earth and Barn Owl, the vibe is dusty and windswept, desolate and dreamlike, opening with chiming melodies, delicate and hushed, over soft swells of tape hiss and amp buzz, the record slowly unfolding as a series of hazy, shimmery drones, all moonlit and washed out, peppered with languorous twang, streaks of warm fuzz and deep low end thrum. Stretched out atmospheres that drift from lush layered buzz, to soaring string like majesty, swoonsome melodies surfacing amidst slow swirling clouds of soft focus distortion. There are moments where the record veers into way more abstract territory, with the duo capable of conjuring up some sweet cosmic dronemusic or more minimal abstract drift, and those moments definitely have their place, and do evoke some fantastic and mysterious tableaus that no doubt play out in whatever imaginary western these sounds now accompany, and there is enough of those sounds that this will no doubt hit the spot for those into drone/drift minimalism, but the core of the record remains a dark twang flecked drift, a dreamy, otherworldly ambience, a slo-mo avant country drift, that will no doubt appeal to fans of Barn Owl, Earth, Scenic, Morricone and the like. So nice.
Pressed on 140 gram vinyl, LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "Mesmeric And Savage"
MPEG Stream: "Early Thoroughfare"
MPEG Stream: "Here Lies A Youth... Of Consumption"
MPEG Stream: "Irrepressible Shudder"

JANKOWSKI, LECH Institute Benjamenta (Koninck) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In what may be an odd way of constructing a soundtrack, the Quay Brothers commissioned the soundtrack of their film Institute Benjamenta to be composed by Lech Jankowski who did not have the privilege to see a single frame of the film before writing the music. The Quay Brothers in turn took Jankowski's dark Polish folk/jazz for guitar, violin, double bass, and minimal percussion and sculpted the film around the score.

JARRE, JEAN-MICHEL Les Granges Brulees (OST) (Dreyfus) cd 11.98
Somewhere right now Thom Yorke is blushing, now that this 1973 soundtrack has been reissued. Well, that's our speculation anyway, 'cause the main theme sounds SO MUCH like a Radiohead song (which one, we haven't quite figured out. Not "Paranoid Android" but close.) At any rate, this was either a big inspiration to Radiohead or it's just a marvellous coincidence. You'll hear it for yourself we're sure. Thom certainly needs to hear this if he hasn't already (as we suspect). And it's not just the melody of this soundtrack's main leit motif, but the singing voice itself. A French female doing wordless ah ah ahs -- play it back to back with Radiohead and you'll swear it's Mr. Yorke's famous falsetto. But that's only part of the reason this soundtrack is so fascinating. It's also a very very early electronica effort by a young Jean-Michel Jarre, later in the '80s to become well-known as a New Age superstar famed for spectacular multi-media shows. In the seventies, though, his output could be considered credible electronica pioneering. 1977's Oxygene is a pretty cool album after all. But this was before even that, and it's way more extreme. Truly jarring electronic sound that's hard to reconcile with the idea of "background" music in film! And Les Granges Brulees was not, as far as we're aware, a horror or science fiction flick where such might make sense. As far as we can tell, this Jean Chapot directed movie was a mystery / romance (staring Alain Delon btw). Certainly the vocals are romantic, and much of the rest of Jarre's crankier-than-Kraftwerk electronics are suspenseful, a la Goblin. One track breaks the mood a little bit -- "Zig-zag" must be from a scene where the characters visit a circus or something, as it's got that Jean-Jacques Perrey zaniness to it. But most of this is interplay between the haunting theme and freaky electronic fx. A very cool, out of the blue reissue, forshadowing Kid A some thirty years ago!
MPEG Stream: "La Chanson Des Granges Brulees"
MPEG Stream: "Une Morte Dans La Neige"

JAY, JEREMY Dreamland (Saint Ives) lp 13.98
Awesome instrumental score that Jeremy Jay created for a short film called Dreamland. Lots of moody and sensual piano playing. So rad!

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"

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

JORGE, SEU The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (Hollywood) cd 17.98
For those of you who were left craving more of Seu Jorge's dulcet tones after you exhausted your soundtrack cd to Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic (on which he covers a bunch of David Bowie songs in Portuguese)... here's the complete collection of his acoustic interpretations that he recorded for the movie (note: some of them did already appear on the soundtrack release). Geez, this would've made a great summer album, wouldn't it have?! Ah well, we might just have to bring a little of that season's warmth into the winter months... either that or resort to tucking a copy away 'til next June!
MPEG Stream: "Life On Mars?"
MPEG Stream: "Ziggy Stardust"
MPEG Stream: "Quicksand"

JULIAN, DON Savage! On The Streets Or On The Sheets He's A Savage! Super Soul Soundtrack (OST) (Southbound) cd 15.98

JUNO OST (Rhino) cd 14.98
Haven't seen the movie yet, but we think Juno's soundtrack cd is like a really good mixtape from your closest pal! A variety of old and new faves that pushes all the right nostalgia buttons. It includes Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes", Belle & Sebastian's "Expectations" and "Piazza, New York Catcher", The Kinks' "A Well Respected Man", Buddy Holly's Dearest", Velvet Underground's "Sticking With You", Moldy Peaches' "Anyone Else But You", Cat Power covering the 1959 tune "Sea Of Love" (previously covered by The Honeydrippers), Sonic Youth doing The Carpenters' "Superstar", and a bunch by former Moldy Peach Kimya Dawson... who must be pretty stoked that the star of the film suggested that her character would be a fan, thus leading to Dawson's inclusion on this soundtrack and a big boost to her career.
MPEG Stream: MOLDY PEACHES "Anyone Else But You"
MPEG Stream: VELVET UNDERGROUND "Sticking With You"

KADANE, MATT AND BUBBA Music From The Film Hell House (Pleximusic) cd 10.98
First things first, have you seen the film? It's an unsettling documentary about the planning and production of a "hell house" in Texas, a Halloween haunted house with ulterior sermonizing motives. That said, this soundtrack may certainly be enjoyed without viewing the film... particularly if you're a fan of Bedhead and The New Year. Followers of said groups are undoubtably already aware that the music was composed by band members (and brothers) Matt and Bubba Kadane. Much of the music is indeed of the drowsy drifting meditative variety for which those groups are well-known, Haunting gentle string plucking, melting bass tones, faintly ominous drones fill the air for most of the brief eighteen minutes.
MPEG Stream: "Speaking In Tongues"
MPEG Stream: "Harvest"

KELLY, WALT WITH NORMAN MONATH Songs Of The Pogo (Reaction Recordings) cd 14.98
Soundtrack inspired by early comic strip. Wacky!

KID KOALA Basin Street Blues (Ninja Tune) cd ep 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay! This is Kid Koala doing what Kid Koala does best, taking recognizable genre musics and just tweaking them enough to add a woozy modern effect, a li'l bit of scartching here, some pretty glitching there. This is a song taken from his forthcoming album, and is a New Orleans style jazz number made even more poignant and sweet with his signature touches AND it comes with a fantastic video you can play on your computer. The video, made by Monkmus, features an animated funeral procession that turns into an unlikely street celebration with a surprise ending. The other track, which presumably won't be on the album, is called "Vacation Island" and features the Kid doing that magic again, this time to an old Martin-Denny-ish tropical exotica, but with beats. So cute and nice. Not many left either...
MPEG Stream: "Basin Street Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Vacation Island"

KID KOALA Basin Street Blues (Ninja Tune) 7" 7.98
We also have a few of these on vinyl, not long for this world. Koala fans, act fast. Unlike the cd version (which we still have couple copies of), there's no dvd video on it (well, maybe there is, but we didn't try to put the 7" in our computer!) but it's vinyl and thus even more collectable. Our review:
Yay! This is Kid Koala doing what Kid Koala does best, taking recognizable genre musics and just tweaking them enough to add a woozy modern effect, a li'l bit of scartching here, some pretty glitching there. This is a song taken from his forthcoming album, and is a New Orleans style jazz number made even more poignant and sweet with his signature touches. The other track, which presumably won't be on the album, is called "Vacation Island" and features the Kid doing that magic again, this time to an old Martin-Denny-ish tropical exotica, but with beats. So cute and nice.
MPEG Stream: "Basin Street Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Vacation Island"

KID LOCO The Graffiti Artist (OST) (Mettray) cd 14.98
If the cd packaging didn't clue you in that this was a Kid Loco release, you'd probably never be able guess. Nothing jumps out and bites you on the nose, nothing give you even a hint of distinct Loco-ness, nor does it really draw your attention at all. Haven't seen the film yet, so unfortunately we can't comment on how the audio matches up with the visuals or storyline... but the music is generally slowly shifting moods which don't have any 'events' to sync up anyway. So this soundtrack for the film The Graffiti Artist does serve its purpose as background music very well, providing unobtrusive ambience and an occasional shuffling trip hop beat. Taken on its own, it might disappoint folks who've been eagerly awaiting fresh funky Kid Loco action. It's a far less sexy and more sedate listening. Actually crediting this cd to Kid Loco is a bit misleading because although he did handle all of the recording, mixing and producing, in fact the music was written by Kid Bravo and played by Tim Keegan (guitar), Jerome Bensoussan (trumpet, clarinet) and Erik Jansson (Rhodes keyboards)... and they did a fine job!
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

KILL BILL VOL. 1 (OST) (A Band Apart/Maverick/WMG Soundtracks) cd 17.98
Still haven't seen the film -- Windy sez it's good though -- but we've had the soundtrack in stock for a little while and thought we'd go ahead and list it 'cause it's got some pretty great stuff on it. Basically, this isn't a full-blown score by some Hollywood film composer, but rather a Quentin Tarantino mix tape of sorts. And a rather eclectic, but well-programmed, mix tape indeed! There's everything from The RZA to Zamfir, from Nancy Sinatra to Neu! on here. Some of it was indeed written for the film (The RZA's cuts, including bonus kung-fu fight scene music and sound effects) while some of the tracks were taken from *other* films and TV sources (like Quincy Jones' Ironside theme). There's some surprising selections, including a ten-minute 1977 disco-funk version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" that's a great centerpiece to what's a very hip, well-informed compilation, demonstrating the good taste of Quentin Tarantino, or his music supervisor at least. (Quentin Tarantino -- good taste? What?) Anyway, this works fine as a stand-alone album, and no doubt will bring all sorts of visual, gory remembrances to those who've seen the Kill Bill flick itself.
MPEG Stream: NANCY SINATRA "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
MPEG Stream: SANTA ESMERALDA "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

KILL BILL, VOL 2 (OST) (Maverick) cd 16.98
Another sonic souvenir for Tarantino film fans...and, like the soundtrack to Vol. 1, this stands on its own as an excellent 'mix tape' even for those who haven't seen the Kill Bill flicks. Whatever you might think of Tarantino's indulgent exercise(s) in revenge fantasy and cinematic homage, you can't argue with such soundtrack selections as Johnny Cash, Ennio Morricone, Charlie Feathers, and the RZA (among others).
MPEG Stream: LUIS BACALOV "Summertime Killer"
MPEG Stream: MALCOLM MCLAREN "About Her"

KIRCHIN, BASIL Abominable Dr. Phibes (Perseverance Records) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There's been quite a resurgence in folks' interest in the career and records of Basil Kirchin of late. Not sure if it's his inclusion on Nurse With Wound's legendary list of influences, or just more access to lost recordings, but we're pleased as punch either way. Kirchin was not JUST a legendary outsider producer of obscure musical madness -- like most of us he had to pay the bills. Not many of us are lucky enough to pay the bills by scoring one of the greatest 'horror' films ever, The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Unlike the insanity of his legendary Quantum record reviewed a few months back, Kirchin pretty much plays it straight here. Well, as straight as a mad musical genius can. From creepy pipe organ overtures, to dreamy, flute-flecked fantasy ambience, to grand sweeping cinematic epics, with pizzicatto strings and soaring strings to minor key spine tingling creep-outs. Fans of his more obscure recordings won't find the weirdness they may have been expecting, but fans of Morricone, Barry, Nicolai and their ilk will be quite pleased. Extensive liner notes detail the convoluted history of the film and the soundtrack.
MPEG Stream: "War March Of The Priests"
MPEG Stream: "Dr. Phibes Waltz / Cage Full Of Bats"
MPEG Stream: "Vulnavia"

KIRCHIN, BASIL Primitive London (OST) (Trunk) cd 16.98
Trunk Records comes through again with still more wonderful unheard sonic mysteries from the seemingly more prolific than anyone thought Basil Kirchin. So far we've been treated to various soundtracks, lots of library music, sonic sketches, so here's another piece of the Kirchin puzzle, an unreleased score for an infamous 1965 British exploitation film concerning death, birth, beatniks and wife swapping, and judging from the booklet, quite a bit of nudity, not to mention reenactments of the Jack The Ripper murders, sweaty men in saunas, topless ladies, and apparently "the infamous chicken scene". Hmmm... Guess we'll just have to let the music to the talking, and oh it does, swinging sixties jazz, laced with haunting Theremins, marimba melodies, moody smokey ballads, hazy, warbly ambience, the sounds groovy, funky, fuzzy, jazzy, creepy, bits of whirring organ drone butted up against soaring strings, mysterious ominous low end thrum blossoming into almost Joe Meek-ish sounding processed/looped ambience, long drawn out high end shimmer, Eastern sounding buzz and drone and drift that definitely sounds ahead of its time, so incredible, hard to believe this stuff has been hidden away until now.
And if that weren't enough, included as a bonus is the soundtrack to the film The Freelance, a 1971 gangland thriller starring Ian McShane, featuring a funky very seventies sounding score, heavy on the jazz, the free jazz especially, with some surprisingly abstract out there freakouts, that have us dying to see the sights that go with these sounds!
As with most Trunk releases, lots of pix, and plenty of interesting/informative/humorous liner notes.
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 1"
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 2"
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 4"
MPEG Stream: "The Freelance - Abstract Jazz 1"

KIRCHIN, BASIL Primitive London (OST) (Trunk) lp 17.98
Trunk Records comes through again with still more wonderful unheard sonic mysteries from the seemingly more prolific than anyone thought Basil Kirchin. So far we've been treated to various soundtracks, lots of library music, sonic sketches, so here's another piece of the Kirchin puzzle, an unreleased score for an infamous 1965 British exploitation film concerning death, birth, beatniks and wife swapping, and judging from the booklet, quite a bit of nudity, not to mention reenactments of the Jack The Ripper murders, sweaty men in saunas, topless ladies, and apparently "the infamous chicken scene". Hmmm... Guess we'll just have to let the music to the talking, and oh it does, swinging sixties jazz, laced with haunting Theremins, marimba melodies, moody smokey ballads, hazy, warbly ambience, the sounds groovy, funky, fuzzy, jazzy, creepy, bits of whirring organ drone butted up against soaring strings, mysterious ominous low end thrum blossoming into almost Joe Meek-ish sounding processed/looped ambience, long drawn out high end shimmer, Eastern sounding buzz and drone and drift that definitely sounds ahead of its time, so incredible, hard to believe this stuff has been hidden away until now.
And if that weren't enough, included as a bonus is the soundtrack to the film The Freelance, a 1971 gangland thriller starring Ian McShane, featuring a funky very seventies sounding score, heavy on the jazz, the free jazz especially, with some surprisingly abstract out there freakouts, that have us dying to see the sights that go with these sounds!
As with most Trunk releases, lots of pix, and plenty of interesting/informative/humorous liner notes.
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 1"
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 2"
MPEG Stream: "Primitive London 4"
MPEG Stream: "The Freelance - Abstract Jazz 1"

KLUTE / ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (MICHAEL SMALL / DAVID SHIRE) OST (Film Score Monthly) cd 17.98
Recently one of us here at Aquarius happened to rent and watch the classic psycho-sexual thriller Klute for the very first time. That noirish 1971 film stars Jane Fonda as a neurotic New York call girl being stalked by an obsessed john, and Donald Sutherland as a straight laced investigator attempting to solve a missing persons case, to which Fonda's character may hold the key.
It became apparent that not only was the movie indeed quite excellent, but so was its beautiful, sinister, sometimes groovy soundtrack, quite integral to the film's effectiveness. A quick search revealed that, yay, the Klute soundtrack is currently available on cd, released by the same label responsible for recent Record Of The Week, the 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T!
So of course we ordered it in, immediately. What with the Klute soundtrack's ominous atmospheres, occasional lush sentimentality, and also very '70s psychedelic vibes (the discotheque dancing scenes!), we know it's going to appeal to a bunch of you. Heck, much of this music's worthy of a Dario Argento giallo, and also has a passage that sounds more like an Eastern-inspired, krautrocky jam session. It was composer Michael Small's first Hollywood commission, and he innovated a more intimate, modern approach to suspense film scoring, as the very detailed liner notes explain. Ethnic instrumentation, languid jazz trumpet (leading the melancholic "Love Theme From Klute"), and acid rock guitar are all elements of this soundtrack, though what's most common to most of the twenty nine Klute cues indexed here (48'51" total time) is a shivery combination of eerie tinkling piano, sudden skittery percussion, and breathy, whispery wordless female vocals, the latter performed by singer Sally Stevens, who was also heard that same year on Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack to Dirty Harry. Those moody cuts, like "On The Roof", "Moonwall", and "Bree Followed On Street", are both quite lovely and downright creepy... play this alone late at night and we know you'll be checking to see if your doors are locked!
If you've never seen Klute, by all means do so, it's a great movie, with Fonda's performance in particular quite impressive. But whether you've seen the movie or not, the soundtrack is one of those that can be enjoyed by itself, apart from the story and visuals.
It's paired here on this two-on-one disc with the soundtrack for 1976 Watergate drama All The President's Men, composed by the great David Shire (The Conversation, The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3). Naturally, it's also pretty good! The movie ties in with Klute as another example of paranoid seventies thriller cinema, and also shares the same director. Its soundtrack, while not quite as idiosyncratically striking as that of Klute, is certainly cool to have on this disc, offering 30 more minutes (24 tracks) of suspenseful sounds... And while not as "sexy" in subject matter as Klute, we'll note that All The Presidents Men, both film and book, contains a prime example of the cultural mainstreaming of porn in America, with "Deep Throat" famously being used as the code name for the Woodward and Bernstein's mysterious White House informant.
The label, Film Score Monthly, does their usual exceedingly expert job in presenting these two soundtracks, the extensive notes in the thick, full color illustrated cd booklet providing commentary well versed in both music theory and cinematic history. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: KLUTE "Main Title"
MPEG Stream: KLUTE "Casting Office"
MPEG Stream: KLUTE "First Disco"
MPEG Stream: KLUTE "Bree Followed On Street"
MPEG Stream: ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN "To Deep Throat I"
MPEG Stream: ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN "CREEP Sequence I"