V/A From L.A. With Love (ArtDontSleep) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A rare occurrence happened the other day when LA producer and promoter Andrew Lojero came by the shop selling this collection he put together of underground L.A. artists from the hip and difficult-to-classify hybrid genres of soul, jazz and electronica. We recognized a few of the artists such as the Madlib produced Yesterday's New Quintet and Sound Directions as well as Flying Lotus and Georgia Anne Muldrow, so we bought a couple and when we put it on in the store, two people came up and immediately bought both copies we had. Sensing a hit on our hands, we called Andrew up while he was still in town and ordered a bunch more and it has been selling rather steadily without much assistance from us. But we're listing it anyway, because it's really, really good.
Not so much a compilation as it is a collection of specially made tracks that showcase the sunny multifaceted vitality of the urban LA scene. Tripped out broken beats, lounge-y interludes, jazzy R&B inflected grooves, sometimes edgy, sometimes mellow and all sounding remarkably fresh. Along with each track, Lojero asked contemporary LA artists to design a unique piece of art, all of which are featured in the accompanying booklet. 17 tracks of blissful awesomeness awaits you. Don't hesitate.
MPEG Stream: FROM LEAF TO FEATHER "Night Sun"
MPEG Stream: BLANK BLUE "All The Shallow Deep"
MPEG Stream: SOUND DIRECTION "Wildflower"
MPEG Stream: FREE MORAL AGENTS "Sound At Sea"

V/A From L.A. With Love (ArtDontSleep) 2lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A rare occurrence happened the other day when LA producer and promoter Andrew Lojero came by the shop selling this collection he put together of underground L.A. artists from the hip and difficult-to-classify hybrid genres of soul, jazz and electronica. We recognized a few of the artists such as the Madlib produced Yesterday's New Quintet and Sound Directions as well as Flying Lotus and Georgia Anne Muldrow, so we bought a couple and when we put it on in the store, two people came up and immediately bought both copies we had. Sensing a hit on our hands, we called Andrew up while he was still in town and ordered a bunch more and it has been selling rather steadily without much assistance from us. But we're listing it anyway, because it's really, really good.
Not so much a compilation as it is a collection of specially made tracks that showcase the sunny multifaceted vitality of the urban LA scene. Tripped out broken beats, lounge-y interludes, jazzy R&B inflected grooves, sometimes edgy, sometimes mellow and all sounding remarkably fresh. Along with each track, Lojero asked contemporary LA artists to design a unique piece of art, all of which are featured in the accompanying booklet. 17 tracks of blissful awesomeness awaits you. Don't hesitate.
MPEG Stream: FROM LEAF TO FEATHER "Night Sun"
MPEG Stream: BLANK BLUE "All The Shallow Deep"
MPEG Stream: SOUND DIRECTION "Wildflower"
MPEG Stream: FREE MORAL AGENTS "Sound At Sea"

V/A From the Closet to the Charts: Queer Noises 1961-1978 (Trikont) cd 16.98
Would you rather fight than swish? If so, we think you may be protesting too much, as this compilation of gay themed tunes contests. This hilarious and thankfully varied comp from the fine folks at Trikont showcases the prevalence of "the love that dare not speak its name" in songs from the early sixties to the late seventies. Starting with Jose Saria (aka. The Widow Norton) who held court at the Black Cat in San Francisco in the 50's and ending with Sylvester's uplifting Disco classic "You Make Me Feel", the 24 songs here range from novelty tunes ("Florence of Arabia"), spoken word (Rod McKuen!) queer subtext in songs by "straight" bands (The Kinks, The Ramones) and just rare and amazing songs by Curt Boettcher, The Twinkeyz, and Black Randy & The Metro Squad that are well worth the price of admission no matter where your proclivities lie. Check it out, we won't tell.
Extensive liner notes in both English and German.
MPEG Stream: B. BUBBA "I'd Rather Fight than Swish"
MPEG Stream: CURT BOETTCHER "Astral Cowboy"
MPEG Stream: THE TWINKEYZ "Aliens In Our Midst"

V/A From The Entrails To The Dirt (End All Life) cd 17.98
We figured that since we were reviewing two collections of old Deathspell Omega stuff on this list, that we oughta get a few of these back in, as a few folks probably missed out on this amazing comp when it first came out, featuring as it does excluive Deathspell stuff as well as exclusive music from Antaeus, Mutiilation and Malicious Secrets!
Originally released as a series of SUPER limited split vinyl eps, a 7", a 10" and a 12", each teaming up bizarre mysterious French black metallers Malicious Secrets with some of their more well known countrymen: Antaeus, Mutiilation and Deathspell Omega. Holy shit! You might as well stop reading right now and order one of these as fast as you can. You shouldn't even need us to tell you how totally fucking mindblowing this comp is. Antaeus offer up a short buzzing blast of ultra grim blackness, a fuzzed out blur of droning black metal, downtuned guitars, blown out lightning fast blast beats, guttural growls, the whole thing a white hot lo-fi blast of utter brutality. Then of course there's Mutiilation, who not only offer up a reverb drenched burst of atmospheric blackened buzz, also super lo-fi, blasting and buzzing, and hauntingly creepy crawly like it was recorded in a cave or at the bottom of a well, but they also do a cover of Sinatra's "My Way"! But you wouldn't necessarily know it, the croonsome original becomes a harsh pitchfork to the head, dripping with thick droney guitars and shrieking black howls, although it does have a super cool, riffy sort of un-metal breakdown in the middle. Most of you will need this for the final track, a brand new, exclusive to this comp 20 minute epic from Deathspell Omega, rife with impossibly obtuse riffs, weird atonal guitar skree, super complex rhythms, haunting ambient dronescapes, weird math-metal breakdowns, and of course some of the fiercest fucked up black metal ever. Woah.
As if that weren't enough, let's not forget the three tracks from Malicious Secrets, each of their three tracks from the splits are totally dizzying swirls of ultra fucked up, BIZARRE black metal, riffs are bent and twisted into impossible shapes, blasting drums are sprayed wildly all over the place, each song is a serpentine, non-linear sonic mindfuck, a huge spastic black churning whirlpool, with little bits of riff or little streaks of blast beat surfacing now and again, while over the whole thing the vocalist moans and groans, low and haunting, each syllable stretched into long drawn out bellows, sometimes breaking into hacking coughs or throat clearing before once again returning to an utterly agonizing wail. So totally fucked up and so totally amazing!
MPEG Stream: MUTIILATION "My Way"
MPEG Stream: DEATHSPELL OMEGA "Mass Grave Aesthetics"

V/A From The Kitchen Archives No. 3, Amplified: New Music Meets Rock 1981-1986 (The Kitchen) cd 21.00
If you dig the two New York Noise comps that Soul Jazz released recently, here comes another comp that is an absolute must have. While the Noise on those aforementioned comps actually leaned more towards the rhythmic and even dancy side of the early 80's NY scene, the newest installment in the Kitchen Archives series gets a little more down and dirty. It kicks off with two very rare versions of early Sonic Youth tracks the first featuring lyrics, vocals and guitar contributed by Michael Gira! (Swans, Angels of Light, Young God Records), then Swans jump in with two tracks of their own, from back in their pre-Jarboe existence. Then it's Arthur Russell time! We can never get enough of the totally wild and wide range of sounds Russell created in in his all too short life. His tracks here focus more on his no-wave minimalist, rough around the edges and completely haunting sounding as opposed to his later dancefloor leanings. And no comp focusing on early '80s sonic exploration in NYC would be complete without Christian Marclay whose turntable manipulations would foreshadow so much of the 'turntablism' and experimental music in general that was to follow in the upcoming decades. Rhys Chatham represents with his classic "Guitar Trio" and the disc is rounded out by a free jazz influenced rock-out track by Elliott Sharp. Another totally tasty slice of that early '80s NY underground that we can't stop eating up.
MPEG Stream: ARTHUR RUSSELL "Hiding Your Present From You"
MPEG Stream: SONIC YOUTH "World Looks Red"
MPEG Stream: RHYS CHATHAM "Guitar Trio"

V/A From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music (Warner Bros) 3cd 49.00
Compiled by the venerable Country Music Foundation, this features Ray Charles, Ivory Joe Hunter, Al Green, Charley Pride, Aaron Neville, Ted Hawkins, Stoney Edwards, Professor Longhair, Etta James, Joe Tex, Leadbelly, the Supremes (!), Wynonie Harris, Solomon Burke, and a host of lesser known black country music musicians.

V/A Fruited Other Surfaces (Vermiform) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Experimental hardcore, power violence, noise, crust, etc. comp--starring Amps For Christ, Bastard Noise, Bullet In The Head, Drop Dead, Lightning Bolt, Men's Recovery Project, Rubber O Cement, Tit Wrench, and many others.

V/A Fubar: The Album (Aquarius Records Canada) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Miss Cup has been raging about it for months. Allan finally got a hold of an import dvd of it (and a t-shirt!). Andee's just about to watch it. And we've got the import soundtrack compilation in stock now!
Sooo, what's with all the hubbub?! Well, the center of attention is a mockumentary indie film which may be described as "Driver 23" meets "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" meets "American Movie", but... Canadian. It's all about the tragicomic misadventures of two Molson-chugging burnouts (think a Canadian Bill and Ted, ten years older and wasted most of the time) spewing stoner wisdom like "turn up the good, turn down the suck!"
If that piqued your interest (or not), give the following news a moment's ponder too...
This cd contains a couple of extra special songs performed by AQ ultra-fave Canucks the New Pornographers *and* Sloan (psst, they even do a Rush song)! This very well could be the only peep you'll be hearing from those NPs until they unleash their new album sometime next year, and who knows when we'll be hearing from those Sloan boys? So if you need your fix... FUBAR is where it's at! It's also where you'll find NoMeansNo, Chixdiggit, The Sweet, Girlschool and more. For the most part the concept here is Canadian indie/pop punk bands doing covers of Canadian rock/metal classics from the past: thus, NoMeansNo does Neil Young, GOB tackles Kick Axe's "Heavy Metal Shuffle", Sum 41 performs the Helix anthem "Rock You", while other bands cover April Wine, Loverboy, Toronto, BTO, etc. And lets not forget he-man Canadian metaller Thor (a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek 80's relic himself) doing the film's catchy theme, "FUBAR Is A Super Rocker". Throw in some originals from Creeper (loser metal band of Fubar star "Dean") and some out-of-context dialogue from the film, and what other album could possibly be more fun and surreal?? ...Know what else? These filmmakers received funding from the Canadian government to do this. Fill yer boots, eh!
Finally as a little aside, we'd like to clarify that the Aquarius Records who released this compilation is not us, but a Canadian label with the same name. But, unlike most things on their label, we'd be proud to have put this out ourselves if we were a label... Canada + Comedy + Metal + The New Pornographers + Helix + Thor + Sloan + Kick Axe = Aquarius Record of the Week Big Time!!!
RealAudio clip: THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS "Your Daddy Don't Know"
RealAudio clip: TERRY & DEAN "Shotgun A Few Beers"
RealAudio clip: GOB "Heavy Metal Shuffle"

V/A Fujirekodsu (Fujirekodsu) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What the hell am I listening to? That's the reaction to a few minutes spent with this comp in the cd player. It's a very weird mix of stuff! Fujirekodsu is a new label set up by Tokyo's Cha-Bashira and Cologne's A-Musik labels to release unknown and unusual music from Japan and Europe (and all the artists on here, Japanese or not, either live or have spent time in Japan). This new label/project has received some assistance from the Tokyo record shop Los Apson, who some might recall released a bizarre compilation of their own back in '96 or so. We are told that this is sort of part II of that, and it is equally crazed. Don't get the idea that this is your typical Japanese noise thing, as it's not particularily noisy in the Merzbow sense; rather, there's a lot of different musical styles on here, including electronic groove, installation sounds, "actionism", lo-fi pop, and odd glitch-works. Nothing remotely ordinary however. Some of the names involved (a few that folks might know, but not many!): Why Sheep?, Smurf Otoko Gumi, Susumu Yokota, Christophe Charles/Brandon Labelle/Steve Roden, Q of Q, Noise Ramones (Eye and Yoshimi of Boredoms), Evil Moisture, Hair Stylistics, AOA, Rudolpf Eb.er, Nagata Kazunao, Tennessees, American Cherry, Tapes Klar!, L?K?O?, Vagamoron, many more. There's 29 tracks of this insanity. Pretty cool!

V/A Fun From None: Live From the No Fun Fest 2004 & 2005 (Load) dvd 17.98

V/A Funk Mundial (Man Recordings) cd 17.98
Awesome collection of singles originally released as 12"s in Man Recordings Funk Mundial series. This is chock full of high energy Baile Funk done so totally right! Daniel Haaksman who started this series has a great ear for the best of the bangers, so it's kind of like getting someone to cut the weaker stuff out and hand you sixteen of the most sizzling, grooving thrillers that have come out of the Baile Funk scene over the last few years.
We were only familiar with a few of these artists like Crookers and Chancha Via Circuito but all the new artists to our ears for sure have been making us shake our stuff. Mixing elements of tech, hip-hop, booty bass, rave culture, all with a frenetic energy that's so damn infectious. We love how this scene seems to be mixed equally with fierce females and charismatic males. While still full on crazy fun, these tracks come off a bit more musical and memorable then the tracks on the Rio Baile Funk comps put out by Essay, we still love those comps but right now Funk Mundial is giving us the goods in a way we can't resist!
MPEG Stream: CROOKERS FEAT. MC LEKA "Para De Gracinha"
MPEG Stream: CHANCHA VIA CIRCUITO FEAT. MC PRETINHO "Buçetao"
MPEG Stream: SEIJI FEAT. MC DOLORES "Todo Mundo"

V/A Funkrock (BBE) cd 16.98
Mixmaster of the moment DJ Spinna shows his impeccable taste in "rock breaks and guitars for funky people" with this compilation (put together by Spinna and Monty Burns). The '70s ride again with the choice cuts found here: tracks by Sly Stone ("Trip To Your Heart", which you'll recognize from its sampled use by LL Cool J on "Mama Said Knock You Out"), Santana, Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, P-Funk diva Ruth Copeland, Buddy Miles, Betty Davis, The Moog Machine (a funky synth treatment of music from Hair!), Zoo, Yellow Sunshine, Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger, Steve Winwood, and more -- even Can (who were heavily influenced by James Brown's rhythm section after all). What can we say, this stuff's all great. And don't worry, it's not mixed or scratched or any of that stuff, this is a great selection of original tracks, some we were already familiar with and some we're now glad to have heard (like Babe Ruth's funk-meets-spaghetti western Morricone adaption "The Mexican"). Only one question: what, no Jimmy Castor?

V/A Funky Frauleins (Bureau B) cd 17.98
For all the stereotypes about how serious and rigid German culture is, we love how so many compilations in recent years have revealed just the opposite, revealing how damn fun and playful so much of the music bursting out of Germany during the '60s and '70s really was. We're talking full on go-go kaleidoscopic cocktail party galore! Much in the spirit of like minded compilations like The In-Kraut series and Disco Deutchland, Funky Frauleins puts its fun focus on the colorful groovy, funky, and disco sounds of the beat queens of Germany from 1968-1978. Just as fun, sassy and spirited as their French go-go counterparts but very much in the '70s with instrumentation that would sound right at home on a game show, in a porno, or even especially at a full on dance party. We only knew a few of these ladies: Su Kramer, Hildegard Knef and Caterina Valente, so we were introduced to a bunch of other super fun vixens. The booklet offers up great photos and bios of all the artists. This is one of those turn off your brain and step into a sweet and delicious cocktail haze kind of records. And we love it.
MPEG Stream: TOPSY KüPPERS "Sagen Sie, Frau Zimmermann"
MPEG Stream: HILDEGARD KNEF "Ich Wart Auf Die Nacht"
MPEG Stream: SHIRLEY THOMPSON "Goldene Insel"

V/A Funky Funky Chicago (Funky Delicacies) cd 15.98

V/A Funky Funky Detroit (Funky Delicacies) cd 15.98
A '70s funk/soul rarities comp called Funky Funky Detroit has gotta be good, right? Or, to put it another way, it had better be good! And this one sure enough lives up to the Motor City's reputation for funk supremacy. It's a collection of rare and unreleased tracks from the vaults of the Big Hit, Northern and Sport record labels, circa '67-'78. Big Hit and Northern were both owned by Johnnie Mae Matthews, a talented Detroit soul veteran also responsible for the production and quite a lot of the songwriting on the cuts found here. She also was the mother of Kaiya and Artwell Matthews, musicians who co-founded what seems to have been a pretty bad-ass funk band called Black Nasty, based on the six tracks they contribute here. Along with Black Nasty, this 17-track comp includes such artists as The Dramatics, Little Daddy Walton, Herbie Thompson, Calvin Williams, and Lynn Day -- with Black Nasty backing up some of these singers as well. So it's quite a funky family affair documented here. For fans of the funk, definitely worth checking out, especially if you liked that Midwest Funk comp we reviewed a while back on Jazzman. Good stuff to get down with.
MPEG Stream: BLACK NASTY "Keep On Stepping"
MPEG Stream: LYNN DAY "Bit Off More (Than I Can Chew)"

V/A Funky Funky New Orleans 4 (Funky Delicious) cd 15.98
We wouldn't really consider ourselves experts on the early 70's funk scene in New Orleans but after getting schooled by this comp we can say we like how it sounds a whole lot! With a collection of soul/funk pleasers from 1969-1973 this is the kind of comp that once you press play all of a sudden your body start swaying and your head starts boppin. With not a stinker in the bunch you get a great glimpse of what it might have been like to be hunkered down in a dark seedy New Orleans nightclub in 1971 while groups with names like Brotherhood, Trick Bag and The Brothers Two, offered up some nice down home, funky funky stuff.
MPEG Stream: BROTHERHOOD "The Monkey That Became President"
MPEG Stream: FANTOMS "Turn me On"
MPEG Stream: LARRY JONES "Funky Jaws (instrumental)"

V/A Funky Funky New York (Funky Delicious) cd 15.98

V/A Funky Kingston: Reggae Dancefloor Grooves (Trojan) cd 14.98

V/A Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986 (Strut) cd 16.98
We're so thrilled that the Strut label seems to have come out of hiding recently with not only another great Disco Not Disco comp but now this highly essential collection of jammers from The Compass Point studios in the Bahamas as well. Compass Point was where Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame held court with a house band and production team spearheaded by Sly & Robbie. This collection brings some of the tightest and catchiest jams recorded at Compass Point from 1980-86. Whether it's Grace Jones, Talking Heads, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Gwen Guthrie (mixed by Larry Levan!), Ian Durry or Chaz Jankel, they were all reaching a creative and grooving peak during this magical era inside Compass Point. While Sly & Robbie have lent their skills to thousands of songs this batch really demonstrates that when they were at their best, those guys helped cultivate a whole new sound and feeling that brought elements of dub and Jamaician roots into disco, soul, funk and new wave.
We can't get enough Funky Nassau, just about every single day since this has arrived whoever's been working up front has been blasting this like crazy (if you've been in lately and now have the lines "I'm Spasticus! Autisticus!" stuck in your head, that's why!) and we're pretty sure this will start getting some heavy rotation on your stereo as well. So damn good!
MPEG Stream: CHAZ JANKEL FEAT. LAURA WEYMOUTH "Whisper"
MPEG Stream: GRACE JONES "My Jamaican Guy (12" Version)"
MPEG Stream: IAN DURY & THE SEVEN SEAS PLAYERS "Spasticus Autisticus"

V/A Funky Precedent, The (Loosegroove) cd 15.98
Funky compilation of turntablism, hip hop, soul, and more, all to benefit music education in urban public schools. Featuring Cut Chemist, Jurassic 5, The Beat Junkies, Ozomatli, Black Eyed Peas, Divine Styler, Aceyalone, and others.

V/A Future Sounds Of Jazz Volume 7 (Compost) cd 17.98

V/A Future Soundtrack For America (Barsuk) cd 12.98
How many reasons do you need to buy this amazing compilation? The fact that 100% of the proceeds go to non-profit progressive organisations "working to involve more Americans in our political process, to advocate for ordinary people and traditional American values, and to help keep the United States a country all of us can be proud of"? Or how about unreleased tracks by Death Cab For Cutie, Elliott Smith, Tom Waits, Old 97's, Fountains Of Wayne, They Might Be Giants, Nada Surf and more? Well, what about OK Go doing a killer version of the Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year"? Or Jimmy Eat World doing an super kick ass version of Guided By Voices' "Game Of Pricks"? Or live tracks from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bright Eyes, and The Flaming Lips. Or alternate versions of tracks by Blink 182, R.E.M., The Long Winters and more? I'll stop right there, because as far as reasons go, that's plenty! Definitely the best comp like this in a long while!
MPEG Stream: OK GO "This Will Be Our Year"
MPEG Stream: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE "This Temporary Life"
MPEG Stream: ELLIOTT SMITH "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Neccessity To Be Free"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol 5 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume Five has The Bram Rigg Sets, The Seven Dwarfs, Glass Candle, The Bittersweets and many more.
RealAudio clip: THE NOBLEMEN "She Still Thinks I Love Her"
RealAudio clip: CREATURES "Letters Of Love"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 2 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume two has teenage garage craziness from Dave Travis Extreme, John English & Lemondrops, Zorba & The Greeks, The Sunrisers, Soul Inc. The Amoeba, The Last Chapter, The Deepest Blue, The Backgrounds, The Graven Image, The Hackers, The Tracers, The Other Four, The Denims, Flowers, Fruits & Pretty Things, The Druids, The Search plus a lost song by The Traces of Time.
RealAudio clip: JOHN ENGLISH & LEMONDROPS "Just Dont Complain"
RealAudio clip: TRACES OF TIME "Oh Bob"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 4 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume four includes The Rock Shop's "Is That Your Halo," a previously unreleased Canterbury Fair track, Apperson Jackrabbit, The Menaces, and more.
RealAudio clip: TROJANS OF EVOL "Why Girl"
RealAudio clip: PRIMATES "She"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.6 (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume six is titled Come Into My World and has tracks from Thackeray Rocke, Those Guys, The Tasmanians, King James and The Royal Jesters, The Night People, The Insects, The Endd, and much more.
RealAudio clip: THACKERAY ROCKE "Bawling"
RealAudio clip: THOSE GUYS "Lookin' At You Behing The Glasses"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.7 (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume 7 garage by the Spirits of Blue Lightning, The Lazy Eggs, The Cindermen and others, including a rarity by a different, not-famous Ides of March.
RealAudio clip: THE SPIRITS OF BLUE LIGHTNING "Love Muscle"
RealAudio clip: PALACE GUARDS "Sorry"

V/A Fuzzy Felt Folk (Trunk) cd 16.98
This delightful new collection from the great British crate-digger Johnny Trunk focuses on the lighter and more whimsical obscurities of British Folk. Think a more kid-friendly Wicker Man Soundtrack-same spooky and wondrous undertones but without all the, er... shall we say, ribald subtext. There is definitely an acidy H.R. Pufnstuf vibe to some of the songs which made some of us imitate those overacting kids on Barney. In fact some of these songs were recorded for children's movement classes in the early seventies, using lots of zany instruments like penny-whistles, kazoos and ocarinas. While this is not strictly aimed at children (some songs like Basil Kirchin's sublime "I Start Counting" might be too slow for full kiddie enjoyment), we think parents would rather have their young kids listening to this stuff than crap like Barney or Raffi. Fans of "incredibly strange music", novelty records, and sixties and seventies folk-pop should check this too. Far out!
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "I Start Counting (Demo)"
MPEG Stream: THE BARBARA MOORE SINGERS "Singing Low"
MPEG Stream: REG TILSEY "The Troll"

V/A Fuzzy Felt Folk (Trunk) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This delightful new collection from the great British crate-digger Johnny Trunk focuses on the lighter and more whimsical obscurities of British Folk. Think a more kid-friendly Wicker Man Soundtrack-same spooky and wonderous undertones but without all the, er..shall we say, ribald subtext. There is definitely an acidy H.R. Pufnstuf vibe to some of the songs which made some of us imitate those overacting kids on Barney. In fact some of these songs were recorded for children's movement classes in the early seventies, using lots of zany instruments like penny-whistles, kazoos and ocarinas. While this is not strictly aimed at children (some songs like Basil Kirchin's sublime "I start Counting" might be too slow for full kiddie enjoyment), we think parents would rather have their young kids listening to this stuff than crap like Barney or Raffi. Fans of "incredibly strange music", novelty records, and sixties and seventies folk-pop should check this too. Far out!
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "I Start Counting (Demo)"
MPEG Stream: THE BARBARA MOORE SINGERS "Singing Low"
MPEG Stream: REG TILSEY "The Troll"

V/A G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library (Trunk) cd 16.98
No longer vinyl only, G-Spots is now on cd. We didn't know it would happen so soon, but it's boon for all the turntable-deprived amongst you. And it's got six extra tracks on it, as well! Here's more or less what we said about this collection when we highlighted the LP version:
Aside from the eye-popping cover art, the first thing you might notice about this record is its intriguing title - G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library. But what does it all mean, and how could the music live up to such a ridiculously awesome yet difficult to parse description? Well, check the sound samples to find out, or read on...
Some of you may remember the equally great, SUPER limited (not to mention uber-pricey) Electrosonic record from a few lists back, featuring library music from esteemed BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer and titan of early electronic experimentation, Delia Derbyshire. Much in the vein of that long gone gem, G Spots contains selections from the somewhat mysterious Studio G, a production company started by one John Gale, whose work in advertising inspired him to up the ante on the music we either take for granted or generally find annoying as shit. Rather than approaching this work as mere background music, Gale wrangled in a number of composers to bring his vision to life. Things kicked off with a series of 7" records before moving on to lps. Gale claimed to release the first collection of library music to feature actual artwork, and you are advised to go to Trunk's website to view some stellar examples of Studio G's visual aesthetic.
The music, of course, is pretty dang great as well. The songs basically set out to mimic the popular trends of the time, resulting in a sound that is at once familiar, yet strangely distant, as they were produced in a laboratory-like setting with studio musicians. Of course, that kind of thing happened all the time, but it's much more intriguing to imagine this as some sort of parallel reality interpretation of pop music in the '60s and '70s, made by chain smoking guys in their thirties with thick horn-rimmed glasses and neckties. Aside from song titles, the 20 spacey folk electro-horror tunes collected here are identified only by their catalogue numbers and composers, most (all?) of whom you will not recognize. This lack of information only adds to the mystery, in the best way.
It is possible, based on the 4 digit catalogue numbers, to piece together some sort of loose history, not only of Studio G's evolution, but of musical trends in general. Opening with the moody organ piece "Icicles", many of the other songs on the first side are fun, lightly psychedelic pop that would have fit perfectly in any number of party scenes in any number of 1960s movies. Airy acoustic guitars mesh with the occasional spacey weirdness, the songs are at times accompanied by live drums, but sometimes feature early, primitive rhythm machines. The final song on side one of the vinyl (track 15 here), however, the perfectly named "Deformed Theme", is an anti-melody that ventures into darker territory, a creepy synthscape setting the mood for much of the rest of the disc, where ominous, surprisingly heavy Goblin-esque songs like "Cosmic Dust" and "Cosmic Blues" rub elbows with "Freak Blues", which would not sound too out of place on Bruce Haack's The Electric Lucifer. Then there's the hilarious "Dangerous Voyage", a funky, tropical-tinged piece that would sit well in your favorite '70s porn film, with its lead harmonica, fretless bass, and hi hats galore. Other songs feature flutes, more synths, weird tape effects, and random elements of percussion. Throughout it all, things flow perfectly, all part of the style that John Gale created with Studio G.
MPEG Stream: "Icicles"
MPEG Stream: "Deformed Theme"
MPEG Stream: "Dangerous Voyage"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Dust"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Blues"

V/A G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library (Trunk) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aside from the eye-popping cover art, the first thing you might notice about this record is its intriguing title - G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library. But what does it all mean, and how could the music live up to such a ridiculously awesome yet difficult to parse description? Well, since we don't have sound samples, you'll just have to trust your buddies here at aQ and get this vinyl-only collection on your turntable to discover for yourself.
Some of you may remember the equally great, SUPER limited (not to mention uber-pricey) Electrosonic record from a few lists back, featuring library music from esteemed BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer and titan of early electronic experimentation, Delia Derbyshire. Much in the vein of that long gone gem, G Spots contains selections from the somewhat mysterious Studio G, a production company started by one John Gale, whose work in advertising inspired him to up the ante on the music we either take for granted or generally find annoying as shit. Rather than approaching this work as mere background music, Gale wrangled in a number of composers to bring his vision to life. Things kicked off with a series of 7" records before moving on to lps. Gale claimed to release the first collection of library music to feature actual artwork, and you are advised to go to Trunk's website to view some stellar examples of Studio G's visual aesthetic.
The music, of course, is pretty dang great as well. The songs basically set out to mimic the popular trends of the time, resulting in a sound that is at once familiar, yet strangely distant, as they were produced in a laboratory-like setting with studio musicians. Of course, that kind of thing happened all the time, but it's much more intriguing to imagine this as some sort of parallel reality interpretation of pop music in the '60s and '70s, made by chain smoking guys in their thirties with thick horn-rimmed glasses and neckties. Aside from song titles, the 20 spacey folk electro-horror tunes collected here are identified only by their catalogue numbers and composers, most (all?) of whom you will not recognize. This lack of information only adds to the mystery, in the best way.
It is possible, based on the 4 digit catalogue numbers, to piece together some sort of loose history, not only of Studio G's evolution, but of musical trends in general. Opening with the moody organ piece "Icicles", many of the other songs on the first side are fun, lightly psychedelic pop that would have fit perfectly in any number of party scenes in any number of 1960s movies. Airy acoustic guitars mesh with the occasional spacey weirdness, the songs are at times accompanied by live drums, but sometimes feature early, primitive rhythm machines. The final song on side 1, however, the perfectly named "Deformed Theme", is an anti-melody that ventures into darker territory, a creepy synthscape setting the mood for much of side 2, where ominous, surprisingly heavy Goblin-esque songs like "Cosmic Dust" and "Cosmic Blues" rub elbows with "Freak Blues", which would not sound too out of place on Bruce Haack's The Electric Lucifer. Then there's the hilarious "Dangerous Voyage", a funky, tropical-tinged piece that would sit well in your favorite '70s porn film, with its lead harmonica, fretless bass, and hi hats galore. Other songs feature flutes, more synths, weird tape effects, and random elements of percussion. Throughout it all, things flow perfectly, all part of the style that John Gale created with Studio G.
While this record comes with the highest possible recommendation, like many things of this nature, it is quite limited. We just hope that of Studio G's 48 release 4 volume output, Trunk will keep the G Spots... coming. Get it? HAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!

V/A Gabon: Myene Songs (Ocora) cd 17.98

V/A Garden Of Forking Paths (Important Records) cd 14.98
When this first arrived, we thought maybe Important Records had re-released Jefre Cantu Ledesma's serpentine drone solo work of the same name that had come out on Spekk last year. But it seems there might just be more than one Jorge Luis Borges fan in the world, and one of them is James Blackshaw. Those of you who were lucky enough to see him perform live here in our store were witness to his magical powers of acoustic alchemy, and between pieces he quietly mentioned this new release that he had compiled. Bringing together avant-acoustic string pieces specifically recorded for this release by Dutch lute player Jozef Van Wissem (also his recent collaborator in Bretheren of The Free Spirit), Swedish cellist Helena Espvall, of Espers, Japanese koto virtuoso Chieko Mori, as well as Blackshaw himself. Beginning and ending with pieces by Cheiko Mori, we are taken through a twisting sojourn of cross-cultural touchstones and stylistic complexities. The range of classical lyricism and free improvisation highlights each individual's unique contributions while also recognizing a vital connection to each other's methods bringing the whole together. Excellent!
MPEG Stream: CHEIKO MORI "Spiral Wave"
MPEG Stream: JAMES BLACKSHAW "The Broken Hourglass"
MPEG Stream: HELENA ESPVALL "Home of Shadows and Whirlwinds"

V/A GBV And Robert Pollard Present: Crickets - Best Of The Fading Captain Series (Fading Captain) 2cd 17.98
When you think the impossibly prolific Robert Pollard couldn't possibly eke out another tune, another whole cd lands in your lap. How does he do it!? Well, you better brace yourself dear fans! Because although this is not a new Robert Pollard album, it is a fifty six track double cd collection which compiles a broad array of tracks from the various Robert Pollard fronted bands on Robert Pollard's Fading Captain label. Some of the groups include Go Back Snowball, The Moping Swans, Circus Devils, Airport 5, Lifeguards, Alien Mofo, Radiation Feeder... the list goes on and on... and yes, it includes Guided By Voices.
And what do you know, you also get six previously unreleased tracks and a 50-page full-color book to boot! This release marks the forty fourth and final release of the Fading Captain Series. Ahoy matey!
MPEG Stream: AIRPORT 5 "Total Exposure"
MPEG Stream: GUIDED BY VOICES "Sister I Need Wine (Cromag Demo)"

V/A Gern Blandsten: The First Nine Years (Gern Blandsten) cd 11.98
New Jersey's Gern Blandsten Records celebrate nine years of existence with this compilation of two dozen tracks by two dozen of Gern Blandsten's finest boy bands galore. Running the gamut from Wire / Gang of Four influenced post punk angst (Computer Cougar) to retro Brit power pop (Weston, Radio 4) to indie rock-a-rama (Chisel, The Van Pelt) to emo-punk (Garden Variety). As is the case with most of the bands that GB releases, their influences are in full view - no, there's no hiding the love and admiration for their forefathers. On an odd note, one of my favorite bands from this label, Radio 4 a mod-ish power pop outfit offer up "Boy Meets Girl" a track that, intentionally or not, lifts the melody from Kraftwerk's "The Model" and throws it into guitar territory.

V/A Get It! (Get) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Great, wild compilation of "Raw Funk" circa 1967-69. You get Andre Williams, Soul Continentals, Jimbo Johnson & The Violators, Willie Tell & The Overtures, and many more obscure but very funky artists. We've been selling this--and others in the series ("Pow City" & "All Night Soul Stomp")--for a while now, and quite briskly...so we thought we'd finally put it on the list so that mailorder types could get up, get into it and get involved, too.

V/A Getting Off! The Seductive Sounds Of 70's Adult Cinema (Lucky Monkey) cd 11.98
More funky fucked up soundtracks from lost porno films, a la the Deep Note compilations, but unlike those classic seventies jams, these all seem to be from the eighties and most of them seem to be borrowing themes from popular music and television shows, which sounds weird, and it is, but it also makes these pretty fun and freaky. Plus try to imagine folks doing the nasty to most of these songs and it's downright impossible. It more likely that you'll be imagining car chases, and poolside brunch on the Love Boat or some strange montage on Fantasy Island.
From "Move On" which is a total rip of that song that goes "Whatchoo gonna do when she says good bye..." with some very Steely Dan sounding instrumentation, to "I P Walk" which borrows heavily from that Rick Astley song "Never gonna give you up...". The best title of the bunch is definitely "Hawkwind And Fire", but instead of sounding like Hawkwind, it absolutely is the theme to some totally famous eighties TV cop drama. But the pinnacle of whatthefuck on this comp has to be "The Heist" which is actually the theme from People's Court!!! Who the hell is fucking to the theme from People's Court?!? Unless it's from some People's Court spoof porn movie, People's Pork or something....
The coolest track by far though is "The Bends" a groovy laid back heavy psych rock jam, with super out of place space age synths, all fuzzed out, the whole track peppered with weird damaged FX. Another track that makes it difficult to imagine folks fucking to it.
A pretty fun and fantastic listen all around, but it's definitely gotten us dying to see what sort of weird and wild sex could have possibly transpired to the demented strains of these far out tunes. Maybe the next porn music reissue, instead of just issuing a cd, should just go for it and reissue the actual porno? Just a thought...
MPEG Stream: "The Bends"
MPEG Stream: "Hawkwind And Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Disco Fever"
MPEG Stream: "The Heist"

V/A Getting Rid Of The Glue (Pendu Sound) lp 11.98
First in a proposed series of lps, based on a phrase used by Henry Cowell and later included in a lecture by John Cage, which in a nutshell describes a musical movement of the time (Wolff, Brown, Feldman, Cage, etc.) involving getting rid of the glue and allowing sounds to be themselves, instead of sticking them together into some sort of continuous form.
High concept certainly, and while it is easy to hear how the various artists on this comp did in fact get rid of the glue, loosed from the concept, it still plays like some killer outsider free rock compilation. Which it is. Some of the names you probably know, Excepter, Talibam!, BIG A little a, but most of them you probably don't.
A quick track by track: Dirty Churches do a sort of droning hypnorock, with guttural female vocals and drifting psych guitars, definitely the most 'glued' of the bunch. Spin-17 are kind of like a brain damaged Deerhoof, sing songy nonsense female vocals, weird gurgly male vocals, and other strange childlike vocalizations, toy percussion, all clattery and chaotic and very weird. K.P. are a sludge-skree collective from Brooklyn and manage to kick up a serious din, massive crumbling distortion, damaged electronics, dense and dark and seriously freaked out. BIG A little a (Aa) rock a sort of spaced out psychedelic rhythmscape, thick buzzing synths, tribal drumming, almost sounding like a super lo-fi version of newer Boredoms mixed with Tangerine Dream or Popol Vuh. Fessenden features at least one member from Pan-American, but sounds nothing like that, instead it's a buzzing minimal electro acoustic soundscape, lots of hiss and fuzz, drone and buzz, creaks and clatter and grinding crunch, a creepy industrial ambience, thick with mysterious muted percussion. Eager Meek is one man and a guitar, but you'd never know it. All sorts of swirly ambience, strange distant percussive rattles and scrapes, very haunting and spaced out. Up next is Mialessot, featuring NYC saxophonist Daniel Carter and analog noisemaker Old Ghost. Imagine a free jazz / Japanoise mashup and you'd have a pretty good idea of what these guys are all about. A bracing blast of damaged synths and blown out guitarnoise, a swirling roiling cloud of grind and rrrrooooaaar all piled atop a squirming and skronking tangle of free jazz sax, bleating and moaning and screeching. Pretty far out. Maria Chavez, does some super abstract turntable noise, utilizing old records and an arsenal of damaged record needles to create a spacious sound field peppered with lots of crackle and squeaks, pops and scrapes and alien squiggles, very minimal and abrasive but really awesome. would love to hear more from her.
Finally a killer closing one two punch. First Talibam! who give us their fucked and furious drums vs. synth sound, this time the relentlessly spastic free jazz drum splatter is pitted against creepy atonal organ (sounding a bit like a ball park organ) and fuzzed out synth. The Excepter, fronted by an ex No Necker, doing some weird eighties faux new wave thing, with electronic percussion, cheesy synths and really loud vocals, wrapped in tons of effects, reverb especially, swooping and soaring and sounding seriously demented.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES. Includes a fold out poster with art by all the bands...

V/A Ghana Soundz (Sound Way) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New, nicely packaged compilation of afro-beat from Ghana's golden era. Sound Way boasts that the 14 tracks included here from the 1970's are all extremely rare and previously unreleased outside of Africa. So if the Fela reissues and various Strut collections aren't enough, here's a nice addition to the collection. Includes a 16 page booklet detailing the history of Ghana's music industry.
RealAudio clip: 3RD GENERATION BAND, THE "Because of Money"
RealAudio clip: K.FRIMPONG & HIS CUBANO FIESTAS "Hwehwe Mu Na Yi Wo Mpena"

V/A Ghana Soundz (Sound Way) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl. Nicely packaged compilation of afro-beat from Ghana's golden era. Sound Way boasts that the 14 tracks included here from the 1970's are all extremely rare and previously unreleased outside of Africa. So if the Fela reissues and various Strut collections aren't enough, here's a nice addition to the collection. Includes a 16 page booklet detailing the history of Ghana's music industry.

V/A Ghana Soundz Vol. 2 (Sound Way) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A second volume of rare afro funk from Ghana, every bit as good as the first. 14 tracks, all from the seventies, highlight Ghana's fertile music scene and the varied influences -- from funk & soul to fusion & jazz, and even rock. Like its predecessor, Ghana Soundz 2 comes well documented with bios on the artists, archival photos and album art repros. Here's to hoping these don't go scarce again so soon.
MPEG Stream: CHRISTY AZUMA & UPPERS INTERNATIONAL "Naam"
MPEG Stream: K. FRIMPONG & VIS A VIS "Aboagyewaa"

V/A Ghana Soundz: Afro-Beat, Funk And Fusion In 70's Ghana (Sound Way) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We listed this compilation a couple years back, but unfortunately it went out of print, but thankfully Sound Way has just gotten around to reissuing it. Ghana Soundz is an impressive collection of afro-beat from Ghana's golden era. Sound Way boasts that the 14 tracks included here from the 1970's are all extremely rare and previously unreleased outside of Africa. Includes a 16 page booklet detailing the history of Ghana's music industry, bios on the artists included and photos of the original album art.
MPEG Stream: THE 3RD GENERATION BAND "Because of Money"
MPEG Stream: HONNY & THE BEES BAND "Psychedelic Woman"

V/A Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Ghanian Blues (Sound Way) 2cd + book 25.00
After wonderfully tackling the amazing sounds of 1970's Nigeria in their stellar Nigeria Special series, the folks at Sound Way now have applied their refined crate digging skills to the sounds of Ghana, assembling an amazing collection of tracks from 1968-1981. It took almost a decade to painstakingly track down the 37 tracks that make up this double disc and damn all that work was so worth it! We have always been huge fans of so many of the sounds that have come out of West Africa, and this comp is only fueling that fire even more. We can honestly say we had not heard of just about any of the artists here but they have all grabbed our attention as every track on this collection has something special going on, whether it's the hypnotic guitar playing, or the unique emotive vocal delivery, we find ourselves madly scrambling to see what track is playing to find out who the artist is so we can try to track down anything else by them. While not quite as outwardly flashy as some of their Nigerian counterparts, the songs on Ghana Special unfold with a distinct richness in songcraft and so many totally beautiful psychedelic and entrancing moments.
Once again Sound Way demonstrate that they not only have impeccable taste but that they also understand how to make compilations that flow, and feel like proper albums from start to finish instead of just a haphazard collection of tracks.
The double-disc cd set also comes with a 44-page booklet of photos and liner notes, including a history of this amazing musical era. School is in session and we're in the front row taking notes cause this shit is just so damn good! FYI there's also vinyl version comes in a monstrous box, the songs spread out over 5lp's, and includes two bonus tracks not available on the cd, but we happen to be out of it today, maybe we'll get a couple more in next week...
School is in session and we're in the front row taking notes cause this shit is just so damn good!
MPEG Stream: T.O. JAZZ "Owuo Adaadaa Me"
MPEG Stream: HEDZOLEH SOUNDZ "Omusus Da Fe M'musu"
MPEG Stream: BIG BEATS "Mi Nsumboo Bo Donn"
MPEG Stream: OSCAR SULLEY'S NZELE SOUNDZ "Bukom"

V/A Ghana: Ancient Ceremonies, Dance Music & Songs (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Originally released in 1979, Ancient Ceremonies is a collection of recordings from the country of Ghana. Unlike the High Life And Other Popular Music release which features music from the same country, the recordings on this disc focus on -- as the title suggests -- ancient music, which is completely devoid of any inflluence of Western music (of European or Afro-American.) That said, in the music of Adolphis Micah -- who accompanies himself with a one-stringed bowed lute called a gonje -- one can distinctly hear the roots of blues music. It's actually too bad that more music of Micah wasn't included on this disc, because it's definitely the highlight of the album. Also nice though are the tracks included here of music performed on the dzil and chohun, both xylophones (and ancestors of the marimba) which are played by two people facing one another. Unlike the Europeanized version of the aforementioned marimba, they include a thin membrane of spider web under their resonators which creates a buzzing tone when the keys are struck. The rest of the tracks consist primarily of drum and chant tracks with the occasional flute. Along with the standard liner notes, album editor Stephen Jay has included a glossary of musical instruments heard on the disc.
RealAudio clip: "Dzil Duet"
RealAudio clip: "Gonje Songs"

V/A Ghetto Kitty Island Compilation (Ghetto Kitty Island) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a little something for your lo-fi pop sweet tooth... a compilation 7" record featuring Bart Davenport, Chicken On A Raft as well as Elephant 6ers The Minders and Of Montreal. Mr. Davenport's contribution is a gently sung and strummed ditty called "Tee". Of Montreal's is a spritely demo version of "Epistle To A Pathological Creep". The Minders deliver a droll Young Marble Giants-ish "Jealous Baby" and Chicken On A Raft get all raw, acoustic with "Lone Pilgrim". Limited pressing of 500, so hop to it!

V/A Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai Soundtrack Album (Epic) cd 15.98
Wu Tang's The RZA put together this popular disc with songs from the soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch's film Ghost Dog. Dark urban Hip hop R&B tracks mixed with "samurai code quotes" from the flick. Sunz of Man, Black Knights, Kool G Rap, Masta Killah, Jeru, Wu Tang Clan, The RZA himself and others appear.

V/A Giant Robot (#15) magazine+flexi 3.95
Five year anniversary music issue, featuring Cibo Matto, Money Mark, Automator, LA turntablists the Beat Junkies, DJ Krush, and... Shu Uemura the makeup tycoon. Only 1000 of the issues come with the free Money Mark flexidisc (exclusive material he recorded at the Giant Robot loft), but luckily all of ours have it! There's also the usual little article by Windy talking about "music no one's ever going to hear".

V/A Gift, The (Will) cd 16.98
Gathering together new and old recordings of the beauty of true country. Classics by legends such as Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard alongside exclusive songs from Neko Case (easily two of her best!) and The Souvenirs.

V/A Gimme Dat Harp Boy! (OZit Morpheus) cd 15.98
From the label that brought us Dust Sucker and Mersey Trout (the Magic Band live in Liverpool) comes a collection of recordings -- from the 1920's to the 1960's -- which serve to illuminate the vast musical influences of the enigmatic and inimitable Don Van Vliet a.k.a Captain Beefheart. As one might imagine, such a musical map would surely cut a broad swath. While many of the tracks have a direct connection to the Captain's works like "New Minglewood Blues" by the Noah Lewis Jug Band, whose opening lines are exactly the same as "Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes I Do". Other tracks, like those by Blind Willie Johnson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk point out obvious influences on Vliet's vocal style and proclivity for playing two wind instruments at once. While the majority of tracks here are early blues & string band recordings -- Blind Blake, Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson, Uncle Bud Landress, Al Simmons, Blind Joe Taggert, among others -- there's also plenty of jazz cuts -- Charlie Parker, Cab Calloway -- and oddballs like Lord Buckley, The Fang and Hawaiian slack key players Kanui & Lula. On top of all this are interspersed rare tracks of the Magic Band, interview snippets and random remarks from Captain Beefheart. Whether you're a fan of Captain Beefheart or not, you just might like this collection anyhow as just an interesting mix cd.
RealAudio clip: BOSS-TONES, THE "Mope-Itty Mope"
RealAudio clip: KIRK, RAHSAAN ROLAND "Jungle Suite"
RealAudio clip: FANG, THE "Nervous Norvus"
RealAudio clip: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART "Little Scratch"

V/A Gimmie Indie Rock (K-Tel) 2cd 19.98
No way...yes way! It's a bonafide K-tel compilation devoted to "indie rock." Coulda been quite painful, but amazingly this is actually a really nice collection. I don't know how they went about putting it together, but it's certainly got some stuff atypical of your usual "as-seen-on-tv" K-tel hits package. Husker Du, The Fall, Pussy Galore, Half Japanese, My Dad Is Dead, Yo La Tengo, The Wipers, The Minutemen, Savage Republic, Mekons, Mudhoney, Spacemen 3, Flaming Lips, Black Flag, The Pastels, The Melvins, more! It's like being in college all over again, at least for those of you who are 'our' age. A pretty great compilation!