Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra - Raumpatrouille (2003)

A bizarre soundtrack from an old German sci-fi show.

Billed as a German answer to Star Trek, this show had a very brief run in the sixties. It leaves behind some interesting music, which all at once seems to channel bollywood, soul, pop, and other stylings reminiscent of early Bond soundtracks. Or maybe bad vintage porn.

Either way, a neat listen. The theme song is actually pretty catchy. And tunes like 'Take Sex' are hilarious.


Hören Sie

Fancy Mike - Sigma Chi Primavera (2011)

Posted about this guy last year.

21-year old beat-maker from the Midwest. Still can't seem to find much about him. Offers some crazy Flying Lotus-like/Mr. Oizio-sounding/Justice-inspired lo-fi future synth beat-music. Kind of impressive, actually, to hear everything he's doing with this album sonically, given his young age. According to his Last.fm bio, he works for the fashion industry as a visual artist but still goes to school... okay.

With this second release, he's already working with the likes of pixelord, Montgomery Clunk, Starfawn and Stephen Farris. Seems to be buddies with Dem Hunger and Lorn too. There's a lot happening on this record and it all sounds rather cohesive; very forward-thinking stuff. Really digging the cover art, too.

Download/192 kbps.

Buy/320 kbps.

jj - Kills (2010)

Great mixtape which heavily reworks samples from Dre, Jay-Z, Kanye and others. The girl's soothing voice and washed-out effects and production give the whole thing a dreamy tone.

It was big last year, but I missed out till a friend recently busted it out. If you haven't heard it yet either, enjoy.

V/A - The Verve Story: 1944 - 1994 (1994)

A great release from Verve. This collection is a celebration of their 50th year in making records.

Per Indigo, "If anyone can tell the story of jazz, it's Verve Records. They've been in the business as long as anyone and The Verve Story 1944-1994 is a fitting tale for their 50th birthday. Vocal stars from Billie Holiday to Mel Torme croon out their best and the dizzying array of instrumental giants is too long to list. Basically, if jazz had an all-star team, this would be it...every serious jazz fan - and everyone new to the genre - should check this out."

It's organized over four discs, each corresponding to a time period. Pick up your favorite era, or enjoy the whole thing.

1994-1953
1953-1957
1957-1962
1962-1994

Converter - Blast Furnace (2000)

excellent early aughts power noise from Seattle-based Converter. think Wolf Eyes-esque distorted textures/aggression with the rhythmic underpinnings/danceability of, say, Front 242 or similar rhythmic noise/industrial artists. still sounds incredibly fresh and modern 11 years later.

Death Time

Arvo Pärt - A Primer ('91-2010)

contemporary filmmakers love putting this dude's music into movies. it's obviously modern but extremely tonal, and without any of the dissonance usually associated with 21st century music. it's not exactly lush, though. usually just one or two very simple quiet lines of melody that either converge and crescendo to euphoric peaks, or just as easily end as plainly and hauntingly as they began. there's an austere and meditative quality here that is both oddly attractive and powerful.

Tintinnabuli

there was a huge rush to record Pärt's music in the last 10 years, you can find tons of recordings cheap/used at your local mom&pops on ECM and Naxos.

Machine Go Boom - Thank You Captain Obvious (2004)

We promise you, no other blog is posting this.

This one's a WFLM special, really brings back the memories. Machine Go Boom is a five-piece band from Cleveland, Ohio and what they play is extremely catchy stuff. It's best described as "bratty, romper-room, sugar-wiry punkiness with simple classic adult (gasp) pop song sensibility." Yeah, this stuff was around back when adult contemporary was a genre many people actually referenced quite seriously.

Debut album, out of print, band has a cult following, this is from my personal stash, it's funny and doesn't take itself too seriously and no one makes music like this anymore really. Voted #74 in BTID's 150 Most Essential Albums of the '00's. Never went mainstream/sold-out = bonus points.

Download.

Lorn - Self Confidence Vol. 2 (2011)

These beats are dark! This isn't some LA shit (think Teebs or Samiyam) or NYC (à la Falty DL): Lorn shows us what the Midwest has to offer in terms of beat-making. SC v.2 feels much more put-together than SC v.1. Featuring instrumentals from past remixes as well as unreleased collabs with the likes of Illum Sphere and Zackey Force Funk, it's crazy that something like this has so much going on (38 beats in total!) Lorn, you're a fool for this one, giving away so many of your beautiful creations just because you're in it for the love of the craft. Something here for everyone, promise.

Download.

Ennio Morricone - The Complete Edition [15 CD Box Set] (2011)

Huge, huge, HUGE release. This is the most complete anthology of Morricone music ever. He's turning 80--big ups! All pieces have also been selected by Morricone himself so this isn't any bootleg street-shop my-fifteen-year-old-daughter-assembled-this-this-weekend shit. This is the real stuff.

CD 1

CD 2

CD 3

CD 4

CD 5

CD 6

CD 7

CD 8

CD 9

CD 10

CD 11

CD 12

CD 13

CD 14

CD 15

Panda Bear - Tomboy (2011)

One week before release: Tomboy by Panda Bear. Hipsters love him. Bloggers adore him. Music enthusiasts fall in love with his harmonies. Women wish they could be married to him. Anyone born after 2001 has no clue who Animal Collective is. This is hot off the press. Haven't even listened to it yet but I can already see it... Pitchfork. : 9.5 [Best New Music]

You know what to do...

V/A - Modern Funk (2007)

This is a great compilation put out by Freestyle a few years back. You're likely to recognize a few of these, as they've been sampled pretty heavy - Jurassic 5 fans will recognize the Dap Kings 'Nervous Like Me', and the whole world knows the fabulous Ria Currie's 'Am I Your Woman', thanks to Beyonce's use of it on 'Crazy in Love'. There's some neat cover action - be sure to check out 'Killin', a funky homage to Rage Against the Machine's most well-loved anthem. And 'Pick It Up, Lay it in the Cut' is one of the sexiest basslines of all time.

Cook it

Shad - TSOL (2010)

If you haven't gotten into Shad yet, do. He's caused a big and beautiful stir in the Canadian hip hop scene, and with his tasteful samples and clever lyrics, he's pretty infectious. His humble attitude and sparse stage arrangement make him a really intimate and interesting guy to see live, so if he comes to a town near you, be there.

In the meantime, listen to the lady in the dress.