Weekend Of Music

This is one of those coping mechanisms - I choose not to think about 'problems' - so I will buy a lot of music instead. It's only slightly cheaper than heroin - but it does last a lot longer. Friday - for a mere $30 investment - I picked up 18 cds. Maisy and I decided on a listening party so we stacked the cds and went one after the other. Amazingly - the manner in which we stacked them somewhat dictated the appreciation in which we'd have for them. The were stacked as follows:

1. The White Mice: ASSPhiXXXEATATESHUN - personally, I wasn't over the top on this one. Maisy quite enjoyed it though. It is experimental hardcore, and it is the creation of three men who have taken mouse names and wear mouse heads. The tone for my album was Satanism and it's indulgences and it was brought to me by Anonymouse, Euronymouse, and Mouseteratu.
2. Eagles: Desperado - a good album but I picked this one up for my dad.
3. Cafe Tacuba: Reves/Yosoy - I can't believe I found an original of this release. It dates early in their career and this is truly the indie album among their selections. It's musically experimental and there's hints to the direction the band would go.
4. Sixpence None The Richer: Tickets For A Prayer Wheel - When I was a DJ - I would sneak Christian acts into whatever I was spinning. It's where the monicker Haloe originated. Sixpence was one of the better groups putting out music in the early 90's...and R.E.X. music were pioneers in finding the coolest bands.
5. Odd Nosdam: No More Wig For Ohio - this is an awesome find. I knew nothing about this project, who is in fact one individual; David P. Madson. He has worked on countless projects but most notably, Peeping Tom with Mike Patton. This album is in the vein of DJ Shadow - dub/hip hop/sampling. Very nice. A cross between Mody and DJ Shadow.
6. Run Lola Run (Soundtrack) - I've had a cd-r copy of this for ages - how nice to finally have the original! I love this score and when I need to be pumped for a day - on it goes.
7. Courtneys: Shake It If You Got It E.P. - Bought this on looks alone. Imagine my surprise to find out they are local. This band is fucking awesome! I WILL GO SEE THEM THIS YEAR! Total indie band that brings every influence you can imagine into their music. They are not frightened to frolic through the genres in a whimsical fashion.
8. DJ Shadow: You Can't Go Home Again - A 3-song single, with some tracks from The Private Press. Track 2, "Disavowed" features Zack de la Rocha - but before you get too wet with excitement - it's his percussion prowess, not vocal angst featured here. He did however cowrite the song and it's worth checking out!
9. Viking Moses: The Parts That Showed - this is a wonderful album. It's new folk, and if you can imagine Smog singer Bill Callahan doing a solo show after throwing back a few, you can pinpoint exactly what Viking Moses sounds like. Actually - I was so captivated by the similarity, that I had to listen to Bill Callahan the following day.
10. Viking Moses: Swollen & Small - honestly, this is where the stack of cds take a turn for the bad. This e.p. is all cover songs of Neutral Milk Hotel - and well, it's a hard listen. Actually - I don't recommend listening at all. No Bill Callahan here - more like a studio filled with confused people teaching autistic adults how to sew with musical instruments. Doesn't make sense, right? Exactly.
11. Keleton DMD: Dirtriders - oooh. Too much Jawbreaker in their diet. Skip. Don't let the track Sex Hawk fool you into thinking you are in for anything other than a fantasy about your lunch lady from high school.
12. Walter Sickert & The Army Of Broken Toys: Walter Sickert & The Army Of Broken Toys - Neither Maisy nor myself knew what to think of this upon appearances alone. She went with Dresden Dolls - I steered toward Stabbing Westward. It's unfortunate that we were both wrong, and how sad is that? It is not goth, it is not new cabaret, it is not industrial or even indie. It is pretty lame though. You've probably heard the term steampunk - it probably makes you want to drink your own pee like it does me... this however is a group of steampunks with too much free time and access to drugs... they have developed steamcrunk. Nuff said - go kill yourself now.
13. Shannon Murray / Ryan Harvey: Love & Fear - yeah. nice little b & w paper cover had me thinking, "cool", and I flip it over to see a coinage of words that had me say outloud, "COOL!". Those words were, "RIOTFOLK". Awesome - I am imagining Devendra Banheart getting ahold of some bad acid. Bring it on! Then you listen, and you realize the riot is meant for you - I wanted to go burn some buildings and torch some hippies for making me think this was going to be cool.
14. Sunburned: GLEK - You should win some sort of prize just for figuring out who in the hell this was. Once you do figure it out - you then simply need to filter out the 130 other releases since 2002 to find out more about what you're holding. I wish 131 releases in 8 years was an exaggeration, but it whole-heartedly is not. This is ambient experimental music - not bad...but definitely something one has to be in the mood for.
15. Ultralyd: Chromosome Gun - Free Jazz, Funk, and suck.
16. Myndsight: The Wicked You - turns out this is another local band. Obviously Maynard from Tool and Layne of Alice In Chains had children - who knew? I bet I could sell this has unheard Alice In Chains and Tool demos on eBay! The sad part is, they waited until 2005 to jump a burned and buried bandwagon.
17. Mommy And Daddy: Fighting Style Killer Panda E.P. - a two-piece band. They should hire more musicians. They are stuck somewhere between hard rock, post punk, and alternative rock - but none of it blends too well at all.
18. Mommy And Daddy: Mommy And Daddy E.P. - this is better than the other e.p. actually. When "daddy" sings - he emulates Johnny Rotten, whom I like. When "mommy" sings - it's not good at all. I actually can't figure out how out of all the bands in NYC, this found it's way abroad.