Snow Day Rotation

Lately I’ve been researching Brian Eno’s 1970s side-projects and found the albums he recorded with Harmonia and Cluster. (If you’ll remember, I talked about Harmonia in my last episode.) They’re both great examples of ambient music, music intended to be enjoyed equally either in the foreground or in the background. I love this stuff. And not too far removed is some of Eno’s work with David Bowie…

So my brother-in-law lives less than a mile away. His frequent visits to our house provide many opportunities to discuss music with which he’s not familiar. He’s been reading through the February issue of Mojo on our coffee table and saw an article on David Bowie’s 1977 classic, Low. This provided fodder for a lengthy conversation, as well as getting me on a Bowie kick over the weekend that saw me rotating through eight of his albums.

Anyway, I haven’t posted a rotation in a while. Here’s what I’ve been jamming to this past week. I’ll let you play the which-of-these-is-not-like-the-other game.

1. Sowiesoso – Cluster (Sky | 1976)
2. Heroes – David Bowie (RCA | 1977)
3. The Whole Love – Wilco (dBpm | 2011)
4. Neu! 75 – Neu! (Brain | 1975)
5. Tracks and Traces – Harmonia & Eno ’76 (Gronland | 2009)
6. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) – David Bowie (RCA | 1980)
7. Before and After Science – Brian Eno (Island | 1977)
8. Then Play On – Fleetwood Mac (Reprise | 1969)
9. Point of Departure – Andrew Hill (Blue Note | 1964)
10. The Man Machine – Kraftwerk (Capitol | 1978)

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This week’s rotation.

I’ve been listening to a lot of good records lately, in no particular order.

1. Strange Mercy – St. Vincent (4AD | 2011)
2. Tango Boys – Motel Beds (Fictionband Mechanics | unreleased)
3. Unknown Pleasures – Joy Division (Factory | 1979)
4. The Law of Things – The Bats (Flying Nun | 1990)
5. The HMV/Parlophone Singles ’88-’95 (disc one) – Morrissey (EMI | 2009)
6. Home Cookin’ – Jimmy Smith (Blue Note | 1959)
7. Siberia – Echo and the Bunnymen (Cooking Vinyl | 2005)
8. Bounce Around – Minisnap (Magic Marker | 2008)
9. Don’t You Rise – The Bats (Slumberland | 2009)
10. Lo-Fi Feeling – The Tambourine Club (independent | 2011)

You can get Lo-Fi Feeling for free from The Tambourine Club’s website.

Rotation.

Chris Carrabba, living and loving life

As I tweeted earlier this week, I don’t have a new show for today.  It’s been a wild week (and perhaps I’ll discuss some of that in next week’s episode), so I’m just going to post my listening rotation.  I’ve been on quite the Chris Carraba kick this week.  So here it is, in no particular order.

 

10.  Baptism – Lenny Kravitz (Virgin / 2004)

9.  Empire Burlesque – Bob Dylan (Columbia / 1985)

8.  Songs from the Labyrinth – Sting (Deutsche Grammophon / 2006)

7.  Past Remains – Side Walk Slam (Tooth and Nail / 2002)

6.  A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar – Dashboard Confessional (Vagrant / 2003)

5.  Truant – Alien Ant Farm (Dreamworks / 2003)

4.  Pet Your Friends – Dishwalla (A&M / 1995)

3.  Landing on Water – Neil Young (Geffen / 1986)

2.  The Land Before Time: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Various Artists (MCA / 1988)

1.  Deadbeat Sweetheart – The Juliana Theory (Abacus / 2005)

Heavy Rotation (8/11/10)

This is what I’ve been listening to this week, in no particular order. (It’s been a great week for new music, hasn’t it?!)

10. Built My Fortress – The Foxglove Hunt (Commonwall Media/2009)

9. Something Is Pressing Against it From the Sky 7″ – Long Legged Woman (Thor’s Rubber Hammer/2008)

8. Permanent Sleep – Lowlife (Nightshift/1986)

7. Lullabies to Violaine (disc one) – Cocteau Twins (4AD/2006)

6. No More Paths to Sounder Sleep – Chartreuse (Thor’s Rubber Hammer/2008)

5. A Salty Dog – Procol Harum (A&M/1969)

4. The Drift – Scott Walker (4AD/2006)

3. Light From a Dying Star – The Enigmatic Foe (independent/2008)

2. The Changing of the Guard – Starflyer 59 (Tooth $ Nail/2010)

1. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire (Merge/2010)

Heavy Rotation: July 1, 2010

This week’s heavy rotation, in no particular order. No commentary, just a list.

10. Moonflower Lane – Ty Tabor (Metal Blade/1998)

9. Retrospective – Bread (Rhino/1996)

8. Night Falls – Thrushes (Birdnote/2010)

7. Through the Devil Softly – Hope Sandoval and Her Warm Intentions (Nettwerk/2009)

6. Private Eyes – Hall and Oates (RCA/1981)

5. Burning Like the Midnight Sun – The Choir (Galaxy21/2010)

4. Katy Lied – Steely Dan (ABC/1975)

3. Diorama – Silverchair (Eleven/2002)

2. The Trials of Van Occupanther – Midlake (Bella Union/2006)

1. Pretzel Logic – Steely Dan (ABC/1974)

Rotation (5/30/10)

Poor Old Lu: Scott Hunter, Jesse Sprinkle, Nick Barber and Aaron Sprinkle

I’ve been re-evaluating Poor Old Lu’s The Waiting Room this week. It’s not one of those records I was into 15 years ago and was just curious as to how well it stands up today. Katy got it to review (I think?) just before we got married, but I was never into it.

Poor Old Lu was a Christian band in the nineties, and its members have continued to play important roles in the music industry. It reunited to record The Waiting Room (and play some tour dates, if I remember correctly) in 2003. It then broke up again.

I wasn’t really a fan of the band until its two mind-blowing releases: the Straight Six EP in 1995 and (its dark and final album) A Picture of the Eighth Wonder in 1996. This comeback record just didn’t do it for me in 2003, but I wonder if my expectations were to blame? I kinda like The Waiting Room now.

Alright, so my rotation this week, in no particular order.

8.  Olivier Messiaen’s L’Ascension – Polish Radio Orchestra (Naxos/2000)

7.  Music From Big Pink – The Band (Capital/1968)

6.  Imperial Bedroom – Elvis Costello (Columbia/1982)

5.  “You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes” – Hammock (independent/2010)

4.  Early Music – Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch/1997)

3.  Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook – Ella Fitzgerald (Verve/1961)

2. The Waiting Room – Poor Old Lu (Tooth and Nail/2003)

1.  Old Angel – Lost Dogs (Lo-Fidelity/2010)

Rotation (18 February 2010)

I haven’t posted a rotation in a while. Here’s what I’ve been listening to for the past week, in no particular order. No commentary, just a list.

1. Model Engine – The Lean Year’s Tradition (5 Minute Walk/1997)
2. Cut Off Your Hands – Happy As Can Be (French Kiss/2008)
3. Curious Fools – Read (Gotee/1996)
4. The Church – The Bastard Universe (Cooking Vinyl/1998)
5. The Roots – The Roots Come Alive (MCA/1999)
6. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park (4AD/2008)
7. Cazals – What of Our Future (The Hours Entertainment/2009)
8. Black Eyed Sceva – Way Before the Flood (5 Minute Walk/1995)
9. DJ Logic – Project Logic (Ropeadope/1999)
10. And, although I haven’t listened to any Kevin Clay albums this week, his songs keep popping in my head when I’m in the shower or in the car. Must be time to pull Na$hvega$: The Land of Milk & Money out.

Rotation (11/11/09)

I think I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home lately.  Here’s what I’ve been listening to in the car, in no particular order.

1. Blur – Blur (Virgin 1997)
2. The Sexy Accident – Mantoloking (independent 2009)
3. Spiritualized – The Complete Works, Volume One (Arista 2003)
4. Sam Billen – Headphones and Cellphones (The Record Machine 2009)
5. DJ Shadow – Private Press (MCA 2002)

 

 

 

Rotation (10/15/09)

I’ve decided to pare down my rotation posts to just five lucky albums.  Here they are for this past week or so, in no particular order.

1. Built to Spill – You in Reverse (Warner Bros. 2006)
2. David Bowie – Low (RCA – 1977)
3. Sal Paradise – Welcome (Tooth and Nail – 1996)
4. Guided By Voices- Human Amusements at Hourly Rates (Matador 2003)
5. Neu! – Neu! 2 (Brain 1973)

This week’s rotation

It’s been a busy week, with working and some other events that I’ll discuss as this week goes along.  I have had a lovely soundtrack to it all.

1. Genesis – And Then There Were Three (Atlantic 1978)
2. Genesis – Invisible Touch (DVD)
3. Thrushes – Sun Come Undone (Birdnote 2006)
4. Fugazi – In on the Kill Taker (Dischord 1993)
5. Paul Weller – Heavy Soul (Island 1997)
6. Buffalo Springfield -box set, disc 4
7. Tears for Fears -Mothers Talk 12″ (Mercury 1985)
8. Destroyer – Bay of Pigs 12″ (Merge 2009)
9. The Church – Uninvited, Like the Clouds (Cooking Vinyl 2006)
10. Hammock – Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow (Darla 2008)

Look for a wild episode of Radio Free Raytown on Friday…