Friday, February 29, 2008

Bobb Trimble & His Premonitions



















This is one of those close-to-perfect records that can put everyone listening to it in a great mood and stimulate interesting conversation. Just as easily, Bobb can also put you in a terrible, pessimistic mood if you're at home alone with a six pack of Shlitz and its raining outside. Of course, these are universal signs of a wonderful record.
The effects on the record coupled with Bobb's almost falsetto vocals and the weird field-recording sounds (even a track of silence) creates a completely different world. It isn't really just a psychedelic record or a folk record or anything easily definable...the record succeeds in its striking originality.

Check the record out here

Further:
Bobb's myspace page
Bobbtrimble.com

You can buy the record along with Iron Curtain Innocence (excellent) at Aquarius Records.
Just type bobb trimble in the search box and voila. They've written a nice review too.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Simply Saucer's Electronic Garage Stomps


Simply Saucer holds the title for the most incendiary rock & roll band north of those blue Canadian Rockies. Their recorded material didn't really get into the hands of the garage dwelling, psyche-hungry until the reissue in '89, and I first bought the 2003 reissue (with bonus tracks) put out by the fine Sonic Unyon, a record label based out of Hamilton, Ontario, which incidentally is the hometown of the band in question. I don't know why it took so long for this to happen (the band wasn't interested in marketing themselves? no one wanted to listen to raucous punk-rock-electronic explorations? Canadian origin is a stigma?) but the music is incredible. So, let's get everything straight. The band recorded their stuff in 1974, it got released posthumously in 1989, reissued in 2003, and now a reunion in 2008! A new record called Half Human/Half Live is being released this year.

The Simply Saucer sounds are always compared to the Stooges, Modern Lovers & Velvet Underground, but that doesn't give enough description. The crazed stomp & distorted mayhem is teamed with radical, exploring electronic motifs and is raw as fuck. It can only speak for itself, so listen to the album here and check it out for yourself.

Make sure to check out the new record & go to the Terrastock 7 festival in Louisville. Simply Saucer is on the line up! I'll be there.

Monday, February 4, 2008

A Velvet Underground Compilation!


American Rock & Roll hasn't sounded better.
Every one of their albums is brilliant - the song writing, the production, the raw emotion.
They were one of the first to successfully marry the avant-garde with pop sensibilities & good ol' rock n' roll thanks to Lou's background with doo wop and John Cale's background with La Monte Young & John Cage.

I made my own "best of" compilation to share what I think to be an excellent retrospective of the band's existence & a perfect starting point for the uninitiated. It is also great for those familiar with the band because there are tracks from all of their albums & a few great live performances.

Please comment if you want to ask anything about the band, their albums, or this mix.

listen: disc one disc two

Disc One Tracklist








Disc Two Tracklist