Archive
* Favorite EPs / Vinyl / Live Albums & more of 2010 *
This is sort of a precursor to my “official” Favorites of 2010 blogs. Up later this week, I’ll post my favorite vocal and favorite instrumental albums of 2010. Anyway, on with the music pimping…
Favorite EPs of 2010
- Holy Fuck – +Ghost (bonus disc with Latin)
- Auragami – Resistance (thanks, Michael)
- Sufjan Stevens – All Delighted People
- Owen Pallett – Demo (with Shara Worden – FREE)
- Haftor Medbøe Group – Box of Monkeys (technically 2009, but I got it late)
Favorite Vinyl-only Release of 2010
- My Brightest Diamond & Dayna Kurtz – Gone Away / Postcards from Downtown 7″
- Erik Friedlander – Alchemy 10″
- Isis / Melvins split 12″
- Damien & Drake Jurado – Hoquiam 12″
- John Zorn’s The Dreamers – The Gentle Side 12″
fave non-vinyl-only issue: Mike Patton‘s Mondo Cane 12″ (is luscious)
Favorite DVDs of 2010 (I didn’t really get any outside of music-related and an old H.Potter)
- Porcupine Tree – Anesthetize: Live in Tilburg
- Steven Wilson – Insurgentes
- Jónsi – Go Quiet & Go Live
- John Zorn & Richard Foreman – Astronome: A Night at the Opera
Favorite Internet Only Releases of 2010
- Kembwe – Kembwe
- Derek Webb – Democracy Vol 1 (monthly series)
- My Terrible Friend EP (a folky Pomplamoose spin-off)
- Celldweller – Wish Upon a Blackstar (a few chapters)
- Puya – Areyto EP
- Ty Tabor – Trip Magnet & Jelly Jam‘s Additives
- Asthmatic Kitty‘s Library Catalog Music Series (I think they also put some of these out as vinyl)
- Glen Phillips – Tornillo
- Kevin Moore – Shine (late, late 2010 – CD in early 2011)
- Rafter – Animal Feelings (maybe it came out on CD, too?)
Favorite Live Albums of 2010
- King’s X – Live Love in London
- Jónsi – Go Live
- Redbird (Peter Mulvey / Jeffrey Foucault / Kris Delmhorst / David “Goody” Goodrich) – Live at Café Carpe 2008 & 2009
Favorite Podcasts in 2010 (they’re free, yo! Search for them on iTunes)
- George Hrab – Geologic Podcast
- Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC
- The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC
- Bill Maher‘s New Rules
- The Adam Carolla Podcast
- Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier – SModcast
- Kevin Smith & Ralph Garman – Hollywood Babble On
- Starfucking with Kevin Smith (OK, not free – proceeds for charity, though)
- SMoviemakers with Kevin Smith
- The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Best Cover Art & Packaging in 2010 (all vinyl, but the CDs were cool, too)
- Mike Patton – Mondo Cane
- Jónsi – Go
- John Zorn’s The Dreamers – Gentle Side (vinyl, designed by Chippy)
Favorite Local Releases in 2010 (PacNW represent)
- Kembwe – Kembwe (Ashland-based ambient, vocal alchemy)
- I suck… that’s all the local-ish stuff I got this year…
Best Re-issues in 2010
- Carissa’s Wierd‘s first three albums (Ugly But Honest / You Should Be Home Here / Songs About Leaving)
- Mr. Bungle – California (on vinyl)
- Frank Zappa – Greasy Love Songs (deluxe re-issue of Cruisin’ with Rueben & the Jets)
- Elliott Smith – An Introduction to… (career spanning compilation)
Best Not-for-Profit Release in 2010
- Medeski Martin & Wood – The Stone Issue Four (for The Stone NYC)
Worst Music News in 2010 (for me)
- Cincinnati rock band Noctaluca broke up. Here’s hoping Jason Ludwig goes on to do some more interesting stuff.
- Faith No More‘s reunion tour didn’t hit the U.S. proper. Argh.
Best Late-Getter in 2010 (something that came out before 2010)
- Abagail’s Ghost – d_letion (from 2009)
- Fever Ray – Fever Ray (also from 2009)
Best Musical Novelty / Ingenuity
- Tristan Perich – 1-Bit Symphony
Best Music Videos
- Holy Fuck “Red Lights”
- Turf Fienz “Rain Dance”
- Cee-Lo Green “Fuck You” (original)
- The Gregory Brothers & Antoine Dodson “The Bed Intruder”
So, yeah, this was the catch-all post… check back later this week for the more traditional year end wrap-up festivities…
My Other Favorites of 2010 Recaps:
The future of music?
Visually like a mix of vinyl and cassette, but it’s actually a not-too-futuristic way for digital playback of music…
http://imissmypencil.com/
Neato!
Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane vinyl (photos)
Mike Patton posted these shots of the Mondo Cane vinyl to his Facebook page yesterday. It’s lookin’ niiiiiiice! It’s also limited edition; so if you haven’t ordered it – get on that soon!
Pretty!
Steven Wilson’s TAPE EXPERIMENTS 1985-1986
Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson is always putting out something… this week, he announced he’s making available Tape Experiments 1985-1986 on vinyl via Tone Float.

It was originally intended as a pre-order bonus to his Insurgentes dvd movie release (but withdrawn in favor of a much more recent piece of music), Steven Wilson decided to make his two and four track tape experiments from 1985/1986 available via Soundcloud (free legal download link).
Those tracks are now being released as 180 gram black vinyl album, entitled Tape Experiments 1985/1986. In tie with the flaws of the original grimy cassettes they were taken from, the album is designed with the 70s vinyl bootleg records in mind (and in particular the legendary takrl label), complete with an insert cover. The release date is November 29, 2010, and the album is available exclusively from the Tonefloat store.
Introduction to Elliott Smith
Next week (Nov 2nd), a new Introduction to Elliott Smith release comes out. There aren’t any new songs, but it’s being put out digitally, on CD, and on vinyl, too. That, in and of itself, means I need to get it… as I have all of his albums on vinyl… can’t stop… :)
More importantly, if you don’t know any Elliott Smith, this would be the album to get. You will soon fall in love.
Mondo Cane on Vinyl
One of the best records out this year is Mike Patton‘s Mondo Cane. You may know Mike Patton for Faith No More, Mr Bungle, or other avant-garde projects… well, Mondo Cane was recorded at a series of European performances, this album features traditional Italian pop songs as well as a rendition of Ennio Morricone’s “Deep Down.” Sung in Italian, Patton worked with a full orchestra and choir to create the unique new sound. There will only be 5,000 made of the triple-gatefold 180g vinyl.
It comes out November 22nd, and it’s available for pre-order NOW on Amazon.
David Bazan’s Christmas 2010 7″ vinyl
It’s October… leaves are starting to change, school is in full swing, days are getting even shorter, and David Bazan‘s annual Christmas 7″ vinyl is up for pre-order… starting with the Pedro the Lion days (2002’s The First Noel 7″), it’s become an indie rock tradition to get your mits on the meloncholy holiday tunes pressed to wax from Bazan.
For 2010, the songs are “WISH MY KIDS WERE HERE” and “I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY.” Suicide Squeeze Records has it – limited to 1000 copies (200 Orange, 400 Opaque Red, 400 Opaque Yellow). This 7-inch EP opens with a Bazan original, a heartbreaker of a track titled, “Wish My Kids Were Here.” The flip revisits an old favorite, Longfellow’s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” an update on a song he first recorded/released, in 2002, at the start of the series.
ORDER HERE:
http://www.suicidesqueeze.net/index.php?section=store&ID=91
Act fast… 1,000 doesn’t last long.
John Zorn THE DREAMERS on vinyl(!!)
So, there was a hint a few months ago about a vinyl release from Tzadik… my hunch was that it would be John Zorn / The Dreamers O’o release (out on CD in 2009). Well, posted on Tzadik graphic artist Hueng-Hueng “Chippy” Chin’s Chippy Design flickr site yesterday was this…
“The Dreamers vinyl”
(click for larger)
It’s available for pre-order at Amazon under the title Dreamers – The Gentle Side… out Nov 23rd, 2010.
Update (10/8): the picture disc…

Hoquiam video
Here’s the latest, lo-fi video from Hoquiam (Damien and Drake Jurado)… Zombies of the Sea:
The vinyl-or-mp3-only, self-titled debut by Hoquiam is available on St. Ives/Secretly Canadian. That release and Damien’s solo Saint Bartlett rank in my faves this year.
Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
Last week they announced the All Delighted People EP. And the week before the fall tour was announced. And today, Asthmatic Kitty announced the upcoming release of The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds), the first song-based full-length from Sufjan Stevens since 2005’s Illinois.
8/27 update: Preview of “I Walked” HERE.
http://asthmatickitty.com/the-age-of-adz
The Age of Adz tracklist
1. Futile Devices – 2:11
2. Too Much – 6:44
3. Age of Adz – 8:00
4. I Walked – 5:01 preview
5. Now That I’m Older – 4:56
6. Get Real Get Right – 5:10
7. Bad Communication – 2:24
8. Vesuvius – 5:26
9. All for Myself – 2:55
10. I Want To Be Well – 6:27
11. Impossible Soul – 25:35
The Age of Adz will drop on October 12th (CD, MP3) with a double-LP following on November 9th. For the next three weeks you can pre-order the CD or LP, and receive an MP3 download on September 28th, two weeks before the release date.
Per Asthmatic Kitty:
“It’s much too soon to cast descriptive lots, but we can say the new album sounds nothing like the All Delighted EP (although it shares similar themes of love, loss, and the apocalypse). Nor is this new album built around any conceptual underpinning (no odes to states, astrology, or urban expressways). We can say it shows an extensive use of electronics (banjos and acoustic guitars give way to drum machines and analog synthesizers), and an obsession with cosmic fantasies (space, heaven, aliens, love), to create an explicit pop-song extravaganza, augmented by heavy orchestration, and maybe even a few danceable moments. Enjoy Your Rabbit meets the BQE. But with songs. Verse, chorus, bridge, backbeat. Gated reverb. Space echo. Get your boogey on. The ‘Adz’ of the title loosely refers to the apocalyptic paintings of outsider artist Royal Robertson (1930-1997), whose work is used for the album cover, interior design, and as general inspiration for the tone of the album.”
Wow… 2010 is the Year of the Sufjan.
~Dan – np: John Zorn, Bill Frisell/Marc Ribot/Tim Sparks – Masada Guitars

no free mp3 download or flac torrent here ever. if you like music, support it. buy it.
Goddamn Electric Bill – Jazz (vinyl)
Jason Torbert, aka Goddamn Electric Bill, is putting out his fourth album soon… this time on vinyl, and this time with our help. He’s started a campaign via Kickstarter to gain enough pre-order support to make the vinyl happen.
There are several different packages including vinyl only, vinyl + bsides, vinyl+ bsides + CD, et cetera. He needs to raise $1,500 by Sept 17th. He’s about half way there as of now, but the project won’t happen if he doesn’t raise enough. For those not in the know about GdEB, it’s a fantastic melodic, organic electronic soundscape. Check out some tunes on MySpace or his video for “Ten Thousand Years” here:
I pitched in… I hope you dig the music and do the same. Let’s make GdEB’s Jazz album on vinyl a reality!
To find out more about JAZZ, click a photo above. You can also ask a question in the comments, email contact@goddamnelectricbill.com, or follow any one of these links:
www.goddamnelectricbill.com
www.myspace.com/goddamnelectricbill
www.facebook.com/goddamnelectricbill
www.vimeo.com/gdeb
www.youtube.com/anthropologymajor
www.twitter.com/goddamnelectric
~Dan – np: John Zorn / Masada String Trio – Film Works XI: Under the Wing 

Dave Douglas on vinyl
So, Expand from Dave Douglas & Keystone – the second in the Spark of Being trilogy – is now up for pre-order. Spark of Being is Dave’s recent collaboration with experimental filmmaker Bill Morrison (read more here). As a cool option, it’s going to be made available on vinyl – a first for Greenleaf Music.
I’ve got mine on pre-order… boxset and now vinyl. Oh, and once pre-ordered… you get to download it, even though its release date is August 24th.
Bazan: Live at Electrical Audio
So, David Bazan took his band into the studio to record a live session last fall. It’s coming out on CD and vinyl LP. CDs ship late March, vinyl ships late April. Pre-order and you get an immediate 256kbps mp3 download. They do some Bazan solo tunes, some Pedro the Lion tunes, and a Headphones tune. More info over at davidbazan.com…
David Bazan – Live at Electric Audio
1. I Do
2. How I Remember
3. When We Fell
4. Magazine
5. Never Wanted You
6. Cold Beer & Cigarettes
7. Heavy Breath
8. Keep Swinging
9. Fewer Broken Pieces
10. In Stitches
David Bazan: bass, vocals
Blake Wescott: guitar, vocals
Andy Fitts: guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals
Eric Elbogen: guitar, keyboards, vocals
Casey Foubert: drums, percussion
Recorded by Matthew Barnhart
Mixed and Mastered by TW Walsh
Photos by Bob Andrews and Caleb Palma
~Dan – np: Charlie Hunter & Pound for Pound – Return of the Candyman 

Steven Wilson Cover Versions boxset
Steven Wilson‘s 6th and final Cover Versions is finally coming out…

It comes with a special box to house all six discs. The CDs are available via Burning Shed or Headphone Dust. CV5 & CV6 will be out on 7″ vinyl from Tonefloat when they’re ready. For those that don’t know Steven Wilson… he’s the frontman of Porcupine Tree, co-leader of Blackfield and No-Man, and involved in many other side projects like IEM, Bass Communion, and more…
Two other quick newsbits…
The Maynard James Keenan (Tool/A Perfect Circle/Puscifer) & Eric Glomski documentary about Arizona wines, Blood Into Wine, is hitting limited silver screens in February. A DVD release is scheduled for May 2010. More info over at Blabbermouth.
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway is branching out and going on a solo tour in Italy/Spain/Portugal in March & April 2010. More info over at Paste.
Wussy’s 2010 plans
From the Wussy camp’s website…
We are gearing up for a busy winter and spring so keep your ears peeled. Right now we’re planning spring tour dates and working on a new record. We’ll have a single (vinyl-only) on Shake It Records coming out this spring as part of their Dangerous Highway series, a tribute to Eddie Hinton. The A-Side is our take on the classic “Breakfast in Bed” made famous by Dusty Springfield. More news on that soon. The Drive By Truckers and Greg Dulli 45’s are out now (see shakeitrecords.com for more info).
In the meantime, we’re also working on a live album and a collection of Wussy remixes from other artists.
In other news, Wussy’s self-titled album was #10 on Christgau’s 2009 Dean’s List!
www.wussymusic.com
Cool! I’m looking forward to any new recorded music and touring from this great band!
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Also, reminder… if you can, please click this link and help the American Red Cross in their Haiti Earthquake Relief efforts. Also, you can donate $10 to the relief efforts in Haiti by texting “HAITI” to “90999.” The charge will show up on your phone bill.
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no download or torrent available
RECIPE: Simple Apple Pie (from Scratch)
* Favorite EPs / Vinyl / Live Albums & more of 2009 *
This is sort of a precursor to my “official” Favorites of 2009 blogs. Up later this week, I’ll post my favorite vocal and favorite instrumental albums of 2009, as well as my favorite artists of the decade. Anyway, on with the music pimping…
Favorite EPs of 2009
- Celldweller – Wish Upon a Blackstar Chapters 1 & 2
- Emily Wells – Dirty
- Puscifer – C is For…
- Anakronic Electro-Orkestra – The Yiddish Part
- Eisley – Fire Kite
hm: Ellery – Down, Down, Down
hm: One Eskimo – Tour EP
Favorite Vinyl of 2009
- Symphony of Science featuring Carl Sagan – A Glorious Dawn 7″
(best song of the year, too) - Holy Fuck & Off the International Radar – Hot Lips 12″
(playable at 33 & 45) - Reptet – Agendacide 7″
(great jazz from Seattle) - Sufjan Stevens – The BQE special edition
(luscious packaging) - Melt Banana – initial t. 5″
Favorite DVDs of 2009 (I didn’t really get many)
- Michel Gondry – Videos 2
- Dollhouse: Season One
- Bill Maher’s Religulous
- Criss Angel – Mindfreak: Collector’s Edition
- Secret Chiefs 3 – Live at the Great American Music Hall 2007
Favorite Internet Only Releases of 2009
- Jenny Owen Youngs “Hot in Herre”
- Anakronic Electro-Orkestra – The Yiddish Part
- My Brightest Diamond – Shark Remixes
- Celldweller – Wish Upon a Blackstar Ch’s 1 & 2
- Eisley – Fire Kite EP
- Glen Phillips “Little Bunny Foo Foo”
- Talking Snakes – Nonogram Zen
- Puscifer – C is For…
- Ellery – Down, Down, Down
- Kim Taylor – Little Miracle
Favorite Live Albums of 2009
- Over the Rhine – Live from Nowhere, Volume 4 (’08 Reunion Taft show)
- Noctaluca – Unplugged
- Ani DiFranco – the Saratoga and Chicago shows
Favorite Audiobooks of 2009
- David Cross – I Drink for a Reason
- Richard Dawkins – The Greatest Show on Earth
- Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant, and Karl Pilkington – The Guide to… (series)
Favorite Podcasts in 2009 (they’re free, yo! Search for them on iTunes)
- George Hrab – Geologic Podcast
- Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC
- The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC
- Bill Maher‘s New Rules
- Kevin Smith & Scott Mosier – SModcast
- The Adam Carolla Podcast
- The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Best Cover Art in 2009
- Celldweller – Wish Upon a Blackstar Chapter 1
- Nellie McKay – Normal As Blueberry Pie
- John Zorn – O’o (designed by Chippy)
Worst Cover Art: Tori Amos – Midwinter Graces
Best Packaging in 2009 (de-lux!)
- Sufjan Stevens – The BQE (gorgeous double-gatefold layout, super hero comic book, fun stuff)
- Porcupine Tree – The Incident (deluxe edition: sturdy hardback book with arty photos)
- Steven Wilson – Insurgentes (deluxe edition: sturdy hardback book with arty photos)
- Fanfarlo – Reservoir (deluxe edition: complete with a small board game)
- John Zorn – Femina (standard size, but nice clear slipcase and 52 page booklet. Tzadik has been kicking it up a notch!)
Favorite Local Releases in 2009 (PacNW represent)
- Douglas Detrick – The Turning Point (Eugene jazz)
- Hashem Assadullahi – The Strange Neighbor (Eugene jazz)
- I didn’t get jazz trio from Portland Trio Subtonic‘s CD yet… but soon…
Best Greatest Hits Releases of 2009
- Iron & Wine – Around the Well (tons of b-sides and new songs)
- Incubus – Monuments and Melodies (ditto)
Best Re-issues in 2009
- Radiohead – vinyl re-issues (I got the Drill EP on vinyl)
- Radiohead – Capital Special Collector’s Editions (2 CD + 1 DVD for their first 6 albums)
Best Surprise / Adaptation in 2009
- Despite the horrible cover art, Tori Amos‘ holiday album Midwinter Graces was quite delightful
Best Late-Getter in 2009 (something that came out before 2009)
- Ronin – Holon (from 2008)
Favorite iTunes iPhone Apps
- Lose It
- BeatMaker
- I Am T-Pain
- Veg Out (Around Me for Vegetarians)
- Veggie Passport (international translator specific to vegetarian concerns)
- Vegan Yum Yum (like Epicurious for veg only)
- Vegan Xpress (find veg items on national chains menus)
- Shop Saavy (bar-code scan and price shop)
- Dragon Dictation (speak an email or text message)
So, yeah, this was the catch-all post… check back tomorrow for the more traditional year end wrap-up festivities…
My Other Favorites of 2009 Recaps:
Reptet 7″ / Glen mashup video
Seattle jazz band Reptet has a new 7″ vinyl out called Agendacide. It’s available in vinyl/mp3 and mp3-only versions via the Reptet website, CDBaby, or (I expect eventually) the Monktail Creative Music Concern’s webpage. They’re headed out on a West Coast tour (that I won’t be able to catch this time, unfortunately):
- October 29, 2009 Cottage Grove, OR The Axe & Fiddle
- October 30 Chico, CA The Coda Cafe
- October 31 South Lake Tahoe, CA The Divided Sky
- November 1 Placerville, CA The Cozmic Cafe
- November 2 San Francisco, CA The Make-Out Room
- November 3 Sacramento. CA The Shady Lady
- November 4 Davis. CA The Delta of Venus
- November 5 Oakland, CA Café Van Kleef
- November 6 Reno, NV The Zephyr Lounge
- November 7 Los Angeles, CA Molly Mallone’s
- November 8 Santa Barbara. CA Live Culture
- November 9 Glendale CA JAX
- November 13 Olympia, WA The Eastside Club
They’ve got a new blog going on, too: http://reptet.wordpress.com/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
SInger-songwriter Glen Phillips tweeted last week about a mashup video of his “Spirit of Shackleton” and OneRepublic & Timbaland‘s “Apologize,” and the 1961 film The Phantom Planet. Behold “Spirit of an Apology“:
~Dan – np: Flight of the Conchords – Flight of the Conchords

MMW’s Radiolarians boxset
So, I was skeptical of the Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set for the three great jam/jazz albums that I already had, until I saw what Medeski Martin & Wood were offering in the boxset… all three CDs, a remix CD, a live album, a double vinyl with choice cuts, and a DVD…
(click for larger)
(click for larger)
Plus… pre-order by 11/10/09 and get 20% Off retail price and be entered to win 2 Free Tickets to an MMW concert on their Nov/Dec tour! Pre-order by 11/30/09 and get a Free T-shirt from their “Free Tee Department.”
Find out more at MMW.com’s store HERE.
Let’s just say, “I listed my current Radiolarians on Amazon for sale used”…

































We are gearing up for a busy winter and spring so keep your ears peeled. Right now we’re planning spring tour dates and working on a new record. We’ll have a single (vinyl-only) on Shake It Records coming out this spring as part of their Dangerous Highway series, a tribute to Eddie Hinton. The A-Side is our take on the classic “Breakfast in Bed” made famous by Dusty Springfield. More news on that soon. The Drive By Truckers and Greg Dulli 45’s are out now (see 





























