Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Been meaning to ask you all...




So with Zoltar's Revenge on Facebook, more of you are checking out this music, right? I can't know for sure unless you talk to me about or leave a comment so there are definitely some of you. And it is very much appreciated. Makes doing this worth it. So I wanted to ask those of you a question...

If I went out of my way to make a home-recorded radio show with a large selection of music from all over the spectrum and left it to be downloaded, would you all listen to it? Cause if not, I'll solely do it this way. But I figured if there were single songs people heard and enjoyed, they could request uploads, info and so on and it would make discovery of music for it's own sake a lot easier. So if that would be an attractive option and you would ACTUALLY LISTEN TO IT, please leave a comment so I know.

Thanks again homies.

Wildildlife-Six (2007)



What a delightfully strange band. The first track, "Things Will Grow," builds up through a groovy, pounding drum beat until it explodes into some fucked up meeting between Neurosis, the Jesus Lizard and Animal Collective. There's a little bit of everything in here. The next track, Tungsten Steel, could be the unfortunate birth of "Doom Pop." It rules hard to hear bands wear many influences when they can actually synthesize all of it while keeping the song structure attractive. It does not rule hard when journalists need a new genre term for it. But I digress. Magic Jordan takes Drum's Not Dead-era Liars and elongates it into an epic track of peaks and valleys with plenty of tweaks to make it something totally their own. One of the more interesting bands to emerge for a long time. Highly highly recommended for fans of any band mentioned above if not just the generally curious.

What can I say...it's wild

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Mississippi Fred McDowell



Probably my favorite blues musician. The music just has that feeling that you can't possibly ignore. The man's had style, that's for sure. One of the premier slide guitarists, McDowell was discovered in Como, MS by famed ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in 1959. These songs are preserved on the First Recordings. McDowell cut his self-titled album in his home in 1962. This is the album for me. All of the songs begin slow before picking up speed as McDowell gets increasingly into each track. To put it bluntly, it's a joy to listen to. Words do not do it justice. Absolutely mandatory.

The First Recordings (1959)
Mississippi Fred McDowell (1962)