Normally, I’d have plenty I’d want to say about two of my favorite records this year, but time constraints make that task an impossibility.
Nevertheless, here are both the shows from the last two weeks archived for your listening enjoyment. Two weeks back we featured Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s Beware as album of the week, this week we featured Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound and their album, When Sweet Sleep Returned. The show from two weeks ago features a ton of new music, including four cuts from Beware. The most recent show features mostly older stuff, with Assemble Head representing the only music from 2009.
Next week’s show is going to be run almost entirely by my interns, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have an album of the week for you. Any extra time I might gain from fewer responsibilities will go into making a proper post here on the website.
Thanks for stopping by – hope you enjoy the music.
DOWNLOAD : 11/16 : HOUR 1
DOWNLOAD : 11/16 : HOUR 2
01. Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound “Two Birds” from When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009) on Tee Pee
02. Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound “Drunken Leaves” from When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009) on Tee Pee
03. Yeasayer “2080” from All Hour Cymbals (2007) on We Are Free
04. Yo La Tengo “Cherry Chapstick” from And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (2000) on Matador
05. Silver Jews “Buckingham Rabbit” from American Water (1998) on Drag City
06. The Cramps “Sheena’s in a Goth Gang” from Big Beat from Badsville (1997) on Epitaph
07. Sonic Youth “Paper Cup Exit” from Sonic Nurse (2004) on Geffen
08. New Order “Ceremony” from Substance (1987) on Qwest
09. Cop Shoot Cop “We Shall Be Changed” from Suck City (1992) on Atlantic
10. Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band “The Clouds are Full of Wine (not Whiskey or Rye)” from Lick My Decals Off Baby (1970) on Straight Records
11. Aphex Twin “Windowlicker” from Windowlicker (1999) on Warp
12. Daniel Johnston “Story of an Artist” from Welcome To My World (2006) on Eternal Yip-Eye Music
13. Foetus “Cirrhosis of the Heart” from Flow (2001) on Thirsty Ear
14. Belbury Poly “Owls and Flowers” from The Owl’s Map (2006) on Ghost Box
15. LCD Soundsystem “Disco Infiltrator” from S/T (2004) on DFA
16. Chicks on Speed “Yes I Do!” from Will Save Us All (2000) on Chicks on Speed
17. Man Or Astro Man? “Joker’s Wild” from Destroy All Astro-Men! (1994) on Estrus
18. Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound “By the Rippling Green” from When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009) on Tee Pee
19. Cranes “Jewel” from Forever (1993) on Dedicated
20. Belle & Sebastian “Sleep the Clock Around” from The Boy With The Arab Strap (1998) on Matador
21. Broadcast “Lunch Hour Pops” from Haha Sound (2003) on Warp
22. The Fall “Touch Sensitive” from The Marshall Suite (1999) on Artful Records
23. Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound “End Under Down” from When Sweet Sleep Returned (2009) on Tee Pee
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DOWNLOAD : 11/9 : HOUR 1
DOWNLOAD : 11/9 : HOUR 2
01. Four Tet “Love Cry” from Love Cry (2009) on Domino
02. Brian Harnetty “And Under the Winesap Tree” from Silent City (2009) on Atavistic
03. Broadcast And The Focus Group “Let It Begin/Oh Joy” from Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age (2009) on Warp
04. Seven Stapleton and Tony Wakeford “Flower Dream Song” from Revenge of the Selfish Shellfish (2009) on Robot Records — originally released in 1992 on Tursa
05. Jason Molina and Will Johnson “34 Blues” from Molina and Johnson (2009) on Secretly Canadian
06. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “You Don’t Love Me” from Beware (2009) on Drag City
07. Bear in Heaven “Deafening Love” from Beast rest Forth Mouth (2009) on Hometapes
08. The Black Heart Procession “Wasteland” from six (2009) on Temporary Residence
09. Karl Blau “All Over the Town” from Zebra (2009) on K
10. Ryoji Ikeda “Data.Reflex” from Dataplex (2005) on Raster-noton
11. Venetian Snares “Crashing the Yogurt Truck” from Filth (2009) on Planet Mu
12. The Dutchess & the Duke “Hands” from Sunset/Sunrise (2009) on Hardly Art
13. Magnolia Electric Co “O! Grace” from Josephine (2009) on Secretly Canadian
14. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “I Don’t Belong to Anyone” from Beware (2009) on Drag City
15. Wild Beasts “Two Dancers” from Two Dancers (2009) on Domino
16. Built to Spill “Nowhere Lullaby” from There Is No Enemy (2009) on Warner Brothers
17. Kurt Vile “Monkey” from Childish Prodigy (2009) on Matador
18. Six Organs of Admittance “Actaeon’s Fall (Against the Hounds)” from Luminous Night (2009) on Holy Mountain
19. Pink Mountaintops “Execution” from Outside Love (2009) on Jagjaguwar
20. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “There is Something I Have to Say” from Beware (2009) on Drag City
21. World Domination Enterprises “Asbestos Lead Asbestos” from Let’s Play Domination (1988) on Caroline
22. Brian Eno “The Big Ship” from Another Green World (2004) on Virgin
23. Richard Youngs “Broke Up By Night” from Under Stellar Stream (2009) on Jagjaguwar
24. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “Afraid Ain’t Me” from Beware (2009) on Drag City
For the next several weeks Laughter will be featuring some of its favorite records from 2009, leading up to a year-end finale where we’ll play all the stuff we’ve liked most this year. Selections could possibly include reissues, but for the most part we’ll be considering only new recordings.
Take the time to read Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy if you haven’t already done so. The Road was a quick and fun read (as much as the apocalypse can be fun) and it received a ton of attention thanks to Oprah, but Blood Meridian shows off why McCarthy is held in such high esteem. The myth of the wild west fascinates me, and this book does everything it can to reveal it in all its gritty (un)glory.
Making a mix tape of good music from the 1980s is not particularly difficult. The real challenge is creating a mix that will fit on one CD and catching a significant chunk of the diversity to which those 10 years were witness. I’ve yet to put together any kind of comprehensive mix, but what you’ll find below is a sample of what I enjoy.
Steven R. Smith is one of the most fascinating guitarists and writers this country has. Along with talents like Glenn Jones, Jack Rose, and Ben Chasny, he has composed a remarkable and singular body of work grounded in the history and spirit of America (guts and all). After nearly 15 years and well over 30 albums Smith has composed one of his best records yet, one that approaches the greatness of Tableland. Economical and sharply focused, Cities plays out like the soundtrack to humanity’s slow and sad funeral.
The far off screaming of a tortured mass inaugurates Nightmares’ 7″ EP, sending a chilly wave of numbing synthesizer noise out into the world. Jonathan Canaday, David Reed, and Mark Solotroff’s work together is as severe and indomitable as the product of their solo productions might suggest. Though not as frightening as their namesake implies, Nightmares’ noise is oppressive and dense and more than a little uncomfortable.
This week there were no issues with the transmitter, but for some reason the ZBC Archives failed to record the first half of my show. Hopefully you had the chance to listen live, though. Naturally, the one show that wasn’t recorded in its entirety was one of my better shows this year. The second half has a ton of great stuff, however, so all is not lost. This week’s show features new music from Magnolia Electric Co. with Centro-Matic member Will Johnson as well as new stuff from Ganglians, Burial & Four Tet, Six Organs of Admittance, and Boston’s own Glenn Jones (pictured left, at Brainwaves 2008).