Staff Picks for December 2011
December 30, 2011
Various Artists
Compiled by Will "Quantic" Holland from 45s, 78s and LP tracks, this killer 55-track double disc compilation, documents Cumbia’s evolution from its recorded origins in the poor rural villages high in the Andes north along the Magdalena River to the urban centers along the Caribbean Sea.
December 29, 2011
Severe and sincere retro-metal with a huge dollop of 70's, Deep Purple-esque progressive rock, 17th Street sounds like a block party co-headlined by Iron Maiden, Big Country, Queen and Masters of Reality. Check out "The Grain" for an instant litmus test.
December 28, 2011
Journeyman drummer Billy Hart's stellar 2011 effort, Sixty-Eight is a harmonically muscular and swinging affair. Tackling a mix of edgy originals and covers, Hart is joined by a group of younger, post-bop firebrands including trumpeter Jason Palmer and saxophonist Logan Richardson.
December 27, 2011
Live from Austin TX features former Blasters songwriter and guitarist Dave Alvin recorded on January 29, 1999. On these 13 tracks, Alvin and the Guilty Men tackle songs from the albums Blackjack David and King of California along with fan favorites from his days with the Blasters.
December 26, 2011
When Thomas Hoskins knocked on John Hurt's door one day with a tape recorder and a guitar in 1963, he rediscovered a gentle-voiced bluesman who had cut a handful of recordings for OKeh Records way back in 1928. These fascinating field recordings, done that day, are a true treasure.
December 25, 2011
Put on your holiday sweater and go on a psychedelic journey through outer space with the soundtrack to the Flaming Lips freaked out sci-fi movie, Christmas on Mars, an album that feels like a Bernard Herrmann score on acid.
December 24, 2011
The first wide release from Stereolab is still the best place to find their odd dichotomy: atonal avant-garde noise and warm harmonies, paced by the 18-minute "Jenny Ondioline."
December 23, 2011
This one goes out to my nephew (s'up Bob Jr.!) who I'll be visiting this holiday season. Hope he still loves the Corpse, and we can rip "Vomit the Soul" while drinking egg nog. Shout out to my niece Jen (Magnetic Zeros all day!) and nephew Michael (Capcom, yo!) as well.
December 22, 2011
Even after losing two of the original Pretenders and taking time off to have a baby, Chrissie Hynde returned with a masterpiece. To top it off, "2000 Miles" just might be the best Christmas song ever.
December 21, 2011
The second anthology compiling the work of remix pioneers John Morales and Sergio Munzibai features extended disco classics by the likes of Teddy Pendergrass, Loleatta Holloway, and Candi Staton.
December 20, 2011
Not feeling cheery this holiday season? The Wipers never felt cherry, ever, and their classic 1980 album is some thrillingly bleak and fierce punk rock that will make you want to kick Santa right in the toy sack.
December 19, 2011
After releasing an inspiring string of the cruddiest sounding records you'd care to imagine, Times New Viking hit a "real" studio, cleaned up the sound all the way to "audible," and made their best album of super hooky indie pop to date.
December 18, 2011
A deep golden-age hip-hop cut that shows all you need is a love of Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle and some huge afro wigs to have yourself a concept album.
December 17, 2011
Even more dreamlike than 2010's Returnal, Replica showcases Daniel Lopatin's skill at channeling subtle but distinct moods from the most unlikely sounds and sources as Oneohtrix Point Never. Sampling '80s commercials, Lopatin crafts free-flowing tracks that make gentle but unforgettable impressions.
December 16, 2011
Swinging and beautifully executed, trumpeter Terell Stafford's 2011 album This Side of Strayhorn is a bluesy and melodic album that celebrates the sophisticated work of Duke Ellington's longtime collaborator. Stafford's understated style and superb technique shows that there is still a place for standards in jazz.
December 15, 2011
Ernie K-Doe is best remembered for his 1961 smash “Mother-in-Law,” which was written and produced by Allen Toussaint, but K-Doe's brand of good-natured New Orleans R&B (and his fruitful musical relationship with Toussaint) runs deeper than just his signature song, as this two-disc, 49-track set shows.
December 14, 2011
A landmark from Miles Davis, issued in 1972, that burbles until settling into a cyclone of aggressive, restlessly shifting jazz-funk. Bonus: Its sleigh bells allow you to pass it off as Christmas music.
December 13, 2011
England's godfather of garage revival celebrates the season with a collection of rough-and-tumble, rollicking tunes with a festive focus, from acerbic originals like anti-consumerist anthem "Knick Knack Paddywack (Chuck It In The Bin)" to holiday reinterpretations of songs by the Sonics, the Who and Link Wray.
December 12, 2011
Various Artists
For any fan of classic country, stocking stuffers don't come any sweeter than one (or twelve) of the volumes in the great Dim Lights series. Each one has at least 25 tracks boasting the best sound around plus copious liner notes and photos.
December 11, 2011
This three disc compilation assembles three EPs previously only available as digital downloads. Dave Douglas recorded all of them over the course of 2011, with three different groups. All are more than half an hour long and offer a multidimensional perspective on his ever-widening directions as a composer, arranger, and bandleader.
December 10, 2011
Turn that Yule log into a bonfire with this surprisingly solid, unpretentious collection of hard rocking, holiday standards that will make your bangs stand straight up and your pants shrink six sizes.
December 9, 2011
RIP To the great Dobie Gray, who saw two of his prime country-soul albums--Drift Away and Loving Arms--reissued by Raven earlier this year.
December 8, 2011
Various Artists
The title’s generic, but the artwork is fly, and if you flip this ’93 release over there are mighty names like Run-D.M.C. and Sweet Tee. Check “Dana Dane Is Coming to Town” to get in the spirit or drop “A Surf M.C. New Year” if you think Christmas is totally mushburger.
December 7, 2011
The recently released documentary “God Bless Ozzy Osbourne” finds the prince of darkness in much better shape than on his tragic reality show, and it sure is refreshing to see him all cleaned up. Let’s take a moment to celebrate the Ozzman's re-cometh by looking back at his first solo album.
December 6, 2011
If rock ‘n’ roll is all about dancing on your troubles, then Male Bonding make like Fred Astaire on Endless Now. The trio brings grace and wit to heartaches and growing pains, wrapping it in fuzzy punk-pop that makes heads bob and think at the same time.
December 5, 2011
The title should clue you in that this happy-go-poppy Toronto band are about as twee as it gets. They are also insanely hooky and if they can't make you smile, nothing can.
December 4, 2011
Pairing sludgy guitars with haunting violins, SubRosa add an element of eerie elegance and atmosphere with their unique take on shuddering doom.
December 3, 2011
Stephen Friedland (Brute Force) scored his biggest non-hit, "The King of Fuh" (get it, the Fuh King?), with this 1971 collection of comedy, folk, and improvisation that aimed for profundity but ended up hitting novelty square in the jaw.
December 2, 2011
Cohen hated the finished version so much that he nearly quit the music biz after its release, but he and Phil Spector are a match made in heaven on Death of a Ladies’ Man.
December 1, 2011
Avant jazz giants Anthony Braxton, William Parker and Milford Graves are transcendent in their first-ever collaboration, finding an almost telepathic connection as they explore the outer reaches of melody and fiery improvisation to craft one of the finest recordings of its kind of the past decade.