Late Spring 2024 (Part 1)

Beatnik Filmstars - Pink Noize [Slumberland] 

Okay, now this seems like I’m the target of some A.I. shenanigans. A band called “Beatnik Filmstars”?! The record is called “Pink Noize”. It was released in 1995. It’s a five track 7” 45 rpm EP. I definitely feel like my brain was plugged into a state-of-the-art supercomputer and it outputted something perfectly designed for me to be into. But, no, this record is not an A.I. simulation of “stuff AuxOut digs”, this was a real band that released a real record in 1995. And somehow I never heard of them! (Turns out they have a decent-sized wikipedia page, released a truckload of singles and a bunch of albums, including some on Merge. Did I just wake up from a coma? Ed.) The record is not earth shattering but when I say there is a Fall-meets-SY jammer called “National Pool Drama”, or a hooky sugar-noise number that feels like it lasts 45 seconds (“50/50 Split”), or that there’s a Swell Maps-y sheen slathered over their alterna-pop stylings (artwork included), or that a Gnat synthesizer is a credited instrument, you will know I’ve enjoyed the hell out of listening to this. Still available from Slumberland! 

Eyes and Flys & Personal Style - Labor Day [no label] 

While Eyes and Flys fled to the sunshine of Long Beach, Personal Style stayed true to those proverbial roots in Buffalo, NY. Thanks to the miracles of technology we take for granted, that geographical separation doesn’t mean these Buffalo boys can’t stay friends or even make records together. And you know what? This single really rips! Two head bashing pop tunes in the manner that Eyes and Flys is known for (Pat Shanahan’s bark is easily identifiable) but the addition of Personal Style (who is new to me) really opens up the E&F sound in a profound way—like going mono to stereo. Leaping out of a foggy guitar loop, the B-side “White Strawberries” is a b-side in a purely literal sense. The lead guitar totally shreds, providing killer melodies and a brilliant punk lead at the break while Shanahan snarls about not letting the cops in because they don’t like dogs. The A-side, “Labor Day”, similarly rules. Modern practitioners of the Flipper bassline renewal project like SF’s Life Stinks, they ride the riff for all its worth and drive the psych-kraut groove home not unlike that first 10” by another SF band Wooden Shjips. The track comes replete with some phenomenal spaced out breakdowns that build the tension for each successive chorus. A lot of replayability in this one. I’m a fan. I hope this isn’t a one-off! 

Saint Black - Saint November [Semi-Permanent] 

Hurtling through space and time all the way from New Jersey comes the latest release from lo-to-no-fi troubadour Saint Black, an EP called Saint November, following up a self-titled album from four years prior. The first sound you hear after popping in the disc is the Saint’s unaccompanied voice murmuring “castrate me gently”. The man knows his audience. Saint Black stripped away much of the sonic detritus that littered the last record (which I personally quite enjoyed) making for a more focused document of his vocation. 10 minutes and six tracks of broken down tunes centered around Saint Black’s Calvin Johnson-esque-by-way-of-Charlie-McAlister voice. “Saint New” is the one rocker. Thumping drum machine and an acoustic arpeggio with a fuzzy voice leaking all over it. A catchy promise lasting just a minute. Sometimes the songs emerge quite pretty (with some creasing around the eyes of course) such as “Saint Fun” or the seasick instrumental “Saint Hound”. Other times the songs are more direct and single-minded as on “Saint Guy” or the chunky guitar clank of “Saint Action”, riding the line between sonorous and alienating. Fans of early Smog, Graham Repulski or any other dumpster poets you may fancy, you know what to do! 

TV Dinner Education/Telephone Melts - split [Cudighi] 

Two Swedish acts paying tribute to important 20th century technological advancements (the telephone and the TV dinner, naturally) made for pretty easy work at Cudighi HQ when the label searched for a thematic pairing for its next split cassette. Cudighi introduced me to TV Dinner Education a few years back and I went gaga over their frenetic sounds. Can’t say that Telephone Melts rings a bell though. (A little old timey telephone joke there for those born in the previous century.) 

Kicking things off with TV Dinner Education, “Flip Heli Salto (discern visually using a backwards and forwards movement)” has a very long title for a very minimal track. Totally on brand based on the other TVDE tape I heard, the track is firmly rooted in the Liquid Liquid/ESG mutant disco realm. Drum thump. Cling clang jingle jang. Echoing staccato huffs and puffs. “Selfexplanatory” reminds me quite a bit of Angels in America. (A feat that excites me as that is still fertile soil for new bands to till. Hint, hint.) Skeletal, hypnotic, repulsive. Spiritual transmissions from a junkyard. Returning to 1981 NYC, “BOX-ing” sounds like DNA played at 33prm. Or maybe 19rpm. A deliberate tension developed more through focused restraint than a dearth of pitches traditionally welcomed by the human ear.  

Telephone Melts takes the flip. Pleasingly, the act (a one-guy-does-it-all project by Martin Hagrot) doesn’t sound like TV Dinner Education at all. Hagrot is on a different tip, one steeped in David Byrne and the same sickly sweet slime as 21st century lo-fi synth pop revisionaries like Man Made Hill and Zach Phillips. Dabbling in bedroom-rendered quasi-funk tunes (“Hotfix”) as well as moody early-digital keyboard-led instrumental laments (“Nitty Gritty”), it makes this cassette’s aural trek to the Land of the Midnight Sun well worth it. 

Unda Fluxit - Stone Ringing Sorrows [Ever/Never] 

I never got around to writing up this cassette when it came out but it’s stuck with me ever since so I’m finally getting a brief few words up now. Stone Ringing Sorrows is the magically solemn sophomore effort of Huma Aatifi who creates sinewy avant-folk songs on a 4-track. Jandek has been a common point of comparison, and fair enough, but to these ears Unda Fluxit’s music is warmer and more inviting than the stranger who hails from Texas. If you’ll permit me a bit of 90s indie rock fan fiction, Unda Fluxit evokes the image of The Dead C somehow slipping onto the MTV Unplugged stage and rattling strings and brains across the nation. Unda Fluxit’s music hovers in the liminal, perfect state between consonance and dissonance. Pitches from her voice, guitar, a drum and other instruments wander down their own paths, sometimes crossing, coalescing and saying “Hello”, other times diverging just enough to be unaware of each other’s presence. It is a riveting, soulful effect that lingers through each of the wonderful pieces on Stone Ringing Sorrows and is well worth a listen if you haven’t already found yourself unda Fluxit’s spell.

John Wiese - Magnetic Stencil 1 [Gilgongo]

John Wiese - Magnetic Stencil 2 [Gilgongo]

John Wiese - Magnetic Stencil 3 [Gilgongo] 

John Wiese is a highly respected sound artist and he does fancy sound installations in museums and galleries. He’s been in the game a long time and is certainly deserving of his rep, but sometimes I wonder if this gets a bit lost in the global brainspace (though I hope it doesn’t): Wiese makes cool music. He’s your stereo’s best friend. This record I have of Wiese live sampling saxophonist Evan Parker is so fucking cool. His record I have of cascading samples of glass breaking is cool. The Sissy Spacek/Smegma collab record he did (also on Gilgongo) is super fucking cool, and, subsequently, the aforementioned Gilgongo dropped a trio of cool Wiese records collectively called Magnetic Stencil. Three LPs is a lot to dig into but the immersive experience is certainly worth your while. 

Always on the cutting edge of clatterphonics (is this a term? If not, it is now), Wiese constructed Magnetic Stencil with source audio contributions from a seemingly endless list of collaborators: (deep breath) Aaron Dilloway, James Fella, C. Lavender, Aaron Hemphill (Liars), Lasse Marhaug, C. Spencer Yeh, Katie Vonderheide, Tim Kinsella (Joan of Arc/Cap’n Jazz), Dennis Tyfus (the Ultra Eczema label), Howard Stelzer, John Collins McCormick, Robert Turman… I’m out of breath but, believe me, I could go on. The jackets don’t provide much detail other than the contributor list and the date and location where the composition took place so embrace the mystery, folks. 

Wiese’s work is constantly in motion. People sometimes use the word “transporting” to describe feeling like you’re in a different realm while you experience art. Wiese’s music is “transporting” in a more functional sense. He creates the sensation that you are moving, in transit, that you will end up somewhere far from where you begin. His music is a vehicle, touring you through the territory he’s mapped. Magnetic Stencil 1 is heavily dynamic, everywhere you turn there is something to see. Of the three LPs, it is the most abrasive, the most “noise”, the most violent in its composition. Sounds never seem to accost you from the same direction twice. Shards of frequencies are cut up and reassembled incorrectly with great care. You are slapped in the face by searing feedback. Resonating vibraphone.  Synth burps. Gnawing gears. Unintelligible human voice—all the sounds in between words. Split-second blasts of static socking you in the stomach. Even the brief occasional silence. My favorite section comes near the end when plenty of space is made for what sounds like a human mouth forming and popping bubbles of spittle. A looping, loping bass grind overtakes it, a rare instance of repetition across the vast spread of Magnetic Stencil. The second side somehow ratchets up the intensity several notches, beginning in even bolder fashion. Acoustic percussion screeches and clangs. Gnashing. Scraping. An ark’s worth of unidentifiable piezo-amplified sounds form the gelatinous fodder that Wiese sculpts with. Peppering in incisive piano-like plinks and insistent electronic thuds. This side comprises the most propulsive piece of the bunch, and that's even before a couple drum samples parachute in and evaporate just as quickly. Unsettling and agitated. Truly excellent. 

In contrast to the other two LPs, Magnetic Stencil 2 is a dense, blurry maelstrom. Like watching a hurricane strip the Earth of its riches from a removed vantage point comfortably seated in the eye of the storm. The second record has comparatively few contributors (only four compared to the much longer lists of names on the first and third records). Belaboring this tropical storm metaphor, as the tempest begins to lull and loom elsewhere, the leftover wreckage rattles, twisting in the gale force winds, while synth squeaks buckle like barely standing structures. And then the storm gathers again… On the flip side, electricity crackles, remnants of a human voice strain to communicate and fall woefully short. The piece hobbles and lurches, intermittently pausing to catch its breath, as it wheezes its way to some destination it never reaches, descending into a tantrum of frustration. 

Magnetic Stencil 3 springs to life immediately, dunking your head right into a synthetic ecosystem. Micro-sounds nestle up against each other. Strong tape music/musique concrète odors here, and not many things smell lovelier to this palate. Wiese’s composition brims with activity. Darting from frequency to frequency, there is an extensive array of repurposed acoustic sounds intermingling in a chaotic dance. Some intersect, some tear right past, some sounds seem to worm around the others. The sound of a metal cup rattling around in someone’s luggage, the sounds of birds in the tree hanging over your house, the sound of a slurring drunken diplomat, a fucking door bell. All sounds have a home here and their glory will be cultivated and admired. Is that a trombone or a whoopee cushion? Inspiring work! I feel like I live a lifetime of experiences in 20 minutes. 

The second side is similarly wonderful but more relaxed, more spacious, more environmental. Like sitting on your roof and having every sound in the ether magnified into painterly strokes. Abstract aural elications evoking specific sound-images. The squirrels scurrying through the trees. The car rolling by, windows down, radio on. The distant din of the train ambling by. The choral hum of air conditioners. Neighbors murmuring inaudibly about the weather. Burgers sizzling on a grill. Children chanting numbers as they venture through the wilds of chalked hopscotch courses. The movers down the block dropping a lamp. The piece gets progressively “musical” as it drifts toward its conclusion, as sustained pitches make their presence felt from time to time. Of the three fantastic LPs, this is the one that really gets me giddy. Righteously gorgeous and highly recommended. 

Magnetic Stencil forms a monumental trio and you can’t go wrong with any or, especially, all of them.

Early Spring 2024

Elena Dakota - River Record! [Cudighi] 

Been sleeping on getting a review together for another wonderful cassette from Cudighi Records but I’m awake now. Elena Dakota is a brand new name to me (and the nom de plume of Elena Nees), and what a talent she is. Last September, I spent a week in the backyard stripping and sealing my deck. I started listening to the SongExploder podcast, which I’d heard much about. I listened to many episodes with “singer-songwriter” types that I was not very fond of. Sometimes, when they played the demo at the beginning, the seed was promising but by the end of the episode the final version was totally forgettable. Too much affectation in the vocal performances, consistently unaffecting or unimaginative arrangements, no je ne sais quois. I asked the music podcast gods, why couldn’t I have heard an episode with Elena Dakota? Or, for that matter, an episode for each of the eight songs comprising River Record!? Everything that my jaded ears objected to, is done properly by Nees. 

Nees’s voice is sleepily sanguine, accompanied by the gentle thrum of her guitar. The arrangements are spare but never boring, and sometimes one of the guest instruments really makes the song (see Sam Newman’s lonesome trombone on “These Walls Know How To Float” and “Plasticine, as I do the Sky”, or the muffled thump of the percussion on “Rice Noodles”, another highlight). “Walls”, in particular, stands out with the way Nees’s voice delicately intertwines with the brass and winds coiling around her. Nees shifts the tempo up on “Women in the Air”, her most accomplished composition, that really shines with gorgeous vocal harmonies. The spectacular closer “Lady Godiva (There is No Gun)” seems to push open the tight Academy aspect ratio that has framed River Record! up to that point into a sprawled out widescreen composition as Elena Dakota saunters off hypnotically into the distance, with her backing band in tow.

Reminiscent of the intimacy of Maxine Funke, early Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake aglow under a pink moon and maybe a bit of Samara Lubelski and Hall of Fame, and a good rainy day companion to the Seth Thomas LP Cudighi put out a year or two ago. Nees seems to have the right feel, the right intuition to make affecting, meaningful songs. My intuition says she’s just getting started and she’s got even better songs inside of her. I hope to hear them one day.

Taylor Daukas - Long Gone [Moone] 

Lately, I have been enjoying this fantastic little tape Long Gone from Taylor Daukas who has joined up with the Moone records crew in the deserts of the Southwest. The first side is strong, with two little gems plus an instrumental composed by producers Micah Dailey and Janie Dailey. “Pearl” and “Believing” pair up nicely, and I’d have been plenty satisfied if this were simply a cassingle. Each track features a languidly effective vocal melody that covertly digs its hooks right in. Daukas’s voice is the anchor and the arrangements sway around her forming a warm halo. “Pearl” features an oblique percussive stamp, almost sounds like a loop of someone knocking on the door but Daukas wades into even stranger territory later on. The title track marks the most peculiar arrangement on the tape, but it’s also the most exciting (though the oceanic trumpet on “False Door” is quite nice as well). Multi-tracked vocals, insistent not-quite-in-sync synths, field recordings of footsteps or the like, scatterbrained guitar plucks. You’re adrift in a swirl of instability but once again, Daukas’s voice is the guiding light, and when she tells you to “hold my hand” you reach for it without a second thought. 

Dimitriam - Amphora [Moone]
Homebrewed, hand dubbed, hand painted. Takes me back to the good old days of the cassette underground. Amphora, the latest from Tucson-based Dimitriam (also available on CD via Moone Records), is exceedingly easy on these skewed ears. If you tell me something was recorded on a 4-track, I’m already halfway in the bag, but Dimitriam can write some great songs too. The jaunty classicist pop romp, “Rug”, and the lightly smoldering epic, “Ceiling”, immediately stand out. Nestled among the proper songs are accomplished instrumental interludes. The goofily sloshed “QVC” carries with it an underpinning of dread due to a churning, ominous rhythm section. “Not Here” is a quality parody/tribute to early 80s UK synth pop. Same could be said for “Maniac” as it kneels at the home taper altar of Daniel Johnston instead. Amphora’s consistent in its inconsistency; each track, whether a hook-laden tune or backward tape experiment, is imbued with the same good natured warmth. What more do you want out of a cassette?

FMF - Future Moss Fortress [Drongo Tapes] 

Alright, so my reference point for FMF (possibly standing for “Future Moss Fortress”, or perhaps the titles of their releases fill in the blanks a new way each time, a la D. Yellow Swans and C.C.T.V.) is a band they don’t necessarily sound that much like. That band is Black Dice, but let me explain. The catch here is that Black Dice’s sound changed every couple years, and the impressive and galvanizing stunt that FMF pull off is that they sound like every piece of Black Dice vinyl melted down and repressed into one. From the early days of avant-hardcore ten second blasts of screams and static to Black Dice’s dance floor flirtations and latter day exploits into the aural version of squiggle vision. FMF sound like all that and more, and all at once. Speaking of Black ____ bands, side B’s killer drum solo shenanigans and squirting synth blurps gave intense seizure flashes of Black Pus, albeit thoroughly chopped and liquified in a Cuisinart from an estate sale down the street. Wisely, Future Moss Fortress is edited down to a dense, kinetic, cranial collapsing 16 minute carnival ride you will want to hop on again. Reserve that fast pass. 

Patois Counselors - Enough: One Night at the Daisy Chain [Ever/Never] 

A bit of an unusual release, but a welcome one. This isn’t a live record as there’s no audience, but it’s kinda like a live record with no audience. Perhaps you could say this is the highest quality practice tape ever released. Even though they’ve got a new LP on the horizon, Patois Counselors, the hardest working band in rock & roll, decided they might as well pop into the The Daisy Chain in NYC for one night of wild passion. They run through a set of old favorites from their prior two LPs but also drop a hearty helping of new songs too. It’s the latter that had my ears curling. By my count, we get four cuts from the first LP Proper Release. and one from The Optimal Seat, thankfully it’s “The Galvanizer” (my desert island Counselors pick, if the Lord scorned me enough to place me on a deserted island but loved me enough to provide me with a stereo). That means that over half the songs here are new (didn’t recognize any from the first 7” either). Not sure if they’re working them out for the next LP or just part of the live set, but it’s enticing to get a look at them nevertheless.

The opener was judiciously selected as “Serious Rider” has everything you want in a Counselors tune, including a soaring chorus (Counselors’ style). Definitely my favorite of the new crop. “Just Made Scarce” is an exciting new tune with great unexpected melodies and a kind of new wave-in-a-car-wreck aesthetic. I’m hoping there’s a forthcoming fully produced album version, and wondering how many Durans will be injured during the making of it. I’m enjoying the group’s newfound flair for drama as well. The excellent “Fountain of UHF” is chock full of noirish intrigue and the sextet turns into power balladeers on the memorable “Bands I Barely Spoke With”. I don’t know if any of the versions of the older tunes will replace the album versions in fans’ hearts but it’s still a delight to hear alternate takes, the rollicking and rocked up rendition of “Modern Station” is particularly fun. The one exception is “Get Excitement” which sounds especially unhinged, more so than the album track. Patois Counselors is one of the best bands we’ve got right now and it’s been four long years since their last record, so savor this cassette and get excitement that a new LP shall be bestowed before long.

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 25

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

The Byrds - Fifth Dimension LP $3. 

This is a great record. I'm partial to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, but of the truly "Byrdsy" Byrds records, Fifth Dimension towers above the rest. It's got their most iconic song, if not their most famous, (psychedelic monolith "Eight Miles High") and plenty of other good tunes. Before I grabbed this, I already knew some of these songs from the Greatest Hits LP we've had around the house for years, and they're wonderful, but "What's Happening?!?!" knocked me out the first time I played this record. I'm writing about this LP just so I can write about this song. It sounds likes 80s/90s indie rock was birthed a couple decades prior. To me, anyway. Melodic, catchy but reluctantly so. Total slacker vibe. There's not even a verse-chorus structure, or really any structure. It's just a melodic refrain taking turns with dueling guitar leads with some unobtrusive but infectious ticka-tacka drumming. Total bubblegum for the underground rock crowd in my book. David Crosby serves as the regular Byrds whipping boy (and rightly so!) but I have to give credit where it's due. "What's Happening?!?!" is a solo Crosby writing credit, and it's one of the best, most forward thinking Byrd tunes in their canon. Cheers Davey boy, thanks for your contributions.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 24

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Randy Newman - Good Old Boys LP $3. 

Oh man, what a record. Not the first Newman record I dug, but the first where I totally "got" him. Growing up I just knew him as the Toy Story guy. Catchy songs, but seemed totally MOR and milquetoast. But every once in a while I would read a comment about his vicious wit or brazen satire, and I'd always think "Huh? The Pixar house composer?" Well, that vicious wit and brazen satire? It shows up in spades on Good Old Boys, a concept record written from the viewpoint of a racist Southerner. Newman takes no prisoners and everyone is a target. The album's most (in)famous and catchiest tune "Rednecks" skewers both the ignorance of the South and the hypocrisy of the North, all while loading up the infectious chorus with racial epithets. Don't play that one around the kids. And, of course, because this is Randy Newman, the composition and arrangement are top drawer. One listen to melancholy anthem "Louisiana, 1927" and the album's beauty is readily apparent. Or the chilling, queasy chorus of "Kingfish", presaging Tom Waits's own brand of oft-kilter, macabre melodicism. One review I read spoke about how the contemporary reception of Good Old Boys criticized him for being too callous and disparaging of his subjects, while if this record had been released today Newman would have been cancelled immediately for not repudiating his subjects harshly enough. As far as I'm concerned, that means Newman threaded the needle perfectly. It takes a special work of art to cause multi-generational discomfort. I became massively obsessed with Good Old Boys for several weeks and there's no doubt I will be again some day. Randy has made a lot of fantastic records but this is the best.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 23

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Hagerty-Toth Band - Qalgebra LP $3. 

So glad I took a whiff on this one. I lift my voice in praise to the record gods. This sounds exactly like a record Neil Hagerty and Wooden Wand would make, without being a retread. At least in my imagination, don't know Wand stuff too closely and, while I know the Trux discography pretty thoroughly, I'm patchy on solo Neil/Hex stuff. I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't really know what I'm talking about. Except for when it comes to Qalgebra. Because I know this record is a true pleasure. Tightly coiled pop-tinged runarounds (check out the smashing opener "Spindizzy"), slide guitar wandering out in the wilderness, goofy spoken word repartee, breezy wah-wah grooves, wildman collage jammin'. It was the first item in the list that really bowled me over. These songs have legit hooks, pulled off with nonchalant aplomb. Qalgebra is about as good as weirdo-pop gets (and we all know that's really goddamn good). Totally oddball, energetic and super listenable. A steal!

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 22

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Peter Gabriel - So CD $0. 

This is my dad's domain but I figured "fuck it, it's free". My most vivid memory of Peter Gabriel is him looking like a buffoon in a 90s SNL performance, trying (and failing) to synchronize pathetically simple choreography with his 40-something bandmates. Yet, some people talk about him like he's "an artist" so, for zero dollars, the edification was worth the price. Pete sings like Sting so that sucks, but I found a lot to enjoy otherwise on So. Both Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson pop up on the record, which shouldn't have surprised me given his appearances on their records, and while Pete ≠ Kate nor Laurie, it does say something that he asked them to be on his record. He's not the visionary that Bush or Anderson are, but he uses the Fairlight a bunch and comes up with plenty of interesting textures. He can also write a hook ("Big Time" and "Sledgehammer" are dumb fun for the whole family), even if he doesn't know when to edit. (The verses of "In Your Eyes", great. The chorus of "In Your Eyes", barf.) So was his big hit record, and it works very well as an 80s hit record; now, for the first time, I'm interested in exploring what Gabriel did before achieving hitmaker status.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 21

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Joni Mitchell - Hissing of Summer Lawns LP $3. 

One of my great accomplishments of the past several years is finally "getting" Joni. I now understand that Court and Spark is a work of towering genius. Joni at the peak of her powers as far as I can tell. But Hissing of Summer Lawns just may be the second highest summit she scaled. Overall, I like this one more than Ladies of the Canyon (even though it's a sick record), Blue or For the Roses. The focus isn't razor sharp as on Court (though I suppose the inclusion of the funky clavfest "Raised on Robbery" and concluding with a goof off rendition of "Twisted" suggests that Joni wasn't too enamored with focus), but Hissing Lawns carves new, exploratory chutes for her songwriting. Some songs sound like direct continuations of Court and Spark (the lovely lilt of "Edith and the Kingpin" or the sophisticated slink of the title track) and they rule, but just check out "The Jungle Line", the first commercial release to employ sampling. And, yeah, that's Joni jamming on a Moog (and on an ARP elsewhere on the record). Can't imagine anyone was expecting that when she was widdling away on her dulcimer. The songs are there as usual but Joni gets more impressionistic as well, both in her arrangements (the silvery glow of "The Boho Dance", the vocal/synth duet "Shadows and Light"), and in her interludes ("Shades of Scarlett Conquering" and the outstanding "Harry's House/Centerpiece", one of the album's masterpieces). Cinematic (before that adjective became a cliché) and luxuriously self-assured that it's making all the right moves (it is), this is a great fucking record.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 20

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

The Beach Boys - Holland LP $3. 

Holland, the last great Beach Boys LP as far as I can tell, is not one to miss. First, let's get the bad out of the way. Blondie Chaplin sings two songs which aren't that good, they sound like The Beach Boys chasing the contemporary early 70s sound, and the one thing The Beach Boys did just about better than any mainstream act was never chase trends. Now that I've slung my arrows, I can state in good conscience that the rest of the record is stellar. "Steamboat" is such a cool, narcotic trudge Total poptone trail blazer. The three-song "California Saga" is a classic Beach Boys concept triptych. And, goddamn, "The Trader" belongs in the pantheon of the very best Beach Boys songs. Think of your favorite Beach Boys song right now, there's an 85% chance "The Trader" is better than it. The second movement is perfection. The pinnacle of Carl's contributions. Go Carl!

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 19

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Camper Van Beethoven - Key Lime Pie CD $1.50. 

Just a drop dead beauty of a record through and through. Always wrote these guys off because of the dumb name and they weren't punk enough when I checked them out as a teen. My write off became regret in 2023. One more data point that a rock band with a violin player is the sound of the angels. CVB manages a magic trick few bands pull off which is synthesizing a grab bag of genres (reggae, klezmer, whathaveyou) into a coherent whole rather than attention-seeking pastiche. Even the instrumental tracks, that usually bloated albums and bored listeners in this era, are sweet. Truly dripping with classics but "When I Win the Lottery" is best, hope I can karaoke it one day.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 18

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Tim Hardin - Tim Hardin 1 LP $3. 

Sneakily one of my most listened to the records of the year. Have played it regularly since getting it. Interesting blend of folk, blues and soul. Gentle enough to drop the needle immediately upon waking. "Reason to Believe" is an all-timer. Supposedly, the string arrangements were added without Hardin's knowledge which lead him to break down into tears. I feel bad for Timmy, things seem tough enough based on all the sad-eyed songs littering the record, but I actually love the strings and vibraphone and all the stuff artist-hating producers dubbed onto records in the 60s. Also the record, runs through 12 songs in 27 minutes. Peak album efficiency, anywhere except the hardcore arena, in which case it would be four times too long.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 17

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons LP $4. 

Hot take alert: I've always thought the Stones were a legendary singles band with zero classic albums (feel the same about Depeche Mode.) I, however, stand corrected with Between the Buttons. This is a killer record. Filled to the brim with great tunes and relentlessly eclectic too. Jagger's questionable and generally lame lyrics aside, "Yesterday's Papers" drives hard on a rollicking harpsichord(!) lick. Earworm fist pumpers like "Connection", "My Obsession" and "Let's Spend the Night Together". Ornate ballads like "Ruby Tuesday" and "She Smiled Sweetly" (well familiar to any Royal Tenenbaums fan). A sticky as bubblegum, organ bopper "Complicated". Then, of course, "Cool, Calm & Collected" sounds like it was recorded in a saloon across the street from an ashram. "Who's Been Sleeping Here" nods toward to their rustic blues future but it's better than a lot of the stuff they made when they got deep in it. I've already mentioned 2/3rds of the track list, so I'll wrap it up, but I could go on. The Stones really brought it in all ways on this one. I am very happy to be proven wrong. "Connection!"

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 16

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

John Phillips - John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.) LP $4. 

The one Mama/Papa that couldn't "sing" but got to be in the band for one small reason: he wrote the songs. As you might expect, Phillips's self-titled debut (subtitled John, the Wolf King of L.A. on the LP label but not on the spine) is original tunes from top to bottom, and he gets to sing them. I quite like his voice, it's wispy (and slightly lispy) without being weightless, with an endearing softness that keeps you coming back. Opener "April Anne" is now one of my all time favorite songs. The opening pedal steel lick... what a way to fuckin' kick off a record. The lyrics, on the page, are just kinda late 60s horseshit, but when listened to, they are pure poetry. Every syllable perfectly chosen for its silvery sound, rather than literal meaning. I got addicted pretty quickly and I'm showing no signs of stopping. There were several unorthodox decisions made on the record that you have to learn to love. Some easier (the bum note in the opening guitar figure of "Topanga Canyon"), some harder (Louis Armstrong-style scatting on the otherwise stunning "Down the Beach"? You're out of your mind, Johnboy!). The peculiarities are part of the ramshackle fun though, with songs this strong and vibes this warm and inviting even the wrong moves feel right in time. One of my favorite discoveries of the year.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 15

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

The Moberlys - The Moberlys LP $5. 

I first heard Seattle's The Moberlys when I was 12. My dad had given me a 2xCD compilation of forty years of Northwest Rock Music for my birthday and "Sexteen" made the cut sandwiched between "Potential Suicide" by Wipers (classic) and "Night Shift" by fellow Seattle power pop outfit The Heats. Despite this early introduction, The Moberlys mostly just existed on the periphery for me, though I did encounter some of the songs on their eponymous 1979 debut along the way. (I swear I've heard "Papa Loves Mama" in a TV commercial or something but couldn't dig up any of evidence of this.) The Moberlys were one of those stories where the band had split before the record even came out. There's even a note "The Moberlys were together from May 1978 to September 1979" on the back jacket, something I don't recall seeing on any debut record. Jim Basnight, the songwriter/bandleader, would continue to make music and reform The Moberlys at various points. Musically, The Moberlys is some sort of connective tissue between the first Modern Lovers record and the first Weezer record. Lackadaisical, tongue-in-cheek slacker-punk attitude abounds, but there is a true bond to pop music of the early 60s. Some songs come across like direct homages to this style ("Give Me Peace" and "Papa Loves Mama") but the band is its best when it melds the retro-stylings with the contemporary crunch and jangle of the late 70s ("Last Night" and "Live in the Sun"). For fans of the gentler end of the late 70s punk continuum.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 14

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul LP $3. 

The iconic and ridiculously christened Hot Buttered Soul is a record I've read about for so long but never actually listened to. When a beat-to-hell copy showed up in the bargain bin at my local shop I knew it was time to change that. The hype is real. It indeed kicks ass. Orchestral psych-soul epics. The source of countless hip hop samples (including on a couple of MF Doom tracks) and the forefather of trip hop (heavy Portishead fumes on "Walk on By"). Towers over the other Isaac Hayes records I have, his debut, which is fine but not too exciting (even Ike thinks so), and the Shaft 2xLP which actually is cool just not as cool as Hot Buttered Soul. I've heard Black Moses is similarly riveting so that's my next Hayes target.

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day:

The 25 Bargain Buys of Xmas: Day 13

Much of my calendar year, every year, is spent sifting through record store bargain bins, estate sales, etc. and digging into the acquisitions. I win some and lose some, but I never write about it on AuxOut even though it accounts for a huge portion of my listening and discovery. In honor of the season of presents, I am celebrating some of the gifts bestowed upon me by the record gods during 2023.

Black Sites - Prototype EP 12" $3. 

I compare my relationship to techno to my relationship with peaches. I enjoy both but don't have an appetite to constantly consume either. If I have one great peach from a farmers market that will probably satiate me until next year. Kinda the same with techno and this year's farmers market peach was this 12" by Black Sites which I bought knowing nothing about other it was on the PAN label (home to great avant-garde releases from Eli Keszler, John Wiese & Evan Parker, Ben Vida etc.). I pretty much buy a PAN record any time I come across one and they rarely disappoint. I'm too ignorant to know if this is "avant-garde techno" or "regular techno" nowadays but it bangs hard. I lean a little toward the former because there is some interesting stuff with combative time signatures and some noisy timbres, but maybe all techno does that now?

A playlist of tunes from each of the records I wrote about, I'll add a new song each day: