various artists - Round One: Rawkus vs. Astralwerks (Mixed by Q-Burns Abstract Message)

I have a special place in my heart for samplers like these. Most of them aren't nearly this good, nor are they constructed so well. The selections come from contemporary releases from Astralwerks and Rawkus, who both were on fire in 2001. The weak spot is Q-Burns Abstract Message, and his contribution isn't really bad at all. His mix isn't really more noticeable than beat matching and letting a sextet of big beat, house, and hip hop do its thing. If nothing else, this is a great excuse to really dig into the Rawkus catalog. Association with the Murdoch family aside, they put out some all-timers back in the aughts. I really should pull that Pharoahe Monch debut LP out and give it another spin.

Anyways, thanks POWERade for your off-brand rehydrating drink and Cornerstone for putting together the sampler. AND the digital camera you sent me in early 2002 for doing street team stuff in Baltimore. Love, me.

Discogs

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various artists - Spin: 100% Original

The words "Ocean Pacific" pops out at me, one of those brands of my youth, up there with Airwalk, Vans, Stüssy, Jncos, Bones Brigade, and Sex Wax as signifiers of teenage fashion of a certain era. Not that I could afford any of the above, nor did I have the cool uncle/aunt/older sibling who'd plunk down money on them so I could feel cool. As a result, I'm not particularly driven towards tracking down any fluorescent shorts or skin-tight monochromatic tees from early adolescence. Thank g_d for Mom & Dad's cheapness for avoiding that particular nostalgic curse.

This promo, sampling the contemporary Atlantic Records roster of 1999, is the sort of thing I would have tossed immediately back then, but happily share with you today. Just do yourself a favor; avoid track 4. Nothing good comes of listening to Bob Ritchie nowadays.

On the other hand: Fountains of Wayne, Fat Joe, Bad Religion, and Latin Playboys all provide no worse than decent cuts from their then-current records. There's a Collective Soul track, a sampling from the swing revival, and a few others that I cannot be arsed to revisit. Also sponsored by Spin Magazine, although I couldn't say if this was a giveaway with Spin, an OP purchase, or a mailaway. I'd think this was attached to a Spin subscription; otherwise, how would I have ended up with a copy?

Discogs

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various artists - The Man Machine: Mojo Presents The Electronic Revolution

It's a jolly good giveaway, this comp. Chock full of synthesized sounds ranging from the ambient to the caustic. There's even something that was written to be played whilst you run with your iPod attached to your bicep. Thanks, Nike.

Looking back at 2009, I wouldn't have given this a second thought. OMD and the Orb were artists I just skipped over on my way from Oasis to Oxes. I fucked with LCD Soundsystem, but most of those dudes had been in punk bands in the 90s, so they couldn't be all bad, could they? Sometime around then, Kraftwerk did some dates in NYC, and a dude offered me a ticket and a ride. I shrugged.

Now? Now this is all I really want to listen to. I want to fall into a K-hole with Tangerine Dream as the soundtrack. I'll buy all the Ultravox vinyl I find abandoned at a thrift store. I'm going to track down all those Flying Lotus productions, using the Discogs production tab as my lodestone. This is the future, circa 2009. Filled you with hope back then, dinnit?

Discogs

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various artists - Japan For Sale Vol. Two

If Japan is for sale, then I guess I'm buying.

I've been on a buying spree lately. I found a few solid penny CD auctioneers on eBay, plus I'm still in the thrift stores 2 or 3 times a week. It's made a bit of a dent in the bank account, so I think it's probably tijme to cool it, at least thru the end of the year. I have a ton to listen to, a ton to box up; no need to add to it unless it's the deal of the century.

Or I can just recognize that I treat anxiety with retail therapy sometimes.

ANYWAY...

I copped this one for less than a buck on the basis of it having POLYSICS and Puffy Amiyumi on the comp and some very fun Shag artwork, Clearly, it doesn't take much for me at that price point. But here's the second of four snapshots of the SonyMusic Japan family at the turn of the millenium. This one's fascinating to look back at, especially with how strong a force K-pop is now around the world. It makes me wonder how such a diverse music culture fell out of view.

Shit, I'm probably just musing on account of subscribing to Crunchyroll and watching a bunch of anime.

Discogs

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The Soft Pink Truth - Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Soft Pink Truth?

When he's not teaching English at Johns Hopkins or making sounds with legendary noise/musique concrete/electronic duo Matmos, former Louisvillan and Slamdek alum Drew Daniel transforms the sounds of our youth in his The Soft Pink Truth project. I tripped, dingus first, on this CD while bin-digging a few weeks back, and grabbed it based on label (Kid 606's Tigerbeat6) and price (50 cents). The cover was just...icing on the cake. Also, maybe I thought the title was "Soft Pink Turds", which is perverse and just what I'm looking for in a mystery recording.

And what did I get? It's techno adaptations of classic punk, hardcore, and new wave songs, along with a Carol Channing standard from the 1974 musical "Lorelai". Vicki Bennett (People Like Us), Blevin Blectum, Dani Siciliano, and Matmos bandmate M.C. Schmidt all take turns on the mic. There are covers of Crass, Minor Threat, Nervous Gender, and a version of Die Kruezen's "In School" that just melts like a steel beam covered in jet fuel. All of it leads to my conclusion that there should be more house/hardcore homages.

Discogs

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