Old Records, Vol. 2

[I got through my books of CDs...some more choice cuts. I didn't really listen to all these as I planned, but I thought about them, I promise. By the way, Pitchfork was right, There's a Riot Goin' On by Sly and the Family Stone is majorly fucked up and very good.]

• Loose Fur: Loose Fur -- I might be the only one who really likes this record at all. It's got some great stuff on this collaboration of Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Jim O'Rourke (Sonic Youth, Wilco, solo) and Glenn Kotche (Wilco). The songs are slick-sheen via O'Rourke's engineering touch but that doesn't mean things don't get messy and loose. It's essentially an outgrowth of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot but it strikes out its own path down through everything from Americana to Free Jazz. "Chinese Apple", "You Were Wrong" and "Elegant Transaction" are three of my favorite cuts and they tend to be more straightforward than the rest.

• Man or Astroman?: Experiment Zero & A Spectrum of Infinite Scale -- Remember this band? Devo and Dick Dale combined at the hip fed through Dr. Steve Albini's boards (at least Spectrum...). Surf-rock never gets the credit it deserves. Some of this shit is major tight, never outstaying it's welcome (2 mins.). Also, "A Simple Text File" is the best micing job ever -- a song performed by a Dot Matrix printer. Be prepared for the soon-to-come ironic revival of surf music (played by pasty white boys). Or was this it? (Cue LCD Soundsystem, "I was there at Suicide's first practice...")

• The Poster Children -- I have 8 records by this band, who was my favorite in middle to high school. I had no idea what indie music was then, I just heard this band, liked the cover of their album and I bought it. Thanks to PC, I was opened to a world of wonderful noise I'd have never known if it wasn't for their album Thank You's and website. Ah, nostalgia...

• Rye Coalition: On Top -- This record is so Jersey. Hard rock and roll made for hard bodies, tight pants and nicely waxed Pontiac Sunfires.

• The Secret Machines: September 000 -- This is one of the best records I've ever heard. It's the perfect length and always leaves me wanting more. Now only if Now Here is Nowhere could've been produced by Mr. Brian Deck...

• Smog: Knock Knock -- Do you know who this is? Do you know how great this is?

• Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die -- I know that everyone counts this among their favorite records -- and it should be. This is a direct influence of too many bands to be overlooked. I'll never forget the first time I heard this -- it was during my senior year journalism class in high school. We were studying film and we watched Fritz Lang's Metropolis while synching this up (our copy of the film had no music). I remember being totally fucked up by "Djed" playing to the film. The factory-assembled, mechanical drum work of John McEntire along with the fading and focus dubby textures sent my head for a loop. I felt like the stoners saying, "man...it's just like Dark Side of the Moon."

• XTC: Skylarking -- Yup, it's still the best record of the 80's.