Cream of the crop/Rice of the top:

• Richard Hell - "Love Comes In Spurts": Can another song even come close to that title? Not even. Shame Quine died a while ago, guy could shred.
• Smog - Been reading a lot about this guy -- seems like an enigmatic character, at once guarded and super-arrogant. It's kind of annoying that Bill Callahan (yes, "Smog") gives such terrible interviews and is so standoffish with the press -- he's a genius with the pen, it'd be fun to hear him talk about it. Any of his records are hottness.
• Stiff Little Fingers - Inflammable Material - side A: Haven't gotten to B yet, had to hear
  Chocolate City by Parlament. So-so. This one I was thinking about after the fact more, for sure. Paint-by-numbers pop-punk at this point, but gruff vocals and raw spirit-of-'77 jazz this jawn up.
• 33 1/3 books: I read Endtroducing... and There's A Riot Goin' On in the past three days. Endtroducing... is the better read even though it's only really one long interview and the writer doesn't actually get to the record until a 1/3 of the way in. No joke: doesn't even drop the name until like page 25 or something. Still -- Riot goes track by track. I thought it'd be more about Sly melting down and doing massive amounts of PCP, play-by-play style and writing genius songs. Endtroducing... is a very well conducted interview with a smart guy, who just happened to put together a world class record.

How German Is It?

Leaving behind their deeply paranoid and fanatical vision of witches, Liars new record Drum’s Not Dead thankfully leaves the darkness in place, but rather than claw and holler through it Drum floats along like a misty fog through a cemetery. Ghouls abound: this record is liberal in its use of roomsound, exploring every nook of the East German radio facility they inhabited for the recording. These natural frequencies are the primer that Drum is built upon: they give focus to the industrial and tribal rhythms while spartan melodic accompaniment hangs up top. Liars use the album to craft a story based on two fictional artists: Drum and Mt. Heart Attack, Drum being the confident, assertive, and truculent-at-times artist with Mt. Heart Attack the opposite: questioning, frustrated and uninspired, jealous of Drum’s success. That plot sits a distant second to the unbelievable density and power of the music, even though it is also incorporated into the plot. Liars have developed from terse post-punkers, into full-fledged sound sculptors over the course of a short 3-album history.

From the thrust of the storyline it’s plainly obvious Liars are not a pop group; they’re adamantly arty and uncompromising in their vision. Their intentions are not disposable enjoyment but lasting impression. Drum succeeds on this front: it’s a full-length story or dream sequence, not short, unconnected bursts of inspiration. Their records, at least this and the We Were Wrong So We Drowned, are akin to novels and films in their scope. At a time when the album is supposed to be dying because the iPod mixes and matches any artist to another, Drum stands as a reminder that artists with patience and vision will continue to embrace the long view. Whether listeners will demand this type of craft remains to be seen. For the time being, it’s an incredible work of art waiting to be discovered. Take your time.

April Mix

For IMP:

1. The Breeders - "Cannonball"
2. Elton John - "Take Me to the Pilot"
3. Blood On The Wall - "Stoner Jam"
4. Bruce Springsteen - "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out"
5. The Clientele - "My Own Face Inside The Trees"
6. Chad VanGaalen - "Clinically Dead"
7. Archers Of Loaf - "Web In Front"
8. Fugazi - "Do You Like Me?"
9. Iggy & the Stooges - "Penetration"
10. Queens Of The Stone Age - "In The Fade"
11. Mission Of Burma - "That's When I Reach For My Revolver"
12. The Kinks - "Big Sky"
13. My Morning Jacket - "O Is The One That Is Real"
14. The Olivia Tremor Control - "A New Day"
15. Robert Pollard - "Dancing Girls And Dancing Men"
16. Akron/Family - "Italy"
17. Low - "Broadway (So Many People)"

When I can't write, I make lists.