From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest)
To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org
Subject: loud-fans-digest V4 #2
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loud-fans-digest       Tuesday, January 6 2004       Volume 04 : Number 002



                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
  [loud-fans] Re: 2003                       [Krueger.Thomas@epamail.epa.gov]
  [loud-fans] Like Superman, indeed!  ["Joseph M. Mallon" <jmmallon@joescafe]
  [loud-fans] poll reminder           [Aaron Mandel <aaron@eecs.harvard.edu>]
  [loud-fans] Tales from the Pornographic Ocean  ["Rex.Broome" <Rex.Broome@p]
  [loud-fans] Porg: the other white music  ["Rex.Broome" <Rex.Broome@preferr]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2004 08:20:31 -0600
From: Krueger.Thomas@epamail.epa.gov
Subject: [loud-fans] Re: 2003

Thanks to Aaron for running the Loud Fans 2003 poll.  I think in the
past people have also posted their annotated lists here too, which has
been a great help to me in finding new records to buy.  I haven't seen
many (any?) yet, so I'm hoping to get the ball rolling with my annual
rambling, self-indulgent writeup of my favorite things in the past year
in music.

1.  OutKast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below.  A winningly ambitious and
audacious collection, with one CD each from the remarkable hip-hop duo
of Big Boi and Andre 3000.  Even though it doesn't all work, that's part
of its loopy charm and the batting average is remarkably high.  It's
like listening to wondrous free-form radio station b there are ferocious
beats linked to inventive rhymes, beautifully soulful r&b tunes evoking
Prince and Stevie Wonder, funk breakdowns worthy of George Clinton,
inventive and intricate soundscapes for thoughtful messages, and even a
leftfield fusion of traditional jazz with drum-and-bass.  On top of
that, no other new record I heard this year had a higher number of
memorable hooks.  The irresistible singles "Hey Ya" and "I Love The Way
You Move" are just the tip of the iceberg.

2.  The New Pornographers - Electric Version.  A stellar record that
harkens back to that brief window in the late 1960s and early 1970s when
"pop" music really was popular.  The melodies are brilliant, and the
arrangements are rich and tuneful without becoming too fussy or perfect.
This second record from the "supergroup" side project featuring vocal
powerhouse Neko Case and members of several Vancouver indie-rock bands
features song after shimmering song that could have sounded right at
home blasting out of transistor radios on the beach mixed in with the
Grass
Roots, the Raspberries, Badfinger, the Rascals, and all those Tony
Burrows studio concoctions.

3.  Various artists - Livin' Lovin' Losin': Songs of the Louvin
Brothers.  I'm a sucker for duet vocals, and the Louvin Brothers were
masters of the form.  This collection assembles a virtual wish list of
country vocalists in well-chosen pairs to perform songs written and/or
made famous by the Louvins.  The generally unadorned, sympathetic
arrangements highlight consistently top-notch vocal performances that
seem to reflect a genuine love and feeling for the material.  There's
simply not a bad track in the lot, which is in itself a remarkable
achievement.

4.  Grandaddy - Sumday.  I'm also a sucker for psychedelic pop songs,
and Grandaddy continues to do them as well as anyone this side of the
Flaming Lips.  While this record isn't as musically or lyrically
ambitious or varied as their last record "The Sophtware Slump," the
melodies are even stronger and more memorable this time around.

5.  Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic.  It was a tragic year for the
Portland, Oregon musical community.  While the apparent suicide of the
brilliant
singer/songwriter Elliott Smith was widely covered, the van accident
that wiped out 3/4 of the Exploding Hearts earlier in 2003 drew far less
notice.  Be assured that their debut album isn't placed here as a
sympathy vote, though.  The Exploding Hearts invoke the sound of
punk/new wave bands of the late 70s without slavish imitation and
without losing the sense of spirited fun that I loved in pop/punk
pioneers like the New York Dolls, Buzzcocks, Jam, and Clash (in their
lighter moments).  There's nothing too fancy or pretentious here, just
short, catchy tunes performed with great verve and charm.

6.  The Postal Service - Give Up/The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
EP/ Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism.  The Postal Service is a
mostly-by-mail collaboration between Ben Gibbard of Seattle
indie-rockers Death Cab for Cutie and electronica artist Jimmy
Tamborello.  Gibbard's sharp, evocative lyrics are matched with
quirky synth-pop melodies that make Give Up sound like a Pet Shop Boys
for the 2000s (and in case you're wondering, that's meant as high
praise).  The EP reinforces the strength of the duo's songwriting by
handing off two of the stronger songs on the record to be covered by two
great, but quite different, indie-rockers b pop masters The Shins and
brooding neo-folkie Iron & Wine b yielding two of my very favorite
tracks of the year.  On top of that the Death Cab for Cutie CD is their
best yet b a lovely, moody, beautifully detailed exploration of the
territory where, as Gibbons puts it so well, "disappointment and regret
collide."

7.  Macy Gray - The Trouble With Being Myself.  Her sandpaper rasp of a
voice isn't to everyone's taste, but to my ears she's as soulful and
sexy a singer as there is in contemporary soul or r&b.  Her songs have a
goofy exuberance and playfulness b and funkiness b that remind me of Sly
Stone's glory days.  I think this is her most consistent record to date,
mixing lovely, lush ballads with varied and instantly appealing classic
uptempo soul arrangements and even touches of hip-hop beats and ska into
a distinctive vision.

8.  Pernice Brothers - Yours, Mine & Ours.  The band's m.o. isn't
dramatically different on their third CD --  Joe Pernice's breathy,
conversational vocals are backed by almost impossibly pretty pop songs.
This time around the record rocks a little more, the orchestration is
pared back a little bit, and the lyrics are a bit more upbeat at times
- -- though still picturesquely forlorn enough to provide a nice contrast
to the sweet sounds behind them.  While this record may not be as
uniformly brilliant as the first two records, it's still full of
hum-along treasures.

9.  Suzy Bogguss - Swing.  Backed by a small and spirited band, veteran
country singer Suzy Bogguss applies her rich, smooth voice to western
swing versions of a nice mix of old chestnuts and new songs.  The
setting seems to agree with everyone; the record has a nice, relaxed
feel and a great, infectious sense of fun.

10.  Bettie Serveert - Log 22.  After gathering attention for their 1993
debut "Palomine," this Dutch band seemed to gradually drop off the radar
screen.  Ten years later, they seem reinvigorated.  This record
highlights Carol VanDyk's forceful, emotive vocals and a band that seems
to be simultaneously consolidating its strengths (catchy riffs and turns
of phrase, effective use of dynamics to build and release tension) and
experimenting successfully with new sonic textures.

11.  Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress.  I've always liked
this Scottish band more for its gently detailed and highly melodic
rockers than for its quiet melancholy, which means I haven't really been
knocked out by their last several records.  On this CD, producer Trevor
Horn helps emphasize the catchy, (relatively) uptempo side of the band
and the result is an appealing pop record that still retains the band's
quirky charm.

12.  Opeth - Damnation.  This is one of the most beautiful, absorbing
progressive rock records I've heard in many years, and it comes from a
Swedish death metal band.  The interplay of the guitars is intricate but
never distracts from the haunting, carefully-layered melodies.

13.  Patty Loveless - On Your Way Home.  While I slightly prefer the
more acoustic setting of her last record "Mountain Soul," Patty Loveless
has one of the great voices in contemporary country music and a knack
for choosing songs that suit it perfectly.  Few singers can convey
emotion or tell a story so immediately and effectively, and she inhabits
a wide variety of songs with a clear, powerful voice rounded off with
just the right touch of grit.

14.  The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow.  The follow up to their marvelous
debut "Oh, Inverted World," shows that if anything, this Albuquerque
band (now moved to Portland) has even further refined their ability to
write strikingly catchy songs.  While this record didn't connect with me
as strongly or immediately as the last one, it's still a pleasure to
hear.

15.  Various artists - Hideout Workers' Comp.  Chicago's little bar that
could produces a compilation CD where the artwork, performances,
recording and mixing, and liner notes are by people who
work (and play) there.  The bar nurtures and cheerleads for many
elements in the vibrant Chicago music scene, and they're
well-represented here.  There are dreamy country duets, torch songs,
traditional Irish music, garage rock, bluegrass, art pop, folk ballads,
arias, power pop, fiddle tunes, and even some impenetrable noise
(mercifully located at end).  The performances show the strength and
depth of our local music and convey the enthusiasm and generosity of
spirit that the Hideout is known for.

Honorable mention (in very approximate order): Nappy Roots - Wooden
Leather; Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham - L'Avventura; Calexico -
Feast of Wire; Neptunes - The Neptunes Present ... Clones; Salteens -
Let Go Of Your Bad Days; Pretty Girls Make Graves - The New Romance; Jay
Farrar - Terroir Blues; Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts;  The
Mavericks - The Mavericks; Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell; Black Keys -
Thickfreakness; Joe Henry - Tiny Voices; Damien Jurado - Where Shall You
Take Me; Virgil Shaw - Still Falling; Sleepy Jackson - Lovers; Spearhead
with Michael Franti - Everyone Deserves Music; Kelis - Tasty; Fountains
of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers; Pink - Try This; Scott Miller -
Upside/Downside; Tricky - Vulnerable; Marty Stuart - Country Music; Ted
Leo/Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak; Vince Gill - Next Big Thing; Ed
Harcourt - From Every Sphere; Caitlin Cary - I'm Coming Out; Longwave -
The Strangest Things; King Crimson - The Power to Believe; Warren Zevon
- - The Wind; Lucksmiths - Naturaliste; Bangles - Doll Revolution; Liz
Phair - Liz Phair; Amy Rigby - Till The Wheels Fall Off; Thrills - So
Much for the City; Todd Steed and the Sons of Phere - Knoxville Tells;
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros - Streetcore; Mink Lungs - I'll Take It;
Shelby Lynne - Identity Crisis; Buddy Guy - Blues Singer; Rosanne Cash -
Rules of Travel; Bubba Sparxxx - Deliverance; eels - Shootenanny; White
Stripes - Elephant; Al Green - I Can't Stop; Rufus Wainwright - Want
One; Go Betweens - Bright Yellow Bright Orange; Bryan Sutton - Bluegrass
Guitar; Dwight Yoakam - Population Me; Joan Armatrading - Lovers Speak.

Might have made the list if I'd heard them (or heard more of them):
Bottle Rockets - Blue Sky; Oh Susanna - Oh Susanna; Graham Lindsey -
Famous Anonymous Wilderness; Long Winters - When I Pretend to Fall; You
Am I - Deliverance; Lynn Morris - Shape Of A Tear; Frog Holler -
Railing; Del McCoury Band - It's Just the Night; Mike Marshall and Chris
Thile - Into the Cauldron; T. Graham Brown - The Next Right Thing; Jon
Langford and his Sadies - Mayors of the Moon; Decoration Day - Drive By
Truckers; Minus 5 - Down With Wilco; Manitoba - Up in Flames; Neil Young
- - Greendale; Constantines - Shine A Light; Kinky - Atlas; TV on the
Radio - Young Liars; Lyrics Born - Later That Day; Jason Moran -
Bandwagon; Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From; Grand Champeen
- - The One That Brought You; South San Gabriel - Welcome Convalesence;
Downpilot - Leaving Not Arriving; Aesop Rock - Bazooka Tooth; Broken
Social Scene - You Forgot It In People; A.R.E. Weapons - A.R.E. Weapons;
M. Ward - Transfigurations of Vincent; Nadine - Strange Seasons; Rhonda
Vincent - One Step Ahead; Dressy Bessy - Dressy Bessy; Centro-Matic -
Love You Just the Same; Wheat - Per Second Per Second Per Second Every
Second; Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - Thank God; Some Girls - Feel It;
Jason Ringenberg - Farmer Jason; Ballboy - A Guide for the Daylight
Hours; Legendary Shack Shakers - Cockadoodledon't; Stratford Four - Love
& Distortion; Daniel Lanois - Shine; Fruit Bats - Mouthfuls;
PuffyAmiYumi - Nice; Juana Molina - Segundo; Defari - Odds & Evens;
Fleshtones - Do You Swing?; The Shazam - Tomorrow the World; Owsley -
The Hard Way; Splitsville - Incorporated; Prefuse 73 - One Word
Extinguisher; Josh Ritter - Hello Starling; Chris Knight - Jealous Kind;
Visqueen - King Me; Grandpaboy - Dead Man Shake; Grand Drive - Grand
Drive; Four Tet - Rounds; Prince Paul - The Politics of Business; Kid
Koala - Some of My Best Friends Are DJs; Goldfrapp - Black Cherry; John
Cougar Mellencamp - Trouble No More; John Cale - HoboSapiens; Bettye
Lavette - A Woman Like Me; Geoff Muldaur - Private Astronomy; Fiery
Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark; Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - The
Trouble With Humans; Lisa Germano - Lullaby for Liquid Pig; Cherrywine -
Bright Black; The Kills - Keep On Your Mean Side.

best wishes for a wonderful, peaceful 2004.

Tom

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 11:56:07 -0800 (PST)
From: "Joseph M. Mallon" <jmmallon@joescafe.com>
Subject: [loud-fans] Like Superman, indeed!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040105/ap_en_mu/davies_shot

Joe Mallon
jmmallon@joescafe.com

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 15:22:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Aaron Mandel <aaron@eecs.harvard.edu>
Subject: [loud-fans] poll reminder

The loud-fans 2003 album poll is ongoing at:

   http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~aaron/poll/lf03

It'll close at the end of January. The earlier you vote, the more likely
it is that your favorite orthography will be used in the final results
(see "Ted Leo & The Pharmacists" vs. "Ted Leo/Pharmacists").

If that prospect doesn't excite you, I don't know what to say.

As always, short ballots are fine (I know a lot of people, even folks who
listened to a lot of music, didn't necessarily find 15 full albums they
liked this year).

aaron

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 16:21:49 -0800
From: "Rex.Broome" <Rex.Broome@preferredmedia.com>
Subject: [loud-fans] Tales from the Pornographic Ocean

Joe 'n' Jeff:
>>> I've got 5,000 or so MP3s. most, but not all, @ 128K.  If I were strict &
>>> reduced the number of porg epics, I could probably fit about 5200.

>>"Porg epics"? Hmm...I'm envisioning George Gershwin in a sequined
>>cape..."Bess, You Is My Dawn of Light Lying Between Silence and Sold
>>Sources, Chased Amid Fusions of Wonder Woman Now"...

I flashed on the idea that this was *pornographic prog*.  I dunno if it would just be erotic in its subject matter, or just have a lot more wah wah guitar and sax than normal prog.  Or just naughtier album covers.

So much fun that the iPod battery controversy is coming to light just after I got one for Christmas!  So I'm just figuring the thing out.  I couldn't do anything with it until I got back home yesterday, because I was at my folks' place and their Mac didn't have OSX.  I snagged my brother's iBook briefly but ended up with just 36 big big songs that were on one of his playlists, so that was my entertainment for the five hour plane trip.  I guess it was best thought of as a glimpse into my brother's musical mind... more Harry Belafonte in there than I would have expected.  Loading is slow going at home since I don't actually have web access there anymore... guess I should finally get around to fixing that, huh?  The thought of typing in all the titles is what's stopped me from putting anything by Scott on there yet, but I figure I'll bite the bullet tonight.

- -Rex

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004 16:52:38 -0800
From: "Rex.Broome" <Rex.Broome@preferredmedia.com>
Subject: [loud-fans] Porg: the other white music

Joe 'n' Jeff:
>>> I've got 5,000 or so MP3s. most, but not all, @ 128K.  If I were strict &
>>> reduced the number of porg epics, I could probably fit about 5200.

>>"Porg epics"? Hmm...I'm envisioning George Gershwin in a sequined
>>cape..."Bess, You Is My Dawn of Light Lying Between Silence and Sold
>>Sources, Chased Amid Fusions of Wonder Woman Now"...

I flashed on the idea that this was *pornographic prog*.  I dunno if it would just be erotic in its subject matter, or just have a lot more wah wah guitar and sax than normal prog.  Or just naughtier album covers.

So much fun that the iPod battery controversy is coming to light just after I got one for Christmas!  So I'm just figuring the thing out.  I couldn't do anything with it until I got back home yesterday, because I was at my folks' place and their Mac didn't have OSX.  I snagged my brother's iBook briefly but ended up with just 36 big big songs that were on one of his playlists, so that was my entertainment for the five hour plane trip.  I guess it was best thought of as a glimpse into my brother's musical mind... more Harry Belafonte in there than I would have expected.  Loading is slow going at home since I don't actually have web access there anymore... guess I should finally get around to fixing that, huh?  The thought of typing in all the titles is what's stopped me from putting anything by Scott on there yet, but I figure I'll bite the bullet tonight.

- -Rex

------------------------------

End of loud-fans-digest V4 #2
*****************************