Saturday, November 12, 2011

R.I.P. Out Sounds

I've decided to shut this bad boy down; seems like I get a DMCA notice every few days now and a lot of the older posts have just simply vanished into thin air. Combine that fact with Rapidshare's overall crappiness and the decision to shut it all down becomes easier.

Plus, (and I hate to say it but it's true) Spotify has basically made blogs like these obsolete. Why fill up your own hard drive and have to buy bigger and bigger data storage devices to satiate our need as completists to own every single record ever made (which is impossible) when there's a really cheap service that does it all for you?

As a friend of mine recently said, (and he works in the industry as a producer/engineer, pretty well known but I'll keep him anonymous since he's a super rad guy) "this is how we make our living..." I don't want to get into a debate again about stealing/sharing, etc. but I had a hilarious e-mail battle last year with the merch guy from Stones Throw Records (that went on for like a week) and another e-mail from Justin Moyer of Antelope (now-defunct Dischord Records band) in which I returned asking a series of pointed questions that he never responded to. I have to admit it, but you guys are totally within your right when representing the label/artist/etc.'s view of music sharing (a term I'll continue to use; I would only call it stealing if I made money off of it) and since there's such a nebulous cloud around myself in terms of what I think is right and wrong, it's easier just to say "forget it".  

Basically, I'm over it.

I love all of you that have DL'ed, commented, read, etc. but I'm going to devote my time and minimum talent elsewhere on the interwebs.

Peace out.

Monday, October 24, 2011

NONA - NONA Reloaded (2011)

NONA is a West Chester, PA-based punk rock band that writes catchy and well-crafted songs with kick-ass melodies and sheer moxie in the vein of early Superchunk or a slightly updated version of Tiger Trap.

This 5-song EP is basically a reworking (reloaded, get it?) of their demo, released previously this year. Check this out, kiddies!

17.4 mb, ripped at 320 kbps

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds Of (2001)

Stars of the Lid are by far my favorite ambient group; if you ever wondered what to listen to while you read on the couch with a mug of chamomile tea, look no further than this record. Have you ever wondered what the noise between space stations and satellites sounds like? How about the sounds of mice tunneling under snow?

And if you want to fall asleep to their languorous, slow-churning, drony textures; please do...

...I think that's the whole point of this record.

285.9 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Sonic Youth - Goo (1990)

Dear Kim & Thurston,

Seriously guys, this is an October Fools' joke, right? I mean, c'mon, you guys- you're like indie rock royalty and stuff, you can't do this to us. At least stay together for the fans. 

And Mark Jacobs, too. I mean, next time he debuts a fashion line and you two aren't there front and center wearing shredded thrift store gear and looking super uninterested in everything, it's gonna be weird. 

But you're not breaking up the band, right? I hear it's still cool and all, like musically and stuff. I should've known something was up when you got the bro from Pavement to play bass so Kim could look cooler singing and playing her guitar (which was probably turned way down, thanks Lee). I can't believe this.

It was Thurston, right? Did you bang someone else, dude? It was one of these new indie rock goddess-types, like Zola Jesus or Alice Glass or that dude from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs*.

This kinda sucks guys.

Whatever, here's Goo.

Maybe I'll post a Sonic Youth record every day until you either get back together or the band breaks up.

* - Karen O is actually an alien.

47 mb; ripped at 128 kbps

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Ween - Caesar Demos (2011)

Ween did an album in 2003 called Quebec; before it was released it was tentatively titled "Caesar" and there were a bunch of extras and outtakes just laying around, so there's basically 15 tracks here never released and 14 alternate versions of the tracks (including an alt. version of Ooh Vah Lah which was a Japan-only release on the original album), so 16 unreleased tracks and 13 demos.

Besides for the 70 times I've seen Phish and another 15+ times for Medeski Martin & Wood, I've lost track of how many times I've seen Ween; probably around 10 (but not since 2003, go figure). So here's the Caesar Demos, also available free from Ween.net.

BOOGNISH!

143.3 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern... (1991)

Aceyalone, Self Jupiter, P.E.A.C.E., J. Sumbi & Myka Nyne; the anti-gangsta rap from the West Coast- these guys were kinda like the De La Soul of the L.A. scene. When everyone else (N.W.A., Ice-T, et. al.) were rapping about gats and hoes, these five MCs were waxing poetic on the state of welfare, education, higher consciousness, yeah.

Even though it's 20 years old, it doesn't sound the least bit dated. Give it a spin...

50.9 mb, VBR avg ~ 132 kbps

Tabla Beat Science - Live in San Francisco at Stern Grove (2002)

One of my favorite releases of the last ten years, combines dub reggae bass lines (from Bill Laswell) with multiple tabla percussionists (Zakir Hussain, Talvin Singh and Trilok Gurtu), scratching and turntablism from DJ Disk, drums and programming from Karsh Kale and the master of the sarangi, Sultan Khan.

Traditional Hindustani music meets electronic in a live performance in SF's Stern Grove; be sure to check this out.

140.9 mb, ripped at 192 kbps

Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch (1965)

I was sad to hear of Bert's passing earlier this week, wish I could have seen him play. Another legend gone but not forgotten. Here's his 1974 album LA Turnaround I shared back in April of 2010, for those so inclined: http://out-sounds.blogspot.com/2010/04/bert-jansch-la-turnaround-1974.html

But here's the 1965 debut; his guitar playing is deft and nimble- I remember reading somewhere that Jimmy Page lifted Bron-Yr-Aur from one of Jansch's arrangements. He was also highly regarded by (as well as being an influence on) Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Johnny Marr and Neil Young.


Bert was 67 years old.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior (1976)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Lavvi Ebbel - Kiss Me Kate (1982)

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor (1979)

Jan Jelinek - Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records (2001)

119.7 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (2008)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Phil Upchurch - Darkness, Darkness (1972)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Gavin Bryars, Philip Jeck & Alter Ego - The Sinking of the Titanic (2007)

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The New Romance (2003)

37 mb; ripped in AAC Apple Lossless format (.m4a)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Focus - Hamburger Concerto (1974)

92.7 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Impressions - The Young Mods' Forgotten Story (1969)

Tricky - Maxinquaye (1995)

Mississippi John Hurt - The Immortal (1967)

Wayne Smith - Sleng Teng (1986)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

John Coltrane - Ascension (1966)

Marvin Gaye - Vulnerable (1997)

Scientist - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires - 1981

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974)

Various Artists - The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits (2008)

Various Artists - The Sound of Philadelphia: Gamble & Huff's Greatest Hits (2008; Legacy Recordings)
111 mb; VBR avg ~ 200 kbps

Tracklisting
1The O'Jays - Love Train
2:58
2The O'Jays - Back Stabbers
3:06
3Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - If You Don't Know Me By Now
3:26
4Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - The Love I Lost
6:22
5MFSB - T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)
5:48
6Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones
4:46
7The Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again
2:58
8People's Choice - Do It Any Way You Wanna
3:15
9The Intruders - I'll Always Love My Mama
6:37
10The O'Jays - Use Ta Be My Girl
4:01
11Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
4:26
12McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
7:01
13Teddy Pendergrass - Close the Door
5:25
14Patti LaBelle - If Only You Knew
4:45

Black Nasty - Talking to the People (1973)

Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust (2002)


Tracklisting
1Prologue
0:45
2Blackrock - Yeah Yeah
2:55
3Black Merda - Cynthy-Ruthy
2:53
4Doug Anderson - Mama, Here Comes the Preacher
2:48
5Iron Knowledge - Showstopper
3:33
6Frankinsense - Dancing in the Light
4:12
7L.A. Carnival - Blind Man
2:29
8Preacher - Life Is a Gamble
2:48
9Sir Stanley - I Believe I Found Myself
2:45
10Brothers Jackson - Potted Shrimp
2:54
11Jade [VA] - Paper Man
2:34
12Gran Am - Get High
4:48
13Curtis Knight - The Devil Made Me Do It
2:36
14Slim Haskins - Alladin Story
3:41
15Hot Chocolate - What's Good for the Goose
3:13
16Tiny Tex & The J. Jones Connection - Who Am I?
3:51
17...Epilogue
0:45
18Creations Unlimited - Corruption Is the Thing
3:18

Sonny Sharrock - Ask the Ages (1991)

Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary (1988)

43.5 mb; ripped at 128 kbps

Eddie Hazel - Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs (1977)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Frank Zappa - Philly '76 (2009)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Rogue Sounds - Transmission (2010)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Gastr Del Sol - The Serpentine Similar (1993)

Gene Clark - No Other (1974)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Ott - Blumenkraft (2003)

Ott - Blumenkraft (2003; Twisted Records)
167.5 mb; ripped at 320 kbps

Clockwork Tigers - DEN (2011)

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s (1998)

New format here at Out Sounds: no more words. I'm just gonna post the album art and the link and the file info. That means more tunes and no more poring over band's websites and Wikipedia articles and trying to remember shit and over-relate to the music and cross-reference dates and all that.

Just music. Here:

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Julian Cope - Krautrock Sampler (1995)

Here's a PDF version I found of Julian Cope's 1995 definitive tome on the genre of Krautrock in all its glory and splendor; mad props to whomever scanned and upped this in the first place. This thing is way out of print and copies are starting at $175 (for a paperback!) so DL this before it gets taken down.

That's an "if" this gets taken down. You need Adobe's PDF Reader to read this, it's a book dammit...

Cocteau Twins - Treasure (1984)

It really doesn't get any prettier than this one- vocals from the one and only Liz Fraser (if you aren't familiar with her yet try out Massive Attack's Mezzanine, an album she sang on a number of songs- most notably the excellent Teardrop), with guitars/production from Robin Guthrie and bass by Simon Raymonde; the Cocteau Twins' brand of ethereal dream pop is replete with lilting beauty and lush melodies, plain and simple.

This might be the best example of "bad" mid-80's production values; cheesy-sounding Casio drums with washed out synths over delayed guitars and layered vocals- I realize that description makes this record sound awful but in fact it's ridiculously beautiful. A confluence of pop, ambient textures and sort of a proto-shoegazer thing going on here, it's an absolute "must listen".

Grab it now...

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Archie Shepp - Fire Music (1965)

Archie Shepp was one of the cats back in the early-60's doing that "new thing" and earned his stripes playing with Cecil Taylor's band. He would go on to play with the New York Contemporary Five alongside Don Cherry and ultimately catch the attention of some of the vanguards of the new school; most notably Ornette (Shepp would play a Coleman composition on his first "solo" record, credited alongside the Bill Dixon Quartet) and Coltrane (playing on the Love Supreme sessions but not making the final cut- he would appear on the 2002 out-takes of that record), playing on John's Ascension album as well as a split with the 'Trane titled New Thing at Newport from 1965.

Shepp's finest moment would be this record, Fire Music; cut at a time when his political consciousness and burgeoning Afrocentricity was reaching a fever pitch- Archie would include an homage to Malcolm X as well as a Duke Ellington standard and the premier bossa nova song of all-time (The Girl from Ipanema). Considered groundbreaking as well as erratic, it showcases a legend at the height of his creativity- done right after his Four for Trane sessions (revolutionary reworkings of some Coltrane tunes from earlier in the decade).

Check this one out!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Hollow Ox - Pleaides (2009)

Hollow Ox is a post-rock ensemble from Nashville that specializes in sweeping anthemics and cinematic atmospherics; all the while keeping a psychedelic dreamy grandeur to the proceedings- many of the vocals are half-buried under the weight of the drony guitars giving it an other-worldly feel. The gauzy production values are both beautiful and serene, giving it an element of added ethereal splendor.

While
the opener 2012 flashes forward with rushing intensity, the remainder of the songs are slow-burners; the musicianship between Mike Crouch, Matt McKeever, Jeremy McCall and Cole Street evokes comparisons to post-rock heavies Mogwai, et. al.

Do yourself a solid and grab this.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Guru Guru - Dance of the Flames (1974)

A guitar-driven Krautrock record from the Mani Neumeier-led Guru Guru; which is notable because Neumeier was one of the better drummers in the Kosmiche scene so for him to sort of step back and allow his supporting cast to shine here makes this record altogether more special.

This was the only record guitarist Houschäng Nejadapour recorded with the band, and his contributions are pretty spectacular- his playing borders on spine-tingling fusion jazz a la John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra before giving way to straight up Krauty motorik and world music excursions.

Prepare to have your faces melted. Off.

Yeasayer - Live at Ancienne Belgique (2010)

Holy shit this is so good. If you haven't hopped on the Yeasayer bandwagon yet, stop fucking around and get on it. Seriously. Not only are they one of the most interesting bands of the last few years in terms of experimenting with sound, they're also one of the most listenable (I know that word "experimenting" can be a huge turn-off for ears, but trust me- totally accessible).

The sound quality of this show is pretty amazing and the fans are respectful and attentive as well. Mad props to my homie Edo and his Know Your Conjurer blog for giving me the heads up on this awesome live concert, go there now and say what up, and download away- crazy sounds from way out on his blog as well as his radio show.

Here's some live Yeasayer- check out some of the re-worked versions of the songs from both All Hour Cymbals and Odd Blood.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury (1975)

This is beyond "required listening". Two legends; one at the apex of his career, one at the nadir. Zappa was selling out arenas and Beefheart couldn't get anyone to play with him (the entire Magic Band up and quit on him in '74, due to his "abusive behavior"). Needless to say, Beefheart couldn't get a gig at a dive bar and Frank felt he owed him (they've been friends since high school). The two geniuses had a pretty strained relationship around this time; they were both on "ego trips" says former Zappa drummer Jimmy Carl Black, with Beef mostly drawing sketches on-stage of Zappa and Frank in turn hating the Captain's work ethic (Zappa was a notorious workhorse).

This album is notable also for the lineup featured; it's at the intersection of two of Frank's greatest bands- blending the early 70's incarnation with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Chester Thompson with the late 70's era band with Terry Bozzio and the Fowler brothers.


One of my favorite records of the mid-1970s; listen to the Captain ramble nonsense over fantastic Zappa art rock compositions. Enjoy!