Retribution Over Tea & A Biscuit

Retribution Over Tea & A Biscuit:

    1.    (0:00:12) Fever Ray IF I HAD A HEART - The opening track off The Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson's solo project.  The dubstep sounds similar to Richie Hawtin's (aka Plastikman) abstract minimalism.
    2.    (0:03:51) Sonic Youth OR - The closing track off this New York City powerhouse indie noise rock group's Rather Ripped LP.  Around 1990, Kim Gordon, one of the lead vocalists, bass and guitar player for Sonic Youth repeatedly advised David Geffen to sign a small band from Seattle whom they were touring with.  Geffen decided to sign this band, and released Sonic Youth's Goo in June of 1990 - Goo would sell 250,000 copies.  A year later, Geffen would release this newly printed indie-punk record by this small band called Nirvana to hopefully achieve similar success due to the touring combination of both bands.  Geffen originally sent out about 45,000 copies of Nevermind to the US and 35,000 to the UK, where the initial album, Bleach, was popular amongst ska fans.  Little did they know, Nevermind would be selling 300,000 copies a week and become diamond status in both America and Canada by 1999.  
    3.    (0:07:03) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss FORTUNE TELLER - Ooh, a nice catchy track off Raising Sand, the Grammy Winner for Best Album 2008.  Robert Plant's lyrics actually follow a nice story from beginning to end, unlike most of his dazed and confusing abstractions that he wrote while flying high for the Zep!  Alison's harmonies in the faintest are perfect, accenting the story-line as the fortune teller.  Brilliant track!
    4.    (0:11:08) Antipop Consortium BUBBLES - In preparation for the reuniting of this New York City avant-garde jazzy experimental hip hop group after splitting a few years back to pursue side projects, I present the opening track off Arrhythmia, their successful 2002 LP on Warp Records.  Antipop's (Beans, High Priest, M. Sayyid, and Earl Blaize) off-beat rhythmic patterns at times make them more underground than mainstream, and have teamed up with NYC's brilliant jazz musicians, such as Matthew Shipp (I featured one track by Mr. Shipp on Podcast #30 zzaJ-knuF...), Guillermo Brown and company.  Also, Beans occasionally uses Brooklyn glam rock/electronic fusion band Kudu with Deantoni Parks on drums and Slyvia Gordon on bass when touring.  
    5.    (0:14:20) Whitest Boy Alive ISLAND - Ok, I hate the name of this band, but the actual music is seriously growing on me, especially this track off their most recent LP, Rules.  This German quartet keeps things spacious and clean, providing a pleasant sound.  In its minimalism, there lies a level of sophistication and complexity to their music, which I previously did not encounter.  With each part of the song, the music slides deeper, adding texture, reaching a pinnacle, and then as the music descends they revisit elements earlier touched on to create a cyclical, yet slightly different new face of the music - quite human in its evolution.  
    6.    (0:20:53) Fingathing SYNERGY - Jazzy electronic hip hop from Manchester, UK, comprised of bass player Sneaky and DJ Peter Parker.  Originally signed to the UK label, Grand Central Records, and in the US, Ninja Tune.  This record is off their last LP from 2004, The Big Red Nebula Band.  Sneaky will release his solo record, Feel Like a King...Pluck a String, June 22nd on The Big Chill Recordings.
    7.    (0:26:19) Juana Molina & Alejandro Franov LA MARCA - I first encountered Ms. Molina from the brilliant National Public Radio podcast, Radio Lab, and have explored her music a bit more in depth.  The Argentina-born singer-songwriter dabbles in the sound of her voice rather than the words she uses to create a song.  In her latest outing, Un Dia, she samples her voice and creates a textured ambiance in a meditative sort of experience.  Here, she experiments with the sounds of multi-instrumentalist and fellow Argentinean, Mr. Franov.  
    8.    (0:31:14) Bat For Lashes TRAVELING WOMAN - Another brilliant record off Ms. Natasha Khan's Two Suns LP.  
    9.    (0:34:33) B.B. King THE THRILL IS GONE - B.B. King popularized this track in 1970, but was originally written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951.  The Thrill Is Gone is King's signature song, which he consistently revisits and changes the essence each time he visits it.  Rolling Stone magazine rated him #3 on its list of 100 greatest guitarists of all time, and a critic once stated, '(King) introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed.'
    10.    (0:39:16) DJ Shadow feat. Dennis The Fox PILEDRIVER- Now if you are as big as a DJ Shadow freak as I am, then you have probably heard this brilliant track he threw into his Funky Skunk megamix from 2005.  Apparently this is another one of Shadow's deep digs found in an underground crate from the early 70s on Fox's Mother Trucker LP.  Mother Trucking brilliant!  
    11.    (0:41:32) The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Diana King RESPECT - Ok, I just watched the movie, Notorious, and my interest in the B.I.G. was rekindled, so I could not leave this brilliant succinct version of his chase to fame.  There is hardly an argument why he is considered one of hip hop's greatest MCs.
    12.    (0:45:47) Tool PUSHIT (LIVE) - YES!  I finally snuck in a song by my true love in the music world.  TOOL are the reason I am posting this podcast, seriously.  If it weren't for my brother introducing me to this brilliant band to me on our train ride back from Syracuse 10 years ago, I would not have the open mind I do today in the musical sense.  This track is off their live DVD entitled, Salival.  The original version is on their Aenima LP.  Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones, and my heros, Maynard James Keenan, and Danny Carey evolve with each album release, and dive deeper spiritually, musically, and complexity.  On their latest, 10,000 Days, which denotes the 27 plus years Keenan's mother was confined to a wheelchair until her death in 2005.  Keenan's lyrics can often allude to references to his mother, Judith, from A Perfect Circle being the first name of his mother.  My brother, who shares the same love for the band, and I saw them perform 2 nights in a row in their hometown LA after its release, and during the song Wings For Marie (Judith Marie Keenan being the name of his mother), Keenan had to leave the stage due to the emotional intensity of his music and lyrics.  I will be doing my best to include more TOOL in the future!!!
    13.    (0:58:48) Battles ATLAS - Another fine fine fine Warp Records band.  Crazy.  Unconventional, yet grooving like a doo-wop!  John Stanier, the drummer, was the original drummer for the rock group, Helmet, and later backed Mike Patton in his band Tomahawk.  Stanier has always expressed his love of hip hop, and it is apparent in his style and his time-keeping, and how much he circumambulates these inspirations within his groove.  However, if you are able, you must see them live, because you'll see their energy exploding through the audience, as you gaze in utter amazement.  Tyondai Braxton, the son of avant-garde jazz musician, Anthony Braxton, plays guitar, keyboard, all while sampling his voice to create intense textures as you will hear in this very song.  This track is off their brilliant and highly acclaimed LP, Mirrors.  
    14.    (1:05:42) Hot Chip SHAKE A FIST - The electo-pop band goes nutty on this track, and hopefully pulls you out of your seat, or wherever you may be, and makes you shake to its ruggity-rough DFA-like blitzkrieg bombshells!  This is definitely a departure from their normal sound, which I like, and can be heard off their recently released, Made In The Dark LP.