Favorites of 2015

2015 was another wonderful year for compelling creative music. Here are a few of my favorite recordings from the year, divided along several different lines of musical activity. This post will also serve as a companion to the "Favorites of 2015" podcast, which you can listen to right here:

Favorite of 2015: Words on Sounds ep. 57 by Words On Sounds on Mixcloud

Follow the links on these lists to track down this amazing music for yourself:

25 favorites of 2015

1. JOBS - Killer BOB Sings, New Amsterdam.
2. Craig Scott's Lobotomy - War is a Racket, self-released.
3. Blind Idiot God - Before Ever After, Indivisible Music.
4. Upsilon Acrux - Sun Square Dialect, New Atlantis.
5.  Erica Eso - 2019, Ramp Local.
6. Wei Zhongle - Nu Trance, Hairy Spider Legs.
7. Noah Creshevsky - Hyperrealist Music, 2011-2015, EM Records.
8. SCHNELLERTOLLERMEIER - X, Cuneiform Records.
9. Holly Herndon - Platform, 4AD.
10. Stavros Gasparatos - Expanded Piano, Ad Noiseam.
11. Gong - I See You, Snapper Records/Mad Fish.
12. BBJr - I Did What I Could With What I Had, Captcha.
13. Joey Molinaro - I Who Will Forever Evil Yet Do Forever Good, self-released.
14. Macula Dog - s/t, Haord (repress Ramp Local).
15. Giant Claw - Deep Thoughts, Orange Milk.
16. ARIADNE - Tsalal, Auris Apothecary.
17. Twins of El Dorado - Verses, Prom Night Records.
18. Zs - Xe, Northern Spy.
19. Macho Blush - Firma
20. German Army - Taushiro, Weird Ear Records.
21. Matt Weston - Skate for the Lie, Tape Drift.
22. ARVO ZYLO - Sequencer Works Vol. 1, Out-of-body Records.
23. Voicehandler - Song cycle, Humbler.
24. Coppice - Cores/Eruct, Category of Manifestation.
25. Cinchel - Worry, self- released.

Reissue/Archival

1. The Silly Symphony Collection 1929-1939 box set, Disney.
2. Steve Hillage - Madison Square Garden 1977, Purple Pyramid.
3. Paul R. Marcano and Andre Martin - Valley Flutes / As it IS, Constellation Tatsu. 
4. Craw - 1993–1997 box set, Northern Spy.
5. Frank Zappa - Feeding The Monkies At Ma Maison, Zappa Records (RSD).
6. Tools You Can Trust - Working and Shopping, Burka For Everybody.
7. Miles Davis - Fillmore West: 15-10-70, Hi Hat.
8. Richard Pinhas - Chronolyse, Cuneiform.
9. The Contortions - Buy, Futurismo.
10. Sun Ra - Planets of Life or Death: Amiens '73, Strut.

Composition/electroacoustic

1. G.S. Sultan - ad.sculpt tutorial, Orange Milk.
2. Patrick Higgins - Social Death Mixtape, NNA Tapes.
3. Noosphertilizer III: Strnglv/Pekltopia split tape, Aubjects.
4. Ali Helnwein - Voyage, Spring Break Tapes.
5. Jonah Parzen-Johnson - Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow, Primary Records.
6. Cornered Yet Climbing Featuring Kelly Jayne Jones - Fevered Realities, Tombed Visions.
7. Booker Stardrum - Dance and, NNA Tapes.
8. PARTLI CLOUDI - Watermelon Cauliflower, Arachnidiscs.
9. Ulrich Krieger - Winters In The Abyss, Pogus.
10. Doc Wör Mirran featuring Conrad Schnitzler - Rojo, Tourette Records.

Improvisation-related

1. Jon Mueller - A Magnetic Center, Rhythmplex.
2. Augenmusik - s/t, Eiderdown.
3. Wrest - Ingress, self-released.
4. Andrew Bernstein - Cult Appeal, Hausu Mountain.
5. The Gate - Chuck, Astral Spirits.
6. I/OWAR - (silver tape), self-released.
7. Stephen Haynes - Pomegranate, New Atlantis.
8. Alan Sondheim / Azure Carter / Luke Damrosch - Threnody, Public Eyesore.
9. Earth Tongues - Rune, Neither Nor Records.
10. Tatsuya Nakatani - Confirmation, Taiga Records.

Bands

1. Tredici Bacci - Vai! Vai! Vai!, Astral Spirits.
2. Chef Menteur - III, Sunrise Ocean Bender.
3. Guapo - Obscure Knowledge, Cuneiform.
4. Many Arms & Toshimaru Nakamura - s/t, Public Eyesore.
5. Tandaapushi - Fire Disposal, jvtlandt.
6. Shit and Shine - 54 Synth-brass, 38 Metal guitar, 65 Cathedral, Rocket Recordings.
7. le Flange du Mal - CARRION, MY WAYWARD SON, Resipiscent.
8. Evening Fires - Where I've Been Is Places and What I've Seen Is Things, Sunrise Ocean Bender.
9. Stern - Bone Turquoise, New Atlantis.
10. German Army - Kalash Tirich Mir, Yerevan Tapes.

Synth Zones

1. Cremator - Phase Électronique, Extreme Ultimate.
2. Polígono Hindú Astral - 00110010, Verlag System. 
3. Xua - Mekong Moon, Debacle Records.
4. Bastian Void - No Dreams, Sic Sic Tapes.
5. Jan Balsam & Hermon Cone - Pattern Dialect, Moss Archive.
6. Three Fourths Tigers - Indoor Voice, Field Hymns.
7. Grapefruit - Some New-Age Bullshit, Field Hymns.
8. Panabrite - Disintegrating Landscape, Immune.
9. Majeure - Union of Worlds, Constellation Tatsu.
10. TALsounds - All The Way, Hausu Mountain.

Missed from last year:
Unconscious Collective - Pleistocene Moon, Tofu Carnage.

I heard about this insanely gorgeous recording near the middle of this year, when Tofu Carnage wisely chose to repress this near-perfect album that originally dropped mid-2014. From the composed, cinematic-feeling opener to the Z'EV-like percussion forays that close the album, and the many intense riffs and cutting improvisations in between, Unconscious Collective deserve a much wider audience. This pressing is quite remarkable in the packaging department, too, with wild swirled vinyl, spot-printing, foil stamping, and collodion prints of the band on linen. It looks incredible, and sounds better than it looks. Snag a 2nd pressing copy while you still can.

Favorite album art:
The Snowfields - How To Get Good Sound from a Dead Ear, Field Hymns.

I like a good album cover, but I've never been compelled to actually write about one until the new Snowfields tape arrived at my doorstep. I've always been smitten with the imaginative designs of Tiny Little Hammers (and in the interest of disclosure, they've made my life a zillion times better this year by doing the design work for Tymbal Tapes), but DAMN. The colors, balance, movement, geometry: everything about this art makes my heart sing. And this music is no slouch, either--click that link above and check it out.

Favorite label: New Atlantis Records.
In struggling to put together these crazy lists, It would've made life a lot easier to simply include every single release from New Atlantis this year. In another incredible batch of recordings (2014 was also spectacular), the NA folks brought 14 essential recordings to our ears, documenting the best in hard-hitting avant-rock, heavy improvised music, and many exciting collisions in between. If the only music you had the opportunity to hear from the last year was exclusively from New Atlantis, your musical mind would remain a finely-tuned machine. Head over to their Bandcamp page and get delightfully lost in an excellent and diverse discography.

Artist of the year: More Eaze

Marcus M. Rubio's new set of works under the More Eaze moniker has absolutely demanded my attention throughout 2015. As diverse a set of music as you're ever likely to hear, these records reinvent songform from all directions: weighty electroacoustic textures give way to electronic pop, folk and Americana collide with vaporwave, and abstract/academic forms dissolve into gorgeous tonal narratives. Lord only knows where "the future of music" is headed, but I sure hope it takes some direction from More Eaze. Do yourself a solid and check these out:

More Eaze - (frail), Already Dead.

More Eaze - accidental prizes, Kendra Steiner Editions.

More Eaze - stylistic deautomatization, Kendra Steiner Editions.

More Eaze - a lodge, Translucence Records.

More Eaze - fine., Full Spectrum Records.

More Eaze - Abandoning finitude, Kendra Steiner Editions.

Thanks for listening and reading, and here's to a great 2016!

Favorites of 2014

In my book, 2014 has got to be the best year for creative new recordings I can remember. Thanks to all of the amazing artists and labels who continue to create such deeply affecting work and make it available to the public.

I'm going to try and let the music speak for itself in this post. As time permits over the next few days, I'm going to add mega-linkage to appropriate artist/label pages for all of these stellar recordings. But for now, here are a few lists of the materials profiled in my "favorites of 2014" podcast. And here's the podcast itself:

Words on Sounds Podcast, Episode 17: Favorites of 2014 by Words On Sounds on Mixcloud

My favorite 25 recordings of 2014:

1. Giant Claw - DARK WEB, Orange Milk/Noumenal Loom
2. Zeek Sheck - JOIN US, Resipiscent Records
3. Cloud Becomes Your Hand - Rocks or Cakes, Northern Spy/Feeding Tube
4. David Rosenboom and William Winant - Zones of Influence, Pogus
5. Nick Storring - Endless Conjecture, Orange Milk
6. Battle Trance - Palace of Wind, NNA Tapes/New Amsterdam Records
7. Charles Barabe - Stigmates, 905 Tapes
8. Kara-Lis coverdale - A 480, Constellation Tatsu
9. Wozzeck - Act 5, Intonema
10. Swoon - Words/No Words, Already Dead Tapes
11. Keith Rankin - The Crane Engine, Knertz
12. Yves Malone - Three Movies, Field Hymns
13. VaVatican - I love you (dora lee), NNA Tapes
14. Regular Music - Vase and Ass, Skrot Up
15. Azure Carter & Alan Sondheim - Avatar Woman, Public Eyesore
16. Blood Rhythms (Arvo Zylo) - Assembly, No Part of It/RRRecords
17. Totenbaum Trager/Project Muet - split cassette, Arachnidiscs Recordings
18. Sontag Shogun - Tale, Palaver Press
19. Noah Creshevsky - The Four Seasons, Tzadik (late 2013)
20. Death Blues - Non-Fiction, Sige records
21. Period - 2, Public Eyesore
22. Pajjama - Karakasa, Orange Milk
23. Horse Lords - Hidden Cities, NNA Tapes
24. Illusion of Safety - Surrender, No Part of It
25. Liz Allbee/Hans Grusel - split LP, Resipiscent Records

My favorite Synth Zoners, 2014

1. Black Hat - Thought of Two, Hausu Moutain

2. Cremator - Clear Air Turbulence, Series Aphonos
3. Jonas Reinhardt - Ganymede, Constellation Tatsu
4. Black Unicorn - Traced Landscapes, Field Hymns
5. ARU - Consumed, self-released
6. Xunholm - Asleep in the Shattered Mirror, Skrot Up
7. Half High - Calling Nina, Eiderdown
8. Panabrite - Pavillion, Immune Recordings
9. Pulse Emitter - Alien Vacation, Expansive
10 Kosmonaut - Future Machines, These Are Not Records

My favorite improvisation-related recordings, 2014

1. Music for Hard Times, City of Cardboard, Public Eyesore
2. Matt Nelson - Lower Bottoms, Tubapede Records
3. Kaplan/Merega/Moffett, Crows and Motives, Underwolf Records
4. Street Priest - More Nasty, Humbler
5. Ballister - The Ballister Monologues, Astral Spirits
6. LaPlante/Dunn/Smith, Ancestral Instrument, NNA Tapes
7. Bennett/Wright - Tangle, Public Eyesore
8. Barker/Dunmall/Dahl - Luddite, New Atlantis Records
9. Jones/Shipp - The Darkseid Recital, AUM Fidelity
10. Keir Neuringer - Ceremonies Out of the Air, New Atlantis

My favorite "Sticks and Strings" records, 2014

1. Many Arms - Suspended Definition, Tzadik
2. U SCO - Treffpunkt, New Atlantis
3. Form and Mess - s/t, Sickroom Records
4. Brandon Seabrook - Sylphid Vitalizers, New Atlantis
5. Jealousy Mountain Duo - No. 3, Blunoise Records
6. Hyrrokkin - Pristine Origin, Sickroom/New Atlantis
7. bob Bucko Jr - Crank Spirit, Personal Archives/5cm Recordings
8. pak - NYJPN, Magaibutsu Limited
9. Zevious - Passing Through the Wall, Cuneiform Records
10. J. Spaceman & Kid Millions - Live at Le Poisson Rouge, Northern Spy

My favorite electroacoustic/acousmatic records, 2014

1. Les - Echo, Skrot Up
2. Trumpet Trumpet Synthesizer - Oh Baby (split w/Horaflora, Weird Ear Records)
3. Macho Blush - Unsick, Crash Symbols
4. Bus Gas - Snake Hymns, Spring Break Tapes
5. Hiyohiyoipseniyo - al ARMA, Nyapster
6. Looks Realistic - VA/A, Beer on the Rug
7. Problems that Fix Themselves - Which is Worse, Already Dead Tapes
8. Massimo Falascone - Variazioni Mumacs, Public Eyesore
9. Mahler Haze - Counterfactual, Personal Archives
10. Stred Sveta - Tlaotlon/Stred Sveta split, Baba Vanga

Band of the year: German Army. German emm effing Army. Viva La GeAr! At the end of the podcast, you'll hear a medley of 2014 GeAr pieces, which includes:

1. Narrative Myth, from s/t Trapdoor Tapes
2. Chickahominy 1 from Millerite Masai, Yerevan Tapes
3. Bayard Taylor, from Pennantia, 905 Tapes
4. TestIndia, form Social Catalyst, Jozik Records
5. Catherine Movoisin, from Socotra Scripture, Horror Fiction Tapes
6. Mumbai, from Tassili Plateau, Field Hymns
7. Semblance, from T'rung, Lighten Up Sounds
8. Fragment, from Barrineans, Lava Church
9. Takotna, from Cargo Circuits, A.C.T.I.O.N
10. Harem Diseases, from Jivaro Witnesses, Burka for Everybody (originally on Holland Village, dub ditch picnic)

More Other Music radio news

As mentioned before, tune in this Sunday for the "Aluminati edition" of Other Music. We'll be spinning music made on metal-fabricated guitars and basses, and we'll also be interviewing Kevin Burkett of the Electrical Guitar Company. We'll have some local folks in discussing the aluminum guitars they play, too, and maybe even jamming a bit live in the studio.

The following Sunday, July 1, we'll be interviewing NYC drummer and composer Mike Pride about several of his recent and upcoming projects. I've been a fan of many of Mike's bands and projects for almost a decade now, and he has some really cool stuff in the works. We'll also be playing some of his music during that show, but just to get you warmed up, check these out:

You can listen every Sunday from 10-midnight on KZUM, 89.3 FM in Lincoln, NE, or streaming anywhere via http://www.kzum.org.

As mentioned before, I sat in on fellow DJ Joseph's other program, Out to Lunch, this Thursday evening. I had a ton of fun gathering this set of jazz-related music to play:

Peckerwood - Joey Baron - Raised Pleasure Dot
Retrace a Walk - Zs - Buck
Macho Woman - Ornette Coleman - Body Meta
Piram - Masada - Beit
Hadasha - Masada - Beit
Amhorrikkka - Evil Eye (Mike Pride) - Doin It All For My Baby
Fireflower - Astroid Powerup! - Googleplex
The Adventures of Billy Spontana - Brown vs Brown - Odds and Unevens
Age of Energy - Chicago Underground Duo - Age of Energy
Letter to HST 3:16 - Colin Stetson - New History Warfare, Volume 1
Catman - Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society - Mandance
Hall - Henry Threadgill - Easily Slip Into Another World
Chapi Chapo - Inzinzac - Inzinzac
Throat I - Little Women - Throat
Tsarka - Rabih Abou-Khalil - Blue Camel
Let's Talk About Virtue - Rich Woodson's Ellipsis - The Nail That Stands Up Gets Pounded Down
Erase Yourself - Ron Miles - My Cruel Heart
Kitchen - Sex Mob - Dime Grind Palace
How Hight the Loch (Ornamentology) - Farmers Market - Musik Fra Hybridene
Now Then - Tim Berne - Fractured Fairy Tales

Other Music updates and playlists

I haven't gotten a chance to post any playlists for the Other Music show for a while. We've had many interesting changes afoot that have demanded our attention:

--Malcom is on hiatus, coming in only occasionally.
--New DJ Joseph has joined the show, which is very exciting because he has great taste and an amazing collection of early electronic music, EAI, krautrock, free jazz, and much more. We're getting both more beautiful and more bizarre every week!
--we've been in the new studios for about six weeks. There is more room and more equipment, and lots of potential for live-in-studio performances in the future!

As always, you can tune in every Sunday night from 10-midnight Central Time. We're on 89.3 FM in Lincoln, or you can stream the show anywhere from http://www.kzum.org.

Here are some partial playlists (the stuff I played) for recent broadcasts:

6-3-12
Marc Ribot - Etude # 13: Wank - Exercises in Futility
Zao - Yog - Osiris
Othin Spake - Child of Deception and Skill - Child of Deception and Skill
John Zorn - Libera Me - Templars: In Sacred Blood
Devin Gray - Talking With Hands - Dirigo Rataplan
Benoit Widemann - Spirale - Stress!
Thinking Plague - Sleeper Cell Anthem - Decline and Fall

5-27-12
Gorguts - Rapturous Grief - Obscura
Aki Takase - 575557:4 - A Week Went By
Bob Bucko Jr - Triptych I - Tearjerker
Whourkr - Ostina Feat. Oxxo Xoox (628 Snare Drums) - 4247 Snare Drums
Sekkutsu Jean - Koayebiurjnk - Sekkutsu Jean
Cactus Truck - The Snotgreen Sea, The Scrotumtightening Sea - Brand New For China!
The (EC) Nudes - It Might Be Better - Vanishing Point

5-13-12
Phil Niblock - Stosspeng IV - Touch Strings
Evan Parker - Part I Intro (Studio) - Set
Grosse Abfahrt - Kablamo - Vanity
Ross Bolleter - Kiss Kiss - Night Kitchen (2002-9)
Stian Westerhus - The Antagonist - Pitch Black Start Spangled
Moebius - B 36 - Tonspuren

4-29-12
Violent Femmes - New Times - New Times
Bobby Conn - Macaroni - Macaroni
Yugen - The Scuttle of the Past out of the Cupboards - Iridule
RED Trio + Nate Wooley - Phase - STEM
Mr. Rencore and Tim Berne - Ort Milos - Intollerant Mr. Rencore and Tim Berne
Mary Halvorson Quintet - That Old Sound (No. 27) - Bending Bridges
Bailly/Millevoi/Moffett - Red Rain - Strange Falls

Other Music show, 4-8-12

We got a real Easter egg in Lincoln yesterday in the form of Tatsuya Nakatani being added to an early show at the Bourbon Theatre:

Because of the timing, we hoped that it might be possible to have him stop by KZUM for a little time on the Other Music show, but it didn't quite time out. I did get a chance to pick up a few of his newest releases, though, and we got a nice long track on the air. Here's a partial playlist for the Other Music show, 4-8-12

Ppartyzan Vs Prominenttongue - Nicoffeine - Lighthealer Stalking Flashplayer

Mercy - Time of Orchids - tour remix album

Posers - Frankenixon - Depth Perception

Ozy - Amygdala - Complex Combat

Spectres of Bird - Prelapse - Prelapse

Papyrus de Tecmessa 29825 - Atrium Musicae de Madrid Greece: Musique de la Grece Antique

Hollow Grounds - Fanu & Bill Laswell - Lodge

Ritual - Nakatani/Tiner/Drake - Ritual Inscription

Playlists, upcoming albums, radio changes, and housekeeping

Playlists: I want to cover a few things with this post, but let's start with Other Music show playlists for the last 2 weeks. Instead of posting the song title info this time, here are some links to experience parts of these shows yourself. Let's start with the Paul/Killed In Cars guest spot: Paul put a mix on 8-tracks that covers most of the material he played on the show two weeks ago, which you can listen to here. For last week's show, I made a special mix of music related to chickens/eggs/birds (which I'll explain below). Unfortunately, streaming audio was unavailable at the station this weekend. Sorry if you tried to tune in over the internet. Download the Chicken Mix here and enjoy it yourself.

More upcoming records: I wanted to mention three more 2012 release announcements that I'm excited about. Dirty Projectors will release a new LP in July, Maps and Atlases release a new LP on April 17, and Igorrr expects to release a new album in December. Those are three of my favorite bands, and added to the other amazing releases slated for this year, it's clear that 2012 is going to be an exceptional year for recordings.

Other Music news: KZUM will be moving to new studios very soon. We don't have an exact date, but it's possible that we already broadcast our last show from the terminal building. I'll miss the old studios, and being downtown in general, but there will be great opportunities at the new location, including enough space to occasionally host live-in-the-studio performances on the show. Also, we've added a new DJ to the show! Please welcome Joseph, who also hosts a jazz/improvised music program called Out To Lunch every Thursday night from 10-midnight on KZUM. Joseph has incredible taste and he's going to be a great addition to the show. In related news, Malcom is entering a phase of semi-retirement from the program (but he'll still be on occasionally). We'll miss his presence and decade of experience on the program even more than the funky old studios we'll soon be leaving behind.

Reviews: I've received even more submissions, including another batch of material from Killed in Cars. I'm amazed and humbled at how great the majority of these albums are. It's going to take a long time to get caught up, but at least I'll have a good time getting there. It's been a couple of weeks since I got a chance to finish any reviews, but I have been listening and taking notes. Expect reviews soon...

Here's where I explain the "chicken mix," and how that relates to reviews: for the last few weeks, I've been busy preparing, prepping, modifying, and building materials for a little "urban flock" of 3 chickens. I'm not a very mechanically inclined fellow, and it took quite a while to everything together, but "the ladies" have arrived, and all seems to be well. Now that these girls are doing well, I'll be able to focus my attention elsewhere.

One final note before I dive into review-writing for the night: we knew this was going to happen soon, but today the increasingly sick elm tree in front of my house was removed by the city. It was time, but I'm still very sad about it. The tree was probably almost as old as my house, and one of maybe two of the original elm trees planted along my street in the early 20th century (the rest were killed by Dutch Elm disease in the 1980s). Cheers for all of the good years, noble tree.

Other Music playlist for 3-18-2012

This week featured some truly top-grade material on the Other Music show, as it's pledge drive time!


By the way, we didn't get any calls during the show--a first during the pledge drives since I joined the show. But a lot of people donate to KZUM online, and we don't know about those until later--thanks to all who might have donated that way.


And if you haven't donated, but you'd like to show support for shows like ours and others on KZUM that provide a forum for creative, compelling music to be shared on the radio regardless of "commercial viability," then you can still pledge, too! Just go to http://www.kzum.org and click on the "donate" button. Any help is greatly appreciated, as the station is about to relocate.


Onto the music! this was a really great show:


Scott played:

Paul Sturm - Ascent of the Deer Ghost - The Diplomat's Shadow

PAK - The Higher the Elevation, The Lesser the Vegitation - Motel

Colin Marson - 4 - 200220032004

Frank Pahl - Ode to Euphonium #3 - The Cowboy Disciple

Extra Life - Blinded Beast - Dream Seeds

John played: UT - Dr No - Griller

.22 - Standard vs Daylight - Worker

Silkworm - Tonight We're Meat - Blueblood

Shipping News - Cock-a-Doodle-Doo - Three-Four

Zulu as Kono - Young Geezer - Zulu as Kono

Joseph played:

Ilhan Mimaroglu - Agony (Visual Study No. 4, after Arshile Gorky) - Electronic Music

Vladimir Ussachevsky - Suite From No Exit

Luc Ferrari - Tete et queue du dragon (Second version) - Musique Concrete

Other Music playlist for 3-11-12

This week, we celebrated the 82nd birthday of Ornette Coleman, mourned the 18th anniversary of the death of Charles Bukowski, and looked forward to the release of the amazing new Neptune album (review coming soon), among many other things...

Playlists for 3-11-12

Scott played:
 Neptune - Dark Report - Msg Rcvd
 Charles Bukowski - Friendly Advice to a Lot of Young Men - Bukowski Lives!
 Ornette Coleman - Home Grown - Body Meta
 Hazel-Rah - Behold, a Firewall - The Africantape Single
 Red Baraat - Tunak Tunak Tun - Chaal Baby

John played:
 Fugazi - Long Division - Steady Diet of Nothing
 Fugazi - Runaway Return - Steady Diet of Nothing
 Shellac - Shoe Song - 1000 Hurts
 Hedvig Mollestad Trio - For the Air - Shoot!
 Jesus Lizard - Mailmen - Shot
 MX-80 - Facts - Hard Attack
 Arab on Radar - #1 - Soak the Saddle
 Young Windows - Glad He Ate Her - Settle Down City
 Jesus Lizard - Mistletoe - Down

Joseph played:
Faust - Munic/Yesterday - 71 Minutes
 TU M' - 01 - .01
 Das Synthetische Mischgewebe - Moving Masses Pt II - The Escape of the electrified dermatologist epitomises his dissent with the compromising juxtaposition of the smell and the sound of a pair of wings injured in subdued romance

Tune in to KZUM, 89.3 in Lincoln, NE, every Sunday night between 10-midnight CST to hear the Other Music show. You can listen anywhere in the world via KZUM's webstream, too: go to http://www.kzum.org and choose between several streaming options in the sidebar on the right of your screen. You can also sign up for updates about the show by liking our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/OtherMusicOnKZUM. In addition to playing a wide variety of creative music, from the beautiful to the bizarre, we occasionally have interviews, in-station live performances, and nights of music based around various thematic ideas.

Other Music playlist for 3-4-2012

John played a set of music in tribute to Jeffery Randall, Joseph played some gleaming specimens of musique concrete through the ages, and I spun a wide variety of music tonight, partially inspired by things-that-arrived-in-the-mail this last week from Northern Spy and Zappa.com, and also inspired by more recent finds at Lefty's Records...

Tune in to KZUM, 89.3 in Lincoln, NE, every Sunday night between 10-midnight CST to hear the Other Music show. You can listen anywhere in the world via KZUM's webstream, too: go to http://www.kzum.org and choose between several streaming options in the sidebar on the right of your screen. You can also sign up for updates about the show by liking our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/OtherMusicOnKZUM. In addition to playing a wide variety of creative music, from the beautiful to the bizarre, we occasionally have interviews, in-station live performances, and nights of music based around various thematic ideas.

On the 3-4-2012 Other Music show, John played:
Jesus Lizard - Glamorous - Lash
Jesus Lizard - Valentine - EP
Nirvana - Curmudgeon - Lithium
Dianogah - Garden Airplane Trap - Old Material New Format
Bellini - Smiling Fear - Small Stones
Tortoise - Salt the Skies - It's All Around You
Liz Phair - 6' 1'' - Exile in Guyville
Big Black - Racer X - Hammer Party
Godhead Silo - Going Commando - Share the Fantasy
Sausage - Riddles are Abound Tonight - Riddles are Abound Tonight
Zevious - The Noose - After the Air Raid

Joseph played:
Pierre Henry - Voile D'Orphee, from Variations pour une Porte et un Soupir (1963)
Andre Almuro - Boomerang - Depli
Nurse With Wound - Beware the African Mosquito - Man With the Woman Face

Scott played:
Neptune - Triple Your Money - Silent Partner
Charles Gayle - Compassion I - Streets
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Brick Bats - Bat Chain Puller
Aquaserge - Errance - Ce tres cher Serge
The Residents - Theater of Shadows - Coochie Brake
Adrian Belew - She is Not Dead - Twang Bar King

Other Music playlist for 2-26-2012

A fairly wide range of musical directions for 2/26. Scott played:

Yugen - Danze Carazzate - Labirinto d'acqua
OOIOO - Ina---- - Feather Float
Annie White head/Barbara Morgenstern/Bill Wells/Stefan Schneider - Brown Recluse - Paper of Pins
Jason Ajemian and the HighLife - His Name on Records - Riding the Light into the Birds Eye
Eyvind Kang - Inquisitio - Athlantis
Les I - Inquisitio - Ou Bien
Power Animal - Rough Year (Interlude) - Exorcism
Prick - No Fair Fights - Riverhead (demos for his s/t album)

And Malcom found a fascinating unnamed parallel, playing:

Kronos Quartet/Allen Ginsburg - HOWL (edited) - HOWL, USA
The Cure - untitled - Disintegration
R.E.M. - untitled - Green
Neutral Milk Hotel - untitled - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Low - untitled - Things we Lost in the Fire
Sigur Ros - untitled - ( )

Other Music playlist for 2-19-2012

I've received a surprising number of "power trio" submissions lately (guitar/bass/drum trios), and it turned me toward a fun search through my collection, reflecting on the many power trio-based albums I've loved over the years. This Other Music show was inspired by my search--I did an hour of instrumental power trios, one song per band, but I actually put together 3 hours of 1 song-per-band material for more shows later. It's amazing how much potential the humble power trio has to make music inclusive of many styles, genres, and approaches. Soon I'll be posting a review of four recent power trio submissions that particularly grabbed me, but for now, here's a playlist that includes a track by each of those bands. See if you can guess which four I'll be covering in more detail...

For the 2-19-2012 Other Music Show, Scott played:

Ahleuchatistas - No Sleep - Location Location (okay, these guys recently became a duo, but...)
Free Form Funky Freqs - Over and Under - Urban Mythology Vol. 1
Zevious - Inciting - After the Air Raid
Scorch Trio - Melaza - Melaza
Many Arms - The Year 500 Billion - Palabras Malas
Hedvig Mollestad Trio - For the Air - Shoot!
Hyrrokkin - Haarp - Astrionics
Dub Trio - Control Issue Controlling Your Mind - IV
Mary Halvorson Trio - April April May (No. 3) - Dragon's Head
Trevor Dunn Trio Convulsant - I'm Sick - Sister Phantom Owl Fish
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - Never Better - Party Intellectuals
Arto Lindsay Trio - Imbue - Aggregates 1-26
Gorge Trio - Living With Tigers - Open Mouth, O Wisp
Blind Idiot God - Sawtooth - Undertow

Other Music for 2-12-12

Whitney Houston died, we started to thaw out of a crushingly cold weekend, Valentine's Day was just around the corner, but we mostly ignored those things and "mixed it up" on the 2-12-12 edition of Other Music.

I played:
Summer '77 - MX-80 Sound - Hard Attack
Lonely Walk - Greetje Bijma - Barefoot
Mad, Mad, Mad Year - Dominique Leone - Instrumentals
Gongsong - Gong - Magick Brother
Eno and the Actor - Mike Keneally - Hat
Horse - Friendly Bears - Friendly Bears/Infidel?/Castro! "A Split Experience"
Study 2a (Conlon Nancarrow) - Bang On a Can - Big Beautiful Dark and Scary
Creeping Things Dig Slowly - Lovely Little Girls - Glamorous Piles and Puffy Saddlebags
Karel Zeman on the Moon - Ergo Phizmiz - Music From the Shoes of Fulcanelli Soundtrack
Millions of Mischiefs: I. Julia Sets - Jonathan Leathwood - Malloy: Millions of Mischiefs
Tears of the Judge - Yakuza Heart Attack - Yakuza Heart Attack II

Other Music for 2-5-12

Scott played:

Severe Confection - Normal Love - Normal Love
A Cloud No Bigger Than a Man's Head - Cerberus Shoal - Bastion of Itchy Preeves
Zhagunk - miRthkon - The Illusion of Joy
the Damaged Country - Mute Socialite - More Popular than Presidents and Generals
In the Cave/My Flaming Thirst - Pepe Deluxe - Queen of the Wave
History of Rock and Roll - Andy Partridge - Morgan Fisher Miniatures

Malcom played:

Columbia vs Challenger - Rebuild Deion - Haywire
Panda Bear - Drone - Tomboy
Don Pullen & the African Brazilian Connection - Yebino
Spring - Live...Again
Thievery Corporation - Where it All Starts - Culture of Fear
Angels of Light - Promise of Water - We Are Him
PJ Harvey - The Words that Maketh Murder - Let England Shake

Other Music playlist, 1-29-12

Last Other Music show for January already? Time is flying...

This Sunday, I played:

National Anthem (Radiohead cover) - Vernon Reid - Other True Self
Chorume da Alma - Pig Soul - Chorume da Alma
Tziidall Raszhisst - Koenjihyakkei - Angherr Shisspa
Lovely It May Seem - Make A Rising - Rip Through the Hawk Black Night
When the World Comes to an End - Dirty Projectors and Bjork - Mount Wittenberg Orca
Tendon - Igorrr - Nostril
Sleep is Wrong - Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening and Closing

Some of my favorite records of 2011

While I'm making lists, I want to make sure to post a list of some of my favorite records of 2011. These aren't in any particular order, but they're all releases that I know I'll be listening to a lot more in coming years. So without any further ado:

Capillary Action - Capsized
Skeletons - People
Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
Dead Kenny Gs - Operation Long Leash
Garage a Trois - Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil
Extra Life - Ripped Heart
Inzinzac - Inzinzac
The Show is the Rainbow - Tickled Pink
Jeremiah Cymerman - Fire Sign
Travis Laplante - Heart Protector
Cock E.S.P. - Historia De La Musica Cock
Kayo Dot - Stained Glass
Tartar Lamb - Polyimage of Known Exits
maudlin of the Well - Part the Second (jeez, Toby Driver--crazy good year for you!)
Giant Claw - Midnight Murder
Beach Boys - Smile
Pet Bottle Ningen - Pet Bottle Ningen
Son Lux - We Are Rising
tUnE-yArDs - WHOKILL
Dixie's Death Pool - The Man With Flowering Hands
Alicia Hansen - Fractography
Lakookala - Songs For ZeMean
Les Rhinoceros - Les Rhinoceros
Nat Baldwin - People Changes
TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light
YACHT - Shangri-La
yMusic - Beautiful Mechanical
ZA! - Megaflow
Bjork - Biophilia
Pak - Secret Curve
Ruins Alone - s/t
John Zorn - Nova Express
Psyche Bugyo - Psychedelic Judgeman Comes, He Has the Cherry Blossom on the Shoulder
Man Man - Life Fantastic
Magic ID - I'm So Awake/Sleepless I Feel
Kronos Quartet - Uniko
Frank Zappa - Feeding the Monkeys at Ma Maison
David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time
Gary Numan - Dead Son Rising
Ohgr - Undeveloped
Atari Teenage Riot - Is This Hyperreal?
Jane's Addiction - Great Escape Artist
Mori/Parker/Laswell/Nauseef - Near Nadir
Praxis - Profanation

I know I'm forgetting some worthy releases, but that's a solid year of good music to keep in mind.

Some Other Music playlists

Hopefully I'll get weekly playlists back on track as weekly updates--they make for long posts if I get behind, but the holidays have kept me away from the blog. I like to post these so that artists can see when they're getting a little airplay, and so that my faithful readers can get a taste of what they might hear when they tune into the Other Music show, every Sunday from 10-midnight Central Time. In case you haven't seen the info before, you can hear the show on 89.3 in Lincoln, NE, or you can stream it anywhere in the world via http://www.kzum.org. You can also "like" our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/OtherMusicOnKZUM and get occasional updates about the show--sometimes we have interviews or in-studio performances in addition to playing music from the Beautiful to the Bizarre. Anyway, here's what I played for the last month:

12-25-11 Christmas show!
Tennessee Ernie Ford - Children Go Where I Send Thee - Christmas
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Winter Weather - Christmas Caravan
Richard Schultz and the Miracle Men - I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas - Homeless for the Holidays
Bert & Ernie: Christmas - audio from Sesame Street's "Christmas Even On Sesame Street" special
John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John Lennon Collection
Ren & Stimpy - We Wish You a Hairy Chestwig - Crock 'O Christmas
John Zorn - The Christmas Song - Dreamers Christmas
Fear - F*** Christmas - F*** Christmas EP
Flaming Lips - White Christmas (Demo for Tom Waits) - It's a Cool, Cool Christmas
Tom Jones - Holiday - Mr. Jones
The Island of Misfit Toys - Rudolph soundtrack
Austrian Death Machine - Jingle Bells - A Very Brutal Christmas

Other Music 1-1-12 show (some tracks from favorite 2011 albums)
Capillary Action - Methheads and Mormons - Capsized
Colin Stetson - Fear of the Unknown - New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges
Dead Kenny Gs - Melvin Jones - Operation Long Leash
Extra Life - Elegy (Cartoon Piano) - Ripped Heart
Inzinzac - 71 - Inzinzac
Pet Bottle Ningen - Cherry Blossom Scandal 34 - Pet Bottle Ningen
Son Lux - Rising - We Are Rising
Dixie's Death Pool - A Return to Science Fiction - The Man With Flowering Hands
Alicia Hansen - Under Hypnosis - Fractography

Other Music 1-8-12 show
Ettrick - Sky-Bellower - Feeders of Ravens
Gestalt Et Jive - Successful Gardening Begins Here - Nouvelle Cuisine
Kevin Kastning - Utazas - Triptych
Zao - La Soupe - Z=7L
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Brucke Nach Aries - Sirius
Nat Baldwin - Weights - People Changes
Mary Halvorson - Mile High Like (No. 16) - Saturn Sings

Other Music 1-15-12 show
Mono/Poly - Punch the Troll in the Neck - Manifestations
Lakookala - Without You - Songs for ZeMean
Les Rhinoceros - Choo Choo! (4 on the Door) - Les Rhinoceros
TV On The Radio - No Future Shock - Nine Types of Light
yMusic - A Paper, A Pen, A Note to a Friend - Beautiful Mechanical
Za - Bomboklat #2 - Megaflow
Bjork - Mutual Core - Biophilia
Frank Zappa - I Wish Motorhead Would Come Back - Civilization Phaze III
Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Two Against One - Rome
John Schneider - Scenes from Nek Chand: III. The Sinuous Arcade With Swings and Arches - Just Guitars
Les I - A.B.C.T. - Dans L'Hemisphere Nord
Songs for Tony - Movement 1 - Michael Nyman - Philip Glass & Michael Nyman, Works for Saxophone Quartet
Yochk'o Seffer - Ofek - Neffesh Music

Other Music show, 1-22-12
Jeremiah Cymerman - Touched With Fire - Fire Sign
Michael Nyman - The Kiss - The Kiss and Other Movements
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica - Replica
Benjamin Stapp - Negative Space - Ecstasis

Two OM playlists for december 2011

I'm a couple of weeks behind on Other music playlists, so it's catch-up time. Many essays and reviews are still pending--the holiday season is demanding a lot of my attention this month...

On 12-11-11,

Malcom Played:
Post-Trendies – Driveshaft – s/t
Evangelista – Tremble Dragonfly – Prince of Truth
Evangelista – Crack Teeth – Prince of Truth
... Wadada Leo Smith – Celestial Sky and All the Magic: A Memorial for Lester Bowie – Golden Quartet
The Nels Cline Singers – Divining – Initiate
Mark Wingfield – Kevin Kastning – Secret Density – I Walked Into the Silver Darkness

Scott played:

Little Trip To Heaven - Mugison - Little Trip

Peaceful Paths - Make A Rising - Infinite Ellipse and Head with Open Fontanel 

My Hands - The Magic I.D. - I'm So Awake / Sleepless I Feel

Paper Hats - Pram - Dark Island 

My Darling's Love Arrow - Princess Nicotine - Folk & Pop of Myanmar

Smelly Tongues - Ptôse - Face De Crabe

De Nuit - Lucien Dubuis Trio - Tovorak

Rorschach - Submerged - Before Fire I Was Against Other People 

Chattering Ladies - Moniek Toebosch - I Can Dance

Then on December 19,

Malcom Played:
Antony & the Johnsons – Kiss My Name – The Crying Light
Scout Niblett – Do You Want To Be Buried With My People – This Fool Can Die Now
Joanna Newsom – Baby Birch – Have One On Me
Feist – When I Was a Young Girl – Let It Die ...
Feist – How Come You Never Go There – Metals
Bjork – Virus – Biophilia
Bjork – Hunter Vessel – Drawing Restraint 9
Atlas Sound – Quick Canal – Logos
Sun Ra – Them of the Stargazers – Live at the Village Vangaurd
The War on Drugs – Come For It – Slave Ambient

Wipers – Is This Real? – Wipers Box Set

Scott played:

Women on the Move - Forever Einstein - Artificial Horizon

Two More Dreams - Rocket Surgery - Rocket Surgery

Size 10? Sneaks -- Bill Frisell and Vernon Reid - Smash & Scatteration

Yellow Jacket - Korekyojinn - Tundra

Screaming Idiots - Trunks - On The Roof

One For Asmodeus - Satanized - Technical Virginity

Pent-Up House - Jimmy Rosenberg & Stian Carstensen - Rose Room

Sorcery - Helmut "Joe" Sachse - Solo  

Buluc Chabtan 2 - Corima - Corima

Republic Of Revenge - Ruins (RonRuins) - Big Shoes 

L'Anima Sulle Sue Mani - The Tango Saloon - Transylvania

Steve's Pipe - Michel Waisvisz - Crackle

Other Music for 12-4-11

Here's the lists for the Other Music show from 12-4-11. Tune in tonight for some interesting stuff--I'm pulling out both great 2011 stuff and some old rarities...


Malcom Played:
Real Estate – Snow Days – Real Estate 
Trip Shakespeare – Snow Days – Across the Universe
Cocteau Twins – How to Bring a Blush to the Snow – Victorialand
Jandek – Come Through with a Smile – Somebody in the Snow
Simon Joyner – Happy Woman – Lost with the Lights On
Laurie Anderson – Thinking of You - Homeland
Laurie Anderson – Another Day in America – Homeland
Sonic Youth – Edges – Goodbye 20th Century


Scott played:


The Time of Going Away - MAP - Fever Dream
Kleinman - Normal Love - Peel/Kleinman 7''
Obthecklomtz- Ruins Alone - Ruins Alone  
What a Way to Go - Mighty Vitamins - Take-Out
Hide Behind My Glasses - Fishbone - Bonin' In The Boneyard 
Gagon - Lucien Dubuis Trio - Le Retour  
Horseback Riding In A Bicycle - EAST OF THE WALL  - The Apologist
Soul In The Sound - Ken Vandermark - Mark In The Watter  
Cruising for Burgers - Frank Zappa - Carnegie Hall 
Bad Timing - Lakookala - Songs For ZeMean
Pauline Oliveros-the_beauty_of_sorrow_(excerpt) - Various Artists -  Harmonic Series
Proboscide - Tom Moto - Junk

Other Music for 11-27-11

...a week behind on getting this round posted, but here's last Sunday's Other Music playlist. Tune in tonight from 10-midnight to hear more creative music, including a few tracks related to shows that have just come through NE this week, or scheduled for the coming week. That's 89.3 in Lincoln, or streaming anywhere at kzum.org.

Malcom Played:
Extra Life – This Time – Secular Works
Extra Life – Bled White – Secular Works
Arnett Cobb – Go, Red Go – Arnett Blows for 1300
Tom Waits – Red Shoes by the Drugstore – Blue Valentine
St. Vincent – Your Lips Are Red – Marry Me
Boards of Canada – The Beach at Redpoint – Geogaddi
No Age – Katerpillar – Everything in Between
Kronos Quartet with David Barron – “North Platte, Nebras-katte” (Harry Partch) – U.S. Highball
Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks Theme – Soundtrack from Twin Peaks

Scott played:

Broken Heart Collector - Get The Dog - Broken Heart Collector

Dureforsog - Nobody's Nose - Knee

Icy Demons - Buffalo Bill - Miami Ice

Material - O.A.O. - Red Tracks

Dull Schicksal - Cruelty Asks for Delivery - They Saved Hitler's Brain

Christian Vander - Mr Vent - Szoloh

Shizuo - Sweat - Shizuo vs Shizor

Cats' Orchestra - A Thin Thief - Coffee Killer

Aram Bajakian's Kef - Raki - Aram Bajakian's Kef

Phillip Glass - I Enjoyed the Laughter - Book of Longing

Other Music for 11-20-11

I started off this show with a bunch of solo saxophone music, inspired by listening to Travis Laplante's record a number of times in the last few weeks...

Playlist for 11-20-2011:

Scott played:
To Pianist Cecil Taylor - Anthony Braxton - For Alto
Heart Protector - Travis Laplante - Heart Protector
Fire Book Three - John Zorn - Classic Guide To Strategy, Vol. 3
cardinal-fixed-mutable - Steve Coleman - Invisible Paths First Scattering
Axieme Part 3 - Steve Lacy - Axieme
Aerobatics - Evan Parker - Saxophone Solos
Formule 2 - Daunik Lazro - Zong Book
Judges - Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges

John played:

Melvins – Blood Witch – A Senile Animal

Jesus Lizard – Whirl – Liar

Big Black – Racer-X – Hammer Party

Arab on Radar – Samurai Fight Song – The Stolen Singles

Time of Orchids – Crib Tingle to Callow – Namesake Caution

Slint – Nosferatu Man – Spiderland

Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot – Daydream Nation

Don Caballero – Don Caballero 3 – What Burns Never Returns

Malcom played:

Tangelo – Sugarloaf – Year of Saturdays

Sonic Youth – Drunken Butterfly – Dirty

Autolux – Blanket – Future Perfect

Radiohead – 4 Minute Warning – In Rainbows (bonus)

Sigur Rós – Glósóli - Takk...

Sigur Rós – Gobbledigook - Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

Sun Ra – ‘s Wonderful – At the Village Vanguard