http://spidey.kfjc.org KFJC 89.7 FM reviews posted on-line. Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:32:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The psychedelic sounds of this second album from the California trio are in keeping with the cool artwork on the record sleeve. The hazy vocals seem like they are coming through the depths of the water cooler that is the band???s namesake, and the guitars, keys, and drums accentuate the psychedelic vibe. Come, drink from the aural offerings of San Francisco Water Cooler! http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4240 Six (aka 2 trios) of outstanding SF Bay Area musicians come together in varying combinations under the leadership of percussionist Vijay Anderson. Many moods, very original sounds and improvisations that are very listenable. Especially like the guitarist, vibes are consistently good, percussion lays a very good base. http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4239 Hazy male vocals plus steady guitar rhythms characterize these two peppy, psychedelic songs from the San Francisco band. Drums add a pulse that will invigorate any set. http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4238 Consider this a slice of trance (Effie Briest) sandwiched between upbeat (Peaches) and downbeat (Alan Vega) electronic music. Or, rpm-wise, a 33 between two 45s (with a locked groove thrown in). I have a slight preference for the Peaches song. http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4237 Touted as a mix or punk and country, and born from a mid 80's tour panning for coin in Nevada mining towns, it's hard to resist the post Rats/pre-Dead Moon duo wearing reverb boots and pulling six-string reins. To me, these songs felt more like lost 1950-60's era TV western soundtracks than country per se. "Honky Tonk" nails a Rawhide-like solo to the swinging doors. "Over the Gun" rides a boxcar of surf. Broken bottle saloon slide guitar cuts in on "Prison Train." Toody's coyote harmony yelp never sound better. Her torch on the trail work on "Lonely" is beauty. Fred churns out sturdy riffs. These two just have that sacred fire, if you try and play with it too much, you become Deadbolt (not necessarily a bad thing.) Meanwhile rolling, Roland?, rolling with the Range Rats was Rollie, a defective deputy of a drum machine! Catch Rollie on the last two tracks which were added for this release culled from tapes on the trail. I preferred the human rhythm tracks, even though they feature prohibition drums and dry cymbals. The fantastic paperback pulp cover captures the music better than these words. Play 'em high... -Thurston Hunger http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4236 Recorded September 26th, 1975 at NHK Studio. A product of Music Liberation Center Iskra. A pretty sparse, and yet full release. Two 20+ minute meditations that might have been split at the hip trip. There's bells that sound like they get curved, there's clicky and deep clacky percussion. Never combusting, just scratching. It starts with some voice intoning... you could tell me this was a Shinto ritual and I'd buy it. Flutey whispers, piano resonance. The sonic shadows here run long, harmonica makes an appearance but it's not riding a railroad. Kosugi helped launch the Taj Mahal Travelers, (and take a spin on his Catch-Wave lp at KFJC!) Ranta was a percussionist with Stockhausen connections, and Ichiyanagi slept with John Cage and worked with Yoko Ono, or vice versa, but he's still active on tha avant scene. Trying to analyze this work seems to detract from it, but somehow there's a very solid center to this austere collaboration. It has the same kind of haunting flare that the Necks releases do in my ear. -Thurston Hunger http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4235 San Francisco percussionist Dave Mihaly is joined by brass and sax on these gentle tracks that takes melody and edges it into experimental territory in a rather original way. Haunting and tuneful for improvised music. Slow to mid tempo, should work well to cool things down after a high energy radio set. Spoken vocals as intro on track 9, otherwise all instrumental. http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4234 Block and Bruckman collaborated and collected recordings for several years resulting in this 4-track release. Noteworthy for the very skillful merging of field recordings and musical instruments. Varies from high pitched and painful to soothing and minimal. Sounds are disguised, but might be from trains, animals scratching, squeaky swings in an empty playground, ocean surf, industrial noises. More info here: http://www.and-oar.org/pop_either_4.html [1] PGM: Wide dynamic range, watch sound levels. [1] http://www.and-oar.org/pop_either_4.html http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4233 I know nothing about hip hop/rap, but the thing that kept me listening to this CD is interest in the stories this Berkeley rapper has to tell. Yes, he???s egocentric, but he???s also got a unique perspective on the life he???s lived (all 21 years of it). Anyone with a healthy respect for women (6) and the earth (7) is worth a listen. The tracks work best when Lil B talks over minimal keys (occasionally he ventures into singing). Do as he tells you in Track 1 and ???just breathe.??? http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4232 This compilation seems to have been made with Art Crimes??? Temporary Village and Old Weird America show in mind. Culled from the 78 rpm record collection of Frank Fairfield, these songs originate from as far afield as Indonesia, Japan, Scotland, Africa, and France to various American territories, and the time span covered is just as broad. There???s even a recorded sermon on Track 16. Read the fascinating liner notes for a history of each song, and enjoy! http://spidey.kfjc.org/?p=4231