the of mirror eye

* Les Rallizes Denudes: 1-02 (unknown) (17 mb) | 2-02 (unknown) (12 mb)
From le 12 mars 1977 a Tachikawa : Over Level : OVER 001CD

For almost 30 years this band, Les Rallizes Denudes, has made so many anti-career moves and stayed so far underground that it’s amazing that they lasted for any length of time at all. The entire band is shrouded in mystery, with precious little out there in the way of articles, proper recordings or interviews. Here’s what is known about them: They were formed in 1967 as a protest to the politics and the polished pop music of the time. And that the key member of the group is guitarist/vocalist Takashi Mizutani. And that’s about it.

Although the ultra-mysterious and rumour-cloaked Les Rallizes Denudes/Hadaka no Rallizes existed in various forms from November 1967 to their last gig in October 1996 they are practically unknown in - let alone out of - Japan. Their recorded output is incredibly rare and highly priced and interviews or articles in the music press virtually non-existent. Tie that in with links to radical left-wing politics, extreme sensory assault at live shows and a general revolutionary aura and you have what must be the ultimate cult group.

(from Noise: NZ/Japan)

But then there’s this record. This double cd’s worth of music that probably tops the lists of my favorite records of all time. It’s a music filled with extreme feedback/distortion/fuzz and incredibly simple song structures. The musicians take their time and let things unfold naturally. Their playing is somewhat rudimentary (the bass player somehow manages to mess up a three note bass line!) but that’s totally besides the point. Les Rallizes Denudes are more about feeling and the physical sensation that their music produces.

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*note* I apologize to those with slow connections for the size of these songs and the Mainliner one, but sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles. Hopefully it’s not too much trouble to get these downloaded.

* Mainliner: Black Sky (23.0 mb)
From Mellow Out : Riot Season : REPOSECD01

This one is truly mind blowing. Don’t be fooled by the name of this album. There is nothing about this music that is mellow. Started by Asahito Nanjo of High Rise fame (look here) and Kawabata Makoto of Acid Mothers Temple fame (look here, here and here) in 1995. Mainliner quckly proceeded to obliterate everyone and everything in their path with their overdriven, white hot, distorted take on psychedelic rock.

Accompanied by drummer Hajime Koizumi, Nanjo and Kawabata hit maximum velocity from the off and sustain it over the 35 pounding minutes of its three tracks, “Cockamamie”, “Black Sky” and “M”. For all its crushing momentum, the music’s impact is still more exhilarating than oppressive, as Kawabata’s self-described motorpsycho guitar weaves gnarled and knotted webs of thundering reverb, briefly illuminated with brilliant magnesium flashes of notes, that alternately absorb the impact and catch the fallout of Nanjo’s demolition bass.

(from Wire Magazine)

So, don’t forget to turn this up real loud and prepare yourself for the rock and the roll.

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* Devendra Banhart: At The Hop (3.0 mb) | Noah (3.0 mb) | Water May Walk (3.0 mb) | An Island (2.0 mb)
From Nino Rojo : Young God Records : YG25

So, I just got back from my road trip to Okoboji, IA to see two of my friends get married. It was a trip unlike any other that I’ve ever taken. It started out great and me and my travelling partner traded iPod duties and put on different music that we thought would be great for road tripping. And I’ll have to say that when my travelling partner put on some Devendra Banhart, I knew that it was going to be my favorite of the bunch (but shhhh, don’t tell her this!!). I’d forgotten just how much I like him even though I’ve posted about him before (look here). I don’t really have anything new to add except that Devendra Banhart has a completely unique lyrical/musical vision that, while it has its roots in psychedelic folk, is worlds apart from that genre. Nino Rojo is the second of two albums that he released in 2004.

REJOICING IN THE HANDS OF THE GOLDEN EMPRESS/is the MOTHER,/ is the SUN,/ she is observing,/ having already experienced,/ commenting, This is this…this is that,/ NINO ROJO is the CHILD!/ RED SUN/SON ! not observing but PARTICIPATING, / Exuberant and Foolish he begins his journey ONWARD! Rejoicing is the MOTHER,/Nino is the SON! YES! THIS TRUE NO!? YES IT IS!

(from the website)

The trip quickly took a turn into the surreal when, at about 1 AM near Albert Lea, MN, a deer wandered out onto the highway for the last time. And all that I have is this incredibly vivid image of the car hitting the deer and the deer, all lit up by our head lights, flying in the air about ten feet and landing in a ditch. Luckily, the only thing that happened was a totaled car and a totaled deer. Both of us were completely fine, if a little shaken up. The rest of the trip was a blur of trying to get a rental car, busing it up to the Twin Cities, still driving to Okoboji and getting there at 10 PM for the last hours of the reception. Quickly consuming large amounts of alcohol, talking with folks that I haven’t talked to in years, and eating buckets of potato salad. We then had to get up at 8 AM the next day in order to get to the tow company (that was only open from 11 AM to 12 PM, that’s right, for 1 hour) and then get back into Chicago by 7 PM so that we wouldn’t be charged an arm and a leg for keeping the car for more than a day. Whew! To say that it was a total whirlwind of a trip would be a massive understatement. Amazinglyl, despite the totaling of the car and the deer, it was a pretty great trip.

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In a little bit I’ll be heading to the great town of Okoboji, IA to celebrate the union of two of my friends. In celebration, I decided to post a bunch of songs that speak of this mystical thing called Love. Enjoy!

* The Mummies: Stronger Than Dirt (2.5 mb)
From Death By Unga Bunga!! : Estrus Records : ES2100

Love song garage rock style.

* Of Montreal: Let’s Do Everything For The First Time Forever (3.5 mb)
From Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies : Kindercore : KC 064

Super sweet reminisces in the psychedelic pop vein.

* Half Japanese: Calling All Girls (2.0 mb)
From Half Gentleman/Not Beasts : T.E.C. Tones

One minute of pure love. (p.s. Patti Smith I love you > I got stung by the love bee > He stuck his thing in me!!!)

* The Dirtbombs: Do You See My Love (For You Growing?) (7.0 mb)
from Live At The Magic Stick : Jun 14th, 2002 : Detroit, MI

Two bass players, two drumers, one guitarist and a bunch of vocalists, all filled with tons of love.

* The Magnetic Fields: Asleep And Dreaming (2.5 mb)
From 69 Love Songs (Vol 2) : Merge Records : MRG167

Sickly sweet pop love.

* Roky Erickson: I Love The Living You (5.0 mb)
From Never Say Goodbye : Emperor Jones Records : ej-26cd

Psychedelic folk love from the king of the cracked (former singer of the 13th Floor Elevators)

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* Sunn 0))): Defeating:Earth’s Gravity (28 mb)
From The GrimRobe demos : Southern Lord : sunn37

Oh Lordy, I can’t believe the sounds that I am hearing. I’ve been hearing the rumors for quite some time about a band (Sunn 0)))) that was composed of bass and guitar and was so monolothic, sludgy and droney that they made people nauseous at their live shows.

The SUNN0))) mission is to create trance like soundscapes with the ultimate low end/bottom frequencies intended to massage the listeners intenstines into a act of defecation. SUNN 0))) have gathered 2x for live performances, at which they have succesfully made audience members instantly nauseous, or better yet run for the toilet in terror.

The powers that be contracted the heaviest low end destructors SUNN 0))) to create the most subharmonic drone recording ever put to tape. A test impossible for most mortals. Prepare your sound system!

(from their website)

So, I finally got the guts to take a listen to this group and they’re kinda blowing my mind right now. This is like your worst nightmare slowed down to a molasses crawl so that you can experience the terror for just that much longer. Definitely not for everyone.

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* Rolling Stones: We’re Wastin’ Time (3.5 mb) | Hamburger To Go (5.5 mb) | Sympathy For The Devil (8.0 mb) | Wild Horses (8.0 mb)
From The Black Box : Yellow Dog Records : YD 046-049

By nature, I’m a bit of a night owl. I don’t usually go to bed before 3am and often times its later than that. One of the great things about living in a city is that things are open late. There’s a great 4am (closing time) dive bar that I frequent every so often, that unfortunately does not have a great jukebox. It’s not bad…it’s just not great.

Everytime I’ve been there though, someone always puts on the Rolling Stones. And everytime I hear them, I think to myself: “Man, I really like the Rolling Stones!” They’re just a completely classic band whose songs somehow retain their relevancy in this day and age. So, I thought I’d post some songs from a 4cd bootleg of theirs, one from each disc.

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Went to the “Maxwell Street Markets” for the first time in a long time. It was awesome. Usually when I’d been there, it was to peruse the wares from the street vendors, but this time I went for the food. The food there is almost impossible to ignore. There’re mobile kitchens almost every other tent and the smells premeate the air. The food is predominantly Mexican, but very traditional. Most of the stands made their own corn tortillas right on site and cooked them on flat steel pans. Me and my lady friend feasted on huitlacoche tacos (huitlacoche is a very unappealing looking, but very tasty corn fungus) for the first time. They were great and exhibited a slightly sour taste with a great combination of spices. Also had some potato tacos and absolutely killer chicken tamales.

*note* Unfortunately, due to the spam filtering system I’m using for the comments, it doesn’t display comments by certain username/email addresses (i.e. names with “poker” in them or certain pharmeceutical drugs). So if for some reason your comments aren’t showing up, that’s probably why. I apologize for the inconvenience, but if I didn’t have this in place than the spam would be totally unmanageable…