the of mirror eye

Madlib: The Rumble (2.5 mb) | Dark Alley Incidental Music (3.0 mb) | Another Getaway (3.0 mb)
From Beat Konducta Vol. 3-4 : Stones Throw Records : STH2177

Well, it’s another month and we’ve got another Madlib release. Well ok, he might not be releasing that many records, but sometimes it sure seems like it. Born Otis Jackson, Jr, Madlib has been working the studio non-stop since the late 90’s. He’s a supremely versatile producer, DJ and MC who’s worked with everyone from MF Doom to Talib Kweli to the late Jay Dee, as well as on his own solo projects.

From the unlikely beach town of Oxnard, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the multi-dimensional Madlib quickly rose to prominence as one of the most interesting figures in late-’90s hip-hop. With his childhood buddies in the Lootpack, Madlib quickly made a name for himself as a rapper, producer, and DJ. In particular, his expansive style and deft touch for composition made him one of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers. An enthusiastic crate digger, with a deep reverence for jazz and soul, Madlib branched out into a number of ambitious, engaging solo projects. (Stones Throw)

The Beat Konducta has been an interesting project from him that’s part beat, part mix, part soundtrack CD that’s all combined to create one funky stew. This time around sees him combing the crates of India to great effects.

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* Michael Yonkers: Untouch (4.5 mb)
* Devendra Banhart: Bloats (12.5 mb)
* Charalambides: Take The Pointing Finger For The Moon (Live) (8.0 mb)
From From The Ashes Perfect Attainment Shall Be : free with Galactic Zoo Dossier #7

Well, two years have passed and we’ve been graced with another issue of one of my fave music mags of all time, the Galactic Zoo Dossier (look here). Mr. Plastic Crimewave has really outdone himself this time, with over 100 pages of psychedelic goodness, this magazine is absolutely jam packed with everything from band interviews, comics, reviews and contests. As before, this is a real work of art, as 98.34% of the magazine is hand drawn and lettered in Plastic’s inimitable style.

So, we’ve got some sample from the music CDs included with the magazine, hope you enjoy.

Michael Yonkers Minneapolis fuzzlord since ‘65 with a 2005 demo-tough!

Devendra Banhart aka Cripple Crow & leading astrological light recorded this long drifty paean at bearsville, NY, with Feathers & First Woman Millionaire. It’s an unreleased B-Side, but I think mighta been too long

Charalambides are a visionary duo of Tom Carter & Christina Madonia Carter, who have been whooping it up for over a decade - this is live from the CMJ fest, 1995

So, if you haven’t figured it out by now, this whole package is a must buy if you’re even remotely interested in the Psychedelic musics. Enjoy!

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* Hank Williams: Theme Song (2.0 mb) | Tennessee Border (7.5 mb) | Blue Bonned Rag (instrumental) (2.5 mb) | Dear Brother (6.0 mb) | Whistlin’ Rufus (instrumental) (4.0 mb) | Theme Song (2.5 mb) | Pictures From Life’s Other Side (12.0 mb) | Sally Goodin’ (instrumental) (3.0 mb) | (I’m Gonna) Sing, Sing, Sing (8.0 mb)
From The Complete Mother’s Best Transcriptions : Vol 07 & Vol 08

Well, sorry about the long wait in between posts, but the lack of electricity in my neighborhood due to a huge-assed storm probably contributed something to that. Let me tell you, being without electricity for two days totally sucks!

At any rate, since it’s been so long, I decided to do another two sessions of the Hank Williams Mother’s best shows. As I’ve said many times before, these shows are totally amazing and I would give a left butt cheek to have been there in the 50’s when these shows were being performed. Just imagine, waking up every day at 7AM to tune into the master himself, Hank Williams and listening to him play and shill for Mother’s Best. I really wish that someone record company would remaster these and release them legitimately, as I’m sure there’s a lot that can be done to them sonically. But at the same time, I’m just glad they’re out there at all.

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If you don’t want to download each track individually, you can download this (here) for all the tracks in *.rar format. Or, if you’re using Firefox (and you should be), you can install DownThemAll, which is a fantastic download utility.

* Hank Williams: Theme Song (1.5 mb) | Next Sunday Darling Is My Birthday (7.5 mb) | Old Joe Clark (instrumental) (2.5 mb) | Deck Of Cards (9.5 mb)
From The Complete Mother’s Best Transcriptions : Vol 07

I realized that it’s been awhile since we’ve been blessed with the sounds of Hank Williams, so, I’ve decided to post another installation of the Mother’s Best shows (look here). These were performed by Hank Williams every day at 7:15 AM in the ’50’s. This one has a weirdo last song, Deck Of Cards that veers off into numerology and God. It’s pretty bad ass. As before, the recordings are definitely in rough shape, especially the Theme Song on this show. But if you can listen past the noise, you’ll hear some amazing country from the King himself.

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* Fantastic Freaks: Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie (9.0 mb)
* The Cold Crush Brothers: Cold Crush Brothers At The Dixie (8.0 mb)
* Double Trouble: Stoop Rap (2.0 mb)
* Busy Bee: Street Rap (1.0 mb)
From Wild Style Soundtrack : Beyongolia : BEGO CD001

Sometimes you just need some of that old school flavor. And here it is, courtesy of the Wild Style soundtrack. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s a total must see and it’s an incredible look into the history of Hip-Hop, graffiti and break dancing.

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* Calexico: Mazurra (3.0 mb) | Sanchez (5.0 mb) | Spokes (5.5 mb) | Stinging Nettle (6.0 mb)
From Spoke : Quarterstick Records : QS51CD

Even from the very beginning, Calexico, the duo of John Convertino and Joey Burns, presented a varied, yet grounded sound. Their music sounded like it arose from the soil, still a little dirty, but beautiful at the same time. Being the rhythm section for fellow Southwesterner, Howe Gelb in Giant Sand, as well as the go to boys for a number of other artists, it’s amazing that they’ve had time to record and develop their own music. But record and develop they have. Constantly pushing their musical boundaries, they’ve managed to inject new flavors into each of their releases.

“A band has got to keep changing and moving or it will get boring and break up,” says CALEXICO’s John Convertino. Fortunately CALEXICO have barely stopped moving for ten years. Even when they’re not on the road – and this band tours hard – they’re recording: for themselves, with others. It’s a tradition that Tucson, Arizona residents Joey Burns and Convertino – the engine that drives CALEXICO – have maintained ever since they worked with another endlessly productive individual with an intense work ethic, Howe Gelb, with whom they constituted Giant Sand for over a decade. And it’s a tradition that ensures that, whatever they’re involved in, it’s going to be at least a little different from what you heard last time. If that wasn’t the case, CALEXICO would still be trading in the lo-fi dusty instrumental cassettes recorded on an answering machine that represented their very first work back in 1996.
(Touch And Go Records)

Since this album, which was recorded in 1995, they’ve expanded their “line-up” to include full on mariachi bands. And while the results have been nothing short of amazing, my favorite album will always be their first, Spoke. There’s a beautiful rawness to it that just breaks my heart.

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