From daniel Sent Wed, Dec 24th 1997, 00:00
From daniel Sent Wed, Dec 24th 1997, 00:00
Well I took a look at the voting choices and was very amused. Seems like the folks who got all the hype are the ones in the running. So much for the little guy. With that in mind I thought I would mention some things people may have missed. Seems to me at times that alot of us are to "sound oriented" <that skam sound> or "label oriented" <mas>. For what its worth here are some things I have been listening to quite a bit. I have purposely only listed cd releases. There was tons of good vinyl this year. Hell it was the year of the EP. Also a couple of these things may have been released in 96. Conmelt - 24 carat conmelt Underrated album. At first a hard listen. Best analogy is that it is like exploratory surgery. Almost every song is in a different style and some change styles in mid song. But in the end you are left with a fresh, frantic and enjoyable take on the current state of music. Two Lone Swordsman - Swimming not skimming A wonderful album. Varied and full of talent. IMHO it is a pretty good chillout album as well. GPR - Digital Millenium These tracks still stand up today. A good way to see where we have been and where we are going. Worth it for the scoobs of columbia track alone. Plug Research Comp - won't say much here. Been all said before. If you don't have it you missed out. Radiohead - Ok computer - not IDM but one hell of a good cd. This is the only rock album I bought this year. Praxis: Transmutation Live <buckethead, laswell.dxt with the invisible scratch pickles> - don't know when this came out. A mixture of excellent guitar work, mad scratching, ambient synths and improv. Shizuo - High on emotion - mad, crazy, noisy, insane. DHR and Shizuo at their finest. Swim - Water Communications - swim is one of the most varied labels to date. Nothing sounds the same. This comp will prove it. A must have. Anywhere from jungle to ambience. Scanner vs signs ov Chaos - unite scanner with michael wells <from GTO fame>. Expect the unexpected. I usually don't like scanner but I found myself appreciating this cd quite a bit. and I could go on. But I just wanted to state that not all the good things were on vinyl. -dan