Half Japanese - 1/2 Gentlemen / Not Beasts

An excerpt from the Half Japanese documentary, "The Band That Would Be King".

******************

Half Japanese
1/2 Gentlemen / Not Beasts
(1980)

All Music Guide:
"As with any album that is three records long, 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts unwittingly shows Half Japanese's true roots. Over the three records, the band "covers" such minimalists as the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and Jonathan Richman, as well as deconstructing such wordsmiths as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Although they would have you believe that their untuned, almost unlistenable, instrumental clatter is the result of being so enthusiastic that they didn't bother to learn how to play their instruments, it's just the logical, inevitable intellectual extension of Richman's naivete and the Velvet Underground's stripped-down guitar. Half Japanese is consciously primitive and amateurish. "

Tracklist:
DISC 1
1. "No Direct Line from My Brain to My Heart" - (2:00)
2. "10th Avenue Freeze Out" - (1:50)
3. "Ta Sheri Ta Ta" - (4:55)
4. "My Girlfriend Lives Like a Beatnik" - (1:05)
5. "Her Parents Came Home" - (0:59)
6. "Shhh-Shhh-Shhh" - (2:12)
7. "Girls Like That" - (2:12)
8. "Rrrrrrrrrrr" - (1:27)
9. "No More Beatle Mania" - (1:53)
10. "Tangled Up in Blue" - (3:45)
11. "Patti Smith" - (2:23)
12. "School of Love" - (1:07)
13. "Jodie Foster" - (2:15)
14. "Shy Around Girls" - (1:37)
15. "Grrrrrrrrrr" - (2:24)
16. "Bogue Millionaires-Cool Millionaires" - (2:11)
17. "Tn Tn Tn Tn Ki" - (3:10)
18. "I Can't Stand It Anymore" - (2:24)
19. "I Love Oriental Girls" - (1:44)
20. "Dream Date" - (1:33)
21. "Du Du Du - Du Du Du" - (7:22)
22. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" - (1:10)
23. "Ann Arbor, MI" - (0:33)
24. "I'm Going to the Zoo" - (1:13)
25. "Shi Yi Yi" - (0:58)
26. "Rave On" - (1:42)
27. "I Ta Na Si Na Mi Eee" - (1:02)
28. "Till Victory" - (2:16)
29. "Rip My Shirt to Shreds" - (0:19)
30. "I Don't Want to Have Mono No More" - (1:41)
31. "She Cracked" - (1:57)
32. "Bbbb-bbbb" - (1:36)
DISC 2
1. "Funky Broadway Melody" - (4:13)
2. "I'm Sorry" - (1:37)
3. "T-T-T-T-T-T" - (6:43)
4. "The Worst I'd Ever Do" - (0:44)
5. "Live in Baltimore MD" - (20:17)
6. "Live in Washington DC" - (18:16)
7. "Battle of the Bands" [*] - (1:59)
8. "Worst I'd Ever Do" [*] - (0:42)
9. "Ann Arbor, MI" [*] - (0:53)
10. "School of Love" [*] - (1:32)
11. "Her Parents Came Home" [*] - (0:57)
12. "Shy Around Girls" [*] - (1:11)
13. "Dream Date" [*] - (1:43)
14. "Bogue Millionaires-Cool Millionaires" [*] - (3:29)
15. "Knock on Wood" [*] - (1:44)
16. "Top Secret" [*] - (0:48)
17. "Guitar Solo" [*] - (0:41)
18. "Calling All Girls" [*] - (1:04)

VBR

Click here!

The Flaming Lips - Zaireeka

The Flaming Lips
Zaireeka
(October 28, 1997)

All Music Guide:
"A combination of the words "Zaire" and "Eureka," Zaireeka is a term coined by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne symbolizing the fusion of anarchy and genius. It's a perfect title; Zaireeka is the culmination of the Lips' helter-skelter brilliance. Pushing the concept of interactive listening into new realms of possibility, the work extends Coyne's infamous "parking lot experiments" into not merely one album, but four separate discs that can be played separately or in groups of two, three, and four with multiple stereos. (Properly synchronized multi-disc playback requires more than one person -- it's literally a party album.) Between combining the discs and toying with volume, balance, fidelity, etc., the options are truly limitless. No two multi-disc performances can be repeated, thanks to the space-time continuum and discrepancies from one CD player to another. Musically as well as conceptually, the Lips are defiantly experimental throughout Zaireeka; individually, each disc sounds more like free jazz than pop, although Coyne's diamond-sharp melodic sensibilities prevail even during the most chaotic moments. With each additional disc, the music's force and ingenuity reveals itself: "Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)" is an epic orchestral noise suite, "Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair" is a multi-narrative plane-crash drama remarkably evocative in its depiction of fear and chaos, and "How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)" features such extreme high and low frequencies that it can lead to disorientation, confusion, or nausea (the track is not recommended to be played while operating a motor vehicle or in the presence of infants). Logistical nightmares aside, Zaireeka is a dense, difficult work, recommended only for the hardiest Flaming Lips fetishists; however, they're in for the musical experience of a lifetime."

Tracklist (All four discs have identical track listings):
1. "Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand" - (2:52)
2. "Riding To Work In The Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now)" - (7:02)
3. "Thirty-Five Thousand Feet Of Despair" - (4:59)
4. "A Machine In India" - (10:24)
5. "The Train Runs Over The Camel But Is Derailed By The Gnat" - (6:14)
6. "How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos)" - (2:24)
7. "March Of The Rotten Vegetables" - (6:28)
8. "The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now" - (5:05)

256 kbps

Click here!

Boredoms - Super Roots 2

Boredoms
Super Roots 2
(July 25, 1994)

Discogs:
"Not sold in stores. Only available to people who had purchased the first press of the Chocolate Synthesizer CD and sent in the postcard included to take part in the lottery for the CD."

Tracklist:
1. "Sexy Boredoms" - (0:56)
2. "Go Come Uparks" - (1:19)
3. "Magic Milk" - (1:44)
4. "White Plastic See-Thru Finger" - (2:03)
5. "Boxodus (Noise Ramones Mix)" - (0:32)

256 kbps

Click here!

Acid Mothers Temple - Univers Zen ou de zéro à zéro

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.
Univers Zen ou de zéro à zéro
(2002)

All Music Guide:
"Puzzled by this album's title? It belongs to Acid Mothers Temple's list of "tribute titles," although this time it doesn't reference Jimi Hendrix or Frank Zappa. Univers Zero was a key developer of avant-garde chamber rock and took part in Chris Cutler's Rock in Opposition movement in the late '70s (check out the group's AMG biography for more). Is there any link between UZ and the music on Univers Zen Ou de Zéro à Zéro? No, not the least bit. This album stands as one of AMT's strongest realizations, simply because it covers a lot of musical ground in exciting ways and with good enough studio sound to satisfy a selective listener without killing the trashy feel of the music. The album begins with a frantic space rock jam, "Electric Love Machine." It propels a heavy guitar riff into interstellar space Hawkwind style -- i.e., without making a single pit stop and with plenty of synth sweeps. "Soleil de Cristal et Lune d'Argent" (Crystal Sun and Silver Moon) is more nuanced, starting from almost nothing, building into a jam frenzy (listen to it on headphones; there are a lot of instruments buried under the guitar drone), coming apart and starting over for an orgiastic finale. "Ange Mécanique de Saturne" (Saturn's Mechanical Angel) is a trippy guitar-and-voice number, anticlimactic and haunting. "Blues Pour Bible Noire" will enrage any blues purist: For 20 minutes it kicks around a simple 12-bar motif drenched in echo and avant rock guitar solos. The album ends on an unannounced piece of strange vocalizing, adding that Dada touch fans of the group love. In an already crowded discography, Univers Zen manages to crawl its way to the top as one of AMT's most representative albums. If you were looking for a place to start, you found it."

Tracklist:
1. "Electric Love Machine" - (10:34)
2. "Ange Mécanique de Saturne" - (10:31)
3. "Blues pour la Bible Noire" - (21:40)
4. "Trinité Orphique" - (2:31)
5. "Soleil de Cristal et Lune d'Argent" - (22:26)
6. "God Bless AMT" - (3:43)
7. "A Bamboo Is as Close as Miss Marsh to Marshmallow" - (7:38)
8. "Sir Satanic Magic Bamboo Jerks Off" - (10:34)
9. "Magic Head Cheese" - (13:34)
10. "Man on the Holy Mountain" - (3:55)
11. "Sweet Lucille, or Lick My Milk Off Baby" - (11:03)
12. "Cosmic Magic of Love, Pt. 2" - (2:02)

192 kbps

Click here!

Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston - It's Spooky

Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston
It's Spooky
(1977)

All Music Guide:
"Originally released in 1989, this collaboration between the two songwriters is about as ramshackle as you can get. Drumbeats are notably out of step, vocals creak, and melodies lurch and stop. Not that this should come as any surprise to anyone with any familiarity with the two, as amateurishness is often the name of the game. This record originally came out on Jad Fair's label and is reissued here with six extra tracks. Covers include "Happy Talk," Phil Och's "Chords of Fame," Glass Eye's "Kicking the Dog," a deconstructed "Tomorrow Never Knows," and the Butthole Surfers' "Sweet Loaf," here retitled "Sweet Loafed." This might be the best representation of the two musicians, with the give and take occasionally resembling a kind of stumbling electric jug band on songs like "Something's Got a Hold of Me." The most impressive thing about the disc is the sheer exuberance for music that is felt every step of the way. The simple expressions and blunt descriptions are often charming and beautiful in their out-of-step way, especially during "I Did Acid With Caroline." It's one of the many moments where you realize that -- at the core -- this is wonderful, stripped-down-to-the-core indie pop with a huge heart. Whether or not this is a lost masterpiece is not quite etched in stone, but it is indeed an excellent portrait of obvious fan-boy eagerness and musical joy. Musical joy that -- at over 70 minutes -- might need to be spaced out accordingly."

Tracklist:
1. "It's Spooky" - (1:55)
2. "Summer Time" - (3:03)
3. "I Met Roky Erickson" - (2:30)
4. "Happy Talk" - (4:11)
5. "McDonalds on the Brain" - (0:42)
6. "I Did Acid With Caroline" - (1:43)
7. "If I'd Only Known" - (1:54)
8. "Tongues Wag in This Town" - (1:08)
9. "Tomorrow Never Knows" - (1:53)
10. "Oh Honey" - (2:13)
11. "A Vow of Love" - (0:52)
12. "When Love Calls" - (2:20)
13. "Frankenstein Vs. the World" - (2:21)
14. "Hands of Love" - (2:04)
15. "Kicking the Dog" - (2:56)
16. "What I've Seen" - (2:50)
17. "Something's Got a Hold on Me" - (2:01)
18. "Villian" - (2:38)
19. "Chords oF Fame" - (2:55)
20. "Ostrich" - (0:32)
21. "Casper the Friendly Ghost" - (4:14)
22. "First Day at Work" - (3:03)
23. "Fun and Games" - (0:47)
24. "Nothing Left" - (2:15)
25. "Memphis Tennessee" - (1:15)
26. "Come Back" [*] - (2:57)
27. "Tears Stupid Tears" [*] - (3:01)
28. "The Making of the Album" [*] - (1:51)
29. "Get Yourself Together" [*] - (1:24)
30. "What the World Needs Now" [*] - (3:03)
31. "Sweet Loafed" [*] - (2:45)

192 kbps

Click here!

Acid Mothers Temple - Wild Gals a Go-Go

Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.

Wild Gals a Go-Go
(November 1999)

allmusic.com:
"As with all other Temple releases apparently co-composed and performed with the help of shadowy outfit the Melting Paraiso UFO, Wild Gals shows Temple once again thoroughly, totally, and completely gone over the top. Main man Makoto Kawabata still heads up the collective, leading everyone (including various refugees from Mainliner, Toho Sara, and Omoide Hatoba) into the realm of so-beyond-stoned psychedelic madness. Allegedly the soundtrack to a Russian underground film of the same name -- one can only wonder what it must be like if it exists -- Wild Gals is an entertaining keeper. Opening cut "Reverse of the Universe 1" starts things calmly enough, with a nagging and eventually ear-piercing keyboard drone playing out over a series of dark, clanging guitar notes that the likes of Sonic Youth wouldn't be unfamiliar with. "Space Bambino" also goes along fairly calmly thanks to the female vocalist, who also provides similarly sedating influences throughout Wild Gals, as with her echoing tones on the drifting zoneout "Goodbye Ice Cream/Stone Blind Blue Heaven." When "Space Bambino" turns into "Interstellar Over Dope," the monster feedback riffs really kick in, as does the heavy, queasy production which makes everything sound like it's being broadcast through Jell-O. "Mammary Intercourse" ups things even more later on, with massive flanging throughout the charging, blasting performance, not to mention spaced-out keyboard noises and whirring sounds galore. If the song is meant to represent the titular action, one wonders what these folks get up to at night. "Hare Hare Hallelujah/Blow Out" is the big monster at the center of it all, an 18-minute jam with an amazing midsection where tribal percussion, crumbling guitar noises, and spooky keyboard tones intermingle perfectly. It's one of the best tributes to early-'70s German freak rock around, and sounds it."

Tracklist:
1. "Reverse of Universe 1" - (6:53)
2. "Space Bambino / Interstellar Over Dope" - (10:09)
3. "Sweet Juicy Lucy" - (7:11)
4. "Mammary Intercourse" - (6:27)
5. "Hare Hare Hallelujah / Blow Out Super High" - (18:23)
6. "Good-Bye Ice Cream / Stone Blind Blue Heaven" - (14:29)
7. "Reverse of Universe 2" - (6:08)

VBR

Click here!