CONVERGE no heroes

just as good as jane doe. if you don't love this you are a fucking pussy. 2006.

RAY LAMONTAGNE til the sun turns black

brooding singer/songwriter//folk with some soul influences. love the dude's voice. this is his best album to date. he gets a lot of hype, and this album shows why. "barfly" features the gorgeous and wonderful rachael yamagata. "empty" is one of my favorite songs ever. 2006.

MAXIMILLIAN COLBY discography

"Maximillian Colby was an art rock band birthed in the early 1990s. They combined the intensity and attitude of hardcore punk with the beauty and weightlessness of noise harnessed by shoegazer. Never reaching much popularity outside Harrisonburg, Virginia, they were local heroes nonetheless, establishing a unique sound only recognized years later by bands like City of Caterpillar, A Day in Black and White, Circle Takes the Square and Envy; with their artsy song structures, stop-start dynamics, and minimal use of vocals, in this case, shouting. The band never released a true full length or lp, only a few eps, splits, and compilation features. Unfortunately, Maximillian Colby’s exceptional expression of art was cut dramatically short with the sudden death of bassist, Bob Baynor, in 1995. Following their demise, the three remaining members went on to form, most notably, Sleepytime Trio, as well as Supine to Sit, Bats and Mice, and Rah Bras. A discography of their sixteen recorded songs can be found on Lovitt Records."

"It's an ironic shame that all of thee truly innovative bands who tried to move emo into a realm that meant "progressive hardcore punk with poetic (non-political) lyrics" broke up before their influence could permeate deeply. Thus, thee new millenium is left with thee emo that every middle schooler thinks of instead of pure mind-redefiners such as Max Colby.

This was not simple music with a sappy message; there is technicality 'n' rawness in spades throughout this Lovitt-crammed-full Discography. How many acts of ANY kind were genius enough to not only sample Steve Reich's Come Out but also to structure their trademark song "New Jello" in thee same manner as that man's serious compositions? To me this puts Max Colby at thee crossroads between Trout Mask Replica & Madvillainy. These genres like "emo" perhaps should not be too confining because there is too much on here to be viewed as just another overlooked punk group. Their dynamics change more than post rockers with their structured yet insanely mobile songs. In fact, Max Colby are thee forgotten predecessors of that scene, taking Slint 'n' infusing it with punk's immediacy, showing thee direction that both post rock 'n' emo could have gone (AND SHOULD have, dad'bus'it!)."

sometimes a bit on the "plodding" side, but always full of passion. fans of the aforementioned bands need this. 2002 compilation from splits/eps from as early as 1994.

GROUPER dragging a dead deer up a hill

if cocteau twins' classic albums were boiled down to their spectral essence: those amazing vocals, the simple guitar work, the use of the studio. take that, go to a cave, plug in your record player, hit the needle, crank the volume, and then just let the sounds reverberate all around you. this is a beautiful and evocative ambient/folk album from the brilliant liz harris.

Transmissions from the other side made by a troupe of somnambulistic ghosts.

FIONA APPLE extraordinary machine

her best album. full of life. this album reminds me of laying in bed with my girlfriend - the warm blankets covering our legs, my hand on her soft, warm stomach, the sunlight pouring through the open window, fiona's voice permeating the sun-drenched early springtime breeze.

2005.

POISON THE WELL the opposite of december

i can't even tell you how many time i listened to this album back in high school. i got really into hardcore/screamo/metalcore music, and this became an alltime classic to me and many of my friends at the time, and for good reason. this is one of those albums that defines an entire underground musical movement. this, along with anything converge ever did, is perhaps THE album as far as late 90s metalcore is concerned. this was the album that everyone loved and that every band tried to imitate. but no one did it like this.

Looking for a screamometalcore album that could exceed the barriers of time? Gotta be very pure, a shot penetrating skull, a suicide pain inducer, a suffering liberator...i think this is it.

1999.

TOWNES VAN ZANDT townes van zandt

the classic from singer/songwriter//country artist van zandt.

sometimes i don`t know where this dirty road is taking me
sometimes i can`t even see the reason why
i guess i keep on gamblin
lots of booze and lots of ramblin
it`s easier than just a waitin round to die

1969.

CERBERUS SHOAL homb

the first masterpiece from the boston-based cerberus shoal. experimental post-kraut? they sound like no other band i've ever heard. their sound is so distinct, and they make it work without sounding at all contrived. middle eastern scales, horns, guitars, epic structures. kinda like if godspeed ditched the anarchocapitalist stuff, got baked, and uncovered every lost krautrock classic. highly, highly, highly recommended. 1999.

P.O.S. audition

one of my all time, top 5 hiphop albums. the dude has amazing delivery and awesome lyrical skill. the production rocks. (sidenote: p.o.s. is kinda the ringleader of the spectacular doomtree hiphop collective, based in minneapolis). if you like hiphop (especially that of the midwestern variety), this is a MUST HAVE. if you're kinda new to hiphop and are looking for something to get your jump started, this is a great record to go with. 2006.

NADJA truth becomes death

ambient drone doom. very powerful stuff.

"The ultimate guide to guitar distortion and apocalyptic post-modern soundscapes"

masterpiece. 2005.

THE FALL OF TROY phantom on the horizon

the mathrock/posthardcore darlings go all prog on us, and the results are totally awesome. personally, i thought manipulator was okay, but i preferred their earlier work. i thought they were getting a bit stale, so i didn't have high expectations for this. but goddamn if they dont pull off shit like the 10minute opening track! in fact, i'd say it's the best thing they've ever released! this is really so very good. i think fans of the mars volta will eat this up. whatev, just get it, it fucking rocks, man. 2008.

BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE blach earth

daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark and sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. jazz played at 8 bpm.

Like taking a walk through a dark, foggy alley, the collar of your trenchcoat up, your hat dripping rain in front of your stern face.

if lustmord or raison d'etre made a jazz album. incredible. 2002.

THE NATIONAL alligator

atmospheric indie rock. has this distinct feel to it that i can't quite put my finger on. nostalgic. "daughters of the soho riots", "the geese of beverly road", "mr november", and "secret meeting" are great (the first two being PERFECT and some of my favorite songs ever). the rest of the album is solid. get it for those songs if nothing else. 2005.

THE POSTMAN SYNDROME terraforming

Can't thing of much to describes this, except that:

A) its amazing
B) various parts of the album remind me of Tool, Opeth, Neurosis, King Crimson, and maybe a bit of jazz or math rock like Don Caballero or something.

possibly my favourite album ever.

original and unparalleled modern progressive rock. 2002.

CONVERGE when forever comes crashing

Alright, Jane Doe has its place in the cannon of hardcore, but When Forever Comes Crashing certainly rests next to it. To me this album screams with an even darker passion than anything else Converge has done. It's blood on ancient stone walls, in grimey alleys and forgotten graveyards. It's gothic without eyeliner, it's heart-wrenching without tight pants. It's fucking amazing.

yeah, it's great. 1998.

YOUNG WIDOWS old wounds

completely bitchin' noise rock/post-hardcore from louisville. produced by the legendary kurt ballou (it sounds MONSTROUS!). this will rock your fucking face right off your skull. 2008.

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE stand!

the funk/soul classic. not hard to see why this is considered one of the all-time great albums. every track is killer. 1969.

SONNY SHARROCK ask the ages

definitely the heaviest jazz album i've ever heard (save brotzmann's free jazz experiments). another all-time classic. the guitar playing here is fucking insane. 1991.

MEREDITH MONK dolmen music

stirringly beautiful classical/vocal compositions. the epitome of pure human musical expression. essential. 1981.

RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK rip, rig, panic

features kirk, jaki byard, richard davis, and elvin jones (what a line-up!). one of the best jazz albums ever. 1965.

ELEND winds devouring men

"Elend have said in every review I've read from them that they're interested in portraying violence in music. Though noticeably calmed down this time around, their goal is still underlining their work, only in a different way when compared to the past. The experience is a lot more indirect. This is dusty, jaded, sad, airy, elegant, pondering and allegorical symphonic music combined with effects and processed noise, used in a cinematic fashion, conceptually based on a long-ass poem (written by one of the composers) of which only parts are sung off. No shouting or screaming. Just oceans of restlessness and... erosion.

It's very emotional and the musical ideas are clever. This album is only the first part of a whole trilogy which is linked together both musically and lyrically. The series gets darker and more extreme each passing."

dark ambient/neoclassical. unlike anything you've ever heard. 2003.

RAISON D'ÊTRE in sadness, silence, and solitude

superb dark ambient. 1997.