2010 MUSIC PICKS!

At long last, here is my little list of likes, dislikes and undecideds for the Musical Year of Our Lord, 2010! Please enjoy responsibly.

Feel free to criticize at will, and share your own selections! =)

(All entries are listed in alphabetical order....)

REAL PLEASURES AND UTTER OBSESSIONS - 2010

ARP: The Soft Wave

ATOM™: 1i3835tra3m3

AUTECHRE: Oversteps

BJNILSEN | STILLUPPSTEYPA: Space Finale

FLYING LOTUS: Cosmogramma / Pattern+Grid World

THOMAS KÖNER: La Barca

MADLIB: Medicine Show #3: Beat Konducta in Africa

MADLIB: Medicine Show #7: High Jazz

JON MUELLER: The Whole

PAN SONIC: Gravitoni

PAN SONIC/KEIJI HAINO: Synergy Between Mercy & Self Annihilation Overturned

SHACKLETON: Fabric 55

WERKBUND: Neue Rungholter Taenze

JANA WINDEREN: Energy Field

NEED MORE TIME - 2010

SOLO ANDATA: Rituals

YOUNG JAZZ REBELS: Slave Riot

DISAPPOINTING DISAPPOINTMENTS - 2010

FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER: EXP

DEMDIKE STARE: Forest of Evil

MARK VAN HOEN: Where is the Truth

MASSIVE ATTACK: Heligoland

MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO: Answers Come In Dreams

Thank you for listening!

v.

2009 Music Picks

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ear!

Here are my musical memories for 2009, alphabetically summarized for your enjoyment and hopeful rebuttal!!!

2009 PLEASURES
Matias Aguayo: Ay Ay Ay
Annie: Don't Stop
Atom™: Liedgut
Fever Ray: Fever Ray
Robert Hampson: Vectors
The Necks: Silverwater
Moritz von Oswald Trio: Vertical Ascent
Shackleton: 3 EPs
SoiSong: XAj3z
Mika Vainio: Aíneen Musta Puhelin / Black Telephone Of Matter

2009 DISAPPOINTMENTS
AIR: Love 2
Röyksopp: Junior

2009 NEED MORE TIME WITH
Monolake: Silence
Sunn O))): Monoliths & Dimensions

Thanks for reading!
v.

Fever Ray

Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson, you enchant, charm and captivate me to no end!

v!

Magpies and Rose Arch

I ordered a giclée print of Christiane Kubrick's "Magpies and Rose Arch" for Ava a couple of weeks ago, and I cannot wait for it to arrive! The image is so vibrant, so alive, and so Ava!

One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy.
Five for silver, six for gold, seven is a secret never to be told.
Eight is a wish, and nine is a kiss, ten is a bird you must not miss.

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Cate Blanchett

The lovely and incomparable Cate Blanchett graces the Feb 2009 cover of Vanity Fair. The cover photo is by far the best from the issue. Not sure what Annie was thinking with some of the other shots....

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Bel Canto

Happily, I started listening to Bel Canto quite a bit again in 2008. Not quite sure what started it all, but Anneli Drecker's voice is absolutely incredible. I find that it doesn't matter quite what she is singing about, but the way she undulates her tones is incomparable. From White-Out Conditions (1987!) to Dorothy's Victory (2002), I just can't seem to get enough! I think the track 'Corals, Jade and Pearls' is the polar opposite of 'White-Out Conditions', but I love them both just the same. Here's hoping some new material surfaces from Anneli or Bel Canto in 2009.

I have Brent Bambury and CBC Stereo to thank, after winning a Nettwerk prize pack from Brave New Waves way back in 1987, which introduced me to Bel Canto's music.

v!

A Deeper Silence

Pleasing tones envelop the house tonight, in the form of Steve Roach's A Deeper Silence. Released in 2008, it is non-invasive, non-threatening and otherwordly. Deep, but not quite as mysterious as I had hoped.

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Ivan's Childhood

I saw the film for the first time this weekend. Simply stunning. Interesting 'picturebox' presentation from Criterion. Gorgeous cinematography, fiery performances, and an unforgettable birch tree sequence.

I can't wait to watch it again.

v!