guitar

After years of being a PC poweruser I’ve bought a macbook and changed ranks a few weeks ago. I’ve since become an itunes user after ditching my ultimate music playing setup of winamp & copernic desktop search, and I can’t say I’m happy at all. Seems the rating stars are the only welcomed addition and to commemorate this here are five 5 star tunes.

In hindsight, the first thing that attracted me to this fine gentleman was his pseudonym. A frenchman singing acoustic folk songs in English, trying to represents among what, like ten thousand folk bands from the US? Yet somehow after a few months of coming back to this album, it’s July and I should say this album has solidified its place in my heart now.

I’ll admit I’m a new convert to Katherine Elizabeth (Kaki) King’s intricate music. I haven’t listened to her previous body of work which has higher critical acclaim. I’m not really knowledgeable in this acoustic alt. country/folk/indie stuff, frankly I haven’t even listened to Cat Power. I’m not an American you know!

Here’s the last part, from now on new music!!
05 A Hawk and a Hacksaw and the Hun Hangár Ensemble – Self Titled
04 High on Fire – Death Is This Communion
03 Upsilon Acrux – Galapagos Momentum
02 Marnie Stern – In Advance of the Broken Arm
01 Future of the Left – Curses

15 Battles – Mirrored (Warp Records) : Everybody’s been talking about “Mirrored” this year, and they kind of deserve it for getting their oddtimed dissonant music to find strange acclaim from mainstream circles as well as mathheads.
14 Deejay OM – Reheated Naan and Curry (Galapagos4) : A fine hybrid of Indian samples mixed with beats. Somehow liked it much more than Madlib’s take. Past

Cuneiform never fails to impress us with a steady supply of brilliant albums. Here’s a new album, by the band that I still haven’t been able to pronounce correctly : Ahleuchatistas. The North Carolina power trio belongs to the increasing number of brilliant progressive math rock albums that I’ve been listening to this year, full of odd times, shifting rhythms, janglnig guitars and other extremities.

I got to spill my guts, NYC’s Marnie Stern is my new obsession with her furious debut “In Advance of the Broken Arm” on Kill Rock Stars. Just as you think every musical aesthetic has been covered, someone comes along and shows you that the human creativity has no bounds.