***BACK IN STOCK!!! Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle is the new BILL CALLAHAN record. And at the risk of being redundant, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle is about as beautiful an album as you can expect to hear sung circa 2009. Unfolding like a first view of paradise, then a slightly less ecstatic second view of paradise and then finally a glance back over your shoulder at that stupid paradise bulls***, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle surveys a landscape that grows organically, like the time two people spend together—or the time one person spends alone (with another). One way or another, it’s awfully pretty—something’s clearly making Bill feel like a natural man. And high in the saddle, with a pouch of Big League Chew and nine sweet new tunes in tow, he’s riding herd over a diverse bunch of sounds by top-notch players. Arranger BRIAN BEATTIE brought some old friends back into the picture: violins and French horns. Singing as personal as ever while still spinning wild yarns and melodic guitar fictions, Bill Callahan’s on an idyll one hopes won’t ever end.
LP $24.25
04/14/2009
BK W/CD $17.25
02/23/2009
***BACK IN STOCK!!! “Classic proto-punk from 1970s Detroit. Raw with little polish, the record showcases the organic power relationships within the trio of brothers. The HACKNEY’s were first influenced by soul and funk music but it all changed when they saw Iggy and the Stooges. Inspired by The Who, Alice Cooper & Led Zeppelin; the brothers finally see their first full length release, remastered and ready for the world to hear.”
LP $24.25
02/17/2009
***BACK IN STOCK!!! “Going back through the years…it’s so hard to remember, I was always tripping and falling over myself. These ‘zines were written over the last fifteen years, mostly in dark rooms and the basements of old people. With names like “Adulthood,” “Foster Homes and Gardens,” “Pocohontas Monthly,” “Hümer,” and others, they were sold in limited editions out of the Alleged Gallery and Andrea Rosen Gallery. Some were sold on street corners and given away to the tramp sects that were so prominent during that time period. Scraps of paper and half thoughts in the guise of art objects, you see. Not many people actually got a chance to have these but the ones who are still amongst the living have greatly benefited. I know one lady in Panama who has the complete set, her family has stopped referring to her as a gimp, now they call her Sue. They were never meant to be collectible — just low-concept laugh-inducing juxtapositions of words and images, images and images, lists, monologues, cartoons, free verse, jokes, half-thoughts, fake/real interviews, innuendo and Matt Dillon’s phone number. If you sold them on eBay for a bunch of money, I want my cut. Or if you bought them then please spare a percentage to the dyke army and the flame militia, it’s a good charity and its ribbon buttons are invisible . Some of them read like letters from prison. I know these were popular in some prisons but I’m not sure why.”—Harmony Korine...
BK $90.75
11/18/2008
***Features eight of his xerox works that are straight-up bizarre fun, KORINE style. For example Adulthood and Adulthood 2, are wacky ramblings on what, assumedly, Korine "learned" or thought of or derived from being an adult in the mid-1990s. They're filled with lists, aimless narratives, discussions of Martians, and tons of found images. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting is a bit more serious. It's a sort of choose-your-own-adventure narrative; Korine instructs the reader to rearrange the pages in any order and fax the new story on to a friend. Half chain letter, half warped story on a a really dysfunctional family. Foster Homes and Gardens is a goofy, super simple collection of Korine's outlooks on certain celebrities.
BK $22.95
11/18/2008
***BACK IN PRINT!!! Note new price. “Tilt was SCOTT WALKER’s first album following over a decade of silence, and whatever else he may have done during his exile, brightening his musical horizon was not on the agenda. Indescribably barren and unutterably bleak, Tilt is the wind that buffets the gothic cathedrals of everyone's favorite nightmares. The opening ‘Farmer in the City’ sets the pace, a cinematic sweep that somehow maintains a melody beneath the unrelenting melodrama of Walker's most grotesque vocal ever. Seemingly undecided whether he's recording an opera or simply haunting one, Walker doesn't so much perform as project his lyrics, hurling them into the alternating maelstroms and moods that careen behind him.”
LP $19.75
11/04/2008
CD $13.75
11/04/2008
***BACK IN STOCK!!! All a-sweat and working hard, rumbling with terror and humility like old Johnny Cash, DAVID BERMAN is once again our tour guide into the void, pointing out spots whre some dreams died and other candy-colored conceits were conceived. Joined by CASSIE BERMAN, TONY CROW, BRIAN KOTZUR, PEYTON PINKERTON and WILLIAM TYLER, Berman delivers a fine sixth album.
LP $21.50
06/17/2008
***The anticipated new album from BILL CALLAHAN, who previously rocked the world under his pseudonym SMOG. With the same maverick spirit of Nillsen or Cat Stevens, Callahan delivers nine heart-and-soul-fueled tracks, boosted by the propulsive, glittering and classically pretty arrangements of NEIL MICHAEL HAGERTY. Includes gospel-style backing vocals by DEANI PUGH-FLEMMINGS of the Olivet Baptist Church, incendiary guitar work from PETE DENTON, and the honeyed violin of ELIZABETH WARREN.
LP $24.25
04/24/2007
***A brand new EP from THE RED KRAYOLA featuring three instrumentals and three vocal songs—all deftly played and sung from the heart. “Paris” conjures the city of lights, an arcade dance-floor at the end of night. “I Was Bad” is a pure electric harpsichord blues in which fact is truth and truth is triumphant. A gigantic earhook drives “Easy Street” the karaoke version of “Greasy Street”. Its heavy instrumental power fuels words. Come on, sing along. “The Essence of Life” finds cause for grounds for compassion in the sameness of human function for most purposes. “The Well” ponders collaboration, how darkness stands to common sense, and how therein hang tales. “Bong Bong” exits on the street and meanders away.
CD $11.25
11/14/2006
***BACK IN STOCK!!! The classic second album from singer/songwriter and harpist JOANNA NEWSOM. Five extended tracks conceived with harp and voice, tracked by STEVE ALBINI, and then meticulously arranged by VAN DYKE PARKS and Newsom over several months. The album features strings, woodwinds, and brass, as well as dulcimer, marimba, various percussive instruments, banjo, mandolin, electric bass (provided by LEE SKLAR), electric guitar (GRANT GEISSEMAN), and accordion (played by Parks). Mixed by JIM O’ROURKE.
CD $13.75
11/14/2006
2XLP $32.75
11/14/2006
***WHITE MAGIC is the songwriting and vocal lyricism of MIRA BILLOTTE (QUIX*O*TIC) engaged by the talented likes of ‘’SLEEPY’ DOUG SHAW, JIM WHITE (DIRTY THREE), TIM DEWIT (GANG GANG DANCE), TIM BARNES, SAMARA LUBELSKI, SHAHZAD ISMAILY, JESSE LEE, KAREN LEBLANC, and BRAD TRUAX. White Magic’s debut full length album Dat Rosa Mel Apibus is an elaborate evolution from the the group’s first release. It is a journey which sets forth into an untamed musical landscape, finding the familiar in unusual streams of new sound—a new music. A music that knows the past, but does not repeat it. Torch songs ride into dark ragas and devotional dub with prophetic resonance. Influences of African and tropical guitar rise and reel through the harmony. The album is a movement of great proportion, exploring the emotional and the spiritual to unbounded and sublime depths.
CD $13.75
11/14/2006
2XLP $22.95
11/14/2006
***The anticipated new album from BONNIE PRINCE BILLY (aka WILL OLDHAM of PALACE), his first since 2003’s Master And Everyone. Twelve beautiful songs enriched with strings and arrangements by RYDER McNAIR and NICO MUHLY, and the backing of “FILTHY” JIM WHITE, PAUL OLDHAM, EMMETT KELLY, and DAWN McCARTHY (FAUN FABLES).
LP $21.95
10/31/2006
CD $13.75
09/19/2006
DVD-AUDIO $15.00
09/19/2006
***The third release in the past five years from this group founded by SIMON JOHNS (STEREOLAB) and ANDREW BLACK (FELT, PRIMAL SCREAM), and their first to feature vocals, courtesy of Brighton folkstress MARY HAMPTON. Ten songs about breaking up, self-doubt and the death of close friends, delivered with the band’s signature catchy riffs and grooves with plaintive, fragile melodies on top. Rounding out the album are JOE WATSON (Stereolab) and LEE ADAMS, along with guest appearances from DOMINIC JEFFERY (Stereolab) and JEAN EMMANUELLE (aka BAIKONOUR).
CD $13.75
10/17/2006
***The latest from this Brooklyn-based new folk trio consisting of MIRA BILLOTTE (QUIX*O*TIC), MIGGY LITTLETON, and ANDY MACLEOD (CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY), and a teaser to an upcoming full-length album. Two delightful songs.
CD $6.00
09/19/2006
***The sophomore album from DAVID PAJO under his PAJO banner. Building on the melancholy air of his self-titled debut, Pajo forges on with less sentimentality, taking influences from horror movies, the music of Gorguts, and the poetry of Hafiz. Pop, roots, rock, electro, and blues all get their due.
CD $13.75
08/22/2006
***A teaser EP to the forthcoming Then The Letting Go album from BONNIE PRINCE BILLY. You get the album track “Cursed Sleep,” backed by two exclusive gems, “The Signifying Wolf” and “God’s Small Song.”
CD $6.00
07/25/2006
12" $8.50
07/25/2006
***A collection of popular essays written by IAN SVENONIUS (NATION OF ULYSES, MAKE UP, SCENE CREAMERS, WEIRD WAR). Written in a scholarly yet engaing style, Svenonius explores the use of rock’n’roll and art by the ruling class, and the sinister machinations behind popular fiction, film, and television serials among other cultural outlets. (280pp, 3.5”x5”)
BK $15.00
06/13/2006
***A brand new album from the legendary RED KRAYOLA released as the band rides a wave of creativity sparked by their 2005 world tour. Fifteen epic songs featuring MAYO THOMPSON along with STEPHEN PRIMA, TOM WATSON, JOHN McENTIRE (who recorded the album), NOEL KUPERSMITH, and new accordion player CHARLIE ABEL.
LP $17.75
04/18/2006
CD $13.75
04/18/2006
***BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! LOOSE FUR emerges from a three-year hibernation and throws down another powerhouse album of all-American rock and roll. The trio of JEFF TWEEDY (WILCO), GLENN KOTCHE (WILCO, ON FILLMORE), and JIM O’ROURKE (LOGGINS & MESSINA) give everything they’ve got on ten songs that run from twin electric guitar harmonies and stop-on-a-dime rhythms to breezy acoustics, whistling, a well of vibes, and beyond.
LP $25.75
03/21/2006
CD $13.75
03/21/2006
***NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! All three of the limited edition HOWLING HEX LPs released in 2003 and 2004 on one glorious CD. Streamlined to their atomic essences, each song is a diamond of soulful tuneage pre-prepared to incite and excite and invite further investigation. Twenty-three tracks.
CD $13.75
02/21/2006
LP $19.75
01/31/2006
***A heavy-as-shit new album from Nazareth, Pennsylvania power-trio PEARLS AND BRASS. Eleven thundering tracks blasted with crushing riffs, blistering leads, and powerhouse drumming, all masterfully produced by TIM GREEN at Louder Studios. For fans of Groundhogs, Grand Funk Railroad, Sleep, Cream, and getting down.
LP $17.75
01/24/2006
CD $13.75
01/24/2006
***The first new release from EDITH FROST since 2001’s Wonder Wonder, and an album that shows Frost at the top of her game. Thirteen fine tracks rooted in country, folk, blues, soul, tin-pan alley and jazz, performed with collaborations from RYAN HEMBREY, MARK GREENBERG, RIAN MURPHY, JOSH ABRAMS (PREFUSE 73), LINDSAY ANDERSON (L’ALTRA), AZITA, DAVE “MAX” CRAWFORD (MEKONS), and others.
LP $19.75
11/15/2005
CD $13.75
11/15/2005
***BACK IN STOCK!!! DAVID BERMAN and the SILVER JEWS return after a four year absence with a fully loaded new album of hard-knock rocking. Ten tracks of gusty and elegant rock that runs from ballads to full-on rippers.
LP $24.25
10/24/2005
CD $13.75
10/24/2005
***A Pan-Pacific collaboration between SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE’s BEN CHASNY and Japanese artist HIROYUKI USUI (FUSHITSUSHA, A-MUSIK, MARBLE SHEEP, L). Begun as a game that was based on the idea of “fortuitous mistranslation,” a concept wherein even if each person couldn’t exactly understand what the other wanted to do or go with the music, the music would find its own direction. The songs were sent across the Pacific Ocean five times, gaining texture and direction in the process. Eleven mellow tracks that seamlessly blend Hiroyuki’s guitar, vocals, vibes, harmonium, bass, drums, cello, and more with Chasny’s distinct guitar and vocal style.
CD $13.75
08/23/2005
***The anticipated new full-length album from DAVID PAJO (PAPA M, AERIAL M, M). Ten tracks recorded on a forty-dollar music program that came with his laptop, with David singing directly into the computer. As in the Papa M singles of last year, the record features some traditional songs references, but more often, the songs seem to be coming from a singular, rootless space.
CD $13.75
06/28/2005
***BACK IN STOCK!!! The awaited new album from SMOG—BILL CALLAHAN’s first new Smog release in two years, his twelfth album overall. Ten majestic, monolithic and simultaneously agile tracks recorded at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio in Spicewood, Texas. Features drum work from the DIRTY THREE’s JIM WHITE.
LP $24.45
05/31/2005
CD $13.75
05/31/2005
***Washington, DC rock’n’roll saviors WEIRD WAR (née SCENE CREAMERS) return with their most inspired effort to date. Moving beyond the dark and fuzzy stomp and down-home agit-poetry of their previous action, the band heads into the light of the esoterica only hinted at before, setting fire to hearts, minds, and dancefloors along the way. New skin-slapping drum-lord SEBASTIAN THOMSON (TRANS AM, FUCKING CHAMPS) joins the established lineup of IAN SVENONIUS, MICHELLE MAE, and ALEX MINOFF.
CD $13.75
04/26/2005
***Over the course of three albums of original music with the band APPENDIX OUT and a pair of albums under his own name, Scotsman ALASDAIR ROBERTS has been moving toward a purer understanding, exploration and interpretation of the traditional song of the British Isles. No Earthly Man is an eight-song collection of death ballads that Roberts approaches with a musicological fervor, acknowledging the long tradition of each song, while making them entirely his own. Emotional, resonating, and eerily beautiful. Produced by WILL OLDHAM.
CD $13.75
04/05/2005
***A twenty-year, career-spanning collection of music and video footage from Japanese psychedelic maestros GHOST. DVD features nearly three hours of footage—improvisations, one-time-only band lineups, freakouts, trances, live shows, and more. CD features unreleased tracks from the band’s previously undocumented 1980s era, including in-studio improvs, live tracks, and a pair of outtakes from the group’s debut album.
DVD+CD $17.95
04/05/2005
***The sixth or seventh album from guitarist BEN CHASNY under the SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE banner—his first studio recorded release. Nine beautiful tracks of instrumental guitar delivered in Ben’s personal, adventurous style with elements of rock, folk, and whatever else suits his needs thrown in for good measure. Includes a cover of Gary Higgins’ “Thicker Than A Smokey,” and contributions from free-jazz drummer CHRIS CORSANO.
LP $19.75
02/01/2005
CD $13.75
02/01/2005
***BACK IN PRINT!!! A collaboration between songcrafters BONNIE PRINCE BILLY (WILL OLDHAM) and MATT SWEENEY. Eleven tracks written over several months with Billy challenging Matt to write music to a series of song lyrics. Recorded by PAUL OLDHAM, with guest appearances from PETER TOWNSEND (drums) and SUE SCHOFIELD (vocals).
LP $24.25
02/01/2005
CD $13.75
02/01/2005
MC $8.50
10/29/2013
***The debut album from this post-ROYAL TRUX combo led by former Trux co-pilot JENNIFER HERREMA. Taking the classic rock'n'roll of her former band, Herrema launches it into the stratosphere with eleven tracks of tight rock energy. A mass of guitars and waves of synths squirm and scream over rock-solid rhythms, propelling Herrema's razor-sharp leering and drawling vocals to new heights.
CD $13.75
09/28/2004
***A brand new miniature CD featuring a few more songs from WILL OLDHAM's Greatest Palace Music sessions. Includes the single-that-never-was "Agnes, Queen of Sorrow," the danceable gem "Pussyfooting," and the online-only "Blokbuster." Enhanced CD includes an "Agnes" video directed by British artist/animator DAVID SHRIGLEY.
CD $6.00
08/31/2004
***A reissue of the debut release from DAWN McCARTHY under her FAUN FABLES moniker. Originally released in 2001, Early Song is the first chapter in McCarthy's songbook documenting material she performed and traveled with as a soloist, after leaving New York City for Oakland in 1997, and the beginning of her work with stark compositions that give the vocals full sway. Includes a selection of original and traditional material, along with two bonus tracks not featured on the original (and very limited) release.
CD $13.75
08/31/2004
***An ante-upping, goddamn rock explosion from the combined talents of San Francisco Segovia-core total-music purveyors the FUCKING CHAMPS, D.C. shape-shifting pleasure dealers TRANS AM, and mercenary skin-banger JON THEODORE (GOLDEN, MARS VOLTA, ROYAL TRUX, BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY). A mind-bending assault of glittering rock magic that ends with the emotionally draining "Gomez Trilogy." Beautifully packaged with shimmering solid gold artwork with embossed lettering.
LP $18.95
08/31/2004
CD $13.75
08/31/2004
***The latest solo album from GASTR DEL SOL member and Blue Chopsticks label chief, DAVID GRUBBS, and his first song-oriented album since 2002's Rickets & Scurvy. Twelve masterful tracks—including a cover of Mayo Thompson's "Magnificence As Such"—that at times blend acoustic instrumentation with electronics, and at others go full tilt with a strong backing band. Includes guest contributions from NIKO VELIOTIS, MATMOS, ADAM PIERCE, THOMAS BELHOM, and RICK MOODY (who also wrote lyrics for two of the songs).
CD $13.75
06/29/2004
***Hot on the heels of the recent M singles collection, DAVID PAJO returns with the sixth installment in his Singles series. This time in Pajo heads into new territory with a fully calculated new concept that streamlines all of his previous work into a new hybrid. The twist this time is the track "Foreign Hotel Garden," featuring a hallucinogenic journal-entry lyric with spoken-word delivery. Three songs in all.
CD $6.00
03/30/2004
***BACK IN STOCK!!! The official debut album from gifted singer, songwriter, and harpist JOANNA NEWSOM. Twelve engaging tracks rooted in the folk of the 1960s and the current bluegrass revival, but on a plane all its own. Whimsical themes meet with a playful approach, the harp's plucked beauty and Newsom's one-of-a-kind vocal delivery.
LP $21.50
03/22/2004
***WILL OLDHAM (PALACE, BONNIE PRINCE BILLY) returns with another installment in his instrumental, or "silent" catalog—music written as soundtrack material for the independent screen. Joined by brother PAUL and DAVID BIRD, Oldham delivers four instrumental tracks for the feature-length documentary Seafarers, a film shot in Rotterdam that follows the lives of four sailors—a Swede, a Polynesian, a Croat, and a Nigerian—each with their own story, as they wait to go back to sea. Each track is a theme for one of the sailors, and Oldham evokes their stories and surroundings with great aplomb.
CD $11.25
03/02/2004