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See also my rateyourmusic profile, my list of favorite Name-Your-Price Bandcamp musicians , chart of my Music Album reviews.
Introduction: Archive.org and the Death of Standards
I hate to be the one to break the news, but as I use archive.org more often, I have noticed that it hosts a lot of unauthorized or infringing audio or video. I mean a LOT!
I always knew that any nonprofit organization that hosts content will feature uploads that shouldn’t have been uploaded there. Frankly I am glad that audio & video uploaded from the 1920s-1940s are available because often they are not available for elsewhere, often not even on the used markets. I expect that was mainly a manpower issue and that eventually volunteers will block items that were obviously infringing. For music, I thought that eventually albums will be streamable but not be downloadable; that seemed like a fair way to address infringing content.
Also, I knew that some types of audio and albums never were digitized and often were originally CD compilations of dubious origin. Look at this “album” on archive.org which actually consists of 1800 mp3 tracks. A quick look reveals that there’s a lot of unknown 90s Eurodisco tracks on this collection (well, unknown to me). But there’s also a bunch of extremely well-known tracks as well (such as Haddaway’s What is Love, Mariah Carey, etc). This seems to come from a lot of Russian compilation CD’s (I know them well). Although the zip file (13 gig) is probably too big to download directly, you probably can download the torrent (I haven’t tried).
I have significantly less scruples about downloading music from the 1960s and before — if only because of the importance of discovering and preserving our cultural history (and the fact that many of these albums — while available for streaming and for sale–often have inflated prices because of their obscurity. That’s a rationalization of course, but that’s the story I’m running with. Practically speaking though, almost none of these titles are available via library interlibrary loan, so there’s little other option.
Articles and Interviews.
2014 interview with Jes Brieden.
Here’s another reason to love and rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Performances at the Bronze! Here’s Cibo Matto in a prolonged performance of Sugar Water. (YT). Here’s T.H.C. singing Wild at Heart. (YT). Here’s a YT playlist. (YT)
Aha, T.H.C. (W) is the work of George Sarah (BC) and Sarah Folkman.
Simon Reynolds gives a long analysis of the cultural impact of Giorgio Moroder’s “I feel Love.”
Obit for William Orbit by Ben Beaumont-Thomas. “Orbit’s astonishing range of sound – heavy breakbeats, acoustic guitars, trance synths and more – was put to use on everything from sweeping ballads to the pell-mell acid house of the title track, re-establishing Madonna’s credentials as a vanguard pop star and earning her first non-video Grammy award wins.” (Speaking of the iconic Ray of Light album).
I have been sifting through Orbit’s legacy and learning about the British singers like Katie Melua, Beth Orton and others.
Before she become a global musical superstar, the Greek singer Nana Mouskouri came to the US in 1962 to record a jazz album with Quincy Jones. It is absolutely lovely — here it is on archive.org. Here she is singing A Force De Prier in 1963 Eurovision. She didn’t win (idiots!) but her performance is remarkable! (YT)
Here’s a nice essay with pics about Blondie’s early days.
Speaking of Blondie, here’s an incredible live performance by the Ting Tings of That’s Not my Name on Craig Ferguson in 2008:
Slant Magazine has a listicle about the best MTV VMA-winning music vids. A lot of usual suspects, but some unfamiliar ones.
Bandcamp, Etc
I’ve been using Getmusic.fm and band.codes to download advance Bandcamp albums.
Acquisitions via Gemusic/bandcodes
- Klaus Heinrich by Proffen. Great electric jazz, with female vocals. That opening title song is really catchy! (All the songs are similar)
YouTubey Stuff
2026 Eurovision had “Professor Eurovision” segments on Eurovision 2026 which tried to address perennial contest hard questions. Like: 1)which songs are the most successful? 2)Are there too many gays in Eurovision?(!) and 3. which country have received 0 points most often? (YT)
Here’s a great 1990 live performance of “Groove is in the Heart” by Dee-Lite months before they released it. (YT) The dancing is as crazy as you would expect.
I’ve always been a fan of Ladytron. Here they are talking about their musical influences (YT) This comes from the great “What’s in my Bag?” video series where musicians talk about their favorite albums.
Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’ also does a What’s in My Bag video. (YT) She’s done a lot of movie scores, and I first heard about her from the amazing score she did for HBO’s series Chernobyl. (YT) The “Turbine Hall” track was particularly harrowing.
This delightful nonsense duet song (From Three Little Words movie) shows Debbie Reynolds 2 years before Singin’ in the Rain came out. Reynolds was 18 years old at the time! (YT)
Adriano Celentano sings the Ciao Ragazzi Ciao (YT)(tr. as Hey, Fellow, hey). Here is on archive.org the Non Mi Dir album released in 1965 where it came from.
Sammy Kane Kraft (W, Home) was an actress/athlete/musician who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 20. Here’s a great funky country song “Wasted” she performed at the LA Hootenanny (her last show).
Her Soundcloud page still exists, and her brother Frankie Kraft made a multipart documentary about her life.
I never thought that live versions of Cibo Matto Songs would do them justice, but here’s their 1997 live performance of Birthday Cake.
In 2014 they released another album called Hotel Valentine. Here are two live performances they did at the time (Live on KEXP, Summer Sonic Japan 2014).
Chocolate Cherry by Joe Tex Band. (YT) Texas was a Texas R&B singer popular in the 1950s and 1960s whose bands occasionally performed instrumentals.
ROCKING ITALIANO: Lately I have been watching lots of Italian singers on 1960s Italian TV (many of whom are still alive!) Here’s a killer song (Ciao Ragazzi Ciao, YT) by Adriano Celentano (who is a combination of Elvis and Weird Al Yankovic).
WEIRD AL’s latest song and video (with an unusual celebrity cameo!) provides a delightful biology lesson. (YT)
Marsh Family –a singing political parody group located in Faversham, Kent (UK). Here’s a wicked anti-Trump political parody (YA) based on Morissette’s song Ironic. This time it’s named “Isn’t it Moronic?”) Here is their BC page.
Library/Freegal and Creative Commons
I keep forgetting to mention that a lot of the audio from the Prairie Home Companion radio show is available at Archive.org. Here’s a link to 4 gigs worth of music (surprisingly diverse, even though the main performers dominate the audio). Here’s a smaller music archive. Here’s one of many compilations of comedy bits.
My Amazing Music Collection
You may already know that I have owned tons of music CDs and also have checked out a ton of CD’s from the library. I realize that it is slightly anachronistic to spend so much time accumulating music files, and sure it consumes a lot of time sometimes, but I have stumbled upon lots of amazing stuff. But honestly, I still haven’t listened to a lot of it, and often I listen to albums only once and then forget about it. So it’s probably a good idea to write about rediscovering albums already in my music collection.
Here are some digitized CDs I have gotten into recently:
Albums by Cibo Matto. Holy cow she is good and strange and jazzy and eclectic.
Trance stuff by Jes. Jes sings a lot of tracks. She has a lovely voice, and she seems to produce her own tracks (I love Memento).
Fastball. Iconic Austin rock band (whose song “The Way” is one of the most melancholy-nostalgic songs I have heard,
Analog Africa albums. Some German company compiles lots of niche Africa bands from previous decades. Eclectic crate-digging stuff — always great.
Reviews
Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey has a sultry, syrupy artificial singing style which lingers on a lot of notes. These slow and overproduced songs add all kinds of unnatural reverberations and multitracks, so Del Roy’s vocals almost never appears in isolation. This makes the songs sound multilayered, trembly and almost psychedelic, with the instruments giving the songs extra fiber. Great melancholy lyrics and amazing expressive vocals give the songs emotional heft (especially in songs like Pretty When You Cry and Money Power Glory). The title song, Ultraviolence plods along beautifully, and Shades of Cool (probably the most conventional song here) soars slowly as the guitar crashes away until it starts to soar some more. The only thing I can compare it to might be Low or Goldfrapp or maybe Pink Floyd (!) This is a great indefinable album; all I can say that everything blends together beautifully, even if it is densely packed.
Jes‘ Memento. Collection of trancey or rocktronica tracks either by Jes Brieden or collaborations Jes had with other trance luminaries (like BT, Tiesto, Markus Schulz, etc). Jes has a lovely & iconic & soulful voice (you hear it, and say, hey, that’s a trance song). One great collaboration is Sunrise (with Aly & Fila) where Jes actually has meaningful lyrics to sing (and isn’t merely sampled in myriad variations). (Two other tracks to showcase her voice is the forlorn “Fall into You” and the first track, “All or Nothing”). I absolutely love “Awaken” (a sole Jes production that starts with a verse and then gradually builds up with a steady beat — out of the versions I’ve heard, this is my favorite). “Under the Midnight Sun” is a fun upbeat Jez production that has the lightness of a mainstream pop song. Although this album has lots of bright spots, it can be fatiguing to listen to it straight through. (Here’s that kickass remix of Awaken YT and her being interviewed YT on a local news show).
Cibo Matto: Viva La Woman. This first genre-bending concept album by this punk/rap/jazz band used eclectic samples, trip hop sound and female yells and chants to produce a soft mysterious sound. The downtempo tracks like Sugar Water, White Pepper Ice Cream and Theme are lovely and brooding, while the more upbeat and punky Le Pain Perdu and Know Your Chicken have an absurd postmodern craziness. Don’t get the food themes, but the melodies and textures and juxtapositions are always fascinating even if it sometimes feels disjointed and improvisational. This works more as a concept album than as a showcase of pop songs.
Cibo Matto, Stereo Type A. This second album by this genre-bending group has more fun and danceable trip hop tracks while preserving the eclectic Japanese style and jazzy arrangements (horns pop up in several places). They certainly do a better job of showcasing the range and personality of Miho Hatori’s soulful singing style. The first few tracks (Working for Vacation, Spoon, Flowers) are strong, tight electronic songs reminiscent of Komeda or Ladytron. Some tracks are so funky and elegantly produced that they might have been done by Fatboy Slim, and the spacey “Clouds” recalls David Bowie or Gary Newman. Three rap songs (Lint of Love, Sci-Fi Wasabi and Speechless) sounds contemporary and upbeat. The last few tracks are more experimental: some hard rock (Blue Rock) , dreamlike (Mortming, Sunday Pt 2). Great album, though it offers so many flavors that a certain fraction of the tracks will disappoint.
Peru Selvatico: Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986. A delightful compilation of fast easygoing tropical cumbia guitar melodies with galloping percussions which are mainly instrumentals (although vocals pop in occasionally). Without the usual Latino brass, the dance tunes feel low-key and relaxing, like a psychedelically colored smoothie. Most of the tracks are short and full of reverberations, organ and repetitions. These instrumentals are so gentle that one could even fall asleep to them.
self-titled by Tarkovsky Quartet. This lovely debut album by the French piano quartet was inspired by the spirit of filmmaker Tarkovsky. They are slow, impressionistic and full of lingering pauses and brief melodies. Consisting of a piano, cello, sax and accordion, they don’t so much blend as interweave. The structure feels loose and improvisational although I’m confident that everything was meticulously composed in advance. L’Apocalypse is slightly mad, but energetically swerves from instrument to instrument; the accordion provides nice reverberations; it almost feels like a woodwind instrument. Doctor Faustus is slow and mysterious, with the cello providing a secret passion. Putting these 4 instruments together doesn’t make sense, but it works extremely well here. Despite the slow tempo, complex melodies, pauses and occasional dissonances, this album is very listenable. Great for concentration or even sleep.
Hello Waveforms by William Orbit. British music producer Orbit is mostly known for producing the phenomenal Ray of Light album by Madonna. Here’s a understated downtempo electronic album full of pleasant moments fluttering tones and relaxing interludes reminiscent of Brian Eno (especially in “Fragamosia” and “Firebrand”). If one were not paying attention, these low intensity melodies would seem ordinary, but all the songs have fine textures and nuances crammed into 4 or 5 minutes. Surfing and You Know Much about Flying Saucers have gentle upbeat melodies, almost no crescendos, but a steady beat. Spiral introduces vocals by the Sugababes, and “They Live in the Sky” has airy cooing vocals by Annette and Paulette Morris. It’s surprising and refreshing that a pop producer would make such a slow minimalist album without a dance beat; it seems created to relax the mind and body and escape the noisy urban world.
Dandelion Gum by Black Moth Super Rainbow. This unusual album prominently features a vocoder and various kinds of chip-electronic music paired with a conventional rock band and organ to produce a series of psychedelic instrumental riffs and occasional melodies which feel like KraftWerk or Stereolab. At times it is zany and fast-paced (Lollpopsichord, Rollerdisco ). At other times it is slow and wistful (Untitled Roadside Demo, which is a real gem). At other times it is glitchy, choppy and very percussive (Caterpillar House, Melt Me, Sun Lips). Normally I would cringe at these artificial electronic effects, but it overall effect seems closer to contemplative jazz fusion because it blends so many strange and eerie effects into something calming and even transcendant. Described as “hypnagogic pop” (or “pop music refracted through the memory of a memory”) it really grows on you.
Girl from Greece Sings by Nana Mouskouri (1962). This early English-language album by Nana Mouskouri (produced by Quincy Jones) features American jazz standards. The torch songs are gentle, slow, deliberate, and absolutely beautiful. Nana’s tones are pitch-perfect; her singing style reminds me sometimes of Streisand or even Fitzgerald, but it’s more subtle and toned down. Although the arrangements have lush moments, mostly it stays lowkey with quirky embellishments (like the drums in I Get a Kick out of You). Songs like “Touch of Your Lips” and “You Forgot All the Words” are slow and dreamy, but the light string arrangements are divine. All the songs sound familiar, but Mouskouri’s slight accent and unconventional intonations give it a distinctive, charming flavor. All the songs are winners, and this is great relaxing, sleep-inducing music.
Secrets by the Human League. 2001. This later HL album really captures the original 80s synthpop sound that made them famous. In between several short electronic interludes (which are catchy, funky and pleasant), HL offers a bundle of peppy sounds with Philip Oakley singing lead and the two female singers (Catherall and Sulley) singing background and harmonies. The synth sound feels like Ladytron, Depeche Mode or Tom Tom Club, but the melodies themselves feel more like mainstream pop (esp All I Ever Wanted, You’ll Be Sorry and Sin City). Although I like the weird & grungy Reflections and Sin City, other tracks Liar and Love Me Madly just gallop along. With the synthbeat and electronic flourishes this almost feels like a retro-dance album.
Подарю Тебе Полмира by Nepara (2006). The lovely duo (Alexander Shoua and Daria Khramova) that comprise Nepara (“Not a Couple”) sing pleasant upbeat danceable songs with a retro-disco beat. But this compilation (which include many of their earliest hits from 2003 and 2006) also has lots of ballads (Развлечься, Бог тебя выдумал, Взлетай) that soar beautifully. The understated arrangements remind me of El Kravchuk or Mummy Troll. Finally, several oddballs are thrown in (a Russian version of “Sunny” and techno versions of Ukrainian folk song Chervona Ruta and their own Другая Причина).
Canyon Trilogy by R. Carlos Nakai (2014). Nakai is a famed performer of the Native American flute, and this is his most famous work. These pieces are solo pieces with multrack of the same instrument, creating a multilayered effect of reverberating sound. These slow pieces are solemn, spiritual and surprisingly intricate even though they all sound similar. I love almost every moment, and this is ideal for sleeping music. Nakai plays a lot of classical music and founded a jazz quartet, which is kind of mind-boggling.
1965 Update
