This Contriva disc is much better than I thought it would be. I have loved other bands on the Monika label (particularly The Quarks, though I know others love Barbara Morgenstern), but this disc did not strike me when I previewed it in the store. It sounded like dated post-rock. The fact that the title said '96-'99 only seemed to confirm my initial impression, as those years were the height of the post-rock phenomena. Once I actually tuned into the disc though, I discovered that there were lots of really great songs on this double CD set. In fact I liked 7 out of the 16 songs on the main disc and 3 of the 8 songs on the remix disc. Contriva prefer a melancholy sound, which is seldom my thing. But the songs I like have that 'something' about them each and all that brings them into the realm of the excellent. Sounding a bit different than the other songs, 'Charme M' (disc1#4) really rocks out as a guitar instrumental. It sounds different because it seems that bass and organ (similar to Mina) are the central instruments on most of Contriva's songs. 'Resiseburo' disc1#5) has some female vocals and a great instrumental chorus with a quick guitar riff tagged by bass and organ. 'Spatverkauf' (disc1#7) also has female vocals and a neat electronic part that compliments them nicely. 'Auf'm Land' (disc1#8) starts as a somewhat ordinary guitar instrumental but ends strongly with dog sounds as if from a fox hunt (awful things that they are). The last song on disc 1 'Goodbye' (#16) is one of my favorites on the disc. If has a cool guitar 'chucca chucca' riff (you know; the sound when you mute the strings with your hand and strum with a pick) and goes through lots of nice changes. It is not for the lazy DJ though as its length is listed as 9:13 but ends at -5:44. On the remix disc one of the songs sounds like Donna Regina, vocals and all (disc2#3) and one sounds like an Ordinary Psycho instrumental (disc2#5). Faves: disc1: 1,2,5,7,8,12,16 disc2: 2,3,5

This follows the 7" he released on Static Caravan which was added in the March 27 gullbuy. E*vax is an electronica artist from England who has recently moved to Brooklyn NY. He has a brother who records as E*rock. What makes E*vax music stand out is the songs which add bright flourishes that bring the sound closer to minimal electronics, but have melody like pop within them. 'Tide Pool' (#6) has a sound like a typewriter, and a sound like an electronics equivalent of tearing a piece of paper. These are used in a brisk piece that includes noodling keyboard like much electronica, but rises above due to the clean sound. 'S. Carter' (#8) has a sound like a prepared piano (a muted hammer struck string with reverb) that is featured in the piece, which is somewhat quiet on the whole. 'We Believe In Broken Bones' (#9) has staccato electronics making up it's beat. The final song 'Renovate' (#11) is my favorite. It uses digital echo on the item which serves as the beat, and a submarine sonar submerged feel to give it mood. Vocals are treated and flutter through the weave in a way that almost makes me think of a classic reggae dub track, a feeling only enhanced by the Augusta Pablo (or equally Ennio Morricone) styled melodica part. Faves: 6,8,9,11

After reading the book that came with the recently added New Orleans Funk compilation (see March 13 gullbuy) I became very interested in The Meters. This double CD set chronicles the early portion of The Meters career, when they were on Josie Records. Sundazed has re-released all of The Meters original records, but I wanted a one stop solution to learn about The Meters, and this recently released set seemed to be the right choice. After having listened to these 2 discs a bunch of times I've come to love 16 of the 51 songs on these discs. The first disc is all instrumentals except for 'Look-Ka Py Py' (#13) which has wordless vocals on it. In addition to that song I love ''Cissy Strut', 'Sophisticated Cissy', '6V6 LA', 'Ann', '9 'til 5', and 'Chicken Strut' from disc 1. Listening to this disc I wonder why I never thought to check out The Meters before. The Meters should appeal to anyone who would love a soulful 'The Ventures' with killer Hammond in addition to guitar. The second disc is about 2/3 instrumentals. The song which opens up the New Orleans Funk compilation ('Handclapping Song') is on this disc, though the other Meters song on New Orleans Funk ('Just Kissed My Baby') is not. My favorites on the second disc are 'Handclapping Song', ''Tippi-Toes' (guitar reminds me of Hermans Hermits 'Mrs. Brown'), 'Ride Your Pony' (which the Fleshtones used to cover), 'Message from The Meters', 'Groovy Lady', 'I Need More Time', 'Pickin' And A-Grinnin', 'Bo Diddley', and 'People Get Ready'. Faves: disc1:1,6,8,10,13,23,25 disc2:5,7,10,11,13,15,19,23,24

I really like this single. From the GSL website: 'On the mean, dusty streets of Oakland, down a lonely alley between liquor stores and rib joints, a hum is heard. In the clubhouse of THE PATTERN the sonic implements are being readied to deliver a potent brew of punk-soul boogie. The A-side, 'Finger Us' is a uptempo invitation to implicate. The flipside, 'Worse All the Time' is a huge slide into oblivion with electric tidal-wave guitar. THE PATTERN is contemporary California. With a sound vaguely reminiscent of British R & B and Beat - think CREATION, ACTION, EYES - combined with a healthy dose of energetic Motor City overdrive and washed down with the punk disaffection of BLACK FLAG and RICHARD HELL. Heard it all before? Not like this, you haven't. THE PATTERN are still a secret - culled from groups like THE PEECHEES (vocalist Christopher), TALK IS POISON (drummer Jim), SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY (guitarist Jason), NUISANCE (guitarist Andy) and THE CUTS (bassist Carson).' I agree with that writeup. I thought of the 1979 Mod group The Chords with punky vocals when I listened to this. Faves: both sides

When I was really young I bought the 1975 record 'Your Mamma Won't Like Me' by Detroit native Suzi Quatro (on Arista Records). It was was her second LP, produced by the classic 'Chinichap' team (Mike Chapman and Nicki Chinn) who had handled The Sweet almost completely. Unlike The Sweet, Suzi wrote many of the songs on her record - Chinn and Chapman only wrote 3. Suzi was (like me) a bass player so I would have loved here even if she wasn't bad girl beautiful (which she was, in her tight leather pants). Years later when she became Pinky Tuscadero in Happy Days I was a bit disappointed (mainstream city), though glad she scored some commercial success. The first time I heard 'What A Way To Die' was on a well made boot compilation of the same name on 'Satan Records'. The comp was subtitled '15 Forgotten Losers from the Mid 60's', and the lead off song featured none other than a teenage Suzi Quatro in an early band with her sisters! The song was amazing - way better than anything I had ever heard from her before. Now Norton have issued that song with a B-side that is pretty good too. The 7" originally came out in 1965 on Hideout Records. This must have been some single when it first came out! The band looks great and the song is just amazing. an ultimate party song about drinking beer and not caring if they make it to 21. This single is a 'must buy' if you love girl power discs like Liliput or just love a really cool song. Fave: A

Jacques Lu Cont (Les Rhythms Digitales) is joined by brothers Johnny (vox) and Adam Blake (other stuff) in this 100% vocal band. This is a 2 song CD with the great song 'You and I' and an acoustic song 'Holiday Home'. The Zoot Woman sound (outside of the crunchy Rickenbacker bass sound) is not far from Hall & Oates or Steely Dan, believe it or not. Heavy duty 80's feel on both cuts. 'You and I' has a great vocal and upbeat feel that almost reminds me of Police circa their first LP. Fave: 1

Alejandra and Underwood are part of the trio who run NYC's Lucky Kitchen Records. This CD is on a the Belguim label Audioview, a division of Lowlands Records 'dedicated to dislocated electronic turbulence'. I like this disc best of any of the field recording/collages that I've heard these 2 do on other discs. There are 4 pieces averaging 8.5 minutes each. I like this format better than their other recordings. The longer length is especially suited to college DJ's playing these tracks on the air. Most Lucky Kitchen releases seem impenetrable with their oodles of short tracks. The pieces on these 4 tracks are seamlessly blended 'life recordings' (Lucky Kitchen's term) with people talking, electronic manipulations of background recordings, or textural filler to transition between the segments without drawing your attention to the change. Each of the 4 tracks start with an introduction to the piece by the artists. The first cut was recorded at the Knitting Factory in NYC, the second at the Changing Room in Stirling Scotland, the third in Smallfish Recordshop in london, and the final track at Batofar in Paris. My favorite source material is from the piece recorded in the record store in London. It has field recordings from in and around NYC. There is Puerto Rican Flag Day in Hoboken NJ, a religious procession down 6th St. in the Lower East Side, Coney Island's Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, the Museum of Natural History, and finally Central Park. The second half on the track gets noisy as these source materials are manipulated. The explanations of what each source piece are is a bit distracting, but it just serves to accent the fact that these two write their own rules and present what they see with the clear eye of a chronicler. Faves: all equally

In the March 14 gullbuy the 'Extreme Music By Women' compilation was added to WZBC. My favorite cut on that comp was the piece by Clara Clamp of Pineal Ventana. As Other Music recently got in several other Susan Lawly titles, this CD which came out in 1997 sounded interesting. I was afraid that it would be like Massona or Merzbow (neither of which I care for); and several tracks are (1,2,9,12) - but there are also a few tracks that combined native music's of Africa with sound manipulation/noise techniques in Lucky Kitchen styled cut n' paste way that I enjoyed. Jonathan Azzande's 'Long Pig' (#3) has birds throughout the track which is noise with other forest sounds collaged in, though the bird (which almost sound like an alarm after awhile) is always there on top of the sound. Electricity feat. Fire Eater do 'Dunia' (#4) which has chants echoed and looped over tribal drums in a disconcerting way as it you are in a ritual and are just coming onto some group drug experience through drinking a concoction extracted from plants in the forest. Vicious Teengirl does a short fifty-two second track called 'Tutampiga' (#5) that is nothing except beating a drum with no accompaniment. Petro Loa's 'No Rada No Rada' (#7) is a great track that combines field recordings of everyday task songs with drums and electronics. It kind of ties together the best parts of the songs I liked earlier in the disc. It's my favorite song. I like the last song on the disc best, but that one is only 1:20 long and does not offer the 'full package' like this song does. The second song by Jonathan Azande on this disc is ''Opaque Misery' (#11). It has phased drums and is pretty good too. Finally The Mtuti Singers 'Massacre Rite' (#14) ends off the disc with a straight traditional song that sounds in place on an extreme music disc. It has a blown instrument, some type of beaten bush percussion, and their voices in song. It is dissonant and delightful for all of it's short 1:20 length. Faves: 3,4,5,7,11,14

My favorite Beta Bodega release I've added through the gullbuy so far. It is a 12 song compilation with one song by Mannequin Lung, one by Atlajala, two songs by tpm, and four songs each by Patcha Kutek and Hamijama. The packaging is outstanding. The CD comes in a clear plastic case with a stapled on top with a hole in it to hang on a rack, like you find low priced children's toys displayed. For once all the information about the track listing is there as well, though you've got to have good eyes to read the microscopic print on the package label. My favorite songs are: Mannequin Lung's 'Turo Plays Solo' (#3) with it's great blend of a bell like sound which reminds me of The Grateful Dead's 'Unbroken Chain', and an occasional saxophone in this unlikely electronic scenario. Patcha Kutek's 'Sukor' (#6) with the robot treated sound in the busy percussion almost sounding like a Husqvarna dirtbike. TPM's 'Beta Bodega (Tercer Poder Mundial)' (#8) which has the playful kind of electronic sounds I've come to like so much from Viennese electronic artist Gerhard Potuznik, recording under the many different guises he uses on his Cheap Records releases. Patcha Kutek's Herlinda' (#12) is a 13:13 lengthed monster that rips through the speakers like it's in a mad rush to suck out the magnets and spit them through the cones of your speakers. These 4 are my fave tracks, but almost all the tracks are plenty decent as well. Faves: 3,6,8,12

How can I write about this double CD set? Am I worthy? Kleenex were an all-girl band from Zurich Switzerland who were part of the first wave of punk rock in 1977. They evolved into Liliput. There are 46 songs of excellence on these discs that could easily be deemed as 'essential' by anyone who likes DIY music with genuine feeling and no commercial awareness at all. They were genuine all right, and the music on these discs sounds really great today. It is not dated. In fact, you will be able to cite their influence on later bands easily as you listen. I have strong feelings about this disc. I searched for it so hard when it was first released in Germany in 1992, sadly never coming close to finding it. Now it is here again (this release is a straight reissue of the original with same sleeve and art) and I recommend it to you the reader without hesitation. Now I wish someone would reissue the Metal Urbain (French band) double CD that came out at the same time as this originally did and has remained just as impossible to find. Faves: disc1:1,2,6,7,11,12,20 disc2:4,8,9,15,16,22

Takayuki Shiraishi has released music since the early-'80s. He was first influenced by Detroit techno. His more recent releases, including 1999's 'Reach For The Sun' full length, show free-form experimentation blending hip hop, house, techno, jazz and breakbeats. This is his latest 12", with 3 new songs. He shows that he can handle just about any style with panache, and he seems to make a new album every month for a different label! This is typical Tokyo techno fare , polite and sophisticated compared to the European variety, but fine electronic listening music nonetheless.