From: jodi shapiro <jshapiro-NOSPAM@condenast.com>
To: Doug Orleans <dougo@ccs.neu.edu>
Subject: Re: Last reminder: POLL: your favorite records of 1998
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 12:01:38 -0500

OK, here it is:

Tops of 1998

full-length, in particular order

Beastie Boys _Hello Nasty_  CD (Grand Royal):  I can't deny how fucking
great this record is.  It's the closest they've come to perfection since
_Paul's Boutique_ (I blame the past two records on their LA homesteading).
Who else can build an amazing song out of the steel drum part of Tito
Puente's "Oye Como Va"?  Who but the Beasties could write the lyric "I'm
the king of Boggle/there is none higher/I get 100 points/from the word
'quagmire'"? (or, indeed, "I'm intercontinental when I eat french toast")
Besides, how can a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker hate a record that begins
with the sound of a subway?

Robert Wyatt _Shleep_ CD (Thirsty Ear): Just the right blend of melancholy
and melody, witht he right touch of Eno/Manzera (who guest on the first
track).  A bonus, too, because it spurred the rerelease of all his other
solo records domestically.

Sparklehorse _Good Morning Spider_ CD (Parlaphone UK): Yanks gotta wait
until February to get this cheap; I bought no less than 4 people (other
than myself) this at the import price, and it's worth every fuckin' penny.
I bought it for a boy and he dated me for a coupla months, so that's the
highest recommendation I can give. If this isn't a huge hit by mid-summer,
I'll eat my hat and a fish.

Boredoms _SUPER ARE_ CD (Birrrrrrdman/WEA Japan)/_Super Roots 7_ CD (WEA
Japan): It's hard to convince someone to buy a $35 record, no matter how
incredible it is,  so I'm glad Birrrrrrrdman brought this stateside.  It's
the most "normal" sounding Boredoms record in some time, which makes it a
good intro to what these guys do -- but twisted enough that fans will be
saying "Jeez, this is fucked up."  At least 3 songs are 12 minutes or
longer.  Super Roots 7 runs concurrent with this, mining the same logic
vein of anthemic rock songs, with the 30 minute "cover" of the Mekons'
"Where Were You".

Calexico _The Black Light_ CD (Quarterstick): Desolate, reverb drenched,
full of howling wind and tumbleweeds.  Half Morricone, half Mexican cantina
music.

Disc _gaijinCD4_ CD (Vinyl Communications):  Digital errors, recorded,
repeated until it triggers epileptic seizures.  I am obsessed with their
cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", which is basically the
original song, skipped/spliced at the perfect moments.

Total, _Buffin' the Celestial Muffin_ CD (Rural
Electrification)/_Eternity's Beautiful Frontispiece_ CD (VHF): Matthew
Bower is in Skullflower, Brit noise gods.  Total is his solo stuff.  Where
Skullflower are wide swaths of textured noise at incredible, skullcrushing
volume, Total is much more detailed and thoughful, though no less moving.
Both of these releases are different, but _Buffin'_ is kinda hard to find
(it's on Matt's own label).  He also put out a record called _Kaspar
Hauser_ on Metonymic this year, which is also swell.

Shellac, _Terraform_ LP (Touch and Go): I love them, unconditionally, so
whatever they release is a shoo in for the year-end list.  However,
_Terraform_ is one really great record.  It's no less tension-filled than
their first, but in a different way.  Instead of bludgeoning you over the
head with their aggressiveness, they build it up to critical mass and then
let it EXPLODE.

Mercury Rev _Deserter's Songs_ CD (V2): Musical cousin to the Sparklehorse
disc, this is Mercury Rev's finest effort since their debut.  Not enough
guitar noise for my tastes, but this whole record sounds like the Band's
greatest songs (I'm thinking "The Weight", specifically).  Which is not a
bad thing at all, hippie bashers.

Pelt _For Michael Hannahs_ CD (Klang): These guys like the Grateful Dead.
So do I.  This trio from Virginia keep making records that defy description
without using the damning words "trippy", "droney", "spiritual" and other
new-agey adjectives.  Somehow, they totally avoid being granoloid -- in
fact, they are more often classified as "noise".  This was a
tour/mail-order only release, limited to about 100 or so.  Ironically
enough, it is their most accomplished full-length to date, better than
their "official" release of this year, _Techeod_ (VHF).  If you see it
used, buy it.

Edith Frost _Telescopic_ CD (Drag City): Ok, she's my friend, but her voice
just sends me.  She can make me cry.  I want her to be huge so I can make
some money off of the tell-all book I could write about her.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, _Acme_ CD (Matador/Capitol): Different than
the slash and burn, pouty-lipped pure sex in bluejeans trip they've been on
before, but it still makes me wanna act nasty.  They not only have the
blues and the rock, now they've got the Funk too.

Silkworm _Blueblood_ CD (Touch and Go)


Reissues/Bootlegs

Bob Dylan _Live 1966_ CD (Columbia/Legacy)

Nuggets box set

Hank Willams box set

The Fall, _Live and Violent at Brownie's_

Spiritualized _Live at the Royal Albert Hall_

EP's/Singles

His Name Is Alive, _Can't Always Be Loved_ (4AD): The 17 minute version of
"Wish I Had A Wishing Ring" makes me so happy I could burst.



non-recorded

The Fall breaking up on stage before my very eyes.
my band playing with Juneau in September, in a loft.
Seeing Jimmy Scott sing five feet in front of me at a taping of "Sessions
at W. 54th"
High Rise live on Halloween
Shellac live at S.O.B.'s, amongst fake palm trees
Tony Conrad playing a 45-minute drone piece at Under Acme
Mekons at the Bowery Ballroom, esp. "Memphis, Egypt"


Stats:  East-coast dwelling female, http://www.lexiconoclast.com

Thanks!

-- jodi

-----
Jodi Shapiro, Designer, Conde Net	212.880.4607
jshapiro-NOSPAM@condenast.com