The Pop Group - Y (1979)

Today I want to celebrate the existence of a wonderful musician named Mark Stewart who, together with his group The Pop Group and solo, made some of the best dub-influenced music ever made. It is obvious that they were listening to a lot of reggae and dub when they made Y, but mixed with a certain dose of experimentalism and post-punk, it takes it to a higher level.

It starts of quite poppy with the funky Beyond Good and Evil, but it moves into a more experimental form very soon, going further and further into the land of Don Van Vliet, guitar explosions and thick basses. Defining this album would make me say that this is a weirder version of Metal Box by Public Image Ltd. Excited?

words disobey me
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Sun City Girls - 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond the Rig Veda (1996)

This is the epic masterpiece Sun City Girls always wanted to make. The influence of world music is so common on this album, that you often forget that this is a group of people from Seattle making this music and not from the dark woods of Indonesia. Heavy use of drone, gamelan and high-pitched vocals make this album pretty Asian.

I have to warn you about the length of this piece of music: its 2,1 hours will throw you back. But perhaps it's best to listen to this album in steps and explore it songwise, and not albumwise. There are some truly gems hidden on this album and your task is to find them.

soi cowboy
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The Stooges - Raw Power (1973)

This record owns it classic status for its opener Search And Destroy to me. Absolutely incredible song, to which I actually cried this morning. I was riding my bike and the raw power (pun intended) of that song was just to much for me at that moment. The song literally blows you away. 7 more songs of raw power, and there you have it: a proto-punk classic of epic proportions.

The record's mixing is awfully done, and that's exactly what makes it even more impressive. You have to hear this album fuckin' loud. It will always sound like coming out of an old car speaker anyway. When this was recorded, all the dials were severely in the red zone and you can definitely hear that. I actually like it.

your pretty face is going to hell
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Ruins - Hyderomastgroningem (1995)

As we know, the label Tzadik always stands for great avant-garde stuff. Ranging from jazz, klezmer, zeuhl or metal, their releases always interest me. The label is lead by John Zorn, who is also a great hero for me, because of his openmindedness, which can be found in his output. Zorn started Naked City, for example, a group that brings free jazz and grindcore extremely close to each other.

So, what we have here is Ruins. Ruins is basically Tatsuya Yoshida, who is a drummer and is in about 30 bands at once, together with a bass-player, on this album Sasaki Hisashi. They create very long and very short songs, and what happens in between is often a mix of zeuhl (avant-prog with its own language, invented by Magma), funk, jazz, Japanese jibberish and freak-outs. I find this album a masterpiece, for one, but I guess not everybody will agree with me.

ordinary people in Idaho
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The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (2001)

This album deserve all the recognition it gets. I know that mainly Pitchfork, and a lot of other hipster-websites have been talking about this album for an ongoing nine years now, but I'm one of the people who really believes in the quality of this album. It combines the best of indie rock, noise, tape music, and the melancholic feeling of staying up until the morning comes, listening to this album in the dark night.

I guess this is indeed an album perfectly made to listen to in the dark and I guess a lot of you have been doing that already, but I want to make sure that this masterpiece isn't overlooked. Funny detail by the way is that I found a little Dutch booklet last summer in a second hand book market here in Amsterdam, with this cover. It was a booklet made in the 1950's.

my roots are strong and deep
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Lee Hazlewood - Requiem For An Almost Lady (1971)

A lot of people downloaded Cowboy In Sweden by Lee Hazlewood, so I'm posting another album by one of my most precious heroes in the music field. He made this album a year later than Cowboy In Sweden, when he was still in Sweden. It lasts only for 25 minutes, which is a shame, because the album has the same fantastic songs Cowboy In Sweden has.

This LP is a sad and moving drama about love and loneliness, and the whole album is built up around the concept of loathing and regret for letting a specific woman go. Beautiful. And also very intriguing that it came out in 1971 in Sweden, and was first distributed worldwide in 1999.

won't you tell your dreams
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The Band - Music From Big Pink (1968)

What else can I do than post the music I'm loving the most at the moment? So here's The Band again. This is their first album. Where I posted their second album last night, this album is also epic. I have to say though, that The Band reach their peak with their second album, but I guess that, placed in the right frame of time, this album owns the second album in importance.

Just sit back and enjoy these 11 beautiful songs, sung with so much passion, that it sometimes hurts. I saw a short clip of the song The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (song 3 from album 2), from their very last concert, which you really have to see. So visit YouTube and see the drummer crying his heart out.

long black veil
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The Band - The Band (1969)

I took me an awful while to get into The Band. I don't know what it was, but I simply couldn't see what was so goddamn original about this band and their first two albums in particular. Today, it clicked. I waited for a full year once again, and today felt like the perfect opportunity to test it once again, after listening to a lot of Japanese hardcore this morning.

And did it fit in with my mood today! I'm listening to this masterpiece for the 4th time today right now and I can say that it was worth all my time of waiting. I think that I fall in love easier with more difficult pieces of music and The Band shines because of its simplicity, and I finally realised that fully today. So today I pay a big tribute to this amazing band and ask you to do the same!

the night they drove old dixie down
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Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink (1971)

After a week of non-stop reggae listening, this got me back on earth. Caravan is one of the most sympathetic and influential bands from the Canterbury scene of the early 70s. The Canterbury scene is what I see as 'the good side of prog', a community of bands with a good sense of English humor, with great songs, and with little pretentions. The thing with prog-rock is that it can be so incredibly outdated and boring, that is hurts your ears. Not with the Canterbury scene! Bands like Soft Machine, Gong and Caravan still sound extremely awesome as of today.

This album is one of the most hailed pieces of prog from that time. The first side has 4 great (pop)songs to offer and the second side has a side-long suite. Well done.

winter wine
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Hüsker Dü - Everything Falls Apart (1983)

Hüsker Dü is one of my favourite bands (duh) and their records Zen Arcade and New Day Rising are seminal in the creation of independent rock music as we know it today. I have a fascinating interest in this album, their first. The songs are often close to hardcore punk, but it's still very Hüsker Dü, with the typical guitar sound and Bob Moulds singing. The songs are shorter, faster and louder than the rest of their output (excluding their live-record Land Speed Record, released in 1982).

The song Everything Falls Apart is so incredibly good that it could have been the best song on Zen Arcade as well. The cover of Donovan's Sunshine Superman is also worthwhile.

afraid of being wrong
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Keith Hudson - Flesh of My Skin: Blood of My Blood (1975)

And as we sink deeper and deeper in the rooty territories of reggae and dub, we find Keith Hudson (The Dark Prince of Reggae) on our way, who created an album back in '75 that relies firmly on its deep bass grooves. Flesh of My Skin is definitely one of the most groovy and deep reggae records I own on vinyl, and it is a pleasure to hear this on vinyl, with all the lazy bass riffs.

The best dub releases, that were released later in the 70s owe a lot to Keith Hudson, for that matter. He went to school with Bob Marley, Delroy Wilson and Ken Boothe. He died of lung cancer in 1984, a few years after Bob Marley himself. Keith Hudson owns Marley big time by the way.

flesh of my skin
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Stephen David Heitkotter - Heitkotter (1971)

I have always been interested by outsider art. Not only is it often made by musicians with a mental handicap, but it's also always a very clear case of anti-commercialism. The same goes for this album. Stephen David Heitkotter was a boy who lived in a mental institution and recorded this album together with his band mates (also from the same institution) inside the insane asylum. You can hear the drummer is about to have fits and there is a general tension about on this record.

I have to admit that the music isn't always as interesting as I'd like it to be, but it surely is interesting to hear this guy, an early example of someone like Daniel Johnston, express his feelings to the world.

fly over the moon
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Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (1973)

I generally dislike the genre glam-rock. When I was younger (I'm still young) I often saw old clips of Mud, Slade and all those other crappy bands on tv and damn, did I hate it. The christmas-song Mud did is the worst of them all. But off course, there are great examples of the genre. Like Roxy Music, the band I'm presenting here tonight. For Your Pleasure is their best album, because Eno left the ship after this album to embark on an epic solo career of which I'm very fond.

Can't go wrong with this album. Good grooves, a lot of guitar- and synth-solos, Brian Ferry (who is a jerk, but sings great) and a funky saxophone.

do the strand
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Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey (1975)

Today, I realised that I hadn't posted this on this blog so far. Which is an incredible feature, as I have been listening to this a lot and I usually post albums that are important for me at the moment. So, today it's time for this epic reggae classic by Burning Spear. 10 evergreens, all absolute standards in the reggae-field.

I can listen to this album 10 times in a row, without getting bored. Not a lot of album have that quality for me, but reggae-music and especially this album are very suitable for repeated listens.

red gold and green
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Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come (1998)

This is the quintessential album that got me into heavier music years ago. It doesn't sound as mindblowing when I hear it now, compared to the first time I layed my young ears on this masterpiece, but there is some of the best post-hardcore of the 90s present on this album. Refused were visionary in choosing this very ambitious and foreseeing album title (a great tribute to the legendary epic by Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come, that defined the direction of free jazz).

Some of the greatest riffs and some of the catchiest noise is combined on this album in a way Refused had tried for years, peaking fantastically on this piece of art. Highly recommended to people who want to take a brief look into metal, hardcore, emo, and the like.

refused are fuckin' dead
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Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt (1969)

At the moment, together with Kimono My House, The Parable of Arable Land, random Caetano Veloso stuff and Youth Of America by Wipers, this is my most listened album. The past couple of months I began to really dig Townes Van Zandt. This is by far his best album, and some of the songs are really something else.

Colorado Girl, I'll Be Here in the Morning and Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel for instance, are among my favourite songs ever made in the country music genre. I think country can be fantastic by the way, and I find it too populistic of people to hate country music. Here's the evidence people: Country music can be fun, beautiful, and very deep.

quicksilver daydreams of maria
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Nico - Desertshore (1970)

If I had to choose the darkest album in my own collection, I'd choose this album over all the Merzbow, Sunn O))), Earth and Om album I own. Nico does something on this album (and she did it on her other solo albums as well, but not as good as on this one) that cannot be put into words. It is a combination of her icy German accent and scary voice (she grew up some 20 miles from where I grew up), the sparse arrangements and the overall atmosphere.

Just listen to this record, so you'll all understand what the heck I'm talking about.

my only child
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Swell Maps - A Trip To Marineville (1979)

Without a single doubt the most original piece of music that came out of the British punk-scene in the 1970s. And I truly mean that. I'm not saying that this is the best British punk album ever, but it's definitely the most original. The punky songs are some of the best you'll ever hear and the longer, experimental ones are among the most exciting of all of punk music. And damn, do they create me some layers of guitar noise!

Swell Maps sound juvenile, amateurish and unpredictable, but that makes them so much more exciting than a lot of the other bands. A Trip To Marineville often sounds like an early example of noise rock and I think bands like Pavement, No Age and the like owe a lot to this band, without actually realising.

don't throw ashtrays at me!
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Wipers - Youth Of America (1981)

Wipers were making other music than most of the bands in the hardcore-circuit of the early 80s. Instead of making very fast, very short compositions of 30 seconds, they went the other way and even made a song on this record that clocks in at 10 minutes in length. That very fact has increased the keeping quality of this record and it sounds much more up-to-date than a lot of hardcore that was made in the same era.

Wipers had an obvious influence on Hüsker Dü, so if you like that band, I'd recommend you to listen to this album as well.

pushing the extreme
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Gary Wilson - You Think You Really Know Me (1977)

You Think You Really Know Me is basically an album made by Gary Wilson, who's telling us about girls he wants to fuck. Gary Wilson was a distorted mind, who probably hadn't had enough attention from his parents and his peers. He went to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, where Dylan and all the others recorded their music and decided it was best to record his album in his parents' basement. He financed, distributed and made all the records himself and the first pressing was made for 300 copies in 1977.

He then retired from music in 1981 after a lot of bizarre shows that contained fake blood, flour, cellophane, duct tape and bed sheets and was rediscovered in the 90s when Beck named him as an influence. He started making music again, and released a new album in 2004.

i wanna lose control
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Red Krayola - The Parable Of Arable Land (1967)

The Parable Of Arable Land is the undeniable and notorious classic, made by the Red Krayola in 1967, then still called Red Crayola, indeed, with a C. This record contains 'Free Form Freak-Outs' and actual songs. Together they form one of the most important relics of psychedelic rock. I think only Trout Mask Replica and perhaps Freak Out! by Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention top this record.

Listen to this and it will free your mind. Avant-garde rock from the top shelf. It definitely blew my mind the first time I heard it. Where Trout Mask Replica creates order in the chaos, this record creates chaos in the order.

hurricane fighter plane
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Mayo Thompson - Corky's Debt To His Father (1970)

Today is Red Krayola-day. The Red Krayola was and is an avant-garde collective led by Mayo Thompson and they were, together with Captain Beefheart, the best experimental rock band in the late 60s. Mayo Thompson is one of the greatest composers in the rock music scene and nobody talks about them nowadays. It is a bloody shame that people don't listen to their debut album anymore.

This album, the only album Mayo Thompson released under his own name, is a mix between Syd Barrett, Jandek and Bob Dylan. Someone called it: Bob Dylan for intelligent people. So, there's no time to lose!

venus in the morning
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Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch! (1964)

Out To Lunch! is one of the great staples of avant-garde/free jazz, and there's a reason for it. Eric Dolphy has a momentum on this record and the feeling that everything he touches changes into to gold is very apparent here. 1964 meant the absolute heyday for Eric Dolphy and this is his defining moment. Dolphy is one of the most refreshing among all the great jazz players, and I also see him as a sort of crazy version of Coltrane.

This record is full of memorable moments and the thing is, that normally a free jazz record barely contains structure, this record actually has the melodies ánd the freakouts. So there's something great for everyone in this.

straight up and down
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Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle (1979)

Gary Numans early electronic albums are a sort of mix between Kraftwerk and punk-rock. Easier and more accessible than Kraftwerk and also easier and less agressive than punk-rock. Still, this combination paid of and Cars (present on this record) became a chart-topper in the UK. Low and 'Heroes' by David Bowie must have been extremely important for Gary Numan, because this sounds a lot like these records.

By the way, if you're wondering what Gary's doing now: he's making industrial rock in the vein of Nine Inch Nails and he even looks like Trent Reznor now. Funny how people change. Also: listen to the song M.E. and try not to think about Basemant Jaxx.

engineers
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Ewa Demarczyk - Ewa Demarczyk śpiewa piosenki Zygmunta Koniecznego (1971)

I'm spending the next two days in Bruxelles, so I got up early today to fill the void for a bit, because I hate it when I can't post an album everyday. So perhaps, when I come home late tommorrow night, the first thing I'll do is post an album to make sure I don't miss a day. Meet my neurotic personality.

Also: meet Ewa Demarczyk while I visit the Magritte Museum in Bruxelles. She is a polish singer, known as Polands' 'Dark Angel'. Highly emotional songs, often associated with the counter-culture of communist Poland. Frankly, she's a poet. So the term Sung Poetry would be appropriate. Have fun with it.

lame dogs adorn the roads
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Faust - Faust (1971)

I have decided today that I'm going to start compiling a new top 100 (or 250) list of my favourite records ever in the near future. I often made these lists over the last years, but it's been a while. This is definitely a record that'll end up in my top 50. Close to perfect krautrock album by one of the most offbeat krautrock-bands of them all. Faust!

Piero Scaruffi (one of the coolest music-critics, who has an amazing taste in music: www.scaruffi.com) has this album on no. 3 of his top ever list and I can see why. Hard to describe how this actually sounds, but I can guarantee you that it is something else. Also: buy this on transparent vinyl, I own it and it is so wonderful to hear this on vinyl.

why don't you eat carrots?
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This Heat - Deceit (1981)

This is an epic example of how lovely experimental post-punk could be at its peek. This album starts mellow and ends apocalyptic. In between, it takes you to various exciting places. Someone said the following about this album: 'Experimental music sometimes means "let's experiment swallowing bleach and see if something marvelous happens", this is that sometimes'.

Funky and spooky and totally essential for everyone who wants to get a grip on post-punk. 'breaking everything down, building it up, and breaking it down again'. So, believe the hype!

a new kind of water
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Donny Hathaway - Extension Of A Man (1973)

I love this album by Donny Hathaway. It was the last one he made, before committing suicide in 1979. The 6 years that followed after the release of this album, which turned out to be his early magnum opus, Hathaway struggled for a long time. He became paranoid and schizophrenic and suffered long periods of depression.

Once again, what's left is the music. And there's some serious soul going on here and it's sad that not much people of my generation know of Donny Hathaway. We all know Marvin, Stevie, Curtis and Al, but there's a lot more. So discover Donny!

someday we'll all be free
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Rudimentary Peni - Death Church (1983)

This is me some great anarchopunk! It often sounds a lot like good old American hardcore-punk, but these guys are from England and you can hear that clearly in the singer's accent. 21 songs in 32 minutes, I like that. The lyrics are pitch-dark and this is one of the darkest punk albums I know, lyric-wise.

This record definitely defines the meaning of 'less-is-more', because a lot of the anarchopunk from the UK is so shit and bombastic. This album is basically just a very basic drum & bass & guitar, extremely easy, but very effective. Recommended if you like Crass and punk.

rotten to the core
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Caetano Veloso - Transa (1972)

This album is really right in between the real tranisition Caetano Veloso had in the early 70s. It was made after the cleverly crafted pop-albums and just a few months before he went totally berserk with Araçá Azul. Everything comes together on this album, and it is without a single doubt from my side his best album. The album consists primarily of 6 jams, very repetitive, very effective.

Caetano Veloso has this really special way of switching from his lower register to a higher register. You can notice this very well on this album. A few perceivable examples from this record: on the second song he sings 'nine out of ten movie stars, make me cry' over and over again and at a point he starts singing this in a higher register and it just sounds fantastic. On practically every song this happens, which makes this album exceptionally powerful. Highly recommended!

you don't know me
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The Ronettes - Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)

The Ronettes are the most wonderful of all girl-groups in my book. Far superior to the Supremes and the Shangri-Las and the only reason is because Phil Spector had a hand in these recordings. Without Phil Spector, these girls would've been totally middle-of-the-road and they would never have topped the best works of the Supremes. But than The Wall of Sound occurred and blew everything away.

Phil Spector creates larger-than-life orchestrations with layer-upon-layer sounds for these at first glance, simple songs. I'm giving you a vinyl rip of the original album, which really does this album right. It may be a bit scratchy at times, but through the vinyl you experience the real power of The Wall of Sound.

the best part of breakin' up
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Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (1975)

Lou Reed must've thought 'what Caetano Veloso did, I'll do better'. And damn, he totally overdid it indeed. This album is about 1,34% the same as his other material. This album shouldn't even be called a Lou Reed album, just to avoid the misconceptions everyone had over the years. When you're working yourself through the catalogue of Lou Reed as a fan of rock music, you must be totally shocked when you hear this, without foreknowledge. Even today, that is.

The first noise album, this is as well. Lou Reed just put 4 guitars in front of the guitar amps, and recorded the feedback. That's basically what's happening on this album. Lou Reed even performed this album live last year. Haha. Have fun with it!

metal machine music
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Caetano Veloso - Araçá Azul (1972)

Today I'm posting two albums that are very controversial in the same way. Namely: both albums were made by mainstream artists at the very peak of their fame. Both were also highly experimental, and not made for the target group they were aimed at. That makes for a lot trouble. Caetano Veloso was Brazil's most popular singer and had delivered 4 fan-tas-tic pop albums in the Brazilian way. And then he released this! He looks like a long-haired guinea pig, he sings in Spanish on one song (Brazil is from Portugal.....) and the music sounds totally different than what people were used to.

Now, almost 40 years later, I personally love this album very much and I see it as a refreshingly new thing in his career. Back then, people were bringing the record back to the record company, asking their money back.

sugar cane fields forever
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The Mighty Diamonds - Right Time (1976)

The Mighty Diamonds made a fuckload of albums, but Right Time is pretty much the only one that has lasted over the years. This album is a real roots reggae classic. Just so you know. This album has all the great reggae ingredients and what it adds to the recipe are the harmonic vocals. And of course a lot of socially conscious lyrics. All the usual topics are present: Marcus Garvey, poverty, being black, but still, this album has something extra for me.

I don't know what it is. It might just be the great songs. So check out this belter of an album and love it the rest of your long life. Isn't it great art work by the way?

why me black brother why
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Mount Kimbie - Maybes (2009)

Mount Kimbie's Maybes is one of the best and most original dubstep releases that I've ever heard. I'm not a huge fan or expert of the genre, but this hits the nail on the head. The title song Maybes is this very original take on dubstep with a larger-than-life Fuck Buttons intro but with a much more exciting pay-off than you expect. The drone does very well beside the dubstep and I'd like more records to sound like this.

This little EP gives you a very refreshing listen and I can tell you that dubstep isn't dead yet. Not everything sounds like the shite they make in England at the moment. Here's some evidence. Yes, from England.

maybes
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James Holden - The Idiots Are Winning (2006)

If you liked Nathan Fake, than I'm positively sure that you'll like this as well. This came out on the great Border Communities label as well, where I get a lot of good techo/idm from. This album is a bit more experimental than Drowning in a Sea of Love by Nathan Fake. It has a track that consists of 2 minutes of silence, and some other that are quite out of touch with the rest of the record. Still: after Drowning in a Sea of Love, the best release that ever came out on Border Communities.

Personally, I'm very fond of the album cover. It's like a post-apocalyptic version of a piece by Van Gogh. Very clever. Good album covers work.

intentionally left blank
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Sun Ra - The Magic City (1966)

The best Sun Ra album is The Magic City, which is posted as we speak on my blog. 'The best Sun Ra album' is of course hard to call, because there are over 200 Sun Ra studio albums, but this one has one of the best and most pounding tracks from the catalogue, namely the title track. A very uplifting listen, this record serves well as an introduction to free jazz and the great works of Sun Ra, who thought he was a space ranger, a servant of God himself and more important than the president of the United States (that last one might be true).

Enjoy this very awesome album on this rainy Friday afternoon. Reggae or this will solve your problems right on the stop.

abstract eye
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Slint - Spiderland (1991)

I just want to make sure that EVERYONE has this album. I realise this isn't as obscure as it used to be, but everyone has to have this album and hear it. The greatest post-rock album ever, and still very punk in attitude. Slint's music just sounds like Slint. With the barely audible vocals, with the spoken word parts, with the heavy guitar parts, all these aspects make Slint Slint.

Very intriguing album cover, shot by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, very intriguing songs, and plain amazing lyrics. Check out the lyrics if you can't hear them, because a lot of parts are barely audible due to the mixing (the guitar parts overthrows the vocals).

breadcrumb trail
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The Mountain Goats - Sweden (1995)

Sweden is one of the lesser known albums by the fantastic Mountain Goats. The Mountain Goats is mainly John Darnielle with session musicians or alone. On this album (one of the first) The Mountain Goats consists of John Darnielle on acoustic guitar and Rachel Ware on acoustic bass. The songs are recorded lo-fi as a result that this album is one of the cutest and most heartfelt records Darnielle ever pulled.

A lot of the material on this album is at least equal to the material on Tallahassee and All Hail West Texas, so if you are a fan of this band, you have to hear this.

going to bolivia
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Igor Stravinsky - Petrushka (1999)

We need more classical music on this blog. So after Bach and Varèse, I give you Igor Stravinsky. I decided to not post The Rite of Spring (his best and most famous work), but the slightly more unknown Petrushka. The performance is great, by the Symphony Orchestra of Chicago, led by Seiji Ozawa.

I think this record is more accessible than The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Complete Works by Varèse, so give this a chance! The piece is only 33 minutes long, so forget your preconceptions because classical pieces aren't always 3 hours long. If I get some feedback, I will post The Rite of Spring as well.

wet nurses' dance
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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica (1969)

Today I decided it was the right time for Trout Mask Replica. The only thing I want to say, for now, about this album is: THIS IS MY FAVOURITE MUSIC ALBUM EVER. It goes beyond everything for me. Since the first time I heard this album in a hotel room in Berlin, everytime I come back to it again, I go completely nuts. Words just can't describe it, so experience it, try to understand it, and love it.

I could write a book or make a film about Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), but it has been done before brilliantly, so watch the BBC documentary on YouTube and buy the little book Kevin Courrier wrote about Trout Mask Replica and the maniac sessions prior to the release. As for now: I advice you all to urgently download this album and buy it on double vinyl as soon as you have the money!

orange claw hammer
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Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)

I don't want to exaggerate on this one, but what I can say for sure is this: this album, is the best and most important album hip-hop album that came out of this century until now. Madvillain = Madlib + MF DOOM and hell, what a combination. Totally original mix of MF DOOM's one of a kind lyrics, Madlib's incredible production and their sparkling chemistry.

Essential alternative hip-hop album that you have to hear to get a glimpse of the beauty of hip-hop. Some of the lyrics are just so clever, it's a shame the genre is so criminally underrated. A few that've really stuck through the years with me: 'written in cold blood with a toothpick' and 'I got more soul, than a sock with a hole'. Get. IN!

rhinestone cowboy
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Edgard Varèse - The Complete Works (1998)

I want to start the new month March with something really mind-blowing. So please meet Edgard Varèse, a French modern classical composer who is totally awesome. These are The Complete Works (he didn't compose so much music) so there isn't more of him than the 2,5 hours I'm giving you. It takes a lot to really dig it, but it will pay of in a very pleasing way if you give it a chance.

Varèse made a lasting impression on a young man named Frank Zappa and his classical works are mainly based on the works of Varèse. Very ahead of its time, as Zappa was. I think a lot of people don't realise how much more innovative classical music is in comparison to pop-music. Compared to classical music, pop-music is doing the same for over 60 years now.

the complete works part 1
the complete works part 2
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