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Califone / self-titled

Califone’s second release. Includes Tim Rutili from Chicago who used to play with a band known as Red Red Meat. Guitar, piano and assorted instruments. Heavy kind of voice that usually annoys me is not so bad (even good) on this album.

Playlist, says Laura B.

1. 6:33 electric fence ü +/ü ü - very slow, beat-oriented at first, sad and hard w/ interesting percussion noises

2. 3:07 st. martha let it fold ü ü folksier bc of twangy guitar. great intro

3. 4:00 beneath the yachtsman ü ü cool singing starts at 0:46, cool medley of instruments

4. 3:00 don’t let me die nervous ü + folksy again bc of guitar. gets a bit boring.

5. 4:06 dock boggs ü plain, boring, slow.

John Vanderslice / Mass Suicide Occult Figurines

Formerly a part of MK Ultra, this is his first solo release.

It’s really good. This is one of pitch weekly’s top 10 albums of 2000. He’s a good storyteller. Neutral Milk Hotel influence (album title = NMH lyric). And he has a fun website! ak! I don’t want to give this cd back. Grr.

Playlist, says Laura B.

1. 3:41 ü ü (+) Confusion boats / this is a cool one. sing along with them "bada dop ba bada dop" but in a very aggressive voice.
2. 3:27 ü ü - Speed Lab / Kind of slower. "speed lab on the edge of an artichoke farm" not as fun as some others.
3. 3:40 ü ü - Bill Gates Must Die / Yes he must. Sings title with a very assertive voice!
4. 3:23 ü Ambition / slow. his voice is weird with the ambience of the song. annoying singing of word like billy joel’s "pressure"
5. 2:20 ü ü (+) Josie Anderson / I have a friend named Josie! Desperate song, very well translated into voice emotion. slow beat.
6. 2:26 ü ü - Interlude / Why do they always title their instrumentals "interlude"? pretty but rather repetitive, though there are some interesting noises.
7. 4:15 ü ü - Big Band Stars / you might dance to this one. "substation radio tower broadcasting big band stars"
8. 2:10 ü ü Gruesome Details / voice, piano and something else, no percussion. funny (somewhat demented) lyrics. violin at one point.
9. 1:56 ü ü + And What did You Do Today / definitely dance to this one. lots of cool musicality.
10. 3:50 ü ü + Foothills of my Mind / prettiest on the album. "don’t want to be a soveriegn state"
11. 2:27 ü +/ü ü - Mass Suicide Occult Figurines / just some strange noises and violin. I know some of you may very well like this. whatever. I’m starting to sometimes agree with you.