REVOLVER STAFF 2009 BEST-OF LISTS
Thurston Graham, Revolver Digital
o 13th Chime "Singles 1981 - 1983" LP Sacred Bones
o Shrinebuilder "S/T" 2xLP+DO/CD Neurot Recordings
o Melt Banana "Lite Live: Ver.0.0" CD AZap
o V/A "La Bamba" LP Ultra Eczema
o Units "History of the Units" CD Community Library
o Blues Control "Local Flavor" LP/CD Siltbreeze
o BUFMS "Induced Musical Spasticity" 4xLP + CD BUFMS
o The Mantles "S/T" LP Siltbreeze
o Flower-Corsano Duo "Four Aims" CD/2xLP VHF
o Tropa Macaca "Sensacao Do Principio" LP Siltbreeze
Jerry, Accounts Receiving
1) vee dee - public mental health system - Beautiful in a way only a band from Chicago could be: Loud, big-boned and slightly out of fashion.
2) vee dee - public mental health system - see no. 1
3) thee oh sees - help
4) Mayyors - Deads EP
5) yoga - megafauna
6) Black Boned Angel - Endless Coming Into Life: Like a day at the beach - what could be better.
7) Meth Teeth - Everything Went Wrong
8) Dan Melchior - Terrible Shame 7" - The (former) fourteenth street curmudgeon sheds his medway muse in fine fashion.
9) Roman Soldiers - S/T 7"
10) Doronco Gumo - Old Punks
Matthew G Lammikins, Sales
1. SOCIALIST LEISURE PARTY "Tactical Pop For Coffee Cadets" CD+7" (Shelflife) - Amazing & timeless pop songs from ex-ACTION PAINTING guys that could have come from the late 80s, 90s, or 2000s...
2. EAT SKULL "Wild & Inside" LP/CD (Siltbreeze) - As the songs get catchier, the vocals get more atonal. Perfect combination.
3. HOME BLITZ "Going Out of Phase" CD (Richie) - Overdubbing super clean Lets Active-style 80s power pop guitar leads over scrappy Half Japanese-style slop-pop sounds like a terrible idea but it works.
4. DORONCO GUMO "Old Punks" LP (Holy Mountain) - Maybe the most 'pop' thing you've heard from any of those involved, but there's nothing straight about it. Falls apart as it comes together like a Japanese Mekons.
5. COLOSSAL YES "Acapulco Roughs" LP/CD (Ba Da Bing!) - Self-imposed cult figure continues to write great songs as he explores a genre occupied only by himself.
6. PAPERCUTS "You Can Have What You Want" LP/CD (Gnomonsong) - With insane obsession to detail, this third Papercuts album quietly blows away the second album, just like the second blew away the first.
7. DUCKTAILS s/t LP/CD (Not Not Fun) - Hey, sometimes home noodling IS worth sharing with others.
8. BLUES CONTROL "Local Flavor" LP/CD (Siltbreeze) - There's much shit going on over the course of this record that it never ceases to stay interesting, but also never irritates like other genre-hoppers...
9. SMITH WESTERNS s/t LP/CD - Songs so good I'll give them a pass on the T. Rex thing.
10. UV RACE s/t LP - A more brilliant/more dumb Eddy Current? 'Porn Orphanage' gets the award for best song title this year.
10.5 GET BACK GUINOZZI! "Carpet Madness" CD - I balked at the 'Police & Thieves' cover the first few times but now I even like that track. Total sleeper. This is what I wished Bjork sounded like.
Also, great singles from FERGUS & GERONIMO (all), CRYSTAL STILTS (Slumberland), SEXY KIDS (Slumberland), SHACKLES (Sweet Rot), SONIC CHICKEN 4 (Trouble In Mind), NICE FACE (Sacred Bones), UV RACE (S-S), WOVEN BONES (Sweet Rot), AVI BUFFALO (Sub Pop)
Great reissues/comps: BILL FOX (Scat), AXEMEN (Siltbreeze), SO COW (Tic Tac Totally), 39 CLOCKS (Bureau B), EASTER MONKEYS (Smog Veil)
Honorable Mention (I'll save space by just listing the artists): Great albums also from Night Control, Bill Callahan, Christmas Island, Kid Congo, Ganglians , Sonny & the Sunsets, Bachelorette, Audacity, Brilliant Colors, Rusted Shut, Les Cox Sportifs, Animal Collective, Thomas Function, Atlas Sound, Oh Sees, Reigning Sound, Fresh & Onlys
Dave, Sales
1. DAM FUNK "Toeachizown" 2xCD (Stones Throw) - get lost in a funky maze of analog
2. MOUNT EERIE "Wind's Poem" CD/2xLP (P.W. Elverum & Sun) - brutal & tender, like werewolf meat maybe?
3. ONEIDA "Rated O" 3xCD/3xLP (Jagjaguwar) - get lost in a proggy jam sesh
4. MANTLES s/t LP (Siltbreeze) - I like this because he makes funny rhymes and has curly hair
5. JAMES FERRARO "Clear" & "Discovery" LPs (Holy Mountain) - sounds great on both speeds
6. LITTLE CLAW "Human Taste" LP (Not Not Fun) - i think Yeti said it best, "used to be good, but now they're THIS good!"
7. GANG GANG DANCE "Saint Dymphna" CD/LP (Social Registry) - i'm a sucker for GGD and this one doesn't disappoint
8. TALK NORMAL "Sugarland" CD/LP (Rare Book Room) - punishing pop maybe? solid.
9. MASSHYSTERI "Var Del Av Stan" CD/LP (Feral Ward) - ridiculously accessible swedish punk. also solid.
10. TROPA MACACA "Sensacao Do Principio" LP (Siltbreeze) - get lost in an 8-bit brazilian casino
Best Re-issue - SERGE GAINSBOURG "Histoire de Melody Nelson" CD/LP (Light in the Attic) - safe choice in a year of really excellent reissues but just too good to deny
Best single - SIC ALPS "L Mansion" 7" (Slumberland) - slightly less obvious choice but again, too good to deny
Andrew Murphy, Receiving
1. celine dion 'mort aux vaches' CD - the most amazing band on planet earth. 'like a freight train that can't be stopped' -gary held
2. work/piles split LP - ex 16 bitch pile up & ex numbers do good. also, part-time members of celine dion.
3. high castle 'you're on your own way' LP - angular rockin' rock. features 2 part-time members of celine dion.
4. dadfag 'scenic abuse' CD/LP - screeching girl vocals & super fun live. drummer is a future part-time celine dion member.
5. bronze s/t 10" - my favorite SF band. played 2 shows with celine dion in 2009.
6. long legged woman 'nobody knows…' LP - solid debut & final album from these GA transplants. once featured celine dion as members.
7. seven lies about girls/ al qaeda split cassette - live recordings from 2 SF noisemakers. 7LAG now features dave from celine dion on drums!
8. brilliant colors 'introducing' CD/LP - 'better than grass widow' - ken. also features future part-time celine dion member.
9. mantles s/t LP - nice rock album from a band that once played a show with celine dion.
10. andrew douglas rothbard 'exodusarabesque' download only - super-duper trippy pop-esque gems from ex Pleasure Forever frontman &
hopeful future Celine Dion collaborator
Jacy, Warehouse
Alot of really killer shit came out this year. These are a few of my favorites in no particular order:
1. V.A. - "Michigan" 6LP boxset (RRR / Chondritic / Hanson) - A great sampler of Michigan's amazing noise scene.
2. V.A. - "D;O;UXF?" CD (Teen Action Records) - Admittedly, I curated this, but I still listen to it all the time. So good.
3. M. Morley, My Cat Is An Alien, R. Ponzini, L. Renaldo - "Live @ Sensational Fix" LP (Starlight Furniture) - Incredible. I wish I'd been there.
4. Bobby Beausoleil - "Lucifer Rising Suite" 4LP boxset (Ajna Offensive) - Beautiful pressing of a psychedelic masterpiece.
5. Cave Bears - "Live @ The Whiskey 1977" CS (Scotch Tapes) - Cave Bears eat Germs, shit brilliance.
6. Mayyors - "Deads EP" 12" (Self Released) - I can't sit still when I hear this, it fucking rocks.
7. Megasus - "S/T" CD (20 Buck Spin) - This is what stoner metal should be.
8. Nurse With Wound - "Spiral Insana" CD (United Jnana) - Just one of many great NWW reissues last year.
9. Limosine - "S/T" CD (Self Released) - Like shrooming with Sabbath in a cardboard forest. Not as intense as live experience, but pretty killer…
10. Sparks - "The Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman" LP (Little Beethoven) - Sparks do a narrative piece about Ingmar Bergman in Hollywood. What's not to love?
Cristian, Revolver Digital
1. FUCK BUTTONS "Tarot Sport" LP/CD/DL (ATP)
2. PAUL WHITE "The Strange Dreams of Paul White" CD/DL (One Handed)
3. V/A "Psych Funk 101" 2LP/CD (World Psychedelic Funk Classics)
4. MOUNT KIMBIE "Maybes" 12"/DL (Hotflush)
5. MAGIK KIDS "Hey Boy" 7"/DL (Goner)
6. DARK DARK DARK "Remixes" 7"/DL (Supply & Demand)
7. FERGUS & GERONIMO "Blind Muslim Girl" 7"/DL (Tic Tac Totally)
8. THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART "Higher Than The Stars" CD/7"/2x12"/DL (Slumberland)
9. JACK ROSE & THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS "S/t" CD/DL (VHF)
10. MICHAEL HURLEY "Ida Con Snock" LP/CD/DL (Gnomonsong)
Best moment of 2009: Serbia 5 Romania 0
Mike Toppe, General Manager
1. WHY? "Alopecia" LP/CD (Anticon)
2. Richard Swift "Atlantic Ocean" (Secretly Canadian)
3. Blues Control "Local Flavor" (Siltbreeze)
4. Bachelorette "My Electric Family" (Drag City)
5. Theoretical Girl "Divided" (Memphis Industries)
6. Papercuts "You Can Have What You Want" (album) & "White Are The Waves" (7")
7. Wooden Shjips "Dos" (Holy Mountain)
8. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds "Dracula Boots" (In The Red)
9. Bill Fox "Shelter >From The Smoke" (Scat)
10. Pillow Talk "Downtown Unga Wunga" 7" (Columbus Discount)
Jesse, Warehouse & Invoicing
1. SISSY SPACEK "Fortune b/w The Eyes of Men" 7" (Gilgongo) - Strange to have a 7" as your #1 of the year, but there are 26 tracks on it, so I count it as a full length. Plus it makes me really happy whenever I hear it.
2. ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER "Rifts" CD (No Fun)
3. BLANK DOGS "Under and Under" LP (In The Red)
4. GRASS WIDOW "s/t" LP (Make A Mess) & "s/t" EP (Captured Tracks)
5. BRILLIANT COLORS "Introducing Brilliant Colors" CD/LP (Slumberland)
6. BERT JANSCH "L.A. Turnaround" LP (Drag City) - Reissue of the 1974 album which comes with a great unreleased short film made at the time of the recording.
7. OVENS "s/t" CD (tULMULt)
8. EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING "s/t" CD/LP (Goner)
9. THE HUNCHES "Exit Dreams" CD/LP (In The Red)
10. EDWARD WILLIAMS "Life On Earth: Music From the 1979 BBC TV Series" CD (Trunk)
Uli Elser, Sales, Export Sales, Exclusive Label Relations
1. Yppah * They Know What Ghost Know (Ninja Tune)
2. Mochipet * Bunnies & Muffins (Daly City)
3. The Joy Formidable * A Balloon Called Moaning (Pure Groove)
4. DJ /Rupture and Matt Shadetek * Solar Life Raft (Agriculture)
5. Wye Oak * The Knot (Sub Pop)
6. Spider Bags * Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World (Birdman)
7. Kevin Blechdom * Gentlemania (Sonig)
8. Hex Dispensers * Winchester Mystery House (Douchemaster)
9. Summer Cats *Songs For Tuesdays (Slumberland)
10. Fredrik * Na Na Ni (Kora)
Honorable Mention:
James Blackshaw * The Glass Bead Game (Young God)
Smith Westerns * Smith Westerns (Horizontal Action)
Washed Out * Life of Leisure - EP (Mexican Summer)
Chris Hubbard, Layout & Stuff
* ONNA s/t CD (Holy Mountain)
* BRILLIANT COLORS "Introducing" LP (Slumberland)
* GUN OUTFIT "Dim Light" 12" (PPM)
* RUSTED SHUT "Dead" LP (Load)
* THE BATS "Don't You Rise" 7" (Slumberland)
* THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART s/t LP (Slumberland)
* NEEDLES "Desastre" 7" (Lengua Armada)
* EASTER MONKEYS "Splendor of Sorrow" CD+DVD (Smog Veil)
* CARTER FAMILY "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" LP (Monk)
* COCK SPARRER live at the Great American Music Hall
Potsie "Utrillo" Belcher, Marketing Corndog
1. Lazarus Trickster LP (St. Ives)
2. Doronco Gumo Old Punks LP (Holy Mountain)
3. Purling Hiss Purling Hiss LP (Permanent)
4. Destroyer Bay Of Pigs 12" (Merge)
5. Mantles S/t LP (Siltbreeze)
6. Kurt Vile Childish Prodigy CD (Matador)
7. Jamie Vex'd In System Travel 12" (Planet Mu)
8. Blues Control Local Flavor LP (Slitbreeze)
9. Joseph Mattson & Six Organs Of Admittance Empty The Sun LP+Book (Barnacle)
10. Ghost live at the Independent, San Francisco CA. 4/28/09
Mike Doyle, Sales
Blues Control "Local Flavor" LP (Siltbreeze)
Eddy Current Suppression Ring s/t LP re-issue (Goner)
Strange Boys "...And Girls Club" LP (In The Red)
Papercuts "You Can Have What You Want" LP (Gnomonsong)
Mantles s/t LP (Siltbreeze)
Crystal Stilts "Love Is A Wave" 7" (Slumberland)
Smith Westerns s/t LP (Horizontal Action)
v/a "Ghana Special" 5xLP box (Soundway)
Clientele "Bonfires on the Heath" LP (Merge)
Sun Araw "Heavy Deeds" 12" (Not Not Fun)
Ox Heart Appetizer at St. John Restaurant, London
The Brentwoods reunion at Budget Rock!
Honorable Mentions:
Reigning Sound "Love and Curses" LP (In The Red)
Fred Bigot "Mono / Stereo" CD (Holy Mountain/Tlon Uqbar)
Dam Funk "Burgundy City" 12" (Stones Throw)
Ducktails "Landscapes" LP (Olde English Spelling Bee)
James Ferraro "Clear" & "Discovery" LPs (Holy Mountain)
Fergus & Geronimo "Blind Muslim Girl" 7" (Tic Tac Totally)
Crime in Choir "Gift Givers" CD (Kill Shaman)
Other Re-issues / Old Stuff
Sic Alps "Long Way Around to a Short Cut" LP (Drag City)
Units "History of the Units" CD (Community Library)
Little Ann "Deep Shadows" (Timmion)
Quick "Mondo Deco" LP re-issue (Radio Heartbeat)
39 Clocks "Pain It Dark" CD re-issue (Bureau B)
Warpig s/t LP re-issue (Kreation)
v/a "Rocky Mountain Low" 2xLP+CD (Hypercynical)
13th Chime "Singles 1981-1983" LP (Sacred Bones)
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