John Lefsky Poop ’10


I felt like I was playing musical dodge ball this year; every time I moved there was some great music to be heard. Maybe it was my purchase of this electronic device this past year that enables me to reach out and touch the world in a sonic way and not have to wash my hands afterward. I never had trouble finding good, new music, though. One thing I noticed was how much of my favorite music, this year, rocked. Fat riffs, shiny hooks, sing-a-long lyrics, 50’s throwbacks, power pop punches…and some of the usual sad bastard stuff and discordant what-the-huh-I can only play this when there are no customers in the store. Roll up:


cover of Sun City Girls- FUNERAL MARIACHI  Buy New or Used via amazon
1. Sun City Girls – FUNERAL MARIACHI
Their final album, mixed after the death of drummer Charles Gocher. Probably their most accessible since TORCH OF THE MYSTICS, FUNERAL MARIACHI mixes their love of world hybrids with sad psychedelia and Morricone homages and covers. It’s not all heavy going; one of the first words you hear on the record is “Rangda.” It’s always a party with the child-eating demon queen of Balinese mythology.



cover of Eddy Current Suppression Ring-RUSH TO RELAX  Buy New or Used via amazon
2. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – RUSH TO RELAX
Guess so. They recorded this album in six hours, it sounds great, and I can barely understand a word of it under the Australian yelp and manic pace but who cares, really. I can understand every word Micheal Franti sings, and I wish I didn’t.



cover of Sadies- DARKER CIRCLES  Buy New or Used via amazon
3. Sadies- DARKER CIRCLES
None of their studio albums really gives a picture of how diverse they can be. Live, they can do punk rock, surf, rockabilly, country. In the studio, they stay in the Alt/Country vein, but they can do it without being hackneyed. It’s because the songwriting and playing is so good, somehow recalling the Byrds AND Pink Floyd and I’m a sucker for cry in your Scotch lines like “If I never awaken, at least I will find all the answers that I lack.”



cover of Mary Halvorson Quintet - SATURN SINGS  Buy New or Used via amazon
4. Mary Halvorson Quintet – SATURN SINGS
One of the critics favorite words : ANGULAR. Halverson may like to go discordant, on occasion, but there is a warmth to her band’s playing. When she goes punky or abstract, it serves the compostions. She’s played with Anthony Braxton, Marc Ribot and Joe McPhee, and said that hearing Robert Wyatt changed her life. That is a collaboration I’d like to hear.



cover of The Len Price 3 -PICTURES  Buy New or Used via amazon
5. The Len Price 3 -PICTURES
Yes, they recall the Who and the Jam, but the production and melodies put me in mind of the Records and Bram Tchaikovsky. Every time I play it, and sometimes I play it twice in a row, I can’t help bopping my head and singing along, although I can’t seem to do that and type at the same time.

6. The Above – S/T
7. Nina Nastasia – OUTLASTER
8. The Intelligence – MALES
9. Overnight Lows – CITY OF ROTTEN EYES (Note: There are two L.A. bands with this name. One blows, one doesn’t.)
10. Alaisdair Roberts – TOO LONG IN THIS CONDITION

More stuff:
Brian Wilson Shocktreatment – DRUID TIME LORDS
Lords Of Falcolnry – S/T
Ribbon – CHATEAU RIBBON
Parting Gifts – STRYCHNINE DANDELIONS
Unnatural Helpers – CRACKED LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
Titus Andronicus – THE MONITOR
Endless Boogie – FULL HOUSE AHEAD
Laettita Sadler – THE TRIP
Tandoori Knights – CURRY UP
Sun Araw – ON PATROL
Giant Sand – BLURRY BLUE MOUNTAIN
Jim Jones Revue – BURNING DOWN YOUR HOUSE
Cinema Red And Blue – S/T
Wyatt, Atzmon , Stephens – FOR THE GHOSTS WITHIN
Decoy & Joe McPhee – TOTO
Swans – MY FATHER WILL GUIDE ME
Voice Of 7 Thunders – S/T
Nick Curran – REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS
Thee Oh Sees – WARM SLIME
Dead C – PATIENCE
Rangda -FALSE FLAG
Wooden Wand – DEATH SEAT
Ty Segall – MELTED
Haunted George – LONESOME CROW
Mark Sultan -$
Timmy’s Organism – RISE OF THE GREEN GORILLA
Sardonis – S/T Demon’s
Claws – DEFROSTING OF
Pocohaunted – MAKE IT REAL
Flying Lotus – COSMOGRAMMA
Neil Young – LE NOISE
William Parker – I PLAN TO STAY A BELIEVER
Agent Ribbons – CHATEAU CRONE
Blurt – CUT IT!
Honey Ride Me A Goat – UDDERS
Goodnight Loving – SUPPER CLUB
Dustin Wong – INFINITE LOVE

Reissues and…
Les Rallizes Denudes – HEAVIER THAN A DEATH IN THE FAMIL
V/A – WORLD IS A MONSTER
Phil Cohran – SPANISH SUITE
Easter Monkey – SPENDOR OR SORROW
Black Tambourine – COMPLETE RECORDINGS
Method Actors – THIS IS STILL IT
Univers Zero – HERESIE
Sun Ra – NOTHING IS
Bobby Fuller – EL PASO ROCK 3
Soft Boys – UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT
Dara Puspita – 66-68
v/a – PERSIAN UNDERGROUND
Curlew – A BEAUTIFUL WESTERN SADDLE
Kevin Dunn – NO GREAT LOSS
Sandy Denny And The Strawbs – ALL OUR OWN WORK

Movies
A PROPHET.
MOTHER.
HOME.
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP.
WINTER’S BONE.
SOCIAL NETWORK.
TRUE GRIT.
VINCERE.
I didn’t see a lot of films this year, and most of the ones I want to see, well, I haven’t seen. So here are high hopes for
BLACK SWAN.
CARLOS.
DOGTOOTH.
WHITE MATERIAL.
THE FIGHTER.
DADDY LONGLEGS.
Could not believe how much INCEPTION sucked, though. Overcomplicated Mission;Impossible/James Bond whatever built around a premise better used in DREAMSCAPE. Beginning to think Nolan is a hackaddicted to gimmicks.

Disappointing discs:
Richard Thompson – DREAM ATTIC – His singing has gotten so melo-dramatic it is sometimes hard to take.
Belle & Sebastian – WRITE ABOUT LOVE – It’s been awhile since I have really liked one of their records, and the duet with the bland Miss Jones was a BIG mistake.

In one ear and I sure don’t get it:
Arcade Fire.
Vampire Weekend.
Kings Of Leon.
Joanna Newsome.
The Hold Steady.
Robert Plant.

Shows.
Only went to a handful this year;
Neil Young/Bert Jansch-Palace Theater, Albany – Great show, lousy, rude classic rock boneheaded audience.
Guided By Voices/Blitzen Trapper-Terminal 5, NY – GBV were good and drunk and good. Blitzen Trapper took all of the worst elements of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tom Petty…just take it from there.
Yo La Tengo w/Nels Cline/Bonnie Prince Billy-Maxwell’s – Cline added a little skronk and filled out YLT’s songs better that he does with Wilco. Because with Wilco, there is more to fill out and YLT are better songwriters.
New Pornographers-Bearsville – Not totally into the new album, yet. but they are fun live. The sound was great and Neko has a potty mouth.

The fonts on my computer keep changing on their own , so I am going to stop