John Lefsky Poop ’12

Posted By: JohnL January 25, 2013


I’m listening to POOP possibles as I type this. I don’t suppose I can have an extra month so I can investigate the intriguing SHINDIG Top Ten, not one title I have heard. Guess not. OK.



cover of Ty Segall Band - SLAUGHTERHOUSE   Buy New or Used via Amazon
1. Ty Segall Band – SLAUGHTERHOUSE Ty released 3 records this year, all worthwhile. This one sounds like he’s been eating Hawkwind for breakfast, with a bit o’ Blue Cheer. Fuzz, hooks, phlegm.

cover of Volcano The Bear - GOLDEN RHYTHM/INK MUSIC   Buy New or Used via Amazon
2. Volcano The Bear – GOLDEN RHYTHM/INK MUSIC Just out of curiosity, I Googled VTB and This Heat. SHAZAM!!! Been listening to these guys for years, and this is their most accessible. Some Canterbury influence. (Canterbury means Prog Rock for people who are afraid to admit they like Prog Rock.)

cover of Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Friends - Y'AMBESSAW TEZETA   Buy New or Used via Amazon
3. Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Friends – Y’AMBESSAW TEZETA Friends include Hans Bennink, Misha Mengelberg and Ken Vandermark. This is more Mekuria’s show than their last collaboration. The Ex gently swing and sway, pulling back from the martial chaos they can cause, and it works.

cover of The Residents Present Coochie Break - SONDiOS DE LA NOCHE   Buy New or Used via Amazon
4. The Residents Present Coochie Break – SONIDOS DE LA NOCHE Basically the Residents without Randy singing. The vocals, by former member Carlos, are almost all in Spanish. The whole album has a melancholy air, devoid of the Residents more eccentric tendencies.

cover of The Electric Mess - FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH   Buy New or Used via Amazon
5. The Electric Mess – FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH Farfisa, hooks, snarling female vocalist. Doesn’t let up. As much as I liked their debut, this one leaves it in the dust.

cover of Thee Oh Sees - PUTRIFIERS II   Buy New or Used via Amazon
6. Thee Oh Sees – PUTRIFIERS II Wow, only one record this year. Last year they put out three. Moving away from the garage and towards more melodic psych/pop.

cover of Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby   Buy New or Used via Amazon
7. Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby – A WORKING MUSEUM “Rebel Girl, Rebel Girl” should be a hit. Well it is with me, along with the rest of this melodic wonder. Proof that heartfelt doesn’t have to mean mawkish.

cover of The Intelligence - EVERYBODY'S GOT IT EASY BUT ME   Buy New or Used via Amazon
8. The Intelligence – EVERYBODY’S GOT IT EASY BUT ME You can be a clever smart – ass as long as you have the hooks to back it up. I’m also a sucker for a mellotron.

cover of Alexander Tucker - THIRD MOUTH   Buy New or Used via Amazon
9. Alexander Tucker – THIRD MOUTH It’s hard to write this stuff without the inevitable comparisons. I’m thinkin’ side 2 of “Before And After Science,” but with a heavier psych/folk bent. What would I do without the words “garagey” or “psych”? I think I finally weened myself off of “angular” and “jagged.”

cover of UV RACE - RACISM   Buy New or Used via Amazon
10. UV RACE – RACISM Some primo stupidity from Australia. “I’m a pig, I’m a pig, can’t you dig?…oink oink oink oink,” guitar solo.

11.Slug Guts – PLAYIN’ IN TIME WITH THE DEADBEAT
12. Neneh Cherry and The Thing – THE CHERRY THING
13.POP. 1280 – THE HORROR
14. Wadada Leo Smith – TEN FREEDOM SUMMERS
15. The Brian Wilson Shock Treatment – OPERATION SUN PROBE
16. Timmy’s Organism – RAW SEWAGE ROQ
17. Royal Headache – ROYAL HEADACHE
18.Andre Williams & The Sadies – NIGHT & DAY
19.Giant Giant Sand – TUCSON
20. The Chrome Cranks – AIN’T NO LIES IN BLOOD


Other stuff:

Ceremony – ZOO, Neil Young – PSYCH PILL/ AMERICANA, Redd Kross – RESEARCHING THE BLUES, Cheap Time – WALLPAPER MUSIC, Guided By Voices – THE BEARS FOR LUNCH, Kelan Philip Cohran & The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Ty Segall – TWINS/HAIR, U.S. Girls – GEM, K-Holes – DISMANIA, Titus Andronicus – LOCAL BUSINESS, Aimee Mann – CHARMER, Heavy Blanket – Heavy Blanket, Db’s – FALLING OFF THE SKY, Apache Dropout – BUBBLEGUM GRAVEYARD, Swans – THE SEER, Sun Araw & The Congos – ICON GIVE THANK

Comps, reissues, dug up:

V/A – STRANGE PASSION:EXPLORATIONS IN IRISH POST PUNK,. V/A – TALLY HO:FLYING NUN’S GREATEST BITS, Rick Springfield – BEGINNINGS, Toy Love – LIVE AT THE GLUESPOT, Zs – THE COMPLETE SEXTET WORKS, V/A – LA ONDA VAMPI, The Normals – VACATION TO NOWHERE.

In one orifice and out:

Dylan, Springsteen, Mumford And Sons, Alabama Shakes, Cat Power, XX, Jack White, Sun Kil Moon,

Shows

The Feelies – Club Helsinki, Richard Thompson – Bearsville, Yo La Tengo/Feelies – Maxwell’s, Zs – BSP, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby – BSP, Aimee Mann – Bearsville, Southern Culture On The Skids, Jon Langford & JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound – Madison Square Park; Gillian Welch – The Egg

Movies:

Don’t make it out to the movies too often, so these may not all be 2012 flicks:
1.THE MASTER 2. WEEKEND 3. ATTENBERG 4. THE AVENGERS 5. THE GREY.
Other goodies – COMPLIANCE, THE CHRONICLE, BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING, BERNIE, ROADIE, ALPS, CABIN IN THE WOODS, ARGO, THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD, THE RAID.
Almost, not quite, some good scenes and performances: MOONRISE KINGDOM, COSMOPOLIS, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, THE DEEP BLUE SEA,

Special mention – DARK KNIGHT RISES and PROMETHEUS. Dull, stupid and long. Nolan made one pretty good flick, MEMENTO, held together by a good central performance. DARK KNIGHT is the worst of a useless trilogy. PROMETHEUS looks like the beginning of a useless trilogy.

Looking at other lists, much was missed. A lot of music falls through the cracks because there is more great music put out independently. To find some of it, you have to contact the bands and labels directly. It’s worth the trouble.

John Lefsky


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