John Lefsky Poop 2020


You would think that I’d have more time to listen to music, ya know, since my store sank after hitting the covid iceberg. At the store I tended to play one record a few times in a row, and it would work itself into my brain.

At home I tend to listen to the radio more, or watch a movie. So most of my list are records that I really like but have only listened to a few times/ Plus, my cd player and turntable both started to fail about the same time. I rectified that, but it was kinda late in the game, so most of my listening tended to be last minute.

I figure everyone else is gonna do the political rearview, so I’m just gonna plunge ahead. Also, not having the store made getting music a bit harder. I have gotten some entire albums via Youtube. I have ordered a few things directly from labels and I’ve supported Bandcamp Fridays.

There are a bunch of artists I, probably, would have included on my list if I had sat down with their stuff: Bob Mould, Kurt
Vile, Bill Callahan, Nick Cave. I’ve heard some good stuff off of the Dylan, Jeff Tweedy and Jayhawks, but I haven’t sat down with them, so there you go.

Buy MARY HALVORSON'S CODE GIRL - ARTLESSLY FALLING. New or Used via Amazon    Buy New or Used via Amazon    Rent via iTunes [?]
1. MARY HALVORSON’S CODE GIRL – ARTLESSLY FALLING. Robert Wyatt sings on three tracks, so there’s that. Kinda sounds like something that could have come out on Harvest/Virgin back in their art song/jazz rock prime. Yeah,”art song/jazz rock,” that doesn’t sound good. Maybe think Henry Cow or Slapp Happy. And Robert Fucking Wyatt.

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2. DEATH VALLEY GIRLS – UNDER THE SPELL OF JOY. Probably the first, of several, female led gauzy blissed out psych whatever releases depending on what I’m imbibing while I’m typing because I didn’t write out a list, I just have piles of cds and records and Youtube windows sprawled out on my kitchen table. The kind of thing I would have sold, in the store, because I would have blasted it relentlessly. That’s what I’ll miss.

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3. MORWAN – ZOLA ZEMLYA. One man post-punk band, from Ukraine. Some dark, subterranean stuff, with some traditional Slavic elements.

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4. CINDER WELL – NO SUMMER. Perfect for this endless isolation. Celtic folk by way of California. Toured with Lankum, who made my list last year.

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5. DUMAMA + KECHOU – BUFFERING JUJU. South African, I dunno, neo-soul, says the computer. Some jazz and experimental textures, some folk, and with headphones on and the lights out you can imagine whatever you want. It’s a concept album, but I haven’t read the liner notes. Maybe later.

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6. THE CHATS – HIGH RISK BEHAVIOR. Some Australian punk, in case you thought I was vanishing up my assthetic.

Rent THE WILLIAM LOVEDAY INTENTION - WILL THERE EVER BE A DAY THAT YOU'RE HUNG LIKE A THIEF? via Amazon    Rent via Amazon    Rent via iTunes [?]
7. THE WILLIAM LOVEDAY INTENTION – WILL THERE EVER BE A DAY THAT YOU’RE HUNG LIKE A THIEF? Billy Childish and son. Some redone, rewritten, Childish tunes, like I could keep up, mutated in the gamma ray of Billy’s recent interest in Bob Dylan. He put out three albums in 2020, including one of all Dylan covers. Another one has a Morricone feel to it. I picked this one because it’s closer to the kitchen table.

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8. OPTIC SINK – OPTIC SINK. A sorta no/wave psych band with Natalie Hoffman, also of Nots. I woulda put Nots 2019 album on my Poop but I didn’t get around to it until just after the beginning of 2020. Good story.

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9. BUCK CURRAN – NO LOVE IS SORROW. Gotta have a mopey dud in my top ten. He’s also an excellent guitarist who has paid tribute to Jack Rose and Robbie Basho. Along with Cinder Well, my go-to aural journey down desolation row.

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10. GUIDED BY VOICES – STYLES WE PAID FOR. Three albums in 2020. A great sounding record with a few fist in air rockers. I picked this one because it was the most recent.

and…

11. MONOPHONICS – IT’S ONLY US
12. THE LEFT OUTSIDES – ARE YOU SURE I WAS THERE?
13. SONGHOY BLUES – OPTIMISME
14. THE LOVELY EGGS – I AM A MORON
15. EXPLODING FLOWERS – STUMBLING BLOCKS
16. CUT WORMS – NOBODY LIVES HERE ANYMORE
17. RUBE – WHEN WE WAKE UP IT’S GONNA HURT
18. COLTER WALL – WESTERN SWING & WALTZES
19. HOLY MOTORS – HORSE
20. MELENAS DIAS RAROS

Some other stuff: JOE PERNICE – RICHARD/RICHARD SHIRK – WITH CLAIRVOYANCE / JUANA MILONA – ANRMAL LIVE IN MEXICO / PERSONALITY CULT – NEW ARROWS / MATT BERRY – PHANTOM BIRDS / SIR RICHARD BISHOP – ONEIRIC FORMVLARY / SHIRLEY COLLINS – HEART’S EASE / MINI SKIRT – CASINO / THE BATS – FOOTHILLS / LEMURIAN FOLK SONGS – LOGOS / MOON GOOSE – THE WAX MONSTER LIVES BEHIND THE FIRST ROW OF TREES / BRANDY – THE GIFT OF REPETITION / ALISON COTTON – ONLY DARKNESS NOW.
Some of these titles might have moved up with more listens.

Some movies –

SYSTEM CRASHER
AN EASY GIRL
AMMORITE
FIRST COW
SMALL AXE ANTHOLOGY
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
THE ASSISTANT
THE SOUND OF METAL
BACARAU
BEANPOLE
THE VAST OF NIGHT
THE 40 YEAR OLD VERSION
A WHITE, WHITE DAY…

I’m hungry. Bye.