Our Annual Orgy of Self-Congratulation, Grandstanding & Overconsumption : Matador Artists & Staff Select Their 2021 Favorites

December 17th, 2021 at 3:56 pm by Gerard

(congrats to the winner of the 2021 Matador Invention Of The Year Award, Sarco for their development of a 3D-printed pod. The company claims it's purpose built for assisted suicides, but with addition of bluetooth speakers, it might also be the perfect place to listen to every episode of the Matador Revisionist History podcast on an endless loop.)

(Around this time every year, your underappreciated editor attempts to coax a list of favorite recordings, books, television programs, life events, etc. out of the label’s artist roster and our show-business pals. In the past, this exercise has been a trying process, fraught with nagging, GUILTING and no shortage of hesitatnt-to-violently opposed participants, some of whom actually changed labels or places of employment to avoid the task (i believe the young people call it ghosting, I call it being totally blown off for the 11th year in a row). Even worse, we sometimes overlook persons currently recording for or working for the record label (either that or they saved their list for their own Substack).

Keep in mind, we're about to close the books on the (SECOND) WORST YEAR EVER and perhaps persons with some sense of perspective or humility have other things on their mind than shouting from the rooftops about their cultural cachet. Thankfully, we only know a few people like that.

For some historical perspective, here’s last year’s selections. Questions or comments about our crap tastes and/or laughable omissions are welcome (but not so welcome that we’re inclined to acknowledge receipt).

On behalf of everyone at Matador, here's wishing you, your families and friends a safe & happy holiday and thank you, as always, for putting up with our bullshit -you won't believe what we've got planned for 2022. And without further ado, let the coronoation of Kings Of Leon's 'When You See Yourself' commence. – Gerard Cosloy)

Hugo Burnham, Gang Of Four

HUGO’S LIST OF UNCOOL, SURPRISING, OR INAPPROPRIATE THINGS HE’S DUG IN 2021

HARRY STYLES (still, since seeing th\em/him with my daughter. Great show, great records. In early 1D, he was a mix of a young Jagger and Mickey Dolenz. She goes on her own, now. )



BLOODYWOOD (Indian Heavy Metal Band…actually from India. Steaming good)
STRAIGHT BLACK ESPRESSO…LARGE (fewer calories)
AMERICANO COFFEE (I know, it’s weaker…but still good if the beans are)
DRUM LESSONS (probably way too late to start, now - but George here at school is really good)
FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (jumped the shark and back again and cheesy…but it’s a guilty pleasure)
A REALLY QUITE SMALL BASS RIG FOR SARA LEE FOR NEXT YEAR ("What? Can’t quite hear you..”)
HAVING A BETTER DRUMMER THAN ME AS OUR STAGE TECH ()
SUPERWOLVES (Folkey stuff ain’t usually my bag…but Pajo plays with them sometimes, and my Missus did a film with Will 100 years ago. Small world)
JUDY HENSKE (OK, I dig some folk music after all…that voice! Thank you, Andrew Vachss)
DEEP PURPLE (but only ‘In Rock’. My inner 14 year-old lives)
10,000 MANIACS (The diametric opposite of Deep Purple, but the loveliest people, and the smartest onstage set-up)
JOHN LYDON ON ’THE MASKED SINGER’ (I mean, c’mon! Brilliant! Plus I knew it in about 10 seconds)
GOLF (I know…I know...)
INTERNATIONAL RUGBY ON TV (SO much better than American Football. A real men’s game - Can I say that? Women play it a lot now, too - including The Bodysnatchers/Specials’ Rhoda Dakar’s daughter, who is really good)
ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE (A fun bunch to hang out with way back when, and they’re still at it. They’re from my Manor down in Kent, where I grew up.)
MASSACHUSETTS’ REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR (A decent guy and a real music fan. MA GOP-types call him a RINO. Ergo - a better man by far than any of those assholes)
THE OXFORD COMMA (there’s no bloody argument here. Fight me)
VINYL SIDING (I swore all my life I’d never…but some of it’s damn good these days. Only on my rental place, though)
SMOKING CIGARS (Summer time only, when I mow)
BEING ON MATADOR RECORDS (OH, WAIT…WRONG LIST…)

Ryan Mahan, Algiers

Shows
Warthog, La Milagrosa, Anti Machine 31 July | AB Studios | Rockaway, NY
Blackhaine, 18 November | Peckham Audio | London, UK
Uniform, 13 November | TV Eye | Brooklyn, NY
Armand Hammer, 7 November | Knockdown Center | Brooklyn, NY

Records
Taqbir s/t



Hiro Kone Silvercoat the throng
Armand Hammer Haram
The Bug Fire
Space Afrika Honest Labour
Regional Justice Center Crime and Punishment
Canal Irreal s/t

Lee Tesche, Algiers

Top 5 staff 2021, in order
1. Aaron
2. Emma
3. Malcolm
4. Emily
5. Gerard
Honorable Mention: Jake

Steve Gunn
One thing
And one thing only
but it’s a great thing …



Adam Bohl, Matador Direct

Madlib - Sound Ancestors (Madlib Invazion)
The Cowboy - Riddles From The Universe (Feel It Records)
Various Artists - Written On the Wall : American Soul Music 1958-1974 (Cairo Records/Mississippi Records) I highly recommend anything in this series.
Jamie Branch - Fly Or Die Live (International Anthem)
Wednesday - Twin Plagues (Orindal Records)
Ty Segall - Harmonizer (Drag City)
Endless Boogie - Admonitions (No Quarter)
Keith Hudson – The Black Breast Has Produced Her Best, Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood Reissue (VP Records)



Various Artists - Hillbillies In Hell XII (The Iron Mountain Analogue Research Facility) If you can ignore the name and album artwork this series has some great country deep cuts.
Mark Fry - Dreaming Of Alice Reissue (Now-Again)



Fatboi Sharif - Ghandi Loves Children
Grateful Dead - Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/10/71 (Rhino Records) All the jams of the era, really transports you back to a college dorm room.


Louise Lemercier, 4AD

My 2021 Massive Hits (Old and New)

EXEK - Several Souvenirs
Lil Ugly Mane - into a life
Wipers - Stormy
He Said - A.B.C. Dicks Love
Rated Z - Whatever People Say That I Am (That’s What I’m Not)
She Devil - Scraps
800 Cherries - through
Discovery Zone - Dance II
Fabiana Palladino - Shimmer
Evil House Party - Wicked
Oliver Coates - Butoh baby
Joanne Robertson, Oliver Coates - Doubt
Grouper - Kelso (Blue Sky)
Sky H1 - Elysian Heights
The Orchids - Striving For The Lazy Perfection
The Field Mice - Sensitive
Better Day - Hard Soul Mix



Koo De Tah - Missed You All Along

Sabrina Nichols, Beggars

Big Thief- Sparrow
Beach House- Pink Funeral
Spirit of the Beehive- There’s Nothing You Cant Do
Kitchen- Shooting Star
Waveform*- Favorite Song



Baby Keem- issues
Cardi B – Up
Melaina Kol- Prison Moon
Full Body 2- ador // ation
Steve Gunn - Other You
Joyer- Cranky Boy
Circuit Des Yeux- Sculpting the Exodus
Mdou Moctar- Ya Habibti
Cammy Enaharo – Real Love

Øyvind Rones, Playground
Gonzalo Schiaffino, Popstock

• 
  
  CORY HANSON - Pale Horse Rider


• 
  
  ICEAGE - Seek Shelter


• 
  
  CIRCUIT DES YEUX - -io


• 
  
  BOBBY GILLESPIE AND JENNY BETH - Utopian Ashes


• 
  
  CINDY - 1:2


• 
  
  JULIO DE LA ROSA - El Apego


• 
  
  JERRY CANTRELL - Brighten


• 
  
  ENDLESS BOOGIE - Admonitions


• 
  
  SPIDERWORKS - Shive (reissue)


• 
  
  BLACK MIDI - Cavalcade

• 
  
  TY SEGALL & THE FREEDOM SESSIONS - Levitation Sessions

• 
  
  SING BACKWARDS AND WEEP: A MEMOIR (Mark Lanegan)


• 
  
  FRANK ZAPPA. La Musica Se Resiste A Morir (Manuel de la Fuente)

• 
  
  THE OFFICE (revisited for the umpteenth time)


• 
  
  ATYPICAL


• 
  
  SEX EDUCATION


• 
  
  LOST (another one revisited)

• 
  
  THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (Trailer)


• 
  
  FOUNDATION VELVET: THE DRUMMING OF MAUREEN "MOE" TUCKER - A DOCUMENTARY BY CAM FORRESTER


• 
  
  GET BACK (Trailer)


• ROMPAN TODO (Trailer)

Dominik Schmidt, Beggars


Albums:

1. Lucy Dacus - Home Video


2. Big Red Machine - How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?


3. Villagers - Fever Dreams


4. The Notwist - Vertigo Days


5. Grandbrothers - All the Unknown


6. Julien Baker - Little Oblivions


7. Snail Mail - Valentine


8. Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under


9. The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore


10. Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space


11. London Grammar - Californian Soil


12. Celeste - Not Your Muse


13. Easy Life - Life's A Beach


14. Joy Crookes - Skin


15. Mini Trees - Always In Motion


16. Torres - Thirstier


17. BADBADNOTGOOD - Talk Memory


18. Middle Kids - Today We're The Greatest


19. James Blake - Friends That Break Your Heart


20. Helado Negro - Far In


21. Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout


22. Mustafa - When Smoke Rises


23. Parquet Courts - Sympathy For Life


24. Sam Evian - Time To Melt


25. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee


26. Geese - Projector


27. Thala - Adolescence


28. Modest Mouse - The Golden Casket


29. Efterklang - Windflowers


30. Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time

Songs:

1. Pinegrove - Alaska


2. Durand Jones & The Indications - Witchoo


3. Villagers - The First Day


4. Julian Baker - Hardline


5. Lucy Dacus - Brando


6. Easy Life - Ocean View


7. Ada Lea - damn


8. Snail Mail - Ben Franklin


9. Clairo - Amoeba


10. Bayuk - Head Under Waves


11. Torres - Don´t Go Puttin Wishes in My Head


12. Big Red Machine - Phoenix (feat. Fleet Foxes & Anaïs Mitchell)


13. Parquet Courts - Walking at a Downtown Pace


14. Helado Negro - Gemini & Leo


15. Sam Evian - Time to Melt


16. London Grammar - Lose Your Head


17. We Were Promised Jetpacks - Fat Chance


18. James Vincent McMorrow - Poison to You


19. Holly Humberstone - The Walls Are Way Too Thin


20. Berwyn – Mia

Films:
1. Dune

2. Free Guy


3. Nomadland


4. Cruella


5. Coda


6. James Bond


7. Luca


8. Nobody


9. The Suicide Squad


10. Black Widow

Series:

1. Loki


2. Foundation


3. WandaVision


4. Squid Game


5. Your Honor


6. Sex Education – series 3


7. Mare Of Easttown


8. Only Murders In the Building


9. Lupin
   10. The White LotusMelanie Sheehan, Rough Trade
   
   Welcome to my Comedy Favorites of 2021
   (and yes maybe some 2020 in there as well, because we all know it’s just been one long stupid year anyway)
   
   Pen15 Season 2 Part 2
   
   No one has ever blown the door of cringe traumedy this far off its hinges, and as I hear this new batch of episodes that just dropped may be the last, I wanna take a moment to salute thee. Even setting aside thehuge meaning this show has had for me personally in nailing biracial Asian American adolescent angst, the value of this show to anyone and everyone who has ever been 13 is immeasurable. Set aside some time this holiday break to cry, laugh, feel queasy, then cry and laugh some more.
   
   Curb Your Enthusiasm – Season 11
   I’m sorry, but I will never get tired of this show. EVER. If, however, for some reason YOU are worried that you may not have it in you for yet another season of social assassinations, Leon-isms, and Susie insults then please may I inform you that this year Tracy Ullman joins the cast as City Councilwoman Irma Kostroski and steals every goddamn scene she enters.
   
   Prettt-y Prettt-y Prettt-y irresistible, if you ask me.
   
   Beth Stelling
   I’ve been a fan ever since her “meat coat” bit from 2017 and recently caught her “Girl Daddy” special from last year.
   
   It’s fantastic and I promise you’ll never look at a Koala Care changing station the same ever again.
   
   Dave Attell @ Caroline’s
   I’m reticent to share this with the world but – every year, between Christmas and New Year’s, Comedy Legend Dave Attell does a string of shows at Caroline’s on Broadway. Attending these is one of my most cherished of holiday traditions. Even though I DON’T want you there grabbing up all MY tickets, it would be irresponsible to not mention it as a favorite. And since it didn’t get to happen last year, it feels extra special to get to experience this again.
   
   Josh Johnson has a lot of jokes about being lazy, but don’t let him fool ya. My favorite baloney hater dropped TWO specials this year, Elusive and #(Hashtag) and they are both wonderful. He also started a top notch night at The Stand called Flex Comedy that my freshly vaccinated ass ran to the second it felt safe to watch standup indoors (where it belongs!) again. He is a true gem.
   
   Gary Gulman’s
   Yeah yeah, I know his fantastic Great Depresh special came out in 2019, but I saw Gary multiple times this year and he kills it, reliably, every time. He recently played Carnegie Hall but you can still catch him literally anywhere in NY, as I did on the patio of a café in Woodside, doing a captivating hour and a half that included skillfully eviscerating a brother & sister who made the mistake/bold choice of sitting up front.
   
   Sam Jay not only put out a fiercely funny special last year but also nabbed a show on HBO this year called Pause that finally officially freed the nipple, as well as made you wish you could be invited to every party Sam Jay is at forever.
   
   Maria Bamford is the perfect pandemic comedian. While others struggled to perform on Zoom during lockdown, this Dynamite Lady (Netflix heads know what I’m talking about) thrived. Maria has been performing in undesirable, challenging (i.e. outdoor) locations with minimal audiences for years. Her specials have her marvelously maneuvering bus stops, bookstores, bowling alleys, as well as a private concert for her parents and pugs in her actual house. One of my favorite examples of Maria’s abilities is her improvised set to absolutely no one in 7 Minutes in Purgatory. Bow down, bitches. She deserves it.
   
   Bowen Yang is my everything. I haven’t been this excited about a SNL cast member since Kate McKinnon, and the fact that I willingly listen to his pop culture podcast Las Culturistas when I can’t stand 99.9% of the format really speaks volumes. He is absolutely delightful on Nora From Queens as well (a show I would give bigger props to if she would stop going by Awkwafina completely. Girl, I love you, but pull a Dwayne Johnson already and move on!)
   
   NORM.
   And finally we reach the best chunk o’ coal to be on constant rotation in my comedy collection.
   I am lucky enough to have seen the genius of Norm MacDonald live in my lifetime, and this year had tickets to see him again. Sadly, I was relegated to dressing up as Turd Ferguson for Halloween instead. I hope I did him proud. (EDITOR'S NOTE : this is one occasion where we could've used a photo)
   
   Honorable Mentions because apparently this isn’t long enough already:
   -Jared Goldstein is a completely brand-new comedy crush for me and should be everyone else’s too.
   -Shout out to me finally watching the episode Joe Pera Discovers The Who and then starting it over and watching it again. And again.
   -Excited to binge watch MacGruber: the series and How To with John Wilson Season 2 over the holidays while my mom yells at me to turn the tv off.
   
   Quanie Thornton, Beggars
   
   ALBUMS
   Aaliyah – Aaliyah (Reissue)
   BADBADNOTGOOD – Talk Memory
   Cleo Soul – Mother
   Heaux Tales – Jazmine Sullivan
   
   
   
   Mustafa – When Smoke Rises
   Nala Sinephro – Space 1.8SONGS
   Amethyst Rays (Extended) – Epifania
   BADBADNOTGOOD – Love Proceeding (feat. Arthur Verocai)
   Billie Eilish – Your Power
   Chandler – Joyce Wrice
   Dynamite – Gallant & Brandy
   m y . l i f e – J. Cole, 21 Savage & Morray
   My Little Love – Adele
   NEON PEACH – Snoh Aalegra ft. Tyler, The Creator
   Nobody – Nas feat. Ms. Lauryn Hill
   Stay Alive – Mustafa
   
   Emma Toney, Beggars
   
   Olivia Rodrgio , Sour
   
   
   
   Wednesday, Twin Plague
   Lucy Dacus, Home Video
   Bachelor, Doomin’ Sun
   Wet Leg, Chaise Lounge
   Search Party
   The Other Two
   The Reporter of the Week Review Brah
   Frank Watkinson Youtube Covers
   The Strokes, Irving Plaza
   The New York City Ferry
   Sumo Oranges
   Beggars Coney Island trip
   
   Josh Turner, Matador Records
   
   Releases (open competition)
   
   
   
   
   1. Yu Su – ‘Yellow River Blue’
   
   
   2. PinkPantheress – ‘to hell with it’
   
   
   3. Asian Glow – ‘Cull Ficle’
   
   
   4. Lana Del Rey – ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club’
   
   
   5. Zachary McClellan – The Gyres
   
   
   6. Richard Dawson & Circle – Henki
   
   
   7. John Carroll Kirby – Cryptozoo
   
   
   8. Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters – Waiting In A Corner
   
   
   9. Ánnámáret – ‘Nieguid duovdagat’
   
   
   10. DJ Manny – ‘Signals In My Head’
   
   
   
   Releases (hardcore & metal)
   
   
   
   
   
   1. Final Gasp – ‘Haunting Whisper’
   
   
   2. Ekulu – ‘Unscrew My Head’
   
   
   3. Angel Du$t – ‘YAK: A Collection Of Truck Songs’
   
   
   4. Big Cheese – ‘Anymore for Anymore?’
   
   
   5. The Chisel – ‘Retaliation’
   
   
   6. Turnstile – ‘Glow On’
   
   
   7. Portrayal of Guilt – ‘Christfucker’
   
   
   8. Suffering Hour – ‘The Cyclic Reckoning’
   
   
   9. Gulch / Sunami – Split
   
   
   10. C4 – ‘Chaos Streaks’
       Reissues
       
       
       
       1. David Horridge & Kevin McCormick – ‘Light Patterns’
       
       
       2. Female Species – ‘Tale Of My Lost Love’
       
       
       3. Karate – ‘Karate’
       
       
       4. Al-Dos Band – ‘Doing Our Thing With Pride’
       
       
       5. Static – ‘Toothpaste & Pills: Demos and Live 1978 – 1980
       
       
       
       Whiskey
       
       
       
       1. Angels Envy Rye - the rum barrel finish makes it special
       
       
       2. Glenfarclas 25 - affordable for a 25yr
       
       
       3. Michters Rye - currently the best US distillery
       
       
       4. Whistlepig 10 – tough but sweet. typical New Englander
       
       
       5. Nikka Coffee Grain – yet to test this against the coffee malt
       
       
       
       
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   2. Playlists
      
      
      
      1. Pure Enough
         
      
      
      2. Midnight Marauder
      
      
      3. Mystic Valley Sailing & Regatta Club
      
      
      4. Glimpses Thro’ the Rift
      
      
      5. 2021 - Selects
      
      
      
      
      Jake Whitener, Matador Records
      
      21 for 2021
      
      
      L’Rain Fatigue (Mexican Summer)
      Low Hey What (Sub Pop)
      Civic Future Forecast (Flightless / ATO)
      Arooj Aftab Vulture Prince (New Amsterdam)
      Floating Points & Pharoah Sanders Promises (Luaka Bop)
      Rosali No Medium (SPINSTER)
      Yu Su Yellow River Blue (Self Released)
      Maria BC Devil's Rain EP (fear of missing out)
      Mabe Fratti Sera Que Ahora Podremos Entendernos (Unheard of Hope)
      Tarta Relena Fiat Lux (Self Released)
      Taqbir S/T EP (Self Released)
      Writhing Squares Chart for the Solution (Trouble in Mind)
      Nana Yamato Before Sunrise (Dull Tones)
      Sally Decker In the Tender Dream EP (NNA Tapes)
      Painted Shrines Heaven and Holy (Woodsist)
      Irreversible Entanglements Open the Gates (International Anthem)
      Nala Sinephro Space 1.8 (Warp)
      Space Afrika Honest Labour (Dais Records)
      The Reds Pinks and Purples Uncommon Weather (Slumberland Records)
      Yasmine Williams Urband Driftwood (SPINSTER)
      Ekulu Unscrew My Head (Cash Only Records)
      
      Favorite Songs of the year :
      
      
      
      For further listening
   
   
   
   

Top 5 Moments of 2021
Angel Bat Dawid and Jaimie Branch’s “Alters and Tabernacles” at IRL
Steve Gunn’s jaw dropping encore at The Bell House
Jaimie Branch’s entire opening set for Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah
Yo La Tengo’s moving performance of “Ohm” at the Kaatsbaan Festival
Mary Lattimore’s sunset performance at Greenwood Cemetery

Emily Zaremba, Matador Records

Favorite albums/EPs:
Skee Mask - Pool
bar italia - bedhead
Hildegard - Hildegard
Siete Catorce - Temperatura
Slow Crush - Hush
Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2



Tristan Arp - Sculpturegardening
Doss - 4 New Hit Songs
Water From Your Eyes - Structure
HTRK - Rhinestones
Sassy 009 - Heart Ego
Vivian Koch - Beyond Contact
Placid Angles - Touch The Earth
James K - 036
Lawrence Le Doux - Compassion Lake
Yves Tumor - The Asymptotical World
Yu Su - Yellow River Blue
Vegyn - Like A Good Old Friend
Mica Levi - Blue Alibi
Ekulu - Unscrew My Head
Samuel Organ - A Safe Place in Cyberspace
Flock of Dimes - Head of Roses
CFCF - Memoryland
They Are Gutting A Body Of Water/Full Body 2 - EPCOT
Grouper - Shade

Favorite movies seen in theaters:
Titane
Red Rocket
Another Round
Fallen Angels 4k restoration
Out of the Blue 4k restoration
Possession 4k restoration
Cure 4k restoration
La Piscine 4k restoration
Mulholland Drive 4k restoration

Our Annual Orgy of Self-Congratulation, Grandstanding & Overconsumption : Matador Artists & Staff Select Their 2020 Favorites

December 22nd, 2020 at 4:41 pm by Gerard

(Congratulations to the landslide winner of the Matador Artists & Staff Poll for Person Of The Year 2020 to Clorox Scentiva Wipes.)

(Around this time every year, your underappreciated editor attempts to coax a list of favorite recordings, books, television programs, life events, etc. out of the label’s artist roster and our entertainment business cronies. In the past, this exercise has been an exacting process, fraught with nagging, GUILTING and no shortage of reluctant participants, some of whom actually changed labels or places of employment or their identities/physical appearances to avoid the chore. Even worse, we sometimes overlook persons currently recording for or working for the record label (either that or they saved their list for Brooklyn Vegan)

Keep in mind, we're about to close the books on the WORST YEAR EVER and perhaps persons with some sense of perspective or empathy have other things on their mind than shouting from the rooftops about their cultural cachet.  Thankfully, none of those persons can be found below or it would be a really short list.

For some historical perspective, here’s last year’s selections. Questions or comments about our predictable tastes and/or inexcusable omissions are welcome (but not so welcome that we’re inclined to comment or reply).  Last year, industry titan Mike Sniper correctly predicted that such lists would be broken down thusly, “half hugely famous commercially viable things that TMZ would report on, the other half off-kilter and ‘weird.’ McDonalds Weird. Like The McRib.”,  but in 2020 I am happy to report that all participants had some much extra time to bask in new creations, we're no longer confined to a Carly Rae / McRib dichotomy.  That's what passes for progress, at least in list-compilng land.

On behalf of Matador's owners, investors, legal representatives and  street team (none of whom are allowed on the actual street any more due to liability issues, so we just pay them to make crank calls to Sub Pop), here's wishing you, your families and friends a safe & happy holiday and thank you, as always, for putting up with us.  And without further ado, let the coronoation of 'Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter One : Snake Oil' commence. – Gerard Cosloy)

Mikey Coltun, Mdou Moctar
2020 favorite albums

-Jeff Parker - Suite For Max Brown
-Bill Nace - Both
-Horse Lords - The Common Task



-Kiko Dinucci - Rastilho
-Kate NV - Room For The Moon
-Tidiane Thiam - Siftorde
-Duma - Duma
-J. Zunz - Hibiscus
-Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl - Artlessly Falling
-Deerhoof - Love-Lore
-Maghreb K7 Club - Synth Raï, Chaoui & Staifi
-Raven Chacon - ‘An Anthology Of Chants Operations’
-Hiroshi Yoshimura - Green (reissue)
-Moor Jewelry - True Opera
-Black Myths - Birth Of A Nation
-DJ Diaki - Balani Fou
-T. Gowdy - Therapy With Colour
-Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders
-Meitei - Kof?
-Curved Light - Vita Ex Machina
-METZ - Hail Taxi

Steve Gunn


Don Cherry - Om Shanti Om Black Sweat Record
The Sadies - Union Pool
Black Unity Trio - Al-Fatihah reissue Gotta Groove
Johnathan Richman & Will Oldham Town Hall
FIrst Cow - Kelly Reichhardt director/William Tyler Soundtrack



Marc Orleans - RIP
Patrick Amory on mixcloud
Complete films of Agnes Varda Criterion
Steve Potts - Musique Pour Le Film D'un Ami - Aguirre Records
Mary Oliver - Devotions
How to with John Wilson
How the River Ganges Flows - Sublime Masterpieces of Indian Violin 1933-52 Third Man Records

Georgia Hubley, Yo La Tengo
Lee Tesche, Algiers
Top 5 staff 2020, in order
1. Gerard
2. Lombardi
3. Josh
4. Rian
5. Alex
Honorable Mention: Patrick

Jean-Paul Aline, Beggars Group
Albums
What’s Your Pleasure ? – Jessie Ware
b7 – Brandy



souvenir – Jonah Yano
All The Time – Jessy Lanza
Regresa – Buscabulla
Roisin Machine – Roisin Murphy
3.15.20 – Childish Gambino
Sin Miedo – Kali Uchis
Untitled (Rise) – Sault
Circles – Mac Miller
Will This Make Me Good – Nick Hakim
Miss Colombia – Lido Pimienta

Bonus : Le Jeune (EP) - Quinzequinze

Shows
Madonna – Madame X Tour / Lisbon
Algiers – Paris / La Maroquinerie
Roisin Murphy – Live On Mixcloud

TV SHOWS


Small Axe : Lovers Rock
I may Destroy you
The Crown

Book :
Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Nabil Ayers, 4AD

JYOTI Mama, You Can Bet!
Keeley Forsythe Debris
Kelly Lee Owens Inner Song
SAULT Untitled (Black Is)



Alan Braufman The Fire Still Burns (the family biz)
Alabaster DePlume To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1
Mourning [A] BLKstar The Cycle
Grimes pausing her New York Times interview to talk about Raisin Bran
Dry Cleaning’s NYC shows in March… my last
U.S. Girls at The Dance
Post Malone’s Nirvana live stream

Chris Bithell - Beggars Group


Gerard Cosloy, Matador Records

Saint Abdullah - In God's Image (Psychic Liberation)

Amani + King Vision Ultra - An Unknown Infinite (PTP)
No Home - Fucking Hell (d/l bandcamp)
Chronophage - Th' Pig Kissed (Cleta Patra)
Felicia Atkinson - Everything Evaporate (Shelter Press)
Still House Plants - Fast Edit (Bison / Blank Forms)
Model Home - One Year (Disciples)
Sofehso - A Record (First Terrace)
Claire Rousay - Both (Second Editions)
Soft Shoulder - Contextual Depreciation (Gilgongo)
Dr. Pete Larsen and His Cytoxic Nyatti Band - s/t (Dagoretti)
Dean Roberts - Not Fire (Erstwhile)
Armand Hammer - Shrines (Backwoodz Studioz)
Rian Fossett, Matador Records



Jonathan Gold, Beggars Group
Albums
Arca – KiCk i (XL)
Caribou – Suddenly (Merge)
Dehd – Flower of Devotion (Fire Talk)



Desire Marea – Desire (Izimakade)
Eartheater – Phoenix: Flames Are Dew Upon My Skin (PAN)
Jessie Ware – What’s Your Pleasure (PMR/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope)
Kelly Lee Owens – Inner Song (Smalltown Sound)
Naked Roommate – Do the Duvet (Trouble In Minds)
Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador)
Popcaan – FIXTAPE (Unruly/OVO Sound)
Special Interest - The Passion Of (Night School/ Thrill Living)
Yves Tumor – Heaven to A Tortured Mind (Warp)

EPs
Deaton Chris Anthony – BOOGY WOOGY (Self-Released)
Meth Math – Pompi (In Real Life)

Park Hye Jin – How Can I (Ninja Tune)
Moonchild Sanelly – Nüdes (Transgressive)
Shygirl – ALIAS (Because)

Songs
BbyMutha – “Cocaine Catwalk” (Self-released)
Bicep – “Apricots” (Ninja Tune)
Blake Mills – “Money Is The One True God” & “Vanishing Twin” (New Deal/Verve)
Creams – “DIE 4 U” (Self-released)
Jeannette Ndiaye – “Makom Ma Bobe” (Kalita)
Julie Byrne, Jefre Cantu-Ledes – “Love’s Refrain” (Mexican Summer)
keiyaA – “Hvnli” & “Rectifya” (Forever)
Koraal – “Vuurdin” (Nous’klaer Audio)
Lorenzo Senni – “Dance Tonight Revolution Tomorrow” (Warp)
Mary Lattimore – “Pine Trees” (Ghostly)
Maurice Fulton, Peggy Guo – “Jigoo” (Gudu)
MOTHERMARY – “Catch Fire” (Italians Do It Better)
Pop Smoke – “Shake The Room (feat. Quavo)” (Victor Victor Worldwide/ Republic)

Pam Garavano, Beggars Group
15 new & 10 reissues albums I loved this year. I strive to never list albums I work on, but if I did, plum by widowspeak and clot by wax chattels along with the reissue of OXZ’s catalog are all aces.

new releases:
adrianne lenker - songs (4ad)
ana roxanne - because of a flower (kranky)
constant smiles - control (living waters)
cut worms - nobody lives here anymore (jagjaguwar)
kate nv - room for the moon (rvng)
katie gately - loom (houndstooth)



le volume courbe - fourteen years ep (honest jons)
mary lattimore - silver ladders (ghostly)
lucrecia dalt - no era sólida (rvng)
modern nature - annual (bella union)
perfume genius - set my heart on fire immediately (matador)
psychic ills - never learn not to love 7-inch (sacred bones)
snowy - audio commentary (spunk)
tomberlin - projections ep (saddle creek)
westerman - your hero is not dead (partisan)

reissue:
dadamah - this is not a dream (grapefruit)
loscil - coast/range/arc (kranky)



priscilla ermel - origins da luz (music from memory)
hiroshi yoshimura - green? (light in the attic)
pole - 1, 2 & 3 (mute)
pale saints - comforts of madness 30th anniv. (4ad)
pylon - pylon box (new west)
the sound - physical world 7-inch (reminder)
neil young - homegrown (reprise)
various artists - ak79 (flying nun)

Matt Harmon, Beggars Group
ALBUMS
Modern Nature - Annual EP (Bella Union)
Brigid Dawson and The Mothers Network - Ballet of Apes (Castleface)
Irreversible Entanglements - Who Sent You (International Anthem)
Sunwatchers - Oh Yeah! (Trouble in Mind Records)
CS + Crème - Snoopy (The Trilogy Tapes)
Beatrice Dillion - Workaround (Pan)
Lingo Seini et son groupe - Musique Hauka (Sahel Sounds)
T.V Sun - Mosses (Anyway)



Quin Kirchner - The Shadows and The Light (Astral Spirits)
Roomful of Teeth - Michael Harrison: Just Constellations EP (Amsterdam)
Penelope Trappes - “Eel Drop” EP (Houndstooth)
Omar S - You Want (FXHE Records)
Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp)
Nazar - Guerilla (Hyper-Dub)

SONGS
HAAi “Head above the Parakeets” (Mute)
Les Sins & Acemo “C’mon Les’ Go” (Company Studio/Sonic Messengers)
Dave Harrington + Nate Mercereau “Things Move Quickly When They Feel Right” (How So Records)
AceMoMa, AceMo & Moma Ready “Revolutionary” (HAUS of ALTR)
Jenny Hval “Bonus Material” (Sacred Bones)
Mdou Moctar “Ibitan” (self-released)
Sault “Free” (Forever Living Originals)
Dan Matz “Now Lucifer” (Assumed Identity)

REISSUES



Rashied Ali + Frank Lowe - Duo Exchange (Survival Records)
Anthony Moore - “Out” (Drag City)
Various Artists - Guasá, Cununo y Marimba. Afro-Colombian Music the West Coast (Gertudis Bonilla)

Noam Klar, Matador Records
my top 5 Mad Men episodes as viewed during lockdown 1&2:


Valentina Magaletti, Marlene Ribeiro - Due Matte (Horn of Plenty)
Kübler Ross - Kübler Ross (Akashic Records)
Sarah Davachi - Cantus, Descant (Late Music)
Alan Braufman - The Fire Still Burns (Valley of Search)
Vladislav Delay - 500 Push-Up (feat Sly and Robbie) (Sub Rosa)
Beatrice Dillon - Workaround (Pan)
Ambrose Akinsmusire - on the tender spot of every calloused moment (Blue Note Records)
Cindy Lee - What's Tonight To Eternity (W.25th)
Crazy Doberman - Illusory Expansion (Astral Spirits)

EPs, singles, collections, and archive releases:

Don Cherry - Om Shanti Om (Black Sweat Records)
Charles Curtis - Performances and Recordings 1998-2018 (Saltern)
Nkisi - Initiation (Initiation)
Neutrals - Personal Computing (Slumberland Records)



Xylitol - I’m Pretty Sure I Would Know If Reality Were Fundamentally Different Than I Perceived It To Be (Thrilling Living)
Alvin Lucier - String Noise (Black Truffle)
Coil - Musick To Play In The Dark (Dais)
Harry Pussy - Superstar (Palilalia)
Model Home - One Year (Disciples)
Marika Politissa - All Parts Dark (Olvido Records)

Annette Lee, 4AD
Top 10 discoveries / things that have kept me sane during lockdown:
1. Schitts Creek
2. I May Destroy You



3. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Book)
4.East cookbook by Meera Sodha
5.Perfecting a gut-busting pork ramen
6.Ruth Rogers’ Sausage Ragu recipe (thanks to Patrick Amory)
7. Calcarius orange and Kindelli Luna Nueva Blanc wines
8. Lagman from Karamay Urghur restaurant
9. NTS Radio
10.Lockdown Parenting Hell podcast

Aaron Leitko, Matador Records
Ryan Naideau, Rough Trade
new stuff:
theo parrish - wuddaji
the microphones in 2020
gillian welch - boots, all the good times
lil uzi vert - eternal atake
21 savage - savage mode II
mike - weight of the world



dj blackpower - king of the night
necrot - mortal
malokarpatan - krupinské ohne
after - life repeats
lady ehepr - gloatre
straw man army - age of exile
twisted thing - sacred cement
jeff rosenstock - no dream
cadenaxo - lenguas podridas
chronophage - th' pig kiss'd
blair - nothing helps



ippei matsui & aki tsuyoku - natsu no zenbu
domenique dumont - people on sunday
v/a - equiknoxx music in 2020

old stuff:
world standard - asagao
v/a - still in my arms comp
don cherry - om shanti om
valium aggelein - black moon
shirley scott - one for me
v/a - la locura de machuca 1975-1980

Abby Rubin, Beggars Group
2020 Favorites
Lamb Rabbit- Heart True



Dominique Dumont - People On Sunday
Against All Logic - 2017-2019
Fiona Apple - Fetch The Boltcutters
Tara Clerkin Trio - S/T
Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
Neil Young - Homegrown



The Soft Pink Truth - Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?
Waxahatachee - St. Cloud
Caribou - Never Come Back
SAULT - Untitled (Rise)
Burna Boy - Twice as Tall
Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders
Gia Margaret - Mia Gargaret
Moodyman - Taken Away
Loma - Don’t Shy Away
Marie Davidson - Renegade Breakdown
Ela Minus - Acts of Rebellion
Art Feynman - Half Price at 3:30
Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Yves Jarvis - Sundry Rock Song Stock
The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You

Josh Turner, Matador Records
Favourites
John Carroll Kirby - My Garden
Mil-Spec - World House



Vein - Old Data In A New Machine Vol. 1
Jamael Dean - Ished Tree
Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind
Bib - Delux
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders
Jay Electronica - A Written Testimony
Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills

Our Annual Orgy of Self-Congratulation, Grandstanding & Overconsumption : Matador Artists & Staff Select Their 2018 Favorites

December 18th, 2018 at 3:33 pm by Gerard

(Matador's 2018 Person Of The Year Jered Thretin wants you to know that by reading these lists, you're part of the illusion)

Around this time every year, your long-suffering editor attempts to coax a list of favorite recordings, books, television programs, life events, etc. out of the label’s artist roster and our show business friends. In the past, the exercise has been an exacting process, fraught with nagging, teeth-gnashing and no shortage of reluctant participants, some of whom actually changed labels or places of employment or their identities/physical appearances to avoid the chore. Even worse, we sometimes overlook persons currently recording for or working for the record label (either that or they’ve saving their lists for a website people actually read).

For some historical perspective, here’s last year’s selections. Questions or comments about our crap taste and/or inexplicable omissions are welcome (but NOT THAT WELCOME) . And without further ado, let the coronation of Mitski commence – GC)

Britt Daniel, Spoon

Top 18 NYC Shows, 2018
The Byrds + Marty Stuart - Town Hall, Sept 24
Gerald Clayton - Village Vanguard, Aug 1
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas - Connollys, Jan 26
Heart Bones - Brooklyn Bazaar, Nov 30
Thee Oh Sees - Warsaw, Oct 19
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn, June 20
Nine Inch Nails - Radio City, Oct 13
Hamilton Leithauser - Cafe Carlyle, Jan 25
!!! - Industry City, Sept 22
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Bowery Ballroom, Sept 15
Alejandro Escovedo - Knitting Factory, Sept 9
Paul Simon - MSG, Sept 21
Bodega - Elsewhere, Aug 23
Morris Day + The Time - Sony Hall, Aug 11
Nick Cave - Barclays, Oct 26
Jon Batiste - Village Vanguard, Nov 3
JD McPherson - Brooklyn Bowl, Dec 4
Elton John - MSG, Nov 8

top 12 NYC margaritas, 2018:
El Camion, Ave A
Chilos, Franklin Ave Brooklyn
Castros, Myrtle Ave Brooklyn
La Esquina, Kenmare
Chela, 5th Ave Brooklyn


Don Chignon, Flatbush Ave Brooklyn
Tacombi, Lafayette Ave Brooklyn
Agave, 7th Ave
Vida Verde, 55th St
Cafe Habana, Prince St
La Contenta Oeste, 11th St
Sweet & Vicious, Spring St

Alex Fishel, Spoon

best shows:
guerilla toss - zebulon
roger waters - laxness arena
ethan gruska - bootleg theater
fell runner - zebulon
david byrne - shrine auditorium
sparks - palace theatre
moaning - best kept secret
olivia kaplan - zebulon

best recordings:
blake mills - look



adrianne lenker - abysskiss
alessandro cortini / lawrence english - immediate horizon
wand - perfume
julian cubillos - in heaven
lala lala - the lamb
dur-dur band - dur dur of somalia vol 1, vol 2
underworld / iggy pop - teatime dub encounters

Steve Gunn
2018
Daniel Carter, Hamid Drake, William Parker set at Troost
Marc Morgan last solo show in NYC for a while at Union Pool
Joshua Abrahms Natural Information Society at the Hideout, Chicago
Drinking wine with Roy Montgomery in ChristChurch
Jessica Pratt
Richard Thompson
Coolio coming to my show in LA and saying what’s up after my set.
Yo La Tengo
Loren Connors & Alan Licht Duo
Mathew Shipp
Tom Carter /Pat Murano Duo at Luncheonette
Heron Oblivion
Bob Dylan doing a 15 minute band melt version of Blowing in The Wind at the Met in Philadelphia. I rushed the stage
Ka Baird
Body Head
Sun Ra Arkestra



Flying in two seater biplane with no windows around New Zealand with a fan who offered to take me on a flight the morning after my show.
Jennifer Castle
World of Echo record store London
Watching Dave Burrell play piano while sitting directly above him from the balcony


Andrew Katz, Car Seat Headrest

1 Trait Danger, 1 Trait High

Ryan Mahan, Algiers

Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
Gazelle  - Twin Pastoral


Bambara  - Shadow on Everything
Harrga - La Mer
Wetware  - Automatic Drawing
Albedo Fantastica  - Culvert and Starry Night
Hiro Kone -  Pure Expenditure
Uniform - The Long Walk
Daughters -  You Won’t Get What You Want
Krimewatch Krimewatch

Bill Nace, Body/Head

Madison Palffy, SCDT, Northampton MA
Mountain Movers, Ortlieb's ,Philadelphia PA
Bill Orcutt, Johnny Brenda's ,Philadlephia PA
Gunn/Truscinski Duo, Great Scott, Boston MA
Simone Forti /Charlamagne Palestine,  LA CA
RP BOO, Philamoca, Phiadlephia PA
Wheatie Mattiasich, Caroline's Place, Baltimore MD
Jana Rush, Cropped Out Fest, Louisville KY
Pengo, The Liquor Store, Rochester NY
Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase,  The Lab SF

Mike Hadreas, Perfume Genius

Albums:
Amen Dunes - Freedom



Tierra Whack - Whack World
Julia Holter - Aviary

Books:
“Elmet” by Fiona Mozley
“Spinning Silver” by Naomi Novik
“Eileen” by Ottessa Moshfegh

Movies:
Suspiria
Annihilation
Roma
Hereditary

TV:
Succession
The Terror
The Americans

Most of My Listening Went To:
Anita Baker - Rapture
The Sundays - Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
Low - Secret Name
Sade

Elias Rønnenfelt, Iceage
Lee Tesche, Algiers

Top 5 staff 2018, in order
1. Gerard
2. Lombardi
3. Patrick
4. Josh
5. Shira
Honorable Mention: Natalie


Will Toledo, Car Seat Headrest

Milton Nascimento - A Festa (Acústico)
Of montreal - White is Relic/Irrealis Mood



kendall : ) - hey
Jandek - Los Angeles Friday



12 Ensemble - Resurrection https://youtu.be/kcPl34KMufg


Matthew Tong, Algiers

SHOW:
GAS - Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville TN

RECORDS:
Marie Davidson - "Working Class Woman"


Hiro Kone - "Pure Expenditure"

TELLY:
The Handmaid's Tale, Season 2: The travails of Offred beyond the original novel had no reason to be this compelling, yet they were.
Atlanta, Season 2: Ageing out in the music industry so beautifully portrayed here.
My Beautiful Friend: obvs.

FILM:
Nico, 1988

FOOTBALL:

AFC Bournemouth 2 - 2 Newcastle Utd, Dean Court, 24th February: The plucky Cherries scored twice in the last 10 minutes to tie things up and leave Ryan Mahan with a whole lot of egg on his face.

BEST CELEBRITY BEEF:
Lana Del Rey vs Azalea Banks

BEST VIEW:
Castelmola, Sicily

MOST PENIS PARAPHERNALIA GATHERED IN ONE PLACE:
Caffe Bar Turrisi, Castelmola, Sicily
(honourable mention to the Air BnB in Chinatown NYC for the suitcase full of dildos hidden beneath the couch)

BEST RAVE:
Mouth Your Body, Show Nightclub, NYC, April 27-28

WORST AFTERS:
Bushwick A/V, NYC, April 28

BEST FANCY MEAL:
Kachka, Portland OR

BEST BAR FOOD:
Cheesesteak @ Old Pink, Buffalo NY

BEST GOTH CLUB:
Rebound, Athens, Greece

MOST PUNCHABLE BORDER CONTROL GUARDS:
Greece, Croatia

Kurt Vile

Nepotismic Reticulum: 10 faves 2018
“Solid Silk” - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
“Need A Little Time” - Courtney Barnett
“Blue From the Dark” - DRINKS
“Sleeping Volcanoes” - Cass McCombs
“Summer’s End” - John Prine
“Elk River Blues” - Nathan Bowles
“Thanksgiving Song” - Grouper
“Shortwave” - Yo La Tengo



“This Time Around” - Jessica Pratt
“New Moon” - Steve Gunn

Patrick Amory, Matador Records



1. Ned Collette - Old Chestnut (it records/Feeding Tube)
2. The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking (Chapter Music/Wichita)
3. Charlie Tweddle - The Unseen Sound of Music(Mighty Mouth)
4.Jon Hopkins - Singularity (Domino)
5. Spiritualized - "Let's Dance" from And Nothing Hurt (Bella Union/Fat Possum)
6. Kali Malone - Organ Dirges 2016-2017 (Ascetic House)
7. The continuing incredible restoration work being done by RS3D
8. Music of Northern Laos (Akuphone)
9. Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples (Guruguru Brain)
10.Against All Logic – 2012-2017 (Other People)
11. DJ Lilocox - Paz & Amor (Principe)
12. Fucked Up - Dose Your Dreams (Merge)
13. Mr. Fingers - Cerebral Hemispheres (Alleviated)
14. serpentwithfeet - Soil (Tri-Angle/Secretly Canadian)
15. Theo Parrish - Preacher's Comin/Gullah Geechee (Sound Signature)
16. Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace (Joyful Noise)

Chris Bithell, Beggars
Favourite Trax of 2018 (not all released this year)



CCFX - The One To Wait [DFA]
Nickodemus - Night Blooming Jasmines [Wonderwheel]
Theophilus London feat. Giggs - Bebey (SN1 Road Mix) [My Bebey]
Amadou & Mariam - Filaou Bessame (Cerrone Remix) [Because]
Insecure Men - Subaru Nights [Fat Possum]
The Fall - Telephone Dub [Fontana/Cog Sinister]
Soulwax - Essential Three [DEEWEE]
Brockhampton - 1997 DIANA [Question Everything]
Dita Von Teese & Sebastien Tellier - Bird of Prey (Bullion Remix) [Record Makers]
The Staple Singers - If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) [Stax]
Petite Noir - Blame Fire [Roya]
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - Body Move (Bag Raiders Remix) [Nice Age]
N.E.R.D feat. Ed Sheeran - Lifting You [Columbia]
Red Axes - Musica Electronique [!K7]
The Chats - Smoko [Hot Wax]
Errorsmith - I'm Interesting, Cheerful & Sociable [PAN]
Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses (Demo 2) [Mon Amie]

Sebastian Bollet, Beggars Group


ALBUMS
THEE OH SEES - Smote Reverser
FLAVIEN BERGER - Contre-Temps



SABA - Care For Me
BEAK> - >>>
OUGHT - Room Inside The World
YVES TUMOR - Safe In The Hands of Love
AMEN DUNES - Freedom
BODEGA - Endless Scroll
LOW - Double Negative

MOVIES
THE GUILTY by Gustav Möller
WOMAN AT WAR by Benedikt Erlingsson
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by Lars Von Trier
GIRL by Lukas Dhont

CONCERTS
DAVID BYRNE at The Paris Philharmonie
RYLEY WALKER at Point Ephémère
KAMAAL WILLIAMS at New Morning
ARCADE FIRE at Bercy
JON HOPKINS at Trianon

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE



Cycling through the Apuseni natural park in Transylvania

Nick Boyd, b4 Sounds / Beggars Group

Dance:
Unknown To The Unknown’s demolition of 2018:
? X-Coast - XTC EP [Hot Haus Recs / UTTU]
? Kornél Kovács - Metropolis EP [UTTU]
? Vin Sol - Dance Trax Vol. 14 [Dance Trax / UTTU]
? SE62 - Good Days EP [Hot Haus Recs / UTTU]
? Lauren Flax - Dance Trax, Vol. 16 [Dance Trax / UTTU]
? Addison Groove & Bim Sanga Present: Bags Inc. - Dance Trax Vol. 17 [Dance Trax / UTTU]
? Contactless - Static EP [UTTU]
? Bell Towers - My Body is a Temple [UTTU]
? DJ Steaw - Heaven EP [Hot Haus Recs / UTTU]

Róisín Murphy and Maurice Fulton’s legend making 2018 four killer twelve inch run on Vinyl Factory. Beautiful design by Bráulio Amado as well:
? Plaything / Like
? The Rumble / World’s Crazy
? Jacuzzi Rollercoaster / Can’t Hang On (feat. Ali Love)
? All My Dreams / Innocence

Krystal Klear’s blockbuster twelve inches:
? Club Studies [Hot Haus Recs / UTTU]
? The Division [Running Back]

The fantastic debut year of Murlo’s Coil Records:
? Sharda - Sharda EP // Huge release, big time favorite
? Murlo & Conducta - “Together”
? Shara - “One Kiss Refix”
? Murlo & S-Type - “Make Believe”
? Sharda & Bassboy - “Drifting”

Luca Lozano - Boss Moves [Running Back]
Eris Drew / Octo Octa - Devotion [Naive]
Malik Hendricks - Introducing Malik Hendricks EP [Bumpin’ Somethin’]



Off The Meds - The Meds Are Kicking In esp. “No B No E”
Niles Cooper - House Gospel EP [Super Tuff]
Dirty Channels vs. Danny Russell / Frazelle - Watchin Out [Athens of The North]
Minimal Violence - MVX / U41A [Technicolour]
AceMo - AceMo EP [Vanity Press] esp. “Get It From The Sound”
VA - Gemišt Part I [House Is OK] esp. Kornél Kovács’ massive “House Is OK”
Shan - Run Tings EP [Running Back]
Sully / FaltyDL - 2 Bad Mice Remixes [Sneaker Social Club]
Asquith - The Conditioning Track [Asquith]
Strategy - Future Shock [The Nite Owl Diner]
Abby Echiverri - Ab Initio [The Bunker New York]
Pangaea - Bone Sucka [Hessle Audio]
Giant Swan - Whities 016 [Whities]
Finn - Dance Music Has Betrayed Us All [Local Action]
Girls of the Internet - Remember My Name [Drab Queen]
Conny - Song For Eva [Cold Tonic]
Local Artist - Dancer / Dreamer [Mood Hut]
Missing Channel - FJAAK 002 // “Onslaught (FJAAK Remix)” is massive
aamourocean - Enjoy The Silence [Casual Gabberz]
Jayda G - Sacred Spaces [JMG Recordings]
Jayda G / Alexa Dash - Diva Bitch [Freakout Cult]
Syclops - Pink Rose [Running Back]
Peggy Gou - Once [Ninja Tune]
DJ Sprinkles / Hardrock Striker - Skylax House Explosion (Under The Loft) / Skylax House Explosion (Under The Ballroom) ?/ Skylax House Explosion (Under The Garage) [Skylax]
Tony G - Onto/Off One [Sorry Records]
Tony G - ACID TONY [Sorry Records]
Jachary - The Virus Continues… B-Sides and Remixes
Cranklin - City Slicker [Sorry Records]
Stick Figure - FIGUR01 / FIGUR02 [Sorry Records]
Lanlord Lance - Night Sweats Box Set [Sorry Records]
DJ Lag - Stampit EP [Goon Club Allstars]
Clapman - Clapman [Party Central] esp. “Clapman (Kane West Original Mix)”
Danvers - Interludes [WotNot] esp. “Aye Ata”
Another Alias - Creep On The Couch [White of My Eyes]
V/A - Fatherhood Presents Bad Advice, Vol. 1 [Nervous]
V/A - Jubilee Presents: Magic City Vol. 4 esp. Lauren Flax’s “Work Dat” and AceMo’s “Just Waiting 4 U, Tonight (Ann Marie)”
Soundbwoy Killah - “Oh Baby” [Warehouse Rave]
Darling - “Estimu” [Safe Trip]
Alfie Casanova - “Urchin” [CALM]
DJ Lag / DJ Vumar / Biggie - “Jika” [Ice Drop]
Yaeji - “One More”
MOONOVERSUN - “GIRLS/BOYS (Jennifer Walton Remix)”
DJ Boo Man - “Jess H Bmore Anthem”
DJ E-Clyps - “Pancakes” [Classic Music Company]
Basside - “QLCL (DRUMMy's Endless Torment Megamix)” [Sorry Records]
Sharda / Shanique Marie - “Wanna Know” [Swing Ting]

Mixes
Eris Drew's 'Thundering Goddess Mix' [Mixmag]
HER DAMIT Podcast #28 / Eris Drew (Motherbeat)
RA.604 Eris Drew [Resident Advisor]
DJ Haus Enters The Unknown Vol. 2 [UTTU]
DISCWOMAN 40 x Octo Octa (Polyglamorous Year 3)
Frendzone with Octo Octa & Eris Drew @ The Lot Radio 07/26/2018
Octo Octa | Boiler Room x Is Burning ADE
Geoffrey LaRue - Gay Interest (1962-1981)
Crack Mix 207 – Sharda
Wrecked @ CDA August 2018 (Main Room) 12 - 4
Hunee Boiler Room BUDx Seoul DJ Set
Gerd Janson Boiler Room x Sugar Mountain 2018 DJ Set

Parties/DJ Sets/Shows:
Love Injection Universal Love 001 - 004
Frendzone! // Eris Drew b2b Octo Octa - Good Room
Octo Octa All Night - Good Room
Eris Drew - Sustain-Release
SHYBOI - Sustain-Release
Minimal Violence - Sustain-Release
Legowelt - Sustain-Release
Honey Dijon - Mister Sunday - Nowadays
Noncompliant - Technofeminism - Bossa Nova Civic Club
Soul Summit - Fort Greene Park
Octo Octa - All Nighter - Nowadays
SOPHIE - Elsewhere
Danny L Harle - HARLECOR3 - Sunnyvale
The Lot Radio 2 Year Anniversary
Wrecked (Ron Like Hell/Ryan Smith) w/ Jeffrey Sfire
Wrecked w/ Matrixxman


Emma Buchanan, Matador Records

The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking
Ned Collette - Old Chestnut
Roy Montgomery - Suffuse
Marie Davidson - Working Class Woman


Guttersnipe - My Mother the Vent
Miranda Winters - Xobeci, What Grows Here?
Julia Holter - Aviary
Girl Pusher - 911
Demdike Stare - Passion
Mitski - Be the Cowboy
U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited
ANMLPLNET - Fall Asleep
SOPHIE - OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES
Low - Double Negative
Caroline Says - No Fool Like an Old Fool
Not For You - Drown



Wye Oak - The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake

Martin Collins, Beggars Group

10. Melody’s Echo Chamber - ‘Breathe In, Breathe Out’
It took six years, a cancelled tour, and an unspecified “serious accident”, but we finally got another album from Melody Prochet.

9. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - ‘Everyone Acts Crazy Nowadays’
For the longest time I was convinced this was a Steely Dan track.

8. Anderson .Paak - ‘Tints (feat. Kendrick Lamar)’
Because even as a feature to Anderson .Paak, Kendrick Lamar had to sneak his way into another end-of-year list.

7. HMLTD - ‘Proxy Love’
Honestly, I have no idea. This one sounds like schlager.

6. The Babe Rainbow - ‘Eureka’
Who is Greggo? Where did he go?

5. Parcels - ‘Lightenup’
I imagine this is what happens if you listen to Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ on loop until you pass out.

4. Khruangbin - ‘Maria También’
Wig-wearing Texans making Thai Funk. Obviously.

3. Tempesst - ‘A Little Bit of Trouble’
I really do wonder what possessed Tempesst to move from Australia to the cold of London, but I’m glad they did.

2. Post Animal - ‘Ralphie’
Remember Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) from Stranger Things? Well, he’s in a band and they’re pretty great.

1. Goat - ‘Let It Burn’
“The Gävle Goat is a Christmas display erected annually in Gävle, Sweden. It is a giant goat figure made of straw. It has become famous for being destroyed in arson attacks, and despite security measures, the goat has been burned to the ground thirty-seven times since its first appearance in 1966.” The song is good too.

Gerard Cosloy, Matador Records

Yuzo Iwata - Daylight Moon ?(Siltbreeze)



Rosali ?- Trouble Anyway (Scissor Tail / Spinster Sounds)
Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt - Brace Up! (Palilalia Records)
David Nance Group - Peaced & Slightly Pulverized (Trouble In Mind)



Lena Hessels - Billow (Terp)
Deaf Wish - Lithium Zion (Sub Pop)
Uniform - The Long Walk (Sacred Bones)
Marlowe - s/t (Mello Music Group)
Armand Hammer - Paraffin (Backwoodz Studio)
Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death In Meat Space (Joyful Noise)
Heather Leigh - Throne (Editions Mego)
Counter Intuits - "Vietnamese Lighter" (Total Punk)
Obnox - Bang Messiah (Smog Veil)
Träden, s/t (Subliminal Sounds/Gåshud)
Rattle - Sequence (Upset The Rhythm)
The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking (Wichita)
Thalia Zedek - Fighting Season ?(Thrill Jockey)
Salad Boys - This Is Glue (Trouble In Mind)
Civic - New Vietnam (Anti-Fade)
Jon Spencer - Spencer Sings The Hits (In The Red)
Various Artists - Wound (Carbon)



ISS - s/t EP (Sorry State)
Midnight Mines - Invisible Insurrection Of A Million Minds (Loki)
Charalambides: Tom And Christina Carter (Drawing Room)
Wingtip Sloat - Purge and Swell/Lost Decade (VHF)
Fuck - The Band (Vampire Blues)



Lewsberg - s/t LP

The Kids  / The Real Kids ?– 1974 Demos / 1977/78 Demos/Live (Crypt)
Wet Tuna - Livin The Die (Feeding Tube)
Bad Sports - Constant Stimulation (Dirtnap)
Mazoma - Stark Joy (Feeding Tube)
Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore - Ghost Forests (Three Lobed)
F.U.K - “Roadkill” b/w “I Got A Head”  7" (Hozac)
Heavy Metal EP  - (Total Punk)
Wax Chattels - s/t (Captured Tracks)
Kuzu - Hiljaisuus (Astral Spirits)



Eyelids - Maybe More (Jealous Butcher)

live


Mdou Moctar, PhillyMOCA
Deaf Wish, Slim's /Hopscotch Fest Raleigh NC, Murphy's/Goner Fest, Memphis, Barracuda Austin
Vampire Belt, Union Pool, Brooklyn


The Scientists, Beerland, Austin
Wire, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa Myths
This Is Not This Heat, Union Park, Chicago



ExEk, Hotel Vegas, Austin



Matthew Lux's Communications Arts Quartet, Barracuda, Austin
Xylouris White, Beerland, Austin
S.H.I.T., Mohawk, Austin
Loren Connors, Wonders Of Nature, Brooklyn
too many times / most times : Chronophage, Temple Of Angels



"Milford Graves Full Mantis" (dir - Jake Meginsky)

Steve Cross, Remote Control
Melbourne 2018 :



Tropical Fuck Storm: You Let My Tyres Down
Cash Savage & the Last Drinks: Pack Animals
Gena Rose Bruce: The Way You Make Love
Laura Jean: Girls On The TV
Grand Salvo: All Those Stars
Lowtide: Alibi
Winternationale: Eulogies
Moon Rituals: Sky Dance
HTRK Mentions
Mildlife: The Magnificent Moon (Tornado Wallace Remix)

Giulia Distaso, Spin-Go!

BEST ALBUMS - in no particular order

AUTECHRE NTS Sessions 1-4 (Warp)
ZULI Terminal (UIQ)
LOW Double Negative (Sub Pop)
BODY/HEAD The Switch (Matador)
GAZELLE TWIN Pastoral (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray)
GUTTERSNIPE My Mother The Vent (Upset The Rhythm)
700 BLISS Spa 700 (Don Giovanni Records)
JPEGMAFIA Veteran (Deathbomb Arc)
YOUNG ECHO Young Echo (Young Echo Records)
CONDUIT Drowning World (Kitschy Spirit)
HANK WOOD & THE HAMMERHEAD Hank Wood & The Hammerheads (Toxic State)
IDIOTA CIVILIZZATO Idiota Civilizzato (Static Shock Records)

BEST OF ITALIAN UNDERGROUND

SABA SABA Saba Saba (Maple Death Records)



HOLIDAY INN Torbido (Maple Death Records)
HEROIN IN TAHITI Casilina Tapes 2010-2017 (Boring Machines)
LUCTA Black Magic Punk (Occult Punk Gang)
HEITH Laguna (Haunter Records)

Malcolm Donaldson, Matador Records







Marissa Esposito, Beggars Group
Albums:
Shame – Songs of Praise
Mitski- Be The Cowboy
The Goon Sax- We’re Not Talking
Earl Sweatshirt- Some Rap Songs
Let’s Eat Grandma- I’m All Ears
Parquet Courts- Wide Awake!
Ty Segall and White Fence – Joy
Vince Staples- FM!
Flasher- Constant Image


Swearin’- Fall into the Sun
Noname- Room 25
John Maus- Addendum
Snail Mail- Lush
Saba- CARE FOR ME
Iceage- Beyondless
IDLES- Joy as an Act of Resistance.

 Songs:
(no particular order or from albums listed above)
Sorry- Starstruck
Ovlov- Spright
Lala Lala- Destroyer
Goat Girl- The Man
Unknown Mortal Orchestra- Hunnybee
Courtney Barnett- Need A Little Time
Frank Ocean- Moon River
BODEGA- Name Escape
Yellow Days- What’s It All For?
Porches- Find Me
Joey Purp- Elastic
boygenius- Me & My Dog
Sneaks- Money Don’t Grow on Trees

Live Shows:
Homeshake @ Market Hotel
SXSW in Austin, TX
Ty Segall @ Brooklyn Steel
Mount Kimbie @ Brooklyn Steel
King Krule @ Hammerstein Ballroom
Parquet Courts @ Elsewhere
Radiohead @ MSG
BROCKHAMPTON @ Terminal 5
Iceage @ Secret Project Robot
Shame @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mitski @ Brooklyn Steel

Rian Fossett, Matador Records

Amen Dunes -- Freedom
Tirzah -- Devotion
Adriane Lenker -- abysskiss
Earl Sweatshirt -- Some Rap Songs
Mark Renner -- Few Traces
Olden Yolk -- s/t
Damien Durado -- The Horizon Just Laughed
Sunshine EP -- s/t
Against All Logic -- s/t
Jenny Hval EP --  The Long Sleep
A$AP Rocky -- Testing
Yves Tumor -- Safe In The Hands of Love


 

Matt Harmon, Beggars Group
Shira Knishkowy, Matador Records
Noam Klar, Matador Records

Amen Dunes - Believe
Baby Jayy - Out The Rain
Boothroyd - Pure Country
Chrystal - 2 Real
DJ Healer - The Interview
DJ Oblong - Speed Your Rage To Me
Drake - Nice For What
Ella Mai - Boo'd Up
The Garden - :(
Gucci Mane feat. Migos - I Got The Bag
Ikonika - Assisted Retweet
The Internet - Come Over
John T Gast - Club Version
Kadhja Bonet - Delphine
Kanye West - Ghost Town
Kids See Ghosts - Reborn
Mary Lattimore - It Feels Like Floating
Playboi Carti feat. Lil Uzi Vert - Shoota
Raar - Le Sacrifice Moral
Skee Mask - Vli

Andy Larsen, Matador Direct

 



Sarah Davachi - Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (Recital) / Gave In Rest (Ba Da Bing!) - Albums refreshingly produced by an atheist woman conjuring a non-secular sound with an evocation of architecture and place rather than of personal spirituality. Beautiful, non-deceptive odes to religious moments, spaces, and influences from a non-believer.
Demdike Stare - Passion (Modern Love)
Lavender Hex - Lavender Hex
Gas - Rausch (Kompakt)
Jlin - Autobiography (Music From Wayne McGregor's Autobiography) (Planet Mu)
S.H.I.T. - What Do You Stand For? (Iron Lung Records)
Drew McDowall - The Third Helix (Dais Records)



Miss Red - K.O. (Pressure)
Vile Gash - Nightmare In A Troubled Brain (Youth Attack)
Tirzah - Devotion (Domino)
Helena Hauff - Qualm (Ninja Tune)
Albums:
GOAT GIRL “Goat Girl”
VILLAGERS “The Art Of Pretending To Swim”



MOUNT EERIE “Now Only”
EVERYTHING IS RECORDED “Everything Is Recorded”
ICEAGE “ Beyondless”
MARIANNE FAITHFULL “Negative Capability”

Songs:
SALMO “90MIN”
DAUGHTER “All I Wanted – Live At Asylum Chapel”
THE KILLS “List Of Demands (Reparations)”
MOSES SUMNEY “Rank & File”
CHILDISH GAMBINO “This is America”
BEIRUT “Gallipoli”
IDLES “Colossus”
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE “Hunger”
BALTHAZAR “Fever”
JACK WHITE “Why Walk A Dog?”
THOM YORKE “Suspirium”
SHARON VAN ETTEN “Jupiter”
MARK RONSON feat. Miley Cyrus “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart”

Concerts:
Beyonce & Jay Z @San Siro

Laura Lyons, Beggars Group

albums:
ariana grande - sweetener
bad gyal - worldwide angel
teyana taylor - ktse
jorja smith - lost & found
hana vu - how many times have you driven by
miya folick - premonitions
mac miller - swimming
mitski - be the cowboy
asap rocky - testing
peggy gou - once
tirzah - devotion
deji okeze - so sorry



against all logic - 2012-2017
empress of - us
channel tres - s/t
octavian - spaceman
tierra whack - whack world
cardi b - invasion of privacy
natalie prass - the future & the past

Vinnie Martini, Matador Direct

BEST REPERTORY FILM SCREENINGS OF 2018

1) The Other Side Of The Wind (1976/2018, Orson Welles) - Film Society
of Lincoln Center and MoMA - 35mm



2) Eight Hours Don't Make A Day (1972, Rainer Werner Fassbinder) -
MoMA and Film Forum - DCP

3) Lola Montes (1955, Max Ophuls) - Metrograph - 35mm



4) Laughing Anne (1953, Herbert Wilcox) - MoMA - DCP
5) Remember My Name (1978, Alan Rudolph) - Quad Cinema - 35mm



6) Taking Off (1971, Milos Forman) - Anthology Film Archives - 35mm



7) A Moment Of Innocence (1996, Mohsen Makhmalbaf) - Metrograph and MoMA - 35mm



8) Canyon Passage (1946, Jacques Tourneur) - Film Society of Lincoln
Center - 35mm



9) Come Back To The Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982, Robert
Altman) - Museum of the Moving Image - 35mm
10) Amazing Grace (1972/2018, Sydney Pollack) - Film Forum - DCP

MOST HONORABLE MENTION TO:



The Leopard (1963, Luchino Visconti) which I viewed theatrically 3
times in 2018.

Ryan Naideau, Rough Trade

sarah davachi - gave in rest
julee cruise - the voice of love
adrienne lenker - abysskiss
earl sweatshirt - some rap songs
amen dunes - freedom
lisa o’neill - heard a long gone song
teyana taylor - ktse
mount eerie - now only
tozcos - sueños deceptivos
mike - renaissance man
idris ackamoor & the pyramids -an angel fell
twisted thing - lucky 7s demo
asap rocky - testing
mark renner - few traces
idiota civilizzato -st
nines - crop circle
innumerable forms - punishment in flesh

Øyvind Rones, Playground Music

10 AMAZING ALBUMS
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo
Abby Rubin, Beggars Group

Albums/EPs/Songs
Tirzah - Devotion
Amen Dunes - Freedom
Against All Logic - 2012 - 2017
Tierra Whack - Whack World


Virginia Wing - Ecstatic Arrow
Oneotrix Point Never - Love In The Time of Lexapro
Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy
Jenny Hval - Spells
Hollie Cook - Vessel of Love
Westerman - Confirmation, Ark EP
Low - Double Negative
Helena Deland - Claudion
Adrianne Lenker - abysskiss
Kali Uchis - Isolation
Mark Renner - Few Traces (Reissue)
Marie Davidson - Working Class Woman
Viagra Boys - Street Worms
MorMor - Heaven’s Only Wishful
Beach House - 7
Serpentwithfeet - Soil
Okay Kaya - Habitual Love
Julia Holter - Aviary
Empress Of - When I’m With Him
Ariana Grande - thank u, next
Nils Frahm - Spells
Amyl and the Sniffers - Cup Of Destiny
A$AP Rocky - Fukk Sleep (feat. FKA Twigs)
Mitski - Nobody
Channel Tres - Controller
Kurt Vile - Bottle It In
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake (album)
US Girls - In a Poem Unlimited
Smerz - Have Fun EP
Iceage - Beyondless
Liz Phair - Girly Sound to Guyville 25th Anniversary Release
Melanie Sheehan, Rough Trade
Top Karaoke Moments of 2018

Rosemont Bar, Brooklyn NY : Crystal Mesh presents a delightfully intimate karaoke-ki hosted by DJ Paradise. On this particular evening, a young lithe gentleman performed the classically coy 1986 hit “We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off” by Jermaine Stewart. As the song progressed, said gentleman slowly started removing ALL of his layers (it was March brrRRrr) until he reached the end of the song, and the end of his wardrobe. He finished the number completely nude, holding the mic in one hand, and his bravery in the other.

The Cat’s Meow, New Orleans LA : There’s a tender balance when traveling, to avoid the obvious and embrace the peculiar. But proximity and a Why Not attitude can tip the scales sometimes and lead you to a Bourbon Street (GASP) karaoke bar. Twas the weekend before Halloween, my two favorite things coming together, a time when people can embarrass publically preen visually and audibly in a mélange of chaos. Sexy Jesus was my bartender, a skull masked man sang Thriller like a pro, the staff broke into a line dancing rendition of Footloose, and our favorite socially awkward slasher Michael Myers was spotted waving his machete in glee to the Friends Theme Song. A friend watched the video I took of him, and aptly noted “He’s such a RACHEL”.



The Karaoke Hole (K-Hole to all the clever darlings out there), London UK : I trekked out to this basement haunt by myself one night, because my quest to always find the next best spot is unyielding. When I walked in, a young unassuming man was singing Mariah Carey “Fantasy” and I knew I was in the right place. The scantily clad drag queen host Rhys’ Pieces brought the vibes and an insanely accurate version of Missy Elliott “Work It”, with backwards lyrics and matching choreo to boot.



Celtica Pub, Newport RI : On the heels of my first Newport Folk Festival came a splendiferous night of ‘Roke in a dark Irish bar with a KJ who was deaf in one ear. Walking up to the door of the place, I met my future ex-husband, Cowboy Doug, who had taken the cordless mic outside and was singing on the sidewalk, staring at the crowd through the window. Later on he wowed me with his rendition of Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis” , closing with “But do I really feel the way I feel? YEAH I DO, Im really feelin that shit tonight, Bro.”  And yes, he did make that hat.

Emma Strickland, Beggars Group

Gouge Away – Burnt Sugar
Vein – Errorzone
Skee Mask – Compro
Lil Peep – Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 2
Nothing – Dance on the Blacktop
Dedekind Cut – Tahoe
Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Fog Lake – Captain
Hovvdy – Cranberry
Touche Amore – Green (Single)
Grouper – Grid of Points
Daniel Avery – Songs for Alpha
Pianos Become The Teeth – Wait For Love
6lack – East Atlanta Love Letter
Jacques Greene – Fever Focus
Single Mothers – Through a Wall
GAS – Rausch
Harrison BDP – Confusion of Sound
Shygirl – Cruel Practice
Rich Brian – Amen

Jake Whitener, Matador Records

LP's



Kikagaku Moyo- Masana Temples
Ned Collette- Old Chestnut
Parquet Courts- Wide Awake
The Goon Sax- We're Not Talking
The Cowboy- The Cowboy Album
Aaberg- Albatross
Marlowe- Marlowe
Vera Ellen- Beat Yr Name
Haley Heynderickx- I Need To Start A Garden
Jon Hopkins- Singularity
Illuminati Hotties- Kiss Yr Frenemies
Mourn- Surpresa Familia
Viagra Boys- Street Worms
Marbled Eye- Leisure
JPEGMAFIA- Veteran
Value Void- Sentimental
Lawn- Blood on the Tracks
Daniel Brandt- Channels
Rays- You Can Get There From Here
Olden Yolk- Olden Yolk
Matt Dorrien- In the Key of Grey

EP's



Duval Timothy- 2 Sim
Puma Blue- Blood Loss
Ultra Beauty- Ultra Beauty
Westerman- Ark
MIKE- Black Soap
Public Practice- Distance is a Mirror
Gasper Nali- Zoona Malawi
Draag- Nontoxic Process
Pinch Points- Mechanical Injury
SLUGS- Cool World

Compilations :



Laura Spiegel- The Expanding Universe
Technicolor Paradise: Rhum Rhapsodies & Other Exotic Delights
We Out Here: The Sound of London Jazz
Voyager Gold Record Box Set

Interpol's Sam Fogarino covers Charlie Pickett

November 11th, 2014 at 12:14 pm by Gerard

Chicago's venerable Bloodshot Records is celebrating a 20th anniversary, and the newly released 'While No One Was Looking : Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records' compilation features Interpol's Sam Fogarino covering "I Liked It A Lot", by Miami's Charlie Pickett (above).

Light In The Attic hits the road...with some doucher we used to know

September 27th, 2012 at 11:29 pm by Gabe

Venerable and esteemed American record-reissue label Light In The Attic has ventured out on the highways and byways of the Northwest and Pacific Coast regions to visit a whopping 58 record retail establishments - many of whom we at Matador and Matador Direct work with every day.

We salute LITA for their dedication to quality, curation, craftsmansip...and for giving former Matador warehouse troll Jon Treneff an excuse to make his internet comedy debut. Here's the first installment in LITA's roadtrip video series (cuz if you aren't doing content, you just can't be content) - check here for more video updates from LITA, and patronize America's great (and medium-great) record stores.

Green Day Out Buy Early Get Nows Us

September 26th, 2012 at 12:55 pm

[caption id="attachment_19745" align="alignright" width="193" caption="photo: Nabil Ayers "][/caption]

If Feist would finally confirm to host the first-ever "Christoper Pell Lombardi Awards For Excellence In Convoluted Marketing Schemes", the fourth installment of Buy Early Get Now (aka The New Ps "Box Of Air") would finally get its due in the Lifetime Achievement category.   (Note:  Dave Martin still maintains that only time will help folks discover BEGN #4's genius, and Dave knows both time and genius.)

So here we are, five years and two IHeartRadio Festivals later...and the majors have finally decided to embark on the trail toward customer confusion that we so dutifully blazed.   To wit, Green Day's foray into the world of selling futures in music.

And because other members of the Matador family have done a far better job lampooning Billie and friends, I'll leave only a link to this space where we can all watch customer ire unfold in real time:



 

Fish, Meet Barrel : Dee Snider's Salute To Broadway Musicals

April 30th, 2012 at 2:19 am by Gerard

Far be it for me to suggest that Hall of Famer (well, Long Island Music Hall Of Famer) Dee Snider's new career turn is the worst idea in the entire history of civilization. For instance, it's not nearly as bad an idea as Ft. Worth's Complete playing a tiny club instead of the hockey arenas they were destined to headline.   And there's New Coke.  Or the soundtrack to 'Brain Candy' the Bay Of Pigs Invasion.  I could probably go on for at least another two or three minutes, but I think you have the idea.  Some people are gonna give Dee Snider a lot of grief over this, but I bet it's not even in the top 20 worst ideas of all time.

RIP, Great Purveyor Of Production Values, Working On "Spec"

February 1st, 2012 at 10:08 am by Gerard

Au revoir, to "Soul Train" creator Don Corneilus, who made his exit from this cruel world earlier this morning. While "Soul Train"'s status as the the longest, continuously running first-run syndicated program in television history will no doubt be cited in Don's obits, it was his star turn as independent label magnate Mo Fuzz in Bill Fishman's 1988 comedy, "Tapeheads", that provided a fledgling Matador Records with a genuine role model.

Costello : My New Box Set's A Rip Off

November 29th, 2011 at 6:56 pm by Gerard

The former Declan McManus was once famously dubbed "Elvis Cosdildo" in a piece of Crypt Records propaganda some years ago, but I suspect there's a particular point that even Tim Warren and the ever prolific Costello might see eye to eye on, to wit, the suggested list price of Costello & The Imposters' 'The Return Of The Spectacular Spinning Songbook' being obscenely high (ie. $262.00).  Calling the sum, "either a misprint or a satire", Elvis weighs in with the following ;

All our attempts to have this number revised have been fruitless but rather than detain you with tedious arguments about morality, panache and book-keeping - when there are really bigger fish to filet these days - we are taking the following unusual step.

If you should really want to buy something special for your loved one at this time of seasonal giving, we can whole-heartedly recommend, “Ambassador Of Jazz” - a cute little imitation suitcase, covered in travel stickers and embossed with the name “Satchmo” but more importantly containing TEN re-mastered albums by one of the most beautiful and loving revolutionaries who ever lived – Louis Armstrong.

The box should be available for under one hundred and fifty American dollars and includes a number of other tricks and treats. Frankly, the music is vastly superior.

If on the other hand you should still want to hear and view the component parts of the above mentioned elaborate hoax, then those items will be available separately at a more affordable price in the New Year, assuming that you have not already obtained them by more unconventional means.

To which I'll only add that while we've had no talks with Yo La Tengo about any sort of commercially available document of their own attempts to (ahem) reinvent The Wheel, I can pledge to you, the music-loving public that if such a thing ever comes to pass, you'll PAY NO MORE THAN $250.00. 

Snap, Crackle, Pop : The Condo Fucks (with The Great Gaylord) at Norton 25

November 12th, 2011 at 8:12 pm by Gerard

Norton Records is celebrating their 25th anniversary this weekend with a star-studded, 4-night bill at Brooklyn's Bell House.  We'd like to congratulate Billy Miller and Miriam Linna on their stewardship of one of the planet's finest labels ; if anyone has done more to document real rock'n'roll, old & new, please don't tell us about it because we're running out of room in the record library. The Condo Fucks and longtime associate The Great Gaylord (Fields) were just one of the Friday highlights ; Gaylord wearing earplugs is kind of Rocky Marciano donning a protective headgear. He might be safe, but the rest of us won't be the same for days.

Pioneer Of Encouraging You To Replace Your Entire Music Collection (Narrowly) Outlasted By His Most Famous Invention

April 23rd, 2011 at 8:29 pm by Gerard

(Ohga with his final innovation, a device that converts Mariah Carey's photograph to pure energy)

thanks to Mark Ohe for the link to the following news item from the BBC :

The former president and chairman of Sony, Norio Ohga, who was credited with developing the compact disc, has died aged 81, the company has said.

Ohga, who led the company from 1982 to 1995, died of multiple organ failure in the Japanese capital, Tokyo.

During the development of the CD, it was Ohga who pushed for a disc that was 12cm (4.8in) in diameter, because it provided sufficient capacity at 75 minutes to store all of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Sony sold the world's first CD in 1982 and CDs overtook LP record sales in Japan five years later. Ohga's specifications are still used today, and have shaped formats developed since, including MiniDisc and DVD.

In 1989, he oversaw the $3.4bn purchase of Hollywood studios Columbia Pictures, which was criticised as unwise and costly at the time.

Ohga also presided over the launch of Sony's game business, which went on to develop the successful "PlayStation" console.

Jay Reatard - Shattered Records Tour - Fall 2009; "Watch Me Fall" now streaming on AOL Spinner

August 10th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

So what has already shaped up as the Summer of Jay Reatard (a documentary, a new album, and a free + all ages in-store tour to name a few major things) is quickly becoming the Autumn of Reatard as well. Perhaps we should simply declare 2009, the year of Jay Reatard?

What can't be debated is that Jay has put together an allstar line-up to celebrate his own label, Shattered Records. This fall Jay and his friends take to the road for a run of memoriable shows, packed full of unique and terrific bands, headlined each night by Jay himself.

For more about this tour continue to check JayReatard.com for details.

Jay's new album Watch Me Fall is currently streaming in it's entirety on AOL's Spinner.com, be sure to have a listen!

Mon Sep 28 - Chicago - Empty Bottle
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Tue Sep 29 - Toronto - The Reverb
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Wed Sep 30 - Montreal - La Sala Rossa
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Thu Oct 1 - NYC - Le Poisson Rouge
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Fri Oct 2 - Boston - Harpers Ferry
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Sat Oct 3 - Baltimore - Ottobar
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Useless Eaters

Thu Oct 15 - Seattle - Crocodile Cafe
Jay Reatard, Box Elders, Cheap Time, Lover!

Mon Oct 19 - San Francisco - Great American Music Hall
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather

Tue Oct 20 - San Diego - The Casbah
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather

Wed Oct 21 - Los Angeles - El Rey Theater
Jay Reatard, Nobunny, Hunx & His Punx, Box Elders, Digital Leather

for info about the bands touring with Jay then please check out their myspace pages:

No Bunny

Hunx & His Punx

Box Elders

Useless Eaters

Digital Leather

Manufacturing Error Or Major Improvement? - Mark E. Smith's Latest Crossover Move

February 28th, 2009 at 8:30 pm by Gerard

Brian Turner supplied the link to the story below, which is as good an excuse as any to mention that WFMU's annual fundraiser starts this Monday, March 2 and runs until March 15.   From the Sun : 

THEY may share the same surname but that’s it for similarities between angelic Britain’s Got Talent teen FARYL SMITH and gnarled FALL frontman MARK E SMITH.

So imagine Universal Records’ surprise when they received the first shipment of Faryl’s debut CD from the pressing plant.

A cock-up in production meant that instead of delicate balladry in the honeyed tones of their recently signed youngster, what actually ended up on discs bearing her artwork and info were the grumblings of Mark and his fellow Manc veterans’ 2008 album Imperial Wax Solvent.

Needless to say, Universal chiefs weren’t best pleased.

My spy tells me: “They had ordered hundreds of copies and they were staggered by what was on it.

“They have had severe words with the pressing plant.”

Careful followers of Matador quality control are aware we've only made mistakes like that about a half dozen times in our history.  

Suddenly, Tony Victory Seems Like An A-OK Label Dude

February 16th, 2009 at 10:45 pm by Gerard

From last Wednesday's Guardian, here's a SFW excerpt from Alex Hoban's profile of Japanese boy band factory Johnny's Jimusho, and the company's scary founder, "the 77-year-old Don Of Dubiousness, Johnny Kitagawa."

If graduating from a Junior Johnny to a mere Johnny sounds about as glamorous as pulling slippery condoms on to cucumbers in biology class, then it's fitting, as being a Johnny's protégé is hardly a ticket to artistic maturity or even financial security. Most of Johnny's recording artists are paid a base salary for their efforts, receive no royalties and have no rights to any of their music, their image or even the group's name. After a few years in the spotlight, many Johnny's bands are dropped without fanfare, and their members swiftly descend into obscurity and, most probably, depression.

So far, so cut-throat, but there is an even darker element to this whole grim business. Kitagawa claimed he works only with boy bands because they are "easier to handle", which would be fine if he didn't mean it literally. Rumours had always been rife of him engaging with unsavoury activities with the boys under his care, and in 1988 Kita Koji, one of the original members of the Four Seasons, published an exposé that accued Kitagawa of sexual harassment and rape. Opening the flood gates, similar accusations from other ex-members came to light, with fresh exposés being published right up to this decade.

Wear the Good-Cause Hat: Anna Ives vs. Cancer

January 27th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

Anna Ives is the very young, very adorable daughter of Zac and Amy Ives. Zac is co-owner of Goner Records, the singer for Final Solutions, and a flat-out great guy. The Goner Records BBS is currently holding an auction while Zac, Amy, and Anna are in Boston, where the latter is receiving specialized radiation treatment. The auction is to help offset the Ives' mounting hospital bills. I'm here to encourage Matablog readers to either bid on some of the great finds that have made it to the block, and to offer their own donated items for auction. All of the needed information, including Anna's story, can be found HERE.

The auction can be found HERE.

Read the Memphis Commercial Appeal story about Anna...

Additional questions not answered by those links can be directed to Eric Friedl: [email protected]

Thanks!

Don't Feel Too Bad, Tom Zutaut...

November 28th, 2008 at 8:10 pm by Gerard

(above : world famous perfectionist/ingrate)

...Chris and I still get chucked out of Dee-Lite listening parties.   What's all this about?  According to a post at the endlessly entertaining Metal Sludge.com, former Geffen A&R exec Tom Zutaut was physically removed from a listening party for the new Guns 'n' Roses opus, 'Chinese Democracy'.

"Yeah, sadly it is true that I was escorted out of the Roxy by a beefy security guy just prior to the last three songs of the playback. I did stand on the sidewalk and hear the last three anyway.

"It is sad and disappointing to me that those around Axl would lie to him to fuel his hatred towards me with imaginary events used to drive a wedge between us. I love him deeply, will always love him and wish only the greatest success to one of the world’s last true creative musical sparks with a god-given voice. I am proud of my contributions to his career and am always there for him should he one day become enlightened to the truth of what surrounds him. It is also sad that he doesn't mention the hard work I put in on my short involvement with 'Chinese Democracy' with even a 'Thank You' considering lesser players are credited or thanked in the liner notes — even those who ridiculed him, belittled and made fun of him behind his back while I defended his genius 'til those around him poisoned him against me with distortions and lies.

"I wear his hatred as a badge of honor as it would be far worse for him not to care at all."

Mr. Zutaut has a substantial connection to the Matador Records family tree, having signed Tommy Keene to Geffen, and many years later, starting the now defunct label known as The Enclave, home to the initial US release of Belle & Sebastian's 'Are You Feeling SInister?'. As such, we can promise him that if he'd ever like to attend one of our listening parties, we'd love to have him along.

Congrats To Third Eye Blind On Discovering Their Own Paradigm

November 17th, 2008 at 4:06 pm by Gerard

In announcing their upcoming indie / digital-only EP, the auteurs behind such hits as "Semi-Charmed Life" and uh....whatever their other hit was, have penned the most confusing, self-congratulatory press release this side of my early draft for the Condo Fucks' 'Fuckbook'.



Becoming superstars took its toll on the band members’ psyches, and as 3EB ground through the star-making machinery, they eventually found themselves losing creative control of their music and their image, until one day in 2004 they woke up and realized they didn’t recognize themselves anymore. It was then that they decided it was time to take a break -- time to take a look inside, re-evaluate who they were as artists, and get back in touch with themselves and their music.

3EB have been inspired by the possibilities and potential that new media provide, and are discovering their own paradigm on how they create and reach people with music. They have toured consistently over the past two years, and sold out every show, playing in front of crowds of up to 11,000 fans, in response to an entirely new fan-base who have discovered this music on the web.



These new fans have proved that, despite a 5-year hiatus between albums, 3EB has in fact deepened its connection with its community.

It's a pretty amazing piece of work, and aside from their publicist deserving a raise (if not combat pay), we're now left to ponder the following : just what sort of groundbreaking stuff would these schmoes have come up with had they not "lost creative control of their music"?

Matador Alumni Corner Update

November 11th, 2008 at 5:03 pm by Gerard

We really oughta do these more often. Don't call it a comeback, these folks have been here for years. Or somewhere else for months.

  

1) Early Man.  Touring like crazy and there's a new EP on the Jarboe-tastic The End.

2) Jacob Morris, formerly one of the key characters beyond the dearly missed Double.  New EP on Rcrd Lbl

3) 18th Dye.  New album and US tour.

Kevin Shields, Lee Mavers Fuck Off

October 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm by Gerard

"Art and commerce have always made strange bedfellows," Gould told EW.com. "When they asked Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, they didn't say, 'Can you do it in the fourth quarter?' so they can make their numbers. Great art sometimes takes time."

Paging Davide Tiso.

October 17th, 2008 at 4:07 pm by Gerard

...would you be interested in writing bios, one-sheets or sticker blurbs for a NY-based independent label?  If so, please get in touch.  From The Gauntlet.com :

EPHEL DUATH has never been one to take the traditional approach to creating music and their latest effort takes this outlook even further. THROUGH MY DOG'S EYES is based on a bizarre concept conjured up by guitarist and founding member DAVIDE TISO, in which the entire album is written from the perspective of a dog. TISO explains: "I wrote a few short stories and it was really fun for me to imagine myself as a dog and to imagine the world from a dog's perspective. The challenge was to translate the words into lyrics."



From opening track 'Gift', which TISO describes as being about "A cat that the dog kills for the owner as a gift, and he asks the owner if he is happy with the present", to the thought-provoking 'Promenade', a song about a walk in the park which takes a twist when the owner questions himself as to why he's not as carefree and happy with life as his dog is, the barking mad brilliance runs throughout the course of the whole album. "Every song is a window into the dog's mind or an event," TISO continues, "The album touches on a lot of things, both deep and sometimes silly."

It's not only the lyrics in THROUGH MY DOG'S EYES which are written from the dog's perspective - rather the entire album, including the music, is based around this unique and previously unexplored concept. "The music in this case is the soundtrack of the thoughts of the dog - at times you can hear the dog running," TISO elaborates.