An Orgy of Self-Congratulation, Grandstanding & Overconsumption : Matador Artists & Staff Select Their 2012 Favorites

December 12th, 2012 at 8:00 am by Gerard

(above : angry mob reacts to the news that at least two or 3 people didn't even mention the Total Control 7")

Around this time every year, your overpaid overworked editor attempts to coax a list of favorite recordings, books, television programs, life events, etc. out of the label's artist roster and our rock biz colleagues. In the past, the exercise has been an arduous process, fraught with nagging, teeth-gnashing and no shortage of reluctant participants. In more recent times, however, the serial oversharing epidemic that's run rampant throughout all online activity has infected our bands and staff alike. The rhetorical question, "who fucking asked you?" cannot be applied in this instance, because they were all asked. For some historical perspective, here's last year's pile. Questions or comments about our lousy tastes and/or blatant omissions are welcome (but not necessarily appreciated). And away we go!



Damian Abraham, Fucked Up

My fav records that I acquired off my want list this year:

Da Slyme - "st"  (with 1/1 FUCKED UP "Couple Tracks cover" haha) DBLP
- I got this thru Hits and Misses (RIP) in Toronto but it came from the drummer I believe. It didn't have a cover but the covers were just spraypainted covers of random records, so my friend Woody made me a copy of his cover and I recreated the stencil on a Fucked Up lp. A seminal Canadian record that I have wanted since I read about it in the Smash the State lp insert.



Black Task - Blacktask/Spikes To The Wall (Radio Raheem)
Feedtime - Today Is Friday (SSR),  box set (Sub/Pop),
The Pin Group - 'Retrospective' (Siltbreeze)
Soggy - Slog (Memoire Neuve)

live : Monoshock, (Hemlock Tavern, SF, July), Destruction Unit (Beerland and The Grand, Austin, March, Red 7, Austin, July and November), Pygmy Shrews finale (285 Kent, Brooklyn, February)  Bits Of Shit (Beerland, Austin, September, Hi-Tone Lounge,  Memphis, September), Gary Wrong Group (Hi-Tone Lounge, Memphis, September), SsserpentssS (Austin, too many times),  Shellac (Lincoln Theatre, Chicago, August) Mark Kozelek (Scottish Rite Theatre, Austin, September), Swans (LaZone Rosa, Austin), Feedtime (Beerland, Austin, April, Midnight (Beerland, Austin, June), Puffy Areolas (Beerland, Austin, March), ), Sonny Vincent & The Bad Reactions (Beerland, Austin, May), Death Of Samantha (Trailer Space, Austin, March), Wussy (Mohawk, Austin, June)

Matablog Greatest Hits : Remembering Record Store Day 2008 (And All The Things It Made Me Remember)

April 19th, 2012 at 11:20 pm by Gerard

(EDITOR'S NOTE :  Patrick and I were having a huge argument via IM the other day over which was our nation's best fake holiday.  He argued it was Arbor Day.  I insisted it was Take Your Anaconda To Work Day.  Well, it turns out WE WERE BOTH WRONG.  Newcomers to the Matador blog have no doubt noticed our somewhat intense fixation with all things music retailing, but have you ever sat up late at night and wondered exactly where that obsession began?  No?  Really?  It's of no interest to you whatsoever?   Fine. It'll be a long time before I share something this personal again. And if I make the mistake of doing so, you can bet I won't republish it 4 years later. - GC)

What Record Store Day Means To Me - A Personal Journey (April 19, 2008)

Much has been written about Record Store Day, and while I'm loathe to get all gushy in public, even for a significant cause such as this, it might be an appropriate time to add a very personal note.

Every now and then, Chris and myself are asked by young persons or hungry-4-facts journalists just how we got our respective starts in the music industry. Chris, as you all know, was the first helmsman to be banned from the America's Cup for using performance enhancing drugs. His subsequent tell-all, 'Juiced : On A Boat', while critically panned, was a huge best-seller in 1989. Along with receiving rightful credit for the widesweeping changes-to-come in competitive sailing, Chris used the book's profits to finance Matador's earliest recordings.



My own roots are a tad less spectacular. For one crazy summer, I worked in my hometown record store. It wasn't as big or as successful as Music Town, but it really had a terrific vibe. My boss, Joe Reeves (above, right), was a really inspiring kind of guy. I hear he's moved on to things other than music, but I'll always remember the way he kept the store alive, much the way I'll always remember all the great music I was turned onto by the rest of the staff. Toad The Wet Sprocket. Better Than Ezra....ok, actually, I can't remember any others. But surely that's enough.

It was an awesome work environment and we've done everything possible to try and recall the ethos of that cool indie shop and try to apply it to the important work we do every day at Matador Records and Filmworks. I even wanted to borrow the store's old slogan, "We're Selling Music, But We're Not Selling Out", but Patrick argued it was kind of a dumb cliche. I dunno. I guess you had to be there. That's the difference between me and him. I still remember what it was like to hear Toad The Wet Sprocket for the first time.

Anyhow, enjoy Record Store Day. And if you know of any cities or states where this occasion isn't being marked, please let us know and we'll make sure U2 never play there again.

The Decade Can't End Soon Enough (Unless You're Having Fun) - Matador Artists, Staff And Associates Remember 2009 (Before It's Done)

December 16th, 2009 at 10:05 am by Gerard

(sure, we're allowed to have an annual holiday party, but who's supposed to pay for the cleanup?)

Once upon a time --- when the bulk of our internet activity was longer than 140 characters --- the Matador website feature periodic news updates (almost all of 'em brutally late in arrival), along with an informal selection of staff and roster listening favorites. Said feature fell by the wayside when we made the fateful transition to the Matablog some 3 1/2 years ago. But fuck it, it's the holiday season, and what better way to embrace the spirit of sharing than with a ferocious onslaught of grandstanding, oneupmanship and elitist self-fellatio?

But enough about our plans for Matador's 21st Anniversary celebrations.  Without further Freddy Adu, here's an impressive array of '09/decade favorite records, events & things from some of your most beloved Matador artists and the people who enable them. Dig in, after the jump :



O Memorable 2009!

By Jonathan Meiburg, Shearwater

- “Anio No Mba Hisoko” by Mme. Ravao & Rajoro
-“Kemayoran” by Grup Bamba Pruang
- Three young Loggerhead Shrikes, nearly fledged, Guerrero Park, Austin
- Sound of feral cats tearing down my screen door
- The Tahitian Choir II: Rapa Iti (Shanachie)
- A startled family of skunks (mom & kittens), Tornillo TX
- Tarantula Hawks (Pepsis sp.), Tornillo
- Neumann M49 microphones and 80-series Neve consoles (Tornillo and Austin)
- Laphroaig single malt
- Jackrabbit and Peregrine Falcon, Mariscal mercury mine (abandoned),TX
-Acorn Woodpeckers – Chisos Mountains, TX
- Imperial Woodpecker, stuffed and mounted - Rare Bird/Type Specimen room, American Mus. of Natural History
- Saw the bones of a bird I collected years ago in the Falklands in a little box in a cabinet in the basement of the AMNH, awaiting the distant future



-“Why Baby Why” by George Jones
- “Dambala” by Exuma
- Long-distance conversations with Mark Ohe (in Germany) and Frank Longo (in a trailer on a mountain in VA)
- Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick, rising to the task again and again
- David Thomas Broughton at End of the Road Fest, Dorset UK
- Bought the last of the surplus Enron First Class Mail envelopes from Topps Office Supply, 5th Street, Austin
- Bach Sinfonia #9 in F Minor (BMW 795), as played by Glenn Gould (if you’re speeding) and by Tatiana Nikolaieva (if you’re crashing)
- Film: The Alchemist, by Bruno Monsaingeon
- Woke up with a body temperature of 105
- Found out my hearing hasn’t suffered as much as I thought
- Marshall 195 1x12 cabinet + 1963 Fender Princeton
-“Devotional Number One” by Roky Erickson
-“Apparently They Were Traveling Abroad” by Roger Waters
- Early frost killed the lavender, and the yellowbells.
- But the almond verbena was fine.

Kurt Dahle, The New Pornographers
Best of list for 2009

KURT VILE- Childish Prodigy

What can I say I don't get out much anymore, but I sure like this record... alot.

Brian Case, The Ponys

The Horrors - Primary Colors (XL)
Times New Viking - Born Again (Matador)
Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (Matador)
XX - XX (Young Turks)
Beak> - Beak> (Ipecac)
Nudge - As Good As Gone (Kranky)
Niesennmondi - Destination Tokyo (Small Town Supersound)
Strange Boys - And Girls Club (In The Red)
Jimi Tenor & Tony Allen - Inspiration Information 4 (Strut / !K7)
Girls - Album (True Panther Sounds)
Woven Bones - Midas Touch EP (Zoo Music)

James McNew, Yo La Tengo

Top 14 things listened to and/or looked at in/ from 2009

1. The Best Show on WFMU



2. "Delocated"
3. "Move To California," Times New Viking
4. Achewood
5. Yura Yura Teikoku live gigs
6. Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone, Thin Air LP
7. "Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job"
8. Oneida, Rated O LP
9. Box Elders, Alice and Friends LP
10. Reigning Sound, Love and Curses LP
11. Why?, Eskimo Snow LP
12. Tortoise, Beacons of Ancestorship LP
13. The 13th Floor Elevators box set
14. "Steven Seagal: Lawman"

Cold Cave :

Jim Carroll

Ted Leo
Best of 2009 as of 12/15/09

JEFF: The Brotherhood live and on record in August
St. Vincent - live and on record in May
Battlestar Galactica finale in March
Hiking in Muir Woods redwoods, California in November
Learning to cook pasta like risotto in November
Us in the studio making a new record in August and September
Hard Skin in Brighton last night (12/14/09)
Finally being in a band that's on the same page enough to agree to covering Samhain in December
Early morning artcic walks on desolate beach in Rhode Island in January and February

Stuart Braithwaite, Mogwai

1 Four Tet/Burial - Moth (12")



2 Raekwon - OBFCL2 lp
3 Bill Callahan - Sometimes I wish we were an Eagle lp
4 Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport lp
5 Batman and Robin - comic
6 Twilight Sad - Forget the night ahead lp
7 Missisipi Records - ENTIRE OUTPUT!!!!!!!!!!
8 Arkham Asylum - PS3 game
9 Sunn - Monoliths and Dimensions lp
10 Lil Wayne - No Ceilings mixtape

Damian Abraham, Fucked Up
Coolest things of 2009

10) Reading on the Internet that I had gotten a job with Fox News
Even though it was 100% not true it was still funny to read about.
9) Playing in Serbia with Korn.
Any where else it the world and this would have been lame but because vit was in Serbia it was ill.
8) Kevin Shields hooking Sandy up with weed.
There are certain moments in that you could never imagine happening until you see it unfold.
7) Playing Glastonbury.
Sure we played at something stupid like 2pm on a friday but it was still one of the craziest shows we have ever played.
6) Finishing the the "Feed The World" cover.
It was touch and go for the entire process but thanks to the help of people on the record, Jon Drew, Matador and itunes it came to be... so buy it so we can give the organizations involved more money! (yes, that was a shameless plug)
5) Jeffrey Wright moshing during our Chemistry Of Common Life show.
Although I did not see this to confirm it, even if it didn't happen it is still funny to picture in your head.
4) Winning the Polaris
I still can't believe this happened but it did and Metric is bummed.
3) Being dissed by Thurston Moore
At ATP during a "Soft Focus" interview Thurston described Fucked Up as "dude-core" and while that is a super lame thing to say at least knows who we are!... kinda.
2) Touring China.
We snuck in via boat and toured for two weeks. It the most exciting tour we have ever done.
1) The Birth Of Holden
My wife and I became parents.

Peter Prescott, Mission Of Burma

in no particular order and not all music either...........fucked up-the chemistry of common living and 2 live shows i had the pure pleasure of seeing.........the coen bros.-a serious man...........explode into colors live.............. the joys of watching fellow old farts at play: jesus lizard at austin's funfunfun fest,the feelies opening for sonic youth in boston, faust in kentucky [i know,i know the kids have had it with this reunion shit and i sympathize,really,i do,so just make music better than these bands and i promise to shut the fuck up]...........this season's dexter....................erase errata live.....................reason's to watch the television at all:colbert and stewart..............pavement rising.............free converse,yay..................clinic live....................the end

Jared Phillips, Times New Viking



1. earles & jensen
'just farr the record' lp
2. times new viking
'born again revisited' lp
3. axemen
'scary' dbl. lp
4. text messaging (new for me)
5. moonshine
6. times new viking
'move to california' 7"

Jose Boyer, Harlem
Top Ten Dreamiest Buzz Band Ladies of '09
in no particular order...
Annie of St. Vincent
Vivian Girls (3)
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Pearl Harbor (both)
Natasha of Bat For Lashes
The girl from Beach House
Missy of the Love Language

Dean Bein, True Panther Sounds

Between losing a planner, having my computer stolen, and just generally having a poor memory these are the releases that stuck out this year. Thank god I can't lose my twitter page because then I'd truly be navigating the past blindly.

Cass McCombs- Catacombs
Omar Souleyman- Dabke 2020
Death- …For the world to see
Mt Kimbie- Maybes
Kurt Vile- Childish Prodigy
Spiritualized live at Primavera Sound
Joy Orbison- Hyph Mngo
Real Estate- Real Estate
Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns
Phoenix- Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix
Julianna Barwick- Florine
Delorean- Ayrton Senna
Liturgy- Renihilation
Nguzunguzu/Kingdom/Guido/Joy Orbison Floating Points 12"s and mixes
A Orillas Del Magdalena- Coastal Cubias From Colombia's Discos Fuentes
Telepathe- Dance Mother

Honorable mentions: Dominant Legs, Kyle Hall, Micachu, Young Prisms, Bullion, Pearl Harbour, The Ballet

Looking forward to in '10: SADE, Light Asylum, Magic Kids, Joker, Salem, Starring, new Lemonade and Glasser albums and countless exciting TPS-singles. A few exciting secrets too!

Natalie Judge, Matador Records

Highs of 2009:
Don Draper
The return of The Jesus Lizard
Spiritualized at The Royal Festival Hall performing 'Ladies and Gentleman...'
Synth Britannia on BBC4
Dirty 3 with Nick Cave play in a hotel room at ATP NYC
Burberry sample sale



Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
Sonic Youth at The Scala, London
Primavera
Beggars Boat Race - 22miles down The Thames
Dotori Sushi, Finsbury Park

Lows of 2009:
Eating Andouillette for the first and last time.

Kevin Bodenheimer, Matador Records
My Ten favorite non-Beggars Group releases of 2009

Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
Prurient - Rose Pillar
Joshua Emery Blatchley - VDSQ Solo Acoustic Vol. 1
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor
Cold Cave - Cremations
Lil Wayne - No Ceilings
Cult Ritual - Cult Ritual
Theophilus London - This Charming Mixtape
Real Estate - Real Estate
Washed Out - Life of Leisure

Ten Best Meals I ate in 2009:
Porchini Mushroom Ravioli - Il Mulino (Manhattan)
Boiled Pork & Chive Dumplings with Peking Duck Sesame Pancake - Vanessa's Dumplings (Manhattan)
Greek Schnitzel Sandwich - Schnitzi Schnitzel Bar (Brooklyn)
Deep Dish Pizza -  Giordano's (Chicago)
Italian Combo - Lange's Deli - (Scarsdale)
Swedish Meatballs - Aquavit (Manhattan)
Sweet & Pungent Pork - Hop Kee (Mahhattan)
Gui Zhou Spicy Chicken - Grand Sichuan St. Marks (Manhattan)
Beef French Dip Sandwich  - Phillipe's (Los Angeles)

Adam Bohl, Matador Direct
12 things that just popped in my head that I liked this year

Woods - Songs of Shame LP
Intelligence - Fake Surfers/Crepuscule With Pacman LPs
Bassholes - ...and Without a Name LP



Young Governor - Virginia Creeper 7"
Hunx - Gay Singles LP
Circulatory System - Signal Morning LP
Zero Boys - History Of...LP
TV Ghost - Cold Fish LP
Ryan Pitts and the Boy Toys 7"
Fresh & Onlys - Grey Eyed Girl/Self Titled LPs and Bomb Wombs CS
Reigning Sound - Love & Curses LP
Almost all of the Columbus Discount Singles club (almost none of Sub Pop's)

Adam Farrell, Beggars Group

Top Albums
Thee Oh Sees - Help (In The Red)
Superchunk - Leaves in the Gutter EP (Merge)
Zion I - The Take Over (Gold Dust)
Abner Jay - True Story of Abner Jay (Mississippi Records)
Big Business - Mind The Drift (Hydra Head)
Sonny Smith and the Sunsets - Tomorrow Is Alright (Soft Abuse)
Clipse - Re-Up Gang (Got Snow Fall 2K9 Edition) Bootleg (mediashare.com)
Monolake - Silence EP (imbalance computer music)
Death - ...For The Whole World To See (Drag City)
Drake - So Far 8 Bar'd (rapidshare.com)

Top Work Rock Moments

The Bro'd Trip(s) (props to Mike V, the #1 shotgun rider in sales)
Andy Falkous' touching opus on leaked albums
Colbert grabbing a couple verses on "This Year" in front of a studio audience
Getting to write a marketing plan for Sonic Youth (and not having them puke all over it)
Touching the Doolittle 1/2 tape demos and all other bounty at the Beggars Archive

Jeremy P. Goldstein, Beggars Group

Top-10 rekkids of 2009
1. The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love - 4AD. MBV meets OMD? A male-fronted Curve? Either way, two great tastes that taste great together. Bring on the shoegaze revival!
2. Prodigy - Invaders Must Die - Cooking Vinyl. No one heard this record, really, but if this had been the follow-up to Fat Of The Land, I'd guess platinum status a few times over.
3. The xx - xx - XL Recordings. Truly amazing debut. Reminds me of Massive Attack.
4. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Slumberland. The great Slumberland label is resuscitated and issues excellent POPBAH record.
5. The Rifles - The Great Escape - Nettwerk. Supergrass for 2009? Works for me.
6. The Horrors - Primary Colours - XL Recordings. Talk about pulling a 180. Record is completely different than their debut and their newfound shoegaze attack won me over in a big way.
7. A Place To Bury Strangers -Exploding Head - Mute. I guess I'm really into the nu-skool shoegaze movement. Can you blame me?
8. Idlewild - Post Electric Blues - Cooking Vinyl. They pretty much just can't do anything wrong it my eyes. This album was a grower
9. Doves - Kingdom Of Rust - Astralwerks. A long-awaited eturn to form from Manc dreampop merchants.
10. Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper - Matador. Interpol side project? I don't care what you call it, Paul KILLED IT on this record.

Top-10 things that weren't rekkids.
1. Intelligentsia coffee, Chicago. As of right now, best espresso in US.
2. Manchester United winning their third title running. Losing Ronaldo and losing the Champions League final, not as awesome.
3. Blue Bottle coffee, San Francisco. SO CLOSE, but second. I think.
4. Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. This shit is so next level. Amazing stuff.
5. Moto, Chicago. One of the five most incredible meals of my life. Must be seen and tasted to be believed.
6. The architecture of downtown Chicago. Spent a fair amount of time there this year and between the Wrigley, Tribune and other downtown buildings: wow: mind-blowing craftsmanship.
7. Margherita pizza at Keste, NYC. In theory, the best pie in the 212. I vote yes.
8. The Big Island. Haven't been yet, but will be there in two weeks. Expecting lava fields to rank in my yearly top-10.
9. Stumptown coffee, Portland. These three coffee purveyors are providing far and above the expected. Destination coffee, for sure.
10. The wife. When you find The One, you gotta give her multiple shoutouts, right? Cornerstone of my life, awesome chef, and sidekick extraordinaire. And the fact that's she's hot doesn't hurt, does it?

Catherine Herrick, Beggars Group

London
-  Getting the first stamp on my passport (!) and finally putting faces to the names of the lovely people at 17-19 Alma Road, One Codrington Mews and 66 Golborne Rd, and being warmly welcomed and taken care of by said people.
- Pastries in London.  A flapjack from The Pantry, and an apple danish-type thing in the lobby of The K-West.  Never been much of a pastry person, I just grabbed both hastily out of hunger without thinking either choice would be particularly appetizing until I took a bite.  Face was subsequently MELTED-OFF in both cases.
- Jarvis Cocker at The Village Underground.  I border on being a psycho fan, so this is a no-brainer to anyone who knows me.
-  The Big Pink and Muse at The 02 Arena.  Due to poor travel planning, Gabe and I got there just in time for "Dominos" (doh!) and got laughed at by everyone at 4AD.  Then came Muse.  Never really listened to them before, but it was refreshing to see such unabashed fist-pumping arena rock.
-  Jay Reatard at Underworld.  First time seeing Jay with the new band members.  They KILLED IT.
-  Atlas Sound at Cargo.  Both Bradford Cox and Sian Alice Group played great sets, and I ran into The Early Years, love those guys!
- Spilling my beer all over Richard Onslow.  It was an accident, and I did feel BAD about it, but... he's just so well dressed, it was KIND OF perfect.
- Being swarmed by a gang of drunken Brits decked out in Ponchos and Sombrero hats whilst ordering Margaritas for myself and Lucy Hurst.
- Some things just straddle the fine line between awesome and terrifying.  Did I really dance like this in front of people at Milo's Birthday party???  Was definitely singing along to this at top volume, and it wasn't at a karaoke bar!  Oh boy.
-Patrick Johnson's controversial hat.  My birthday is coming up.  Just sayin'

New York
10 notable show-nights in order of date
4/16 Throbbing Gristle at The Brooklyn Masonic Temple.
6/??? Sharon Van Etten (it was the weekend of Bushwick Open Studios, not sure of the exact date) in a loft in Bushwick.
7/4 Kurt Vile + Violators at Woodsist Festival (outside of Market Hotel).
7/29 Jarvis Cocker at Music Hall Of Williamsburg.
9/5 tUnE-yArDs at Music Hall Of Williamsburg.
9/26 the long awaited live debut of Courtier at Matchless followed by **** two acts whose names I don't know at Mighty Robot.  If you were there can you PLEASE let me know who they were/are!???
10/16 The Horrors at Music Hall Of Williamsburg.



10/20 (more like 2:00am on 10/21, eep!) Hooray For Earth at Crash Mansion during CMJ.
10/23 Cold Cave at the Matador/True Panther CMJ Party at the Flamboyan Theater.
11/20 Bear In Heaven at Zebulon.

Jeremy Kirkland, Beggars Group

albums
10. papercuts-you can have what you want
9. animal collective-merriweather post pavilion
8 girls-album
7. the horrors-primary colours
6. the mountain goats-life of the world to come
5. the xx-the xx
4. wild beasts-two dancers
3. phoenix-wolfgang amadeus phoenix
2. yo la tengo-popular songs
1. foreign born-person to person

shows
mountain goats @ webster hall
sonic youth @ terminal 5
phoenix @ summerstage

best 7"
rainbow bridge 7"

movies
up
the hangover
inglourious basterds

Steve Knutson, Rough Trade Records

1. Alela Diane "To Be Still"
2. King Midas Sound "Waiting For You"



3. Kevin Drumm "Imperial Distortion"
4. Broadcast & The Focus Group "Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age"
5. Sound System International - King Tubby All-Stars
5. Animal Collective "Merriweather Post Pavilion"
6. Peste Noire "Ballade cuntre lo Anemi francor"
7. Lambchop "Live at XX Merge"
8. Cold Cave "Love Comes Close"
9. Grizzly Bear "Veckatimest"
10. Headless Heroes "The Silence Of Love"
11. Dirty Projectors "Bitte Orca"
13. Pere Ubu "Long Live Pere Ubu!"
14. Ancestors "II"
15. Micachu "Jewellery"

Annette Lee, 4AD

Things I've enjoyed this year (in no particular order and off the top of my head):
Efterklang @ Barbican, London
X Factor
Sushi of Shiori, London
All three ATP festivals. The hangovers afterwards were totally worth it.
Moving to a house with Sky+ and an enormous TV. End of my social life as I know it.
The entirety of SXSW
Charlie Brooker's Twitter updates
The entirety of Primavera Sound
Vodka - many varieties
Finding the rabbit hole at Glastonbury festival
Red wine
Blue steak
Deerhunter @ Scala, London
Malcolm Tucker (The Thick Of It)

Hector Montes, Beggars Group
Alphabetical (or Chronological) Lists of Favorites, 2009

albums:
John Adams - Doctor Atomic Symphony/Guide to Strange Places (Nonesuch)
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino)
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (Drag City)
Dinosaur Jr - Farm (Jagjaguwar)
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (Domino)
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic (Warner Bros.)



Ben Frost - By The Throat (Bedroom Community)
Girls - Album (True Panther Sounds)
HEALTH - Get Color (Lovepump United)
The Horrors - Primary Colors (XL)
Mission of Burma - The Sound The Speed The Light (Matador)
Nomo - Invisible Cities (Ubiquity)
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Glassnote)
Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans (Sub Pop)
Rusted Shut - Dead (Load)
Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Matador)
Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
The Veils - Sun Gangs (Rough Trade)
Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (Matador)
The xx - xx (XL)

EPs/singles:
Abe Vigoda - Reviver (Post Present Medium)
Cold Cave - Death Comes Close 12" (Matador)
Deradoorian - Mind Raft EP (Lovepump United)
The Horrors - "Whole New Way" 7" (XL)
Mayyors - Deads 12"
Nodzzz - "True To Life" 7" (What's Your Rupture?)
Pantha du Prince - "The Splendour" 12" (Rough Trade)
Superchunk - "Crossed Wires" 7" (Merge)
Talbot Tagora's side of the Abstract Distractions split EP (OlFactory)
Twin Stumps - Twin Stumps EP
Vampire Weekend - "Cousins" 7" (XL)
Young Governor - "Virginia Creeper" 7" & Hidden Love EP

reissues:
Mulatu Astatke - New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975 (Strut)
Comet Gain - Broken Record Prayers (What's Your Rupture?)
The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms / The Good Earth (Bar None)
The Jesus Lizard - Pure / Head / Goat / Liar / Down (Touch & Go)
Red Red Meat - Bunny Gets Paid (Sub Pop)
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (Legacy)
The Vaselines - Enter The Vaselines (Sub Pop)

books (read in 2009, not necessarily released in 2009):
Roberto Bolano, 2666
Dan Chaon, Await Your Reply
Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War
Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
Jason, Low Moon
Michael Kupperman, Tales Designed to Thrizzle: Volume 1
Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Charles Stross, Wireless

Twitter feeds:
bellinitheband (Bellini, the band)
hodgman (writer/expert Jon Hodgman)
MataWarehouse (the Matador Warehouse)
MKupperman (cartoonist Michael Kupperman)
OGOchoCinco (Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco)
scharpling (radio personality Tom Scharpling)
THE_REAL_SHAQ (the real Shaq)
tonymillionaire (cartoonist Tony Millionaire)
truepanther (Dean Bein of True Panther Sounds)
warrenellis (the English writer, not the Australian musician)

other:
- Not having to go to court after getting a summons for "blocking the sidewalk' while attempting to leave an Oh Sees show at Glasslands (7/2)
- Catching myself before I fell all the way off a 4th-story fire escape (7/11)
- Accidentally breaking into someone's unlocked cabin, thinking it was the one we'd rented for ATP New York, and being greeted by multiple pieces of evidence that the (thankfully absent) owner of said cabin owned guns and knew how to use them (9/11)
- Seeing The Jesus Lizard three times in 2009 (9/11, 10/31, 11/16)
- Receiving a Kindle for my birthday (9/29)
- Mike Venutolo-Mantovani ordering 40 shots of whiskey at the Beggars Group CMJ party (10/22)
- WFMU station manager Ken Freedman, drunk out of his mind on live radio (and in front of a live audience) at the UCB Theatre for Seven Second Delay (12/2)
- The following text from my fiancee after Alabama annihilated Florida to win the SEC Championship: "Game over. Tebow crying. Awesome" (12/5)
- The Fisticup (http://www.worldwidefred.com/fisticup.htm), a gift from my Secret Santa (12/10)

Steve Glauber, Matador Direct
Favorite releases from the decade-clincher: 2009

Fiery Furnaces – I’m Going Away LP
Ganglians – Monster Head Room LP
Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”, “Lust for Life”
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion LP


Strange Boys - …And Girls Club LP
Sonic Youth – “What We Know”
Ty Segall – Lemons LP
Condo Fucks – Fuckbook LP
Ted Leo – “The Back Seat of My Car” from Tom Scharpling’s RAM tribute album, DOG
Intelligence – Fake Surfers LP
Raekwon ft. Inspectah Deck & Masta Killa – “Kiss the Ring”
Thee Oh Sees – Help LP
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca LP
Atlas Sound ft. Panda Bear – “Walkabout”
Beyonce – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)”

Matt Harmon, Beggars Group
Music
T.A.S.K. - Relaxing Time is Over LP (Heart Worm) - First album from this Berlin group with members of the Stuttgart collective Metabolismus.
Polvo - In Prism 2XLP (Merge) - It really is a triumphant return though it took me two to three listens to fully embrace it. Grab the double LP which comes with fantastic Independent Project Press gatefold jacket and on heavy weight vinyl.
Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds 12" (NNF) - Heavy Deeds, indeed.
Predator Vision/Sun Araw split 12" (NNF) - This was the first SA-related release I bought...  "Hey, Mandala" yeah.
Samara Lubelski - Future Slip (Ecstatic Peace) -  Love everything she does but this one considerably ups the game. Co-produced by Thurston Moore.
Girls - Hellhole Ratrace 10" (Fantasy Trashcan / True Panther) - The tune that started it all. This song and the b-side make up a near perfect bite-sized nugget.
Sic Alps - A Long Way Around to a Shortcut 2XLP (Drag City) - You reissue it, I get to list it again.
Woods - Songs of Shame LP (Woodist) - Yes, I am on the bandwagon for this one, but still waiting on the next Menaguar album.
Graham Lambkin - Softly Softly Copy Copy CD (Kye) - microphone abuse, field recordings, violin drone .... makes me miss The Shadow Ring even more than I already do.
Infinity Window - Artifical Midnight LP (Arbor) - Heavy drones. "Sheet of Face" is the jam that you want to hear.



Amen Dunes "DIA" CD (Locust) - Reverb-drenched psych gem.
Tony Conrad///Genesis Breyer P-Orridge - Taking Issue LP (Dais) - Violin vs. violin. Living legends live at Issue Project Room.
Yo Gabba Gabba - Music is Awesome CD (Filter) - All I know is that show is trippy as hell, involves Biz Markie and this album keeps my son busy for 40 minutes in a row.

Live experience of the year
Soldiers Of Fortune @ Bell House 9/24/09 - scorching 21-minute version of "Wooly Bully" featuring the triple guitar threat of Pat Sullivan, Bruno Merrick and Mike Bones plus Brad Truax, Kid Million & Barry London.

Art books
"Paris 48 2 29E" by Ami Sioux (OFR) - US ex-pat musician/photographer who has friends draw a map to a favorite place which she follows and then takes a photo of. Sounds weird but very personal and affecting. Follows 2008's Reykjavik 64 08N21 54W.
"Matthew's Ghost Houses Long Gone" drawn by Nigel Peake (Nigel Peake) - Second year in a row that I've included a book from Scottish artist Nigel Peake. I can get  enough of his incredible ink line drawings, subtle watercolor work and astute observations of the world around him.
Rokuro Taniuchi "Works" - I made this title up because all the text is in japanese but incredible overview of the work from this illustrator of weird, creepy and quite surreal kids books, murals, television shows  and more. Only available from Amazon.co.jp and costs about $35 in shipping alone, but well worth it.

which reminds me ... ajourneyroundmyskull.blogspot.com - my favorite site for book art, cover designs, illustrations and downright incredible images. Turned me on to Taniuchi earlier this year.

Lisa Gottheil, Beggars Group
In no order:

1.  The xx -- fun since August!
2.  Getting to meet and work with Jarvis Cocker. Swoon  Oh.  I checked 08 list and I guess I met him last year.  Re-meeting Jarvis and continuing to swoon.
3.  Having a 2 1/2 year old - she cracks me up
4. In December discovered the show "The League" .  Other TV that filled my time :  Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Yo Gabba Gabba (see #3)
5.  Having a 'hockey boyfriend"
6.  Having a real boyfriend/baby daddy
7.  "Dominos'
8.  Rediscovering my love for select festivals and the fun that comes with the artist pass
9.  First snowfall upstate
10.  Swimming in the lake in the summer
11.  The Ham/Swiss/Pickle sandwich at the deli on the SW corner from our office
12.  My continued adoration for "Gossip Girl" and Nate
13.  My gym opened a branch 2 blocks from home.   Yes, very sad this is part of my list
14.  Jawbox on Fallon
15.  NOFX's "My Orphan Year'  Sad song
16.  Seamless Web and I became very good friends

Jonathan Lang, Beggars Group

Shows
Yo La Tengo - Roseland Ballroom
St. Vincent - 92Y Tribeca
The Horrors & NIN - Bowery Ballroom
Real Estate & Titus Andronicus @ The Whitney

Releases
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion + Fall Be Kind EP
St. Vincent - Actor
Girls - Album
Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
The XX- XX
Real Estate - S/T
Washed Out - Life of Leisure EP

Tracks
St. Vincent - Marrow
The XX - Crystalized
Real Estate - Fake Blues
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Close Chorus
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
Animal Collective - My Girls, Why Would I Want? Sky
Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
Yo La Tengo - And The Glitter Is Gone
Washed Out - You'll See It

TV
Modern Family (ABC)
True Blood: Season 2(HBO)
Lost: Season 5(ABC)
Dexter: Season 4 (SHO)
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4 (SyFy)

Heather MacIntyre, Beggars Group
with gerard's permission, instead of living in the past, i've decided to write about thing's im looking forward to in 2010:

MUSIC:
- Magnetic Fields - Realism (Nonesuch)
- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 2010 project, (4AD)
- Harlem - Hippies (Matador),
- Cloud Nothings - Untitled 12" (Group Tightener),
- The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth  LP (Kanine),
- The Super Vacations - Thank You  LP (Shdwply),
- Four Tet - There Is Love In You  (Domino),
- Jonsi 2010 LP (XL Recordings),
and most/finally: Serena-Maneesh S-M #2  LP (4AD)

MORE "B" THINGS: bike-rides, bbq, brevity, bourbon, believing, bonfires, bartering, beats, bravery, baking, and by all means, balance

FINALLY...
- Stop having the reoccurring lucid nightmare involving a shark, in the Lightning Bolt mask, in the context of a Goosebump choose-your-ending book scenario.
- Popping my "way too late night karaoke" cherry that i've suppressed for the last year and change, with staff
- Taking up smoking in order to become closer to co-workers, and overall, look cooler
- Broadening my already pathetic, extensive collection of foreign vampire movies
- The final season of LOST (it needs to end)

Robby Morris, Matador Records

(in no order)



blues control - local flavor
broadcast & the focus group - witch cults of the radio age
demdike stare - symbiosis
emeralds - what happened & allegory of allergies
little claw - human taste
cass mccombs - catacombs
salvation - of unforgiving wind 12"
shackleton - three EPs
thee oh shees - help, et al.
vladislav delay - tummaa
young governor - virginia creeper b/w & i'm a mess & english tim b/w in the heart of a harem 7"'s

Todd Netter, Beggars Group

So I could undoubtedly fill my top albums of the year with Matador/Beggars Group related albums but where's the fun in that?  So here goes...
5 Bands/Albums I Listened To A Lot In 2009:
Japandroids Post-Nothing
Foreign Born -  Person To Person
Fever Ray - Fever Ray
Real Estate - Real Estate
Thee Oh Sees - Help

5 Bands/Albums From 2009 I Plan On Listening To More in 2010:
Obits I Blame You
Best Coast Best Coast + Make You Mine 7"s
Cymbals Eat Guitars Why There Are Mountains
Fuck Buttons Tarot Sport
Neko Case Middle Cyclone

5 Favorite Albums of the 2000s (admittedly nothing out of left field here and everything is from the first half of the decade but I listened to these 5 albums so much and in the end they may just be my favorite of the 2000s):
Sufjan Stevens Illnois
Arcade Fire Funeral
Boards of Canada Geogaddi
The Shins Oh, Inverted World
Elliot Smith Figure 8

5 Favorite Matador/Beggars Group Shows Of 2009:
Titus Andronicus at the Whitney Museum (July) - a rowdy show, so rowdy in fact that security had to cut their performance short by a song or two.
Yo La Tengo at the Roseland Ballroom (Sept) - band's music was accompanied by a terrific light show put on by Joshua White and Gary Painter
Mission of Burma's "Burma Day in Boston" (Oct) - Burma was properly recognized, in the form of a declaration from the City of Boston.
Jay Reatard's "Shattered Records Tour" at Le Poisson Rouge (Oct) - now that was a bill, 4-5 hours of great bands and great fun.  more of a party than a show.
Camera Obscura's show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Nov) - the very best I've heard them sound when playing songs from My Maudlin Career.

5 NYC moments for the history books (2000-09):
Sept 11, 2001
the Northeast Blackout of August 2003
the NYC Transit Strike in December 2005
the closing of the original Yankee Stadium - Sept 2008
Barack Obama's inauguration - January 2009 (ok not a NYC specific day but a pretty historic one nonetheless)

Gabe Spierer, Beggars Group

Foreign Born - Person to Person
All things Young Governor (esp. "Virginia Creeper" 7")
Atlas Sound - Logos and live in London in November
The fact that Epitaph did the Blood Brothers deluxe CD reissues. Not the albums themselves (which range from good to perfect), just the fact that this series exists. Amazes me for some reason.
Nine Inch Nails live at Bowery Ballroom
Death - ...For The Whole World To See
Girls - Dave Martin tells me, "Saying 'I told you so' is poor form." OK. Great year for Girls! Never saw it coming.
Watching The xx happen. Never saw it coming. No, really, I didn't.
Luxury - "Green Hearts" from "Yellow Pills: Prefill" comp. The first song after The xx on my iTunes, so I listened to it a lot. Power-pop magic.
The Horrors - Primary Colours and live at Music Hall of Williamsburg in October (always pretty great live, but this was like last-show-of-a-long-tour crusher-style honing-your-shit-every-night-across-America awesome)
Jay-Z live at Liberty State Park
Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited and live, always. Maybe the best band in the world, and definitely the funniest.
The Magic Kids live...Just the right side of a very thin line.
Zachary Cale - Walking Papers

Mike Venutolo-Mantovani, Matador Direct

Sound Things
Superchunk - Leaves in the Gutter EP (Merge)
The xx - xx (XL/Young Turks)
Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Matador)
Dinosaur Feathers - Fantasy Memorial EP (Self-released)
Young Governor - Virginia Creeper 7" (Self-released)
The Dutchess and the Duke - Sunrise/Sunset (Hardly Art)
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another (4AD)
Death - For The Whole World to See (Drag City)
Wildbirds and Peacedrums - The Snake (The Control Group)
Pants Yell! - Received Pronounciation (Slumberland)
Anni Rossi - Rockwell (4AD)
Ofege - Try and Love (Academy LPs)
Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
King Khan and BBQ - The Invisible Girl (In The Red)
Woods - Songs of Shame (Woodsist)
Rainbow Bridge - Big Wave Rider 7" (True Panther Sounds)
Blue Roses - Blue Roses (XL)

Sight Things
Fucked Up at the Independent
Dinosaur Feathers at Cameo (first night of residency)
Built to Spill at Terminal 5
Future of the Left at Spike Hill
tUnE-yArDs pretty much every time I see her
Kurt Vile at The Empty Bottle
The Mountain Goats at Webster Hall
Jay Reatard at Fingerprints
Sonic Youth at Electric Factory
too many others to list...

Happy Things
The Bro'd Trip
Finding the third piece of the Sherpas puzzle
Gibson's Steaks
Tiger Woods
ET's face when she met Ibold
Practicing Sonic Youth tunes in a beer closet with Gabe
Dean's office (file under "The Appropriation of True Panther Sounds")
Eula opens for Mission of Burma
Todd Netter: Karaoke God
Chicago weekends with the Big Goober
Hours upon hours of shit talking with Helen
Sonic Youth's House of Shifting Plates and Ridiculous Juice
Youtube-ing plane crash videos in an effort to scare the shit out of myself
Ben Goldberg's Dave Martin impression
Having a Matador logo on my paycheck
The Chicago Aquarium
Beggars/Matador Saucony Team... Trivial Pursuit night especially
Jay Reatard instore tour
Playing 50 shows in one summer with pow wow!
The Fesken/Fiedler wedding... don't let anyone tell you Ex Models can't dance
Izzy finally getting used to my beard
The opportunity to work with Sonic Youth
A return to form in dick and fart jokes
Hockey Bob
Pitchfork Festival
J Mascis on stage with Built to Spill
Atlanta Jin Jin
Villanova Basketball (Top 5!!! Go NOVA!!!)
Realizing that mom is tougher than I ever could have imagined
And so is dad
Chicago rock and roll buddy Dave
Hanging out in Paul Rosenberg's Magical Warehouse of Taxis
Making fantastic records with Dinosaur Feathers & Sherpas in said warehouse
Writing a "Best Of..." list for this here site

Best of 2009
Somehow convincing these guys that it'd be in their best interests to hire me

Worst of 2009
5 trips to Chicago and not one stop at Taco Burrito King. Weak, Mike... Reeeal weak.
The fucking Giants
The fucking Mets
Jimmy fucking Johnson
Helen's fucking bike

Dave Martin, Matador Direct

New records
1. Dutchess & the Duke - "Sunset/Sunrise" Hardly Art
2. Blues Control - "Local Flavor" Siltbreeze
3. Thomas Function - "In The Valley of Sickness" Fat Possum
4. Reigning Sound - "Love and Curses" In The Red
5. Mantles - S/T Siltbreeze



6. Greg Cartwright - "Live At The Circle A" Dusty Medical
7. Tyvek - S/T Siltbreeze
8. CoCoComa - "Things Are Not Alright" Goner
9.Espers - III Drag City
10. The Mayfair Set - "Young One" Captured Tracks / Woodsist

Almost:  the Clean - "Mister Pop", Vivian Girls - "Everything Goes Wrong" V/A - World's Lousy With Ideas Vol. 8, Boys Club - S/T, Heavy Trash - "Midnight Soul Serenade", Mannequin Men - "Lose Your Illusion Too", Naam - S/T, Polvo - "In Prisim", King Khan & BBQ Show - "Invisible Girl", Blank Dogs - "Under and Under"

Old Records New Again
1. Death - "For The Whole World To See" Drag City
2. Bill Fox - "Shelter From The Smoke" Scat
3. Crushed Butler - "Uncrushed" Radio Heartbeat
4. Mirrors - "Something That I Would Never" Velvet Times
5. Ivy Green - S/T Pogo
6. Ofege - "Try And Love" Academy LPs
7. V/A - "Messthetics #107:  London DIY vol. 3" Hyped2Death
8. Big Star - "Keep An Eye On The Sky"
9. Thin Lizzy - "Still Dangerous: Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977" VH1 Classics
10. Betty Davis - "Is It Love Or Desire" - Sundazed

Almost:  Velvet Underground 7" box, Love - "Love Lost", V/A "Where The Action Is:  L.A. Nuggets"  Eddy Current Suppression Ring -S/T, Nerves -"One Way Ticket" & "Live @ The Pirate's Cove" & The Breakaways "Walking Out On Love" , V/A "Total Pop Vol. 1" and a bunch of records that got reissued that are essential but I didn't get too crazy about because I already had that action (not trying to be "that guy - just old) like the Jesus LIzard, Monks, The Terminals and the Feelies

Singles or EPs
1. Wounded Lion - "Creatures in the Cave (Ballad)" b/w Parots - Gilongo
2. Mike Rep & the Quotas - "Donovan's Brain Pts. 1 & 2" Columbus Discount Records
3. Sandwich - "Assisted Living" b/w "I've Had A Few" Columbus Discount Records
4. Cave Weddings - "Bring Your Love" b/w "Let's Drive" HoZac
5. Idle Times - "Get Your Feet Off The Ground" b/w "Driving You Sad" Woodsist & "Million Miles Away" b/w "Whatever Works For You" HoZac
6. Cheater Slicks - "Erotic Woman" b/w "Can't You Hear My (Heartbeat) " Columbus Discount Records
7. Monks - "Pretty Suzanne" b/w "Monk Time" Red Lounge Records
8. Kim Phuc - "Weird Skies" b/w "Suicide Circle" Dear Skull Records
9. Mark Sultan - "Hold On" b/w "I Hear A New World" Sub Pop & "I Am The End" b/w "Catastrophe" In The Red
10. Blank Dogs - "In Here" 7" - Down In The Ground  Sure it is a great record, but it was eclipsed the drama surrounding it.

Almost:  The rest of the Columbus Discount Records singles club records that came out in 2009 (and Year two has been pretty great so far too). Pyschedelic Horseshit "Shitgaze Anthems" & "Too Many Hits" (even if I just listed it), Silver Shampoo 7" on Whats Your Rupture?, White Mystery - "Powerglove" "Aaron" b/w "Ye Olde Stone"  on HoZac

Blake Thomas, Beggars Group

Food: Top 3 steak sambos I've had recently in NY
1. Harry's Cafe
2. Pastis
3. Estancia (Greenwich st.)

Album: The Dutchess and the Duke "Sunset/Sunrise"  (sorry Dave, but the shit is good)
Video: Dinosaur Jr. - Over it
Beer: Life & Limb (Sixpoint Bengali Tiger is real tasty too)
Booze: Black Maple Hill Small Batch Bourbon
Single: R. Kelly Echo
Movie: House Of The Devil
Team: Jayhawks. Beak ‘em
Show: Kurt Vile at Mercury Lounge
Blog: Hipster Runoff
TV: Friday Night Lights is real good

Patrick Amory, Matador Records
Best of 2009, a/k/a Adieu Vieille Europe:



1. Peste Noire - Ballade cuntre lo Anemi francor CS (De Profundis)
2. Young Governor - Hidden Love 12" EP (Parts Unknown)
3. Killed By Glam comp LP (Moonboot)
4. Ash Pool - Saturns Slave 7" (Hospital Productions)
5. Arthur Russell - Come To Life 7" (just the Arthur Russell side) (Terrible Records)
6. Tyvek - Tyvek LP (Siltbreeze)
7. Mount Kimbie - Maybes 12" (played at 33rpm) (Hotflush Recordings)
8. Eight Acts Of Origin comp LP (Raging Bloodlust)
9. Messthetics #107: DIY '78-'81 London III comp CD (track 10 onwards) (Hyped 2 Death)
10. Ashdautas - Shadow Plays of Grief and Pain CD (Ixiol Productions)
11. GG King - Adult Rock 7" (B-side only) (Douchemaster)
12. Spiritual Singers - Ntsamina LP (Mississippi)
13. Aardvarck - Blööm 3 12" (white label)
14. Omar Souleyman - Dabke 2020 CD (Sublime Frequencies)
15. Ofege - Try and Love LP (Academy)
16. Cedric IM Brooks & The Light Of Saba - The Magical Light Of Saba (Honest Jon's)
17. Dodsferd - Suicide And The Rest Of Your Kind Will Follow CD (Moribund Records)
18. Legends Of Benin comp dbl LP (Analog Africa)
19. Fleetwood Mac In Concert February 5, 6, 7 1970 4XLP box set (esp 2nd sidelong version of Rattleshake Snake) (Vinyl Lovers)
20. Ouaga Affair: Hard Won Sound Of The Upper Volta 1974-1978 dbl LP (Savannahphone)

Gerard Cosloy, Matador Records

Jeffrey Novak – After The Ball (LMN)
Jesu – Opiate Sun (Calo Verde)



Bad Sports – s/t (Douchemaster)
The Golden Boys – Electric Wolfman (Daggerman/Alien Snatch)
Maximo Park – Quicken The Heart (Warp)
Tommy Keene – In The Late Bright (Second Motion)
Hex Dispensers – Winchester Mystery House (Douchemaster)
CoCoComa – Things Are Not All Right (Goner)
Love Collector – “My Baby Goes Waaah!” 7? (Big Action)
John Wesley Coleman – Steal My Mind (Certified P.R.)
Tyvek – s/t (Siltbreeze)
The Mayfair Set – Young Ones 12? EP (Captured Tracks/Woodsist)
Box Elders – Alice & Friends (Goner)
Chimiks – s/t (Slovenly)
Young Governor – “Virgina Creeper” 7? (Plastic Idol)

live :
Mayyors (someone's house, March)
Gunslingers (Beerland, March)
The Muffs (Southpaw, Brooklyn, January)
Ratas Del Vaticano (Sound On Sound, May),
Gentlemen Jesse & His Men (The Earl, Atlanta, August)
Cruddy (End Of An Ear, December)
Don Howland's A Burning Bus (Murphy's, Memphis, September),
Axemen (Broken Neck, November)
Total Abuse (Cake Shop, NYC, January)
Andrew Dice Clay (Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, November)
Pierced Arrows (Satyricon, Portland. October)
Endless Boogie (Beerland/Music Gym, March)
TV Ghost (Headhunters, March),
Brutal Knights (Emo's, May)
Jesus Lizard, (Waterloo Park, November)
Spider Bags / John Wesley Coleman (The Grand, December)
but for sheer consistent brilliance, over and fucking over again, Dikes Of Holland

worst things about 2009:
the home field disadvantage(s) of Citi Field
Sound On Sound closing

best things about 2009 :
furry fire alarms!
Manny Pacquiao
Trailer Space

Altbros to altbags

December 22nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm by Patrick

Kinda scared/confused... wondering what 2k9 will bring... h8 u Carles for writing the most perceptive metablog on "alt" culture on the internets. Worth reading for his views on TV On The Radio alone. Take that, P4K!

Found! The Real Party Doctor!

April 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

A little more malevolent than my mental pic of the good doc, but still follows the script. I'd like to think he'd ride the deer to safety or something....


Missing man found dressed like doctor with dead deer in stolen ambulance

Sun-Sentinel
Posted September 28 2005, 9:43 AM EDT

JACKSONVILLE -- A man reported missing from a Florida hospital was found in

North Carolina dressed like a doctor and driving a stolen ambulance with a dead

deer wedged in the back, authorities said.

Leon Holliman Jr., 37, was reported missing from a River Region Human Services

facility in Jacksonville last month. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol found

him driving the ambulance with the deer on Sunday.

``I don't know how the man got it up in there,'' said Sgt. Robert Pearson. ``It

was a six point buck.''

It wasn't known where Holliman got the deer, which had been dead for some time, Pearson said.

Authorities tracked the stolen ambulance through three rural North Carolina counties and one county in southern Virginia before its tires were punctured and it wound up in a ditch, Pearson said.

Holliman was admitted to a North Carolina hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Police said they would decide whether to charge Holliman after that evaluation is complete.

What Record Store Day Means To Me - A Personal Journey

April 19th, 2008 at 5:41 pm by Gerard

Much has been written about Record Store Day, and while I'm loathe to get all gushy in public, even for a significant cause such as this, it might be an appropriate time to add a very personal note.

Every now and then, Chris and myself are asked by young persons or hungry-4-facts journalists just how we got our respective starts in the music industry. Chris, as you all know, was the first helmsman to be banned from the America's Cup for using performance enhancing drugs. His subsequent tell-all, 'Juiced : On A Boat', while critically panned, was a huge best-seller in 1989. Along with receiving rightful credit for the widesweeping changes-to-come in competitive sailing, Chris used the book's profits to finance Matador's earliest recordings.



My own roots are a tad less spectacular. For one crazy summer, I worked in my hometown record store. It wasn't as big or as successful as Music Town, but it really had a terrific vibe. My boss, Joe Reeves (above, right), was a really inspiring kind of guy. I hear he's moved on to things other than music, but I'll always remember the way he kept the store alive, much the way I'll always remember all the great music I was turned onto by the rest of the staff. Toad The Wet Sprocket. Better Than Ezra....ok, actually, I can't remember any others. But surely that's enough.

It was an awesome work environment and I've done everything possible to try and recall the ethos of that cool indie shop and try to apply it to the important work we do every day at Matador Records and Filmworks. I even wanted to borrow the store's old slogan, "We're Selling Music, But We're Not Selling Out", but Patrick argued it was kind of a dumb cliche. I dunno. I guess you had to be there. That's the difference between me and him. I still remember what it was like to hear Toad The Wet Sprocket for the first time.

Anyhow, enjoy Record Store Day. And if you know of any cities or states where this occasion isn't being marked, please let us know and we'll make sure U2 never play there again.

Yes, Prank Calls Existed Before JFAL (Memphis Themed, Too)

April 5th, 2008 at 5:13 pm by Gerard

WFMU's Vanilla Bean's Elvis Phone Sex (mp3), lifted from Ken Freedman and WFMU's Beware Of The Blog. Most assuredly not safe for work. ESPECIALLY if you work at Graceland. 

Good News For All Touring Musicians : Wyclef's Got Your Porn Stash

November 29th, 2007 at 1:22 pm by Gerard

Producer/musician/songwriter extraordinaire Wyclef Jean was quizzed by New York Magazine's Sara Cardace this week about his influences (thanks to Ira for the link). Let's just say he demonstrated greater candor than the majority of the Matador roster would've under similar circumstances.



Do you have a favorite movie?
My favorite movie is Black Orpheus. Do me a favor, okay? Please go see that. It’s very cinematic and raw. I think what makes a great movie is when you can feel the culture and the sun and the people and the vibe inside the lens. Another movie I love is Once Upon a Time in America. I fell in love with that movie because of the score. You can imagine—I’m a kid supposed to be watching the movie, and instead I’m listening to the score.



And guilty pleasures?
I’m a great porn collector. The best porn ever is Sweetest Taboo. You ever seen it? That’s a good one. I probably have over 5,000 pornos.



Really?! Where do you keep them all?
In my basement. I collected them through the years. I don’t lie about anything; I think if someone has a porn collection, they have a porn collection. I know people who say they don’t have a porn collection, but when they get up in hotels they run them bills wild! They might want to call me and I could rent them a few.

Whether or not Wyclef can be considered an heir to Ralph Whittington's former throne as "King Of Porn" remains to be seen. But the next time a prominent musician is asked about a guilty pleasure and feels compelled to answer "Project Runway", rest assured, the ante has been raised.

Snoozy Columnist Decries The No Privacy Era

November 12th, 2007 at 1:34 pm by Gerard

Always wear a clean pair of undies, folks, 'cause you never know when yours might up in the Daily Mail. Said tabloid's Tom Rawstrorne is genuinely bummed at Facebook's "30 Reasons Girls Should Call It A Night"

Part of the Facebook phenomenon (6.5million active users in the UK alone and growing by the day), it was set up by an American student and as its name suggests has as its basis a 30-strong list of telltale signs that the "sisterhood" should recognise as being indicative of home-time.

They include having "no idea where your friends are", sitting down and the room starting to spin, passing out at a party and waking up with "writing all over your face and limbs", making out with five different guys, stripping off and falling over.

most eye-catching are the 5,000-odd pictures posted on the site.

These include women, the majority identified by name, vomiting in toilets or over themselves, collapsing on the ground, urinating in public or inadvertently exposing themselves.

Some of the images are shocking. Most are deeply depressing.

And what is extraordinary is that the majority of these pictures are posted onto the web by the subjects themselves.

Professor Furedi believes social networking sites are used by young people to signal that they are "out there" and that they want to be noticed.

"Although there is now a fairly deeply entrenched drinking culture amongst young people where basically people drink for its own sake, it is also being used as a way to show people what a daring, risk-taking, funky young person they are," he says.

Sheesh. Good thing only women get up to this kind of thing.

Shat In The (Linkin Park's) Van!!

November 6th, 2007 at 8:36 pm

No square inch of scenery left to chew, no square inch of Shatner's ass to kiss, and no clips of the interview on YouTube yet, but one can enjoy Mike Patton exploring everything that happened in music between The Infectious Grooves and Linkin Park!

"Having Sex With Pavement(s)" Is So 1993

October 29th, 2007 at 5:05 pm by Gerard

Clearly, we're living in puritanical times when a man can be placed on the sex offenders registry for merely attempting to have sex with a bicycle.

After all, who amongst us has not gazed longingly at an old Frejus catalog and thought, "I'd hit that"?

The Perils Of Being An Early Adopter

October 10th, 2007 at 3:08 pm by Gerard

I don't know what you were doing at 3am last night, but I'm sure it was more fun than what I was up to.

Don't Call Him Metally Hanicapped...

June 20th, 2007 at 11:27 am by Gerard

(finally, someone agrees that listening to Meshuggah is not merely a lifestyle choice)

...because he's Metally Handicapable!  From The Local :

A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis enable the metal lover to supplement his income with state benefits.

Roger Tullgren, 42, from Hässleholm in southern Sweden has just started working part time as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.

Eventually his last employer tired of his absences and Tullgren was left jobless and reliant on welfare handouts.

But his sessions with the occupational psychologists led to a solution of sorts: Tullgren signed a piece of paper on which his heavy metal lifestyle was classified as a disability, an assessment that entitles him to a wage supplement from the job centre.

"I signed a form saying: 'Roger feels compelled to show his heavy metal style. This puts him in a difficult situation on the labour market. Therefore he needs extra financial help'. So now I can turn up at a job interview dressed in my normal clothes and just hand the interviewers this piece of paper," he said.

The manager at his new workplace allows him to go to concerts as long as he makes up for lost time at a later point. He is also allowed to dress as he likes and listen to heavy metal while washing up.

"But not too loud when there are guests," he said.

The Local spoke to an occupational psychologist in Stockolm, who admitted to being baffled by the decision.

"I think it's extremely strange. Unless there is an underlying diagnosis it is absolutely unbelievable that the job centre would pay pay out.

"If somebody has a gambling addiction, we don't send them down to the racetrack. We try to cure the addiction, not encourage it," he said.

Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, the Employment Service has agreed to pay part of Tullgren's salary. His new boss meanwhile has given him a special dispensation to play loud music at work.

"I have been trying for ten years to get this classified as a handicap," Tullgren told The Local.

"I spoke to three psychologists and they finally agreed that I needed this to avoid being discriminated against."

Publicist Meltdown: "Save To Drafts" Method Strongly Recommended For Future Blog Promotion

April 20th, 2007 at 5:03 pm

Not since Lizzie Grubman turned that valet stand into her personal monster SUV rally have we witnessed such an embarassingly-public-publicist-melt-down as Man Man's publicist's public melt-down over at Philebrity.  We're pretty sure people only go to that blog to remind themselves of which night is free Sparks night at the Khyber, so what's the point?   

A Shitty Week For My Diaper Service

April 19th, 2007 at 6:17 pm

Yes folks, with this letter left on our doorstep last week (the second half of which reads half like a missive from NASA on why Lisa Nowak won't be on Atlantis flight STS-117), it's official...no more diaper services in Brooklyn. 

(Gerard:  Apologies in advance if I'm turning Matablog into babycenter) 

Land of the Free, Home of the Metal Names

April 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm

Note to recently proud papa Adam Farrell: maybe Ella's nickname should be 'TimesNewViking?' What do you think? From our friends at the Associated Press:

Metallica may be a cool name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince officials it is also suitable for a baby girl.

Michael and Karolina Tomaro are locked in a court battle with Swedish authorities, which rejected their application to name their six-month-old child after the legendary rock band.

"It suits her," Karolina Tomaro, 27, said Tuesday of the name. "She's decisive and she knows what she wants."

Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word "metal."

Tomaro said the official handling the case also called the name "ugly."

The couple was backed by the County Administrative Court in Goteborg, which ruled on March 13 that there was no reason to block the name. It also noted that there already is a woman in Sweden with Metallica as a middle name.

The tax agency appealed to a higher court, frustrating the family's foreign travel plans.

"We've had to cancel trips and can't get anywhere because we can't get her a passport without an approved name," Tomaro said.

Ironically enough, if I recall correctly, original Metallica bassist Cliff Burton met his untimely demise in the home country of Jesper Eklow, so Swedish National Tax Board, if you're listening/reading and asking "For Whom the Bell Tolls," well it tolls for thee.

Truster? I Just Met Her!

March 13th, 2007 at 1:37 pm by Gerard

Little known Matador factoid : Richard Bey was our first choice for host of "What's Up, Matador?"

Murdoch Tabloid : Fucking Cars Weirder Than Sex With Pavement(s)

March 12th, 2007 at 6:41 pm by Gerard

Spiral Stairs, J.G. Ballard, unavailable for comment.

I Didn't Even Know He Was Sick

March 3rd, 2007 at 3:19 pm by Gerard

artist credit : unknown, email by these guys.

Let Me Sleep On It, I'll Give You An Answer In The Morning

October 26th, 2006 at 4:02 pm by Gerard

Attn : Ladies and Gentlemen.  The following serves as evidence that my spam filter really sucks. Thank you.

FIRST 200 ABSOLUTE MEAT LOAF "FANATICS" WIN RESERVED VIP ACCESS TO A SPECIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE ON THE TODAY SHOW IN NYC THIS FRIDAY, 10/27!All are welcome, but only a few deserve the VIP section. ;)
To enter to win, please send an email no later than 6PM EST, Tomorrow, October 26th to [email protected]. Your email should include:

-Your full name

-Your phone number

-Your date of birth (18 and older only)

-You must type this out beneath your date of birth: "If I win this VIP access to see the legendary Meat Loaf perform and promote his new album Bat Out Of Hell III. (releasing on 10/31), I PROMISE that I can be in New York on 10/27 between 5:30 and 6:30 AM EST for the show. I also authorize Meatloaf.net to email me in the future for Meat Loaf-related news only."

You will ONLY be notified if you've won VIP access. If you are chosen as a winner YOU MUST HAVE LEGAL ID FOR ADMISSION TO THE SHOW!