Coming December 11 : Gang Of Four 77-81 Box Set

October 28th, 2020 at 9:58 am by The Management

(photo : Andy Corrigan)







"He'd Send In The Army" (live, 1981)

preorder Gang Of Four 77-81

"As a kid, I stumbled upon a copy of Gang of Four’s Entertainment! accidentally and it went on to become one of the most influential records of my life as a producer, lyricist and fan of music in general. Their sparse, unorthodox, riff heavy guitars and nasty, funky, in-the-pocket rhythm section drew me in, but it was their questioning of the world that kept me listening as I grew. I consider them a seminal band, whose influence and effect permeates the music world in a deeper way than many realize. Thank you, Gang of Four, for existing." - EL-P

On December 11th, Matador will release GANG OF FOUR: '77-81'', a stunning, limited edition box set gathering Gang of Four’s influential early work.

The box set contains Entertainment!' and 'Solid Gold' (both remastered from the original analog tapes), an exclusive singles LP, and an exclusive double LP of the never officially released 'Live at American Indian Center 1980'. Additionally, the package includes two new badges, a C90 cassette tape compiling 26 never-before-issued outtakes, rarities and studio demos from 'Entertainment!' and 'Solid Gold', and an epic 100-page, full-color hardbound book.

The book details the history and legacy of the original Gang of Four with never before seen photos, contributions from surviving original band members, rare posters, ephemera, flyers, essays, artwork, liner notes and more. It also marks the first official publication of their lyrics.

Gang of Four was formed in Leeds in 1976 by bassist Dave Allen, drummer Hugo Burnham, guitarist Andy Gill, and singer Jon King. The band pioneered a style of music that inverted punk’s blunt and explosive energies — favoring tense rhythms, percussive guitars, and lyrics that traded in Marxist theory and situationism. They put every element of the traditional “rock band” format to question, from notions of harmony and rhythm to presentation and performance.

This original lineup of the band released two monumental albums, 'Entertainment!' (1979) and 'Solid Gold '(1981). A third, 'Songs of the Free' (1982), was recorded with bassist Sara Lee replacing Dave Allen. After 'Songs Of The Free', Burnham departed the band and Andy Gill and Jon King continued on to release Hard in 1983. After this release, the band broke up. In 2004, the original quartet reformed for tour dates and released 'Return The Gift' (2005).

Gill’s untimely death in February 2020 was cause for many to once again re-examine the group’s catalog and the legacy of these early releases was widely cited. Not only did Gang of Four’s music speak to the generation of musicians, activists, writers, and visual artists that emerged in the group’s immediate wake, but the generation after that. And the generation after that, even.

In the last few years, their songs have continued to resonate with and been sampled by artists far afield including Run the Jewels (“The Ground Below”) and Frank Ocean (“Futura Free”). Now forty years since the original release of 'Entertainment!', Gang of Four’s legacy cannot be overstated.

(Please note this boxset is ony available in the United States. If you would like to order the boxset from outside of the US please send an email to: [email protected] with your name and email address with the subject line ‘Gang of Four Boxset’ to get the first news about ordering)

At Home We Feel Like Purists

Music, specifically pop music, is as much of a commodity as pork bellies. It's bought, packaged, sold, traded and has as little to do with the Platonic triad of beauty, goodness and truth as, well, pork bellies. And it hasn't just become this way. It's been this way. From its inception to now, its value is what's made it significant in the marketplace. But pressed against a wooden stage in New York at Hurrah's in the late 1970s, what stepped out on stage had nothing to do with any kind of commercial calculus. That I could see.

See, in 1979, after a steady diet of The Ramones, the New York Dolls, Klaus Nomi, fer chrissakes, and on the strength of the name alone, a single, the press and the locale, the Gang of Four was a must see. But wrapped in the earlier vaudevillian aspect of punk rock, new wave, no wave, and a sort of well-meaning but very extant schtick, expectations were in keeping with what had already been seen. But what had been seen would in no way prepare you for what you were about to see.

Four Brits, no leather jackets, no make-up, and outside of an opening song with about two minutes of unremitting feedback, no schtick.

"We all grew up around vaudeville. It was part of the zeitgeist," said drummer Hugo Burnham, from outside of Boston where he toils in academia and presently makes his home. But Gang of Four? "It was anti-schtick. And it was somewhat deliberate because we were serious about what we were doing but we weren't dour. We didn't go as far as the shoegazing thing."

Which is almost right. Gone was the clever art school quirk of Talking Heads or the mordant rumble of a Joy Division, musicians framing what we were understanding about new music at the time. Replaced instead with something that was equal parts both cool and hot, and when they tore into their set that night it was with a life-changing brio.

No "Hello Cleveland!" No foot on the front wedge rock god posturing, just songs and songs played like those that were playing them meant it. It, here, being coruscating takes on very precisely what it was we were doing while we were doing it. Again: not by accident. But very specifically, deliberately.

"We sat in pubs and talked about it," Burnham said. Right down to things like, "No fucking feet on the monitors."

What Burnham fails to mention and this is an amusing Rashomonesque feature of chatting with the three members still living – Burnham, singer/lyricist Jon King, and bassist Dave Allen – is that the no-feet-on-the-monitors "chat" didn't happen in a pub. King, in a call from London, offers an alternate scenario.

"It happened backstage after a show in what used to be Yugoslavia," King laughs. "And it involved a fistfight." So Gill and Allen settled things the old-fashioned way and while it's unknown who won, at the Hurrah's show there were no feet on monitors.

What there was though after the generalized sexlessness of punk rock -- from Johnny Rotten declaring sex "boring" and for "hippies" and Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye singing that he didn't fuck – was music and performance of said music that was as somatic as all get out and that very directly addressed love, sex, the politics of both, and their wider intersection with politics in total.

But first a little historical political perspective and a sense of the tableau upon which whatever Gang of Four was, was created. In the late 1970s in the U.K., there was 14 percent inflation, 18 percent in 1980, one in five adult males were out of work, interest rates were 14 percent, and there was massive industrial unrest.

"In '78 and '79 it was called the Winter of Discontent," King said of the hellscape that England had been even before Thatcher dug in. "There were piles of garbage four meters high in the street, people weren't going to be buried because there was a strike of mortuary workers and grave diggers, there were dozens of IRA terror attacks in mainland UK, there were plotters looking to pull a coup d'etat, plus Russian SCUD missiles in eastern Europe and Americans sending Pershing missiles to NATO, so threats of nuclear attack. Songs like 'In the Ditch' on Solid Gold? That was the context we were working with."

And given that context, a steadfast mark of Gang of Four's genius that they didn't zig into what was a popular pose at the time (and still really) and try to pull off the working class hero crap that had smart people dumbing down in the name of some sort of shopworn idea of what was authentic. That is, the Gang of Four were driven and obsessed with what middle class art school students should be obsessed with: making great music and art in and of the times they are living, fully realizing that you can't fake authenticity.

Which is when King zags and contemporizes it all. Like he does. Like Gang of Four did. "What's interesting is buying a cup of coffee now: they ask you 'what's your name?' and they insist on knowing what it is. These fake relationships masquerading as real relationships when we all know it's a masquerade."

"Look, in looking back I have decided I really like this sort of troublesome 21-year-old me who wrote these totally un-commercial songs," said King. But the charm, at least for the creator, is that "there's nothing in it that is an attempt to pander to people. And it may sound kind of stupid but I kind of thought of us as like a blues band."

"So I tried to avoid cliché, but it's quite difficult trying to not write about things that everyone else was writing about," King explains." But there's a reason hip-hop is the biggest genre in the world now and that's because it's got some authenticity about it; it talks about things that are actually happening. The world is a shit show now. To not write about it is a remarkable evasion of responsibility."

Something that wasn't missed in 1979 New York either with crime at an all-time high and the city collapsing financially. So mid-set when King dragged a metal crate on stage – "we later switched to a microwave," Burnham said – and started blasting it with a drum stick it was both the sound of the city and the times all at once.

Adding percussive elements in and from trash, well in advance of Einsturzende Neubaten and even Stan Ridgway from Wall of Voodoo who Burnham initially thought they had lifted it from ("No," corrects King), this was a perfect sweat-drenched statement of intent: Gang of Four absolutely were not fucking around.

And it was perhaps this quality specifically that drew the heavy. "We were political with a small P," said bassist Dave Allen who followed a post-Gang of Four career with music tech gigs at both Apple and Intel, which is how he ended up in Portland. "But we were fighting Nazis. The fascists that came to the shows. They would jump onstage when we were playing in London, skinheads, and they had knives." Allen, in general soft spoken, neither laughs nor smiles in the retelling. "The security guards would all run away. Having a big heavy bass in this instance helped quite a bit."

But before reforming in 2005, Allen was the first to leave Gang of Four, in 1981, and his leaving was part of that whole not fucking around piece and almost perfectly Gang of Four-ish. "EMI were always pushing us. They wanted us to make 'hits'. Be on the radio. Top of the Pops," Allen sighs. "That's not what we do. We don't make pop songs. But they had all of these pretty boys. Duran Duran…so I just felt like I had done enough."

And despite the fact though that 25 percent of the band is dead, 25 percent is talking to me via video chat, and 50 percent of the band is in America, the claim that there are no second acts in American lives? Clearly bullshit and so not a surprise at all when Allen says, "we need to find a guitarist."

The 2005 reunion only lasted a few years, but Andy Gill continued with replacement musicians and died right in the midst of touring with them. He left giant shoes to fill. But even considering trying to fill them? A straight-up damn the torpedoes move. To which they are well matched.

"When you try to audition a guitar player they just can't do it," Allen winds up. "They come in blasting thinking it is punk, but we were post-punk. It was us and Wire…"

It certainly was.

And in 1979 when the show at Hurrahs concluded, and they stood on stage for the briefest of moments, drenched in sweat, not smiling as they regarded us the audience, also drenched in sweat, and said "goodnight", it felt like marching orders. And they were.

For? For a murderer's row of people whose music not only kills but lives on in our cars, houses, phones, heads: The Pixies, Nirvana, Shellac, REM, Mission of Burma, Bush Tetras, Savage Republic, 10,000 Maniacs, Mark Stewart, Henry Rollins, Steve Shelley, Sofia Coppola, and more too numerous to name but no less deserving.

Now draw a family tree that across the past 40 years of influencing just about anyone making music, film, or art who proudly claims and proclaims some sort of spiritual connection to the Gang of Four and what have you? A veritable bildungsroman of the greatest things to just about ever happen to your fucking ears. Believe me. I know.

– Eugene S. Robinson (Oxbow)

Tracklist

Entertainment!
A1. Ether
A2. Natural’s Not In It
A3. Not Great Men
A4. Damaged Goods
A5. Return The Gift
A6. Guns Before Butter
B1. I Found That Essence Rare
B2. Glass
B3. Contract
B4. At Home He’s A Tourist
B5. 5.45
B6. Love Like Anthrax
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FROM THE ARCHIVES : MARKING THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MATABLOG

July 22nd, 2015 at 1:22 pm by Gerard

(Editor's note : roughly 9 years ago this weekend, internet history was made with the introduction of the Matablog. Since the blog medium was almost entirely played out by that time, this was sort of akin to trumpeting the invention of the CB Radio in 1995, but just the same, we've persevered and thoroughly enjoyed spreading misinformation and hastily correcting broken links. Here's to another 9 years --- at the very least --- of being scooped by Pitchfork on our own news stories! - GC)

According to New York Magazine (our personal style bible), this blog thing is really taking off. As you know, the management of Matador Records cannot resist any scheme that might either a) make us money or b) result in our selling half of the company again, so voila, it's THE MATABLOG.

In the days and weeks ahead, you'll be graced with intense, personal observations, screeds and propositions from a star-studded cavalcade of innovative artists and music business veterans. Probably more of the latter. But we're not above composing something and putting Ricky Luanda's name on it, especially if things are slow.

We'll do our best to cover a range of cultural issues, but hopefully not sports. No one wants to read about that shit, trust me.



sincerely,

Gerard Cosloy
your editor

Out Today : Yo La Tengo's 'Extra Painful'

December 2nd, 2014 at 3:06 pm by Gerard

December 2, 2014 happens to mark the 30th anniversary of one of the planet's best bands making their official live debut --- it all went down on a cold Sunday evening at Hoboken's Maxwell's, and I feel pretty confident in saying the evening's headliners have left behind a devastating body of work in the 3 decades and lineup changes since. Not only that, but they've continue to record, perform and put the rest of the rock world on notice at every opportunity



But enough about Antietam, apparently this is also the 30th anniversary of Yo La Tengo's first show, too, and with that in mind, we're celebrating the historic moment with today's double LP / double CD release of 'Extra Painful', the expanded edition of the trio's very first album for Matador, 1993's 'Painful'. Earlier today, Pitchfork's Stuart Berman said of the reissue, "Yo La Tengo would go on to define '90s indie—and its evermore sophisticated post-millenial permutations—not by refining their sound, but by blowing it wide open. Painful was the moment of detonation." ("More so than any other band in recent memory, Yo La Tengo’s body of work hinges on the notion that no song is ever a completely finished, end-state product; what we hear on any given album is seemingly a function of what mood they were in the day it was recorded, what the weather was like on the day of mixing, or how much studio time was left before the budget was blown. There is no such thing as a permanent record; songs have many lives before they’re officially documented and continue to evolve long thereafter.")



Drowned In Sound's Benjamin Bland opined that 'Extra Painful' represents "a welcome reminder of an album that has never quite gained the classic status it deserves, but despite this the vital ingredient – the intimate feeling at the heart of Painful - remains agelessly undamaged by the passage of time." It's a little late in the day for us to opt for an "AGELESSLY UNDAMAGED" sticker quote, but it's a pretty good idea just the same.



you can order 'Extra Painful' on double vinyl or CD from the following :

The Matador Store
Amazon

a handful of tickets are still available for this week's 30th Anniversary shows in New York, Philly and DC :

12/03 Town Hall, NY NY w/ Antietam
12/04 Town Hall, NY NY w/ The Feelies
12/05 9:30 Club, Washington DC w/ Lambchop
12/06 Trocadero, Philadelphia PA w/ Antietam
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John Peel - remembered

October 25th, 2014 at 8:16 am

Today marks 10 years since the passing of John Peel, a man who opened the BBC radio airwaves for bands and artists outside the remit of the stations "regular" programming and opened the minds of thousands listening at home to sounds they otherwise may have never heard. One of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, throughout his 5-decade spanning career he never showed no signs of slowing down and his influence on (the good part) of modern music is immeasurable.

As a small tribute to the many Matador bands who recorded a Peel Session over the years, we've compiled a selection of some of the session that made it on to YouTube, (many - including The Fall, Wisdom Of Harry and Pretty Girls Make Graves - haven't) and there's a full archive of all the Peel sessions over at the BBC Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/.

Featuring: Cat Power, Interpol, Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Belle and Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Mogwai, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Solex, Unsane, Arab Strab, Unwound, Guided By Voices, Superchunk, Techno Animal and Boards Of Canada.

Enjoy.

Preserving the lost musical heritage of Somalia

June 2nd, 2014 at 11:37 pm by Patrick

Focus On Somalia: RADIO MOGADISHU ARCHIVE DIGITIZATION from AMISOM Public Information on Vimeo.

Radio free Mogadishu. Watch this.

Kurt Vile on Sound Opinions

April 19th, 2013 at 11:55 am by Claire T

Photo courtesy of Sound Opinions

Kurt Vile recently stopped by Sound Opinions (WBEZ91.5 Chicago) to perform some songs from Wakin On A Pretty Daze. While there Kurt chatted with hosts, Jim DeRogatis & Greg Kot, about the new album, shredding solos, rock mythology, Tusk, and so much more. It's a great (and informative) listen that you can check out right here.

And don't forget Kurt Vile & The Violators will be out at Coachella this Sunday bringing the heat.
And elsewhere across this land through the Spring and Summertime.

Sun-Apr-21 – Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

Sun-May-05 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
Tue-May-07 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex ***SOLD OUT
Wed-May-08 – San Francisco, CA – Independent  ***SOLD OUT
Fri-May-10 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir ***SOLD OUT
Sat-May-11 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore ***SOLD OUT
Sun-May-12 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Tue-May-14 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall ***SOLD OUT
Thu-May-16 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom ***SOLD OUT
Fri-May-17 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair ***SOLD OUT
Sat-May-18 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer

Fri – May 24 – Barcelona ES – Primavera Sound Festival
Sat – May 25 – London GB – Field Day
Sun – May 26 – Brussels BE – AB
Mon – May 27 – Amsterdam NL – Paradiso
Tue -  May 28 – Hamburg DE – Knust
Wed – May 29 – Copenhagen DK – Amager Bio
Sat-Jun-29    New York, NY    4 Knots Festival
Sun-Jul-07    Toronto, ON    Toronto Urban Roots Festival
Tue-Jul-09    Cleveland, OH    Grog Shop
Wed-Jul-10    Detroit, MI    Magic Stick
Thu-Jul-11     Chicago, IL    Metro
Fri-Jul-12    Indianapolis, IN    The Vogue
Sat-Jul-13    Louisville, KY    Forcastle Music Festival
Sun-Jul-14    Nashville, TN    Mercy Lounge
Mon-Jul-15    Birmingham, AL    The Bottletree
Wed-Jul-17    Asheville, NC    The Grey Eagle
Thu-Jul-18    Carrboro, NC    Cats Cradle
Fri-Jul-19    Charlottesville, VA    Jefferson Theatre
Sat-Jul-20    Washington, DC    9:30 Club
Sat-Jul-27    Edmonton, AB    Interstellar Rodeo
Sun-Jul-28    Calgary, AB    Calgary Folk Music Festival
Fri-Aug-2    Happy Valley, OR    Pickathon#
Sat-Aug-3    Happy Valley, OR    Pickathon#
Sun-Aug-4    Happy Valley, OR    Pickathon#
Fri-Aug-9    San Francisco, CA    Outside Lands*
Sat-Aug-10    San Francisco, CA    Outside Lands*
Sun-Aug-11    San Francisco, CA    Outside Lands*

# and * = Performing on one of these dates (exact dates TBC)

The Fresh & Onlys supporting 5/7-5/12
Angel Olsen supporting 5/16-5/18
Steve Gunn supporting 5/7-5/18

Pick up Wakin On A Pretty Daze on the Matador Store

kurtvile.com

From The Owings Archives To Your Eyeballs : Come, Live In Cambridge, MA, March, 1991

January 22nd, 2013 at 8:49 am by Gerard

We're told this might be footage from Come's first public performance. Perhaps you thought this would be the post where we'd announce the presale for the May reissue of Come's debut album, 'Eleven : Eleven'. Or maybe even the post where some live dates would be unveiled. If you should know anything by now, it's that we have a tendency to drag this shit out. "Are they being paid by the post?" you might well wonder, and why yes, in fact WE ARE. (video courtesy Chunklet)

Happy 61st Birthday, Paul Stanley

January 20th, 2013 at 5:58 pm by Gerard

On this historic day in rock history, let's recall the moment nearly 3 years ago when (Sir?) Paul attempted to explain to his adoring fans, the difference between a record store, a rock concert and an art space as world renowned as the Wentworth Gallery of the Short Hills Mall (Short Hills, NJ).  Though it  is truly sad that not everyone can respect such boundaries, please look at the bright side ; at least this didn't take place at a Ron Wood art show.

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)

From The Archives (Of Someone Else)

May 14th, 2012 at 1:15 pm by Gerard

courtesy Max Vandever, from San Antonio's Taco Land, 1996.  At least they had air conditioning.

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.

Boston's #2 Daily Newspaper's Right To Annoy Tom Scholz Upheld By Judge

September 16th, 2011 at 4:43 pm by Gerard

(funny, when you type "Boston the band" into Google Image Search, the above Negative FX jpg comes up pretty close to the top of the entries)

Though I have MORE THAN A FEELING (sorry) we've not seen the last of this dispute, the Boston Herald's Joe Dwinell reported yesterday a Superior Court judge rejected claims by Boston guitarist/founder Tom Scholz the Herald had defamed the one-time AOR radio fixture.

Scholz is suing the Herald over three 2007 Inside Track columns that he claims imply he drove fellow band member Brad Delp to commit suicide in March 2007. In May of 2010, the Herald published several articles reporting on Scholz’s lawsuit and the parties’ respective litigation positions in it. Scholz claimed that the Herald’s May 2010 articles had defamed him and caused him emotional distress.

Massachusetts Superior Court Judge John C. Cratsley previously ruled that the Herald’s articles accurately reported on the litigation. After the case was reviewed by an Appeals Court judge, Scholz argued that the articles were “unfair” and published with “malice.”





However, after review, Judge Cratsley reiterated that the articles were not only accurate, but that Scholz had “come up empty handed” in presenting evidence that the articles were unfair or published for a reason other than to inform the public.

Amateur rock historians will recall that Scholz is no stranger to litigation, and a few years back, Boston sued the now-defunct Artemis label alleging the band's 'Corporate America' album was poorly marketed and promoted. Had any legal precedent been established, there's no telling how many Matador artists from the early 1990's would have a case.

The Matablog's 5th Anniversary : Celebrating 5 Years Of Blatant Self-Promotion

July 14th, 2011 at 1:53 pm by Gerard

July 26  marks the 5th anniversary of the Matablog's public debut (after MONTHS of beta-testing), truly a day in that will go down in rock / internet history as the moment blogging finally came to fruition as letting you know about record release parties in cities thousands of miles away a force for social change.  Over these past 5 years, the Matablog has gone from being the #7 or #8 most widely read source for news and information about this label to being somewhere in the top 3 or 4.  It is, however, the number one source of information concerning whatever Patrick has concocted in his well-stocked kitchen that weekend, and if you think you're gonna get that kind of content from Paste or Metal Sludge.com, think again.

Though I realize many of you would like to credit me alone for the Matablog's wild success (and I thank each of you for the cards, letters and fruit baskets that arrived today, especially the videogram from former NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer) it couldn't have happened without the hard work, insight, and passion for THE TRUTH the Matador and Beggars staffs bring to the table, nor without the contributions from our family of recording artists.  It is my fervent hope that in the days to come, the Matablog will continue to serve as a beacon of light in the otherwise dreary world of rock biz puffery.  Frankly, I'd settle for Todd Netter not referring to it as "Mata-blog", but perhaps that's something we can target after the 10th anniversary.

Anyhow, enough with all of that insider-baseball bullshit.  There's no point celebrating a big anniversary without a party, and this weekend Matador has Thurston Moore, Cold Cave and Kurt Vile all appearing at our Matablog 5th Anniversary Bash in Chicago's Union Park.  I realize there's a bunch of non-Matador artists on the bill  ;  there might even be banners atop the stages that fail to mention the actual name of the festival, but that's ok.  Not every record label blog is magnanimous enough to share their weekend in the sun with others, but after all this time you oughta know that we're all about inclusion.    Here's to five (hundred) more years!

The Greatest Piece of (Rock) Historical Revisionism Ever Committed To Video

October 21st, 2010 at 12:58 am by Gerard

You know the old saying, "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it?" No? Well, it's a pretty good saying. The above Pussy Galore bio pic by Michele O'Mara, however brings to mind the truism "history is best retold by persons who don't give a shit about accuracy or likenesses" (OK, I made that up myself). With all due respect to meme-tastic crazes like keyboard kitties and Alexyss Tylor, I see no reason why this video shouldn't top a million or more views by the end of the week. (thanks to Linda Wolfe for the heads-up about this astonishing video)

Magic Kids new video "Superball"

August 26th, 2010 at 2:09 pm

This week Magic Kids released their record, played a symphony accompanied show for 500 of their hometown friends and fans, and left for a week-long instore tour. But the news doesn't stop here. Happy to share this new video for "Superball" directed by Jack Ferry. Evokes some simple classic vids, faces, instruments, soft-focus lights...eternally into it.

Order Magic Kids "Memphis" HERE (and get an instant mp3 download of the album)

Matador Archival Madness Pt. II - A TFUL 282 Video We Can't Recall Commissioning

June 1st, 2010 at 6:28 pm by Gerard

....which doesn't make it any less fantastic. Thinking Fellers Union Local 282's "2X4's" from 1991's 'Lovelyville', directed by N. Markowski. Not seen on "120 Minutes", but if we said otherwise, someone might believe it.

Pavement Best Of Track Listing and Contest Winner

January 25th, 2010 at 7:00 am by Patrick

So we got more than 1200 entries to the Pavement Guess The Track Listing contest for the Quarantine The Past best-of collection. As you may recall, first prize was for the track listing closest to the actual track listing. The actual track listing is:

1. Gold Soundz (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
2. Frontwards (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
3. Mellow Jazz Docent (PERFECT SOUND FOREVER EP)
4. Stereo (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
5. In The Mouth A Desert (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
6. Two States (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
7. Cut Your Hair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
8. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
9. Here (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
10. Unfair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
11. Grounded (WOWEE ZOWEE)
12. Summer Babe (Winter Version) (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
13. Range Life (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
14. Date w/ IKEA (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
15. Debris Slide (PERFECT SOUND FOREVER EP)
16. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
17. Spit On A Stranger (TERROR TWILIGHT)
18. Heaven Is a Truck (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
19. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
20. Embassy Row (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
21. Box Elder (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
22. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence (NO ALTERNATIVE COMP)
23. Fight This Generation (WOWEE ZOWEE)

All tracks are fully remastered from the original tapes (including for the early material) and will be available on mid-priced CD and mid-priced dbl LP as well as digital album. Low-priced vinyl reissues of all five Matador LPs plus the Watery, Domestic EP will land on the same date - March 9 - and keep your eyes peeled for other interesting Pavement issues to come over the course of this year.

Winner of the first prize expenses-paid trip to NYC to see Pavement in Central Park next September is Flavio Seixlack of São Paolo, who submitted this sequence, hitting 17 out of the 23 tracks:

1. Gold Soundz (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
2. In The Mouth A Desert (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
3. You're Killing Me (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
4. Heaven Is a Truck (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
5. AT&T (WOWEE ZOWEE)
6. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
7. Major Leagues (TERROR TWILIGHT)
8. Date w/ IKEA (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
9. Frontwards (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
10. Painted Soldiers (KIDS IN THE HALL: BRAIN CANDY OST)
11. The Hexx (TERROR TWILIGHT)
12. Cut Your Hair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
13. Range Life (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
14. Grounded (WOWEE ZOWEE)
15. Debris Slide (PERFECT SOUND FOREVER EP)
16. Spit On A Stranger (TERROR TWILIGHT)
17. Here (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
18. We Dance (WOWEE ZOWEE)
19. Summer Babe (Winter Version) (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
20. Box Elder (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
21. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
22. Stereo (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
23. Fight This Generation (WOWEE ZOWEE)

Second prize will be awarded to the most imaginative track listing - which will be pressed up into a limited-edition double vinyl LP for Record Store Day (April 17). We will be announcing this later this week, along with the 3 runner-up winners of complete sets of Pavement Matador vinyl.

Keep your eyes on this spot.

Preorder Quarantine The Past with a 15% discount

crookedrain.com

Pavement - Quarantine The Past

January 5th, 2010 at 7:00 am by Patrick

Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement comes out on March 9, 2010. This fully remastered 23-track compilation will be available on MID-PRICED double LP, CD and digital album formats. The tracks span the entirety of Pavement's career from 1989 to 1999, from the scratchy and mysterious sounds of their early vinyl-only releases to the rich, multilayered warmth of their final recordings. Although the compilation does not include any unreleased material, it definitely digs deeper than the hits.

Preorder (with 15% discount) direct from Matador HERE

Simultaneously, we will be re-releasing Pavement's complete Matador LP catalog (the 5 albums including the "Watery, Domestic" 12" EP) on L(ow) P(rice) vinyl. (The premium deluxe vinyl we have released on the first four albums will continue to be available.)

Quarantine The Past lands in stores as Pavement embark on their first live appearances since the fall of 1999. Dates begin in New Zealand on March 1 and continue through Australia and Europe over the spring and summer, with 4 dates in New York's Central Park next September. More US shows will be announced shortly.

We are holding a Guess The Track Listing Contest. The album contains 23 tracks, all previously released, and the first track is "Gold Soundz" (MP3 of remastered version below). Prizes will be awarded as follows:

FIRST PRIZE for the track listing closest to the actual track listing
SECOND PRIZE for the most imaginative track listing
FOUR RUNNERS-UP in either of the above two categories (4 runner-up prizes total)

First prize will be a pair of tickets, with flights and hotel rooms, to see Pavement at Central Park Summerstage on Tuesday, September 21, 2009 2010. Plus a complete set of Pavement Matador 12" vinyl.

Second prize will be having your track listing pressed up in a special limited-edition vinyl double LP for Record Store Day (April 17). You will receive 5 copies of your best of selection. Plus a complete set of Pavement Matador 12" vinyl.

Runner-up prizes will be complete sets of Pavement Matador 12" vinyl.

To participate, please make your choice of 23 tracks (remember, the first one is "Gold Soundz") below - click on the ALBUM COVER to get started:



A few more clues: 3 pre-Matador tracks are included, plus one song that originally came out on a compilation. Every Matador album is represented, plus Watery, Domestic.

Deadline for entries is 2 weeks from today: TUESDAY, JANUARY 19.

Entry is open to anyone worldwide, with the exception of those listed under the contest rules and restrictions.

Download the remastered MP3 of "Gold Soundz":

Gold Soundz (160k mp3)

Pavement 2010 dates announced so far:

Mon Mar 01, 2010 - Auckland - Auckland Town Hall
Thu Mar 04, 2010 - Sydney - Enmore Theatre
Fri Mar 05, 2010 - Sydney - Enmore Theatre
Sat Mar 06, 2010 - Meredith - Golden Plains Festival
Sun Mar 07, 2010 - Adelaide - Thebarton Theatre
Mon Mar 08, 2010 - Perth - Metro City
Wed Mar 10, 2010 - Brisbane - Tivoli Theatre
Fri Mar 12, 2010 - Melbourne - Palace Theatre
Tue May 04, 2010 - Dublin - Tripod SOLD OUT
Wed May 05, 2010 - Glasgow - Barrowland Ballroom SOLD OUT
Fri May 07, 2010 - Paris - Le Zenith
Sat May 08, 2010 - Amsterdam - Paradiso
Mon May 10, 2010 - London - Brixton Academy
Tue May 11, 2010 - London - Brixton Academy SOLD OUT
Wed May 12, 2010 - London - Brixton Academy SOLD OUT
Thu May 13, 2010 - London - Brixton Academy SOLD OUT
Fri May 14, 2010 - Minehead, West Somerset - All Tomorrow’s Parties SOLD OUT
Sat May 15, 2010 - Minehead, West Somerset - All Tomorrow’s Parties SOLD OUT
Sun May 16, 2010 - Minehead, West Somerset - All Tomorrow’s Parties SOLD OUT
Tue May 18, 2010 - Brussels - Ancienne Belgique SOLD OUT
Wed May 19, 2010 - Berlin - Astra
Thu May 20, 2010 - Praha - Palac Akropolis
Fri May 21, 2010 - Vienna - Arena
Sat May 22, 2010 - Munich - Muffathalle
Mon May 24, 2010 - Rome - Atlantico
Tue May 25, 2010 - Bologna - Estragon
Thu Jul 01, 2010 - Roskilde - Roskilde Festival
Fri Jul 02, 2010 - Roskilde - Roskilde Festival
Sat Jul 03, 2010 - Roskilde - Roskilde Festival
Sun Jul 04, 2010 - Roskilde - Roskilde Festival
Thu Aug 12, 2010 - Oslo - Oyafestival
Sat Aug 14, 2010 - Gothenburg - Way Out West Festival
Tue Sep 21, 2010 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage SOLD OUT
Wed Sep 22, 2010 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage SOLD OUT
Thu Sep 23, 2010 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage SOLD OUT
Fri Sep 24, 2010 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage SOLD OUT

More info at:

crookedrain.com

And yes, a deluxe version of Terror Twilight is planned for next fall, to complete the deluxe editions of each Pavement album that we have been issuing every two years.

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

Jon Spencer speaks

November 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm by Gabe

File this under "totally fascinating blasts from the past". Gerard is that a category?

Jon Spencer talks to Ian Svenonius (I figured they'd be nemeses for the similar territory they mined during my youth) on VBS. Seriously interesting stuff: