Los Umbrellos - Flamenco Funk: 9 (A)

I appear to be the only person who knows of this album. They made it just for me. A minor masterwork of kitsch in my opinion.

Sonic Youth - The Walls Have Ears: 7.5 (high B+)

Decent bootleg of very good live performance. Collected when officially released.

Thomas Mapfumo - Ndangariro: 10 (A+)

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city: 7 (B+)

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly: 7 (B+)

Do not get the hype on this one or the prior one.

Sonic Youth - Confusion is Sex: 7.5 (high B+)

I have the reissue with the Kill Yr. Idols EP.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique: 10 (A+)

In my top three of all time.

Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet: 10 (A+)

The Goats - Tricks of the Shade: 10 (A+)

Murs - The End of the Beginning: 7 (B+)

Batata y Su Rumba Palenquera - Radio Bakongo: 9 (A)

Keith Richards - Crosseyed Heart: neutral

:-|

Delaney & Bonnie and Friends - Motel Shot: 7 (B+)

# blues rock [at least 4 listens]

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard - Here Be Monsters: 8.5 (high A-)

The Mekons - Ancient & Modern: 8 (A-)

The Bottle Rockets - South Broadway Athletic Club: 8 (A-)

The Bottle Rockets - Studio albums as of 2015: batch review

In preparation for seeing the band live tonight, on tour for the new one (see adjacent review), I took the opportunity to revisit their entire catalog. In checking to see how my assessments compared with those of others, I found a lack of reviews. Here's how I would rate them though:

8 (A-) - Bottle Rockets (1993)

10 (A+) - The Brooklyn Side (1994)

8 (A-) - 24 Hours a Day (1997)

7 (B+) - Brand New Year (1999)

7 (B+) - Songs of Sahm (2002)

7 (B+) - Blue Sky (2003)

8 (A-) - Zoysia (2006)

8 (A-) - Lean Forward (2009)

8 (A-) - South Broadway Athletic Club (2015)

7 (B+) - Bit Logic (2018)

As you can see, in my view, their only completely undeniable album is The Brooklyn Side, which I consider to be essential. Most of their other studio albums are strong, although perhaps a little samey. In any event, the only alt-country band that I am behind. Basically, I love them. Update (September 2025): One day I will get around to giving each of these albums the individual posts they deserve, and maybe tweak the grades slightly to fit my new grading system. Most likely this would result in slight upward revision.

Blaqstarr - Divine EP: 7 (B+)

Sold back - probably more of a "liked." Not sure how Christgau gave this a full A. Hull gives it an A minus and files it under Techno/Electronica. # electronica [at least 4 listens]

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf: 7 (B+)

I went for Rated R, with more Gene Trautmann on drums instead of that Foo Fighters poser. I owned this one once, but I may have sold it off for some reason. If it ever shows up, I'll reshelve it though, because these are their two acknowledged classics, and Gene is on both of them.

Animal Collective - Sung Tongs: liked

Somewhat tiresome (by the time it hits the 45 minute mark, it feels like it's been on for twice that long).

Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom: 10 (A+)

Young Fathers - White Men Are Black Men Too: liked

Upped from neutral. [at least 7 listens]

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear: neutral

:-|

Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!: neutral

:-|

Sharon Van Etten – Are We There?: neutral

:-|

The Clash - Black Market Clash [EP]: 10 (A+)

I'm probably one of the few people in the world who would name this as their favorite Clash album. I also have Super Black Market Clash, which I will not grade separately.

The Traveling Wilburys - Volume 1: 8 (A-)

The conceit's not clumsy, it's corny. But the concept ends up working, well enough at least.

Spacemen 3 - Playing with Fire: 7 (B+)

The Velvet Underground, made slightly boring. The first four songs are snooze fests and should definitely have been left off this overlong but intermittently exciting album. # experimental

James McMurtry - Complicated Game: 9 (A)

I was foolish to dismiss this man simply on the basis that he is the son of a famous man. One of the best "Americana" albums I have ever heard, if not the best. After The Brooklyn Side, of course.

Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle: 10 (A+)

Archers of Loaf - vs the Greatest of All Time [EP]: 10 (A+)

My favorite EP of all time, after Black Market Clash.

Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang - En Yay Sah: 8 (A-)

Maloko - Soul on Fire: 8 (A-)

The Magnetic Fields - "23 Love Songs": 10 (A+)

Playlist is below. I rate the full set of 69 Love Songs 9 (A). As for my other prime divisor, my top three songs are highlighted. Burned this one to disc and shelved it in a slim case. Spotify playlist is here. Please enjoy.

1.  "Absolutely Cuckoo"
2.  "I Don't Believe in the Sun"
3.  "All My Little Words"
4.  "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off"
5.  "I  Don't Want to Get Over You"
6.  "The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be"
7.  "I Think I Need a New Heart"
8.  "Sweet-Lovin' Man"
9.  "When My Boy Walks Down the Street"
10. "No One Will Ever Love You"
11. "You're My Only Home"
12. "(Crazy for You But) Not That Crazy"
13. "World Love"
14. "Long-Forgotten Fairytale"
15. "Papa Was a Rodeo"
16. "Epitaph for My Heart"
17. "The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing"
18. "Abigail, Belle of Kilronan"
19. "Busby Berkeley Dreams"
20. "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure"
21. "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!"
22. "I Can't Touch You Anymore
23. "How To Say Goodbye"

The Bottle Rockets - The Brooklyn Side: 10 (A+)

The Bottle Rockets - Bottle Rockets: 8 (A-)

Van Morrison - Common One: 7.5 (high B+)

After significantly more than three listens, I finally get this one. A good friend and mentor of mine highly recommended it to me decades ago, and I've never forgotten his enthusiasm for it. I kept trying over the years until it finally clicked. Of course, now it's OOP and selling for seriously over-inflated prices. Update: Found a copy for a good price in 2025 and went for it.

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Knox Phillips Sessions: 7.5 (high B+)

# oldies/misc. articles [4 listens]

Nene Tchakou - Soto: 8 (A-)

Dally Kimoko on guitar. Excellent underappreciated soukous album.

Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right: 8 (A-)

El Hadji Faye/Etoile 2000 de Dakar - Cheikh Ibra Fall [Dakar Audio Diffusion, 1998]: 8.5 (high A-)

Most sources don't seem to have Cheikh Ibra Fall as the title of this one, but that's what it appears to be to me. That's how Muzikifan files it, anyway, and who knows better than he? The common filing is Etoile 2000 de Dakar, but that does not seem right to me. Anyway, I've got this on my wantlist but doubt one will ever come up for a price I am willing to pay. Slightly too salsa-ish on some songs for my tastes, and the keybs, although beautiful in many ways, can get a little cheesy sometimes, but overall, there is a timeless vibe to this.

I don't think the "Djirime" on this is the same song played by Gestu de Dakar, but it's almost as good. I can't even get a translation of the word, except maybe it means "Thank You" in Wolof? How beautiful if so. What a magical culture. How can there be such genius in the world? I don't think any of these songs are on the Stern's Etoile de Dakar four volume series, which are somehow linked to Dakar Audio Diffusion in a way I can't determine.

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground: 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition [Disc 4]: 8 (A-)

Not into all the different mixes etc. of this classic album, but I thought disc 4 was worth checking out, so I did. Anything with "Foggy Notion" on it has to be worth a few listens. I also plan on listening to the two Live at the Matrix discs at some point. I realize they are from the same performances chronicled on the Quine bootlegs, the regular issue 1969 live album, and The Complete Matrix Tapes, but maybe I'll like this particular selection/presentation. I will probably only listen once though, since I've heard so many different versions of the Matrix performances so many times. Enough already. They are not that great.

Various - Champeta Criolla: A New African Music from Colombia: 8 (A-)

Digital-only. Please see post on Volume 2.

Various - Champeta Criolla Vol. 2: Visionary Black Music from Underground Colombiafrica: 8 (A-)

Digital-only. Update (2024): This and the first volume are from the days when I would buy digital files and burn to disc things which were digital-only, which I stopped doing long ago. But I have these in that format. I think these were eventually released on CD, and I may have alerts up for them. I'm not sure.

Afghan Whigs - Black Love: 10 (A+)

Withered Hand - New Gods: 8 (A-)

Shouldn't it be "New Goods"?

Withered Hand - Good News: 8 (A-)

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - batch review

I would say these are each "liked" or maybe 7 (B+):

Rock 'n' Roll With the Modern Lovers [4 listens]

Back in Your Life

I should listen to them both at least one more time. # proto-anti-folk?

Serengeti - Dennehy (Lights, Camera, Action!): 10 (A+)

The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.: 10 (A+) plus

Best album ever recorded, in my view, and the greatest work of art of the 20th century that I am aware of.

Common Sense - Resurrection: liked

I'll keep the cover, because I originally graded it at 7 (B+) and then docked it a notch for overstaying its welcome. [4 listens]

Derek & the Dominos - In Concert: 8 (A-)

Mike Doughty - Stellar Motel: 8.5 (high A-)

Kate Tempest - Everybody Down: 9 (A)

Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez: 8 (A-)

Dieuf-Dieul de Thies - Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1: 8 (A-)