Matthew Sweet - Living Things [liked]

:-)

Will Smith - Big Willie Style [liked]

:-)

Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?: 8 (A-)

John Hiatt - Slow Turning: 7 (B+)

# [folk/country/Americana] [a Glyn Johns production] [4 listens]

John Hiatt - Riding with the King: 7.5 (high B+)

# [folk/country/Americana] [5 listens]

John Hiatt - Riding with the King [liked]

:-)

John Hiatt - Bring the Family [liked]

:-)

Quatre Etoiles - 4 Super Etoiles: 8 (A-)

On wantlist [Second album]

Quatre Etoiles - Afro Rythmes Presente 4 Grandes Vedettes de la Musique Africaine: 9 (A)

On wantlist [First album]

The Move - Split Ends [placeholder]

This has most of the songs from Message from the Country, plus the 5 extra tracks on Great Move, which has all of the tracks from Message plus these 5 tracks. So Great Move is this album, plus the songs omitted from this album that are on Message.

Bouesso Mbemba - Fafikide: 8 (A-)

With Diblo Dibala and Dally Kimoko

Stress Eater [Czarface/Kool Keith] - Everybody Eats!: 7.5 (high B+)

Yo La Tengo - Here Comes My Baby [EP]: 7 (B+)

# [live\promo] Too expensive anyway.

Yo La Tengo - That Is Yo La Tengo [EP] [placeholder]

“[T]hree songs later appeared on May I Sing With Me and the other two resurfaced on the Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo compilation."

Yo La Tengo - "Asparagus Song" b/w "For the Turnstiles" [single] [placeholder]

"Asparagus Song" is on the re-issue of President Yo La Tengo/New Wave Hot Dogs. Listened to "For the Turnstiles" three times.

Denis Loubassou - Si Pani L' agent: 7 (B+)

Vinyl too expensive at this grade. CDs practically non-existent (not surprising for an obscure 1989 release).

Yo La Tengo - The Sounds of the Sounds of Science [liked]

:-)

7L & Esoteric - A New Dope: 8 (A-)

Yo La Tengo - Old Joy [EP] [liked]

:-) [12” vinyl-only. Would buy it if it was a CD (or even 7” vinyl), because I’m a completist with respect to this band (even though # [soundtrack])]

Martin Phillipps [and the Chills] - Songs from Solo Below [EP] [placeholder]

[4 songs] [Also be on the lookout for Sweet Bites]

Rosie Tucker - Utopia Now!: 7.5 (high B+)

Vinyl-only

Dengue Dengue Dengue - Agita2 [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Vinyl-only. I would buy it if they released it as a 7”, but it's only on 12”.

Jeff Evans Porkestra – Willow Pillow [EP]: 8.5 (high A-)

Digital-only

Ren - Sick Boi: 7.5 (high B+)

 Not selling anywhere for anything resembling a fair price. Not sure why that is.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Broadcasting from Home: 7 (B+)

# [avant-pop]

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - The Penguin Cafe Orchestra Mini Album [EP] [placeholder]

Two tracks were previously released and heard by me, two tracks are live, and I heard one of the two previously unreleased ("PU") tracks (“The Toy”). The other one - "Piano Music" - I could not find, but it is only 1:41 long.

Populous - Night Safari: 8 (A-)

# [import]

The Roches - The Collected Works of the Roches: 8 (A-)

No reasonably-priced copies.

Waco Brothers - Resist!: 9 (A)

Vinyl-only. Previously-released songs as noted below. Not really a best of -- I believe the theme is union/worker/leftist songs. It is a great compilation though, and might as well be a best of, in that I think it is literally the best Waco Brothers album, which is why I purchased the vinyl.

A1 Blink of an Eye - New Deal

A2 Lincoln Town Car - Freedom and Weep

A3 I Fought the Law - ?

A4 Plenty Tough Union Made - To the Last Dead Cowboy

A5 Fast Train Down - Cowboy in Flames

A6 See Willy Fly By - Cowboy in Flames

B1 No Heart - New Deal

B2 $ Bill the Cowboy - To the Last Dead Cowboy

B3 Never Real - Electric Waco Chair

B4 Revolution Blues - Do You Think About Me?

B5 New Deal Blues - New Deal

B6 Bad Times Are Coming Round Again - To the Last Dead Cowboy

Ducks Ltd. - Get Bleak [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Vinyl-only. So cool!

Car Seat Headrest - Making a Door Less Open: 7 (B+)

Jax - Dear Joe,: 7 (B+)

# [pop]

Jah Wobble - Metal Box - Rebuilt in Dub: 8 (A-)

Jad Fair/Yo La Tengo - Strange But True: 7.5 (high B+)

Soukous Stars - In Hollywood [aka Morenita]: 8 (A-)

On wantlist

Evizo Stars - V.I.P. [placeholder]

Dally Kimoko on solo and Lokassa Ya Mbongo on rhythm, or so I understand. Impossible to find any files on the internet, and used copies are too expensive to buy on a lark. Nevertheless, because of the presence of Dally, I have this on my wantlist and will snatch a copy if one ever surfaces for a reasonable price.

Roky Erickson - Clear Night for Love [EP]: 7 (B+)

# [import] Listed as a "mini-album" for some reason. 5 songs at 17½ minutes? That's an EP.

Gang of Four - Hard: 7.5 (high B+)

Never reissued on remastered CD, so I have a near-mint vinyl copy.

Rush - Clockwork Angels

:-|

Diblo Dibala - My Love: 7 (B+)

[Probably upped a notch, semi-subconsciously, because it's Diblo. Love that orange cover, too.]

Skrillex - F*ck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol but Ur Not!!: 7 (B+)

Digital-only [4 listens]

Earth, Wind & Fire - Greatest Hits [placeholder]

“All but one (‘Love Music’) of the ten songs from 1978's The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire are included, while six of the ten songs from The Best of, Vol. 2 are featured; the remaining two cuts on the 17-track collection are the minor early single ‘Kalimba Story’ and the album cut ‘Gratitude.’”

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Greatest Hits [placeholder]

If one has Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication, this compilation is more or less redundant. Of the 14 collected tracks (the album contains 2 new songs), 9 are from those two albums (!). The 5 others include 2 from By the Way, one from the Coneheads soundtrack, the Stevie Wonder cover from Mother's Milk, and one from One Hot Minute. You'd be better off just getting By the Way. I only gave it a single listen.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium [liked]

This one grew on me after 3 listens. It's long though. Docked a notch for extreme bloat, but I'm posting the cover image anyway. I'm still tempted to get it, given its numbers/impact, and that it sells for the price of a single album, which is nice.

Non-Prophets - Hope: 8 (A-)

Sebastian - Total: 7 (B+)

# [electronica]

Various - Tsapiky! Modern Music from Southwest Madagascar: 8 (A-)

Vinyl-only

The Ex - If Your Mirror Breaks: 8 (A-)

# [import]

David Bowie - Changesbowie: 9 (A)

Like many people, I grew up on the earlier version of this, Changesonebowie, and may end up also getting the reissued, remastered, 2016 version of that as a nostalgia piece. Sometimes, shorter is better.

David Bowie - Station to Station: 9 (A)

David Bowie - Low: 7.5 (high B+)

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: 8 (A-)

David Bowie - Hunky Dory: 10 (A+)

Aurlus Mabele - Soukouss la Terreur: 7.5 (high B+)

Diblo Dibala on solo. I have this on a nice vinyl copy, which I just happened to find when I was just getting into soukous decades ago. Bought it on a lark, and lo and behold, Diblo!!!

The Handsome Family - Singing Bones

:-|

Portishead - Dummy: 8 (A-)

Portishead - Third: 7.5 (high B+)

Even though this is # [electronica] and I would normally not shelve it, it is so well-regarded in some circles that I will just keep it.

Low - Things We Lost in the Fire

:-| [Definitely had this at one point, but presumably sold it off. It's possible that I "liked" it, but it's also possible that I "disliked" it. So I am just splitting the difference.]

Champeta w/Edna Martinez: Diblo Dibala Special (NTS radio playlist) [placeholder]

I'm posting about this just to note that I listened to it 3 times and so that I don't wonder about that in the future, since a couple people (including Christgau/Hull) have reviewed it. I don't review playlists. I have all the albums from which the playlist is constructed. Yes, it's a great playlist, but not some kind of cultural statement, like people are pretending.

While I was there I also listened to Champeta w/Edna Martinez: Lokassa Ya Mbongo Special, which is the only other one of her specials that appealed to me. I have reviewed all the albums from which the playlist is constructed, and/or entered a note on them, or will review them eventually. Just as good as the Diblo playlist.

Various - Mondo Soukous: 8 (A-)

Aurlus Mabele with Loketo - King of Soukous: 7.5 (high B+)

With Dally Kimoko on solo, not Diblo Dibala. Also issued as Embargo with this cover:

Diblo Dibala/Matchatcha - Best of Diblo Dibala/ Matchatcha: 8 (A-)

This is not actually a "best of." It contains two albums in their entirety: Boum Tonnerre and Laissez Passer. I would rate Boum Tonnere as 7.5 (high B+) and Laissez Passer as 8.5 (high A-). I guess that means that this compilation is an 8 (A-). Here are the covers of those two albums:

Diblo Dibala with Loketo - Super Soukous: 8 (A-)