Heavy Rotation: The We Shot J.R. Playlist

Here are some records and songs (new and old) that we've been listening to lately. If bands, labels or management would like any of these songs removed for any reason, please email weshotjr@yahoo.com and we will take them down.

STONEDRANGER:

Dungen: Tio Bitar

Just got my hands on this one less than 12 hours ago, and I really don't want to pass any kind of judgment on it just yet. I will say, however, that Ta Det Lungt is probably one of my 10 favorite records of the past five years, and I've been looking forward to this follow-up for quite a while. This record seems to be a bit less straight forward than the last one, and this track, "Familj," is my early favorite.
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Wooden Shjips: various EPs and singles

A fairly new San Francisco psyche noise outfit that seems to be quite good at using "Sister Ray" as a starting point and building repetitive psychedelic grooves off of the kind of guitar shredding chaos that made the aforementioned track (arguably) one of the most important songs in rock n' roll history. The rough yet mesmerizing sound of late 80s London space rockers Loop is probably a fair comparison, and fans of the Black Angels and Psychic Ills will certainly dig this stuff as well. As an added bonus, your alt-country friends are sure to hate it! Their Myspace page is here.
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Simian Mobile Disco: various EPs, remixes

Comprised of former members of the English dance rock band Simian, this Dj duo has recently been producing and remixing for the likes of Ladytron, Arctic Monkeys, and Klaxons. In addition, they've released a handful of successful dance singles on the fashionable French electro label Kitsune, and seem to be highly involved in the recent English/Euro rave/house revival. The following track, "Tits and Acid," (off their forthcoming debut) is full of infectious classic acid house beats and sure to please anyone thats into that sort of thing.
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Electric Wizard: Dopethrone

Allmusic notes that this band is often referred to as the "heaviest band in the world," and although I'm not sure how official all these rankings actually are, I would say that they just might be one of the most powerful doom/stoner metal bands like, ever or something. The following track, "Vinum Sabbathi," is the first one off 2000's Dopethrone, which is regarded by many as the band's finest record. Their Allmusic entry notes a long hiatus the band took during their career that was probably the result of "crippling weed consumption." Good one guys.
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Black Devil Disco Club: 28 Later

Another great set of pulsing and dark synth/Italo disco from this band (believed to have recorded in the late 70s) that no one really seems to know anything about. "The Devil in Us"
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DEFENSIVE LISTENING:

Y Pants: S/T Discography

Old 99 Records band that might have been overlooked for being so strange, even by the standards of the NYC downtown scene at the time. Y Pants was a minimal trio that featured toy piano, drums and distorted ukelele. The way that the toy piano is utilized on this track is a glaring contrast to its poppy presence in the kitchen sink ambitions of today's indie rock groups. Here the instrument almost sounds menacing. Y Pants featured Barbara Ess who also played with The Static and is an accomplished artist working with video, installations, and photography. I recently saw a copy of her famous Just Another Asshole magazine anthology, under glass at the Austin Museum of Art's "Radical New York!" exhibit. This early track is called "Luego Fuego":
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Colin Newman: A-Z

I had always heard that Colin Newman's first solo record after Wire was essential and I have to admit that I had been somewhat skeptical since I wasn't always impressed by his later post-Wire output. I was actually blown away by it upon hearing it recently and was surprised to find how much of it resembles Pink Flag and Chairs Missing as opposed to 154. This track, "& Jury", is accessible enough that it would have made a decent New Wave-era radio single.
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Scissor Girls: We People Space With Phantoms

Scissor Girls hailed from Chicago and and influenced everyone from the Providence noise rock scene to Japan's Melt Banana. Though their records were a far cry from the elegant Post-Rock coming out of Chicago at the time, this group was not without its own sonic nuances. Listen to the squiggling funk of the bassline on this track and the way it spars with the busy drumming and lead squeals. The song is entitled "Dedecation to Cronies and Goats".
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The Jazz Butcher: The Gift of Music

Way back in the early 90's Comedy Central was formed as a merger between two rather unpopular comedy networks, The Comedy Channel and Ha!. I found Ha! to be especially bland but The Comedy Channel was full of really interesting nonsensical comedy programs. Mystery Science Theater 3000 was the station's breakout star, but there were other long forgotten gems like Higgins Boys and Gruber, The Sweet Life with Rachel Sweet, and Onion World hosted by comedian Rich Hall of Saturday Night Live and Not Necessarily The News fame, as well as author of the Sniglets book series. Onion World was decidedly abstract and wasn't much more than pointless clips and sketches thrown together. The show's theme song was composed by a British pop group called The Jazz Butcher who are somewhat obscure despite being better than a lot of other heavy handed British pop music from the same era. As much I love the Onion World theme I'm posting a link to another Jazz Butcher song I recently got ahold of that has brought with it a flood of memories. The song, "Partytime", has ridiculous lyrics bordering on novelty and was featured on the show as the background music to a clip that was just a shot of a goldfish opening and closing its mouth while peering out from the glass of its fishbowl. When accompanied by the song, it appeared that the fish was singing. Fucking hilarious.
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Butterglove: The John Morand Session

Innovative late 80's band that predicted a lot of the math metal in the following decade and a half. This particular track, which starts off sounding like a Black Flag instrumental before cascading through several tempo and time signature changes, features Pen Rollings of Honor Role and Loincloth, who have recorded for Southern Lord Records. Rollings is probably one of the most underrated guitarists of the past 25 years with an instantly recognizable sound and approach. Few groups can match his crunching chug, though Neurosis sometimes comes close. This track is called "Waiting to Wipe".
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