Yamantaka Eye - Cassette Acid Garage Punk Mix

Who is Yamantaka Eye? Only one of the most accomplised and talented musicians of our generation, in any genre. Boredoms talisman, solo artist extraordinaire. Check this out.

One of the main reasons why I adore eYe so much, his knowledge and talent spans across so many genres, it's kind of mind boggling, and the coolest thing about him is he tries to interplay the best parts of a certain genre with another. Here is a good example of that, he uses his electronic music/jockeying skills to put together a selection of really obscure garage rock tracks from the 60's that most of you have likely never heard of before (I certainly hadn't). It's not as much a compilation as it is a mixtape, it feels like one long, glorious 60 minute garage rock track where everything flows into each other seamlessly. It's brilliant, give it a shot.

cassette acid garage punk mix

Au Pairs - Playing with a Different Sex

Birmingham post punk band that was formed in 1979. Somehow they were mostly overlooked during their heyday. Playing With a Different Sex is definitely in my list of top 10 post punk albums, ever.

Feminist, leftist, funk-punk dance party with a strong dash of gender roles and sexual politics. Some of these songs are timeless, that jangly, jagged guitar is perfect and man, these are some of the grooviest basslines of all time. Sometimes, you just wanna dance, y'know?

equal, but different

Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

There is a time in your life when you want to recede, want to hide from the world, but still wish to view and vicariously participate with all the colour and exuberance of the night, the wonder of the unknown and the joy of the formidable. This kind of thing is what I like to call a romantic's paradox. I probably suffer from this more often than not. In any case, Heaven or Las Vegas works as a soundtrack to my mindscapes and provides me with the company of someone magical. What is certain is that there's a very fine line between the glitz, glamour and brightness of Las Vegas and the ethereal beauty of what you perceive as heaven. And somehow this album captures that moment so well. Are these the comforts of madness people speak of? Sure, whatever floats your boat.

i wear your ring

Pram - Museum of Imaginary Animals

You guys have read Alice in Wonderland right? When I was a kid, I used to wonder what a real-life wonderland would be like. Mysterious, winding paths to new uncharted terrain, my imagination creating the scenery around me. A sense of childlike wonder, the innocence of bravery and brevity, spending time in a world that feels like it is underwater, slow, deep, blue and caressing you at every passing moment. Keyboards that play off each other in arabesque and jazzy overtones, melodica, harmonica and theremins notwithstanding. Rosie Cuckston's voice is your guardian angel, just fucking listen to her. Your head fills with colours, your dreams are more tangible than the surface you're sitting on. Put simply, this is just one of the finest albums ever, and almost no one seems to be aware of Pram's existence.

For what it's worth, I've stopped following the rabbit with the clock a long, long time ago. Here, I'm home.

play of the waves

Pomegranates: Persian Pop, Funk, Folk and Psych of the 60s and 70s

Before the west and the CIA completely fucked Iran over and paved way for atrocious Islamic fundamentalism, it was a cultural mecca of the Middle East, ancient Persian culture imbued with an influx of educated, intellectual Iranis made it probably the most attractive place, at the time, in the Middle East. This gave rise to one of the coolest and most unique music scenes of the 20th century, hypnotic eastern raga based pop grooves blended with upcoming western styles of funk, pop and even a bit of disco! Calling this exciting would be an understatement.

helelyos

Sibylle Baier - Colour Green

Sibylle Baier is a German folk singer/theater actress who recorded the songs that comprise her seminal album during a road trip through Europe between 1970 and 1973, on a simple reel to reel recording tape. It was never released until 2006 when her son found the material and passed it on to J. Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr fame)

Quiet, peaceful, austere and contemplative. Sometimes, this kind of 'loner' female folk is exactly all I need.

i lose something in the hills

The Shangri-Las - Myrmidons of Melodrama

The Shangri-Las were a girl group active from 1963 to 1968. They had many chart hits with their perfectly melodramatic girl group songs of love, crushes and loss. This is the compilation of their best songs, the aptly titled 'Myrmidons of Melodrama'

I can't explain why I adore this so much. Maybe it's the perfectly realised pop songwriting. Maybe I'm a sucker for sad songs. Maybe it's Mary Weiss' voice. Maybe it's just hormonal. If you're going the melodramatic route, you can't go wrong here.

you can never go home anymore

Thinking Fellers Local Union 282 - Admonishing the Bishops

Thinking Fellers Local Union 282 were quite an amazing band during their heyday. They formed in San Francisco in 1986, combining lo-fi noise rock with various outsider elements to make their own brand of noisy pop music. This EP of theirs is just perfection.

somehow your hurricane, envelops me in misty rain

Talking Heads - Remain in Light

They need no introduction, neither does this album I suppose. Unique, extremely idiosyncratic new wave/art funk gods, Talking Heads formed in NYC in 1975, released at least 4 albums that are stone cold classics and for me, stand as amongst the top 5 or 6 bands America has ever produced.

A band at the peak of their powers. Unparalleled songwriting, Brian Eno on production duties. I don't normally generalise but it's probably safe to say that white people never got funkier than this. One of the best albums ever.

all i want, is to breathe