BOREDOMS : Super Are (Birdman)
“Space music for the next Star Wars movie, the prequel. Hmm, I think that’s enough... you can turn it off now.”
CLUB 8 : A Friend I Once Had (March)
Mom says: “I like ‘em. I like her voice. She doesn’t have a Swedish accent, but she says ‘everlasting’ very interestingly.”
DESTROYER : City of Daughters (Triple Crown)
Mom says: “Herman’s Hermits! Maybe not, but sounds English, like 60’s music; you know, guitar, drums, words you can understand...”
FUNKSTORUNG MIT BJORK : All is Full of Love (Fat Cat)
Mom Says: “Is this Bjork? It’s annoying in a different way than just Bjork.”
GLOBAL GOON : Cradle of History (Rephlex)
Mom says: “Very mellow, like you’re on the beach in Hawaii. Feel good music with a theremin. I think it’s a little strange.”
HIGH LLAMAS : Lollo Rosso (V2)
Mom says: “So basically the recipe for making electronic music is: find a sound (or three or four) that no one’s ever heard before, program a beat and add a little melodic thing and then use your noises. Is that it? It’s hard to hum along. Sounds hard to replicate—don’t try this at home. They must spend all their time searching for weird and unusual sounds.”
KAHIMI KARIE : S/T (Minty Fresh)
Mom says: “This band’s from another country right?”
Me: “You’ll never guess who plays harmonica on this album.”
Mom says: “You’re right I’ll never guess. That guy from Blues Traveler? Bob Dylan? Eric Larson?”
Me: “Beck.”
Mom says: “That’s funny I don’t think of them as being in the same frame.”
MIX MASTER MIKE : Anti-Theft Device (Asphodel)
Mom says: (laughs) “It’s amazing how little electronic noises (scratching -ed.) can be so funny. He’s good.”
MAKE-UP : I Want Some (K)
Mom says: “(laughs) He certainly has a different way of singing. He’s got high notes like Maria Carrie.. Unique, I gotta give it that.”
THE MONORCHID : Who Put Out the Fire? (Touch and Go)
Mom says: ‘This is like what I expect you to listen to, but it’s the type of thing that I don’t like to listen to. When I hear this type of thing in Emily’s music I pack it back up and put it back downstairs with her stuff.”
THE NOTWIST : Shrink (Zero Hour)
Mom says: “I like it.”
PLONE : Plock (Warp)
Mom says: “If you aren’t paying attention you’d think this was nice normal music, but then you listen to the sounds and they’re strange, so you think, “What is it? What instrument is making that sound?”
STEREO TOTAL : S/T (Bobsled)
Mom says: “This is a great song. If I knew French I’d sing along.”
THIRD EYE FOUNDATION : You Guys Kill Me (Merge)
Mom says: “Reminds me of the Beatles #9, the one everyone skips on The White Album. A little more melodic, but still...”
V/A KILLED BY BASS (P-VINE / M.O.O.D.)
Mom says: “This one is all percussion and bass and nothing else. It’s kinda weird.”
VOLUME ALL*STAR : Self Elected, Twice Connected (Slabco)
Mom says: “It’ nice. Is it japanese? No? A girl band? No? That’s two strikes. It’s nice.”
CAT POWER : Moon Pix (Matador)
Customer at Ozone Records: “What’s this we’re listening to?”
Jamie: “Cat Power.”
C: “More like Cat Poop.”
J: “Excuse me, I put this on.”
C: “It’s not music, it’s noise... By the way, can you recommend some CDs for James [a mutual friend]?”
J: “Yeah, Cat Power.”
PIANO MAGIC: Music for Annahbird 7” (Bad Jazz)
Ozone Customer: “Did you know that your needle is screwed up? The record is skipping.”
Kimiko: “The turntable is just fine. This is what it’s meant to sound like.”
C: “Are you serious? Would you call this music?”
K: “Yes, it is a form of music.”
C: “Who in the world would buy this?”
K: “I will be purchasing this tonight.”
C: “Could you actually even hum to this?”
K: “No. That’s beside the point.”
C: “Whatever. If you want to spend your money on this crap, blah, fucking blah...”
K: “There are other forms of music and various interpretations of each.”
C: “blah, blah blah...”
K: “BYE-BYE! Have a super day!”