Staff picks for 1998

Kenric L. Ashe

• The Anomoanon Mother Goose
• Bozart Kurth
• Cows Sorry in Pig Minor
• Don Caballero What Burns Never Returns
• Golden Delicious & Pete Krebs Cavity Search
• The Gourds Stadium Blitzer
• The Heavy Johnson Trio Drink Ticket
• Nashville Pussy Let Them Eat Pussy
• The Starlings The Starlings
• The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black Black Date

Bonus: Fantomas- only an Internet demo so far, but great live show and "the next big thing." Top 10... heck, I barely have 10 records I bought this year that were actually published in 1998.  Also, I've been concentrating a lot on local bands, which accounts for the higher than normal percentage of Portland, Oregon bands in my list.

David Beardsley

• Debashish Bhattacharya Hindustani Slide Guitar
• Thomas Koner Kaamos
• Massacre Funny Valentine
• Kraig Grady Anaphoria: The Creation of the Worlds
• Eliane Radigue Trilogie de la Mort
• Birdhouse Birdhouse
• Mark Steven Brooks Writhing to the Occasion
• David Tudor Rainforest (Versions I & IV)
• Alan Lamb Night Passage
• Various Artists Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center '61-'73

Steve Cooper

• Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
• Mavericks Trampoline
• Bob Dylan Live 1966
• Long Ryders Anthology
• Townes Van Zandt Anthology (1968-1979)
• Robbie Robertson Contact From the Underworld of Redboy
• Dave Alvin Blackjack David
• Robbie Fulks Let's Kill Saturday Night
• The Band Jubilation
• Lyle Lovett Step Into This House

Alan K. Crandall  

• Dylan Royal Albert Hall Concert (long, long overdue official release)
• Olu Dara From Natchez to New York
• Peter Case Full Service No Waiting
• Jones & Leva Journey Home
• Alejandro Escovedo More Miles Than Money
• Dave Alvin  Blackjack David
• Cordelia's Dad Spine
• Joe Ely Twistin' in the Wind
• Jason & Scorchers Midnight Roads and Stages Seen
• Wayne Kramer LLAMF

This is a weird year for me as there are a lot of interesting-sounding releases that I haven't picked up on yet. Honorable mention: Sonic's Rendevous Band, The Spanic Boys - (whatever the new one is called that they're selling on their web site ... I haven't heard it yet, but I love the Spanic Boys, so I'm just going to assume it's great). Hmm... must be a good year for live albums.

Jim Derogatis

• Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
• Morcheeba Big Calm
• Pinetop Seven Rigging the Topsails
• P.M. Dawn Dearest Christian: I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad.
• Richard Davies Telegraph
• Jon Langford Skull Orchard
• The Handsome Family Through the Trees
• Public Enemy He Got Game
• Monster Magnet Powertrip
• Local H Pack Up the Cats

  top 20

• N'dea Davenport N'dea Davenport
• Mercury Rev Deserters Songs
• Smashing Pumpkins Adore
• Garbage Version 2.0
• Beastie Boys Hello Nasty
• The Apples In Stereo Tone Soul Evolution
• Pulp This Is Hardcore
• Belle and Sebastian The Boy With the Arab Strap
• Liz Phair Whitechocolatespaceegg
• Cradle of Filth Cruelty and the Beast

Aaron Golberg

• Heiko Laux Oldschool street
• Fatboy Slim You've come a long way baby
• DJ Hell Munich Machine
• Timbaland My Bio..etc..
• Jon Spencer Blues Xlpo Acme
• Various Arists American Primitive Vol 1. - Raw pre-war gospel
• Underground Resistance Intestellar Fugitives
• Maurizio Comp (german techno)
• Herbie Hancock Sextant (24 bit remastered reissue)
• Sun Ra Space is the Place (Impulse re-issue 24 bit remastered refined revamped re re'd)

  10 bands/artists/publications that should break up or re-invent themselves (kill yr idols!)

• Sonic Youth - should be called noisy boring old farts!!!
• Beastie Boys - did you hear that vanilla Ice is making a come back, and he's probably more interesting in 98 than the B-Boys are..talking about flogging a dead horse!!!
• Patti Smith - oi-vey!!!
• Smashing Pumpkins - fucked
• Marilyn Manson - he's so hardcore! so contraversial! such a waste of psychic energy!!
• Any new band on Sub Pop- wha?
• Any post-rock from Chicago (a good substitute for heroin/Xanax)
• Any of that Ninja tunes/Freestyle/drekbeat shit from UK...there are exceptions, it's just the majority that suck
• Spin/Details and any other 'cutting edge' american garbage press that I still get suckered into buying... I mean at least they could throw in some more photos of naked alternative girls... enough of the  mod-gay-mono culture imagery - its boring and elitist!!!
• Addicted to Noise - call it Addicted to Crack, Addicted to Prozac, Addicted to Cocaine....what happened to the Meltzer articles? I couldn't give a fuck about hopeless noisy PC shit bands like Atari Teenage Riot or Sleater Kinney...have you indie wankers heard of rhythm and feel? Or is it all jizzim and squeal????

  Prediction for 99 and beyond - Kick out the jams motherfuckers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason Gross

• The Plastic People of the Universe 1997
• Real- The Tom T. Hall Project
• Rancid Life Won't Wait
• Barbara Manning In New Zealand
• Local H Pack Up the Cats
• Henry Kaiser/Waadaa Leo Smith Yo Miles!
• Sonic's Rendezvous Sweet Nothing
• Drums of Death (field recording from Ghana, on Avant Records in Japan)
• Liz Phair Whitechocolatespaceegg
• Massacre Funny Valentine
• Prince Charming Fantastic Voyage

Runner's-Up: Garbage, Archers of Loaf, Lounge Lizards, Mekons, Ice, Soul Coughing, Gilberto Gil

William Ham

• The Loud Family Days for Days
• Edith Frost Telescopic
• Liquor Giants Every Other Day at a Time
• Firesign Theatre Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death
• All Natural Lemon and Lime Flavors Turning Into Small
• Prolapse The Italian Flag
• Cornelius Fantasma
• Mercury Rev Deserter's Songs
• Swervedriver 99th Dream
• Posies Success

Dave Lang

• The Fall Fall in a Hole reissue
• The Pop Group We Are All Prostitutes reissue
• Albert Ayler Live at Greenwich Village reissue
• Bob Dylan Live 1966
• Suicide (debut LP reissue w/ bonus 12")
• Jimi Hendrix The BBC Sessions
• Robert Wyatt all the Rykodisc reissues
• Sun Ra Space Is the Place reissue
• Pere Ubu all those CD reissues of the classic, early records
• Finally finding a vinyl copy of Stockhausen's classic (and non-reissued!!) Hymnen double LP and not having to pay through my arse for it.

Sorry about all this "reissue" crap, but godamnit, I don't think I even HEARD a "new release" this year, let alone bought one. I guess I'm just a hopeless geek living in the past.

Matthew Martens

• Godspeed You Black Emperor! F#A# ...
• Don Caballero What Burns Never Returns
• Deus Ex Machina Equilibrismo da Insofferenza
• Salamander Red Mantra
• Mark Hollis Mark Hollis
• Hood Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys
• Morte Macabre Symphonic Holocaust
• Guigou Chenevier Rumours of the City
• Avenue Vendome The Classical Guitar Compositions
• Kiln Holo

Richard Mason

• Albert Ayler The Complete Village Vanguard
• Beck Mutations
• B*Witched "C'est La Vie"
• The High Llamas Cold & Bouncy
• Michael Hurley Bellemeade Sessions
• Kluster Eruption (reissue)
• Van Dyke Parks Moonlighting: Live At The Ash Grove
• Rainbow Ffolly Sallies Fforth (reissue)
• The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Acme
• The Tamperer Featuring Maya "Feel It"

Michaelangelo Matos

Albums:

• Creeper Lagoon I Become Small & Go
• On the Floor of the Boutique--Mixed by Fatboy Slim
• Archers of Loaf White Trash Heroes
• Beastie Boys Hello Nasty
• Basslines
• Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series Vol. 4--Live 1966: the Royal Albert Hall Concert
• Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
• Tom Ze Fabrication Defect
• Monster Magnet Powertrip
• Pacific State

Singles:

• Fatboy Slim: "The Rockafeller Skank"
• Aaliyah: "Are You That Somebody?"
• Black Eyed Peas: "Joints & Jams"
• Lauryn Hill: "Doo Wop (That Thing)"
• Soul Coughing: "Circles"
• Liz Phair: "Polyester Bride"
• Mindfield General: "Devil in Sports Casual"
• Mousse T. vs. Hot & Juicy: "Horny '98"
• DJ Spooky featuring Kool Keith & Sir Menelik: "Object Unknown"
• Cornershop: "Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix)"

Scott McFarland

• The Loud Family  Days For Days
• Miles Davis  The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions
• Lauren Hill   The Miseducation of Lauren Hill
• The Fall   Levitate
• Miles Davis   Live-Evil
• Charlie Mingue   Passions of a Man
• John Coltrane  The Complete Villiage Vanguard 1961 Recordings
• Lee "Scratch" Perry & various artists   Arkology
• A mixtape of stuff played on R&B radio which includes some of Brandy's productions, Jay-Zee's singles, some Keith Sweat, and numerous other tracks that I don't know by name ...
• Holger Czukay & Dr. Walker Clash    

notable trend of the year - the continuing integration of the best elements of reggae and dub, primarily the spacious and flexible basslines, into American R&B and pop.  Lauren Hill's "Lost Ones" is a prime example of this synthesis and perhaps the best track of music recorded yet to date.

Marc Philips

• R.E.M  Up
• Lucinda Williams  Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
• Bill Frisell  Gone, Like A Train
• Pixies Death To The Pixies
• Liz Phair  Whitechocolatespaceegg
• Sonic Youth  A Thousand Leaves
• Autour De Lucie  Immobile
• Jonathan Richman  I'm So Confused
• Frank Black And The Catholics
• Massive Attack  Mezzanine

Fabio Rojas

• Joelle Leandre No Comment
• Ornette Coleman and Joachim Kuhn Colors
• Sun Ra Space is the Place
• Brotzmann Octet/Tentet Okka
• Cecil Taylor/Roswell Rudd Mixed
• Miya Masaoka What is the Difference Between Stripping and Playing the Violin?

I don't listen to enough new releases to compile a good 'top ten' list, so here is a 'Top Six Releases of 1998' list.

Al Spicer

• Propellerheads Decksandrumsandrockandroll
• Nuggets 4 CD box
• Trade Summer Holiday (techno compilation)
• Circus Days Vol. 6 (Full of crappy brit trippy obscurities from the late '60's ...quite strange and intriguing)

Thomas Schulte

• Jann Arden Happy?
• Bauhaus Crackle
• Brand X { Missing Period }
• Fiji Mariners Featuring Col. Bruce Hampton Live
• Hellecasters Hell III: New Axes To Grind
• Mick Karn The Mick Karn Collector's Edition
• King Crimson The Nightwatch
• Morcheeba Big Calm
• Porcupine Tree Signify
• Squirrel Nut Zippers Perennial Favorites

Pat Thomas

• Miles Davis Bitches Brew Box Set
• Van Morrison The Philosopher's Stone
• In The Summer Of The Mushroom Honey  S/T vinyl LP
• McGarrigle sisters The McGarrigle Hour
• The Mickey Newbury Collection 8 CD box set
• Projekct Two (Fripp & Belew) Space Groove
• Sonya Hunter Headlights And Other Constellations
• Barbara Manning In New Zealand
• Robert Wyatt Shleep

Uncle Fester

• Arto Lindsay Noon Chill
• PJ Harvey Is This Desire?
• The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Acme
• Asian Dub Foundation Rafi's Revenge
• Tom Ze Fabrication Defect
• Beck Mutations
• Cornelius Fantasma
• Outkast Aquemini
• Pram North Pole Radio Station
• Lucinda Williams Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

ED NOTE: For Fester's full list with descriptions, see http://www.suba.com/~savand/lucky98.htm

Richie Unterberger

• Various Artists Nuggets
• Burt Bacharach The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection
• Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert
• Fred Neil The Many Sides of Fred Neil
• Bob Dylan What Are You Trying To Say? Hollywood Bowl 9/3/65 (bootleg)
• Dan Hicks Early Hicks
• Graham Bond Jazz Blues Rock & Alchemy (bootleg)
• The Bobby Fuller Four Never to Be Forgotten
• Dee Dee Warwick The Sixties
• Various Artists Signifying!

Ed Ward

• Gjallarhorn Ranarop/Call of the Sea Witch Wow! Traditional music of the Swedish minority in the southwest of Finland! Sounds pretty boring until you hear what this young band does with it. Hoping they'll be at SXSW.
• Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Showing the Alanis Morisettes of the world a thing or two. I know, it's everyone's favorite.
• Various Freezone 5: The Radio is Teaching My Goldfish Ju-Jitsu The world's best anthology of electronic music strikes again. Go DJ Morpheus!
• Various American Primitive, Vol. I: Pre-War Gospel Brings the phrase "the fear of the Lord" into a whole new perspective.
• R.E.M. Up God, am I predictable.
• Bob Dylan Live 1966 *So* predictable.
• FSK Tel Aviv and Eleven Other Originals The only German rock band that matters turns a corner into lovely instrumental abstractions.
• Various Tranceport Paul Oakenfold presents the sound of Europe five years ago for an American audience. Kudos for two Paul vanDyk tracks, points subtracted for the stupid recitations, but the U.S. needs this.
• Billy Bragg & Wilco Mermaid Avenue Am I boring you yet?
• The Gourds Stadium Blitzer Ah, another Austin band too weird for radio consultants to classify, too bursting with talent to ignore.