arDATE = new Array( "July 2004" ) arARTIST = new Array( "Collette Carter", "Various Artists", "Joe Tex", "Various Artists", "Oceanographer", "Various Artists", "The Remote Viewer", "Various Artists", "Accelera Deck", "Various Artists", "Curd Duca", "Various Artists +
The Dismemberment Plan", "Morningside Drive", "The Five Crowns", "The Five Blobs" ) arTITLE = new Array( "The Information and the Last Night", "Cabinet 13", "A Man In Motion", "Spotlight on GEE Records, Volume 1", "Twenty String EP", "The Sound Of Young New York", "You're Going To Love Our Defeatist Attitude", "Hellbound Hotrods", "Ipsissima Vox", "Vibon 2: blip-pop click", "Elevator 2", "A People's History of The Dismemberment Plan", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "A Star", "From the Top of Your Guggle
(To the Bottom of Your Zooch)" ) arTRACK = new Array( "9. Space Age Love Song", "8. Harold Bode - Phase 4 - 2 Arpeggio", "7. I Gotcha", "2. The Echoes - Ding Dong", "5. Vigils and Matins", "2. Metro Area - Orange Alert (the dfa remix)", "1. Youre Going To Love OuR Defeatist Attitude", "2. The Deuce Coupes - Satan's Chariot", "1. Parallel", "9. Planet Nett - Sine Off", "1. Carr", "4. What Do You Want Me To Say?
as remixed by Drop Dynasty", "A Side", "A Side", "A Side" ) arDESC = new Array( "You will immediately fall in love with Collette Carter. But first, be aware that Collette Carter is not a singer, but a band, and the lead singer is not named Collette. That notwithstanding, her voice is spectacular. The songs are wonderful, simple, pure pop; each one executed in one of a variety of current styles. So, of the 11 songs I had to choose from for this month's Bunny Number 1, why did I choose a cover? I just couldn't decide. Plus, I thought her rendition of the classic song originally done by A Flock Of Seagulls was amazing. While her instrumentation remains almost totally faithful to the original, her entire context is different and the end result is something completely removed from the early 80's post-B-52's haircut band ilk.

There also seems to be a wonderful little scene going on in Philadelphia, of which this label, tbtmo, seems to be smack in the middle of. Check them out here.", "This is the CD which accompanies the quarterly art magazine, Cabinet. This issue is subtitled 'Futures' and attempts to map out the future with pertinent anchor points from the past. Accordingly, the accompanying CD is called 'Past Forward' and presents an odd mix of works from presidential speeches to archival recordings from a variety of artists. Also featured is Achim Wollscheid, our longtime favorite from the P16.D4 base of musicians out of Germany. This piece, if the literature is to be believed, was composed in 1964. That may well be true, but the fashionable EQ curve that I am hearing suggests it was recorded much more recently. Be that as it may, this music does, indeed, predict the rise of early disco, its superimposition by electro in the 80s and the eventual overthrow of the whole thing by techno. How much further back can we dig??? Electrical engineers will recognize this man's name from their early training in electronics, and indeed, the works of people like Ligetti and Stockhausen owe a great debt to this man.", "I came across this 'best-of' CD in a Big Lots liquidation store and couldn't resist it. I think I was in sixth grade 'I Gotcha' came out...", "Gee Records was just one of the best independent R&B labels on the 1950's. In the shadow of groups like the Teenagers, the Cleftones and the Heartbeats, almost every other release went on to become relatively obscure. This classic teen-jump tune is just great. Dig those crazy drums! If I can locate my first-press of this rare 45, I'll put a label scan on the page for you...

All of these Collectables spotlight series CDs do a great job documenting the label outputs.", "These five musicians started out in Texas, where they earned a reputation for making quiet and intelligent songs under the name Panda. There are even five hundred copies of their debut, the Twenty String EP, floating around out there with the old moniker emblazened across the cover. After changing their name to Oceanographer (trademark complications) they added to the confusion by transplanting to New York, where they're finishing their first full-length—an album that is, like the band, made half in Texas and half in New York. So if you read any articles or reviews about a Texas band called Panda (there are many) then you can smile, knowing you're already one-up on that music writer.

Though quiet, they don't lack energy. Bradly Brown's drumming style incorporates intricate, often fast-paced beats that are usually found only in drum and bass or breakbeat. This offsets the calm instilled by Jeremy Yocum's finger-picked acoustic guitar and slow vocals, which are highlighted by harmonies from viola player Eric Elterman. Ryan Goolsby holds down the bottom frequencies with solid bass grooves and Stephen Kimbrell delivers achingly melancholy melodies on the electric guitar.

This song is just a gorgeous ballad, frought with doubt, anger, weariness and disenchantment. You will want to waltz with your partner around your bedroom until you are both crying in each others arms...

Read more here.", "A real happy find in the used bin at Newbury's during a recent clearance sale...99 cents for this one. In addition to this track by Metro Area, this features Ilana, The Glass, Les Clones, Radio4(!!) and more. Styles range from ambient to trance to retro disco to funk to pop, but I hear a distinct Ed Bahlmann (99 records) influence as well - or is that just wishful thinking? This track and the track by ilana are my faves.", "Formed by members of Hood, one of our very favorite bands ever and always, The Remote Viewer have released some pretty impressive stuff as well. Following almost two years since their astounding 'Here I Go Again On My Own' full-length, this is a bit more introspective and quiet than previous efforts. Here is the title track to the newest album, and their second for City Centre Offices. ", "I'm sure that die-hard afficionados of surf and hot rod stuff have been aware that Bob Keane has resurrected his Del Fi label. The assortment of reissues and anthologies culled from his vaults have been fabulous. The tracks here are taken from a bunch of quickie hot rod instrumental LPs that appeared on Del-Fi in the early '60s. There's actually some pretty hot picking to be found on these sides by the Deuce Coupes, De Fenders, and Darts. And there's some historical interest attached to these tracks as well, though the principals may have all but forgotten these skeletons from their closets. The Deuce Coupes feature the guitars of Pat and Lolly Vegas, who would found Redbone in the 1970s; the De Fenders spotlight session guitarist Tommy Tedesco, one of the top L.A. players of the time (who appears on discs by Phil Spector, the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, and others). Even more surprising is the discovery that the guitarist on the tracks credited to the Darts is none other than Glen Campbell!! His whiplash-snappy, concise solos on 'Top Eliminator' forever enshrine his rock & roll credentials, whatever you might think of 'Gentle on My Mind.' The compilation is rounded out by cuts from the Roadstars, the Venturas (Western movie theme-influenced surf), and Opus 1's strange 'Back Seat 38 Dodge,' where hot rod music meets psychedelia.", "The new album from Accelera Deck. More guitars? You be the judge. Accelera Deck was the ambient pop project of Birmingham, AL-based singer/guitarist/programmer Chris Jeely, who previously fronted the little-known shoegazer act the Ashley Tremolo; that band dissolved in 1995 after a fire at their rehearsal space destroyed all of their equipment, allowing Jeely the opportunity to explore his increasing interest in electronica. Accelera Deck made its debut in 1998 with a cover of 'I Believe It' recorded for the A Tribute to Spacemen 3 compilation, soon followed by an EP, Kiss Burn, and a few months later by the full-length Narcotic Beats. After the single 'The nearness of you makes me feel so real' appeared on Blackbean & Placenta Tape Club in 1998, Jeely and friend Aaron Tweedy revived their independent label Pitchcadet to capitalize on the boom in CD-R technology, a move which heralded a steady flow of Accelera Deck releases including the 1999 full-lengths Conviction & Crack and Echo Economy (the latter issued on another CD-R label, Toast & Jam Recordings); another new LP, Addict, followed on BB&PTC in early 2000. Jeely also recorded as Exhaleradeck, the first in a promised series of variations in name and sound.", "The second in the Vibon compilation series from the fabulous people at the tbtmo label in Philadelphia. Other artists featured are transient, Pacifica, Technicolor, William Fields, Spintronic, and more. ", "The productions of electronic mood music figure Curd Duca look back to the late-'60s dawn of popular synthesizer music, the age of Wendy Carlos' classical-synth fusions and studio producers who experimented with computer music by yoking it to pop pieces. Duca's been in the music business since the early '80s, originally playing keyboards for the German groups Auch Wenn Es Seltsam Klingen Mag and 8 Oder 9 -- the latter released a half-dozen LPs during the '80s. In 1992, he recorded his solo debut, Easy Listening, the first in what became a five-volume series on Normal Records that took up most of the subsequent four years. Moving to the solid experimental/techno label Mille Plateaux in 1997, Duca released Switched-On Wagner, a series of synthesizer translations of works originally by the German romantic giant Richard Wagner. The following year, he inaugurated yet another series, Elevator, each volume of which included dozens of short tracks in a muzaky mode.", "It's an interesting paradox that Dismemberment Plan's final release is a remix compilation. The Plan are in a rare class of bands that connected with their audiences on such an intimate level that a participatory thank you to their fans only seems appropriate. However, when the bandmembers announced their decision to go their separate ways it was midway through recording the follow-up to Change. To many fans this felt like an anticlimactic breakup of a relationship with no definite sense of closure. So in some ways reaching out for one final thank you to their fans is the best thing they could have done. Through the band's website, an invitation was extended to fans to remix, chop up, and reconstruct some of Dismemberment Plan's most well-known songs over the previous ten years, and the strongest dozen were selected for this release. The most amazing thing about A People's History is the diverse styles represented throughout. Ranging from the cut-up to the most subtle retouches, they're all here -- and it shows the depth and impact that the group had on all types of music, not just the indie rock/post-punk circuit. Drop Dynasty's flip-vocaled madness of 'What Do You Want Me to Say?' is impressive, as is the frenzied madness of close friend/touring partner/IDM madman CEX's take on 'Academy Award.' But the crown jewel remix is Quruli's rehash of 'A Life of Possibilities,' which is so chic that it trumps nearly everything Stereolab has ever released. But even with all of this, it seems as if it's simply not enough. Will DeSoto release a compilation collecting their rarities, live performances, and other trinkets similar to Jawbox's outstanding My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents? One could only hope, as there's just simply too much good material by the Plan that's not in circulation. Is this truly the end of Dismemberment Plan? Hopefully not. But if this is their swan song, there isn't a better way to say goodbye than alongside those who supported you the entire way.", "From 1977. They also did a wonderful cover of 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore'. I haven't been able to find any other information about them. ", "

You won't find the Five Crowns mentioned in most music reference books, even those devoted specifically to 1950s rock & roll. Many fans of R&B vocal groups, however, regard them as the definitive Harlem vocal group, and a few simply declare them the greatest vocal group that ever lived. Although the Five Crowns under their own name never made any impression on the national charts, they regularly charted locally in New York and were stars in Harlem. Their later 1950s incarnation, featuring original member Doc Green, James Clark, Elsbeary Hobbs, Benjamin Nelson (aka Ben E. King), and Charles Thomas, became the post-1958 Drifters, responsible for 'There Goes My Baby' and the core of the group that later recorded 'Up On the Roof,' 'Under the Boardwalk,' and 'On Broadway.'

The Five Crowns were founded in the early 1950s on 115th Street in Harlem, and originally consisted of Wilbur 'Younkie' Paul, Dock Green, and James 'Poppa' Clark, John 'Sonny Boy' Clark, and Claudie 'Nicky' Clark. James Clark and Wilbur Paul alternated as lead singer, while Dock Green sang the baritone and bass parts. Their manager, Lover Patterson, also handled the Cadillacs, another New York-based vocal group that would make a considerable national splash of their own. The group was signed to a contract with Rainbow Records in the summer of 1952, and released their first single, 'A Star'/'You're My Inspiration,' in September of 1952. 'You're My Inspiration' rose to number nine locally on the Cashbox charts, and lingered there right into December of that year.

Their second single, 'Who Can Be True'/'$19.50 Bus,' vanished without leaving much of a trace late in 1952, and their third, 'Keep It a Secret'/'Why Don't You Believe Me?,' issued in early 1953, didn't do much better, although 'Why Don't You Believe Me?' became one of their most fondly remembered songs. Those two were intrinsically rare records, even in Harlem, the former released only on 78 rpm and the latter on a red vinyl 45, and are highly prized by collectors. Their next single, 'Alone Again'/'I Don't Have to Hunt No More,' also failed to sell in any serious quantity. That record marked the end of their contract with Rainbow Records, and the group next turned up on the New York-based Old Town label, where they debuted with 'You Could Be My Love'/'Good Luck Darling,' followed by 'Lullaby of the Bells.' By this time, the group had lost cohesion, and Paul and Green worked with the Duvals on the side (two of their songs, 'You Came to Me' and 'Ooh Wee Baby,' were issued as a Five Crowns record in early 1955).

In 1955, Dock Green revived the Five Crowns with a new lineup and a new contract with Gee Records, where they released one single. They ceased working after one more single for the Transworld label. The group was next heard from under the name the Crowns, with the lineup of Green, Clark, Hobbs, Nelson (aka Ben E. King), and Thomas.

Fortune finally smiled on the Crowns in late 1958 at an appearance at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where they were spotted by manager George Treadwell, who had a serious problem at the time. Treadwell was the manager of the legendary R&B group the Drifters who, since 1954, had amassed an enviable record of national hits and a major name for themselves. The Drifters in late 1958 had included Bobby Hendricks (who, according to some sources, passed through one version of the Five Crowns), Gerhart Thrasher, Charlie Hughes, and Bill Pinkney. This lineup had collapsed amid infighting between each other and Treadwell.

Treadwell had a major contractual obligation coming up, an appearance by the Drifters at the Apollo Theater. He heard the Crowns and offered them the chance, then and there, to become the new Drifters. They reported to Atlantic Records the following day to see how things worked in a real studio, and the following day the Five Crowns-turned-Drifters recorded 'There Goes My Baby,' which became the number one single in the country.

The Five Crowns' history is scattered among the Rainbow, Old Town, Riviera, and Transworld labels, and only the Rainbow material (including the Younkie Paul/Dock Green Duvals 'You Came to Me'/'Ooh Wee Baby') has been reissued in a comprehensive way.", "The Five Blobs was the name given the studio group, led by sessionman Bernie Nee, assembled for the recording of the title song 'The Blob,' by Burt Bacharach and Mack David (brother of the more famous Hal David, who later became Bacharach's longtime songwriting partner). The song, a sax-driven dance number similar to 'Tequila' by the Champs, was written for the feature film The Blob, starring Steve McQueen, Aneta Corseaut, Earl Rowe, and Robert Fields, released in 1958. Released on Columbia Records as a single, it made the top 40 nationally and the top ten in Los Angeles. This record was one of a series done for New York's JOY record label in 1959." ) arLABEL = new Array( "tbtmo", "Cabinet", "KRB", "Collectables", "One Mountain", "plant", "City Centre Offices", "Del-Fi", "Scarcelight", "tbtmo", "Mille Plateaux", "de Soto", "Copperfield", "Rainbow", "Joy" ) arFORMAT = new Array( "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Six Song EP", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "CD, Full-Length", "7-inch 45RPM", "10-inch 78 RPM", "7-inch 45 RPM" )