Sachiko Kanenobu - Misora (1972)

Sachiko Kanenobu released this one album in 1972 titled Misora. She broke grounds by becoming one of the first female singer/songwriters in Japan to reach a level of success. Her music is highlighted by her beautiful and dynamic voice, drifting sounds of the vibraphone, and her fantastic guitar playing. This makes for one truly fantastic and under-rated folk album, not unlike that of Judee Sill, Vashti Bunyan, or Joni Mitchell.

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12 Rods - Split Personalities (1998)

So here is an album that is simply made for the bummed out, really stoned, suburban teenager. 12 Rods, an indie rock band originally from Ohio, then settling in Minneapolis, MN creates a charming yet musically inclined and progressive sort of pop music with this great album released on V2 records in 1998- when you were more focused on doing bullshit third grade homework.

A lot of listeners may have heard their EP Gay? because it got a perfect ten or whatever on pitchfork media, but most people haven't had the fortune of hearing this wonderful indie rock album that just sort of got pushed aside.

Split Personalities mixes feelings of self-loathing and a dark sense of humor. The playful lyrics balance out perfectly with the warm and inviting pop guitar hooks. In the track I Wish You Were A Girl, imagining if their male comrade was a beautiful woman, and having a care-free relationship they sing, "Cause if you were a girl/Nothing would seem to matter/Cause if you were a girl/I wouldn't really care".

Another key track on the album Make-Out Music (also featured on the Gay? EP) , describes the feelings of hating the town one has grown up in, and feeling of bitterness and anger being trapped in a shithole causes. The bummed out yet climactic lyrics say, "I wish I didn't grow up in the town that I grew up in/Kept me silent/Kept me stupid/Never fought back/Never fought back".

All in all, this gem conveys a beautiful summer day, the (mis)adventures of youth, and the fear one has of being trapped in the same dull place for too long. 12 Rods is often compared to bands like XTC, but there are also elements of progressive bands such as Yes, Gentle Giant, or other indie pop bands of the era like The Dismemberment Plan.

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Jim O'Rourke - Happy Days (1996)

A forty-seven minute drone piece, Happy Days, leaves the listener with variations on a single note without the feeling of dullness whatsoever. Jim begins with a simple acoustic guitar and builds sporadically from there. Released on Revenant Records, and recorded at the steam room in Chicago, this piece features the likes of avant-guitarist Henry Kaiser, David Grubbs of Gastr Del Sol, and multi-instrumentalist John McEntire of Tortoise.

Mixing drifting guitar parts like that of John Fahey, and modern classical and ambient music- the eclectic and experimental side of Jim shines brightly. Like the title, this piece leaves the listener with a happy feeling, and a bright outlook on whats next. Probably the happiest drone music you will hear for awhile.

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Codeine - The White Birch (1994)

Just about the heaviest slow tempos can get- The White Birch is a fucking great album. Fuzzed out bass lines, rip-roaring guitars, and cracking drums play loudly, but like everyone is on a bunch of downers.

Originally released on Sub Pop records in 1994, Codeine's second album is easily the high point of the band's short-lived career.

A lot of people find this album to be really depressing, or made to listen to in the dark with a candle or something wussy like that. For some reason though, this album has always seemed really empowering and uplifting to me.

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Jim O'Rourke - Insignificance (2001)

It goes like this- Jim O'Rourke is a multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, IL, and has put out more music than he is probably aware of. Known for countless spots as producer for Wilco, The Red Krayola, Stereolab, Superchunk, etc, etc, etc. He has also served as a member of Sonic Youth, Illusion Of Safety, and the wonderful Gastr Del Sol.

This album, Insignificance, is part of a series of experiments in pop music released in 2001 on Drag City Records. The album is full of blissful and andventerous songwriting. Fans of Jim's more fucked up noise and loops in his early career may be turned off by its accesability and straight forward style, but it is truly a landmark recording in his career.

"Memory Lame" a song that begins with a drifting guitar riff blossoms into a beautifully layered and orchestrated song that recalls themes of heartbreak, and feelings of isolation in a crowded place. Jim sings: "These things I say, may seem to offend/But not half as much/as I’d like to intend/listening to you/reminds of a motors endless drone/and how the deaf are so damn lucky".

Along with his playful, and sometimes heartbreaking lyrics, he is backed by two percussionists who drive the band through several fuzzed out rock and roll jams, but also makes way for the beautiful and humble folk songs of Jim on other tracks.

Let's put it this way, if you are somebody who has gone through every Smog and Wilco album, but have yet to hear this- you have seriously missed out.

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Brian Eno & John Cale - Wrong Way Up (1990)

Never mind the bogus sleeve art, this album fucking rips. For Cale, The Velvet Underground was a distant memory, and his stream of quality solo albums was running a bit thin. Eno, on the other hand, still had his share of production work, but was slowly seeing a new generation of electronic music fueled by nightclubs and strung out teenagers. So what do they go ahead and do? Release a fucking masterpiece.

It's almost impossible to classify or compare the music on this album to their other stuff, as its completely different than what they have done before. Traces of pop and progressive rock are found in this, but it explores all sides of music. When it comes down to it, Cale and Eno do what they do best - destroy and fucking rebuild.

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