The 1 Hundred :: Mount Eerie - Black Wooden

Mount Eerie - Black Wooden (Latitudes, 2009) // New CD

The Latitudes series from Southern Record provides an avenue for artists to take a few risks and work out a few ideas in a short form manner. Phil Elevrum seizes his day here, building the scorched foundations for what would later become the Black Wooden Ceiling Opening EP. The six tracks here are less aggressive than the metal-infused flavour they'd eventually take on, but they provide a good snapshot of Elevrum as he continued to mutate away from his work as Microphones. That plus the Latitudes series is just fun to collect... so there's that too.

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The 1 Hundred Main Page

The 1 Hundred :: Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over

Buffalo Tom - Let Me Come Over (Beggars Banquet, 1992 / reissue 2017) // New CD

In that wave of "alternative rock" that began with bands like R.E.M. and crashed on the shore with a noise that went Grrrruuuunnnggggge, Boston's Buffalo Tom stood astride of the jangle and the fuzz and wrote songs that were big and simple and catchy and open-hearted. After a couple of buzzier lo-fi outings, one produced by fellow MASS resident J. Mascis, Bill Janovitz and friends released this cleaner and meaner collection of indie rock chargers. It was one of my favourites then and remains so today.

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The 1 Hundred :: Fred Thomas - Kuma

Fred Thomas - Kuma (Ernest Jenning Record Co, 2012) // Used Vinyl

If the title of Fred Thomas' seventh solo record hints at Neil Young's Zuma that's not a full on coincidence... though it is also the name of his dog. Thomas has fronted bands like City Center and Saturday Looks Good To Me as well as playing in a handful of other semi-obscure indie folk outfits, but this album definitely carries the echo of the 70s into present day. Both bleary and ornate in its mood and casually complicated instrumentation, Kuma imagines an early Neil that is a little more articulate and fragile, but just as certain about the beauty and ugliness in the world.

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The 1 Hundred Various - Everything is Nice

Various - Everything is Nice : The Matador 10th Anniversary Anthology (Matador 1999) // Used CD

When Matador turned the big one-oh, which was eighteen years ago, they put out this excellent 3CD compilation with two discs of "greatest hits" and one of unreleased tracks. It now serves as a great time capsule for a decade that saw the rise of Pavement, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Cat Power, Modest Mouse, Bardo Pond, Sleater-Kinney, Yo La Tengo, Mogwai and many many others you may not have yet discovered. The bang/buck ratio is remarkable.

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Track Listing:

Disc: 1

1. Stereo - Pavement
2. Count Five Or Six - Cornelius
3. Talk About The Blues – The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
4. Cross Bones Style – Cat Power
5. Flight '96 – Chavez
6. Fire In The Middle – Nightmares On Wax
7. Refuse To Lose – Non Phixion
8. Pitbull – Jega
9. NO TECH! – Unwound
10. Cosmic Rays – Helium
11. Maximum Sunshine - The Lynnfield Pioneers
12. Fujiyama Attack – Guitar Wolf
13. Heart Cooks Brain – Modest Mouse
14. Flux – Bardo Pond

Disc: 2

1. Xmas Steps – Mogwai
2. Sugarcube – Yo La Tengo
3. The Official Ironmen Rally Song – Guided By Voices
4. Banned From The End Of The World – Sleater-Kinney
5. Our Louder Solex – Solex
6. The Banjo's Categorical Gut – Matmos
7. Here We Go – Arab Strap
8. Booker To Hooker - Khan
9. Image Of You – Red Snapper
10. Blaze – Arsonists
11. Roygbiv – Boards Of Canada
12. Do The Strand - Burger Ink
13. Tanzen - Pole
14. X-Factor - Void

Disc: 3

1. Windblown - The Lynnfield Pioneers
2. Naked - The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3. Sleepwalkers - Non Phixion
4. Universal Skills - Arsonists
5. One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Barbie Dolls – Pizzicato Five
6. Oh Cripes! - Solex
7. Body Dump (Super-8 Mix) - Khan
8. Schtumm – The Wisdom Of Harry
9. Sugarcube (Live) - Yo La Tengo
10. Grounded (Crooked Rain Version) - Pavement
11. Choking Tara (Creamy Version) - Guided By Voices
12. Aging Astronauts II - Mary Timony
13. Long Ride - Bardo Pond
14. Hugh Dallas - Mogwai
15. Sea Of Love - Cat Power   

The 1 Hundred :: Naked City - Live at the Knitting Factory 1989

Naked City - Live at the Knitting Factory (Tzadik, 2002) // New CD

from Allmusic 8/10 :

It's almost inconceivable to believe that Naked City, the vanguard supergroup comprised of John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Fred Frith, Wayne Horvitz, and Joey Baron, never recorded a live album during their tenure. This wonderfully recorded document from the dawn of the Knitting Factory provides ample evidence that Naked City was even more astonishing live than on their albums. The material comes mainly from the band's debut -- which was recorded some months later -- and has all the punch and sheer adrenaline-gushing verve that a new project brings out of its participants. From the stomping psychedelic lounge of "Batman" to the strolling, edgy R&B in "Latin Quarter," to the hardcore punk and roll of "You Will Be Shot" and the freewheeling improvisation that gives way to Addams Family-style surf music at the heart of "Shot in the Dark," in these first four selections, Naked City lays out a territorial map of the ground that they will stake as their own. But it's not enough to be wide-ranging and experimental and humorous: You have to be able to pull it off in style, and Naked City reveals beyond doubt that inside the grain of their collective voice as a unit, the sense of swing and movement is paramount -- check "Blood Duster," "Chinatown," "Den of Sins," etc., over 20 selections. The other magnificent thing about this live date juxtaposed with the band's studio outings is how different the solo impulses are. No two are the same from any member, and none of them made their way onto tape later. The stop- and start-on-a-dime histrionics of their hardcore attitude and Ornette Coleman-inspired improvisation is an open field against the tighter arrangements of the shimmering jazz noir and warped, blues-laden post-bop. This is not only essential for fans, but proves to be an accessible and wondrous introduction to a truly awesome, if short-lived, band.

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The 1 Hundred

Just as there are certain records that continually sell year after year, there are some titles that are continually either just under the radar of popularity, or maybe just need a bit of a highlight to remind you they are still out there waiting for new ears. As an experiment we are going to build a list of one hundred titles, all currently in stock, that we think you should lend an ear to.

Of course this list will have to be fluid and ever changing, so we'll try to keep updating it, adding new titles as the old ones find new homes... let's see how it works? OK?

Each of the titles below will have a link to page with a review and a sample song, so have yourself a click fest and see what you can find.

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American Music Club - Mercury // New Vinyl
Gastr Del Sol - Upgrade & Afterlife // Used CD
Gold Sparkle Band - Fugues & Flowers // Used CD
Helado Negro - Awe Owe // Used CD
Victor Herrero - Astrolabio // New Vinyl
Jeremy Jay - Dream Diary // Used Vinyl
Mikrowelle - Twang Boom Tschak ...Peng // Used CD
Mount Eerie - Black Wooden // New CD
Mountain Movers - S/T // New Vinyl
Mountains - Mountains Mountains Mountains // New Vinyl
Painkiller - Collected Works // Used CD (4 disc set)
Zak Riles - S/T // Used CD

The 1 Hundred :: American Music Club - Mercury

American Music Club - Mercury // (1993 Virgin / reissued 2014) // New Vinyl

from AllMusic // Rated 8/10:

Leave it to American Music Club to make their major-label bow with the most perversely idiosyncratic record in their catalog. Produced with eccentric panache by Mitchell Froom, Mercury spotlights the band at their darkest and most eclectic, favoring odd rhythms, bizarre effects, and extreme arrangements ranging from the synthetic lounge grandeur of the worshipful "Johnny Mathis' Feet" to the swirling sonic maelstrom of the fatalistic "Challenger." Under the cover of defense-mechanism titles like "What Godzilla Said to God When His Name Wasn't Found in the Book of Life," "If I Had a Hammer" and "The Hopes of Dreams of Heaven's 10,000 Whores," Mark Eitzel paints some of his bleakest portraits to date; even the most superficially upbeat tracks -- "Keep Me Around," "Hollywood 4-5-92," "Over and Done" -- are relentlessly grim at their core. A triumph of abject misery.