"Their 2008 release. Continuing their ..." more

"Their 2008 release. Continuing their recent muscular trend." less

"A tribute record with a LOT of cool p..." more

"A tribute record with a LOT of cool people -- Pat M., Brecker, Mark Egan, on and on. Or you can ignore that and enjoy a rip-snorter." less

"From one of Pat's trios of course."

"The pinnacle of the piano trio."

"duet with piano"

"Kenny with a string quartet! And he d..." more

"Kenny with a string quartet! And he doesn't even play on every track. Awesome." less

"Is what it says it is. I have no idea..." more

"Is what it says it is. I have no idea why it's an emusic only, but it is." less

"A soundtrack, so some soft stuff, but..." more

"A soundtrack, so some soft stuff, but very much what he was up to in the 80s through early 90s. You'll have heard pieces of some of these tracks, especially if you were collecting Ralph as furiously as I was." less

"I forget the name of Dan the former M..." more

"I forget the name of Dan the former Media 100 guy who sat across from Rob G's office, but he turned me onto this -- electronica-funk from Mexico. Love it." less

"21st century soul. Turn up loud, please."

"I really, really like instrumental hi..." more

"I really, really like instrumental hip-hop, and this is a GREAT example. One of 2008's best." less

"Comments on the page are very bitchy,..." more

"Comments on the page are very bitchy, but ignore them. I'm right. This is sweet, sweet downtempo jazzy pop stuff. Sweet." less

"I mention dubnobasswithmyheadman on a..." more

"I mention dubnobasswithmyheadman on another list as one of all-time faves. This is a group that I've worked on collecting every note. This is a live, uptempo screamer. Check out the opener, Born Slippy, and Rez/Cowgirl in particular. The DVD is also cool -- you can choose the live view of them playing in front of a crowd of 200,000, just see the media they played on the screen behind them, or a brand new motion graphics thing they created. (These are also the founders of the UK design collective Tomato.)" less

"Kind of like what you described from ..." more

"Kind of like what you described from Colin Hay's live show. (BTW, I got Colin Hay at emu.)" less

"Verrrry slow, verrrry pretty."

"Easier to listen to this than me try ..." more

"Easier to listen to this than me try to explain it. This is one I come back to a lot -- funny, poignant...well, I'll stop now. Check it out." less

"This is a 2-record set. I love 'em al..." more

"This is a 2-record set. I love 'em all, but you might rather cherry-pick. I think I have 5 of their albums -- very nice, dark, quiet new wave-y dream-y." less

"Really, really high-quality loud stuf..." more

"Really, really high-quality loud stuff. Worth reading the opening essay." less

"German instrumental, sort of orchestr..." more

"German instrumental, sort of orchestral, electronic, emotional, really beautiful stuff" less

"Check my comment on this page."

"Really beautiful dreamy downtempo"

"Fun New Zealand pop. These guys shoul..." more

"Fun New Zealand pop. These guys should have been huge." less

"His most recent made my best of 07 li..." more

"His most recent made my best of 07 list. This is almost as good, and very much worth taking for a spin." less

"Another cool emu find."

"Adding some experimental hip-hop into..." more

"Adding some experimental hip-hop into the mix. Might catch your ear or not, but I dig it." less

"Do you know these guys? I think they ..." more

"Do you know these guys? I think they peaked here, and that most of their other best stuff was before this rather than after...but if you like this, you'll find it hard to stop with this one alone." less

"Amazing amazing amazing amazing. Some..." more

"Amazing amazing amazing amazing. Some people prefer their newest, The Boxer...but I confess, I haven't been able to stop listening to this one yet. Check out Lit Up." less

"Many of the All Music Guide summaries..." more

"Many of the All Music Guide summaries are ridiculous, and often full of factual errors. This one's pretty good. You may not need all 15 tracks, but some awesome stuff here." less

"How does this guy's voice sound so go..." more

"How does this guy's voice sound so good at his age? If you haven't heard it yet, find his Star Spangled Banner from last year's world series. He also sang it at the NBA finals, but the other was better. A dandy record." less

"Another of my very, very favorite emu..." more

"Another of my very, very favorite emu releases. This was the record that was first called "post-rock." I have no idea what that really means, but it's great, mostly instrumental stuff -- slow, dark, intense, beautiful." less

"A truly great record, another desert ..." more

"A truly great record, another desert island fave -- lo fi indie, FANTASTIC use of brushes on drums, wonderful songwriting." less

"A Scottish supergroup led by the sing..." more

"A Scottish supergroup led by the singer of Snow Patrol. I made Chas buy this when he, Jim Ball and I were shopping at Amoeba Records in San Francisco, guaranteed it would be one of his favorites ever. It is. Another very pretty lo-fi outing." less

"A gorgeous downtempo turntablism outi..." more

"A gorgeous downtempo turntablism outing. I saw him live once -- sweet! It's remarkable to SEE the ART of 2 turntables. If you like the sound of this, you should definitely get his live EP as well. I really really like this guy." less

"2 very old friends who maybe love mus..." more

"2 very old friends who maybe love music MORE than when they started playing together nearly 30 years ago. Very nice update of some Little Feat classics too." less

"I can't believe I don't have this on ..." more

"I can't believe I don't have this on my best of 08 list -- very near the top so far. It's sooooo freaking dark, but also hilarious. Check out "Stop, I'm already dead," which breaks out into a giddy chorus. But also beautiful in its own dark way - tracks 5 and 12 will tell you what I mean." less

"Soaring, roaring post-punk. Another o..." more

"Soaring, roaring post-punk. Another one that I truly love." less

"You mentioned prog -- this is a dandy..." more

"You mentioned prog -- this is a dandy find. Not exactly prog, but I think you'll like it a lot." less

"You can only get this as a complete s..." more

"You can only get this as a complete set -- no per-track purchases -- but it's all here." less

"Rough sounding bootleg, but Terry Kat..." more

"Rough sounding bootleg, but Terry Kath playing like the wrath of God." less

"I LOVE these guys -- super dry post-b..." more

"I LOVE these guys -- super dry post-bop, some electronic flavor, VERY melodic. Amazing stuff. I have a bunch by them. Be sure to check out the song Utrom on the remix disk, one of my very favorites." less

"Trilok Gurtu. The end. :-)"

"Their newest. I think you'll like it ..." more

"Their newest. I think you'll like it a lot. Also, if you don't have Live at Yoshi's, it's great. There's also a Vanguard collection of the best of their early stuff at emu -- nice." less