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Dig into the latest episode of Al Lover’s ELEVATED TRANSMISSIONS, exploring the psychedelic underground of the past, present and future.
You can tune in via your preferred format below, subscribe on Spotify, check out Al’s track by track below.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
SOUNDCLOUD PODCAST
Oh Sees – Henchlock
This is why Thee Oh Sees are still king. A twenty minute prog-jazz freak out as your lead single with horns to boot! You can’t touch that. And if you’re feeling a little skeptical, pull up your big boy pants, go back and listen to some Mothers of Invention for a couple months and then come back and embrace the jam of the summer. But the summer will be over, and you’ll be chasing it like some utopian surfer from a 60’s novelty movie.
Brian Eno – China My China
Before Eno went to Germany and poached what would become the soundtrack for art dealer’s high rise Manhattan in 80s London, he was on some other shit. After leaving Roxy Music there was still a bit of rock n’ roll left in our boy, and his solo efforts from 1973-1977 are living proof. I’m sure you’ve all heard them and know damn well how amazing they are, but if you’ve neglected to dive into that era of Eno, do yourself a favor and get in there, Tina.
Beak> – We Can Go
Beak> always make me think of being on Ketamine. This track in particular make me feel like I’m falling down that dark hallway to the infamous K-hole an a lab assisted by weird scientists tracking my heart rate and breathing because it’s 2019 and they’re now allowed to test K on patients with depression and it seems to be working. Soon we’ll be walking to the pharmacist for a nice gram of Ketamine and an 8th of synthetic psilocybin. God bless America!
Froth – Department Head
I love the word froth. Just saying it is very pleasing and it makes me think of a cold beer on a warm day, or a dog with rabies. It’s the antithesis to the word “Moist”, which is very unpopular currently. Isn’t that strange? That a descriptive word with no actual negative context can be so frowned upon in the cultural zeitgeist? We as a species are so weird and really don’t think for ourselves as much as we’d like to think we do. We really have to get our shit together and stop worrying about things like if someone say the word “moist” in a casual conversation. Talk about first world problems.
Flavien Berger – I’araucaria
Whenever I listen to dude’s music I often think, what would be on the Flavien Burger? Gruyere for sure! Maybe a horseradish aioli? Caramelized onions, check! The burger would be medium rare of course and served on a soft baguette with a side of Au Jus. French dip burger! That has to exist. If it does, well that’s just great. I’m for sure making it at the house soon with a nice side of frites in Flavien’s honor!
Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light
Moon Duo are getting happy! This one makes me want to buckle up for a space themed ride at Disneyland in the 80s. My parents never took my brothers and I to a Disney park. We got the bootleg Universal Studios treatment. Bullshit!!! That Jaws ride was so weak. I wanted that goddamn Magic Mountain experience so badly, but never got it. We should have called child services for such negligence.
MIEN – Earth Moon
This track is the perfect soundtrack to some sort of modern Phillip K. Dick novel. I can see it now, Alex Maas standing in the barren wasteland of a dystopian Texas desert. Staring into the green night sky. The ozone has depleted and the whole sky looks like the aurora borealis now. He’s looking for the last ship that will take him to the newly formed moon colony where is his lost love is. He still has miles to walk with no water, for the only ship that will take him there is accessed through the neon indigo peyote cactus that grows outside of what’s left of El Paso and he’s still a 5 days walk to Odessa. God speed Alex.
Kikagaku Moyo – Majupose
I’m so glad this band is killing it as hard as they are now. Such great dudes. I remember we were supposed to play a show together in Memphis but when we all arrived half the city didn’t have power from a wind storm and the venue was closed. However the employees were all hanging around in front of the venue and one guy had brought his industrial size bbq smoker and set up shop. He made the best smoked turkey legs I’ve ever had. The Kikaguku guys eventually dipped out, but I ended up chilling with the folks from the venue all night, drinking beers, smoking blunts and eating bbq. What a strange and great night.
Beastie Boys – 14th St. Break
Beastie Boys gettin’ trippy on this one! None of those high pitched nasally nursery rhymes today. The whole record “The Mix Up” from 2007 is like this, janky, tripped out funk. I’ve heard bits and pieces of the record here and there but had never listened to the whole thing. What a banger. Gotta love the Beasties.
Stereolab – Wow and Flutter
Stereolab is one of the best bands ever, hands down. I remember one of my buddy’s from my hometown that I came up skating with hipped me to them early. It was strange because he was a stoner rock drummer but all around had good taste. I was a little confused by them at first because it was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. They have remained one of those bands that changed the way I looked at music and continue to do so to this day.
Sylvester – I Need Somebody To Love Tonight
I had known of Sylvester from working in a record shop in SF, who’s main focus was soul music, but never really took the time to pay him any attention. I knew of his importance but it was only after Dark Entries Records released all the work of his main producer, Patrick Cowley that I started to pay attention. Now I’m hooked.
Thomas Leer – Tight As a Drum
Weird post punk electro experiments from 1980s Scotland. This track sounds like the Fraggles are having a little stupid party in the wall. I love it.
Pussy Mothers – Echo Party
More Scottish Weirdos, but current. These folks love Liquid Liquid a bit don’t they? I guess when you’re signed to a label called Optimo Music I guess you have to. I love anything inspired by the late 70s early 80s disco, punk, hip hop cross-over period and this right here does just that.
Pigbag – Getting Up – 12” Version
Post punk funk galore. I love what post punk opened up for music in the 80s. Just throw in whatever influences you dug and mix it up in a bag. A pig bag. Fuck the constraints of genre specification, get weird!
KOKOKO! – Tokoliana
This is my current favorite band. DIY freaks constructing their own instruments from garbage in the capital city of The Republic of Congo making some of the most interesting music out currently.
Al Lover – Mark E. Moon
I decided to try and make some disco music. I don’t think it really came out sounding like disco, but it sounds like something. Whatever that is I don’t know, but it was fun to make and even more fun to dance to. Hope you dig it!
Radar Men from the Moon – Bliss
Heavy post-rock krautrock to aid deep dive reflection. Great for pondering if you actually have free will in a universe full of unseen forces that have more to do with science then the occult, since the occult gives birth to science.
Chelsea Wolfe – The Mother Road
Gothic americana is a strange genre. It make sense but I always feel like it’s a bit dramatic. Like they know the zombie apocalypse is right around the corner and they’re somehow summoning it forth with magick spells and sweet riffs. Maybe it is but I hope not because then Chelsea Wolfe would have to spend her time defending her compound from the undead instead of making beautifully haunting music like this.
Marc Bolan – Truck On (Tyke) – Home demos
God bless Easy Action records for releasing volumes of Bolan demos out into the world. I love overproduced glam Bolan, but Tyrannosaurus Rex minimal home recording Bolan is pretty damn good too!
Daniel Johnston – Ain’t No Woman Gonna Make A George Jones Outta Me
“Once, when I had been drunk for several days, Shirley decided she would make it physically impossible for me to buy liquor. I lived about eight miles from Beaumont and the nearest liquor store. She knew I wouldn’t walk that far to get booze, so she hid the keys to every car we owned and left. But she forgot about the lawn mower. I can vaguely remember my anger at not being able to find keys to anything that moved and looking longingly out a window at a light that shone over our property. There, gleaming in the glow, was that ten-horsepower rotary engine under a seat; a key glistening in the ignition. I imagine the top speed for that old mower was five miles per hour. It might have taken an hour and a half or more for me to get to the liquor store, but get there I did.” – George Jones
Half Japanese – Roman Candles
Meta amature deconstructionist proto bedroom rock(?) for 90’s college dorms and beyond.
Felt – The World Is as Soft as Lace
Drop to your knees and pray to the altar of Tom Verlaine. Tom is great and Tom is good and thank Tom for all his copycats, amen.
Emmylou Harris – Hot Burrito #2
Emmylou coming in hot (burrito #2) with this one.I’m so glad she decided to give some props to her man, Gram on her 1981 record, Evangeline. Such a beautiful version of an already perfect piece of americana brilliance.
Dinosaur Jr. – Outta Hand
This song makes me harken back to teenage summer camp romances in Florida circa 1995 when I knew Dinosaur Jr was cool but I didn’t get it yet. I actually didn’t get anything about life then. I was a stupid teenager, only concerned with skateboarding and trying to get some in the movie theatre. So glad I’ve grown out of skateboarding.
Polvo – Fast Canoe
I assume math rock with be coming back into popularity soon, if it hasn’t already. Prog’s back, why not Prog’s bastard stepchild as well. Just because he rolls his eyes when his father discusses Rush doesn’t mean that they can’t relate on the genius of Coltrane. As I look at my genre watch it seems like it’s about math thirty. Here come the nerds!
– Al Lover
