mid-90s to early 2000s

So I've tried to come up with some tracks and records that have been the most influencial to me in the past. These are songs that have made an indelible impression on me and even caused or been party to a few formative moments.

1. Aphex Twin
   The Richard D. James Album

   RDJ doing his tongue-in-cheek junglist thing before he got all dark and boring. Frenetic stuttering drum programming, bitter sweet string arrangements and quirky synth pads. The breakbeats on Cornish Acid will make your backbone slide even when you're sitting down. Lots of people will recognize songs like "Girl/Boy Song" and "4" as car commercial songs. Which is a shame that so much electronic music was (under)sold that way. Mostly because the composers aren't really "stars" but just hard working nerds who love music too much. Moby tried but compared to Richard D. James, Tom Jenkinson etc. he's downright sociable.

   Everyone needs to own this record. Even if you are a total pop fiend. Because if you can't take away something meaningful or entertaining from this record, well, it really sucks to be you.

2. Underworld
   Second Toughest In The Infants

   I've done a lot of thinking to this record. And house cleaning too! But lots of meditation and deep trancing out wish I was Karl Hyde being all "The water on ______." Helicopter blade synths and rave poetry. Playing this record while DM'ing on Quake totally upped my frag rate back in the day.

3. Boards of Canada
   hi scores

   Ok, so when "Music Has The Right" and "Geogaddi" came out every chronic po-thead, loft owning yuppy and their life partner got on the BoC bandwagon. And righteously so. But I was lucky enough to be exposed to a slightly earlier form and god damn. Another really life changing record. Honestly. I can think of no other music that evokes the same emotions so powerfully. Honestly, the feelings of childhood isolation and sadness that I often feel when I listen to Boards often detours me from putting them on.

   But I'm moody that way.

4. Red Snapper
   Our Aim is to Satisfy

   I guess this band was a template for all the "cinematic" groups (see "Ninjatune") to follow them. Great atmospheres, awesome technical playing and downright rock-outtable. Hard to find in record shops these days too. Avoid the self-titled recent record as it is essentially an unfinished record released to make cash after they broke up. Even though the special addition has a branding clothing tag sewn to the front it's still not as good.

5. Photek
   RISC VS. REWARD

   Now the domain of Anime geeks and fat gothic chicks with kanji tattoos on their ample bottoms there actually was a time when asian chic was cool. That is to say people were doing interesting things with an asian influence. Ni-Ten-Inchi-Ryu (Two Swords Technique) by Photek is a super example of that. It's a bummer the following record "Solaris" sucked so much. But then again Astralwerks seems to ms-managed a lot of their artists, including the venerable Chemical Bro's., in an attempt to market electronic music to more popular audiences in the later 90s until now.

6. MARRS - Pump Up The Volume

   First time I ever heard a breakbeat. Life changed that hot summers day. Just me and a friend's older sister's mix tape. I sat there in awe of the sound. My crazy closet fag conservative step father told me to turn down the nigger music.

   He left the house and I turned it up.

   I also played it on my radio station. That's right, this shoutcast thing I do isn't new. I used to make mix tapes when I was about 12 called "B&B Radio" which stood for "Brodie & Brodie" because I wanted a co-host. But nobody wanted to do something as dumb as sit in front of a tape deck and talk all cool. Well look at me now! HA!

   *cough*

7. Charles Manier - Bang Bang Lover (Dance Mix)

   This is Detroit Techno proper. Shit you can do the robot to and actually look cool. This is of course a new track that's retro styled. But still fucking tight.

8. Figurine
   The Heartfelt

   Angsty PSB-comme-Emo-comme-IDM about long distance relationships and love in the information era. It misses what most electro only feigns: being both austere but also heartfelt.

   The boy/girl shtick is a tad tired however. This is Jimmy Tamborello's prototype (along with Dntel, sorta) for what would later become The Postal Service.

9. Funkstörung
   Appetite for Disctruction

   When Funkstörung does Hip-hop it's like noting else. I feel a comparison is necessary here. This is what El-p was getting at but failed in doing with his harder edged sound. Instead of just running the same old hip-hop louder and with more distortion Funkstörung manages to better effect working with stripped down textures. We're talking square waves and tiny little samples that bounce across the soundscape irregularly. Beats like dialogs in alien morse code. Grammy Winners is still so shit hot.

   Awesome tDR cover artwork too.

10. Console
    Rocket in the Pocket

    "I got my hard disk. I got my hard disk. With all that hard disk trash inside."

    So, like, if my computer was in love with me I think it'd write songs like this too. I dunno, I'm in love with the idea of people being close to computers. Or close to each other through computers in meaningful ways. I've still got a bit of Wired Magazine 90s cyber punk idealism in me somewhere. You know, before geeks got all money-first? Anyhow, It comes out in funny ways here in 2004. This track taps into that in a big way.

Hear me out

So Livejournal girls all love Frou Frou's "Details" but I was just noticing how much the whole record sounds like Brian Eno all popped out. "Hear Me Out" is basically "An Ending (Ascent)" by Eno plus drums. Not to discredit Frou Frou 'cause It rules that Imogen Heap can sing like an Eno melody.

Donut Meme

Please describe me as a single donut of your choice and why you chose that donut. Leave it as a comment in this post, and then post this sentence in your own journal.