41 minutes, 54 seconds

Dead Man's Hill
Dog Burial

Is it just me, or does it seem like Dead Man's Hill puts out a new release every few weeks? Counting side projects and collaborations, they've issued nine discs over the past three years. That's staggering. Even Steve Roach would have a hard time matching that kind of pace. Perhaps even more so than some of DMH's other releases, Dog Burial strikes me as a dirtier, more low-fi imitation of the bombastic sound of In Slaughter Natives. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but DMH risks suffering by comparison.

Can it really be the end of July already? Summer is moving way too quickly.

Also today:

41:54 Dither, Tubetech
41:54 Vond, Selvmord
41:52 Dominion, Rescue Mission
41:51 Stoa, Zal
41:50 To Avoid, Voyage into the Past!
41:49 Robin Guthrie, Continental
41:45 Sombre Printemps, Ambient & Film Music
41:42 Love Is Colder Than Death, Mental Traveller
41:42 Pimentola, Misantropolis
41:41 Evil's Toy, Angels Only!
41:41 Garmarna, Hildegard von Bingen

42 minutes, 24 seconds

Skinny Puppy
Cleanse Fold and Manipulate

Interesting article in yesterday's New York Times Magazine about something called the Buddha Machine, a small, inexpensive device that plays nine digitally encoded random loops of ambient music. Created by musicians Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian and distributed by the Dutch experimental label Staalplaat, the Buddha Machine has only an on-off switch. Which basically means you don't have much control over what to listen to next.

I was interested in the article because I think in many ways that's what I've been trying to do with my own collection of CDs over the past decade-plus of listening to music in descending order of total time. It's essentially a randomization method, one that eliminates the issue of choice from the music-listening equation.

But the article rang a false note when it tried to call the Buddha Machine "the anti-iPod." It described "the relief of not having to make a choice in a world awash with entertainment and self-expression options." Uh, well, you can do that with an iPod too--it's called shuffle mode.

Still, nice (and weird) to see the Times Magazine give coverage to something like this and name-check Staalplaat. Worlds are colliding!

Also today:

42:24 Stormfågel, Den Nalkande Stormen
42:23 Single Gun Theory, Like Stars in My Hands
42:19 Laibach, Let It Be
42:17 Stoa, Urthona
42:16 Die Form, Corpus Delicti
42:16 The Sundays, Static & Silence
42:15 Death in June & Les Joyaux de la Princesse, Ostenbräun
42:05 E-Craft, DOS_Unit
New arrival! 65:26 Post Crash High, The Apocalypse Came Yesterday, and No One Noticed
42:01 The Moon and the Nightspirit, Regö Rejtem
41:59 Collection d'Arnell-Andréa, Au Val des Roses
41:58 Harold Budd, The White Arcades
41:57 Anchorage, The Bleak Wooden Tower
41:56 Strength Through Joy, The Force of Truth and Lies

42 minutes, 31 seconds

Khvarena
The Spirit Rises

Can you apply the term "supergroup" to a collaboration of goth-ethno artists? And if you can, can you call it "gothno"? Why not? Let's call Khvarena, then, a gothno supergroup composed of members of Rajna and GOR. And the music is very similar to Rajna's, with GOR's Francesco Banchini taking over lead vocals on a few of the tracks. It's a soothing, pretty mix of Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms underpinning ethereal singing.

This wouldn't be the first time members of Rajna have gone off to join a side project that sounds...very much like Rajna. Am'Ganesha'n, a collaboration between an ex-Rajna musician and Les Secrets de Morphée, also traffics in a similar Middle East-by-way-of-Western-Europe sound.

It's a nice release for Projekt, especially given that it's an American label, which makes The Spirit Rises more easily available to the domestic market. And cheaper too, for which I'm always grateful. Because the weakness of the dollar, coupled with my weakness for European underground music, has produced weakness in my bank account.

Also today:

42:30 Cerebral Apoplexy, Cold Heart
42:29 Toroidh, The Final Testament
42:27 Ah Cama-Sotz, Murder Themes
42:27 Lycia, Empty Space
42:26 The Glimmer Room, Grey Mirrors
42:26 Hedningarna, Hedningarna
42:25 Clan of Xymox, Medusa
42:25 Various artists, Lonely Is an Eyesore

42 minutes, 42 seconds

Monolith
Talisman

I've already posted on this topic before, but a quick look at the keyword-search data for this blog makes it worth repeating: I know other music blogs seem to exist for the sole purpose of hosting large music files and allowing people to download them, but this isn't one of them! So all you cheapskates looking for free music--wait, let me rephrase that: All you thieves looking to cheat artists out of the money they deserve for their creativity, please go elsewhere. You won't find free music (or a fellow-traveler with a sympathetic ear) here.

And really, Artesia's Chants d'Automne? That's the album you're looking to rip off? Come on. These guys are on a small label. Would it kill you to spend a few bucks to buy their CD or find a legal download? Go grab a BitTorrent of Britney Spears and leave the indies alone.

Also today:

42:40 Nature and Organisation, Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude
42:40 Storm of Capricorn & Paranoia Inducta, Jama
42:39 Death in June, Burial
42:35 Terrace of Memories, Terrace of Memories
42:34 Horologium, Le Cartoline Perse

43 minutes

Phragments
Homo Homini Lvpvs

Not to be confused with Les Chasseurs de la Nuit's Homo Homini Lupus, although both are Latin for "Man is a wolf to man." And like Les Chassuers, Phragments creates, appropriately enough given the title of the album, downer martial-ambient compositions: We are a violent species, and here's our theme music. There's an increasing amount of this kind of music being made, mostly in Europe, and it begs the question of how large an audience there is for it.

On the one hand, artists are businesspeople too. They wouldn't keep making it if there wasn't enough interest. On the other hand, I always crack a bit of a smile when I see artists advertise their new releases as "Limited to 1,000 copies!" I mean, really. Are there 1,000 people in the world interested in your obscure, difficult music?

I'm being unkind. And I really don't know what I'm talking about. For all I know, this is a smart business decision designed to inject scarcity into the market and create a name for your musical project. Not unlike art photographers who issue only six prints of a given work.

But somehow I have to believe that Phragments, Les Chasseurs, or any other band working in this way-below-the-radar genre would love to sell as many copies of their CDs as they possibly can, and then print thousands more and sell those too. Why else are they on MySpace?

Also today:

42:56 Harold Budd & Brian Eno, The Pearl
42:55 Cataclyst, Monuments of a Rubicund Age
42:55 Death in June, The Wall of Sacrifice
42:54 Jóhann Jóhannsson, IBM 1401, a User's Manual
42:53 End of Orgy, Still Life
42:49 Advanced Art, Product
42:48 Cocteau Twins, Milk & Kisses
42:48 The Triple Tree, The Turning Wheel
42:47 Photophob, About the Living Things
42:44 Dead Man's Hill, Esoterica Orde de Dagon
42:43 Seven Trees, Embracing the Unknown
42:42 Amduscia, Dead or Alive
42:42 Intermix, Intermix

43 minutes, 5 seconds

Tribe of Circle
Rien ne Disparait Jamais Vraiment...

Over the past week or so, it's felt as if I'm getting through CDs faster. That makes sense--after all, the CDs are getting shorter. But sometimes the shift is so subtle, it's hard to really sense it. Can you "feel" the difference between 62:39 and 62:06? I can't. But getting down around the 43-minute mark changes that, and now I feel like I can see the end. It's a matter of another month or two, I think.

Which makes me both happy and sad. Happy because it means I get to start over again (unless I truly have managed to exorcise the obsessive-compulsive demons) and sad because it signals the end of something, which is always sort of sad. I haven't decided whether I want to continue this blog once I've run through the entire CD collection, or if I do, what format it will take and whether I'll continue to write about music or choose another topic.

I do know that I've become addicted to listing out what I listen to each day. There's something satisfying about that--maybe it's a way of cataloging an accomplishment, even (especially?) on those days when I accomplish little else.

Also today:

43:04 Atrium Carceri, Cellblock
43:04 Parzival, Blut und Jordan
43:02 Morrissey, Maladjusted
43:02 Suicide Commando, Contamination
New arrival! 73:02 The Pain Machinery, Chaos Transmissions

43 minutes, 24 seconds

Ulrich Schnauss
Far Away Trains Passing By (CD 1 of 2)

In the early '90s, I suppose this would have been called "chill-out" music. But that term always rubbed me the wrong way--it was a way of describing the music not for what it is (ambient) but rather for what it isn't (thumping dance music). In other words, it was what you listened to to take a break from techno.

Well, phooey. I always preferred the "chill-out" stuff to the stuff you were supposed to work up a sweat dancing to anyway. Hence an affinity to Ulrich Schnauss and his ethereal doodlings. This particular album has a bit of a Robin Guthrie vibe, if the dreamy guitars were being filtered through Photophob's spacey, computer-driven musical sensibility. Schnauss is getting a good deal of press these days for his new album, Goodbye, which adds vocals to the mix, but I prefer the older material here. It's starker and more mysterious.

I also like saying the name "Schnauss."

Also today:

43:21 Fin de Siècle, Sans Titre
43:20 Blixa Bargeld, Commissioned Music
43:19 Caul, Apophasis
43:19 Dark Ages, Twilight of Europe
43:17 Abnocto, Simon Magus
43:17 Dead Man's Hill, The Demons of Death
43:17 Mediæval Bæbes, Salva Nos
New arrival! 65:28 Herwig Holzmann, How to Stop...
43:16 Monolith, Compressed Form
43:16 Tony Wakeford, Into the Woods
43:15 Skinny Puppy, The Process
43:15 Stalingrad, Court-Martial
43:12 In the Nursery, Groundloop
43:10 Stiff Miners, Vox Celesta
43:07 Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd, Before the Day Breaks

43 minutes, 45 seconds

Forseti
Windzeit

There's a lot of bad neofolk out there. That is to say, lots of guys with acoustic guitars and tympani and weak, shaky voices who think they can simply look the part and draw an audience. The sad thing is, they're right half the time. That's what makes Forseti such a breath of fresh air. Soaring above the usual dreck, Andreas Ritter and company craft songs that demand your attention. Moving effortlessly between softer, more pensive moods and somewhat more energetic bursts, Ritter keeps his vocals (entirely in German) on a cool, even keel, not unlike Death in June's Douglas Pearce--who makes an appearance here on the eerie final track.

It's a transfixing set of songs, and I get completely engrossed in it every time I hear it. The high point for me is likely "Sturmgeweiht," particularly when Ritter's accordion kicks in. It's a sound soaked in nostalgia, evoking such a strange sense of wistfulness. The funny thing is, with everything in German, I have no idea what he's singing about. Someday maybe I'll find out, but for now it doesn't seem to matter. I guess I could say that about a good chunk of the music I listen to.

Also today:

43:45 Stormfågel, Ett Berg av Fasa
43:44 Cranes, Particles & Waves
43:44 Digital Poodle, Combat!
43:43 Der Blutharsch, When Did Wonderland End?
43:39 E-Craft, Die Stahl AG
43:38 Tumor, Killer Tekkkno
43:34 Anna Gardeck, Bondage Women
43:32 Cold Fusion, ORP Orzeł (CD 1 of 2)
43:32 Dive, Concrete Jungle
43:30 Greg Ellis, Kala Rupa
43:30 Image Transmission, Regurgitation
43:29 Antigen Shift, Next to Departed
43:28 Brian Eno, More Music for Films
43:25 Amateur God, Near Life Experience

43 minutes, 53 seconds

Sol Invictus
Trees in Winter

Probably the first good Sol Invictus album. Sol Veritas Lux was marginally OK for a debut, but Lex Talionis was pretty awful. So what changed with Trees in Winter? Well, for one thing, the songwriting is a lot more accomplished, both lyrically and with regard to the arrangements and the breadth of instrumentation. But if I had to pick one thing that makes the most significant impact on this album, it's Joolie Wood's violin.

You may know Wood from her appearance on several Current 93 albums; she's also worked with a lot of other bands in the onetime World Serpent stable. Her plaintive and sad yet strangely uplifting contributions to the songs she plays on seem to elevate a mere folk song to something elegiac. Here, you can hear it to best effect on the songs "Here We Stand" and "Deceit."

She's released some solo material recently, which I haven't yet had the chance to hear much of. So much new music, so little shelf space...

Also today:

43:52 Cranes, EP Collection, Vol. 1
43:52 Wappenbund, Zeitenwende
43:51 Radio Kuolema, 10050 Cielo Drive
43:51 Thirteenth Exile, Assorted Chaos and Broken Machinery
43:50 God Module, Let's Go Dark
43:49 Beefcake, Hôte
New arrival! 57:20 Berkana, Lichtrad
New arrival! 55:22 Am'Ganesha'n, Estolia
New arrival! 47:34 Crackletone, Journey to the Sea of Sparks
43:47 Data-Bank-A, Salad Days
43:47 L'Effet C'est Moi, Tomber en Héros
43:47 Photophob, Music for Spaceports

44 minutes, 1 second

Siechtum
Kreuz:X:Feuer

One of the handy things about listening to your music collection in some sort of predetermined order is that it removes the entire issue of "What am I in the mood to listen to today?" So never mind that it's the dead of summer--if autumnal music is next on the list, that's what you're listening to. And I have to admit, something north of 70% of my collection could be characterized as autumnal, if not downright wintry. So what's on the stereo and what's going on weather-wise is usually a jarring juxtaposition at least half the year.

It's been gloomy and rainy in Seattle all week, though (uncharacteristically for July), so for now the likes of Tony Wakeford sound about right. Ask me again next week when it's 79 degrees out and I'm blasting Autopsia in the house.

Also today:

44:01 Tony Wakeford & Steven Stapleton, Revenge of the Selfish Shellfish
44:00 Dive, Grinding Walls
43:57 Wappenbund, Schlacht

44 minutes, 6 seconds

Soma
Stygian Vistas

Yay, the new Harry Potter book is finally out! Now will everyone just shut the hell up about it already? See, those of us who haven't read any of the books, seen any of the movies, bought any dumb-ass wizard hats--and just generally don't give a shit about Harry Potter--don't want to hear about it anymore. We're adults who don't read children's books or dress up in funny glasses to look like our favorite children's book characters.

Nor do we want to hear about how the Harry Potter books have rekindled kids' interest in reading, because that's apparently bullshit, according to this article.

So take your book--the one you waited in line to buy for six hours last night--go home, and don't emerge from under the covers until you've read it eight times by flashlight. Then have a good cry because Harry died or got paralyzed in a magic accident or OD'd on meth or whatever, and, when you're ready, rejoin the rest of the world. But when you do, don't start talking to us about the books or the movies, assuming we've read or seen them. We haven't. And we don't want to.

Harumph.

Also today:

44:04 Absurd Minds, Damn the Lie
New arrival! 53:59 Aaron Spectre, Lost Tracks
44:04 Sol Invictus, In the Rain
44:02 Artefactum, Chaos Elements
44:02 Les Joyaux de la Princesse, Chantez Jeunesse

44 minutes, 18 seconds

Consequence
Volition

Sometimes I think at least a quarter of the CDs in my collection consists of fading monuments to bands long since forgotten, even by fans of industrial and related musics. The artists were obscure when they released their CDs, and time (and the likely death of the band) hasn't helped their popularity or critical acclaim. Consequence is one of those bands, although I was pleasantly surprised to see that their Web site appears to still be active. In fact, I wrote to them to find out whether their other releases are still available for purchase.

If there were an industrial version of VH1, they'd produce a "Where Are They Now?" show and try to find bands like Construggle Test, Absent Minded, ECM, Pygmy Children, and dozens of others. Come to think of it, that's not a bad idea for a blog...

Also today:

44:16 Suiciety, Century of Brutality
44:15 Cranes, Wings of Joy
44:15 Grendel, Prescription: Medicide
44:14 Hyperdex-1-Sect, Metachrome
New arrival! 46:58 Radio Kuolema, Symphony No. 2, Op. 29
44:14 Wappenbund, Heimatflamme
44:11 Arcana, ...The Last Embrace
44:11 Ohgr, Welt
44:11 Predella Avant, Predella Avant
44:10 Calva y Nada, Schlaf
44:10 Lunascape, Mindstalking
44:09 Gaë Bolg and the Church of Fand, John Barleycorn Must Die

44 minutes, 26 seconds

Tony Wakeford
Cupid & Death

Not sure what makes this a Tony Wakeford album instead of a Sol Invictus one, since many of the same people are involved with the recording. But Tony's the boss, so I guess he gets to call the shots. And regardless of whose name is on the cover, Cupid & Death features one of the strongest series of songs Wakeford has ever put together. I particularly like the ominous "Cupid & Death I," with Karl Blake adding his enigmatic vocal talents. And though it very nearly strains Wakeford's shaky voice, "A Rose in Hell" is a classic.

The theme of Love vs. Death that weaves throughout the disc is brought together beautifully, not least by means of the brilliant artwork of Andrew King and Tor Lundvall that fills the CD jacket.

It may not be a Sol Invictus album, but it's an essential part of their discography nonetheless.

Also today:

44:26 Za Frûmi, Legends, Act 2: Vampires
44:25 Love Is Colder Than Death, Atopos
44:24 Za Frûmi, Legends, Act 1
44:23 Sol Invictus, The Killing Tide
44:21 Aesthetic Perfection, Close to Human
44:19 Arditi, Marching On to Victory
44:19 This Mortal Coil, It'll End in Tears
New arrival! 50:30 Digital Factor, De Facto
44:19 yelworC, Eclosion

44 minutes, 42 seconds

Heid
Arktogäa

A few years ago, a friend was over for dinner, and afterward he was poking around my CD collection. "I don't recognize any of these band names," he remarked. I wasn't surprised, although I take no pride in liking the music I listen to simply because it's obscure.

"Does anyone else you know listen to this stuff?" he asked.

"No, not really," I replied.

He thought for a moment. "So you can't really share this music with anyone."

Now it was my turn to think. "I guess not, no."

"I mean, I can listen to music that I like and share that experience with Chris," he continued, referring to a mutual friend of ours with whom he went to high school.

"Yeah, I see what you're saying," I replied. "And you're right--this is a private hobby of mine, in many ways."

I've been thinking about that conversation lately. And wondering whether this blog is in some ways a response to it. Yes, it's a private hobby, but maybe by blogging about it (granted, more or less in anonymity) I'm making it a little less private. That was supposed to be the genius of the Internet, right? Being able to build community regardless of geography.

Not sure how many others out there listen to, say, Heid or Cold Fusion in private like I do, but I suspect I'm not alone.

Also today:

44:41 Cold Fusion, Simmetria
44:40 Autopsia, The Silence of the Lamb
44:35 Cruciform Injection, Biomechanical Disintegration
44:34 Cranes, Forever (CD 1 of 2)
44:33 Any Questions?, Mutation
44:33 Fake, Los Angeles Synthetic
44:32 Dead Man's Hill, Descend au Tombeau
44:32 Nest, Woodsmoke
44:29 L'Orchestre Noir, Eleven (CD 2 of 2)
44:28 Cold Fusion, Occupatria
44:28 Love Is Colder Than Death, Teignmouth
44:27 Aurora, The Land of Harm and Appletrees
44:27 Feindflug, Sterbehilfe

44 minutes, 49 seconds

Jansen Spilles
Speedwingslowthings

Jansen Spilles is Jürgen Jansen and Peter Spilles, two of the dudes from Germany's industrial juggernaut Project Pitchfork. Aside from Aurora Sutra (if you even want to count that band, fronted by Spilles's former girlfriend Patricia Nigiani), Jansen Spilles is, I believe, the only Project Pitchfork side project ever undertaken. Unusual for a band with that kind of longevity, but I'm not complaining. Side projects have become like remix albums--there are just too damn many of them.

Anyway, this album for the most part inhabits a calm, soundtrackish, neoclassical vibe. No lyrics, which means Spilles doesn't get to vent his gravelly pipes. There are some odd moments, such as the sample (from a movie?) of a woman telling someone how he's "the lowest slime on earth" and how he'd "screw his own grandmother and sell tickets to it." Oka-a-ay.

Are we just exporting the crappiest movies we can find to the German market?

Also today:

44:49 Necrotek, Satanik
44:46 Horologium, The Fire Sermon
44:44 Der Blutharsch, The Track of the Hunted
44:44 Grabesmond, Xenoglossie
44:42 Cryo, Cryogenic

45 minutes, 4 seconds

Evil's Toy
Illusion

I'm not generally a scold when it comes to people downloading music off the Inernet. Sure, I think it's stealing, and I don't do it myself, but I'm not going to rat on you if that's your thing. However, while I think the major labels and their bloated arena-pop acts sort of deserve it (it's poetic justice for their ravenous profiteering and contempt for their customers all these years), I don't like to see it happen to indie labels or struggling artists.

So it's with some dismay that when I check visitor data for this blog, I'm seeing more and more frequent keyword searches pop up with the artist's or band's name followed by the word "torrent." As in BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service. As in, "Where can I find a bunch of music and not have to pay the artists for it?"

Leaving aside for a moment why these people are finding my blog in their search results, I find it interesting to see what they're looking for: "the sundays blind torrent," for example. I mean, come on. Aren't Sundays fans supposed to be gentle souls? I have trouble imagining them as criminals. Yes, the Sundays were on a major label, but jeez, they were a modest band who wrote thoughtful songs. Cut 'em a break and go buy their CDs or pay for the download on iTunes.

Also today:

45:04 Rukkanor, Despartica
45:04 Various artists, Triumvire
45:03 Current 93 & Nurse with Wound, Bright Yellow Moon
45:02 Photophob, Tantalus
45:01 La Floa Maldita, L'Oasis
45:00 Artefactum, Rosarium Hermeticum
45:00 Data-Bank-A, Language Barrier
44:59 Breathe, The Laughing Dolls
44:59 Dominion, Manhunt
44:59 Front Line Assembly, Gashed Senses & Crossfire
44:58 Einstürzende Neubauten, Ende Neu
44:57 Foresta di Ferro, Bury Me Standing
44:50 Grendel, Soilbleed Redux
44:50 Prager Handgriff, Fossile Brennstoffe
44:50 Sephiroth, Cathedron
44:49 Agonoize, 999 (CD 2 of 2)

45 minutes, 8 seconds

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd
Mysterious Skin

Is it unusual to own the soundtrack to a movie you've never seen? Guilty. I'll take it even a step further: I've never even seen any films by Gregg Araki, who directed Mysterious Skin. He was branded some kind of wünderkind back in the '90s for some of his movies (Totally Fucked Up, The Living End, etc.), but apparently I couldn't be bothered to schlep to the theater (or the video store, for that matter) to see them.

Oh, well. There's always the music. And put former Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie together with ambient maestro Harold Budd, and I'm powerless to resist. I'm hoping Araki makes more movies. Not so I can see them. Just so I can buy the soundtracks.

Also today:

45:08 Steven Stapleton & David Tibet, Musical Pumpkin Cottage
45:07 Garmarna, Vengeance
45:06 Current 93, Dogs Blood Rising
45:06 Front Line Assembly, Tactical Neural Implant

45 minutes, 19 seconds

Prager Handgriff
Schlagende Wetter

When I try to describe to friends the music I tend to like, it inevitably gets interpreted as "German techno." As in, "Oh, heard any good German techno lately?" Or "Hey, you like German techno. Have you heard that song by blah blah blah..." It's a catch-all phrase that allows them to categorize a range of genres and subgenres neatly, never mind that it's about as accurate as calling someone a country-music fan because he listens to Bob Dylan.

However, when I listen to Prager Handgriff, I sometimes think, Yeah, this is probably what they imagine I listen to. It fits their stereotype--stiff, pounding rhythms; deep, gruff vocals; everything done with machines. Hell, it fits my stereotype of EBM or "German techno" or whatever else you want to call it.

And it always makes me think of Dieter.



Also today:

45:18 Dernière Volonté, Commémoration (CD 2 of 2)
45:17 Algiz, Claire-Voie
45:14 Artesia, Chants d'Automne
45:12 Julia Kent, Delay
45:11 Tamtrum, Elektronic Blakc Mess (CD 2 of 2)
45:09 Moon Far Away, Lado World

45 minutes, 30 seconds

Proceed
Fehlgesteuert

Will there always be an audience for EBM? Intellectually, I know that musical genres--any and all of them--tend to stick around and never disappear. There's always a cluster of fans that carry a torch for, say, Dixieland jazz or classic blues. But those are pretty much moribund forms of music--not much new or innovative going on in Dixieland jazz. It's more of a museum exhibit than a living, breathing form of expression anymore.

I wonder whether EBM is already at that stage. It's been around for more than 20 years by now, and--not to pick on Proceed, per se--the new EBM being released is pretty much a retro phenomenon. More often than not, it's consciously produced to sound like the EBM we grew up with: Front 242, Leæther Strip, Prager Handgriff, etc. Is this evidence of a still-thriving genre? Or the death throes of something that never really had much of a shelf life to begin with?

I don't have an answer. And I think you could probably apply this same question to just about any form of modern music. It's an extraordinary challenge for the artist to create something truly original. Often the demands of commerce force musicians to produce music that's less challenging and instead more evocative of something that's already proven to be successful. EBM is what fills the dance floors, packs the clubs, and hence sells alcohol, so there's a constant demand for new material that doesn't stray too far from the good old stuff. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder if it sustains a genre long past its due date.

Then again, does anyone really care? As George Sarah put it memorably in an old Stereotaxic Device song, "Dance, motherfuckers, dance."

Also today:

45:29 Psyclon Nine, Divine Infekt
45:29 Seven Pines, Histoire de l'Ours
45:27 The Joy of Nature and Discipline, The Fog That Life Is Haunted By
45:27 Nexus 8, Neurotransmisor
45:27 Photophob, Your Majesty Machine
45:27 Various artists, Prager Kodex: Songs of Three Brotherhoods
45:26 Love Is Colder Than Death, Eclipse
45:25 Garmarna, God's Musicians
45:22 The Protagonist, Songs of Experience

45 minutes, 40 seconds

Rumskib
Rumskib

Rumskib--sounds like a drink pirates used to enjoy below decks, doesn't it? In fact, it's Danish for pretty, dreamy, shoegazer-y pop music. No, not really. I haven't the foggiest idea what the name means, but the music does indeed shiver me timbers. It's not unlike some of the pretty, dreamy, shoegazer-y pop music that used to pop-ulate (sorry) the old Hyperium label's catalog (Mellonta Tauta, Sleeping Dogs Wake, etc.). The vocalist, Tine Louise Kortermand, has a classic ethereal voice--a little bit of Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser, a touch of Lush's Miki Berenyi, a dash of Björk--which makes a nice contrast with the distorted guitars.

It's good stuff. Wouldn't mind hearing more.

Also today:

45:39 Allerseelen & Sangre Cavallum, Barco do Vinho
45:37 Einstürzende Neubauten, Tabula Rasa (CD 1 of 2)
45:37 The Smiths, The Smiths
45:36 In the Nursery, Praxis
45:34 Love Spirals Downwards, Ever
45:34 Tearwave, Tearwave
45:33 Evil's Toy, Human Refuse
New arrival! 53:42 Stalnoy Pakt, Russia's Awakening
45:30 Cocteau Twins, Lullabies to Violaine (CD 3 of 4)

45 minutes, 45 seconds

Ars Ultima
Den Yttersta Konsten

Sweden's answer to Corvus Corax, Ars Ultima craft raucous medieval music out of authentic instruments from the period--flutes, bagpipes, lutes, and all manner of percussion. But the irony is, one of the photos inside the CD digipak shows one of the band members hunched over a laptop and mixing board. Proving, I suppose, that you can take the music out of the present day, but, alas, not the present day out of the music.

Also today:

45:45 Der Blutharsch, Time Is Thee Enemy!
45:45 Caul, Swan
45:45 Sophia, Spite
45:45 Trobar de Morte, Fairydust
45:44 Heavenly Bodies, Celestial
45:43 Rx, Bedside Toxicology
45:42 Vinterriket, Retrospektive
45:40 Ghosting, Enter My Crypt
New arrival! 72:01 Stahlwerk 9, Revolution of the Antichrist

45 minutes, 51 seconds

Karjalan Sissit
Karjalasta Kajahtaa

Cross early-period, history-obsessed Der Blutharsch, particularly the albums studded with old 78 RPM traditional songs, with Sophia's pounding neoclassical military onslaughts and you get something very close to Karjalan Sissit. It's essentially the project of one Make Pesonen, and he seems pissed off about the loss of most of the Karelian region of Finland to Russia back during the Second World War.

As with most other martial/neofolk bands, you can make of Karjalan Sissit's politics what you will. ("Karjalan Sissit" translates as "Karelian guerrillas.") The elaborate, artfully prepared CD packaging is sweetly nostalgic, often featuring old (family?) photos from the war years and before. It's a jarring juxtaposition from the musical mayhem Pesonen produces, although his music seems to be all about juxtaposition--the nostalgic and the angry, the pretty and the ugly, the whispered threat just underneath the surface calm.

It's cold, wintry music, and yet here I sit listening to it in the dead of summer. Talk about juxtaposition.

Also today:

45:51 Neun Welten, Vergessene Pfade
45:51 Taxim, Ecclesiophobia
45:50 Cold Fusion, Report
45:49 Gaë Bolg and the Church of Fand, La Ballade de l'Ankou
45:49 The Sundays, Blind
New arrival! 54:54 C/A/T, Point of No Return
45:49 :Wumpscut:, Cannibal Anthem
45:48 Sonne Hagal, Helfahrt
45:46 Autumn's Grey Solace, Over the Ocean

45 minutes, 58 seconds

Eridu Arcane
The Dying of an Ageless Day

The pace at which I've been moving through my CD collection has slowed somewhat. This may be due to my sister-in-law's having moved in with us temporarily. She graduated from nursing school this past May, and now she's studying for her board certification exams. Once she passes those, she'll get a job and, one assumes (hopes?) her own apartment. In the meantime, she studies in the living room, and I'm cooped up in my office all day, writing marketing materials for the World's Most Boring Software Company® and, of course, blogging.

But whereas I once blasted music all day from the six-disc changer attached to the main stereo, filling the house with the blissful sounds of, uh, hammering beats and ungodly machine noise, now I'm reduced to feeding CDs one by one into my PC and listening to them on the tinny speakers attached to my iMac. It's just not the same. Plus, when I leave the room for a moment, I can't hear the music anymore. So I pause it, then resume when I return.

Then there's also the issue of not wanting to subject her to this music. I like her, and I'm aware of the fact that this stuff isn't to most people's tastes, certainly not hers. And I'm not talking about the inoffensive stuff (like Eridu Arcane) but more the "difficult" music of, say, Feindflug. So I have to be more judicious about playing music in other situations as well, such as in the car. I'm not driving alone to the gym anymore, or to the grocery store. She's usually riding shotgun.

So, yes, this goofy blog project will likely take longer as a result, and you'll be reading more boring posts like this one. Blame it on my sister-in-law.

Also today:

45:57 Feindflug, Hirnschlacht
45:56 Funker Vogt, T (CD 1 of 2)
45:53 Absurd Minds, Deception
45:53 Any Questions?, Death
45:53 Solar Enemy, Dirty Vs. Universe
45:52 Fusspils 11, Gib Ihr Einen Namen
New arrival! 73:47 KIFOTH, Acerbity Torrent
New arrival! 58:54 Simulacrum, Zeugma
45:52 Parca Pace, Raumspannung
45:52 Phelios, Passage
45:52 Potentia Animi, Psalm II
45:51 Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke, Duality (CD 1 of 2)

45 minutes, 59 seconds

Laibach
Nova Akropola

A few years ago, the museum where Mrs. Total Time works curated an exhibit on all things NSK and Laibach. Paintings, posters, manifestoes, video, sound--it was pretty comprehensive. But it was also a bit strange. For one thing, it's always odd to experience a museum exhibit about something very close to the fabric of your own life. You live with this music and imagery for years, and it becomes sort of like the wallpaper. You stop noticing it. Then all of a sudden it's in a brightly lit museum gallery, and you're forced to see it--literally--in a new light.

Walking through the galleries, I began to understand once again how weird Laibach's music and images must seem to most people. It's a feeling I probably hadn't had since I first heard Laibach, back in my college days in the late '80s. But it was a good reminder: Yes, this music is unnerving, bewildering, threatening, transgressive, and, yes, a little goofy. I started seeing Laibach through other people's eyes. That older man standing there watching the "Tanz Mit Laibach" video in one gallery. The couple gazing at the Kapital-era live-show uniform on display. What did they think? Could they make heads or tails of it all?

To her credit, the curator (my wife's boss) did a fantastic job of using wall text and labels to walk people through NSK's origins and philosophy. She deftly threaded the connections between the breakup of Yugoslavia and the formation of Laibach, and she'd obtained an amazing array of works and objects from the band itself that helped illuminate the complex themes and worldview behind NSK.

I guess that part of it was weird too, though. Museum exhibits have a way of exalting whatever it is they're exhibiting, and this was no exception. So it was strange to see objects so familiar to you hung so respectfully on a museum wall. I had a moment where I felt as if something that had been very much alive to me was now dead. Fortunately, that feeling passed. But Laibach will never again be just wallpaper.

Also today:

45:59 Lush, Lovelife
45:58 Chineseblack, Mainstream

46 minutes, 11 seconds

In the Nursery
Köda

Not the first bombastic neoclassical ITN album--that would be Stormhorse--but this one considerably upped the production ante and cemented the ITN sound that would carry them through the late '80s and early '90s. Bright horns, sweeping strings, pounding tympani, crisp snare drum--it made a bold statement at the time. Now it sounds a little dated and tinny in parts, especially when you consider how much more complex and lush ITN's music has become since the release of Köda.

My guilty-pleasure favorite here is one of the bonus tracks, "Compulsion." It's one of those rare ITN tracks that feature vocals by the Humberstone twins themselves, rather than by Dolores Marguerite C. or a guest vocalist. Anyway, the song is a riot of snare patterns and hyperactive synth flourishes, and the lyrics are something out of a spy-movie drama. It has to be heard to be believed.

Also today:

46:10 Radio Kuolema, Broadcasting the Dead
46:09 Red Reflection, Prelude to Annihilation
46:07 Cyberaktif, Tenebrae Vision
46:07 Miriam, When Beauty Is Invisible
New arrival! 46:28 Simulacrum, Anti Matter Society
46:06 IC 434, The Banished
46:05 Harold Budd, Avalon Sutra

New arrival! 62 minutes, 36 seconds

Mordacious
Torture Tactics

Lots of new stuff arrived in yesterday's mail, and if anything it was yet another reminder that I'm quickly running out of shelf space for all these CDs. So begin the delicate negotiations with Mrs. Total Time, who'd just as soon have me move the entire 2,500-plus collection down to the basement. Perish the thought--I need ready access to my music!

I've been buying more CD storage units, but it turns out what I really need are more walls. Sheesh.

Also today:

New arrival! 60:21 Various artists, Dedicated to the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
New arrival! 59:16 Mulphia, Dark Sides
New arrival! 55:21 Scrape, Cruelest Intentions
New arrival! 54:08 Xentrifuge, Light Extinguished
46:12 Faun, Totem
New arrival! 61:16 Simulacrum, Upuaut
New arrival! 55:05 Kom-Intern, Order 937
46:12 HaWthorn, The Murky Brine
46:12 Moljebka Pulse & Horologium, Kaukasus

46 minutes, 16 seconds

Morrissey
Viva Hate

Music critics looking for a shorthand way to refer to Morrissey inevitably seem to come up with some variation of "the prince of loneliness" or "brooding crooner" or some other pastiche of words in the "depressing," "sad," and "melancholy" category. And, sure, he's all those things. But he's also clever and funny. So many of his songs, dating back to his days with the Smiths, display a preponderance of corrosive wit that outweighs (or at least leavens) his darker, more lamentational (some would say whiny) side. I mean, how can you listen to, say, "Vicar in a Tutu" or "King Leer" and fail to hear the humor?

Anyway, Viva Hate, from 1988, was his first solo album, following the breakup of the Smiths. I can't decide whether I like it a little better than 1992's Your Arsenal, which was also a very strong group of songs. Viva Hate is probably also among the more sonically adventurous of his solo albums, thanks largely to Durutti Column's Vini Reilly and his distorted, manic guitar arpeggios (check out "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" to hear what I'm talking about.)

Morrissey has enjoyed something of a revival recently, and as I write this he's in the middle of a long tour to support his most recent album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. I've kept up with him faithfully, but it's funny to imagine him maintaining this pace. He's never seemed like one of those pop stars who'd be keeping at it in his 60s. Have you heard "Get Off the Stage," a B-side to the Piccadilly Palare single?

Also today:

46:15 Combichrist, Sex, Drogen und Industrial
46:15 Lush, Gala
46:14 The Retrosic, Prophecy
46:13 Gaping Chasm, Fragments of War
46:13 Weihan, Galder
New arrival! 63:48 Bipol, Ritual

46 minutes, 17 seconds

Attrition
Dante's Kitchen

July 4th, and do I find myself listening to good old-fashioned American-made industrial music? Of course not. After all, it's not next on the total-time list. But Attrition, a fine bunch of redcoats from Coventry, are. So if I'm somehow offending your sense of patriotism, please don't blame me. Blame my obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Anyway, Attrition: I think my first exposure to them was via the Recollection '84-'89 cassette (remember those, kids?) from the Projekt label. Kind of a greatest-hits-so-far release, including "A'dam and Eva" (one of my all-time favorite Attrition songs), "Shrinkwrap," and "Mind Drop," among many others. They crafted these fractured goth-pop songs that wormed their way into your brain. Julia Waller's sweet soprano voice didn't so much complement Martin Bowes's gravelly croak as leaven it, much like the male-female vocal interplay in bands like Regenerator or Die Form.

They didn't release a truly great album until 1991's A Tricky Business, in my opinion, but it's been downhill from there. Dante's Kitchen, from 2004, is their most recent release, but as was the case with its predecessor, 1999's The Jeopardy Maze, the songs just aren't memorable. Or am I just getting forgetful?

Also today:

46:17 In Slaughter Natives, In Slaughter Natives
46:17 KIFOTH, Spectaclebreakers
46:17 Rrupt, Traverser

46 minutes, 29 seconds

Threat Level 5
Maschinen

I'd thought that Threat Level 5 had released only one album, but in searching for a Web page of theirs to link to, I discovered that I was wrong--wrong, wrong, wrong! Another Threat-ening slab of, uh, plastic came out last year, called The Threat Is Real. I don't know how it managed to slip under my normally keen radar for everything in the middlebrow electro genre. (Yeah, I said middlebrow. Too mean? Let's be honest, TL5 have some OK songs, but Front Line Assembly they're not.)

Anyway, may I please be excused from the rest of today's blog post? I'm off to hunt with grim determination for this missing CD.

Update: OK, so I need to curb my enthusiasm, as Larry David would say. Turns out The Threat Is Real is available as a download only, via iTunes. No physical CD release. Bummer. Won't stop me from buying it and burning it onto a CDR, but it would have been nice to have an old-school copy. I'm all about Luddism.

Also today:

46:27 FDH, Novaela
46:27 Hooverphonic, Blue Wonder Power Milk
46:27 Various artists, Scontrum, Act III
46:25 Edera, Ambiguous
46:25 Lunascape, Reminiscence
46:24 Die Form, Poupée Mécanique
46:24 Wappenbund, Preußen
46:22 A Challenge of Honour, Spartan Victories
New arrival! 55:37 Threat Level 5, The Threat Is Real
46:20 Moon Far Away, Belovodie
46:19 Death in June, But, What Ends When the Symbols Shatter?

46 minutes, 37 seconds

Xmal Deutschland
Devils

This was Xmal Deutschland's last album, released in 1989, and it's a far cry from the edgy postpunk they recorded for the 4AD label in the early '80s. For one thing, most of the original band members had left by this time, and really the only link to the old days was the vocalist, Anja Huwe. But even her contributions had metamorphosed into something unrecognizable: The songs, once almost entirely in German, were now in English. And an angular, vaguely Siouxsie-fied sound had by now given way to what can only be described as '80s power pop.

It's sort of funny to listen to, because the production values and arrangements seem so cheesy, in that inimitably late-'80s way. Earlier Xmal albums like Fetisch and Tocsin at least had a gawky, raw vitality to them, whereas Devils just sounds like a band that's trying too hard to craft songs.

Still, it's a guilty pleasure. Tracks like "Sleepwalker" and "Dreamhouse," with their anthemic choruses, are played with just enough conviction to make you sit up and take notice.

But sometimes I wonder if somewhere along the way I forced myself to like this album because of the band's 4AD pedigree. Otherwise, would I even care about Xmal Deutschland? This happens with other labels too. For example, do I like Atrium Carceri--really like them--or do I simply buy their CDs because they're OK but, hey, they're on the Cold Meat Industry label, so they must be good? I'd hate to think I'd listen to music out of some sense of obligation rather than true desire, but then again, that wouldn't be entirely out of character for me.

Also today:

46:36 Project-X, Modus Operandi
46:36 The Wardrobe, Cups in Cupboard
46:34 Skoyz, Decay
46:33 Autumn's Grey Solace, Riverine
New arrival! 77:08 Liar's Rosebush, None Higher
New arrival! 73:28 Polygon, Blackeye
New arrival! 71:37 Polygon, Purpose
New arrival! 52:58 Horologium, The World Is Not Enough
46:32 Laufeyiar Sonr, Vorst
46:32 Rajna, From the Ashes

46 minutes, 43 seconds

Monolith
15 Seconds (CD 1 of 2)

Hey, guess what: Remember a few weeks ago, when I wrote about Der Blutharsch, X-Fusion, and Foundation Hope and the strange and interesting ways they play with the total time of their CD releases? Of course you don't. Well, anyway, Joep Smaling from Foundation Hope responsed cryptically to my question about both of his releases being mastered to exactly 51 minutes and 42 seconds. "I suggest you puzzle a little further," he told me. "What's the point in telling you? That's no fun."

I wrote him back to try to pry loose at least a small clue, and yesterday I received an e-mail from him. "Although I'm a complete atheist, I find the bible mighty fascinating," he wrote. "Did you look? There's something about Babylon that relates to a certain number."

Well, that was more than a small clue--I'd say that was a big, fat, honking clue. To the Internets! And scant moments later, here's what I found:

"The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her." (Jeremiah 51:42)

Hmm. The end is nigh? I replied to Joep that, given that I live rather near the water in the modern-day Babylon, I hope this bit of biblical prophecy doesn't come true. I'll let you know if I hear from him again. If I don't drown in the meantime, that is.

Also today:

46:40 Grendel, Inhumane Amusement
46:40 Re/Act, The Reason, the Understanding and Time
46:38 Autour de Lucie, L'Échapée Belle
46:37 The Smiths, Meat Is Murder