Let's just get this out of the way now, shall we?

I don't think much else is coming out in the next month and a half that will top these, so here's my end of the year list for 2010:

10 records I'm glad to have paid money for (basically in order, but things can change...).

1. The Lovetones - Lost (LP)
2. The Asteroid No. 4 - Hail To The Clear Figurines (LP)
3. Dead Skeletons - Dead Mantra (10")
4. The Dolly Rocker Movement - Our Days Mind the Tyme (LP)
5. Chief Nowhere - Chief Nowhere (CD)
6. Laboratory Noise - When Sound Generates Light (CD)
7. Cornershop - Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast (CD)
8. The See See - Mary Soul EP (Digital)
9. The Third Sound - The Third Sound (CD)
10. Ojos Rojos - Disappear (CD)

Honorable mentions (because 12 is not as round a number as 10):

1. Cult Of Dom Keller - EP1 (Digital) 2010
2. Various Artists - Psychedelica 4 (2xCD) 2010

pre-2010 releases worthy of note (could totally change on a whim)

1. Federale - Devil In A Boot (CD) - 2009
2. The Asteroid No. 4 - These Flowers Of Ours - A Treasury Of Witchcraft And Devilry (2xLP) 2008
3. Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music - The Amine ß Ring (DVD) 1975
4. Graham Day & The Gaolers - Triple Distilled (CD) 2008
5. Colorsound - Soundtrack For An Imaginary Life (CD) 1998
6. The Kinks The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (3xCD) 1968
7. The Stevenson Ranch Davidians - The Stevenson Ranch Davidians EP (CD) 2005
8. The Black Angels - Doves/Drone in G#Major (7") 2008
9. Wooden Shjips - Dos (CD) 2009
10. Spacemen 3 - DJ Tones (12") 2008

Other stuff worth a damn:

1. The Sun Blindness - Far Arden
2. Helicon - Take The Ride EP
3. FIGHTS MONSTERS - ...from the forthcoming FIGHTS MONSTERS album
4. Rachel Bloom - Fuck Me Ray Bradbury
5. Emmalee Crane - Crux
6. The Myrrors - Burning Circles In The Sky
7. Chatham Rise - Chatham Rise EP
8. Syd R. Duke - My Witness Is The Empty Sky
9. The Lucid Dreams (now known as The Lucid Visions) - The Lucid EP
10. Cults - Cults 7"

This is the best collection of psychedelic bands on the planet!!

Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 8:30pm

Spaceland, Silverlake, CA

Magic Mirror: my first time hearing them. Really dug them. Wish I would've bought a CD...but I didn't see any.

The Quarter After: The raised the bar right to the ceiling. "Too Much To Think About" was on fire. Andy C. had to fill on drums for the first song ("Always Returning" I believe) as the QAs drummer was stuck on the 101. Haven't we all been there?

The Asteroid No. 4: Solid. Great set. Played a couple tracks off the new one (available at the merch table on pretty red vinyl). However, because of delays and the natural tendency for every band to play over their alloted time (is just a fact of life), they got yanked by Matt Tow....which brings us to...

The Lovetones: Started solid with "Navigator", then "City Meets The Stars", but they had some kind of monitor trouble and couldn't hear themselves or each other or there was some kind of phasing going on. The soundman heard nothing (I thought I heard him say). Then things got demented. Matt Sigley sang "This Great Romance" but his bass strap came unhooked and he lost it. Shame, as that's a fine song. In the middle of "Pictures" Matt Tow seemed to have some issues with either his guitar or amp (or just the comsos in general) and viciously attacked both, put his guitar down, went and had a drink, came back and started playing again. They ended with "Mantra" ("Journeyman" and "Inside A Dream" were also played) and that turned to chaos. Matt T. threw his guitar down and left the building for a while before getting dragged back in, Matt Sigley ended up on his back with Tow aiming his guitar at his head, and ended with Rob and Matt Tow grinding their guitars together in a most metal sort of way. Rob Campanella (who played the show with a false nose) ended by saying "...and I'm not even in this band." (paraphrased)
In all, a good, albeit weird, evening.
I hasten to add, though, that if you weren't actually watching what was going on, you'd never know something was amiss (except when Sigley dropped his bass...that was noticeable...sorry, man). The music just got more intense as the chaos ensued.
The Lovetones new album, LOST, is available now on VINYL. Get it here: http://plantingseedsrecords.com/shop.html
Get Quarter After and Asteroid No. 4 goods here: http://www.thecommitteetokeepmusicevil.com/ 
Dig the Magic Mirror here: http://www.myspace.com/magicmirrormusic



(this originally appeared, in very slightly different form, here)