Le Tigre - Le Tigre (1999)

Formed in 1999 by ex-Bikini Kill frontwoman and riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna, magazine publisher J. Fateman and avant-garde video artist Sadie Benning, the NYC-based trio's music is as vivid and diverse as the band's  members themselves. Le Tigre stir half a dozen musical genres, such as hip hop and punk, till they get short easy-going pop songs  . From simple punk rock riffs, over retro wave hooks, to bizarre Star Wars samples,  this album delivers good clean fun!

1.) Deceptacon

2.) Hot Topic

3.) What Yr Take On Cassavetes

4.) The Empty

5.) Phanta

6.) Eau'd Bedroom Dancing

7.) Let's Run

8.) My My Metrocard

9.) Friendship Station

10.) Slideshow at Free University

11.) Dude, Yr So Crazy!

12.) Les and Ray

Boys Noize - Oi Oi Oi (2007)

Boys Noize is a house project by German electro producer Alexander Ridha, who made a name for himself remixing Bloc Party and Justice songs. The sound of his 2007 debut, however,  is hugely influenced by Daft Punk and old Chemical Brothers records. Oi Oi Oi is dominated by kick-ass breaks, heavily distorted french house beats and Ridha's trademark chainsaw synthesizers, that sound about as evil as if satan himself had played them.

1.) & Down

2.) Lava

3.) The Battery

4.) Oh!

5.) Let's Buy Happiness

6.) Arcade Robot

7.) Deny Selected

8.) Shine Shine

9.) Vergiftet

10.) Superfresh

11.) Wu-Tang

12.) Don't Believe the Hype

13.) Frau

14.) My Moon My Man

                                              

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)

Even though they were among  the leaders of the early 90's Lo-Fi movement, Pavement never actually made it past underground status. Too absurd the lyrics and too chaotic the arrangements, they remain a secret tip within the indie scene, their albums being considered modern classics by fans and critics. Stephen Malkmus, songwriter and ingenious mastermind behind Pavement, successfully copes with the balancing act of breaking with most traditional songwriting conventions and, at the same creating breathtaking caricatures of pop songs, as beyond the fuzzy guitars and lakonic vocals, beautiful Beach Boys melodies unfold.

1.) Silence Kit

2.) Elevate Me Later

3.) Stop Breathing

4.) Cuty Your Hair

5.) Newark Wilder

6.) Unfair

7.) Gold Sounds

8.) 5-4=Unity

9.) Range Life

10.) Heaven's a Truck

11.) Hit the Plane Down

12.) Fillmore Five  

Telefon Tel Aviv - Fahrenheit Fair Enough (2001)

On their debut album, New Orleans-based electronica duo Telefon Tel Aviv create beautiful experimental ambient. Its far out cinematic soundscapes in combination with the minimalist beats (a blip here, a crackle there) make Fahrenheit Fair Enough sound like the soundtrack of a deep dream. This is the perfect album to relax and chill out to after a hard night of dancing, partying and getting shitfaced. 

1.) Fahrenheit Fair Enough

2.) TTV

3.) Lotus Above Water

4.) John Thomas on the Inside is Nothing But Foam

5.) Life is All About Taking Things in and Putting Things Out

6.) Your Face Reminds Me of When I Was Old

7.) What's the Use of Feet When You Haven't Got Legs

8.) Introductory Nomenclature

9.) Fahrenheit Far Away

Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll (2005)

Every now and then, a rock and roll band comes along, which not only reinvents the whole genre, but turns it upside down. So did Art Brut, on Bang Bang Rock & Roll.  They caricature and corrupt all rock conventions of the past 40 years, yet ironically manage to deliver music that's still gonna kick you in your whore ass! Hilarious lyrics ("I wanna be the man who writes the song, that makes Israel and Palestine get along"), unexpected songwriting and riffs that sound like shooting yourself in the face with a sawed-off shotgun make the British quartet's debut album  the most enyojable rock record of the past decade. 

1.) Formed a Band

2.) My Little Brother

3.) Emily Kane

4.) Rusted Guns of Milan

5.) Modern Art

6.) Good Weekend

7.) Bang Bang Rock & Roll

8.) Fight!

9.) Moving to L.A.

10.) Bad Weekend

11.) Stand Down

12.) 18,000 Lira

Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour '74 (1974)

This is my favourite blues record, and one of the most mindblowing live gigs ever to be put on vinyl. Rory Gallagher, who is considered to be the best white blues guitar player along with Stevie Ray Vaughan, is a force of nature. In contrast to Vaughn, whose licks are as dry as the Texan desert, the troubled Irish genius rocks it dirty like a motherfucker. Drunk off his ass most of the time, he somehow still managed to deliver insanely energetic performances. This album features recordings from his 1974 tour through both Ireland and Northern Ireland, which at that time was nothing more than a war zone; a fact that heavily influenced his blues. Raw power!

1.) Cradle Rock

2.) I Wonder Who

3.) Tattoo'd Lady

4.) Too Much Alcohol

5.) As the Crow Flies

6.) A Million Miles Away

7.) Walk on Hot Coals

8.) Who's That Comin'?

9.) Back on My Stompin' Ground

10.) Maritime

Various Artists - Africafunk: The Original Sound of 1970's Funky Africa (1999)

While tons of compilations featuring contemporary African music have been released over the years, most of them were just half-hearted attempts at recycling mediocre music and making a few cheap bucks. Africafunk, however,  is the exact opposite. Whoever compiled this killer collection definately knew what they were talking about. Even though all these tracks are from the 70's and are, in the broadest sense, "Africa-Funk", the scope of tunes is amazing. Every song represents a different facet of the genre, ranging from traditionals and afro-beat to jazzy psychedelics and funk fusion. The selection is superb, there is not one weak track on the album. Anybody who loves funk must listen to this record.

Ratatat - LP4 (2010)

New York-based experimental duo Ratatat probably makes the weirdest music I have ever heard. Their instrumentals resemble sound mosaics, recorded and arranged beyond any musical style or convention. On LP4 they mix such contradictive genres as French house with cheesy 80's metal guitars and classical string orchestra arrangements with afro funk breaks. Ratatat tear pop music as we know it into shreds, just to put the pieces back together and finally turn its dynamics upside down again. Brilliant!

1.) Bilar

2.) Drugs

3.) Neckbrace

4.) We Can't Be Stopped

5.) Bob Gandhi

6.) Mandy

7.) Mahalo

8.) Party With Children

9.) Sunblock

10.) Bare Feast

11.) Grape Juice City

12.) Alps

Busdriver - Temporary Forever (2002)

Now this is a rap album you won't hear every day. Megalomaniac, hyperactive and sharp as a knife, Temporary Forever is a capricious collage of clever lyrics and batshit insane samples. With a flow like explosive diarrhea farts, the L.A. underground rapper delivers his lines machine gun style. What this guy does with his voice - half musical instrument, half human beat box - is simply mindblowing. Balancing serious political issues with funny, almost dadaist rants, the lyrics are all killer no filler. And so is the rest of this record.

1.) New Aquarium

2.) Imaginary Places

3.) Along Came a Biter

4.) Idle Chatter

5.) Gun Control

6.) Mind Crossing

7.) Suing Sony

8.) Stylin' Under Pressure

9.) Single Cell Ego

10.) Somethingness

11.) Driver's Manual

12.) The Truth of Sponatneous Human Combustion

13.) Opposable Thumbs

14.) Unplanned Parenthood

15.) Jazz Fingers

16.) Reality Sandwich

17.) Wrong Route

18.) Post-Apocalyptic Rap Blues

Moodymann - Black Mahogani (2004)

Detroit techno producer Kenny Dixon Jr. a.k.a. Moodymann is a living legend. Black Mahogani is a selection of the best tracks he has produced over the years. It features ten laid-back house tunes, heavily influenced by jazz and soul music, with the samples perfectly matching the vibrant lounge beats. This is the perfect album to be played during a chilly evening on the beach. Word!

1.) Holiday

2.) Robert Jean Machine

3.) I Need You So Much

4.) Runaway

5.) I'm Doing Fine

6.) Shades of Jae

7.) Riley's Song

8.) Back at Bakers (On Livernois)

9.) Mahogani 9000

10.) Black Mahogani