tunequest

Please allow me to recommend Crunching Numbers, by The Polish Ambassador, everyone's favorite electrogroovin emissary from a far-away land, who will save you from internet electrocution by harnessing the incredible powers of space.

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I. am. being. slowly. driven. insane. emphasis on the slowly driven. Seriously, if you wish to maintain your sanity, do not drive in Atlanta, ever. But especially avoid the interstates. and the access roads. and the side streets. and all intersections. If you give those places a wide berth, you will find yourself infinitely less frustrated with your life. But if you cannot manage that, make sure you roll ...

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This is exactly what a sophomore album should be. It has everything that made the debut so fresh and engaging, while adding nuance and complexity that show a clear maturation of sound, yet is not so over-indulgent so as to become foreign and off-putting. I refer, of course to Ratatat's recently released second album: Classics. One might argue that it takes a particularly confident or arrogant band to ...

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Trans Am's brand of future-rock has been of constant interest since the day I first heard it in early 2002. I appreciate their hard-drive rhythms and computerized effects. In fact, before i knew any better, I thought the group was from Germany. Turns out they're actually from Washington, DC, which is why I also appreciate that they tackle political material in a way that's direct ...

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Ping Pong is an unusually uptempo, rockin' song from Stereolab's mars audiac quintet. It's one of my favorites from the groop and the increase in tempo gives its lyrics a stronger visceral impact. Though released in 1994, the lyrics show a degree of timelessness, given the current geo-political situation. it's alright 'cos the historical pattern has shown how the economical cycle tends to revolve. in a round of ...

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My lowly 15gb iPod, maxed to its capacity, can only store about 2000 songs at a time. At the moment, it houses albums ranging from 0-N (not including albums that begin with 'the'). Thus, I have not had any Ratatat grace my eardrums in quite some time. And man, i have been jonesin' for it, with no relief in sight. But in this junkie's darkest hour, I ...

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Here are some quickies; enjoy:Spiritualized, some drifty, hazy, drugged-out psychedelia. Lots of fuzz. The Aluminum Tunes album is nothing special, but anything by stereolab is worth listening to. I didn't know anything about this heat other than I enjoyed their album Deceit until I checked out the wikipedia, which pretty much reflects the album. Based on their sound, I would have pegged them as German, except for the ...

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Hum's Downward is Heavenward is a lost gem among rock records in general and 90s rock records especially. Those of you with particularly acute memories might recall that Hum scored a minor US hit in 1995 with the single Stars which is actually one of the weaker songs imho from You'd Prefer an Astronaut. Even so, I really enjoyed that album and, during that year, Hum became ...

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