2006 Music in a Nutshell

1. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife / Capitol
For their major-label debut, Colin Meloy and company have crafted a record that is simultaneously simpler and more expansive than 2005’s Picaresque. On The Crane Wife, Meloy’s songwriting has become more personal and immersive without losing his much-vaunted literariness, penchant for storytelling, and folk leanings that garnered his band all of those Elephant 6 comparisons a few years ago. The arrangements have been scaled back, and while the music is far from skeletal, its accessibility is refreshing after the carnival of the last record.

2. Thom Yorke, The Eraser / XL
Yorke took a break from songwriting with Radiohead to put together this minimalist record with longtime collaborator/producer Nigel Godrich. The result harkens back to the electronica that the band explored on 2000’s Kid A but takes it further: the programming, sampling, and looped vocals work together not so much as songs but as soundscapes — something Radiohead, as a rock band, still hasn’t perfected. This music is perfect for driving alone late at night or watching the moon rise with a hip flask of bourbon. It’s not timeless, but at times it feels like it should be.

3. Comets on Fire, Avatar / Sub Pop
I’ve often described Comets on Fire as a psychedelic hardcore band, and they’ve pretty much lived up to that moniker: insane rhythmic noise and polyps-inducing screams share space with phasers and meandering solos on their earlier records (see 2004’s Blue Cathedral for the best illustration—this record garnered my vote for Sub Pop’s noisiest release over Wolf Eyes’ Burned Mind from the same year). On Avatar, however, they leave the hardcore at home, and appear to have listened to a fair amount of blues, jazz, and Americana on their ride back to the studio. This is by far their most accessible record (can anyone even stand their 2001 self-titled debut for more than ten minutes at a time?), with their previous overdriven sound popping up sporadically to highlight their new focus on melody and atmosphere.

4. Isis, In the Absence of Truth / Ipecac
Isis continues to perfect their particular brand of drone metal on In the Absence of Truth. It’s hard to believe that music this heavy can be calm, but that’s exactly what makes Isis interesting from album to album — Aaron Turner and his partners in sludge somehow find ways to make subtle sheets of distortion and crests of screaming. This is music that won’t kick your ass so much as it will soothe your ass after someone else has kicked it.

5. Mates of State, Bring it Back / Barsuk
Mates’ first album away from longtime home Polyvinyl finds the husband/wife duo polishing their cute-pop songcraft to a shine. Gone are the kitschy, jarring multi-part compositions and sudden sonic tangents; instead, parenthood has brought with it an appreciation for maturity and simplicity. Of course, Barsuk is the same label that Death Cab for Cutie called home before their jump to Atlantic — could Kori and Jason follow a similar path?

6. Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions / Columbia
The backstory is something you wouldn’t expect from one of the most mainstream commercial artists around: Springsteen discovered folkie Pete Seeger rather late in life, grew to love the songs of the folk revival from the mid-20th century, invited a bunch of palls over to his (ahem) mansion, and recorded two (practically) live sets, released here. The resulting tour may have been a disappointment — he is a marquee artists, but these songs work better in a wood-paneled meeting hall or a smoky bar than they do in a megamphitheatre — but the record itself is an unexpectedly great tribute to one of the most influential artists of the previous generation. Take that, Dylan.

7. The Vandermark 5, A Discontinuous Line / Atavistic
After cellist Fred Longerg-Holm replaced trombonist Jeb Bishop in Chicago improvised music stalwarts Vandermark 5 following the release of 2005’s The Color of Memory, Ken Vandermark threw out the band’s songbook and started from scratch. The resulting material was previewed in weekly installments at the Empty Bottle in December, 2005, and it utterly blew me away with the shifting textures and the way that the cello both works with Kent Kessler’s bass and as a solo instrument alongside Vandermark’s and Dave Rempis’s reeds. This group just keeps getting better.

8. The Album Leaf, Into the Blue Again / Universal
More of a sequel to 2005’s In a Safe Place than a statement on its own, Into the Blue Again nevertheless continues to outshine the output of Jimmy LaValle’s former band Tristeza. In a year with no chamber rock releases from Sigur Rós or the Godspeed collective and even less from atmospheric pop like Múm, a new record from The Album Leaf is definitely appreciated.

9. Mastodon, Blood Mountain / Reprise
The problem with bands like Mastodon is that unless you have a working vocabulary of their older material (and, ideally, of their particular genre in general), it’s hard to tell what makes a particular release special. In this case, I can easily point to their steadfast commitment to whiplash-inducing metal for their major label debut. But in going further, I can also point to the subtle layers of (almost accidental) melody and overtones that reveal themselves through repeated listens. When there’s this much going on, it’s impossible to not find something new to appreciate each time you listen.

10. The Flaming Lips, At War with the Mystics / Warner Bros.
While The Flaming Lips haven’t yet topped either 1999’s The Soft Bulletin or 2002’s Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, At War with the Mystics proves that they still have a lot of fight and innovation left in them. With the Lips, treading water is equivalent to (many) lesser bands regressing. Also, their set at Lollapalooza was the best of the entire weekend — my new resolution is to never miss them whenever they return to town as long as we both shall live.

Honorable Mentions:
Adem, Love and Other Planets / Domino
Belle & Sebastian, The Life Pursuit / Matador
Channels, Waiting for the Next End of the World / Dischord
Chin Up Chin Up, This Harness Can’t Ride Anything / Suicide Squeeze
Erase Errata, The Nightlife / Kill Rock Stars
The Evens, Get Evens / Dischord
Joan of Arc, Eventually, All at Once / Record Label
Mission of Burma, The Obliterati / Matador
Mogwai, Mr. Beast / Matador
Sonic Youth, Rather Ripped / Geffen

Biggest Disappointments:

DJ Shadow, The Outsider / Universal Motown
I know that Josh Davis warned his fans that The Outsider was going to be nothing like he’s ever released before. But in doing my best to quash my expectations, I never thought that he was crafting what amounts to a hip-hop mix CD with some of the weakest production I’ve ever heard. Crap, crap, and more crap.

Rainer Maria, Catastrophe Keeps Us Together / Grunion
This one is harder to be disappointed with — admittedly, there are some great songs on Catastrophe, but that’s exactly the problem: since 1996, every release of theirs has been consistently strong from front to back. I’d never thought I’d hear true clunkers from Rainer Maria, hoping that they had learned their lesson from the uninspired slumps scattered throughout 2001’s Better Version of Me. Their last record, 2003’s Long Knives Drawn, was their best since 1999’s Look Now Look Again, which made Catastrophe’s catastrophes even more disappointing. Sadly, the band called it quits at the end of the year. While they won’t have an opportunity to redeem themselves on record, their final three shows in December were a great way to cap both my year and a particular chapter of my life. Thanks for ten years of great music.

Most Anticipated in 2007:
Fridge (Adem Ilhen and Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden back for their first record since 2001’s Happiness!)
Lifetime (looks like that reunion tour was not the end for the famed Jersey pop-punkers)
Mercury Rev
Modest Mouse (apparently featuring, uh, Johnny Marr?)
Pelican
Radiohead (it could happen…)

2005 Music in a Nutshell

The last year saw a lot of good things happening in my life: moving in with my girlfriend, touring my zine in August, giving up the full-time workforce for a PhD program in Ethnomusicology, and buying my first car in over three years all rank up there. I also consumed more than my fair share of reading material through zine trades, as a zine reviewer (for Zine World, The Machine, and soon for Punk Planet), catching up on some great literature (seriously, everyone needs to read Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife and Erik Larson's Devil In The White City if they haven't already), and a literal metric ton of material for school (don't ask me why I haven't gotten an Amazon.com credit card yet). The music came a lot easier than the last couple years -- both as a reviewer for Splendid Magazine and as a DJ and Promotions Director at WLUW -- enabling me to hear more stuff since the year I spent working at a record store.

The result, however -- and leave it to me to complain about a dream come true -- is that I sometimes feel overwhelmed by everything that's available to me, and I don't feel as if I have enough time to give everything a fair shake. Some releases I simply haven't gotten to yet, there are literally three piles of zines on a shelf that are waiting to be read, and most nights I'd rather relax in front of The Cosby Show than head out to see some live music.

That said, there was some seriously great music that came out last year. Also some great live music: both the Intonation Fest and Lollapalooza proved that Chicago knows how to do summer music festivals, Femi Kuti provided the best time I've ever had at a concert, the Flower 15 festival in November brought together a veritable who's-who of the last decade of indie rock (including a reunited Promise Ring!), and Ken Vandermark closed the year in style with a three-Tuesday residency at the Empty Bottle. Honestly, my hopes for 2006 are primarily that the next year can at least equal the previous.

As always, if you see any glaring omissions below, you can email me. I'll either reply with a justification for why I'm right and you're not, or I'll go right out and buy the album, increasing debt be damned.

1. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise / Asthmatic Kitty
If you haven't year heard this album, I will seriously question your commitment to listening to good music. He delivers on the promise of previous releases and expands his sound exponentially. Damn the Christian subtext, all I really care about is programmatic pop music that the hipsters adore as well. You can no longer Myspace him, but keep the love coming anyway -- this record is about as good as it gets. Oh, and who's idea was it to put Superman on the cover without first getting the permission of DC Comics?

2. Broken Social Scene, s/t / Arts & Crafts
If you're wondering what happened to the focused rock of We Forgot It In People, it's been spread out a little more. The result is an album that both matches its predecessor in all the right places -- groove, melody, and pure surprisability -- while expanding the recording into an ambitious project that matches the bands' sheer scope. I counted twelve people on stage at their Chicago concert, and no one got in each others' way.

3. The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema / Matador
To me, this is the first album on which the band really gels. Some may hear a group of musicians that sounds less adventuresome, but I hear a band that is more focused than one or two albums ago.

4. The Decemberists, Picaresque / Kill Rock Stars
Their albums keep getting bigger, and while some days I long for the simplicity of Castaways And Cutouts, the pure spectacle of songs like "The Mariner's Revenge Song" and their increasingly elaborate stage sets are difficult to hate. The questions is: can they repeat the formula on Capitol?

5. Pelican, The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw / Hydrahead
After the blistering Australasia, Pelican has learned a little mellowness. Not that Fire is full of soft-pedaling wankery, but the band has learned to appreciate subtle shifts in mood without always relying on blowing away the listeners' eardrums. Good news for my tinnitus, not so good for stick-in-the-mud metalheads, and downright bad news for metal groups who still think that quality and volume are directly related.

6. Four Tet, Everything Ecstatic / Domino
Kieran Hebden continues his practice of deconstructing not just standard song structure -- which is, like, so passé -- but even standard techno and IDM structure. On Everything Ecstatic, he explores beats and electronic textures while employing more world influences than ever before.

7. Canasta, We Were Set Up / self-released
Probably the biggest surprise for me this fall was how much I ended up adoring this record. Call it lounge-pop for the hipster generation, this Chicago band fuses everything that's good about the last 40 or 50 years of pop music into a single singable record. It's way fun and guaranteed to get you laid.

8. Magnolia Electric Co., What Comes After The Blues / Secretly Canadian
I like the fact that Jason Molina actually has a full-time touring band that also serves as his writing partners. What Comes After The Blues is the first album he's written together with his backing musicians, and its cohesiveness is a testimony to both his vision and his willingness to give up the reins every now and then.

9. Tristeza, A Colores / Better Looking
On their first full-length since Jimmy LaVelle left to focus full-time on his Album Leaf project, Tristeza get a little more groovy. The result is less cyclical than Spine & Sensory, although it does hearken back to the increased use of synths and electronics on Dream Signals In Full Circles. Way cool, still more songlike than anything LaVelle has ever done on his own, and a welcome argument for the band's continued relevance.

10. The Evens, s/t / Dischord
I hate calling this band ex-Fugazi, but the fact is that Ian MacKaye is in this band. He plays baritone guitar and sings plaintively over the light drums of girlfriend Amy Farina. The songs are quiet and simple, yet to say they're devoid of the passion for which he's known is completely ignorant. The album's sound is about restraint, but I guess hipsters don't appreciate subtlety from their deities.

Honorable Mention:
American Analog Set, Set Free / Arts & Crafts
Boards Of Canada, The Campfire Headphase / Warp
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm / Vice
Dälek, Absence / Ipecac
Idlewild, Warnings/Promises / EMI
LCD Soundsystem, s/t / DFA/EMI
The Posies, Every Kind Of Light / Rykodisc
Stephen Malkmus, Face The Truth / Matador
Sigur Rós, Takk... / Geffen
Spoon, Gimme Fiction / Merge
The Vandermark 5, The Color Of Memory / Atavistic

Perpetual Motion Roadshow #27

Hey everybody! I will be cruising along on the Perpetual Motion Roadshow #27 this August, from Saturday the 13th through the 20th. It's going to be a blast! I'll be reading from the latest issue of LivingProof, throwing out some classics, and previewing new material. You never know what I might read next! Please come out and support the indie press. All the events listed below are pay-what-you-can, so if you're poor (like me!) you needn't worry about not being able to afford a cover charge. If you're not poor, do us a favor and help out with gas! I'll be driving around with two other great writers, and am really looking forward to it.

The official press release is below, as is the list of dates. If we're coming to your area, I expect to see you there. With bells on. And with lots of friends. For more information on the Perpetual Motion Roadshow, check out their website and this article (.pdf) from the Globe and Mail. See you soon!

cheers.

Andrew / LivingProof.

Indie Press Showcase Rolls Into Town.

Aug. 1, 2005 -- An indie press touring circuit called The Perpetual Motion Roadshow is doing a monthly run of the midwest and northeast, with stops in Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New York City, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.

Inspired by the models of punk rock tours and vaudevillian variety shows, it’s “fast becoming the best known, and best organized, tour of its kind” (Globe and Mail). Held in bookstores, bars, cafes and galleries, the Roadshow promises lively performances with the guarantee: No Boring Readings or Your Money Back!

This month features zinester Andrew Mall from Chicago, IL, crafty poetess Jessica Manack from Pittsburgh, PA, and rock ‘n’ roll novelist Kevin Hainey from Toronto, ON. The tour runs from Aug. 13-20th, doing 7 shows in 8 days:

CHICAGO, Saturday Aug. 13., Mojoe's Cafe and Lounge, 2256 W. Roscoe St., (773) 388-1236. With punk rock storyteller Brian Costello. 7:30pm
CINCINATTI, Sunday, Aug. 14. Hobo Books, 4040 Hamilton Ave., (513) 542-2418. With Nathan Holscher and Diamond Doug. 6:30pm
PITTSBURGH, Monday, Aug. 15. Garfield Artworks, 4931 Penn Ave., (412) 802-7096. With electronic experimenters Life with Beardo and Humans Are the Worst Invention. 7pm
NEW YORK CITY, Tuesday, Aug. 16. Junnos, 64 Downing St., (212) 627-7995. With Ken Wohlrob. 7:30pm
MONTREAL, Thursday, Aug. 18, La Petite Gaule, 2525 rue Centre, Pointe-St-Charles, (514) 931-1919. With poetic comedian DeAnne Lyn Smith. 8pm
OTTAWA, Friday, Aug. 19. Mercury Lounge, 65 Byward St., (613) 789-5324. With poet Wanda O’Connor. 6pm
TORONTO, Saturday, Aug. 20. Art Bar (in the Gladstone Hotel), 1214 Queen
St. W., (416) 531-4635. With puppet-packing satirist Jeff Cotrill. 8pm

CONTACT INFORMATION:

The Perpetual Motion Roadshow website: www.nomediakings.net
Andrew Mall: livingproof@atm4.net, www.atm4.net
Jessica Manack: jmanack@hollins.edu, www.misschiefshop.com
Kevin Hainey: kevin.hainey@sympatico.ca, www.kevinhainey.net

Bios:

Proof reading zinester
ANDREW MALL
from Chicago!

Crafty poetess
JESSICA MANACK
from Pittsburgh!

Rock ‘n’ roll novelist
KEVIN HAINEY
from Toronto!

ANDREW MALL wishes the yogurt industry would just come clean about the conspiracy that universally reduced cup sizes from 8oz to 6oz without advance notification over two years ago. While waiting, he avoids stalkers by using an elaborate array of capes, medieval weaponry, and spy equipment. In addition to producing LivingProof zine, from which he will be reading, he also writes zine reviews for Zine World and music reviews for Splendid Magazine. Texas-born, Jersey-raised, Pennsylvania-educated, these days he can be found at various houses of ill repute around Chicago. www.atm4.net

JESSICA MANACK was born in the year of the Monkey and lives in Pittsburgh. She has staring contests with formal poetry, and insists that “sonnet” is not a bad word. She has been known to cry, as a matter of fact, “I think, therefore iamb!” She’ll be reading from her recent chapbook, Heartattack City, which features poetry about food, travel, longing, and above all, what it means to be a girl. When she’s not writing, eating, travelling, or pining away for something or other, she cranks out the crafts as one half of Miss Chief Productions. www.misschiefshop.com

KEVIN HAINEY has been reeling in the years by pen and paper since he was but a wee pup. Now a grown hound of 25, he’s situated in Toronto, among mounting piles of his own work, one novel’s length of which, Thought Preserve, he managed to self-publish last year. For income, Kevin writes about all kinds of music for eye Weekly and Exclaim! On stage, Kevin fuses poetry and monologue into something that he hopes is as intellectually stimulating as it is thought provoking and funny; honest words for open ears and blown minds. www.kevinhainey.net

Livingproof #4 Out Now

Hey everybody!

On the last page of Livingproof #3, I promised that the next issue would be out late fall / early winter. So naturally, as spring is finally poking its head around the dark Chicago sky, everything has finally fallen into place. It's been a busy winter, but more on that later. First, the details (and past readers should be familiar by now):

• A series of essays that approach the nature of personal writing, how I defined "success," and a critique of mediated nostalgia (picking up where #2 left off).
• An interview with Geoff Merritt of Parasol Records. This is part one of a three-part interview with three different record label owners from the twin cities of Champaign-Urbana, IL.
• The fourth chapter of my personal novella. This chapter is titled "Rehearsal," and follows the main character on a camping trip to Utah where he is forced to reappraise his early crushes and the relationship patterns they may have put into place.
• Photographs throughout from a hike through Canyonlands National Park.

This issue is 80 pages long (40 front and back) and quarter-page (long) sized (5.5x4.25, like #2) with a single-color cardstock cover and costs $3 (a limited number of paper-cover copies are available for a dollar cheaper). Three writing samples from Livingproof #4 are available below. Distros, review copies, and my trade list will be going out as soon as I have the postage money in hand. To get your own, check out the ordering instructions and drop an email to livingproof@atm4.net. Also, I'm looking to be carried by some more distros and send out to a few more review sources, so if you're interested in a distro consideration or review copy, please let me know.

There are still back issues available! If you've only read one or two of the issues thus far and want to catch up, now's your chance. There are only a few copies of #1 still available, and I won't be doing a reprint of that issue. There are still lots of copies of #2 and #3. These are all $3 individually, but if you want multiple issues or would like to trade, email me and we can work something out. Likewise, if your distro is interested in carrying copies of #2 and/or #3, let me know and I'll send some out. The reviews are still coming in for #3:

• Damn, another guy-penned perzine publisher who can really write. Pure and easy, no posing. - AJ, Best Zine Ever! #3
• Living Proof is an ambitious project, and I'm sorry I haven't come across the previous editions... It's hard to conceive of a zine so well put together only having three parts, but this cool and compelling compilation is strong. I don't want to give anything away, but this outstanding zine will knock you over. - Jon, Broken Pencil #27
• I really truly enjoyed this Living Proof--if for no other reason than its providing of snippets of a perspective outside of my own... Andrew is a strong writer, and an even better interviewer making this totally worth it. - Mike, Maximum Rocknroll #260
• For those who favor a zine that utilizes every inch of its printed space for the presentation of text that critically and analytically explores the self and the self’s surroundings, Livingproof is your goldmine... Indeed, it certainly is rare for a zine writer to offer up, in such full doses and in a single publication, such personal writing, such critical essaying, and even a complete dialogue that seems to embody both subjects and more. - Taylor, NewPages
• [Andrew]'s dedicated, he's got a vision, and he sticks to it in the face of criticism, and there is something to be said about that... If some literary deconstructing of everyday things sounds good to you, pick this up. - Joe, Punk Planet #66
• Andrew uses his insight and experience to write a really engaging story. If you enjoy reading about alternative media or really cool trip journals, or just like looking at a really handsome zine, this is worth the measly $3.00. - Dug, Slug And Lettuce #82
• Ooh, did this rub me the wrong way... Fuck everyone who says "cheers" like that. - Marc, Zine Thug

Also, I just wanted to let you know about a few other projects. A new piece was published in A Shout In The Street! #2, a comp zine put together by Jessica of Sad And Beautiful World. Another new piece was published in Sanitary And Ship, a comp zine of Chicago-area self-publishers. Put together by my friends at Diatribe Media with more than a little help from yours truly, this zine is available for two stamps or sixty cents from me. I've been writing zine reviews for Zine World and record reviews for Splendid Magazine and spending lots of time working at WLUW. We did a mini-zine fair at the recent WLUW Record Fair. I'll be at the upcoming National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis in May and the Allied Media Conference in Bowling Green in June, and am excited about meeting lots of great people and hearing lots of great ideas about how to strengthen what we've already built.

That's it! Did I forget anything? Are you happy these days? I'm looking forward to the summer in Chicago: free movies in the park, drinking in my back yard, White Sox games, biking down the lakefront, awesome live music, and our new cat. Good times my friends, good times. What are you looking forward to?

cheers.

Andrew / Livingproof.

2004: My Year In Music

Back in January, I made what has probably been my only serious New Year’s Resolution ever: I resolved to spend equal amounts on both reading material and listening materials. The previous years had been so overloaded one way or the other that I always felt I was missing out on something; and as I look to enter school again this year (for the third and final time), it’s becoming increasingly necessary to temper all that book-buying I’ll undoubtedly have to do with the new music that has been my passion (and escape) since the year I turned 14.

That said, looking back on my year there are two things that become painfully obvious: 1) I definitely don’t have as much money to spend on either reading material or new music as I’d like, and 2) what money I do have to spend typically goes to old favorites. Until I get myself a cushy job or turn myself into a one-man reviewing machine, I’ll never be as exposed to new releases as much as I’d like to be. I find myself in a perpetual state of catch-up: whereas in my college years, a continual flow of promos into the radio station and record store kept me up to my ears in tunes, I’ve started to rely more and more on reviews, recommendations, and buzz/hype—that last with a bit of trepidation. With music that I don’t know quite well just yet, I find myself acting less as a musical head-hunter and more as a musical tourist: “Oh, I heard this album was good, let me listen to it a couple of times and see if it grabs me.” Of course, that’s no way to give a record a fair shake—music deserves to be digested, just like food or books, and the only way to do that is to give it some time to grow on you. But I don’t have as much time as I used to: the constraints of a full-time job, the use of a bike instead of a car to commute (which, honestly, is a substantial amount of time that could be spent listening to music instead of avoiding death every thirty seconds), my growing interest in decent television (and you can blame that one squarely on the shoulders of my roommate), the lack of a stereo in my bedroom to read with (blame that on the lack of funds), and the amount of time I give to various other projects (WLUW, zines, my research collective at UChicago, etc.) have all conspired against me to create a situation where I feel, for the first time in my adult life, rather ignorant about new music.

Regardless, what follows is my Top-Whatever list for this year. These are primarily albums that grabbed me immediately and refused to let go. There’s a lot of newer stuff I’m still digesting—American Music Club, Animal Collective, The Arcade Fire, Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom—and there are good albums that weren’t as good as their predecessors, and subsequently got tossed out of the discman rather unceremoniously—Aloha, The Good Life, Interpol, Modest Mouse, RJD2, Pinback, Elliott Smith—but I think this list is pretty representative of my current tastes. Undoubtedly I missed a few here and there, so if you notice any glaring omissions, I urge you to email my employers and ask for a raise so I can give good music its fair due.

1. Iron and Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days
   Sam Beam can do no wrong, at least not yet. I’ve heard some great singer/songwriter records this year—Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Sufjan Stevens, hell, you could probably include the Frank Black Francis record as well—but nothing comes close to the heartfelt tunes on this record. It reminds me of the first time I heard Elliott Smith and actually believed the world could produce songs that required only a single microphone and a single guitar.
2. Ted Leo, Shake The Sheets
   To say that Ted Leo is one of my favorite artists of the last few years is probably an understatement. He combines the fire I’ve come to expect from the best the DIY scene has to offer with blistering lyrics and the most energetic delivery I’ve seen from a single person. These songs are more direct than previous efforts, and as such the album feels a bit fresher—not necessarily better, but more urgent, which is what this year called for. I saw him three or four times this year, culminating in a huge and triumphant show at the Metro, and wish he’d come back as soon as possible.
3. The Album Leaf, In A Safe Place
   This is the record that Múm was supposed to make, but instead they devolved into some weird IDM and lost everything that made their songs interesting. Tracing Jimmy LaValle’s career from Gogogo Airheart through Tristeza and the soundscapes of his first solo release, it’s difficult to predict this record, except as a true follow-up to Spine And Sensory. Recorded in Iceland at Sigur Ros’ studio, this record moves so many mountains at once and then deposits you at the top of the tallest one. The live show was worth going to alone, and I don’t say that often.
4. Q And Not U, Power
   Probably the only way I could ever enjoy more than one dance-punk record at a time is if all the other bands—I’m looking at you, !!!, Franz Ferdinand, and Radio 4—actually appeared to care about their music. This DC firehouse plays with a passion you just can’t find in those over-produced records where the backbeat doesn’t change for the entire 40 minutes. The good songs are so strong that I can stand the sleepers (whose idea was it to sing entirely in falsetto on not one, but two tracks?). I want them to bring back the Melodicas next time.
5. Isis, Panopticon
   What I like about bands such as Isis, Pelican, Mastodon, Neurosis, and Eyehategod is that their music is subtle. The argument these days is that metal was never supposed to be subtle, instead relying on sheer volume, power, and audacity to overwhelm the listener into feigning enjoyment, but that outlook does nothing for listeners who are looking for more than clichés to open up new genres. Even though the record comes off as Oceaninc Part Two, I’m willing to overlook that if it pisses off the metal kids who don’t want me at their shows: Pelican / Isis at the Metro was one of the best of the year.
6. Engine Down, self-titled
   This is, without a doubt, the best rock record I heard all year. Some have suggested that they took the atmosphere of last year’s Denali record with them into the recording studio, but it’s clear that this is a natural growth from Demure, with the Denali records serving as interesting side-roads accompanying a hauntingly beautiful voice. I welcome the tighter songs and sounds. Gone are the extraneous remnants of their hardcore roots—and while some may claim “sellout,” pointing to the slick production and Lookout’s marketing, I think this is the best music yet of their respective careers.
7. The Reputation, To Force A Fate
   This album has what the previous one lacked: secrets. The first record was practically immediately enjoyable, and the songs and arrangements were so open that you couldn’t help but like them. But the new record is more reserved, less penetrable, and more rewarding. To say I’ll probably take some of these songs to my grave would not be an overstatement. The record release show at the Double Door—complete with a horn and string section—was probably the best I’ve ever seen them play, out of at least a dozen shows all told.
8. Comets On Fire, Blue Cathedral
   The idea that Sub Pop released the noisiest album one can buy via iTunes (Wolf Eyes’ Burned Mind) is perhaps not so preposterous upon realizing that Blue Cathedral came out first. Comets On Fire had already delivered two full-lengths of blistering psychedelic hardcore (and I know that sounds horrible, but you have to trust me here on just how amazing it is) via themselves (later re-released by Amphetamine Reptile) and Ba Da Bing, but the fact that the new record feels so, well, reserved and subtle speaks more volumes than volume itself.
9. Chin Up Chin Up, We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers
   I like to think that I would have been turned on to this record even without the tragic background (long story short: their bassist was killed by a hit-and-run outside a favorite bar in Chicago, they recorded the majority of this record around the demo tracks he had already laid down). Regardless, the fact that they managed to deliver an amazingly tuneful album whose songs have an achingly appropriate way of lodging themselves in your memory bits and pieces at a time should be more than a bittersweet cap to a long year. This is a better Pinback record than Summer In Abaddon.
10. Death From Above 1979, You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine
    At the outset, this sounds like probably half the records that have been hyped in the last two or three years: two guys putting noise-pop together in their garage via loud amps, laptops, and a drum machine or two. The result, however, is a collection of breakup songs that demolish your speakers while remaining catchier than an entire year’s worth of Pixies reunion shows. Just goes to show you that noise nerds have feelings too.
11. Sonic Youth, Sonic Nurse
    A fitting conclusion to their New York Trilogy (rounding out NYC Ghosts And Flowers and Murray Street), twenty years into their career and the band is as nimble as ever, if a little less experimental. I like the perfect blend of noise and pop they achieved on Murray Street for the first time in four or five albums and extended here; to suggest that this is more of a Jim O’Rourke album than a Sonic Youth album is something of an overstatement, although certainly complimentary to one of the better popsmiths of the last ten years. Now if only he’d have time to properly follow-up Insignificance…

Honorable Mentions:
American Music Club, Love Songs For Patriots
Frank Black, Frank Black Francis
Plastic Constellations, Mazatlan
Pinback, Summer In Abaddon
Brian Wilson, Smile

Lost Order

Hey! Someone sent me an order like two whole months ago for issue #3, and I swear I had the letter sitting here on my desk next to a pile of stickers. But now when I go to look for it, I totally can't find it. What am I to do! I did send a letter to this person, explaining that #3 wasn't out yet, and included something to tide them over. So... if you reply to this email and tell me what I sent as a conciliatory gesture about two months ago--in other words, prove you are who you say you are because my memory is shot to hell--include your address and I'll get a copy of #3 out to you post-haste.

Livingproof #3 Out Now

Hey everybody!

The summer's winding down to a close, and it's been a good one. I haven't seen as good a summer since the Carter administration, seriously. And I don't even remember the Carter administration... Anyways, some news in my corner of the world:

• I hit up the Allied Media Conference in Bowling Green back in June and had a blast. Met tons of folks, traded a bunch of zines, hell, I even sold a few. Us Chicago folks did readings in between sets at a rock show setup especially for conference attendees, that was way cool. We also did a panel titled "Workshopping Zines" on the last day of the weekend, and basically sat around and bitched about what we do and don't like about zines. Somehow that ended up being a highlight of the weekend. Oh, there was bowling in there somewhere too...
• I'm now being carried at a few more distros. Everyone, please check out Cafeisme, Echo, and Wrong Number distros for all your zine needs. As always, all distros are listed on the ordering page of my website, in handy-dandy HTML link format.
• There's a couple compilations in the works in which I'm included, but I'll let you know about them as they come to fruition...
• I've started writing zine reviews for Zine World: A Reader's Guide to the Underground Press. My reviews should start with the next issue, #22, due out sometime this fall. Everyone, please support Jerianne and all the hard work she puts into creating this valuable resource for everyone in zineland!

Anyway, all that being said, it's time to mention that issue #3 of my zine, livingproof, is ready to go. This one is jam-packed full of great stuff, and it looks fabulous too. If you've read either of the first two issues, you can probably guess the format of this one:

• A 4-part essay on selling out, buying in, the death of MTV in the Reality Television age, and the death of information in the Information Age.
• The entirety of an amazing interview with Dan Sinker of Punk Planet and Bail magazines. This is awesome! He has so much good stuff to say about underground music, zines, the DIY scene, and so on. This man is great.
• The third chapter of a personal novella. This chapter is titled "Genesis." It follows the main character through a semester-long study abroad program in Italy, and basically reads like a travelogue from someone who's still trying to piece everything together.
• Photographs throughout from a trip through Italy.

This issue is 64 pages long (32 front and back) and half-page sized (5.5 x 8.5). The cover is a speckled mustard cardstock and looks fantastic--when I got it back from the printer I was blown away. Three samples from issue #3 are available below. There are also three samples each from issues #1 and #2, both of which are still available for ordering. Distros, review copies, and my trade list will be going out as soon as I have the money to cover the postage. I've already received a couple of pre-orders, and those will be going out immediately. If you're interested in snagging a copy, drop me an email (livingproof@atm4.net) and check out the ordering instructions: either paypal, mail me a check or some cash, or suggest something to trade.

I know lots of people have been waiting for this issue, so I expect to see those orders just rolling in now. As always, feel free to email me with any questions / thoughts / concerns / advice / interventions.

cheers.

andrew / livingproof.

Livingproof #2 Out Now

Hey everybody-

Just wanted to let you know that issue #2 of my zine, livingproof, is ready to go! It's bigger than issue #1, but still a steal at $3 postpaid. This issue deals with a lot of the same topics that issue #1 dealt with. Inside, you'll find:

• Critiques of mass media, with specific examples. Find out why I liked grunge so much!
• The second half of an interview with Elizabeth Elmore.
• The second chapter of a personal novella. This chapter is titled "Rebound." It follows the main character pretty much where the first chapter left off--after ending a long-term romance, the guy tries to come to some sort of understanding about his place in life and where he stands in the relationship game.
• Interspersed throughout the issue are unpublished photographs by yours truly.

Clocking in at 96 pages (48 front and back), the zine is quarter sized lengthwise (5.5 long x 4.25 tall) and has a glossy single-color cardstock cover. Three samples from issue #2 are available below. There are also three samples from issue #1 as well. Distros, review copies, and my trade list will be going out immediately. If you're interested in snagging a copy, drop me an email (livingproof@atm4.net) and check out the ordering instructions: either paypal, mail me a check or some cash, or suggest something to trade. Get 'em while they last!

Here's what some have said about livingproof #1:

It is one of the best new zines I've read in a long time. Personal and interesting it captures you in and when you're done you'll probably want more. - Lisa, Dreamers Distro

Andrew brushes up against what makes personal writing like this hard - and he manages to back away just enough to make it still possible... It's a nice fat chunk of reading for three bucks. Worth every dime. - Randy, Poopsheet Reviews

Andrew makes a small but thick personal zine with a distinctive writing style. It comes off as slam poetry a lot of the time because it's frenzied and intentionally contradictory... If you want to connect to someone and read 80 pages of their stories, get this zine. - Joe, Punk Planet

Coming soon in issue #3: a larger essay-based work on the loss of information with the advent of the information age, a huge interview with Dan Sinker of Punk Planet, and chapter 3 of my personal novella.

As always, feel free to email me with any questions / thoughts / concerns / advice / interventions.

cheers.

ANDREW LIVINGPROOF

Livingproof #s 2 and 3 Coming Soon

Just wanted to let you in on a few quick things happening in the world of the Livingproof print zine. Since publishing the first issue at the end of last year, I've distributed about 200 copies. The response has been great, with wonderful comments from distros such as Dreamer's Distro, sincere gratitude from other zinesters with whom I've traded, and positive reviews like the one in Punk Planet #61 and the one up recently at Poopsheet.

I've been participating in some readings sponsered by the Self Publishers Events Council of Chicago, and reading live has never felt better. The energy and the immediate response is something I take very well to--if only I had followed my dreams and became a rock star! Oh well, I'm sure some people are happy that I chose to focus on writing at this stage.

That said, I know I told many people that I hoped to have the next issue out within 3 or 4 months after the first one. Now that obviously didn't happen, but issue #2 is practically completed and will be heading to the printer shortly. However, to make up for the fact that it took so long, I'm doing issue #3 immediately--so immediately, in fact, that the two issues are basically going to be published simultaneously! Here's the lowdown:

Livingproof #2: Rebound.
Features include more essays on media and mediated nostalgia, thoughts about how to maintain a viable "independent" lifestyle and mindset, part 2 of an interview with Elizabeth Elmore of The Reputation, chapter 2 of a personal novella, and some of my photography. This time it ends on a positive note! (Hmm, actually on second look, it's not all that positive.) Quarter-letter, 96 pages, two-color cover, $3ppd.

Livingproof #3: Genesis.
Features include a longer essay about the difference in learning experiences between being inundated with information (in this case, via television) and being alone in nature, a whopping large interview with Dan Sinker of Punk Planet, probably another whopping large interview with an equally important zinester luminary (it's not totally confirmed so I can't leak the name but I'm totally excited!), a series of journal entries from four months spent abroad in Italy (this is chapter 3 of the personal novella), and some of my photography. Half-letter, no clue how many pages but at least 40, two-color cover, $3ppd.

If you pre-order both, I'll put them in the mail to you along with the review copies and the distro copies as soon as I get them back from the printer. Ordering info is the same as it was for the first issue, you can check it here. If you're a distro, note that I will send you the same number of copies of each issue that you took of the first issue, along with an invoice for wholesale prices, unless I hear otherwise from you. Trades are definitely welcome, and I'm already planning on sending out some trades to zines I've been enjoying recently. I'll be in Bowling Green for the Allied Media Conference later in June, so if you're there, definitely stop by and say hello. I'll be wearing glasses.

Thanks for reading, folks, and I hope all is well on your end. As always, direct questions / comments / thoughts / interventions to livingproof@atm4.net.
Cheers.
ANDREW LIVINGPROOF

Top 10 of 2003

1. Rainer Maria, Long Knives Drawn, Polyvinyl
   This band has long been one of my faves, and this record is right up there with 1999's Look Now Look Again as their best work. This album was so immediately familiar to me over the course of the year-I must have listened to the damn thing two hundred times-that I was somewhat surprised when compiling this list I realized that it was actually just released last January. I swear I love this album so much it feels like I've had it since I was twelve.
2. Mates of State, Team Boo, Polyvinyl
   Last year was pretty much the year that Mates of State finally started to make sense to me. Looking back at my earlier criticisms of the band--too-long songs, obtuse arrangements that went nowhere, sound too much like Quasi--it's easy to see that their third full-length solved much of the problems I had with their music. This record practically tied with the Rainer album for number of spins at home and in the discman, and was probably the record I recommended most over the course of the year (everyone who knows me well already knows to buy the Rainer record). The only thing that would have made this album better would be to include their cover of "Dear Nora" instead of squirreling it away on a split 7" and an import-only CDEP.
3. The Decemberists, Her Majesty, Kill Rock Stars
   With a lyric book that reads like Homer and arrangements that can beat Jeff Mangum at his own game--and with more stylish clothes, at that!--it didn't really surprise me when The Decemberists blew me away at their sold-out show in Chicago this fall. I'd only heard one song of theirs on the radio, and already knew that I was going to buy the CD at the show. Folk ballads were never this fun before.
4. Ted Leo / Pharmacists, Hearts of Oak, Lookout!
   Enough good things have already been said about this record, and the only thing that I can add have nothing to do with this record: all Ted fans should be oh-so-happy that they can finally get 2000's Treble in Trouble EP again, and don't miss this year's Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead EP at all (although there's some strange reverb in the right channel that had me convinced my headphones were going bad for the longest time).
5. Pelican, Australasia, Hydrahead
   Too bad Cave In has only gotten increasingly worse over the years, and Isis is rumored to follow in those misstepped footsteps. I thought Kinski might be the metal band to beat after hearing Airs Above Your Station back in January, but their songs go nowhere and take forever getting there. Pelican, a Chicago-based four-piece, plays instrumental metal with enough shifts (in dynamics, tempos, and modalities) to make it the most interesting heavy record I heard this year (Mogwai notwithstanding). If I had it my way, I'd remix this record with indie rocker ears in mind: bring the drumset to the front of the mix instead of drowning the snare, and highlight the mids so I can actually hear the overtones these guys pull out of their amps. Highly recommended, this album should come with earplugs.
6. Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlantacism, Barsuk
   Although this record wins the prize for "Worst Death Cab Title Since The Photo Album", it does so with style. Me and a thousand other fans missed watching a Cubs playoff game in overcrowded, overpriced sports bars to see them play in October, and Ben Gibbard rewarded us by announcing the score between every song. I think the Cubs won that night, but who cares? This album is catchy as shit (no pun intended): I find my girlfriend humming melodies from this CD, and I think that she's maybe heard it a half dozen times at my place.
7. The Wrens, The Meadowlands, Absolutely Kosher
   I've been trying to think of how to describe this record to friends who haven't heart it yet, and the closest I've gotten is this: imagine a really good version of Jimmy Eat World mixed with equal parts Wilco and Flaming Lips, recording a record in a living room in Jersey after day jobs in NYC, and you'll being to get the picture. Words could never do this record justice. I fell in love with it the first time I listened to it, waiting at the airport as a standby to Burlington, Vermont (I ended up flying to Montreal instead, where they almost wouldn't let me leave because I didn't have my passport). If I had heard this before last week, it would probably be ranked much higher.
8. The New Pornographers, Electric Version, Matador
   This is another record that I've listened to so much I find it hard to believe that it's not even a year old. More relaxed than Mass Romantic, but with everything that made that album great, this is the sound of great musicians melding into a great band.
9. Fourtet, Rounds, Domino
   I'm not sure if this is the proper follow-up to Fridge's 2001 record Happiness, but there's more songcraft on the first side of this double LP than in the first two Fourtet records combined. Bleeps and bloops start to make sense to me after listening to anything Kieran Hebden has done, he puts the "intelligence" back into IDM (c'mon Boards of Canada, the ball's in your freaking court!).
10. The Rapture, Echoes, Universal
    Those of you still talking about Hot Hot Heat (um, welcome to 2002, kids!) and thinking that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are where it's at (Fever to Tell should have been WAY better, who would have guessed that they would get jaded and boring after a single five-song EP? And how the fuck did this record end up at the top of one of the NYTimes lists?) need to give this record a serious spin. Finally fulfilling the promise of 1999's Mirror and 2001's Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks, Echoes vaults The Rapture to the top of the pile of Gang of Four followers, and then some. Let's hope the DFA sock away some of that major-label dough for the next Radio 4 record.

Honorable mention (alphabetical):
American Analog Set, Promise of Love, Tiger Style
Appleseed Cast, Two Conversations, Tiger Style
Belle and Sebastian, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Rough Trade
Cursive, The Ugly Organ, Saddle Creek
Denali, The Instinct, Jade Tree
The Gossip, Movement, Kill Rock Stars
Mogwai, Happy Songs for Happy People, Matador
Radiohead, Hail to the Thief, Capitol
Saturday Looks Good To Me, All Your Summer Songs, Polyvinyl
Silver Mt. Zion, This is Our Punk Rock, Constellation

Best non-2003 records of 2003 (alphabetical):
Broken Social Scene, You Forgot it in People, Arts & Crafts (Pitchfork broke the rules for this record, it's that good)
The Notwist, Neon Golden (US), Domino
Pele, Elephant (re-release), Polyvinyl
Sonic Youth, Dirty (2CD), Geffen

Further embellishments by request only. There are undoubtedly a number of records that I haven't heard yet which are probably really great (The Unicorns and British Sea Power come immediately to mind), so ask me again in a month and my list could be totally different. I guess I should disclaim that 2003 was the first year I spent more money on reading material than I did on listening material, so I really only heard about half as much new music as usual. To tell you the truth, the album I listened to most this year was Q And Not U's Different Damage, which I didn't manage to actually buy until sometime last spring, even though it came out in late 2002. The same thing will probably happen in 2004, but whatever. Music wouldn't be half as fun if I wasn't constantly finding out about stuff I missed the first time around.

Livingproof #1 Out Now

Hey everybody!

The first issue of my print zine, livingproof #1: Crisis, is OUT NOW and available to order. Issue #1 is quarter-letter (5.5x4.25, give or take) and 40 pages front+back. It includes:

• Thoughts on mass media and how it affects the building of community
• Insight into the relation of taste and consumerism
• The danger of personal belief structures
• Part of an interview with Elizabeth Elmore of The Reputation
• Chapter one of a personal novella
• Never-before-printed photography
• AND MUCH MORE! (okay, not that much... but still! more!)

Three samples are available to read at www.atm4.net - there are also ordering directions there too.

cheers.
ANDREW LIVINGPROOF

Issues:
#1: Crisis. [samples]
#2: Rebound. [samples]
#3: Genesis. [samples]
#4: Rehearsal. [samples]
#5: Rapprochement. [samples]
Available for $3 each. Ordering info.
Sanitary and Ship is free.

Reader, I think I might owe you an apology. You probably picked up this zine thinking it was going to be another installment of the Livingproof perzine, a series engages in the dissecting of failures in romance and the place of underground music in such a narrative. This zine doesn’t exactly follow that format. Indeed, upon first read, you may feel like I hoodwinked you into reading a paean to my favorite band, whom you likely don’t care about and may be disinclined entirely to check out after finishing the last page and closing this zine (or throwing it down in disgust partway through).... Read more.

It wasn’t hard to find a place to stay when I first moved to Chicago: my freshman year roommate Brad had an extra bedroom in his Lincoln Park apartment because his roommate had abandoned him for the summer. I could only afford to pay half of my share, but that was better than Brad paying for the whole thing himself. We shook hands and I moved in two days later. I spent that first Chicago summer exploring the city, both formally—I had a job canvassing pedestrians around the city for Greenpeace—and informally, as I learned my way around the CTA, started meeting people, and hung out at bars and rock clubs... Read more.

Semi-Related Links:
Fall of Autumn
Punk Planet
Sanitary and Ship
Splendid
WLUW
Zine World

Sometimes, when the end comes, it’s right on time. But very rarely do things end when it feels right. Too often the end is a surprise, it catches you off guard, and you’re left in the dust struggling to make sense in your grief. Not as often, but just as difficult, is the end that drags on, milking your patience and sympathy until you’re actually happy the end has come when it finally does arrive. It’s a relief, in those cases... Read more.