T H E
J U L I E
R U I N
ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!
Nevermind those suburban-angst
'Best Music' lists that taste like paste!
These tunes will fission your vision
and unloosen your caboosin'!
Shortcut to Music Players:
• BEST ALBUMS: 2013
• COOL SONGS: 2013
• BEST RE-ISSUES: 2013
B E S T
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 3
BEST ALBUMS 2013
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
• Jacco Gardner, "Cabinet of Curiosities"
Psychedelic Pop masterpiece.
Imagine Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, and Brian Wilson jamming in 1967. Beautiful, ornate, haunting, wondrous.
(See also: "Sgt. Pepper", "SMiLE", "Odessey And Oracle", "Pipers At The Gates Of Dawn")
• Rock Candy Funk Party, "Octopus-E"
Funky grooves
Instant party mover.
(See also: Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Orgone)
• Paul McCartney, "NEW"
Pop master class.
Channeling all of his classic strengths in new ways. Ambitious, adventuresome, impressive.
(See also: Elliott Rhodes, Squeeze, Joey Molland, Fugu)
• Janelle Monae, "The Electric Lady"
Soulful futurism.
Janelle continues expanding the frontiers of groove and soul.
(See also: Prince, Santigold, Martina Topley-Bird)
• Colleen Green, "Sock It To Me"
LoFi Pop.
A canny knack for guitar riffs and catchy melodies, with some edges.
(See also: Bleached, Peach Kelli Pop, La Sera)
• Charles Bradley, "Victim of Love"
Classic Soul.
The best sounds from the early-'70s, made now and timeless.
(See also: James Brown, O.V. Wright, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields And The Expressions)
• The Julie Ruin, "Run Fast"
Revolution Indie-Pop Style Now.
Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill) return in a quartet diverting attitude into new latitudes.
(See also: Bikini Kill, Frumpies, Sleater-Kinney)
• Popecitelji, "Sijalica"
Serbian Funk.
Funk strut with Prog dexterity.
(See also: Defunkt, James Blood Ulmer, Material)
• Elvis Costello + The Roots, "Wise Up Ghost"
Acid redux.
A very meta project, with Elvis' deep cuts remade/remodeled in textured revamps, with new trenchant social barbs.
(See also: Barry Adamson, The Avalanches)
• Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, "Take Me To the Land of Hell"
Avant Pop.
Ever fluid, always progressing. Yoko makes angular dance and pop workouts for the hips and the hip.
(See also: David Bowie, Cibo Matto, Buffalo Daughter, eX-Girl, Deerhoof)
➤ 'Why We Love YOKO ONO (Or Should)!', with 2 Music Players!
• La Femme, "Psycho Tropical Berlin"
Epic Electrodelic.
French collective astounds with a potpourri of ye-ye, psychedelia, coldwave, and mutant disco grooviness.
(See also: The B-52's, Casino Music, Pepe Deluxe)
• The Liberators, "Power Struggle"
Aussie AfroBeat.
Funk attack with serious polyrhythms and social consciousness.
(See also: Fela, Antibalas, Here Lies Man)
• White Fence, "Cyclops Reap"
Garage blitz.
Tim Presley's noisy, slippery, unhindered Garage Rock.
(See also: Syd Barrett, Ty Segall, Oblivions)
• Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "II"
Neo-Psych tripscapes.
Ruban Nielson's mercurial project, here epic and tuneful and trippy.
(See also: GUM, Pond, Temples)
• Habibi, "Habibi"
Girl Group Psyche.
Beat band with Spector harmonies, Iranian flourishes, and snappy melodies.
(See also: La Luz, Beverly, Bleached)
• TECLA, "We Are the Lucky Ones"
Pop potpourri.
Tecla Esposito unleashes a dolly mixture of world, dance, psyche, and electro sounds.
(See also: Jessie Bulbo, Imani Coppola, Mitski)
• Thee Oh Sees, "Floating Coffin"
Acidhead progbop.
NeoPsyche's most restless and endlessly contortioning band.
(See also: Comets On Fire, Dungen, Meatbodies)
• Red Baraat, "Big Talk"
Dance fusion.
A pile-up of funk, big band, brass bands, and international wedding music. It's got a good beat, and it's easy to dance to.
(See also: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soul Rebels, 3 Mustaphas 3)
• Queens of the Stone Age, "...Like Clockwork"
Stoner Glam.
The heaviosity of Black Sabbath with the precision of Kraftwerk.
(See also: Kyuss, Desert Sessions, Them Crooked Vultures)
• V V Brown, "Samson and Delilah"
Imperious Coldwave.
If the Borg were assimilated by Grace Jones.
(See also: Malaria!, Eurythmics, Kas Product)
• Franz Ferdinand, "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action"
Indie PostPunk.
Getting warmer and more melodic as they go.
(See also: Joy Division, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys)
• Valerie June, "Pushin' Against a Stone"
Country Soul.
If Billie Holiday had been from the Tennesse hills, and sang for church hoedowns.
(See also: Karen Dalton, The Black Keys, Yola)
• White Denim, "Corsicana Lemonade"
Indie Prog.
A tryst of pop, soul, psyche, jazz, and boogie. For starters.
(See also: Spoon, Guerilla Toss, Bop English)
• Calibro 35, "Traditori di Tutti"
ItaloRock Soundtrack.
Like every great '60s Cinecitta soundtrack at the same time.
(See also: Luis Bacalov, Osanna, Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks)
• The Woggles, "The Big Beat"
Beat / Garage.
Pogo at the Go-Go.
(See also: The Fleshtones, The Cynics, The Len Price 3)
• Willy Moon, "Here's Willy Moon"
Rockabilly HipHop.
Early Rock rhythms with club beat precision.
(See also: Imelda May, Gnarls Barkley, JD McPherson)
• Wire, "Change Becomes Us"
Post-PostPunk.
Buzz buzz in your eardrum.
(See also: Pylon, Elastica, Parquet Courts)
• The Computers, "Love Triangles, Hate Squares"
Garage / Soul.
The love child of garage punk crash and juke soul flash.
(See also: Stax Records, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Detroit Cobras)
• The Relatives, "The Electric Word"
FunkRock Gospel.
After four decades, the gospel vocal group returns, backed by a scorching funky rock band.
(See also: The Temptations, Funkadelic, Robert Randolph And The Family Band)
• F#ck Buttons, "Slow Focus"
Indie Electro.
If Hans Zimmer got down at the dance club.
(See also: Kluster, Cabaret Voltaire, MGMT)
• The James Hunter Six, "Minute By Minute"
Classic Soul.
Early-'60s Soul made mint fresh for the ages.
(See also: Sam Cooke, Georgie Fame, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Monophonics)
• Jagwar Ma, "Howlin"
Dance Psyche.
Beats for your hips, haze for your head.
(See also: Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Black Grape)
• M.I.A., "Matangi"
Sri Lankan HipHop.
Complex, political, varied, driving.
(See also: Ari Up, Money Love, Lady Sovereign)
• Savages, "Silence Yourself"
PostPunk.
Brittle and brilliant, cold and perfect cool, clang and driven throb.
(See also: Siouxsie And The Banshees, Xmal Deutschland, PJ Harvey)
• David Bowie, "The Next Day"
Iconoclast.
Bounding past boundaries, eliminating limits, multiplying beyond divisions. Look! Up in the stratosphere... it's Bowie!.
(See also: Eno, Roxy Music, Sparks, Bauhaus)
• Mikal Cronin, "MCII"
Garage Pop Folk.
Ty Segall's running buddy sets his own good run.
(See also: The Beatles, White Fence, BC Camplight)
• Bleached, "Ride Your Heart"
Pop Punk.
Guitar-roaring greatness that you'll hum in your head all day.
(See also: The Donnas, Mika Miko, Thee Tsunamis)
• Youth Lagoon, "Wondrous Bughouse"
LoFi Pop.
Psychologi-delica.
(See also: Pink Floyd, Flaming Lips, Perfume Genius)
• Pretty Lights, "A Color Map of the Sun"
Electro Soul.
Gospel, soul, brass, and funk get prismed through new dance circuitry.
(See also: M.A.R.R.S., The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers)
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Mosquito"
PostPop.
Treating each album as a dare to pervert expectations, the band goes mellower, funnier, odder, sweeter.
(See also: Pere Ubu, Bush Tetras, Keren O)
• Black Joe Lewis, "Electric Slave"
Blues Rock.
Why just sing soul, rock, blues, and funk when you can roar them like a maelstrom, laughing?
(See also: Wison Pickett, Gary Clark Jr, Cedric Burnside)
• Har Mar Superstar, "Bye Bye 17"
Soul.
After hamming around in style shifts, Sean Tillman comes into his inner Soul Man fully.
(See also: Sam Cooke, St. Paul And The Broken Bones)
• Alice Smith, "She"
Soulful exploration.
Rock'n'Soul's best unsung chameleon, after an absence, returns mellower, matured, melodic.
(See also: Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Lianne La Havas)
• The Most, "Auto Destructive Art"
Beat / Mod.
Bash out tuneful tunes, bash your guitar to smithereens. You know you want to.
(See also: The Who, Komeda, Supergrass)
• La Luz, "It's Alive"
Girl Group Surf.
Sparkling surf guitar with luscious harmonies over lasting tunes.
(See also: The Beach Boys, Honey Ltd., The Surfrajettes)
• Bombino, "Nomad"
Desert Blues.
The Nigerian guitarist continues to dazzle with his intricate and galvanic soundscapes.
(See also: Tinariwen, Mdou Moctar, Songhoy Blues)
• The Mergers, "Monkey See, Monkey Do!"
Beat / Mod.
Merseybeat beat beat beating mercilessly, so twist and shout.
(See also: Muck And The Mires, The Beat Rats, The Weeklings)
• Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, "Give The People What They Want"
Timeless Soul.
With the Daptone Records label, and her band The Dap-Kings, Sharon Jones leads the way for making classic soul for the new century.
(See also: Lady Wray, Clairy Browne And The Bangin' Rackettes, Tanika Charles, Seratones)
C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 3
All the
REAL MUSIC
beyond the box!
Nevermind Gloss Pop, Stepford Idols, Karaoke Choruses ("woh-oo-oh"), Ego Brats, Emo Prats, Plinky Folk, Brittle Bombast, Vegas Country, Smug Thug, Mope Noodling, De-mixed Throb, and Robot-o-Tune schlock! >
Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
Boogie smooth with more grooves
than a tire factory!
COOL SONGS 2013
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
*(The Player is limited to the first 200 songs.
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
This jukebox is sequenced into groups of sound, instead of randomly.
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Rockabilly! Surf! Beat! Garage!
Beatlesque! Psychedelic! Classic Rock! Glam!
Blues! Country! Soul! Funk!
World! Riot Grrrl! Alt-Rock! Electro!
Cinerama! RESIST! Cover Songs!
Sharon Jones; White Denim;
Habibi; V V Brown
13 hours of mind-swirling, booty-whirling music, featuring the following fine folks in this exact order!:
• Rockabilly! • Straight 8s, Sweet Jeena And Her Sweethearts, Horst With No Name, Los Mambo Jambo, Barbara Clifford, Bang Bang Babies, Sallie Ford And The Sound Outside, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, and Screamin' Rebel Angels.
• Surf! • Marnie, Habibi, Chris Stamey, La Luz, Wavves, Kelley Stoltz, The Mokkers, Holy Wave, Nick Capaldi, and The Younger Lovers.
• Beat / Garage! • Jack Bartlett, The Mergers, The Gone, September Girls, Filhos da Judith, The Bye Bye Blackbirds, Palmyra Delran, The Most, Sirsy, The Len Price 3, Persian Claws, The Woggles, The Go, Kate Nash, White Fence, Shannon And The Clams, Mikal Cronin, Courtney Barnett, Night Beats, King Khan and the Shrines, Oblivians, Eleanor Friedberger, The Dirtbombs, Sailors of Neptune, Vampire Weekend, and Nicole Willis And the Soul Investigators.
• Beatlesque / Psychedelic! • Foxygen, Neils Children, TECLA, Youth Lagoon, Jacco Gardner, Paul McCartney, James McCartney, Julian Lennon, Ty Segall, Beady Eye, Johnathan Rice, Smith Westerns, thenewno2, The Geezers, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Föllakzoid, Catholic Spray, Wampire, Capsula, and Thee Oh Sees.
• Classic Rock / Glam! • The Black Angels, J. Roddy Walston And The Business, Samantha Fish, Rose Windows, Os Mutantes, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, The Limiñanas, Black Sabbath, Blood Ceremony, Pond, Purson, Fuzz, Bosnian Rainbows , Crocodiles, Feeding People, SUUNS, Wooden Shjips, Crystal Stilts, The Stooges, Jake Bugg, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cheap Time, Jacuzzi Boys, Diane Coffee, Junip, Portugal. The Man, and Big Eyes.
• Blues! • Black Joe Lewis, Cassie Taylor, Willis Earl Beal, Skinny Girl Diet, DARKSIDE, Summer Twins, and Beth Hart.
• Americana! • Cass McCombs, Kamara Thomas And the Ghost Gamblers, Lucky Jim, Sarah Jarosz, Oscar Isaac, Aoife O'Donovan, Pharis And Jason Romero, and Valerie June.
• Soul! • Booker T., John Németh, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, Myron And E, Latasha Lee And the BlackTies, Charles Bradley, Clairy Browne And The Bangin' Rackettes, The Cactus Channel , Lady, The Computers, Robert Randolph And The Family Band, The Ballantynes, Elvis Costello And The Roots, Alice Smith, Nostalgia 77, Gina Sicilia, Har Mar Superstar, Alice Russell, Jesse Dee, The James Hunter Six, The Child of Lov, Gregory Porter, Mayer Hawthorne, and Janelle Monae.
• Funk! • Popečitelji, Red Baraat, Pigbag , My Neighbour Is, Monkey Business, Lord Echo, Pretty Lights, The Relatives, Rock Candy Funk Party, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, and Trombone Shorty.
• World! • Bombino, The Fontanelles, Bams, The Liberators, Menagerie, Melt Yourself Down, and The Maneken.
• Riot Grrrl! • Frightwig, Anna Calvi, Deap Vally, Bleached, The Plastic Ono Band, Savages, Geri X, Marnie Stern, Colleen Green, PINS, Angel Olsen, Peach Kelli Pop, Midday Veil, Cherry Glazerr, Carmonas, Joanna Gruesome, Deap Vally, Skinny Girl Diet, and Juana Molina.
• Alt Rock! • Franz Ferdinand, Cate Le Bon, Candy Claws, White Denim, Jagwar Ma, The Julie Ruin , Queens of the Stone Age, Wire, The Bots, Glow Kit , TV On The Radio, David Bowie, Adam Ant, Lorde, Robert Pollard, and MGMT.
• Electro! • Rodion G.A., V V Brown, Clutch Douglass, JD Samson And MEN, Austra , Fuck Buttons, Gazelle Twin, Stubborn Heart, Goldfrapp, and The Feeling of Love.
• Cinerama! • Foals, Forest Swords, Dirty Beaches, David Lynch, La Femme, Calibro 35, Petra Haden, Miss Chain And the Broken Heels, and Los Coronas.
• RESIST!! • M.I.A., Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, The Sweet Vandals, Anders Osborne, and Huey And The New Yorkers.
• Cover Songs! •
List = Original By / Cover Artist
Songs are sequenced in the chronological order of the Originals.
Traditional /
Buika •
Screamin' Jay Hawkins /
Willy Moon •
The Beatles /
Redd Velvet •
John Barry /
Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings •
John Barry /
Mark Lanegan •
Van Dyke Parks /
The Dirtbombs •
Creedence Clearwater Revival /
John Fogerty + Foo Fighters •
Creedence Clearwater Revival /
John Fogerty + Jennifer Hudson •
George Harrison /
Hurray For The Riff Raff •
Rush /
Cyril Neville •
Sesame Street / The Pointer Sisters /
Maylee Todd •
Led Zeppelin /
An Apple A Day •
Lindsey Buckingham /
Matthew Sweet And Susanna Hoffs •
Talking Heads /
Kishi Bashi •
Bruce Springsteen /
Drop The Lime.
B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 3
Quality is timeless.
BEST REISSUES 2013
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
• 1960s •
• The Beatles, "On Air: Live At The BBC, Volume 2"
This follow-up to Volume 1
(1994) brings more unreleased live hits and unrecorded cover versions.
• Dan Penn, "The Fame Recordings"
Dan Penn was a crucial writer and player for many Soul acts recorded in Muscle Shoals, and this collection of demos proves him just as worthy.
• Various Artists, "Los Nuggetz: '60s Peru Punk, Pop, and Psychedelic from Latin America"
Garage Rock had impact all around the world, and this collection of Peruvian snarl is a gas gas gas.
• Honey Ltd., "The Complete LHI Recordings" (1968)
Produced smartly by Lee Hazlewood, this rare album by the angelic choral group finally gets a remastered release. Dream pop, Cali Soul, and luminous harmonies.
• Sly & The Family Stone, "Higher!" box set
(1965-1975)
A four-disc overview of the greatest Funk band, from early rarities to their apex in the mid-'70s.
• 1970s •
• Various Artists, "Music For Dancefloors: The KPM Music Library"
'Library Music' is collections of general musical cues made in the late-'60s and the '70s for lease to television and radio. Crate-diggers discovered the funky and rockin' treasure troves, and now they see mainstream release.
• Swamp Dogg, "Total Destruction of Your Mind" (1970)
The soul maverick's best and most funky album.
• Stark Reality, "The Stark Reality Disc" (1970)
The sons of Spike Jones form a FunkRockJazz band and create freak-out covers versions of his songs for a kids record.
• Apple And The Three Oranges, "Free And Easy" (early-'70s)
A rare act of funky grooves with a New Orleans beat.
• Elvis Presley, "Elvis At Stax" (1973)
When he had proper material and a righteous fire, Elvis was always on the One.
• Piero Umiliani: Digital reissues
"
The Disco Funk Sessions, vol. 1
"
The Disco Funk Sessions, vol. 2"
('70s)
"
Synthi Time"
(1973)
Umiliani and Piccioni were the grooviest members of the Italian film soundtrack composers, and these club grooves and forward electronica prove it.
• Various Artists, "Cosmic Machine: French Cosmic And Electronic Avant Garde 1970-1980, Vol. 1"
Free your mind and your astral body will follow.
• Graham Central Station, "Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt-It" (1975)
The best of Larry Graham's funk band albums, essentially his
"Stand!".
• Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours" (1976)
Still one of the finest albums made.
• Alessandro Alessandroni: Digital reissue, "
Inchiesta"
(1977)
The guitarist and whistler for all of Morricone's
Spaghetti Western soundtracks was also a fine composer himself.
• Ndalani 77 Brothers, "Kenya Special"
From the explosion of African rock in the mid-'70s.
• The Clash, "Sound System" box set
(1977-1982)
A 7-disc compilation of all of the prime Punk band's recordings.
• Marianne Faithfull, "Broken English" (1979)
Not so much a comeback as a rebuke, her brutal and expansive album still stuns.
• 1980s •
• John Carpenter, "The Fog" soundtrack
(1980)
Carpenter also scored his horror films, with chilly and moody coldwave that still brings shivers.
• Willam Onyeabor, "World Psychedelic Classics: Who Is William Onyeabor?" (1978-1983)
Off the radar, the Nigerian keyboardist made experimental synth-pop, before retreating into the church and mystery.
• Rodion G.A., "The Lost Tapes" (late '70s-early '80s)
ProgPsycheRockElectro. Created under brutal repression in Romania, these driving futurisms will startle and thrill you.
• Various Artists, "Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story"
Under producer Bill Laswell (of Material), this pivotal label released seismic no-wave, French new wave, hiphop, and African synth-funk.
• Günter Schickert, "Kinder in der Wildnis" (1983)
Abrasive and ambient by turn.
• Various Artists, "Mutazione: Italian Electronic And New Wave Underground 1980-1988"
Italy was a driving force in electronic music, from Italo-Disco days to the advent of Industrial.
• Thee Mighty Caesars, catalog reissues (1985-'86)
Billy Childish pumps out Garage Rock albums and rotating bands like you draw breath.
• The Gories, "The Shaw Tapes: Live In Detroit 5/27/88"
The Garage rockers who gave us Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs) and Dan Kroha (The Demolition Doll Rods), and who inspired The White Stripes.
• 1990s •
• The Breeders, "Last Splash", a.k.a., "LSXX"
(1993)
Kim and Kelley Deal's apex. A massive, and deserved, mainstream success that they've spent their remaining career perversely running away from.
• Nirvana, "In Utero: 20th Anniversary" (1993)
"Our little group has always been, and always will until the end." >
©
Tym Stevens
"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
See also:
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2024
• BEST MUSIC: 2024
• BEST COMICS: 2024
· BEST MOVIES + TV: 2023
• BEST MUSIC: 2023
• BEST COMICS: 2023
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2022
• BEST MUSIC: 2022
• BEST COMICS: 2022
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2021
• BEST MUSIC: 2021
• BEST COMICS: 2021
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2020
• BEST MUSIC: 2020
• BEST COMICS: 2020
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2019
• BEST MUSIC: 2019
• BEST COMICS: 2019
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2018
• BEST MUSIC: 2018
• BEST COMICS: 2018
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2017
• BEST MUSIC: 2017
• BEST COMICS: 2017
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2016
• BEST MUSIC: 2016
• BEST COMICS: 2016
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2015
• BEST MUSIC: 2015
• BEST COMICS: 2015
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2014
• BEST MUSIC: 2014
• BEST COMICS: 2014
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2013
• BEST COMICS: 2013
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2012
• BEST MUSIC: 2012
• BEST COMICS: 2012
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2011
• BEST MUSIC: 2011
• BEST COMICS: 2011
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2000-2010
• BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
• BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
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