The Fantastic Plastic Machine S/T Emperor Norton By: Eric G. Tomoyuki Tanaka is the brains behind The Fantastic Plastic Machine, which is a familiar amalgam of kitsch-y 60’s pop, bossa nova disco, and Japanese humor. Tanaka keeps things brassy and bright with lots of swirling bass lines and retro-sounding horn arrangements. His sound is less […]

[Read more →]

God Is My Co-pilot Get Busy Atavistic By: Eric G. God Is My Co-Pilot has been churning out a semi-improvisational no wave racket for the better part of the decade. Led by Sharon Topper and Craig Flanagin, God Is My Co-Pilot is an ongoing experiment in music, sexual identification, and cultural dilettantism. Sometimes its gay […]

[Read more →]

Jonathan Richman I'm So Confused Vapor By: Eric G. Having made appearances in two Farrelly brothers films, Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary, Jonathan Richman’s hokey-pop-folkie shtick is reaching a far greater audience, but that has done nothing to change Richman’s simple outlook on life. Acoustic guitar, bass and drums still accompany his over-intellectualized, everyday […]

[Read more →]

Einsturzende Neubauten Ende Neu Nothing By: Eric G. When a band like Einsturzende Neubauten (Collapsing New Buildings) puts out a new record it evokes a conflicting string of emotions similar to when a legendary director has a new film. The excitement for the new product is overshadowed by a sense of dread that it may […]

[Read more →]

R. Chartier Direct, Incidental, Consequential Intransitive By: Kerry M. A few years back Markus Popp (Oval) and Jan St Werner (Mouse on Mars) got together and released their second album as Microstoria entitled _SND. _SND, with it’s bleeps and hums and drones sounded like the soundtrack to an empty computer lab full of machines communicating […]

[Read more →]

Duran Duran Greatest EMI / Capital By: Eric G. This nineteen-track career retrospective is a better representation of Duran Duran's output compared to 1989's premature greatest hits package, Decade. Duran Duran has endured the status of fey, make-up wearing poseurs long enough. The band's self-proclaimed mix of Chic, Roxy Music, and the Sex Pistols started […]

[Read more →]

Takako Minekawa Cloudy Cloud Calculator Emperor Norton By: Eric G. Takako Minekawa is a star in Japan where she has been in the public eye since she was a child actress. She currently stars in Sony Playstation commercials, writes a column for Keyboard Magazine, and creates bizarre electro-pop based on clouds, color, and light, using […]

[Read more →]