SPECIAL HOLIDAY REVIEW CREW
GILLIAN ANDERSON
ACTRESS
MOGWAI
Rock Action (Matador)
This album is one of those musical experiences where if you happened to get into a car accident while listening to it, it would be OK. Here you are, driving, the wind is whipping, the sun is shining (or not), and oops! But you've got the music, and it's got you, cradled in a blissful semiconscious state, through the rhythmic strobe of emergency vehicles, the muffled shuffle above and around, and closer ... closer ... and the spirit ascends to Heaven. Are you with me? Then you'll love this album. Part Low, part instrumental Radiohead, mostly themselves, it's all good.
ROB MALDA
FOUNDER, SLASHDOT
Gorillaz
Gorillaz (Virgin)
Seldom does an album come along that I find as innovative and interesting as the Gorillaz debut. With a lineup including Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, my expectations on production were already very high. And with Blur's Damon Albarn, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori, and a pair of Talking Heads, the influences are diverse: hip hop, Asian music, punk, and more. The best tracks star Del the Funky Homosapien doing what he does best. This virtual hip hop group features a cast of cartoons illustrated by Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett.
NICHOLAS BUTTERWORTH
PRESIDENT/CEO, MTVI GROUP
Autechre
Confield (Warp)
I don't have kids, but it comforts me to imagine them hating this record, turning to me in horror and screaming, "Dad, that's just noise!" Not melodic, but strangely tuneful nonetheless, this is high electronic drama set in a dry, almost chemically austere soundscape. Autechre's latest may actually be just noise (the kids are always right), but it's intensely musical noise, noise with gorgeous structure, edges, dynamics. It's clean and well lit, and if it frustrates, it rewards every time. Call it pop noise. Buy it for your grandkids. Keep your edge.
IAN ASTBURY
SINGER, THE CULT
The White Stripes
White Blood Cells (Sympathy for the Record Industry)
This could well be the tonic you've been waiting for to stem the tide of postpubescent angst rock. Jack and Meg White tell it like it is - when music is this naked, it's all about performance, lyric, and craft. The disc offers high melody mixed with Page-esque riffs and Maureen "Mo" Tucker backbeats, but it's still fresh and original. Jack delivers with such authority and soul ... I am elevated and inspired by this recording. Be the first kid on your block to rock White Blood Cells. "Fell in Love With a Girl" is a standout track.
REBECCA ROBERTS
HOST, SPRINGBOARD: EXPLORING THE DIGITAL AGE
Susannah McCorkle
Most Requested Songs (Concord)
It would be easy to describe the posthumously collected works of a singer who died too young as "haunting." Most Requested Songs is actually uplifting. Few singers can interpret disparate genres with equal strength, but McCorkle moved effortlessly from the South American flavors of the bossa nova ballad "The Waters of March" to the wry self-mockery of the yuppie lament "Quality Time." McCorkle took nearly every song down-tempo, but the effect is never dirgey or maudlin. Instead, her songs are sincere, romantic, and truly beautiful.
MATT OWENS
PARTNER IN FIRM ONE9INE, CREATOR OF VOLUMEONE.COM
The Faint
Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek)
Are you ready for a new wave onslaught? This third full-length from Omaha, Nebraska's native sons picks up where the Faint's previous release, Blank-Wave Arcade, left off but adds a darker and deeper twist. Merging rock, dance, and electronic with a blend of the melodic, Danse Macabre is a mature and multilevel new wave sound that gets better with each listen. For the punk or the new waver in you, the Faint pulls your heartstrings and leaves you wanting more. Tracks of note include the dance sensation "Glass Danse" and the late-night hit "Let the Poison Spill."
STEPHEN HSU
COFOUNDER/CHAIR/CEO, SAFEWEB
Charles Lloyd
Hyperion With Higgins (ECM)
I've long thought that the age of giants in jazz was past, and this album doesn't change my mind. But Charles Lloyd's Hyperion With Higgins (featuring the late drummer Billy Higgins and the pianist Brad Mehldau) is worth a listen if you want to hear some of today's best at work. Lloyd's saxophone is capable of flashes of brilliance, although some of his extended improvisations leave me cold. The sidemen are excellent - especially Mehldau, whose playing is elegant and precise.
CHAD HUGO
THE NEPTUNES, N*E*R*D
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory DVD
(Warner Bros.)
Bonus Track
The other day I had a DVD of Willy Wonka playing in the car. Those old musicals were the music videos of their day, and as a producer, it helps me figure out how to make the audience feel a certain way. I like that the Oompa Loompas always had an important message of caution. When that girl eats the blueberry, then they sing something like "If you spoil the child, you can only blame the mother and the father," it sounds like an acid trip. I might go into the studio and take those Oompa Loompa elements and turn them into something more conventional.
STREET CRED
Clip.FM
Hitachi 43FDX11B vs. Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-36HS20
Shrinking the Cat: Genetic Engineering Before We Knew About Genes, by Sue Hubbell
GoBook Max
Super Monkey Ball
Delgo, a Hero's Journey
Flash Advance Linker and Card
ReadMe
Music
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Screenblast
Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley, by Christine Finn
Just Outta Beta
Kodak EasyShare DX3900
TrafficSchool.com
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