Founder Georges Batard and his pressing plant

French label BORN BAD RECORDS is reknowned for their stellar and wide-ranging compilations. This 3-LP dig into Le Kiosque d'Orphée may well be their crowning achievement. For those of you who don't know the story behind Le Kiosque, let me just say that they were not a label per se, but rather a private press, pay-for-your-own-record company. In the labyrinthine landscape of '70s music, Le Kiosque produced a selection of records that were notably avant-garde, deeply eccentric, and delightfully obscure. Despite their unconventional approach, their creations lay dormant until the diligent excavations of music enthusiasts in the 1990s, long after the label ceased operations in 1991. The allure of Le Kiosque's offerings lies in their enigmatic nature, providing a window into a bygone era of musical experimentation and artistic exploration.

More info (both French and English) available here

I'm a sucker for radical shifts in music directions. Especially when it involves two people who made one of my favorite Death Metal EPs of all time: Fatal from Detroit and their seven inch classic "A Somber Evocation Of Nihilism", released way back when on the  French label that rocked my youth, Thrash Records (Hi Val!)

A few years ago, I was checking the whereabouts of their ex-members as one is wont to do, and I found out that guitar player Tony Hamera and drummer William King had done a few things together in the 2000s. The one band that stood out to these ears was  Ether Aura, a great vibey Shoegaze/Dream Pop outfit. I really, really love their second album, "Before We Could Sing" and its sweet radio-friendly 4AD vibe. When I dive into the sounds of commercial 90s/00s rock bands, I love subjecting them to what I call "The Bronze Test." Basically, it's my way of figuring out if they could land a gig at Buffy the Vampire Slayer's favorite hangout. Guess what? I can totally imagine these guys (and gal) rocking the stage there!

Just checked out if they were on bandcamp, turns out they've recently remixed their debut album  too! Sounds even better now. Wish they'd done more!

Wow, first time I'm hearing this with the original George Harrison sample! Not so much a sample as a whole track laid over the song. Apparently this version was uploaded on a Stereolab fanpage on Facebook or something, as the band is strictly forbidden to use it anywhere, if we may trust those liner notes on the "Transient" re-release quoted by the uploader:

"It's a real shame that we were unable to use the original recorded version of this track as it featured an amazing sounding reed instrument called a Shehnai taken from a track on George Harrison's Wonderwall LP. It wasn't really sampled as such but just taken directly off the LP and laid over the track. It worked so beautifully, flowing in and out of the song, but unfortunately we were denied permission to use it from Apple, and had to re-record a similar sounding part ourselves. Sean O'Hagan did a great job in trying to emulate the feel, offering something very different but sympathetic to the original instrument's effect on the rest of the track. However a little bit of chance and serendipity was lost. I didn't hear this original version again until just recently when we took everything off the master tapes. That's 25 years since I've heard it and it still sounds great and we still can't use it, not even as a bonus track." Tim Gane.

Here's the George Harrison album in question, for comparison's sake. This YouTube playlist has all the album songs on it, but I don't know the name of the actual song they lifted that sample from.

Following two strokes of genius with Nathan For You and The Rehearsal, the master of cringe humor, meta-fiction, and post-TV, Nathan Fielder, makes a triumphant return with this new TV series co-written and directed alongside Benny Safdie. It stands out as my favorite show of 2023 for various reasons. Firstly, The Curse tackles themes of gentrification and white guilt, which are rarely explored in TV land. Secondly, its humor consistently tiptoes on the edge of the abyss without tumbling, a feat often missed in attempts at the 'cringe' genre. Thirdly, the stellar acting, with Emma Stone delivering her usual brilliance, but it's Nathan who steals the spotlight, portraying a fictional character for a change. Safdie's performance, while passable, suits the character seamlessly. Fourthly, the final episode ranks high on the WTF TV scale, akin to Twin Peaks The Return Episode 8. I recommend diving in The Curse with no expectations, avoiding prior knowledge of characters, situations, or storytelling devices. This brief teaser trailer is all you should see, and if it doesn't immediately entice you, it might not be your cup of tea.