Roadburn playlist July (Leslie)

Obviously, we need good music on the stereo while we are busy putting together the 2010 edition of the festival. Be on the lookout for updates from time to time on what’s spinning on the Roadburn turntable, CD player and Winamp player (And if you are on Last.fm, come join us here).

This is Leslie Hadlock’s (Roadburn’s consultant editor’s) playlist for July 2009. Please share your personal Top 5 in the comments box below.

Voivod – Infini (CD – Nuclear Blast / Relapse)
Behold, the final work by “Voivod Mach 3″ (Piggy RIP, Away, Snake and Jasonic), I bought it minutes after freaking out to “Voivod Mach 4″ (Away, Snake, Dan and…Blacky!) at this year’s Waldrock Festival on 13 June.

It starts out like Nirvana (“God phones, I’m a negative creep and I’m stoned”) ends like Motorhead applying some Killing Technology and the
middle includes everything from Snake channelling Cypress Hill’s B-Real (in terms of both the nasal vocal delivery and goofy lines like “I got my
own approach, I finish off my roach”) to blissful twangy dissonance and driving beats.

Yes, all of the different people, time zones and organic versus intergalactic influences involved make for one big patchwork quilt of a record but I love how they took something infinitely sad (Piggy’s
death) and turned it into a posthumous celebration of his spirit and riff wizardry.

Marissa Nadler - Little Hells (CD – Kemado Records)
In the land of no air conditioning I simply put on Ms. Nadler’s murder ballads and tales of ghosts and lovers and within minutes the ambient temperature has dropped by 20 degrees. The lush arrangements and soothing delivery on her latest, “Little Hells”, keep things from getting too glacial.

Demon – The Unexpected Guest (CD / LP Carrere Records)
My friend Philip just told me about this festival in Germany next year, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw Demon billed as “special 30th anniversary appearance!!” Demon? Now that is a blast from the past! I was a pre-teen metal misfit when Night of the Demon came out, and so I judged a book by its cover, expecting violently diabolical and terrifying things from Demon.

Okay, so it wasn’t all that, but nevertheless I went on to buy  The Unexpected Guest as well. Second verse, same as the first: scary cover, scary lyrics, and massively hooky songs! “DON’T BREAK THE CIRCLE (da da da da daaaa) DON’T BREAK THE CIRCLE!” Thanks for the reminder, Philip!

The Elephant Man – Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (CD – Milan Records)
So how about the mad rush to peddle everything Michael Jackson ever released? Even the local library has transformed their music section into a Jacco shrine. How am I supposed to read the latest issue of Uncut while being bombarded on all sides with MJ videos? The fact that Anna Nicole Smith never released an album is a small consolation.

So is this soundtrack to the story of another deformed man and how he sought to cope with tormentors and captors, the cult of celebrity in the Victorian Age and eventually find some kind of peace and happiness. Unlike some people who seemed keen on taking down as many others with them as possible.

Neil Young – On the Beach (CD / LP Reprise)
The list starts and ends in Canada! With some Berkeley / greater California thrown in for good measure, literally and figuratively. Just saw The Man and his Electric Band in Antwerp at the Sportpaleis on June 6. Magic.
Voivod: Whooooooo’s Gaaaahhhhd? WHOOOO’S GAAAAHHHHHD?
Me: Neil!

Tags: demon, marissa nadler, neil young, Roadburn, Roadburn Recommended, voivod

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 8:49 am and is filed under 2009, Album of the Day, News, Playlists, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.