OK, so Thanksgiving is over and the Winter Shopolympics have officially begun. According to the Weekly Planet's extensive target-marketing research, our readership tends to have somewhat mixed feelings about such wanton consumerism. Basically, you like presents — some of you even like shopping. But you also like to think of yourself as the kind of person who gives and receives all year long, not just when Hallmark and 2,000 years of religious dogma dictates as much. So, for you, our beloved, morality-addled procrastinators, I have assembled a list of new and upcoming musical releases to make this year's spending binge a little bit easier. Sure, this season there's a new Backstreet Boys record, an Eagles box set, a Silverchair greatest hits CD (titled "Volume One" — who are they kidding?) and a Christina Aguilera Christmas album, but for the sophisticados on your list, here's some sweet, smart stuff to jam into their stockings and hands. These sonic slices of holiday cheer are available at your local independent record retailer. Thanks to Sensuous Sounds and Vinyl Fever for their assistance.
Boards Of Canada In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country (Warp) — This four-song EP will be the first proper release from the Scottish electronica duo of Mike Sandison and Marcus Es since 1998's stunning full-length, Music Has a Right to Children. Though a John Peel Session came out last year, it didn't have nearly the impact of Music Has a Right … , which was ranked No. 24 in NME's "Top 25 Psychedelic Albums of All Time," and released stateside by Matador to deafening critical applause. Music Has a Right … was a subtle, infectious landmark of soulful ambience that combined hip-hop beats with ingenious synths and samples, transcending its computerized genesis and making for deliciously easy listening. In a Beautiful Place … , to be released Nov. 27 as a CD and on sky-blue vinyl, promises more of the same. See www.boardsofcanada.com and www.warprecords.com for more information.
Pepe Deluxe Super Sound (Emperor Norton) — Speaking of NME, the British magazine loves Pepe Deluxe. Where the Boards of Canada EP is something you can throw on when the party's winding down, this Finnish trio is more dynamic. That's not to say their debut full-length is some high-energy, generic breakbeat monstrosity — Pepe Deluxe's facetiously nicknamed DJ Slow was four-time Finnish DMC national champ when the group got together. Super Sound is more on the Moby tip, with eclectic samples and midtempo rhythms, acid jazz, big beat and lounge music colliding to take you on a ride into the new century. A stylin', essential album for New Year's Eve 2001. See www.emperornorton.com for ordering information.
Erykah Badu Mama's Gun (Motown) — The follow-up to Badu's smash debut, 1997's Baduizm, promises to be a smooth and eclectic effort. Poeticizing, scatting and rocking, Badu attempts to live up to her rep as the new Billie Holiday, and then some. Mama's Gun, released on Nov. 21, boasts the smash hit "Bag Lady" (currently No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart); a collaboration with Miami soul siren Betty Wright titled "A.D. 2000," addressing the murder of Amadou Diallo by the NYPD; and "In Love With You," an acoustic duet recorded in Jamaica with Stephen Marley, scion of Bob. Check out www.motown.com — it's cool.
Blur Blur: The Best of (Virgin) — Released Nov. 21, this collection includes 17 favorites by the alpha band of the early '90s Britpop eruption, plus one new track. All of the quartet's smashes are here, from the cookie-cutter Madchester number "There's No Other Way" to the prototypical Britpop hit "Girls & Boys," and up through the band's late-decade foray into American-style indie rock. The new song, "Music is my Radar," is a jazzy, funky, Krautrock-influenced groover, and initial pressings of The Best of include a bonus, 10-track live CD recorded at Wembley Stadium in December 1999. You can go to www.blur.co.uk for more details, but the thing's on Virgin, so it's probably for sale at your corner Starbucks.
Sick of It All Yours Truly (Fat Wreck Chords) — Also out on Nov. 21 is these NYC hardcore godfathers' 11th full-length (their third for Fat Wreck). Featuring song titles like "Bland Within," "Hello Pricks," "No Apologies" and "Disco Sucks … Fuck Everything," Yours Truly shows that the Koller brothers and Co. are hardly softening with age. Check out the band's surprisingly flashy Web site at www.sickofitall.com.
Various Artists Dischord 20th Anniversary (Dischord) — Psych!! The box set's Nov. 13th U.S. release date has been pushed back to March (or maybe even later) because Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson are working on a 128-page companion booklet. Check www.dischord.com compulsively till it comes out.
Snoop Dogg Tha Last Meal (No Limit) — This one has been pushed back again and again, but the official release date is currently holding at Dec. 19. Snoop's fifth proper full-length (not counting Death Row's November odds 'n' sods release, Dead Man Walkin') features the Timbaland-produced debut single, "Snoop Dogg," and guest artists Master P, Eve, George Clinton, Eastsidaz, MC Ren, Nate Dogg, Lady of Rage and Kokane.
Everclear Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude (Capitol) — Art Alexakis and the boys got all that fruity pop stuff out of their systems earlier this year on Vol. 1. Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude returns to the jagged, punky Cheap Tricks of days past, not quite angry but certainly not complacent.
Neil Young Road Rock, Vol. 1 (Warner/Reprise) — Available Dec. 5, this live collection represents the first of two consecutive shows that Young and band did at Red Rocks, Denver, this past September. The eight tracks on Road Rock, Vol. 1 include quite a few resurrected nuggets, a previously unreleased track ("Fool For Your Love"), an 18-minute version of "Cowgirl in the Sand" and a duet with Chrissie Hynde on "All Along the Watchtower." Also out on the 5th is Friends and Relatives: Red Rocks Live, a concert in VHS and DVD format, documenting both Red Rocks shows. Logic would dictate that the second night will eventually be released on CD as Vol. 2; check www.repriserec.com/neilyoung for developments on that front, or one of the many Young fan sites (www.canoe.ca/JamMusicNeilYoung is a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate one).
P.S. For the Music Critic on your list, there are two new Sea and Cake T-shirts available at www.thrilljockey.com. Also, she really likes the new Outkast and sure would appreciate a copy of Aquemini. If you want to wait a while, maybe till her birthday, which is Feb. 13, that Pavement Slow Century video collection should be coming out some time early in the new year. And Columbia Records will release a Leonard Cohen live album — from 1979! — titled Field Commander Cohen — on Feb. 20. Just a thought.
This article appears in Dec 2-8, 2000.