Epitonic Newsletter: Vol. 5, No. 1 - 'The Indomitable Epitonic'
03/13/03
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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we're here to tell you that we're still alive & ticking. If you've been to the site in the past week, you know that we added some new music for the first time this year, including songs by Yo La Tengo, John Tejada, and the great Martin Rev of Suicide. We'll keep running small updates while we continue to explore strategies to keeping Epitonic.com viable for the long term. As many of you already know, most of these strategies involve implementing some kind of subscription service. But we're loathe to make any changes to Epitonic that don't draw a broad measure of support from you guys, our audience, so if you haven't already filled out our subscription survey -- and thanks so much to those of you who have -- we encourage you to do so. The newsletters will continue, probably once very other week for now, and we'll keep you posted on what's going on with us.
The songs in this newsletter were originally intended for our 2002 end-of-year wrap-up newsletter, so they're a little after the fact now, but we figure you'll still enjoy them. The week's playlist features 20 of our very favorite tracks from the last year. Obviously we're selecting only from the Epitonic pool of music, so you won't find anything off some of our favorite albums of the year, like, say the recent ones by the Flaming Lips and Boards of Canada. But we think you'll find our Best of 2002 collection to be eclectic and excellent.
"NYC"
by
Interpol
A young and upcoming group from NYC, Interpol has been releasing music and traveling Europe for some time. Now they've signed to Matador Records and are beginning their trek into the U.S. The droning dark moods are unceasingly melodic, invoking the shoegazing classics of the '80s.
"The Way We Get By"
by
Spoon
The young Texas clan known as Spoon has learned well from their illustrious post-punk forefathers. Truly have these precocious lads mastered the delicate art of the driving, skeletal, catchy-as-all-get-out pop-punk pearl.
"Dad, There's a Little Phrase Called Too Much Information"
by
Out Hud
Sacramento's Out Hud is a pendulum swinging back and forth between dub, electro and funk, while somehow remaining deeply rooted in punk rock and the indie underground.
"Satisfied?"
by
J-Live
An underground hip hop legend since '95, J-Live's got everything you could want in an MC: boundless charisma, smooth vocal cadence, positive and thoughtful lyrical skills, and a top-notch production crew to back him up. It's easy to see why this Brooklyn rapper has rapidly become a cult hero.
"Do You Believe?"
by
Derrick Carter
Besides being one of the most prolific "real" house DJs in the world, Derrick Carter is also a respected producer, a partner in the Classic Music Company, and a renowned party animal. Enter his wibbly-wobbly world of music.
"Ungst Func Slag Collision"
by
Soul-Junk
Glen Galloway from Truman's Water has recently become Glen Galaxy. His new project Soul-Junk offers a steady flow of mixed-up influences centering on hip hop and experimental music, and seemingly inspired by the heavens.
"Speakers Push the Air"
by
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Seattle's Pretty Girls Make Graves features former members of the Murder City Devils, Kill Sadie, and The Death Wish Kids. With their refreshing energy and satisfying mixture of hardcore and post-punk, they're one of the best new bands in recent memory.
"House of Jealous Lovers"
by
The Rapture
The Rapture have moved to the forefront of the recent NYC No Wave renaissance with desperate and piercing grooves that draw from bands like Wire, Gang of Four, and Television.
"Seventeen"
by
Ladytron
Ladytron, the most appropriately named group in music, takes you on a backwards journey through synth-pop, New Wave, and glam with their ecstatic, often experimental robot music.
"Everywhere With Helicopter"
by
Guided by Voices
Dayton, Ohio's finest, and one of indie rock's most important and influential over the last decade. Headed by schoolteacher-turned-rock star Robert Pollard, Guided By Voices epitomized the offbeat, lo-fi aesthetic that came to define underground pop music in the mid '90s. Ever restless, continuously evolving, the prolific ensemble continues to build their impressive discography.
"Natural Disasters"
by
Enon
Enon sounds so different and so good, its easy to imagine history viewing them as progenitors of a whole new popular music movement with a name like "New New Wave" or "Millennial Pop." Their blending of college rock and collage rock is one of the more exciting developments in independent music in recent memory.
"Still Love in the Midwest"
by
Midwest Product
Ann Arbor's Midwest Product orchestrates a strange fusion of analog and digital with deeply rhythmic electro-acoustic compositions that stun with their languid beauty even as they unsettle with their unpredictable atmospherics.
"All That You Give"
by
Cinematic Orchestra
Following up the much-heralded Motion with the even more ambitious Every Day, J. Swinscoe is the composer, arranger, and producer of the Cinematic Orchestra's darkly evocative, deeply soulful music, a combination of cut and paste sample techniques and live instrumental ensemble work.
"Blood Tree"
by
Mary Timony
Ex-Helium mainstay Mary Timony keeps the pop magic realism coming hard and fast with impenetrable yet fascinating medieval rock tunes that play like pages torn from a child's fairy book.
"The Empty Page"
by
Sonic Youth
One of the most important and beloved bands of the past twenty years, Sonic Youth is almost singularly responsible for the acceptance of avant-garde forms by underground rock audiences. The albums in their remarkable discography possess the unique ability to appeal to passions both visceral and cerebral. If you've never explored this band's amazing contribution to rock, now is a perfect time to start.
"Eleven Eight"
by
Greg Davis
Greg Davis' blend of folksy instruments and ambient electronics is wooing fans of Boards of Canada and Plaid away from Warp and over to NYC's Carpark Records.
"Somewhere Sunday"
by
D. Diggler
Young Andreas Mügge makes deep house and textured techno from his home studio in Hanau, Germany. His unique urban sound blends the dance floor sensibility of Swayzak with the dubby warehouse bass of Basic Channel.
"Million $ Man"
by
Imperial Teen
San Francisco quartet Imperial Teen turns pop music on its ear with biting, hook-filled compositions that combine the timeless charm of gritty garage rock, three-chord pop-punk, and early '80s dance-pop. Among the most innovative and enjoyably twisted indie pop bands of the last decade.
"Relative Ways"
by
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
This Austin, Texas foursome lives up to its lengthy, fearsome name with awe-inspiring sonic ambition. Trail of Dead abandons indie rock formulas in favor of building awesome, precarious towers of sound that are like nothing you've ever heard before.
"Two Blue Lights"
by
Songs: Ohia
Songs: Ohia writes songs infused with the kind of wisdom gained only through pain. This is incredibly gorgeous and affecting music with similarities to Palace Brothers and other contemporary indie-folk artists.
