Swap a CD: 15 Recently Posted CDs

Black Angels - Kronos Quartet

Kronos Quartet — 2009-11-15T21:00:17-05:00

This disc is supposed to hurt. Just look at the program: it starts with Crumb's Black Angels for electric string quartet, a work that is the aural equivalent of Coppola's Apocalypse Now, and ends with Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8, a work that is either the aural equivalent of a monument to the victims of war and fascism written in the ruins of Dresden or the musical equivalent of a suicide note written before the composer joined the Communist Party. With the spooky and evocative performances of Thomas Tallis Spem in Alium, Istvan Marta's Doom. A Sigh, and Charles Ives' There They Are!, this disc is so painful it could be the soundtrack for an unmade Kubrick movie. The question is, is this disc supposed to hurt so much? The Kronos Quartet is a harsh and aggressive ensemble with an angular approach to rhythm and structure and an overwhelming need to assert its individual and collective identity. It tears into the howling notes that begin Black Angels with the ferocity of The Furies and they don't take the pedal off the metal until the last gasp of the final Largo of the Eighth. Yet surely this is the intent of the music: Crumb's Black Angels is as violently anti-war as Shostakovich's Eighth is fatally anti-totalitarian, and any performance that doesn't hurt with the deep pain of righteous vehemence would hardly be worth hearing. Nonesuch's 1990 digital sound is so in your face that it's in your skull. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Shvitz - Frank London

Frank London — 2009-11-06T19:47:01-05:00

7 NADEs - Eyvind Kang

Eyvind Kang — 2009-11-03T13:43:37-05:00

Hero Soundtrack - Tan Dun

Tan Dun — 2009-10-31T13:25:08-05:00

Although it's appropriate to the ironic commentary that the film makes on the media frenzy of our time, the score to Hero recreates much of the musical treacle leaking out of TV today, from the sweet sounds of commercials to the false bravado of the themes for the evening news. In context, they constitute satire, but on their own they only ape what they're making fun of. There's also a theme song performed by Luther Vandross that misses the point of the movie by a mile. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Fame by Proxy - Ifihadahifi

Ifihadahifi — 2009-10-26T23:36:29-05:00

Triptycal - Ben Neill

Ben Neill — 2009-10-12T20:47:11-05:00

Although it retains traces of the illbient influences which textured the previous Green Machine -- DJ Spooky even makes a cameo appearance -- Triptycal pushes Ben Neill closer to more straightforward ambient territory, largely favoring atmosphere over groove. As his mastery of the mutantrumpet grows, Neill's playing becomes more and more evocative -- the album's dreamscapes move easily from minimalist rhythms to dense drum'n'bass beats, complete with a sensual warmth which belies the record's intellectual rigors. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Fast ForwardT Cells Split CD - Fast Forward/T Cells

Fast Forward/T Cells — 2009-10-01T02:29:25-05:00

Star Tracks - Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel — 2009-08-17T16:01:15-05:00

Time Warp - Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel — 2009-08-17T16:00:19-05:00

Time Warp - Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel — 2009-08-12T17:43:23-05:00

Star Tracks - Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel — 2009-07-19T19:48:31-05:00

Time Warp - Erich Kunzel

Erich Kunzel — 2009-07-12T19:06:06-05:00

Blue Dreams - Jen Baker

Jen Baker — 2009-07-11T15:19:50-05:00

Triptycal - Ben Neill

Ben Neill — 2009-07-11T00:09:27-05:00

Sirens of Brooklyn - Robert German

Robert German — 2009-06-26T23:28:41-05:00