* Just out this month is a wonderfully inventive new album from Canada's Future Star.  In a world of samey sounding copycats, Future Star songs stand out like multicolored crystals in the ocean.  The new album is entitled It's About Time and is being released by the wonderfully taste-conscious folks at Mint Records.  Recommended.  * New babysue Office Suites on The Sun.  Last month we mentioned that we were considering moving our operation to The Sun.  After visiting and giving it a great deal of thought, we decided to approach this slowly.  As such, every other week we will be living and working in our new alternative office suites on The Sun.  There are lots of interesting folks living here and it's not overcrowded like Earth.  And the residents seem to all get along with each other.  The Sun is an amazing place chock full of incredible visuals and fantastic vegetation.  The waterfalls have to be seen to be believed.  If you've never visited, we highly recommend it.  Our picture windows provide a truly stunning window into the world where we still live every other week.  *  [continued below]

 *  Anything happens for no reason.  Do you ever wonder why anything never happens for reasons and everything always never does?  Two hundred thousand people were surveyed and 99.9% specified that the reason they believe things happen is because they believe the reason is because they believe them.  * The fine folks at Parma Recordings have acquired Albany Records, a label that released about 2,000 albums over the past 35 years.  Parma already has a huge catalog of artists and releases.  The acquisition of Albany will make the label even more crucial to classical music fans.  *  Everyone Is Barking.  Super cool smart hip folks have discovered that it makes no sense to talk and try to make sense anymore.  As a result, most ultra-hipsters have taken to running around in circles in the streets barking and chasing their tails.  It's an encouraging sign as more and more people jump on the bandwagon.  The latest estimates confirm that 80% of the public would now rather bark than speak.  Join the latest cool movement now...before another one comes along to replace it.  *  Successful Chicken Livers.  The first successful transformation has been achieved by replacing non-functioning human livers with specific vibrant chicken livers.  Scientists struggled with the process for years before they realized that the problem was the salty flour coating.  They came to the conclusion that broiling the chicken livers (rather than frying them) made them much more likely to be accepted by the human body.  Though they are small, the livers present exciting possibilities for the future and beyond.  *  [continued below]

*  Bracket rules.  Southern California's Bracket is one of the all-time best power pop/buzzsaw guitar bands on the planet.  We first fell in love with the band's music way back in 1992.  The great news is that these talented fellows are still making music and offer tons of killer cuts on their Bandcamp page (some are Bandcamp-only releases).  Bracket songs are insanely catchy and super cool.  If you love loud upbeat pop/rock played with style and hooks galore, you owe it to yourself to listen to this band's music.  They are one of our all-time favorites.  *  Lake Michigan Monster.  This century it is rare indeed when any motion picture immediately grabs our attention.  An independent movie called Lake Michigan Monster is an absolute hit with us.  It is very very VERY different from almost everything else that's out there.   The movie was done on a shoestring budget but it is way way way way WAY more entertaining and interesting that most of the generic dribble released by major studios.  So many modern movies rely on super realistic state-of-the-art effects that cost tons of money and the end result is that most of them look almost identical.  Rather than bombard the viewer with the latest effects and familiar spoiled brat Hollywood actors, the folks who created Lake Michigan Monster went for a minimalist simple look and all of the actors are unknowns.  In wonderfully appropriate black and white, this motion picture is an experience you won't soon forget.  Writer, producer, director and actor Ryland Brickson Cole Tews is one extraordinarily peculiar and intriguing fellow whose future is super bright.  Highly recommended essential viewing.  We can hardly wait for the physical release of Tews' latest:  Hundreds of Beavers.  It is due to be released on multiple formats soon.  *  David Bowie fans take note.  To tide you over until the Super Deluxe version of Diamond Dogs comes out (whenever that is), Julian Shah-Taylor aka The Singularity has recorded and released a cover of the entire album.  If you're a fan of Bowie and/or The Singularity, you're sure to get a major kick out of this one.  *  [continued below]

*  Water From Pipes.  Tired of carrying all those heavy buckets of water inside from that damn well in your backyard?  Well, those days just might be over.  There is talk that it may be possible soon to install pipes in residences that will easily carry clean water inside from local water facilities.  This is an amazing development that could change our lives in very favorable ways.  Contact your local representative to see when piped water may be available in your area.  *  New solo album from Kenton Loewen.  The fine folks at Canada's Drip Audio label have just released the first solo album by Kenton Loewen.  Entitled Petrol Matches Boom, this one was created with friend and producer Jesse Zubot.  Although Loewen played most instruments, also playing and/or singing on the album are Zubot, Marc Ribot, Darren Parris, Matt Robertson, Marin Patenaude, Tony Wilson and Coho Cayenne.  *  A new album is being released this month by Super 8 entitled Retro Metro on the Think Like A Key label.  This is the band's eleventh full-length release and it is bound to be a keeper.  The band is the brainchild of Paul 'Trip' Ryan who writes and records remarkably simple, direct and smart underground pop for intelligent listeners.  *  New Frank Lens EP.  Like so many others, we are always intrigued and captivated by anything/everything Frank Lens does.  Lens has just released a new EP entitled Blending In on the ultra-cool Velvet Blue Music label.  Recommended.  *  [continued below]

*  Obscurity rules.  Most musicians and bands seem driven by the desire for fame or they yearn for as much recognition and attention as they can get.  And then there are those like The Solipsistics who seem perfectly content being obscure and virtually invisible.  We became aware of the band years ago when Jeffrey Owen McGregor (the man behind the band) sent us some music to review.  His releases became instant favorites here.  And we have continued playing McGregor's songs because they have substance and offer something strangely unique that is not quite like anyone else.  Imagine our delight when we found two new Solipsistics releases in our mailbox recently.  Our guess is that neither of these are available except directly from the man himself.  But the effort to hear and obtain these cool gems is worth it because the music is ultimately rewarding.  We received a vinyl album and vinyl single, both of which came in simple white sleeves with individually printed text on the covers.  The LP is entitled An Introduction To The Solipsistics and it features twelve expertly crafted tunes.  Intelligent and complex in terms of lyrics and thought.  The 7" vinyl single features the compositions "Love Love Love" and "My Aim Was You."  Fantastic songs that could only have been crafted by Mr. McGregor.  Both releases include printed lyrics and all songs were produced by eternal babysue favorite Earle Mankey.  These two records will remain in our music collection permanently because they are a stark reminder of what we already know.  The best music being made in the twenty-first century is from unknown folks who aren't playing the game the way it is usually played.  We're hoping Jeffrey treats listeners to another new full-length album soon.  *  Creator of the Universe.  Last month we took on yet another part-time job.  Our new title is Creator of the Universe.  This is such an easy gig that we couldn't refuse even though it doesn't pay very much.  All we have to do is create a few galaxies each month and make sure they're functioning as they should.  The motivation for this one wasn't money, it was the desire to have far-reaching powers over the creation of everything.  Plus it's good for at least a few cheap kicks until something else more interesting comes along.  *

[This section only includes full-length releases and EPs.]

   

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