Reviewed by: Bryan Berge
Reviewed on: 2005-09-05

Posted 09/05/2005 - 06:40:28 PM by bassman08:
	Where in the hell do you people find this shit?
Posted 09/05/2005 - 06:46:46 PM by bassman08:
	That is to say, I know that you guys are the into the whole "reviewing everything no matter what kind of music it is" thing, and I appreciate it, but where do you expect normal people to find this stuff and actually be able to get into it? Has anyone else heard of this besides the reviewer? Where are we supposed to get access to this to actually, you know, hear it for ourselves? All I'm saying is, this seems just as esoteric as the stuff you criticize Pitchfork for...Wow, I didn't really intend on this being a rant, but for some reason it ended up being one. I apologize, but most of what I said I think has some merit to it.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:24:58 PM by TheBrad:
	Labels send this shit to us. I don't know where we've criticized a specific publication for being too "esoteric," but you're a longtime and thoughtful reader, so it must be so, somewhere. But with two metal reviewers & an avant-garde reviewer, it'd be a hard complaint for us to back up. Click the record label link under the album title. The site's in Finnish and English and has mp3 samples, sorta podcasts, etc., so you can, you know, hear if for yourself. I assume your frustration implies you don't use p2p networks, and if so, I salute you. I know some pubs put this info in the review, but sometimes it's a little condscending in the Internet Age to say you may have a hard time finding this. It's out there.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:25:50 PM by TheBrad:
	All typos imply my helplessness without an editor.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:27:54 PM by bassman08:
	OK. Fair enough. And really, I wasn't trying to sound harsh.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:29:04 PM by bassman08:
	Also, if I may ask, are you the "avant-garde" reviewer? I've never really noticed those sorts of things.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:33:12 PM by TheBrad:
	Nah, if it's anyone, it's Berge, tho' we share the same city. I just do features. I will say that I'd never heard of Paavoharju before this review, and I'm not sure they're my cup of tea (didn't realize the electronics would be so upfront blah blah blah).
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:35:13 PM by wmdavidson:
	I think it's cool that you guys review esoteric, unknown stuff. I do think it's funny though the the "album of the week" honor seems to be the exclusive domain of said esoterica. When Missy Elliot was the album of the week, it was like throwing a bone to music that more than five people have heard of-- and it was only of the only times in recent memory that an album of the week received more than one or two comments.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:36:59 PM by bassman08:
	Bloc Party and LCD were both albums of the week.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:37:07 PM by wmdavidson:
	I should say "(my) recent memory." I'm sure there are counterexamples you can throw but that's my general impression.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:39:48 PM by wmdavidson:
	Wow, bassman, I wrote that addendum before you posted. Lo and behold. I'm taling more about (scanning the archive here...) Cyne, Khanate, Controller 7, Matthew Herbert, Susumu Yokota, Juan Mclean, Skeletons and Girl-Faced Boys, Jamie Lidell, Isolee....... see the pattern here?
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:43:24 PM by bassman08:
	Yeah, I can definatly see what you mean. I'd say that once a month it's something popular and the rest of the time it's really underground type stuff. I think the reason why this is so unusual for me is because I work for my college paper at Hillsdale, and it's a pretty small weekly paper. I do a lot of music reviews for them, and they always let me pick whatever the hell I want because they don't get stuff sent to them (probably because 3/4ths of the people on campus don't give a damn about indie music). I kinda forgot about the fact that you guys probably get stuff assigned to you since you actually, you know, know what indie music is.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:47:05 PM by bassman08:
	The point of that little diatribe being, I forgot that labels actually send things to music magazines, as opposed to my crappy little college paper.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:48:43 PM by TheBrad:
	But - and I'm being serious here - do you think Stylus is throwing bigger-name acts a bone, or is it the fact that bigger-label acts tend to have some great tracks interspersed among the filler, making them buzzworthy but not great albums? In any event, as far as "indier" labels go, The Juan Maclean is on DFA, Jamie Lidell on Warp, Vanderslice on Barsuk, Smog on Drag City. All pretty famous in their spheres. And don't forget, this year's archive includes Eels, Kelly Osbourne, Fannypack, Beck, and Trick Daddy.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 07:57:35 PM by bassman08:
	How exactly do they pick the albums of the week anyway?
Posted 09/05/2005 - 08:16:17 PM by TheBrad:
	Writers suggest 'em and editors pick 'em. That's my understanding. It's a matter of personal opinion, no doubt, but I think they're doing a smash-up job of keeping their ears open.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 08:18:09 PM by bberge:
	Sorry I've missed the hubbub today. I know this may be hard to find, but there are sources. Try fusetron sound www.fusetronsound.com and I know Aquarius Records stocks all Fonal releases (aquariusrecords.org?). Anyway I find this whole series of posts to be somewhat ironic in light of the whole Faith Hill review-related "we should be true to the underground" ruckus. I think online mags are in a great position to publicize the stirrings from the underexposed side of music.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 09:44:31 PM by KlausFraktal:
	I've heard another Fonal act, Islaja, and both her albums are absolutely wonderful. I'm looking forward to tracking this down.
Posted 09/05/2005 - 11:19:11 PM by IanMathers:
	Also, remember that one of the things our editors try and do with the AotW is to give more exposure to albums that don't have it. I believe Hutlock said in the comments elsewhere that it's not necessarily the best album that week, but the one most deserving of the heightened exposure. Some weeks, of course, all we happen to be excited about is something that isn't obscure. And some weeks it's only these records that are brutally hard to get. Most weeks, it's a mix.
Posted 09/06/2005 - 11:36:21 AM by mobbonkhouse:
	Having more esoteric albums of the week will make me root out a couple of tracks from somewhere, then, if I like it, great, if I don't, then I will move on. That's half the fun of being 'into' music isn't it?
Posted 09/07/2005 - 11:08:26 PM by pabanks46:
	This is on the very top of Other Music's website (othermusic.com) and is available on Amazon. Yeesh, research before you complain. And this is no more esoteric than 95% of acts labeled freak folk, and is half as difficult as Ruskeamanti (sp?) which got run earlier this year.
Posted 09/07/2005 - 11:35:03 PM by bassman08:
	I've never been to other music, I'll have to check it out. And as far as Amazon goes...well, I didn't really look. I was sort of looking more for sound samples.
Posted 09/09/2005 - 06:54:08 PM by garlad1:
	Yeah, even people on the street stop me and ask me if I like the new Jamie Lidell album. And I'm from South Dakota.