John Oswald - Plunderphonic & Discosphere

If you've been following this site you probably know that I hold John Oswald in high esteem. His works in the field of sampling, which he calls plunderphonics, is astounding, fascinating and deeply educational. Oswald isn't one to merely sample a portion of a song and loop it like a stereotypical hip-hop recording (or most of Sean "Diddy" Combs' catalog, although that's another story), instead Oswald distorts, compounds and chops recordings into bits, sometimes rendering them unrecognizable. His work isn't for everyone and much of it would probably be labeled noise by those who don't appreciate the avant garde, but for those with an appreciation for the different or bizarre, Oswald's works are considered genius, and I strongly agree with that belief.

Back in July of 2009 I wrote a rather detailed account of the non-release of Oswald's best known work, both for the quality of it's content and it's infamy, the Plunderphonic CD. The CD was a collection of Oswald's reinterpretations of a wide range of music, everything from the world of American pop to classical, all chopped and edited into stunning reworkings. Plunderphonic was never meant for sale, Oswald pressed up the CDs and sent them to friends, artists, libraries and other parties with the intent of sharing his work and not making any profit whatsoever. While this would be most likely be considered acceptable in the US, Oswald lives in Canada and the CRIA sued him only to have the master tapes and all remaining copies of the CD destroyed. I'm not going to rehash all the details here, especially since the July 2009 article can be read here and goes into further detail, but the Plunderphonic CDs non-availability has made it quite the fascinating piece since and a major collector's item for anyone lucky enough to own an original copy. Most of the material from it has been reissued over time, albeit in slightly altered forms and without the original liner notes, and low-quality rips circulate frequently, but despite the net being the wonderful resource it is I don't believe anyone was openly trading any high quality copies of the album. I'm going to change that today.

Earlier this year, while on another forum where people were discussing their rare finds, someone mentioned having found an original Plunderphonic CD in a used bin for around five dollars. I politely asked that fellow if he might be able to rip it for me and he was kind enough to do it. He sent me the album as a single lossless file with a pdf containing scans of the packaging and liner notes, to which I split the file into multiple tracks with Medieval Cue Splitter, cleaned and edited that cue sheet and am presenting it to you for download as both FLACs and V0 MP3s. Unfortunately, I don't have the individual who provided me with the original files screen name so, if you're reading this, my apologies but feel free to drop me a line and I'll give you the credit you deserve.

I'm also posting another rare Oswald release, Discosphere, in FLAC and V0 MP3 formats for your listening enjoyment. Apart from altering the file tags there was nothing changed about these files and they were received from a private site that will remain nameless, although I would like to give a thank you to the individual responsible for sharing it. Discosphere, unlike Plunderphonic, is a collection of Oswald's works for performances and installations, and while it has similarities in style and production to that of Plunderphonic, it should not be considered more of the same.

Oswald is still at it, making intense art and pissing people off, and the world is all the better for it. He recently reissued his Plexure CD as prePlexure, a vinyl only release containing a new take on the original work named prePlex, and the original piece renamed PlexureConcentrate. Of course, my whole not having a job thing which translates to not having money makes it difficult to purchase such an item, but judging by the excerpt from a rough version of prePlex that Oswald has available to listen to on his site I'm sure the finished product will be stunning. That rough excerpt of prePlex can be found here, although who knows how truly rough it is compared to the finished version, and more information about purchasing the vinyl and Oswald in general can be found at his FONY label site. You can also purchase the Plunderphonics 69/96 compilation via iTunes and it is well worth the price. Much of the Plunderphonic CD and excerpts from Discosphere, Plexure and other Oswald projects are featured in the compilation, but those versions have been remastered, reedited and in general have differences from the original releases. I may eventually post a lossless rip of the 69/96 comp, if only because the second CD is nearly unplayable in most setups due to it's bizarre formatting. That's a story in and of itself, one I'm not going to get into right now. Honestly though, as great as that comp is to listen to, the listener really benefits from the exhaustively detailed interview and liner notes included with the physical packaging, none of which are included with the digital release. Maybe Negativland can help people out with that. You can also download some of Oswald's Mystery Tapes at the wonderful UbuWeb.

One more thing, please take note that you must download both rar files for the FLAC versions of Plunderphonic and Discosphere, though they won't expand together. The files aren't linked to each other so don't delete the rars until you've extracted all the files from all parts. Enjoy!


John Oswald - Plunderphonic

FLAC Part 1

FLAC Part 2

V0 MP3

01 beatles
02 dab
03 way
04 replica
05 white
06 dont
07 pretender
08 black
09 brown
10 fabulous
11
12 prelude
13 net
14 birth
15 pocket
16 mirror
17 mist
18 ten4
19 tune
20 spring
21 7th
22
23 aria
24 rainbow
25


John Oswald - Discosphere

FLAC Part 1

FLAC Part 2

V0 MP3

01 Skindling Shades
02 Amina
03 Bell Speeds
04 Field
05 Nothing
06 Short Attack
07 Angle
08 Melody
09 Shane
10 Prey
11 Touch
12 Love1
13 Fence
14 VT
15 Beat
16 Code
17 The Case Of Death

January 2010 Mixtape: No Rights... (Side Two)

Side Two for your listening pleasure!


The Unheard Music January 2010 Mixtape: No Rights Given Or Implied (Side Two)


09 DJ Shadow - Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt
At the time of Endtroducing's release, DJ Shadow was said to have constructed an album of nothing but samples that sounded like it was performed by a full band. That description holds true today. Building Steam..., the album's first track after a brief introduction, builds the mood for the entire album, brimming with paranoia, mystery, sadness and depression, but remains gripping regardless, holding one captive until it's finale, then requiring countless re-examinations to study every bit of minutia in an attempt to understand how one could create something so captivating from so many completely unrelated parts.


10 The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis
Take the theme from Doctor Who, a classic sports anthem, tons of samples from the aforementioned show, a club beat and an old police car named Ford Timelord, put them all together and you have a giant hit record from The Timelords, aka The KLF, aka The JAMMS, aka 2K, aka two guys with more aliases than you can count. Not containing their deepest collection of samples but definitely one of their biggest hits, Doctorin' The Tardis is a great example of The KLF's ability to take whatever they enjoy and make it their own. For a more detailed example of this, check out their debut album, 1987 (What The Fuck Is Going On?), which was deleted for containing tons of samples, none of which were cleared. Actually, all of their albums have been deleted, all by their own hands when they left the music industry in the early nineties. You can download a large collection of their now no-longer available tracks here, here, here, and here, all at The Unheard Music.


11 Girl Talk - Smash Your Head
Gregg Gillis gets far too much credit for being a sampling genius, but what he understands better than most is how the right records can work together like jigsaw pieces in a puzzle. No, he is definitely not the next Steinski, but there isn't another Girl Talk to be certain, no matter how many extended mash-ups someone with a facebook page might create. Most of Smash Your Head isn't groundbreaking, but the combination of Elton John's Tiny Dancer with the rap from The Notorious B.I.G.'s Juicy is brilliant, and there is plenty of that brilliance to go around throughout Night Ripper and Feed The Animals, both of which are available for free download and purchase at illegal art's website. It's not for everybody, but if you're looking for an instant party, look no further than Girl Talk!


12 John Oswald - Brown
John Oswald doesn't consider what he does sampling, he instead calls it "plunderphonics", which is to use a recognizable source in an altered fashion, as long as it remains recognizable. Kind of complicated, yes, but what Mr. Oswald does is simply mind-bending. Take for instance this track, Brown, a survey of James Brown's career and some of the works that sample his recordings. At a breakneck pace, Mr. Oswald examines the horns, the shouts, the beats and their various mutations, not making a song to dance to but something that will grab you by the balls for certain. You should definitely visit his wikipedia reference for more information on Mr. Oswald's career and releases. His career-spanning compilation, Plunderphonics 69/96 is available for download via iTunes and Amazon and I would suggest it's purchase to anyone who wants a detailed survey of his works. You can also download the original version of his plunderphonic album right here at this site.


13 Danger Mouse - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
Danger Mouse's initial claim to major fame is his mash-up of Jay-Z and The Beatles, better known as The Grey Album. I'm sure most people know all about it so I'm not going into detail, but you can read more about it here and if you haven't heard it yet, do a google search and download it with the quickness. As for Dirt Off Your Shoulder, it is, in my humble opinion, the stand-out in a collection of stand-outs, with DM taking The Beatles' soft and loving Julia and chopping it into a Timbaland worthy club banger.

Despite it's online availability, most copies of The Grey Album in circulation aren't from terribly high quality sources. With that in mind, I will eventually be posting a very high quality rip here from an original disc sold briefly through DM's website. In case you're wondering, this track is taken from that superior quality copy.


14 The Avalanches - Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life
The Avalanches are an Australian hip-hop crew known for their intensely dense mash-ups. Unlike Girl Talk though, their attitude is less jigsaw and more kitchen sink, finding interesting ways to combine just about any record they find. Some may argue that there are better tracks to display their talents with, and they would probably be right, but Tonight... is an excellent example of their more subtle moods, something which isn't often displayed in sample-based music.

Precious little has been heard from The Avalanches since the release of their sole full-length, Since I Left You, in 1999, but rumors abound that 2010 is the year The Avalanches will return with their long-awaited follow-up, supposedly finished and awaiting final sample clearances. Until then, you can visit their official site, get Since I Left You if you haven't heard it yet, and grab their amazing Gimix mixtape which is featured at their site as well as here.


15 Cassetteboy - Fly Me To New York (feat. DJ Rubbish)
Br forewarned, this track may offend many, but it's a joke and one of many that the relentlessly merciless Cassetteboy make at the expense of anyone that enters into their worldview. That said, how many people can make a 9/11 joke by sampling Frank Sinatra's catalogue? Bitingly hilarious, to the point that you may be angry with yourself while laughing. For more, check out their amazing The Parker Tapes (which just so happens to be available here at this site! sometimes I feel like a whore) and just about anything else in their discography

By the way, just in case anyone would make any ridiculous claims, the views held in Cassetteboy's Fly Me To New York are not held by the author of this website. That said, the track is meant to be a joke, albeit a dark one, so don't get too bent out of shape.


16 Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel
Not much needs to be said about Grandmaster Flash or his Adventures, other than this track is the impetus for much of what has become the turntablism scene and was recorded live on three turntables. Kick ass!


17 Concept 1 - 01:02 VR
Richie Hawtin isn't known for sampling, although that isn't to say he doesn't experiment with it from time to time, although the credit for this track goes primarily to Thomas Brinkmann.

In 1996, Richie Hawtin started a mail-order program where subscribers would receive limited edition 12"s each month of new Hawtin recordings under the name Concept 1. The style of the recordings was minimal techno and their limited issue made them very collectible, leading to their eventual reissue, sometimes in truncated form, on the commercially available 96:CD compilation. Alongside that disc's release though, Mr. Hawtin issued 96:VR, a collection of re-workings courtesy of Thomas Brinkmann and his dual-arm turntable system. With the tracks being played with two needles at the same time, new rhythms and patterns emerged, creating much deeper tracks.

While this isn't sampling in the traditional sense, I feel this track and the whole of the 96:VR compilation is a great example of creative recontexualization and definitely uses pre-existing content in an altered sense to bring about a new work. If you enjoy this, hunt down a copy of 96:VR and it's source versions, 96:CD, and prepare to be taken aback by the beauty in the hard, dark and cold minimalism of it's amazing tracks. Kudos to Mr. Hawtin and Mr. Brinkmann.

Blockbuster Video, Imaginary Records & John Oswald

Happy New Year everyone! Service should be returning to normal with the holidays finally over, so there will be a number of posts available for your consumption shortly. Next up should be selections from the Dust Brothers and Matt Dike outside of their best known works. Today though, I wanted to talk about the future of the site and something unrelated to music, for the most part at least. In regards to the site though, I'm going to start featuring posts about rare and unreleased films. These won't occur more than two or three times a month at most and they will be torrent based. Workprints and rough cuts will be the main focus. I will also be starting a sister site, tentatively named Imaginary Records. It'll be a little secretive, and it won't be updated very often, but fans of The Unheard Music will find it interesting to be sure. More will be revealed closer to it's arrival, likely in February.

Anyone notice Blockbuster Video stores closing in their area? Most of the time I feel bad when comfortable standards start to die off, at least initially. For instance, the loss of most record stores has been a mixed blessing. Big chains like FYE and Sam Goody's had outlived their purpose and usefulness, much because of their high pricing and lack of true variety making them eyesores, but losing my favorite independent stores was heartbreaking. I found other haunts, and I get a lot of music via digital sources as well as by mail, but it'll never be the same. Video stores though, that's a different story. I grew up close to several good independent video stores that had just about anything I could ever want, so the arrival of Blockbusters on every corner wasn't a big deal. When it became easier to get new and old releases there it was understandable why they got my business, especially when the indie stores became pickier about their stock and started focusing on current hits rather than older collections, but eventually, with stores like Blockbuster ignoring their collections, letting them fall into disrepair or selling them off, I stopped visiting altogether. These weren't the only reasons I had disliked these chains though, I hated the way they rented video games, overcharging people with insane fees on the argument that you get it for five days, and I also hated their prudish mentality, refusing to stock adult titles but featuring all kinds of soft-core titles or requiring R-Rated versions of films like Requiem For A Dream. The biggest FUCK YOU was when these video stores that wouldn't carry the classics started featuring every piece of shit straight-to-video release pushed in their direction, so when you visited you were confronted with every American Pie STV release, as opposed to something truly edgy or with a story. Hell, if you just wanted to see tits you could rent 10, but you got a good movie too, which is so much more than you get with most STV releases. So, while there are some video stores still worth visiting (Movie Gallery is my favorite for having the bravery to feature adult videos and a generally decent collection of normal videos, although their video game pricing is pretty awful like everyone else.) I must say I'm pleased to see Blockbuster in it's death throes. On top of that, much praise to Netflix and Gamefly for great service and props also to Movie Gallery and Family Video for maintaining while a once-juggernaut collapses.

This wouldn't be The Unheard Music if I didn't give you something to listen to. If you liked the earlier John Oswald posts, you should visit this link at his FONY Records site. Towards the bottom of the page is a version of a work-in-progress related to Oswald's Plexure named prePlex. I'd post the link for download but, as he didn't make it available for download, I'm going to respect his wishes and leave it where it streaming only. Of course, if you know what you're doing, I'm sure you can figure out how to download it...

By the way, I know this is a dated joke, but I think the image in this post is very appropriate for my death-of-Blockbuster rant. Check it here.

December 2009 Mixtape

This mix consists mostly of things I've featured here on the site before. I thought it would be nice to do a quick review of the year's posts for anyone who doesn't dig through every single one. There are a few new tracks in here, but they all relate back to things previously featured here.

I've got a lot of stuff planned for January and I've got my interview wish list all set up, so there will be a lot of stuff coming up soon! On top of that, I'm looking into writing a book, albeit a short one. I've got a few projects in mind that could be very big, but that short book would be the starting point. I'll say more when there is more to say :). For now, enjoy the mix and have a Happy New Year!


The Unheard Music - December 2009 Mixtape

01 Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (excerpt)
My love of this album may be questioned by some, but I swear it's legitimate. For those that would rather not give it a full listen (or download), here is thirty seconds to either whet your appetite or confirm your fears.

02 Queen - Tie Your Mother Down (Trent Reznor Remix)
Shoulda woulda coulda been released, but it was done for Hollywood Records, and we know how creatively open-minded Disney generally is.

03 Juliana Hatfield - Mountains Of Love
In a perfect world, God's Foot would be available at the very least for download via Amazon or iTunes. On top of that, Juliana Hatfield would get the credit she's due.

04 Crustified Dibbs - Every Record Label Sucks Dick
I wouldn't say EVERY record label, but I know what Dibbs aka R.A. The Rugged Man is saying.

05 Miles Davis - Untitled Original 760330a (Unheard Edit)
This is my own little concoction. I didn't do much to the original sources, just a little snip towards the end of one take and the beginning of the other to put them together. They simply felt far too short on their own. Miles plays organ on this one but no horn. By the way, there will be another Miles post in the near future, but it'll focus on a significant point a little earlier in his career.

06 Team Sleep - Natalie Portman
I wish Team Sleep releases weren't nearly as infrequent as they are, but I'm glad to have their self-titled and unreleased Lovers albums. Awesomely mellow track that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the awesome Natalie Portman.

07 John Oswald - dab
This is the original version of dab from the plunderphonic album. This also includes that album's short intro, btls.

08 Soul Coughing - A Murder Of Lawyers
Great leftover from early in the Cough's career. Good for showing off their less-than-friendly side.

09 Takeshi Muto - Ntak
Romulo Del Castillo and the Schematic crew are in the house!

10 Resident Alien - Ooh The Dew Doo Man
Prince Paul is on my interview wish list. I wouldn't say the Resident Alien album is as good as the De La Soul albums of the same era, but it deserves to be heard and is just as essential. Russell Simmons is why it'll probably never get an official release.

11 Beastie Boys - And What You Give Is What You Get
I don't know that I'll get to talk to The Dust Brothers or Matt Dike any time soon, but they're on that wish list too. As much as I want to talk with EZ Mike and King Gizmo, Matt Dike is the least publicly known and that's simply a crime. There will be a post of some of his best available tracks sometime soon.

12 Prince - Batdance (Original Version)
I think this is the third time I've posted this track. On top of that, this is yet another version from a different source. All the same though, I'll never get tired of this one and it's just another example of how brilliant Prince used to be. Yeah, I said used to, what you gonna do about it?

13 Jungle Brothers - Troopin' On The Down Lo
Goddamnit I want this album to get an official release! The full album isn't as crazy as this track, but it's so deserving to be heard. Props to Skiz, Dan LeRoy, Matt Stein (for that single conversation), David Williams (waiting for that response man! please come through!) and everyone else who has helped me in my search for more details about the lost gem that is Crazy Wisdom Masters!

14 The KLF - What Time Is Love? (The Moody Boys vs. The KLF)
I'd love to write a book about The KLF, but I'd be more than happy to simply read one. These guys are so insanely wonderful. If you're unfamiliar, find the ridiculously large posts I did about them for, in my opinion, a pretty good overview of their career, albeit far from complete.

15 Outro (More Metal Machine Music)
'Nuff said.

Cassetteboy - Festive Christmas

Continuing my tradition of non-traditional Christmas music, I present to you Cassetteboy's Festive Christmas! If you downloaded yesterday's The Parker Tapes, you should have a good idea what to expect from a Christmas-themed Cassetteboy release. If you didn't download The Parker Tapes, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!?!? Go there NOW and grab that, but grab this while you're here as it's just as essential!. Enjoy!


Cassetteboy - Festive Christmas


PS - I couldn't find a better image of the cover anywhere, I swear! Great cover though!

Cassetteboy - The Parker Tapes

MY GOD! I've spent almost the entire week away from the site! Only one post this week? I should be ashamed! Well, I'll be making up for it next week and with this and the next post.

In case you're unfamiliar with Cassetteboy, the easiest comparison I can give you is John Oswald's plunderphonic album, albeit with a focus on twisted humor and soundbytes as opposed to music. Like Oswald's works, it's edgy and choppy with samples going in every direction, but the humor is far more defined and, at times, downright offensive, but you'd be hard pressed not to find even the offensive bits brilliant if not still hilarious.

Cassetteboy is actually a duo initially associated with Spymania Records, Tom Jenkinson's personal label. Their identities were well-kept secrets until the release of their third album, Carry On Breathing, but I enjoyed that secretive element of their existence, so I'm going to leave further information about them for the reader to discover at their leisure. That said, you can always visit their MySpace and youtube pages to find a little more about them if you are so inclined.

The Parker Tapes is Cassetteboy's debut full-length release. While it's not available in the US, or anywhere else currently to my knowledge, if you can find a copy you should most certainly purchase it. That's part of why this isn't the highest quality version of the album I could post, although I'm sure you'll enjoy it bunches regardless!

Check back tomorrow for a VERY SPECIAL release from Cassetteboy which I'm sure you'll enjoy as much as this one.


Cassetteboy - The Parker Tapes


PS - Here is a review by those always TRENDY FUCKS at Pitchfork. As they do every once in a blue moon, they got it right with this one.

August 2009 Mixtape

LOVE IS A DONUT...uh, it's time for another Unheard Music mixtape! The last one was a bit era-specific but this episode is more in the vein of how these posts will usually be. Enjoy!


The Unheard Music - August 2009 Mixtape

01 Liz Phair - Chopsticks
I love Liz Phair. She gets shit for having a more commercial sound these days but she doesn't seem to care. She's said several times that she has to pay the bills and it's hard to be an indie star like she used to be when you're raising a family in the suburbs. This is from her second full-length, Whip-Smart, and is kind-of the last stand for her more indie specific styles. I'll be doing a post about her beautiful, early demos in the near future. If you're not familiar with her, you should get Exile In Guyville. It's a very honest record and you don't have to be a woman for it to change you.

02 Hrvatski - Vatstep DSP
More Hrvatski for those who enjoyed his album. This was created as a remix for kid606 although it only features a few very small samples making this more an original track than anything else. You couldn't generally call Hrvatski's music happy, but this track is as close to happy as he gets. Lotta fun!

03 Greg Phillinganes - Behind The Mask
This is kind-of the missing link when it comes to Michael Jackson's Thriller. As the story goes, Quincy Jones was obsessed with the Yellow Magic Orchestra's song, Behind The Mask, and decided he wanted to make a version with proper lyrics. He asked Michael to write the new lyrics, and together they created an incredible pop song. For reasons unclear though, Michael's version has never seen the light of day, although Greg, Michael's keyboardist through most of the eighties, recorded the MJ version and released it as a single. For all we know this might sound exactly like the MJ version, but no one has said anything so who knows. All I can say is this song is a slept-on eighties classic!

04 DJ Mink - Hey! Hey! Can U Relate? (feat. The K.I.D. & Carruthers)
This sounds more like an old-school hip-hop track than something from the early nineties. Initially released on the British FON label, it was licensed by Warp and became a popular underground hit. Hip-Hop heads know this track well but this was never a commercial hit, so check this shoulda-been number one jam.

05 Venice Shoreline Chris - All-Nite Dinah
Also known as Chris Murray, Venice Shoreline Chris recorded his album, The 4-Track Adventures Of Venice Shoreline Chris, all by his lonesome, but you'd never guess it by how fun the album sounds. Check out his site for more info and samples from some of his other records.

06 Beck - Satan Was Way Cool
From a demo tape recorded during his early, weird years, this is Beck recording new vocals over King Missle's Jesus Was Way Cool. Funny as hell! I'm gonna do a post on Beck earlier, folkier and way-weirder days sometime in the near future. I probably would have done it already but he's got so much stuff to choose from!

07 Mochipet - They Might Be Giants vs. Lyrical Giants (Get Crunked!)
Oh yeah! Mochipet is well-known for his dancey releases, but this is from Combat which he released on kid606's Violent Turd Records. Great record that clocks in around a half hour, it entertains for a long time afterward. This is an easy highlight from that record.

08 Miles Davis - Willie Nelson (Insert 1)
This is from the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions box-set that Sony released a few years ago. A small portion of several takes of Willie Nelson was included in the completed Jack Johnson album, but the additional takes are awesome. This one includes Sonny Sharrock doing some seriously fucked-up echoplex soloing. Awesome record!

09 John Oswald - Anon
This is from the 69/96 compilation which sorta came out. You can buy it digitally via iTunes or Amazon and physical copies are, or were, available, although there was never an Oswald sanctioned release, or at least that's the official story. The truth is that Negativland is responsible for the US release of this compilation which features remastered and cleaned-up versions of most of the Plunderphonic album and other gems from throughout Oswald's career. They were able to release it after Oswald sent them digital copies of the masters, artwork and liner notes, but Oswald did try to get this released on his own. Unfortunately, the CRIA would not allow him to do so even if he were to get permission for all samples, so he took matters into his own hands and let Negativland help out. This track is a reworking of a Tim Buckley song and was originally part of the Elektrax/Rubaiyat EP which was a promotional release on Elektra Records. You can get the whole EP here at the excellent Music Hertz, among many other great things! Check them out!

10 Foetus - Clothes Hoist
JG Thirlwell is THE MAN! This is from the Hole album which he released as Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. As most of his releases are under a variation of the name Foetus, I'm just gonna stick with foetus for simplicity's sake. Get creeped out and rock out to this, and if you're feeling it grab the Hole album!

11 The Stick Men - Caged Sex
The Stick Men were incredible. Coming out of Pennsylvania, they bare a resemblance to James Chance and The Contortions, although they're quite a lot more fun in my humble opinion. If you like this you need to get their album, Insatiable. It's such a shame when stuff as unique and crazy as this falls victim to the perils of history and location.

12 Miles Davis - Willie Nelson (Insert 2)
Another take with Sonny Sharrock, but this one also features John McLaughlin. Wild stuff!

13 Bob Dylan - Get Your Rocks Off
From the infamous Basement Tapes, this unreleased track is a gem. There are so many awesome recordings from this era in Dylan's career. I might post some Basement Tapes goodness eventually, it's just that there is so much stuff to choose from. I feel like I should post everything I've got, but that's nearly a gigabyte of stuff, so I'm just gonna give it some time.

14 Vernon Reid - What's My Name
No question mark in the title, so does that make it a statement or a typographical error? either way, Vernon and his band, Masque, along with producers Prince Paul and Teo Macero, bring the action. This is from Vernon's Mistaken Identity album. Most of the album isn't this intense but, if you like electric Miles, you'll enjoy the whole album. Really good stuff!

15 Randy Newman - Political Science
I remember Mr. Newman complaining that this is one of his most timeless recordings. I understand why, but I love it all the same. Sarcasm, a sick sense of humor and maybe even a little honesty, just don't take it too seriously.

16 Jimi Hendrix - Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice
I only heard this for the first time very recently. This is up there with Hendrix's best in my humble opinion. It starts off innocently enough before it literally leaves the planet.

17 Whale - I'll Do Ya
Whale are one of the great unknown bands of the mid-nineties, at least in the US. They started with a joke single and video featuring a sexy little thing with braces and a lollipop teasing a number of shirtless men only to release a funky, druggy, in-joke of an album that sounds like the soundtrack to a really insane weekend. This song should have been huge! If they ever played it live I hope to god that it was incredible. PLAY IT LOUD!!!!!

18 John Oswald - Case Of Death (Part One, Chapters 1-16)
More Oswaldian goodness, this is also from the 69/96 compilation. If you like his stuff you should really support him by purchasing the comp. Mind melting stuff.

John Oswald - Plunderphonic

In 2004, everyone was losing their minds over Danger Mouse's Grey Album. For the uninitiated, the Grey Album was a mash-up of the music from the Beatles' White Album and the vocals from Jay-Z's Black Album. The Grey Album was creative and rather well-done, but it got most of it's press because of the stern reaction from EMI and the Beatles' lawyers and their claims of copyright infringement. In retrospect, a lot of humor has come of these events in great part due to Paul McCartney's limited-release remix album as Twin Freaks and a Beatles-sanctioned remix album, Love. All this has happened while the Beatles' catalogue remains nearly impossible to sample if you don't pay exorbitant fees, and even then it may not be possible. As for Danger Mouse, real name Brian Burton, his career skyrocketed due to the fame granted because of the Grey Album, but despite doing production work for EMI related artists he still seems to suffer their lawyers' unexplainable wraths as evidenced with the non-release of the music portion of his collaboration with Sparklehorse, David Lynch and a who's-who cast of rock all-stars, Dark Night Of The Soul, of which no reason was ever made public for it's non-availability. All of this said though, Danger Mouse still sampled the Beatles without their permission and, contrary to popular belief, did attempt to sell copies of the Grey Album through his website. Copyright law may be rather draconian and difficult to maneuver around here in the US, but it is the law and if the copyright owner wants to fight for their properties and has the funds to fuel such a legal battle, such as the Beatles or EMI, you'd better be prepared for the worst.

Fifteen years before the Grey Album debacle, John Oswald, a musician and composer from Canada, produced what many consider his magnum-opus, an album named Plunderphonic. What happened to Oswald's album has many striking similarities to the events surrounding the Grey Album. In fact, by today's standards, his story would hit home harder than Danger Mouse's tale ever could have. In 1989, Oswald, after years of creating sample-based recordings, assembled his Plunderphonic album and, out of his own funds, had copies of the album mastered and mass-produced on compact disc. He proceeded to mail the copies to libraries, publications, artists and friends among others at no cost to them. In fact, he refused to charge anything for the album as he did not own the copyright for any of the tracks or artwork he sampled, but was still attacked by the CRIA, the Canadian equivalent of the RIAA, for copyright infringement. Their claim was that despite Oswald not making any profit from his album's release, he was still infringing on the copyright of the sampled authors and the remaining undistributed copies had to be destroyed. Of course, here in the US, people could have complained about his use of their works without their permission, but as there was no profit made or copyright requested for Oswald's work, the physical copies would most-likely remained in existence. Much has been said that the fight to destroy the Plunderphonic album may have been caused by CBS/Sony as they were angry about the sampling of Michael Jackson both on the album as well as the artwork. The artwork, in fact, is probably the origin of their distaste, as it features Jackson's head pasted to the body of a nude French model. It's pretty damn amusing to me, but I'm sure it wasn't for CBS.

Apart from their legal complications, comparing Danger Mouse and John Oswald's work is like comparing a house-cat to an African lion. The Grey Album was catchy and featured the then-popular vocals from Jay-Z's Black Album as well as classic Beatles tracks, whereas Plunderphonic was comprised of tracks from multiple artists, in multiple styles, none of which were particularly commercial sounding. Plunderphonic could be called rough, disjointed or even a test of one's patience, whereas the Grey Album met somewhere between pop and hip-hop. Most likely, if it were released today, Oswald's Plunderphonic would gain little public support, if any, for it's release or distribution and it would be treated as an artsy project only for those who liked noise and calamity. This is an unfair perspective of course, but you can't convince the majority to listen to abstract assemblies of music next to Top 40 radio favorites.

John Oswald continues to work today on various projects using his Plunderphonic sound concepts as the base. You'd do well to visit his excellent website as well as the one he's dedicated specifically to plunderphonics and projects of the sort. Much more information about the non-release of the Plunderphonic album can be found there as well as a link to download the album itself in MP3 format, but that link has been known to go offline from time to time so I'm posting it here as well. If you've got a mind for experimentation you should really download this album and give it a fair shake. It's definitely not an easy listening experience, but it's extremely rewarding. For every moment of inspired dementia, such as Oswald's reworking of Michael Jackson's Bad as dab, there are moments of utter beauty like rainbow, an extreme slowing of an orchestral rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow. We need more stuff like this, and we need more people bringing up questions about copyright. Copyright can be a great thing, but it's far too easy to be abused, especially when the so-called abuser is either doing no one any harm or the supposed harm caused is greatly overstated.


John Oswald - Plunderphonic


PS-I hope no one is offended by the album art. I've always thought it was hilarious.