What the heck happened to my comments boxes?? They've disappeared! There's obviously a bug in the Blogger system, so be patient and they'll come back any day now. When they do pop up again, how about some correspondence regarding my obligatory BEST OF 2004 list I'm about to punish you with? This list is going to be a bit shoddy, only for the simple fact that I don't really have a great deal of access to all the new music being released these days, at least not in the same way as I did when I was working in music retail. Nowadays it's all word of mouth, and I don't have the time or money to blow on everything new and exciting coming out, and I'm not willing to gamble like I used to. I'm guessing I've missed out on roughly two- or three-dozen really great records here, and maybe those Tom Waits, Boredoms and RTX albums were fucking great (or maybe not), and perhaps my life is worthless without that Brian Wilson Smile album, but I wouldn't know: I haven't heard them yet. Here's my two cents, for the moment at least...

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - Tribute to Lester CD
SUNNO))) - White 2 CD
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - Mantra of Love CD
REIGNING SOUND - Too Much Guitar LP
THE FALL - Country On The Click CD
ELECTRIC WIZARD - We Live CD

BEST REISSUES:

ZOLAR X - Timeless LP
FLESH EATERS - No Questions Asked / A Hard Road To Follow CDs
ALBERT AYLER - Holy Ghost 10-CD box
HALF JAPANESE - Loud & Horrible CD
KINKS - Village Green Preservation Society 3-CD
ELIZABETH COTTEN - Shake Sugaree CD

I NEVER GO TO THE MOVIES, BUT FOUR FILMS I ENJOYED IMMENSELY:

The Passion Of The Christ
Shaun Of The Dead
Dawn Of The Dead (remake)
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Yes, I'm aware of the fact that the above film list is the most absurd round-up of cinema ever written, but really, I enjoyed all four films for very different reasons. I have as much belief in the Holy Trinity as I do the Yeti, but Passion of the Christ was a story well told. Unbelievably brutally so, but a fine movie I squirmed through and walked out of a very rattled man who was glad for the experience. Both 'Dead films are perfect mirrors of each other, essentially saying the same thing in vastly different ways. The Metallica pic was a great example of When Stupid People Make Lots Of Money, and a laugh-fest I intend to see again one day.

You got something to say? Well, go ahead...