Have there been any good non "indie rock" releases this year?

>Nobody rocks like Jon Spencer anymore<

Baloney.

>not even Jon Spencer<

Well, if you mean he hasn't rocked like those first few Pussy Galore records since those first few Pussy Galore records, I see your point.

>Unless I am missing the same mark <

Probably. But then I've got nothing against frat-boy bar-rock, much of which rocks harder than much of the stuff Reynard said he likes (so if I'm missing the boat, it may be that I assumed he *did* want stuff that rocks, when maybe he prefers stuff that just kinda drones loud. In which case he should read the rolling metal thread. But there's plenty of stuff I recommended above that fans of Hanoi Rocks or the Wipers or Rolling Stones definitely *should* like.)

james brooks is bang on the money for me.

i have enjoyed prayer rug exorcism by hototogisu (not rated by our el sabor tho'), various things by the skaters, the john wiese compilation teenage hallucination, pink by boris (which again, scott s and others don't go for, but which i think wld prob appeal to someone who liked the Melvins or Swans or Boredoms), the reissue of 'dopethrone' by electric wizard has a superb new bonus track, starless and bible black sabbath by acid mothers temple blatantly vibrates around the regulation sabbath vectors and is the best amt alb in a long time, there's a v tasty incapacitants 4 cd set out there that I'm keen to hear etc

Nelly Furtado

99% of all music is boring and dull irrespective of corporate origins unless you are some nascent child molestor who fancies teen pop.

Nobody rocks like Edmund Spenser any more, maybe.

i second the skaters. they've been totally out of my mind lately but they have some great stuff, my favorite being the palm shaper cassette on 267 lattajjaa. if you're looking for psychedelic music, this is maybe the best answer i can give from the last few years.

lol at igor

hey Chuck what's Wipers fan-appropriate in yr list?

Hey reynard, if you want a band that's like a perfect amalgamation of the first two acts on your list (Gram and the Stones), check out the Deadstring Brothers. I was talking to Shooter Jennings today for an interview and he also mentioned 'em as a favorite band of his, and referenced those two artists as well to describe their sound. I'd already heard their stuff and it's a pretty apt fit - certainly not the most original band in the world (and nowhere near as good as their influences obv.) but they're plenty lively and worth checking out.

Check out South Filthy - Crackin' Up.
I think that came out this year.

>hey Chuck what's Wipers fan-appropriate in yr list? <

Variant Cause, for starters.

Midlake - Trials of Van Occupanther

It's the best thing.

Great rock albums recently from the Metro Detroit area:
Avatars— Never a Good Time
The Human Eye— s/t
IfIHadaHifi/Modern Machines— Hot Nuggets ep split
The Destroyed— Russian Roulette (reissue)
The High Strung— Moxie Bravo

High Strung seconded ... good band.

Go back to last year and check out Konono No. 1. Different, and nowhere near "indie rock"

I dunno.

I dig the Spank Rock and (intermittently) the Gnarls Barkley records. Funny, smart, catchy, well-suited to yr traditional summertime applications. And I'm looking forward to Plastic Little, which should drop sometime soon. Goofball indie rap. Dunno that any of that shit would appeal to folx who define their tastes in terms of the Swans, tho...

On the "pained and gnarly" tip, may I suggest that "Shallow" by Pissed Jeans is FUGGIN' AWESOME? I was pointed towards this by some ILM folk just the other day, and majestic ass-rulage quickly ensued. Nasty, vacant garbage with a BIG nod to Flipper and the Drunks with Guns. Plus wheedly little gtr leads buried in the muck, to give it "the edge."

Warhammer 48K? Dunno where they're from, but check their "Uber Om" LP from a few months back. Not "metal", zactly, though horns are thrown with some abandon. Basically, you got yr. sludgy, primal, pounding noises, with other noises that want to make holes in your eardrums, often instrumental, but with hideous bellowing glued on here and there. Then again, they've got a "sensitive" side and tend to go all Slinty when you least expect it. Even kinda catchy, if that's yr bag...

The new Unholy Trance LP ("The Trident") ain't quite as ass-kicking as last year's "In the Red", but it's still pretty fuckin' kickass. Some almost-kinda-psuedo-emo vox and briefly "soaring" chords in the opening moments briefly bummed my shit out, but that turned out be an "overture" or something (?), and from there on, it's bleak and filthy and HEAVY AS HELL. Somewhere in between Eyehategod and the Melvins, with a trace or two of Khanate creep, and shit, they even condescend to go all Motorhead occasionally. Which is nice.

BARONESS. Fuckin' Baroness, dude! Fuck! Their "Second" EP came out late last winter, and it decided to be AWSOME (yes, awesome is always in caps). Less Maiden than 2005's "First", but more bigger-than. Borrows all that cool-but-boring Isis shit and just mashes it to a bloody pulp. Hell, they even throw in a few tasty, melodic guitar leads to keep it real. Maybe a bit too impressed by the Mastodon band, but so what? Aren't we all?

Finally, I love the hot, wet shit out of the "Witch" album by the band that is also called Witch. It has some old guy in it (who plays guitar and who looks like Tiny Tim), but the main point is that it is RAD. People say that it is "stoner rock," but whatever for that. It is the fully heavy Sabbath shit, with hilarious Geddy Lee vocals and songs about wizards (natch). Amazing tunes, crazy heaviness, and lots of excellent, D&D-type mystery themes. Best thing of this sort in AGES.

Oh, but more finally than that, Akimbo's "Forging Steel and Laying Stone" should be heard by people. Massive, crazy hardcore-metal-BUTTRAWK from the lumber country regions. Ignore the fact that it is on Alternative Tentacles: it is actually worth it. The singing is much less cartoonishly "core" than on past releases, and the action is totally go. Highly recommended for those about to rock...

Why the fuck do I keep say "Unholy Trance"? It's goddam UNEARTHLY TRANCE, goddam it! Unearthly, Unholy -- see? There's a BIG difference.

Unearthly is all about the cosmic shit, while unholy is more about devils and stuff. I mean, it's all cool, but that doesn't mean that they should be together in people's mouths. Right?

Fucking kill me now.

P.S. - BORIS. "PINK". Really.

Shugo Tokumaru - S.T.L.

my favorite album so far is Howe Gelb's Sno Angel Like You. I guess it falls in the folksie singer/songwriter catagory.

the new josh ritter is pretty good as well. also same catagory

How about the new Comets on Fire album, Avatar? It comes out in August, but I have an advance copy and can say for sure that it fucking rocks. Anyone else heard it?

I am listening to Juana Molina's "Son". Sounds good after a couple listens. This could be what you're lookin' for.

Pet Shop Boys, Prince, Paul Simon, Donald Fagen, Phoenix, The Knife

None of these could be classified as indie, hardly any of them rock at all.