Orange Alert's Music Minute

It was back in August that I featured an incredible husband and wife band from Wisconsin. At the time they only had a three song ep that they were passing out for free a their local shows. Now the band has some new material to record in hopes of releasing a full-length album, but they need a little help. They have added 2 songs to their homemade ep and are selling them here for $5.50, in hopes of raising enough money to pay for the studio time. Listen to: Eulogy (mp3)

I'm not sure how I missed the release of her debut album back in September, but I want to make sure that no one else misses it. Orion sings dark folk tales filled with death and mystery. Hers was the first release on the new sub-label of Chicago's Drag City called Language of the Stone. The album is called, "What I Want From You Is Secret" and it will be one of my top 50 this year. Listen to: Fake Yer Death (mp3)

What's happened to Christmas? There used to be a time when it was celebrated in true style and everyone from James Brown, Bing Crosby (!) and Phil Spector released cracking albums full of funky festive tunes. Now what do you get but compilations full of turkeys that should've have popped their clogs years ago with titles like 'The Best Christmas Album In The World Ever'.Well now Arctic Circle has teamed up LOAF records to present "That Fuzzy Feeling" a collection of mostly original Christmas songs and carols. Fifteen tracks from a variety of artists and labels each with a new take on the traditional Christmas hymn. The result is just what you need to rekindle those warm 'fuzzy feelings' that Christmas used to be all about. The release will be available for sale in two formats. The first, a lush limited edition (100 copies) handmade box from much in demand designers Pika Pika (responsible for the eye-catching artwork for all Arctic Circle Events). The other, a snowy-white digipak which will be available in a limited run of 500 copies.

Invisible Superstars is a compilation of exclusive beats and experimental sound compositions compiled by Controller 7 (a legendary producer in his own right who has also worked with Sole, Deep Puddle Dynamics, etc.) and The Secret Life of Sound label head R-Rock (who also records for TSLOS under his rhyme alias Kaptain Nemo, as Mormon Freegan and with Remote Control Frequencies). The compilation features tracks by Controller 7, Scott Matelic, Miles Tillman, PNS of Molemen Inc., Buddy Peace, Corsic, Skoweyajeed, Meatsock, Thomas Dimuzio, Tenshun, and Mormon Freegan. “The goal of Invisible Superstars,” comments R-Rock,“was to create a diverse collection of songs where all of the artists use non-traditional means of composition, whether it be sampling or found sound composition or analog tone generation. This is a beautiful compilation, that you can stream here.

The Peel Back: The Dead Milkmen "Bucky Fellini" (1987)

One of the greatest band names of all-time, The Dead Milkmen, have long been known for incorporating both humor and musical ability to create albums that are quite entertaining. The first song that caught my ear from the Milkmen was a song that is completely different from anything else they have recorded. It was parody aimed at all of the new wave bands playing dance music. The Milkmen felt that the audience for dance music would dance to anything, and they were right. The song did not became a major hit, but it was released as a single and lead to more success on following albums.

Bucky Fellini (1987)
The Pit/Take Me to the Specialist/I am the Walrus (mp3)/Watching Scotty Die/Going to Graceland/Big Time Operator/Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything) (mp3)/The Badger Song/Tacoland (mp3)/City of Mud/Rocketship/Nitro Burning Funny Cars/Surfin’ Cow/(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern/Jellyfish Heaven