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Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Jim Connelly's Favorite Recordings Of 2006 Monday, January 15, 2007 Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006 Friday, January 12, 2007 Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006 Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006 Thursday, January 4, 2007 Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006 Tuesday, January 2, 2007 Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006 Monday, March 27, 2006 SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin Tuesday, February 28, 2006 Letter From New Orleans Saturday, February 18, 2006 Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005 Tuesday, January 31, 2006 Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005 Wednesday, January 18, 2006 Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005 Thursday, January 12, 2006 Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005 Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005 Thursday, January 5, 2006 Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005 Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005 Monday, January 2, 2006 Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005 Tuesday, December 20, 2005 Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005 Monday, December 19, 2005 Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005 Thursday, December 15, 2005 Jenny Tatone's Year In Review Tuesday, December 13, 2005 Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005 Monday, December 12, 2005 Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005 Thursday, December 8, 2005 Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005 Tuesday, December 6, 2005 Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005 Monday, December 5, 2005 Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005 Thursday, November 10, 2005 Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop Monday, September 12, 2005 The Truth About America Monday, September 5, 2005 Tryin' To Wash Us Away Monday, August 1, 2005 A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts Monday, July 18, 2005 Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005 Monday, April 4, 2005 The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now Friday, April 1, 2005 The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords Thursday, March 31, 2005 The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting Friday, March 25, 2005 Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House Monday, March 21, 2005 Day Three At SXSW Saturday, March 19, 2005 Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors Thursday, March 17, 2005 Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors Monday, February 14, 2005 Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004 Wednesday, February 2, 2005 David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004 Thursday, January 27, 2005 Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004 Thursday, January 20, 2005 Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004 Tuesday, January 18, 2005 Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004 Friday, January 14, 2005 Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004 Thursday, January 13, 2005 Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004 Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004 Tuesday, January 11, 2005 Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004 Monday, January 10, 2005 Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004 Friday, January 7, 2005 Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004 Thursday, January 6, 2005 Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004 Wednesday, January 5, 2005 Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004 Tuesday, January 4, 2005 Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004 Monday, January 3, 2005 Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004

Saturday, February 28, 2004 Noise Pop Report #4: Are Super Furry Animals From Another Planet? Neumu's Nicole Cohen writes: Super Furry Animals from Wales make loud sounds that cause violent seizure-like head-shaking when heard by young men in their 20s. This is the first time I've witnessed this phenomenon during my late-night safaris into the land of Noise Pop, and I'm grateful The Fillmore is a dark place with plenty of space to hide from these possessed souls. I found a wall that needed holding up, and planted myself in front of it, while 700-plus men, and 200 or so women, raged away in front of me. Friday night's Noise Pop schedule offered something for everyone. There were two sold-out shows — The Stills at Bottom of the Hill and Neko Case and Friends at Bimbo's 365 — and 20 other bands performed around town, including artists Willy Mason, David Dondero and John Vanderslice. There was also a screening of "Dirty Old Town: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists vs. Coney Island." I chose to check out Super Furry Animals — singer/guitarist Gruff Rhys, bassist Guto Pryce, guitarist Huw "Bunf" Bunfor, keyboardist Cian Ciaran and drummer Dafyed Leuan — who a group of Sacramento teenagers I met before the show were calling the "Fur-Mals." I had to see for myself what a band was all about whose critically-acclaimed '96 debut album, Fuzzy Logic, was a Top 40 hit in Britain, but who at one point reportedly traveled to concerts throughout Europe in a tank instead of a van. At the start of their career, these guys "reluctantly" decided their songs would be more "accessible" recorded in English rather than Welsh (which, if you have not heard it before, is a language that sounds like someone insane talking in an Irish accent), and in 2000 they did release an album, Mwng, that was all sung in Welsh. I made the right choice in choosing to check out the "Fur-Mals," because if I had not seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. Imagine, if you will, a six-foot-plus alien creature (Rhys), with a red helmet head the size of a giant watermelon, holding a microphone to its cheek instead of its mouth, singing metaphorically about golden retrievers as a two-story movie screen plays neo-psychedelic cartoons depicting flying blue ponies, as his band of four perfectly ordinary-looking musicians rock and tech-out behind him. (I'll give you a second to visualize.) OK... that's what I discovered is a Super Furry Animal show. This was more than a concert; it was far-out theatre, man! Lots and lots of swirling colors and rapid-transit effects, which gave the stage a quality of motion not unlike the boat ride down the chocolate river in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" when it suddenly turns from candy cruise into a bad (pharmaceutical) trip. The father standing next to me, waiting patiently for hours under strict orders to remain incognito (as only a parent dedicated to the safety of his child can do) gave me a look that strongly suggested vindication. He had told me earlier that his son had described this band as "the Beatles of Wales," but he had suspected it would be a "Sgt. Pepper kind of night" and insisted on tagging along. Family values, Noise Pop style. Today there are two film screenings taking place — "Jandek on Corwood" and "Mix Tape" — as part of the Noise Pop Film Festival, and two chances to catch The Wrens at Bottom of the Hill, an afternoon performance at 3 p.m. and one this evening at 10 p.m. Sage Francis at Slim's is sold out, but you can still get tickets to The Decemberists at Great American Music Hall or The Coachwhips at Kilowatt. Sunday night is highlighted by the reunion of American Music Club at the Great American Music Hall, and look for Oranger at Café du Nord, as well. For a list of the other dozen bands performing tonight, and other schedule and venue information visit the festival's Web site. The InsiderOne Daily Report appears on occasion.