Perhapsy – Perhapsy
Max Justus – No Mercy
Capybara – Try Brother
The Billen Brothers – The Porubsky’s Soundtrack
Sam Billen – Headphones and Cellphones
The Parade Schedule – Seeds To Be Planted, Trees To Be Cut

Such wonderful music there. We also released so many great songs and ep through this website that I am proud of. I think the Song of The Month project is only going to blow up more. Sam Billen’s Remover record will be released as one song a month for the next year. We also have some really great stuff planned over the next year. To look at the future here is what we have in the works: A new Max Justus record, New State Bird EP, Saharan Gazelle Boy(solo record from Darin of Capybara), Split 7″ with Cowboy Indian Bear and It’s True, A physical release of the Porubsky’s Soundtrack. And that is just the stuff we should have out before May! There is a lot more question marks on when things will be finished but I think we should have at least 6 records in 2010 if not more.

As our tradition over the last few years I have been collecting Best Of Lists from all of our bands, graphic artists, and other companies we work with. I always enjoy seeing what others are listening to and end up finding a release or two that might not have heard of otherwise.

Nathan Reusch (co-owner of The Record Machine)
Top 10 Records I didn’t release
(Note- This is the first year we had too many releases to even try to figure out where they are in my list.)
1. Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band
2. Grizzly Bear – Veckamist
3. Here We Go Magic – Here We Go Magic
4. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
5. Bear In Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth
6. Deastro – Moondagger
7. St. Vincent – Actor
8. Real Estate – Real Estate
9. Washed Out – Life of Leisure / High Times
10. Neon Indian – Physic Chasms

Mike Russo (co-owner- The Record Machine)
10: phoenix
9: hyperdub
8: deloreon
7: underwater peoples comp
6: discovery
5: Salem – we make it good mix series vol. 11
4: pictureplane
3: animal collective
2: Wavves
1: teengirl fantasy
bands I would love to put on this list, but didn’t actually have a full album (I. e. promising for next year): joker, the laze, OoOOo, windsurf, miike snow, torro y moi, yeasayer, and viernes.

More best of lists after the break:


Alex O’Nan – Interstates / of Asaph
Top 25 Albums of the 2000′s
1. Casino vs Japan – Hitori + Kaiso (2004)
2. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
3. Don Caballero – World Class Listening Problem (2005)
4. Paul Newman – Machine Is Not Broken (2000)
5. Do Make Say Think – & Yet & Yet (2002)
6. Jim O’Rourke – Insignificance
7. Strategy – Drumsolo’s Delight (2004)
8. De La Soul – Grind Date (2004)
9. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (2007)
10. Elbow – Seldom Seen Kid (2007)
11. Del Rey – Speak It Not Aloud (2001)
12. Zwan – Mary Star of the Sea (2003)
13. The Sea and Cake – One Bedroom (2002)
14. Crime in Choir – S/T (2002)
15. Perhapsy – S/T (2009)
16. Hot Snakes – Suicide Invoice (2002)
17. LPG – The Gadfly (2002)
18. Dabrye – Instrmntl (2002)
19. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People (2002)
20. Cass McCombs – Dropping the Writ (2007)
21. Keith Fullerton Whitman – Playthroughs (2002)
22. Idaho – Levitate (2001)
23. The Sea and Cake – Oui (2000)
24. Mercury Program – All The Suits Bega To Fall Off (2001)
25. Constantines – Shine A Light (2004)

Nathan Phillips – Solo Musician and formerly of Winston Jazz Routine
2009′s eye-opening discoveries, new and old:
1. fish tacos
2. Judie Sill
3. Ken Kern’s “the owner-built home”
4. mangos
5. Max Richter’s “horizon variations”
6. blueberry-almond cliff bars
7. horse castration
8. Stephen Bishop’s “careless” (cheasy, but good)
9. Rachmaninov’s “vespers”
10. raw oats – good in all things, including yogurt, oatmeal and blended shakes.

Darin Seal – Capybara and Saharan Gazelle Boy
Favorite songs I heard this year in which a girl is presumably singing about a boy:
1. Beach House – Take Care
2. Bat For Lashes – Daniel
3. Karen O – Hideaway
4. Asobi Seksu – Layers
5. Camera Obscura – James
6. Beach House – Used To Be
7. Dirty Projectors – Two Doves
8. El Perro Del Mar – Change of Heart
9. Vivian Girls – Can’t Get Over You

Favorite YouTube videos of the year:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs

Sam Billen – Solo Artist and The Billen Brothers
Nathan Phillips: Postcard (beautiful – I will never burn out on this album – NEVER!)
Mew: No More Stories are Told Today (also just recently started listening to And the Glass-Handed Kite – amazing!)
Passion Pit: Manners (so fun, but a little whiney)

5 bands that deserve more attention that I’ve stumbled upon:

Hey Penny (http://www.myspace.com/heypenny) – a little hyper, but respectably complex and fun to listen to
the Paper Route (http://www.myspace.com/paperroute) – like Tears for Fears mixed with the Postal Service
the Champion and His Burning Flame (http://www.myspace.com/thechampionandhisburningflame) – highly orchestrated, pockets of magic here and there
Cokiyu (http://www.myspace.com/cokiyu) – spacey, melodic noises from Japan
EPO-555 (http://www.myspace.com/epo555) – reminds me of my brother, lots of twists and turns and tons of cheap synthesizers

Derek Barber – Perhapsy
Favorite Albums of 00′s:
1.) Radiohead — Kid A
2.) Bjork — Vespertine
3.) Flaming Lips — Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
No particular order:
4 The Swords Project — Entertainment Is Over If You Want It
5 The Notwist — Neon Golden
6 Broken Social Scene — You Forgot It In People
7 Unwed Sailor — The Marionette and the Music Box
8 Pedro the Lion — Control
9 Death Cab for Cutie — The Stability EP
10 Daft Punk — Discovery
11 The Streets — A Grand Don’t Come for Free
12 Arcade Fire — Funeral
13 Spoon — Gimme Fiction
14 John Vanderslice — Cellar Door
15 At the Drive-In — Relationship of Command
16 Animal Collective — Strawberry Jam
17 Sufjan Stevens — Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State
18 The Thermals — The Body, the Blood, the Machine
19 Radiohead — Amnesiac
20 The Velvet Teen — Out of the Fierce Parade
21 Air — Talkie Walkie
22 American Analog Set — Promise of Love
23 Death Cab for Cutie — We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes
24 The Mountain Goats — Tallahassee
25 Namelessnumberheadman — Your Voice Repeating
26 The New Pornographers — Electric Version
27 Tristeza — A Colores
28 Godspeed You! Black Emperor — Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
29 Half-Handed Cloud — Halos & Lassos
30 Extra Life — Secular Works
31 The Mars Volta — De-Loused in the Comatorium
32 Dismemberment Plan — Change
33 Deerhoof — Friend Opportunity
34 Xiu Xiu — Women As Lovers
35 Sigur Ros — ()
36 Laura Veirs — Year of Meteors
37 Evangelicals — The Evening Descends
38 The Strokes — Is This It?
39 The Gloria Record — Start Here
40 Cornelius — Point
41 And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead — Source Tages & Codes
42 Every Gentle Air — Pt. 2
43 Thom Yorke — The Eraser
44 Grouper — Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill
45 The Appleseed Cast — Two Conversations
46 Marnie Stern — This Is It…
47 Grandaddy — The Sophtware Slump
48 Stephen Malkmus — Stephen Malkmus
49 Mark Kozelek — Little Drummer Boy [Live]
50 Don Caballero — American Don

Favorite Food Dishes:
3. Fish Tacos — Joe’s Taco Lounge, Mill Valley, CA
2. Neopolitan Shake — In/Out Burger
1. Caramel Apple Empanada — Taco Bell

Mark Harrison – Capybara
Top 20 musicians (or show bills) of 2009 I inadvertently saw / met who made a distinct impression by incorporating something unique into their live show that inspires me.” (Ordered chronologically, not by rating.)

1. Megan Burns (of Flamingo Pink) > March @ Backroads Pizza in SANTA FE, NM
2. Dan Deacon > May @ The Foundation in KANSAS CITY, MO
3. Natalie Prass > May @ Exit/In in NASHVILLE, TN
4. Fancie > May @ The Church in KANSAS CITY, MO
5. mewithoutYou > June @ Bowery Ballroom in NEW YORK CITY, NY
6. Gil Mantera’s Party Dream > July @ The Record Bar in KANSAS CITY, MO
7. Sam Billen / Perhapsy > August @ Czar Bar in KANSAS CITY, MO
8. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone > September @ Off Broadway in ST. LOUIS, MO
9. Royal Osprey / Distractions > September @ The Ball Hall in CHICAGO, IL
10. Cedarwell > September @ his house and the YNot3 in SHEBOYGAN / MILWAUKEE, WI
11. Themes / Total Babe > September @ Eclipse Records in ST. PAUL, MN
12. Paper Brain / Patterns > September @ The Woods in PORTLAND, OR
13. The Builders and The Butchers > October @ Rontoms in PORTLAND, OR
14. Poppet > October @ some house in DAVIS, CA
15. TM Band > October @ The Habitat in SAN DIEGO, CA
16. Video / Mad Gregs > October @ Echo Curio in LOS ANGELES, CA
17. Moth!Fight! / The White White Lights > November @ The Mohawk in AUSTIN, TX
18. Dead Sea Choir / Dignan > November @ The Mohawk in AUSTIN, TX
19. Cowboy Indian Bear > December @ Riot Room in KANSAS CITY, MO
20. Max Justus > December @ Czar Bar in KANSAS CITY, MO

Dan Eaton – Motorboater and Queens Club
Best Grabass Songs of 2009
1. “My Girls” – Animal Collective
2. “Moonson” – Delorean
3. “Goth Star” – Pictureplane
4. “Feel It All Around” – Washed Out
5. “Little Secrets” – Passion Pit
6. “Crown on the Ground” – Sleigh Bells

Beau Jennings – Solo Artists and Cheyenne
Top 5 Most-Listened-To Records of 2009 (That Is To Say, Not Necessarily The Best Of 2009, But The Most Enjoyed Of 2009):
Alela Diane – To Be Still
Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard – One Fast Move Or I’m Gone
Spooklight – Spooklight
Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Sun Kil Moon – April

Marty Hillard – Cowboy Indian Bear
The Only Physical Releases I Purchased That Were Released in 2009
1. Health, Get Color (CD), Lovepump United
2. Major Lazer, Guns Don’t Kill People Lazers Do (CD), Mad Decent/Downtown
Two Albums That Stood Out That I Managed Not To Purchase in 2009
1. Wild Beasts, Two Dancers, Domino
2. Talvihorros, Some Ambulance
Runner-ups:
1. The Horrors, Primary Colours, XL
2. FOOL’s GOLD, s/t, IAMSOUND

My Favorite Singles in 2009

1. Wolf Gang, The King And All of His Men, Hit Club
2. The Horrors, Sea Within a Sea, XL
3. These New Puritans, We Want War, Domino

The Album(s) I’m Looking Forward To Most in 2010
1. These New Puritans, Hidden, Domino
2. Yeasayer, Old Blood, Secretly Canadian/We Are Free

Candice Jones – Team Clermont Publicity
30. Dan Deacon – Bromst
29. Pontiak – Sea Voids
28. Japandroids – Post Nothing
27. Double Dagger – MORE
26. Capybara – Try Brother
25. Blank Dogs – Under and Under
24. The xx – The xx
23. Omar Souleyman – Dabke 2020
22. Pride Parade – Dose
21. Health – Get Color
20. Circulatory System – Signal Morning
19. Akron/Family – Set Em Wild, Set Em Free
18. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
17. Vitalic – Flashmob
16. Real Estate – Real Estate
15. Micachu & the Shapes – Jewellry
14. Cass McCombs – Catacombs
13. Jookabox – Dead Zone Boys
12. Deer Tick – Born on Flag Day
11. Pissed Jeans – King Of Jeans
10. Megafaun – Gather, Form And Fly
09. The Dodos – Time to Die
08. Atlas Sound – Logos
07. The Antlers – Hospice
06. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
05. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
04. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
03. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
02. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy
01. Bear In Heaven – Beast Rest Forth Mouth

Jenn de la Vega – Mushpot PR
J Arthur Keenes Band – Pamplemousse
Starscream – Future and It Doesn’t Work
La Roux – S/T
Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
railcars – Cathedral with No Eyes
sylcmyk – Heartbroken.
Little Boots – Hands
starPause – AKID EP
Ganglians – S/T
The Lovely Eggs – If You Were Fruit

Bands with no albums: Surfer Blood, The Twelves

Chetan Patel – Photographer
music that makes you cooler (no particular order)

drake – so far gone (mixtape)
beyonce – i am…sasha fierce
the dream – love vs money
raekwon – only built 4 cuban linx 2
j dilla – jay stay paid
eminem – relapse
maxwell – black summer nights
fashawn – boy meets world
ugk – ugk 4 life
lupe fiasco – enemy of the state (mixtape) – i recommend it

Danny Gibson – DJG Design
DJG’s Top 12 Movie Moments of 2009 (so far…)
01. Mouth-gaping, internal howling, theater massacre climax of
“Inglourious Basterds”
02. Deeply emotional moving montage of aging in “UP”
03. Up-close iguanas with the blues in “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of
Call New Orleans”
04. Max leaving the Wild Things to go home in “Where The Wild Things Are”
05. Opening wow-wow credit sequence in “Watchmen”
06. Goose bump weeping fireworks and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by
Crowded House in “Adventureland”
07. Fast-paced, grin-inducing “Heroes & Villians” portion of “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
08. Greatest cameo appearance EVER in “Zombieland” (I won’t spoil)
09. Marvelous Meryl Streep as Julia Childs chopping a gigantic pile of
onions in “Julie & Julia”
10. Emotions on high as the band Anvil records “This is Thirteen” in
“Anvil: The Story of Anvil”
11. Stupid-Cute Kevin the Dog with Betty White in “The Proposal”
12. The lens flairs of “Star Trek”

Things DJG Realized in 2009
-Slimming shirts make me look fatter.
-It is hard to leave a series phone message when impaired with the hiccups.
-Coca-Cola outside of the can is better, but still not better for you.
-Diet Coke and banana do not work well together.
-I am realizing when I need to drink water instead of other beverages.
-Prunes are just plums.
-Yes, please, to blueberries.
-Raspberry pie is quite genius.
-Pesto makes certain foods amazing.
-Smaller portions of very rich sweets.
-I don’t care for hot desserts, but I’ll politely wait for it to cool
if given one.
-When talking with head phones on, I talk really loud. I’ve always
known this, but cannot teach myself to stop.
-I re-realized my liking for Wynona Judd songs.
-Before this year I would go to art walks and end up disenfranchised
by art for a week or two.
-I really love the energy of professional baseball playoff crowds on T.V.
-I realize that all people are weird and complex.
-Unless it’s on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse”, I don’t prefer songs with robot vocal distortion.
-I’m not a fan of remix songs or remix graphic designs.
-I respect the work of French New Wave films more than I actually like to watch them.
-Pedestrians who stand right on the curb while traffic passes make me extremely nervous.

Ben Chalpek – Never Sleeping Design
favorite movies to watch in the winter of 2009.
heima
eternal sunshine
weather man
die hard
ice harvest
vanilla sky
christmas vacation
wicker park
home alone
die hard 2

Feel Free to post your own best of list in the comments. Thanks for a great year!

2009 has been one of the biggest years in Record Machine history and we wanted to celebrate that with an awesome offer for you. From now until the end of the year we are running a special where you purchase all 5 full lengths we have released this year in one special download for just $15. That is a cost of just $3 a record and that is a saving of $35 dollars. You will get these really great releases:
1. Perhapsy – Perhapsy (Released in June)
2. Max Justus – No Mercy (Released in July)
3. Capybara – Try Brother (Released in September)
4. Sam Billen – Headphones & Cellphones (Released in November)
5. The Parade Schedule – Seeds To Be Planted, Trees To Be Cut (Released in December)
Or if you want an old fashioned cd feel free to head over to our online store and pick up any of our records with this 10% off coupon: “record10friends”

Click here to buy TRM’s 5 2009 Releases for just $15

Also Popwreckoning sent out a writer to review our showcase last week at Czar Bar. She has way too many amazingly nice things to say about us and even more amazing words about our great bands:

To sum it up, everyone, everything, every instrument and even every piñata was brimming with life Friday night for The Record Machine’s Holiday Showcase. Kansas City and its wide range of musicians and the people who love them pullulated with energy, indeed making it a holiday night to remember

Read the full article and see some pictures here: Popwreckoning

Also RIP Winne the Pooh and Hipster Ethan piñatas that we had that night. You are sadly missed.

Tomorrow is our first Holiday Showcase. We are quite excited about having Capybara, Max Justus, Sam Billen and Motorboater all together on one bill. It is the perfect way to start off your holiday season. Please come out and support everyone.

Capybara – Magpies

When Capybara was out on tour they realized that they were going to be in the same place as our above capybara buddy Caplin Rous. They thought it would be perfect opportunity to have some capybara convergence. So they sang him their song Magpies.

This week we have had all sorts of great promotions with them first off 96.5 The Buzz had them come in and do an interview on Sunday night for the local show. We had a great time and they invited them to come back Today and play a few songs on the air. So we have acoustic versions of 2 songs below. They also were featured this week in the Pitch.

And finally Tuesday was the release of The Parade Schedule’s debut album Seeds To Be Planted, Trees To Be Cut. We are offering Backyard as the first single as a free download above. Please check it out and feel free to post the mp3 player on your blog or myspace if you like it. You can pick it up over on itunes.

Cutaway Kid / feat. Freaky Deeky! from mark harrison on Vimeo.

On what would appear to be an average Sunday night in Minneapolis, Capybara parked their handsome van on a dark street by a park downtown, and piled out. As they walked down the lighted loading dock toward the St Anthony Main building, it was almost in slow motion that they looked around them, without expectation. But as they met the friendly handshakes and smiles of a team who habitually greets the Twin Cities a healthy serving of color and piz-spaz once a week, (every week), little did Capybara know that they would leave different than they came; more awake, and even — deeky.

Capybara is pleased to announce their first attempt at a music video from Try Brother (2009):

Freakybara plays the Hits!

SONG: Cutaway Kid
feat. Freaky Deeky

Tune in to Freaky Deeky LIVE at 10PM (CST) every Sunday / MTN Channel 17 (in Minneapolis) / OR! / ON THE WEB! http://www.livestream.com/mtnternet

Capybara

Capybara has now left KC and is on their big 3 month west coast tour. You really should go check them out if you are out west. They will be all over the place and you can find dates on their myspace. But they are making a brief stop in next week to play at the Replay Lounge and Record Bar on the 7th and 8th of September. A couple of songs from the record were featured on MVB Music and Said The Gramophone. The record is also out to college radio right now. So if you work at a college radio station dig around for a bit and you should find it. Thanks the 19 stations that already playing it. It is was the 16th most added record this week on CMJ.

The Billen Brothers

As for the Billen Brothers the record is Soundtrack to a film about a Topeka Deli. The brothers grew up in Topeka and were asked to create some fitting songs. If you want you can check out this Behind The Music Feature:

Sam Billen

In other Billen news Sam is just about finished with his new record Headphones and Cellphones. It should come out in October. It is a really beautiful record and sure to please many long time Billions fans and make quite a few ones too.

Several of the bands are playing shows right now so keep an eye on their myspaces and our shows page.

Not to be a buzz kill but it is hard to believe the summer of fun is kind of coming to a close. With many of you starting school this week we thought it was fitting to have one last blast of fun this weekend. Your weekend plans as follow:

Friday 8/21 At Czar Bar
Max Justus
Another Holiday
And The Sexy Accident
10 pm $7

Saturday 8/22 at The Yard (Behind Beaumont Club(formerly Westport Beach Club))
Capybara – Try Brother CD re-release party and tour send off
Audiovox
and Brandon Benson
9PM

Please come out and celebrate the end of the Summer of Fun.

We are very excited to debut some new material from Sam Billen for this month’s Song of the Month. He recently took a trip to Tokyo, Japan to visit his in-laws and decided to do some recording while he was there. This EP is a result of his time spent there. Sam has a new full length coming out this fall. I was lucky to be in the studio this weekend while Sam and Max Justus were mixing it and I am still really blown away by the new material. I can’t wait to get it out for all to hear.

Link: Sam Billen – Tokyo Sessions

This week Sam will be making his return to live shows playing our showcase this Wednesday at Czar Bar with Capybara and Perhapsy. Check out the trailer for the show:

We are very excited to debut some new material from Sam Billen for this month’s Song of the Month. He recently took a trip to Tokyo, Japan to visit his in-laws and decided to do some recording while he was there. This EP is a result of his time spent there. Sam has a new full length coming out this fall. I was lucky to be in the studio this weekend while Sam and Max Justus were mixing it and I am still really blown away by the new material. I can’t wait to get it out for all to hear.

Link: Sam Billen – Tokyo Sessions

This week Sam will be making his return to live shows playing our showcase this Wednesday at Czar Bar with Capybara and Perhapsy. Check out the trailer for the show:

Perhapsy is playing this Saturday at the Festival of Faith and Music in Grand Rapids, MI. They will be playing alongside David Bazan, The Hold Steady, Lupe Fiasco, Over the Rhine and many more!. We are very proud to have them be apart of this prestigious festival.

More info:  here

The Culture of Me showed Perhapsy some love this week:

Dense and delicate songs that seem to meander until their end, Ann Arbor-born by way of Mansfield, Ohio Derek Barber aka Perhapsy pours layers upon layers of instruments (from the token guitar, bass and drums, to glockenspiel, saxophone, accordions and keys) in his debut effort, a mostly-instrumental experiment in somberness and hope.

Full Review: Here

Lose Control

Canvas Bar and Gallery, 105 E. 5th, suite 113, Austin, TX 78701

Free 21+ w/ RSVP losecontrolparty.com

A few album lists:

Both Mike and I (Nathan) had a great year releasing our 3 of our favorite records from 2008. We felt like all of our bands worked extremely hard and made fantastic records. So for both of us our list have the same number one.

1. State Bird – Mostly Ghostly & 4 New Songs/ Max Justus – Five Leaping Leopards/ Interstates – Run Run

Mike’s Top 10 Albums for 2008:
2. Mt. Eerie: Lost Wisdom
3. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
4. No Age: Nouns
5. Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles
6. Kanye West: 808 and Heartbreaks
7. Grouper: Dragging a Deed Dear Uphill
8. White Fang: Pure Evil
9. Wolves in The Throne Room: Two Hungers
10. High Places: High Places

Nathan’s Top 10 for 2008
2. Hospital Ships – Oh Romona
3. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
4. Lykki Li- Youth Novels
5. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
6. Jamie Lidell- Jim
7. Sportsday Megaphone – So Many Colours/ So Little Time
8. Deastro – Keepers
9. My Morning Jacket? – Evil Urges
10. Passion Pit – Chunk of Change EP
10. Weird Tapes – Get Religion EP (And Everything Else from their Blog)

More lists after the break

From Derek Barber(Perhapsy, The Winston Jazz Routine and Every Gentle Air)

Top Ten Underrated/Overlooked Albums of 2008 (in no particular order):
1.) Extra Life – Secular Works
2.) Cryptacize – Dig That Treasure
3.) Xiu Xiu – Women As Lovers
4.) Deerhoof – Offend Maggie
5.) Fell Trees – Territory
6.) Parenthetical Girls – Entanglements
7.) Evangelicals – The Evening Descends
8.) Breathe Owl Breathe – Ghost Glacier
9.) Peter and the Wolf – Mellow Owl
10.) Lake – Oh, The Places We’ll Go

Top Five Movie Disappointments of 2008:
1.) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — This one
broke my heart. Plain and simple. If spawning a new catch-phrase for
senseless movie excess (“nuking the fridge”) wasn’t enough, the donkey
kong-vine swinging action did the job… A real shame for certain.
2.) Be Kind Rewind — A surprisingly dull film for a genius like
Michel Gondry. Who would’ve thought Jack Black and Mos Def would have
so little fire? Not me. Of course, the incredibly boring scenes with
Danny Glover don’t help the situation much.
3.) The Dark Knight — This only makes the list because a coworker of
mine described it as: “The Best Action Movie Ever Made.” Far from it,
I’m afraid. Although, just like everyone else, I was incredibly
impressed by Ledger’s revamping and performance of a timeless villain,
but I didn’t think much of the movie’s over-arching theme:
essentially, Batman as a sacrificial figure… Plus, what was going on
with Morgan Freeman and the cell phone monitor? That was just
silliness. So, I’m not sure what the the “best action movie” may be,
but, for me, the best Batman movie is Mask of the Phantasm. Hands
down.
4.) Tropic Thunder — When previews showed for this a while back, the
audience (including me) were rolling in our seats without knowing if
this was “acceptable” behavior or not… While there are a few
brilliant comedic moments (who else could’ve wrestled with a character
such as Downey Jr.’s besides himself?) there was little focus: was it
an action-comedy or a comedy-action flick? I couldn’t tell. And
someone should’ve told Ben Stiller to hire an older VK sergeant… Kid
was like twelve.
5.) Quantum of Solace — It’s INCREDIBLY unfair for me to list a movie
I never saw as a disappointment, so this one I give to all of those
movie-goers who actually enjoyed Casino Royale: I told you so. ;)

Top 5 Favorite Records I Listened to in 2008 (no particular order):
1.) Beach House – Devotion
2.) Pixies – Doolittle
3.) Daniel Johnston – Yip Jump Music 1983
4.) Bill Frisell – East/West
5.) Evangelicals – The Evening Descends

From Alex O’nan (Interstates)
Top Five Beers I Had In 2008
5.Triple Karmeliet
4.Schlafly Baraktoberfest
3.Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock
2.St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
1.St. Bernardus Abt 12

From Caleb Winn (From Caleb Winn, State Bird, The Winston Jazz Routine)
in no particular order,
1.Bon Iver
2.Tim and Eric
3.Jameson Whiskey
4.Dexter
5.Bob Evans mac n cheese
6.Fleet Foxes
7.Akron
8.All of april in the van
9. Jared and Coby
10. Seattle

From Sam Billen (The Billions and Sam Billen)
I haven’t really kept up on music/movies, etc.. so, since I love food, I’m going to go with restaurants:
1) Indian Palace (Lawrence) – three words: Chicken Tikka Masala. This place has been around for a while, and is not the cheapest food in the neighborhood, but it is consistently amazing. The Chicken Tikka Masala is, for lack of better words, ‘to die for’.
2) Tortas Jalisco (Lawrence) – Supposedly this is authentic food from the Jalisco region of Mexico. In my books, it’s authentic food from PARADISE. Awesome Mexican food. Definitely try the tortas (Mexican style sandwiches) or the soft tacos. Better than all the other wannabe Mexican joints that try to call their Tex-mex food ‘authentic’.
3) Wa (Lawrence) – Although this Japanese restaurant is owned and run by a Korean couple, it’s about as authentic as you can get in the midwest. The atmosphere is classy and for some odd reason they always have awesome music playing (Spoon, Todd Rundgren, Sam Billen’s Christmas album :) – they also have a great selection of not-so-authentic-but-still-delicious sushi rolls.
4) Cho Ga (Overland Park) – Korean food at it’s best. My Korean friends have told me that the food here is kind of ‘home style’ (aka not too fancy or special), but to any non-Korean like me, it is unbeatable! They have 6 side dishes of kimchi, fried tofu, etc that come standard with any meal. Recommendation: Jae Yuk Bokkum (huge pile of spicy pork).
5) Cutters BBQ (Eudora) – you may now be thinking, ‘Eudora?’ But seriously – if you have never had ribs from Cutters, you have not lived. The atmosphere is a little smoky and, I hesitate to say it, but kind of white trashy (?), but well worth the drive to Eudora. Warning: do not order a ‘full order’ of ribs – even a small army could not finish that.
6) Yard House (Legends Shopping District) – Claiming to have the ‘world’s largest selection of draft beer’, the Yard House pulls through with more than just that. Don’t get me wrong, the beer is awesome (and they have almost anything you could want on tap, from the Japanese favorite Kirin to the fruity, lambic Framboise), but the food definitely holds it’s own.
7) Trezo Mare (Parkville) – This is an upscale, modern restaurant in the new shopping center in Parkville. Great date location.. very romantic. Give it a shot, if you’re willing to spend a good $40/person (once a year that’s ok, right?).
8) Chez Yasu (Topeka) – A quiant French restaurant owned and run by a Japanese staff. Great French food – a little pricey, but they have a great, affordable lunch menu.
9) Odowd’s Dublin (Country Club Plaza) – Traditional Irish food (Boxties, Bangers and Mash, etc) in a nice, dim Irish-pub style atmosphere. (side note: they have Guiness on tap)
10) Sung Son (Westport) – Try this place for lunch during the weekend. They have a great lunch buffet that has a wide variety of Thai and Vietnamese food, including some awesome Vietnamese soup.

From Meridith Kotas (Pirate PR www.piratepirate.com)
Top 10 Albums of 2008
1.Royal Bangs – We Breed Champions
2.Caitlin Rose – Dead Flowers
3.The Pack A.D. – Funeral Mixtape
4.The Heavenly States – Delayer
5.Frank Hoier – Lovers & Dollars
6.The Champion and His Burning Flame – The French EP
7.State Bird – Mostly Ghostly
8.Those Darlins – Wild One EP
9.Beau Jennings – Holy Tulsa Thunder
10.The Asteroids Galaxy Tour – Around The Bend

From Danny Gibson (DJG Design www.djgdesign.com)
DJG’s 2008 Things Realized
- “Definitely”, not “Definately”.
- I love Raspberries. I like The Raspberries.
- Shopping for new jeans frustrates the heck out of me as 95% of fashion fads come complete with rips, snags, tears and terrible fades. If my pants are ripped, snagged, torn and faded it’s because they’re actually worn.
- I can floss!
- I kinda like the funky smell my gums let loose while flossing.
- One should never expect somebody to hold open the door for an elderly person, even when they are standing right next to the door and fully capable of opening a door…and only a decade shy of being elderly.
- Dried fruit as a snack tastes way better than artificially-flavored fruit snacks.
- “High School Musical” (Movie & Live Production) is awesome.
- Musicals that are all singing and no talking to carry the plot bore and bother me.
- I really dislike the term “Giclee” art print and any other arty-farty way to fake frame a way of making things.

DJG’s Recommends These Kansas City Related Internet Places of Interest in 2008
Micah Buzan: http://www.youtube.com/user/seapockets
Man is a Map: http://manisamap.blogspot.com/
Never Sleeping: http://www.neversleeping.com/
Little Red Wagons: http://littleredwagons.blogspot.com/
World of Forms: http://worldofforms.net/
Top Fiver: http://www.topfiver.com/
The Tambourine Club: http://www.tambourineclub.com/
The ACBs: http://www.theacbs.com/
David Seume: http://www.davidseume.com/
Falmouth House (see it in person please as it’s very inspiring and a KC treasure!): http://www.thelope.com/2006/12/animated-christmas.html

DJG’s Most Annoying Movies Seen for the First Time in 2008 (Five Star Scale)
Grey Gardens * *
Southland Tales * ½
The Mist * ½
The Go-Getter * *
The Fall * * ½
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer * * ½
May * * ½
Alice’s Restaurant * * ½
The Wild Blue Yawner * *
The Ex * *

DJG’s Movies Watched for the First Time in 2008 That Have Carried the Most Impact (Five Star Scale)
The Wrestler * * * * *
There Will Be Blood * * * * *
The Tin Drum * * * * *
Lars & The Real Girl * * * * ½
Hoop Dreams * * * * *
Be Kind Rewind * * * * ½
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly * * * * *
Young at Heart * * * * *
It’s A Wonderful Life * * * * *
Sorry, Haters * * * * ½

Alternates: Harvey Krumpet * * * * *, Brother’s Keeper * * * * *, The Cars That Ate Paris * * * * ½, Alice * * * * *, The Amazing Screw-On Head * * * * *, King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters * * * * *, Ratatouile * * * * *, (The First Half of) Wall-e * * * * *

DJG’s Most Played Bruce Springsteen Songs in 2008
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Lost In The Flood (Live NYC 2000)
Living Proof
Backstreets
You’ll Be Coming Down
Independence Day
No Surrender
Downbound Train
Dream Baby Dream (Suicide Cover)
Racing In The Street
Roulette
BONUS: Still playing over and over in my head The Boss’s amazing SPRING CENTER concert from August!

From Ryan Straits (State Bird)
2008′s Top 10 Albums of the Musical Persuasion
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Sigur Ros – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
Brendan Canning – Something For All Of Us
Denison Witmer – Carry The Weight
This Will Destroy You – Self-Titled
Dr. Dog – Fate
She & Him – Volume One
Sufjan Stevens – California (oh wait…)

Honored Mentionables
Brightblack Morning Light – Motion To Rejoin
Cotton Jones Basket Ride – The River Strumming
Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us
Copeland – You Are My Sunshine

Highly Anticipated but Mostly Disappointing
Nada Surf – Lucky
Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Annuals – Such Fun
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges

Top 5 Shows
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
Radiohead & Grizzly Bear – Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
The Swell Season – Allen Theatre, Cleveland, OH
Wilco – Lakewood Civic Auditorium, Lakewood, OH
Iron & Wine – Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH

Today the second volume of the Peace on Earth compilation was released by It’s Hard to Find a Friend. It features a new song from Nathan Phillips of The Winston Jazz Routine. I encourage every last one of you to go purchase this years and last years compilations. All of the proceeds of the go to charity and it features really great artists.

When it came closer to the 5 year mark we asked our good friends DJG Design and Never Sleeping to make some posters to commemorate the last 5 years. I had no idea that it would be this extensive. Below is the first of three sets of images from DJG and Never Sleeping. Every image ties back to all of our bands in some way or another. DJG’s explanation is below and you can visit the set in some more detail here. I would love to see some speculation on which illustration is for what band. Record Machine would really like to thank all of our bands, DJG, Never Sleeping, Any one that has lent a hand to us(this list is way too long and I know I would leave someone out) and you the listener to keeping us going for 5 years and hopefully another 5 too.

This is a series of 5 DJG posters made from over a hundred illustrations to celebrate the 5th birthday of Kansas City, MO independent music label The Record Machine. Illustrations are based off of ideas pulled and culled by DJG from every band or album that has been released by The Record Machine.

This is phase one of a project that will incorporate over a hundred more illustrations made into another five 5′s and then screen print over-layed on top of DJG’s 5′s by Ben Chlapek of www.neversleeping.com