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MESS 001CD
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Selected works from 1992-2002. "The work of People Like Us rests gingerly between two dangerous positions: on the one hand, the risk of fashioning merely stylish pastiche out of borrowed finery for the sake of self-conscious kitschiness; on the other hand, the risk of making simplistic, heavy handedly 'topical' audio-jokes at the expense of one's raw material to a smug effect. If the lounge creeps uncritically snack on their sonic ingredients and coast on being 'groovy', the cads of pseudo-critique take cheap shots at straw men and call it subversion. Happily, Vicki Bennett has yet to fall down either precipice, but yodels down contentedly from her own Alpine audio-cottage. There, with loving care, she snips and tucks at the lycra jumpsuit until the fit is snug, places every plastic shrub on the Happy Valley Ranch just so, and throws another dance record on the bonfire. Undercutting her own utopian mirages with formal breakdowns and sneaky semantic pranks, Vicki Bennett is One Funny Lady, with a deadly sense of comic timing that puts her in my personal pantheon of edit intensive music makers: Steinski and Mass Media, Hank Shocklee, Tod Dockstader, Teo Macero, the Hanatarash, John Oswald, Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock. Serving her birthday cake with a turd, her gags are always lined with a virulent creep factor. One minute you're laughing until tears roll down your face at toilet humor, cheese chat and absurdly drawn out attempts at 'making conversation', and then you notice the flashes of aging, obsolescence, isolation and breakdown darting in amongst the ruthlessly snipped 'ums', 'ahs', and 'hmms'. You get the feeling that the vacancy and pointlessness of empty speech is being lampooned and mourned in equal measure. In sticking to this balance of celebration and critique, People Like Us genuinely hates and loves People Like You. The least you can do is head up to the Happy Valley Ranch for a spell and have a listen." -- Drew Daniel
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MESS 003CD
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"The best-selling instrumentalist in the world, with over 70 million albums sold to date, Kenny G. is an international superstar who has earned countless prestigious awards throughout an illustrious career that spans three decades. He has distinguished himself as a master craftsman and one of the most gifted artists in the world, through nineteen best-selling releases. Now add one more to that list of multiple-platinum chart-topping records: Nothing Special. Kenny's first album in at least 10 weeks finds the multi-talented artist and WFMU DJ once again effortlessly bridging the genres of pop, psychodrama and the avant garde with his distinctive and instantly recognizable style. From the languid beauty of 'Close To Me' to festive rhythmic flavor of 'Counting Time', Kenny demonstrates why his music has had such an enduring and memorable effect. The simply almost-classical sound of 'Too Far' contrasts with very limited edition bonus track 'Anal Magic,' a so-funky jam with a decidedly 'cut-up' feel that features many off key musicians. Keeping the groove moving, People Like Us offers 'Wake Up', another perky slice of avant-flavored edgy jazz; while the intoxicating 'Give Up It's Mine' conjures up visions of horror with no consolation."
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