Candide by Voltaire.  What a pleasure it was for me to revisit this classic.  Candide, or Optimism pokes fun at the outlook of the Enlightenment that saw ours as the best of all possible worlds where everything happens for a logical, explanatory reason.  Nothing is left from receiving Voltaire's skewering: religion, politics, money.  Even better, Voltaire is notable for perfecting - if not inventing - the philosophical novel where big thoughts are examined in approachable prose.   For those wanting to take on a classic but feel intimidated by translations, here's one to try.

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. A man comes home and finds his wife's body lifeless at the base of their backyard apple tree.  Was it an act of suicide, or an accident?  Unfortunately for the husband, the only witness is the family dog, and dogs cannot talk to humans in a way that would benefit the husband.  But what if the dog could talk?  What would she say happened?  Desperate for answers, the husband and narrator (who not coincidentally enough is a professor of linguistics) sets out to discover a way for humans to communicate with their canine counterparts.  What results is a beautiful and tragic story about the limits of love, communication, understanding and empathy - not only in human/canine relations, but in those relations most dear to us.  This is a depressing novel to be sure, but it is one that will put a smile on your face nevertheless.

Seeing by Jose Saramago; The Watcher by Italo Calvino.  Here are two books that tackle the subject of electoral politics, and while both failed to live up to me expectations (particularly with The Watcher), both are worthy of one's time.  Seeing is by far the better of the two - if only for Saramago's brilliance as a writer.  This is the fourth book of his I've read, and while I sometimes find the story taking second place to his writing style, I'm never truly disappointed.  The premise of Seeing (advertised as a sequel to his Nobel Prize winning Blindness - though it works alone) is an election day that results in over 80% of ballots cast being blank!  How should the ruling party interpret the results of the election?  Is it a vote of no-confidence, or simply indicative of a lack of concern?  Should the "party on the left" claim this "protest" vote as a vote for them?  How should the government respond? This represents perhaps the most humorous part of the book, for it so accurately reflects the stupidity of interpreting a vote as a mandate, especially when all candidates represent the lesser of something.  When the government decides to "shut down" to teach its citizens a lesson, society actually improves, rendering the second third of the book a wonderful musing on anarchist thought.  I suppose it is the third and final part of the book that most disappoints.  Here, the story line changes completely.  Now, the book focuses upon three police investigators whose mission is to find the ringleader behind the campaign to cast blank ballots.  While the events that unfold are reminiscent of all of government's sins - from COINTELPRO to practically every conspiracy one can think of - lost in this section are the broader themes of governance and chaos, mutual aid and utopia.  Still, the book is a terrific read, and I cannot wait to acquire a paperback edition to highlight the wonderful quotes.

The premise of The Watcher is beautiful in its simplicity.  A representative of the Leftist party (along with those of the Center and Right) are appointed to keep watch over a polling place on election day to ensure that protocol is carried out properly and that election fraud does not ensue.  With the government recently passing legislation guaranteeing all of its citizens suffrage, the representative of the Leftist party is assigned a polling place in a hospital that is part asylum, part infirmary.  So when he witnesses the mentally unstable attempt to vote, should he raise an objection?  If so, does not this objection violate his party's ideological leanings in the equality of humankind and the right to self-determination?  Or should the vote be limited to those who can "understand" political affairs - a Vanguard if you will?  The premise of the book, as well as the issues raised, are absolutely wonderful - though I found myself "reading into" things that weren't really there.  Was the author trying to critique Socialism, or was I assuming the author was critiquing Socialism?  The prose is very difficult, if not because it is a translation from Italian.  There is also no dialogue, which makes this a painfully slow read.  But if the reader is willing to fill in some gaps, the issues raised with remain for some time.

I'd Rather Teach Peace by Colman McCarthy. There is so much to like about this "book" - a journal, really - containing many of the lesson plans, as well as life lessons of one Colman McCarthy - a one time reporter for the Washington Post who decided to, umm, leave his post after deciding that he'd "rather teach peace" to inner city and Ivy league students alike.  After all, peace isn't taught anywhere!  And that's really the issue raised in this amazingly insightful book.  Why are students able to identify Norman Schwartzkopff but not Dorothy Day?  Why is there a holiday commemorating veterans but not pacifists?  Why don't students even know what pacifism is, anyway?  I'd Rather Teach Peace is filled with facts and figures that can effectively communicate to students the true costs of war, and many lesson plans and talking points that will help communicate messages of peace, non-violence and - yes - even vegetarianism/veganism without "preaching."  This is an excellent book that all educators (and students) should read.  My only complaint: I do not wholeheartedly subscribe to McCarthy's consumerist model of education, though I certainly believe that there are many opportunities for students to take more responsibility for their education and to demand more of their instructors and to play a more active role in determining the shape of their education.

Conspiracy in the Streets: The Extraordinary Trial of the Chicago Eight.  Edited by Jon Wiener.  When the OCWeekly approached me to review this book via an interview with the editor - professor Jon Wiener - and have it ready to go in a week's turn around, I was reluctant, very reluctant.  I had a million things on my plate as is; the last I wanted to do was work my way through an historical text (albeit one about activism in the 60s), let alone what I expected to be a dry and tedious court case.  But I also was quite aware that my knowledge of the Chicago 8 was minimal at best, and reading the book (and reviewing it!) would up my activism credentials a notch, so "why not?"  I accepted.  This turned out to be a good decision on my part.

Conspiracy in the Streets is not a book.  It is a published court transcript (pared down from its original length of 22,000 pages) of what has to be the most bizarre court case in recent or - dare I say - American history.  Eight well known activists on trial by the Nixon Department of Justice.  The charge: conspiring to incite a riot at the Chicago Democratic Convention in Chicago 1968.  But why would the Nixon Administration care about prosecuting anti-war activists who ruined the party for the Democrats?  Answer: because they were anti-war activists!  And  because they were gaining in popularity and effectiveness, and because someone  had to try and discredit the movement by portraying anti-war activists as thugs, druggies and troublemakers. 

It is this latter point that comprises the essence of Wiener's illuminating "Introduction" - one that spans some 40 pages.  As Wiener notes, the case was less about convicting 8 activists and more about indicting the anti-war movement en masse.  But if the DOJ wanted to put the anti-war movement on trial, then the Chicago 8 were ready with a strategy of their own: to put American History itself on trial.  What followed, then,  is more a trial of wits than one of facts, testimony and evidence.  And if the verdict were on wits alone, the defense would win hand down.  After all, they were comprised of legendary "Yippie" Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, as well as Black Panther Bobby Seale ready to attack the State head-on, with Tom Hayden and company providing balance with reasoned arguments about the "facts" of the case when absolutely necessary. 

It's hard to write a review of the Chicago 8 trial without giving away all of the wonderful quotes and antics that makes Conspiracy such great reading.  Suffice it to say that with a witness list for the defense that included Allen Ginsberg, Phil Ochs, Ramsey Clark, Norman Mailer and Judy Collins to name a few, to have a trial by today's standards that could compare with the Chicago 8, one would need to call John Stewart or Michael Colbert, Michael Franti or Saul Williams, Ambassador Joseph Wilson or Former weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Gore Vidal or Michael Moore, and Ani DiFranco or the Dixie Chicks to the stand, and that would only begin to put a contemporary trial on par with the case of the Chicago 8.

It isn't giving away much to reveal that the Chicago 8 (minus Bobby Seale, who was removed from the case and dealt with separately) were all convicted on various charges, and that charges were reversed on appeal in large part due to the oppressive rulings of one Judge Julius Hoffman.  But one doesn't read Conspiracy in the Streets to find out what happened to the Chicago 8.  Instead, one wonders what happened to our country of yester-years.  What has happened to the activism, to the outrage, and to the alliance between art and activist?

In an excellent and timely "Afterword," Tom Hayden argues convincingly that today's level of activism against the war in Iraq far exceeds that of the 1960s.  Indeed, the passion of today's generation of activists predates the war in Iraq and the so-called war on terror by years, beginning first in Seattle 1999 and the protests against the WTO, and later in Quebec City and Genoa.  As Hayden notes, today's activists are far better organized and far more sophisticated than his generation, and writes with a tone of reverence and awe that is heartening to this young activist. 

But for all of his flattery for the level of sophistication and technological know-how displayed by yours truly and others like me, Hayden forgets that law enforcement and the State have likewise learned the lessons of the past.  Today, free speech zones and secluded march routes prevail; as do police liaison, costly permits and a more militarized approach to crowd control.  And while today's generation has its own version of the Yippies in the form of Billionaires for Bush and Code Pink for Peace, no figure today has reached the level of celebrity status (and street credibility) as one Abbie Hoffman.  So until someone today applies for a permit comes up with an equivalent of applying for a permit to levitate the Pentagon, go read Conspiracy in the Streets, and start plotting the next revolution yourself, just for the hell of it!

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.  Hands down, this is the best book I've read in over a year.  Original, incredibly funny, and deeply moving. Extremely Loud is a meditation on love, loss and renewal set in the aftermath of two devastating historical events: the bombing of Dresden and terrorist attacks of September 11.  Oskar Schell lost his father in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.  Rummaging through his father's belongings, he finds a lone key among the many possessions.  Which of New York's countless locks could this key possibly open?  Oskar is determined to find out, even if he hast to test every single one of them.  Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the bombing of Dresden, Oskar's grandfather has simply lost his ability to communicate verbally and is dependent upon gestures, notepads and words tattooed to his hands to connect with others.  Two generations affected by war will connect in an amazing journey.  This book is quite-simply a masterpiece.  Highly recommended.

Mixed Reviews by Aaron Cometbus.  Ever wonder how it is that Israeli's and Syrians can live side-by-side in the embassies outside of the United Nations, but can't live side-by-side in the Mid-East?  The essay "Around the World in New York" included in this collection asks such questions and - in so doing - exposes the silliness of war and the prospects for reconciliation.  And it does so with the wit and grace of (former) street punk.  Other essays question whether love stands in the way of enlightenment and explore the precise requirements for a perfect cup of coffee.  This book is only $3 bucks but hard to find.  So check your favorite independent bookstore!

  Oblivion by David Foster Wallace.  While I haven't finished Infinite Jest, DFW's 900 page work of "fiction" that nevertheless contains some 100 pages of footnotes, I still hold that this collection contains some of his most difficult fiction to date.  And I haven't even finished all of the selections in this volume, either - deciding instead to set it aside for his newer collection Consider the Lobster which is far more reader friendly.  That being said, this book contains some absolute gems.  "Good Old Neon" is downright disturbing in its ability to describe the narcissism, solipsism or self-interest that plagues the human condition.  While the narrator of this 1st person short story is said to suffer from a personality "disorder," the reader can't help but question whether she herself is a fraud.  Meanwhile, the short "Another Pioneer" illustrates the trappings and downfall that can come with knowledge.  In this sense, it represents the quintessential postmodern fable.  Both are stories that I found difficult to complete, but the task of reading them is definitely rewarding.

Phone Rings by Stephen Dixon.  I knew absolutely nothing about this book upon purchase, but I bought it at one of my favorite bookstores ("Pages" in Toronto), it's on a small, independent press, and the story sounded intriguing enough.  Truth be told, there is no "story" per se.  Rather, the book chronicles a series of phone calls between two very close brothers over a lifetime.  The narrative unfolds slowly, carefully, and cautiously.  Heavy on character, light on plot, but a beautiful and satisfying read nonetheless, one that pulls you in from the opening ring.

The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago.  This is the second book by Saramago on my list, so clearly I've become fond of his work.  This "book" is really more of a parable.  It's only 64 pages in length, and the book's size is no bigger than a 4x6 photograph.  But it's packed with wonder.  A great treatise on tenacity, protest, idealism and belief in the impossible.  Of course, there's a love story thrown into the mix, too.  Spend an hour reading this.  It's worth it.

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.  One of the greatest metaphors ever written, this short story tells the tale of a man who wakes to find that during his sleep, he mysteriously has been transformed into a cockroach. What is he to do?  How can he face the outside world? How will his family react?  What will happen to his job?  Who will support his family? Interpret it as you will, this is nevertheless one of the greatest stories ever written. 

 The Brief and frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders.  A book that claims to be a modern day "Animal Farm" is - as one critic noted - bound to be scrutinized.  And to be honest, I didn't really care for this book until about 1/2 through.  The closer to the end of the book, the more I kept thinking, "Wow!  This guy has crammed much into this tiny little allegory."  Indeed he has.  What starts off as a science fiction telling of the politics over so-called "illegal immigration" quickly becomes a statement about the Iraq War and - more importantly - the role of peacekeeping among nations.  The book is only marginally humorous, with one notable exception.  Saunders discussion of the media is a down-right belly ache.  For this alone, the book is a must.  Enjoy.

One-Dimensional Man by Herbert Marcuse.  I've always hated professors who assign books and pretend that everything is simply supposed to be comprehensible and digestible to the students upon one reading.  I'll be the first to admit that this is no easy read, but it's worth it.  The central premise - if it can be said to have "one" premise - is that ours has become a culture incapable of critical thinking because opposition in advanced, industrial society is no longer "oppositional."  If this sounds similar to the writings of Horkenheimer and Adorno of the Frankfurt School, it should, for Marcuse himself was associated with the school.  But what Marcuse is writing about is far more extensive than a culture industry.  Even the sexual revolution serves the purposes of the status quo.  In this time of war, protest and civil disobedience, this book is as important as ever.  Buy yourself a copy and bring a highlighter to your reading.

Crime and Punishment (1866) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  This is the classic story of a man who commits murder "on principle."  All the great world leaders have committed horrendous acts, according to Raskolikov, so he decides to separate himself from the dregs of society by killing a old moneylender.  A book without a protagonist, the focus is upon our fascination with murder, our twisted sense of morality, and redemption.

Blindness by Jose Saramago.  Winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, sometimes one must go blind in order that he may see the ugly truth.  A brutal tale not for the faint of heart, but one that critiques identity politics, social relations and domestic policy.  All aided by Saramago's writing style that forsakes quotes and identifiers, rendering the reader equally blind.

Upside Down by Eduardo Galeano.  The upside down world rewards in reverse: it scorns honesty, punishes work, prizes lack of scruples, and feeds cannibalism.  Its professors slander nature: injustice, they say, is a law of nature.  Milton Friedman teaches us about the 'natural rate of unemployment.'  We learn that nature rewards the 'fittest.' We ignore the fact that the world economy is the most efficient expression of organized crime.  In an upside down world, the countries that guard the peace also make and sell the most weapons.  As Eduardo Galeano points out in this beautifully written, enormously tragic, yet incredibly witty book, we are currently living in an upside down world. Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking Glass World. (2000 Picador: New York)

Fashionable Nonsesne by Alan Sokal.  What happens when a NYU professor of physics authors a seemingly academic paper that is nothing but postmodern jargon and nonsense trying to prove that "quantum gravity" has relevance to feminist studies and psychoanalysis?  Can he get it published in cultural studies' premiere journal?  He can if he quotes enough "important" scholars and argues a point befitting the politics of the journal.  This is exactly what happened in 1995-1996 when Alan Sokal - a self-proclaimed Leftist - created a parody of postmodern scholarship and submitted it to the elite journal Social Text.  Nothing but a string of quotes and references to such luminaries as Lacan, Derrida and others, the paper ultimately 'proves' that gravity does not exist and is merely a social construction by those scientists with power.   Sokal's intent was not to dismiss the importance of recognizing subjectivity in the hard sciences.  Instead, his objective was to save the academic Left from its own pretense and self-importance while highlighting the importance of making liberating theory accessible to those who will benefit most from postmodern theory.  In the process, he illustrated the very biases of the postmodern school that they purportedly are trying to knock down.  Fashionable Nonsense is Sokal's account of the event.  For a collection of media responses and for a defense by the editors of Social Text, see The Sokal Hoax.

Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut. What if the universe decided to take "free-will" away from everybody and simply re-do the past decade, just for the hell of it?  Would not we be forced to live the mistakes of our past all over again without the power to rectify them?  Of course, we would have the foresight of what tragedies and stupidities lay ahead of us, but we would feel powerless to change the course of history, for we no longer had our free-will to determine our own fate.  We would simply have to live our lives on autopilot until the "timequake" ran out.  "To be alive," then, according to Vonnegut, "was to be either bored or scared stiff."   

Who Killed the Electric Car?  The problem with so many documentaries of late is their tendency to tell the audience what they intuitively already know.  War is bad; cigarettes kill; global warming is destroying the world.  It is rare when a documentary actually breaks a story, exposing the audience to wholly (or nearly wholly) new information.  Most audiences are probably unaware that by the end of the millennium, the technology to drastically reduce global warming already existed.  It was called the electric car.  Not a hybrid, but one that runs entirely on a battery, getting some 300 miles per charge and that had enough power to top speeds at 100 miles per hour.  Because of the lack of any combustible engine, maintenance was low to non-existent, and environmentally, the car produced zero emissions.  Why, then, did General Motors decide to scrap the car, even removing all cars from the market and (literally) shredding them into non-existence?  The answers aren't always so obvious. 

On-U Sound Crash/Adrian Sherwood.  Producer/song-writer/musician Adrian Sherwood is behind some of the most innovate music to hit electronic/post-punk/dub scene over the past 25 years. Setting new standards of dub production, Sherwood produced a vast army of reggae, funk and rock artists including New Age Steppers, Singers & Players, Creation Rebel, Bim Sherman, Mark Stewart & The Maffia, African Head Charge and Dub Syndicate - just to name a few. "Sound Crash" contains an overwhelming volume of On-U Sounds mixed together so seamlessly that the dub vibes never stop!  Highlights include Lee Perry with Dub Syndicate and the brilliant Gary Clail!  Check this out, and be ready to spend cash tracking down the original versions of all 31 tracks.  You've been warned.

Lee Scratch Perry/The Upsetters: Scratch Attack.  Widely credited - along with King Tubby - for  having invented dub music, Perry is known for having experimented with the production process, isolating sound into different channels (i.e., vocals only on the left speaker, instrumentation only on the right) and adding very strange sound effects, such as air raid sirens and his growling vocals.  While much later Lee Perry work fails to live up the innovation of his early works, Scratch Attack! contains two albums on one cd: The Upsetters Chapter 1 and Blackboard Jungle.  While some tracks are clearly better than others (some are skanks, rather than dubs), others are absolutely infectious.  A worthwhile listen for dub enthusiasts.

Blackalicous: The Craft.  I was in San Francisco attending the Power to the Peaceful festival when I first encountered Blackalicious in any meaningful sense.  I had heard them here and there, but never really got into them.  Then they took to the stage.  The bass was so loud, the beats so catchy, and the lyrics so fun and meaningful.  Hours after the show, I headed over to Amoeba and picked up whatever I could find.  While Broken Arrow is clearly the band's magnum opus, the beats and lyrical syncopation on The Craft is simply infectious.  That the lyrics are socially conscious as well as an even greater bonus.  The Gab is truly a gift, but Chief XCel's production is top notch.  Give this a listen!

TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain. Doo-wop vocals and background noise, off-beat electronics and noisy guitars.  Enigmatic lyrics and haunting melodies.  It's TV on the Radio, and their major label debut is no detour from their earlier, difficult to pin down sound.  Return to Cookie Mountain finds the group in full form.  Listening to it, you'll appreciate their earlier works even more.

Peeping Tom: Self-titled.  It is rare that an album having so much going for it before ever being released actually lives up to the hype.  Typically, this can be blamed on too much PR that kills something before its ever been given a fair shake.  This is clearly not the case with "Peeping Tom" - a CD featuring the talents of Mike Patton (Faith No More) collaborating with everyone from Kool Keith and the Dub Trio to Jel and Odd Nosdam (Anticon) to Nora Jones and Kid Koala.  Each tracks blends Patton's crazy vocal stylings with amazing hip-hop and electronic beats, heavy dub bass-lines, and enough guitars and drums to satisfy fans of Patton's more aggressive endeavors.  One would think that an album so varied simply couldn't work, or that one recorded over so many years simply couldn't prove consistent.  But this is an album that delivers the goods.  Let's hope it isn't merely a one-shot project.

Yo la Tengo: Electr-O-Pura.  Constituting a perfect blend of shimmering, twangy and meloncholy guitar with fuzzy, distorted and creative jams, "Electr-O-Pura" is a perfect introduction to Yo La Tengo. Sometimes, it's hard to fathom that sound is produced by a mere trio of musicians.  Listen and enjoy.

Philip Glass: Glassmasters.  The idea of a 3 disc "introduction" to the work of a postmodern composer may seem overwhelming, but this truly is a great introduction to a wonderful composer.  While some argue that he represents a "one-trick" pony, I like to think of his body of work as constituting variations on a theme.  What is so wonderful about this collection is the breadth of work covered: solo piano, opera, and his more popular Songs for Liquid Days.  Glaringly absent is any of his film work, though I trust this is due to an inability (or unwillingness) of Sony to pay for the rights to reproduce some of his film work, especially the Qatsi trilogy.  Still, a brilliant collection. 

Eraldo Bernocchi & Harold Budd: Music for "Fragments from the Inside"  This album came to me a quite a pleasant surprise.  Both Eraldo Bernocchi and Harold Budd are artists that I've only enjoyed in collaboration with others - typically Mick Harris or Bill Laswell.  Moreover, finding anything Eraldo Bernocchi is not easy task.  So it was by accident that I came upon this cd on a new release rack at my local independent music store.  The occasion for this 'live' recording is the video installation of an art exhibit at Palazzo Delle Papesse Centro D'Arte Contemporanea.  The sound is a perfect blend of Budd's delicate piano and Bernocchi's subtle, pulsing bass and slow, dub percussion beats.  Fragments 6 and 7 are particularly enjoyable, with the latter clocking in at over twenty minutes of bliss.  Enjoy.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (with Michael Brook): Night Song.  This album has everything going for it.  The beautiful vocals of the Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan; the lush orchestration and production of ambient guitar great Michael Brook, and the gorgeous packaging that comes with every Realword Recording release.  While many purists resent this album (and Musst Musst - the other Nusrat/Brook collaboration) as a violation of the Qawwali sound, this is not an after-the-fact remix of classic world music samples.  Instead, Nusrat was quite excited to have Qawwali music reach a broad, international audience, and he even endorsed a remix project of this album.  Quite simply, this is great introduction to the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the beauty that is Qawwali music. 

Dalek: Absence.  If you like your lyrics biting, and your beats grinding, then this is the album for you.  Intense political hip-hop, the album is more about the poetry of the spoken word than it is about rhyming.  You want hear any mention of "bitches," "ganstas" or the like.  You will hear about the prison industrial complex, the selling of black culture to Hollywood for a quick buck, and about the tension of our times.  But you need to hear this recording for the beats alone.  Dark, metallic and eerily melodic.  This is among the first important albums of 2005 and is certainly Dalek's finest.

Issac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul.  It was only a matter of time that I'd once again pick up this classic, especially after spending so much time listening to Nightmares on Wax (see below).  What makes Hayes so legendary are his lush arrangements.  There is simply no other version of "Walk on By" that can compare to his.  Whenever his vocals approaches cheesiness, the music takes over and removes all doubt that this man has soul.

Nightmares on Wax: Carboot Soul.  Beautiful soul care of lush strings, heavy bass-lines, background female vocals and hip-hop beats.  This retro-sounding album is nevertheless situated in the here and now, and the grooves are guaranteed to get stuck in your head for the next month.

Passage: The Forcefield Kids. Like most Anticon releases, "The Forcefield Kids" by Passage is difficult to describe.  For some reason, the Anticon label has become synonymous with underground "hip-hop," but a review of the label's material reveals something less generic - as in something less "genre."  Here, front-man for Restiform Bodies (also on Anticon) combines rapesque vocals, quirky folk, lo-fi analog, and some simply wicked beats.  The result is sheer fun.  It seems that the more Anticon tries to pass itself off as something not to be taken too seriously, they attract more and more attention.

Melvins/Lustmord: Pigs of the Roman Empire.  Definitely a candidate for one of the best releases of the year, this is the Melvins at their creative best.  Think "Honky" or "Bootlicker."  The Lustmord atmospherics add to a subdued King Buzzo et al. to create a beautiful and at times hard-driving sound.  Standout tracks include ZZZ Best and the title track, which clocks in at 22 minutes (it's actually one piece divided into about 3 different movements.  Pick this one up now!  Also, be sure to check out Jello Biafra with the Melvins on "Never Breathe What you Can't See." 

Le Tigre: Feminist Sweepstakes deliver great lyrics, driving guitar and electronic grooves on this - their second full-length release.  Part of the electro-dance punk scene, Le Tigre are not easily categorized.  Listen and hear for yourself.  Includes "Fake French" and "Dyke March 2001."

Pan Sonic: Kesto.  Pan Sonic (formerly Panasonic - but changed for obvious legal reasons) are a Finnish duo who pursue "the jagged edges of minimal techno and hardcore...[earning] an enduring association with industrial and noise music" (allmusic.com).  Their newest release Kesto is a 4-CD box set priced amazingly under $30! Disc #1 is harsh, abrasive industrial noise with a bombastic bass-beat.  Think Porter Ricks/Techno Animal and even Merzbow - with whom Pan Sonic have collaborated in the past.  But unlike the chaos that typifies their Japanese noise recording mate, Pan Sonic always come across as in command of the mayhem, and their penchant for heaviness is often counterbalanced with sometimes painfully quiet ambient drones (Disc #4). The highlights of this newest release are overwhelmingly found on the second disc of the set.  Here, electro-b-boy beats are set against a backdrop of ambience, metal, and white noise.  Finally, disc 3 is the most experimental of the lot.  Beginning with the sound of a toilet flush, the disc meanders through an array of soundscapes that are at once beautiful and painful.  With a minimum of sounds limited machinery, Kesto manages to do what miminalism does best: create a sound that is all encompassing. 

Why? Oaklandazulasylum.  Part of the amazing Anticon record collective, Why? can only be described as an enigma.  Categorized as a hip-hop artist due to his participation in cLOUDDEAD, Why? is more appropriately labeled an electronic folk/spoken word pioneer with an interest in the syncopation of the rap free verse.  Despite the quirkiness of the lyrics and even some of the "beats," Oaklandazulasylum is an incredibly beautiful album that is not easily dismissed.