Dusted Features Every Friday, Dusted Magazine publishes a series of music-related lists determined by our favorite artists. This week: Schneider TM and Experimental Dental School. Tweet

Listed: Schneider TM + Experimental Dental School

Schneider TM

Former rhythm-section member for several German indie rock bands Schneider TM (a.k.a. Dirk Dresselhaus) stepped up with his first full-length solo recording with 1998's Moist (City Slang). However it was his second album, 2002's Zoomer, and the 130+ shows that he played in support of it, that really helped put him on the map. His blend of sensitive pop and complex electronics takes inspiration from all ends of the musical spectrum. His newest album, Reconfigures (Ear Sugar) finds Dresselhaus reworking songs from such unlikely candidates as Lambchop, pulseprogramming, the Faint, Boss Hog, and many others.

Some of Schneider TM's favorite albums of all time (in no particular order):
1. the Velvet Underground - White Light, White Heat – To me this is still the best rock music ever recorded. In many moments it's so far beyond parameters like 'production' or 'arrangement', which often take away the energy of other recordings and let them sound dated after a couple of years. It's about exploding electricity, dualism and brilliant stories with good humor. the forces are in motion.

2. Pan Sonic - Kesto (4 cd-box) – I don't really know what to say about this, because there's so much different stuff in it. It sounds like pure human spirit caught in machines and wires, boiled down to the essentials. It's not really music to talk or write about, because there are no words for what the music tells.

3. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock – I admire that Mark Hollis & co used their big post-80's-hits advance money to sit in a studio without daylight for years to produce this eternal masterpiece.

4. My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything – Loveless is massive (probably perfect), but I prefer this one because it has more in between the spaces.

5. Dinosaur Jr. - Bug – I will always love this one. It will forever remind me of the time when I just got my driver's license, 'stole' my mother's car from the carport at night and drove around...often very, very stoned. A classic memory!

6. Oval - Process – Even if Markus Popp says that he actually doesn't make music, to me it sounds like perfect noisy electronica with a strong spirit of rock & some other things i don't understand...in a way it's German blues.

7. Merzbow -Amlux – I just found out that I lost this cd...shit! now what can I listen to when I come home from work in the morning, take my medicine and watch the sun rise?

8. King Tubby & Soul Syndicate - Freedom Sounds In Dub – This was probably the most listened album on the Schneider TM tour bus in 2003 during our us-tour, which was called "Zion-Train." Great songs and perfect dub.

9. Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information – I love this futuristic one-man-band album from 1974, because it's full of cleverness, psycheldelia, great spirit, and it's so fuckin' well played!

10. Keiji Haino - Abandon All Words At A Stroke, So That Prayer Can Come Spilling Out (Hurdy Gurdy-side) – Music at the edge of time...in the booklet is written: "whereto can i cast away this fragment echo called the end, so that i may summon an awakening from the other side?"

Experimental Dental School

Like many, if not most bands from the area, Oakland's Experimental Dental School don't quite fit in with any other bands. This guitar-drum-organ trio uses a wide variety of samples and strange objects turned into musical instruments to create their sound, to surprising and pleasing effect. The band's full-length debut, Hideous Dan Attack!!! was recently released to excited, if not baffled critical acclaim. Their influences and favorite musical moments, as shared below, are equally exciting and baffling:

1. My dad's hippie friend Big Steve singing "It's So Easy To Fall In Love". He uses an Ibanez distortion & flange on his homemade cave man guitar & sings it in falsetto. Dogs would cry tears. Afterwards he cleans his guitar with oversized women's underwear. (Jesse)

2. Quintron - Do The Stomp – Played this album constantly while working at a cactus farm. The sounds are amazing-mouth machine & drum buddy. (Jesse)

3. Torero! Music Of The Bullfight – Bought my second copy at an old lady thrift store. Listen to El Gato Montes 1000s of times. Recorded in the recorded in Spain in the 50s in "pirouette" true sound 3d stereo. It has a dry, dirty, real, warm sound. I love it. (Jesse)

4. Musical moment...laying on a bed of speakers w/ my friend Stephen & turning the bass up really loud for hours. (Jesse)

5. I was 8 years old. I finally got a real organ after playing on a piece of paper with the keys drawn on. (Shoko)

6. Another fav musical moment happened after a show Germany. It was in a beautiful church and they fed us the best dinner. There was so much yummy fish w/ white sauce, great coffee & wine & a very nice pasta. I love to eat. (Shoko)

7. Nico - "I'll Be Your Mirror" (Shoko)

8. Seeing US Maple for the first time. – Al Johnson appeared on stage with black paint haphazardly smeared on his face, dangling a 14 inch bowie knife by it's tip with two fingers. The crowd was growing increasingly uncomfortable, until the band busted out of the gates with something from Long Hair in Three Stages. Al dropped the knife to the ground, grabbed the microphone and proceeded to croon. (Ryan)

9. Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air – Quite possibly one of the most beautiful sounding records ever made. (Ryan)

10. While touring with a previous band, we stayed city of birth at my Grandfather's house. He was a jazz drummer in his younger days. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning drinking gin martinis and trading stories of touring and playing music. Stories of his grandson's 'combo' were reciprocated with stories of him sneaking out at night during high school and heading down to the local jazz clubs to play with the 'old timers'. I'm not sure I'd ever seen him as excited as that night. (Ryan)

By Dusted Magazine

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