#50: Journey Through the Valley of O

Relatively Clean Rivers & Streaming

Welcome back, good people.

Super stoked to let you know that I now have an Aurender streamer/server set up and…OH MY GOD. I knew there would be an improvement (even with this older model N100C) over using VLC and Airplay(ing) Tidal and Apple Music from my Macbook Air via USB out to my DAC but it’s a night and day difference. It’s…INSANE.

A lot more to come on the Aurender and this huge next step for my digital music setup but, for now, I’ll just say I was missing a lot of sound with my old method. Besides the fidelity, it’s really neat to have a home network where I can just add stuff to the server from my couch position via laptop.

To make things more interesting, I’m trying out Qobuz. The Aurender only supports Tidal and Qobuz natively so it seemed like a no brainer to check it. Many people have said they love their editorial, so that will be interesting to experience as well.

So if you’re a Q/user, send some radical playlists if you like.

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The Trailhead Episode 166 went off without a hitch this week. We started off with something from Tim Hecker’s new one for Kranky before hearing great spiritual jazz influenced ambient guitar-based work from Japan’s Takuro Okada, off their lovely new Temporal Drift LP. From there we went to Hungary to hear from Psychedelic Source’s Bence Ambrus before finishing the set with seismic emissions from Indiana’s Tile from their debut on Medium Sound and the stellar new 20+ minute single from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma’s forthcoming Mexican Summer LP Gift Songs.

We got more crunchy and noodly than we have been in set two; starting off with Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders’ “Star Power (Sun Flower Mix)” off their forthcoming Feeding Tube LP Synchronous Orbit. From there we went to a classic from Tower Recordings’ final proper LP and a throwback to the late 60s with an International Harvester ripper before shutting it down with a massive slab from Texas’ Water Damage from their forthcoming 12XU LP Instruments.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE

1. Tim Hecker - Morning (Piano Version) - Shards (Kranky, 2025) 00:00

2. Takuro Okada - The Near End, The Dark Night, The County Line - The Near End, The Dark Night, The County Line (Temporal Drift, 2025) 04:11

3. B (Bence Ambrus) - Föld - Electric Guitar Meditation (Psychedelic Source, 2025) 08:12

4. Tile - A - Warmfth (Medium Sound, 2024) 20:09

5. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - The Milky Sea - Gift Songs (Mexican Summer, 2025) 32:07

6. Jeffrey Alexander + The Heavy Lidders - Star Power (Sun Flower Mix) - Synchronous Orbit (Feeding Tube, 2025) 1:03:09

7. Tower Recordings - Harvester - The Galaxies' Incredibly Sensual Transmission Field Of The Tower Recordings (Communion Label, 2004) 1:14:22

8. International Harvester - Deep Sleep and Whatever After - Remains (Silence, 2018) 1:23:00

9. Water Damage - Reel 25 - instruments (12XU, 2025) 1:35:12

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Just out this week in time for Bandcamp Friday is Hello Sunshine: A Tribute To Relatively Clean Rivers via Raven Sings the Blues.

Anybody who has spent any time listening to my show or talking with me about music for a few minutes (even the nice old lady at Hannaford who rings us up a lot) knows my deep, eternal love for the self-titled Relatively Clean Rivers album from 1976. Creator Phil Pearlman’s self-released psychedelic folk rock masterpiece has slowly but steadily grown in stature since I first encountered a bootleg CD of it at Kim’s on St. Marks some 20 years ago. Probably the biggest boost for its profile was Jeff Tweedy talking it up in interviews during the press cycle for Sky Blue Sky but word of mouth has been the best and headiest way to discover this one.

So it was with great excitement and interest when Andy at RSTB sent this compilation over for me to check out. Packed with familiar names (and a couple that are new to me), Hello Sunshine’s goal is to raise funds for LA wildfire relief via MusicCares.

I have to admit I was a little nervous hitting play, worried that my obsession with the original would unfairly color my perception of these modern covers but I’m happy to report every piece here is well done and shows great respect and reverence for the source material. The Garcia Peoples, Wednesday Knudsen & Willie Lane and Bures Band entries gave me goosebumps and tears of joy and when the album ended, I played it one more time before heading for the OG.

Most tribute albums suck, this one’s well worth your time and money.

Scan courtesy of The Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ

Speaking of an OG, RCR was an expensive record back when I found out about it and now it’s all but untouchable for a poor like me.

Thankfully, the Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ got a pristine original copy to rip and posted it online a couple years ago.

And it absolutely destroys the sound of the widely known Radioactive/Phoenix bootleg (which is a needle drop as well but very shittily done).

There’s a much longer, untold story but the short of it is: Pearlman has never allowed or sought for the record to be reissued so this version is the best you’re ever gonna get at this point. Per the excellent UPVHQ blog post, Pearlman has given his blessings for the album to be shared for free online.

While you wait for your download, the rip is on YouTube.