Post Present Medium, or PPM Records, is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this weekend with a kickass show at the Smell featuring Abe Vigoda, High Places and more on Friday; Dunes, Tearist and more on Saturday; and No Age, SFV Acid and Bleached, among others, Sunday. The shows start at 7 p.m. each night, and it's 8 bucks a night.

No Age's Dean Spunt started the label in 2001, first releasing a 7” by a band called The Intima. From there, the bands PPM has released records of reads like a who's-who of breakthrough artists from the area over the past decade, including the aforementioned artists, plus such local luminaries as Best Coast, Mika Miko and Wavves. He'll release No. 50 in December and has up to No. 56 planned so far.

Spunt said there's not ruling sound for the label, given its variety, but rather it's an outlet for friends' bands and uncompromising artists, and to document the L.A. underground music scene. I asked Spunt to highlight a few landmark records from the PPM library.














PPM1 THE INTIMA 7"

Spunt: My first adventure into making records, such a good band. I probably let them down, I had no idea how to sell a record. I got the hang of it though! Find it if you can!

#1 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti-
Before Today (4AD)
The first time I heard this album I knew it would be at the top of my list this year. It was really just a competition the rest of the year with these other albums to see if anything could overtake it but nothing could do it. I somehow resisted the temptation of Ariel Pink the last couple of years. Before Today was clearly the album for me and a perfect introduction to this band. I just didn't know how much I would be falling in love with the band and obsessed with this album. It is like a shoegaze soft rock mash up of all the songs that you have ever loved. You simply need this album in your collection. It is simply amazing!

listen to "fright night" by ariel pink...


buy the album at amoeba.com


#2 Avi Buffalo-Avi Buffalo (Sub Pop)
Oh, Avi Buffalo. I am so glad to have you in my life. Another album that I didn't really know I would love until I first listened to it. These guys are crazy young and ridiculously talented. The album is one of the perfect little pop gems of the year and I really couldn't stop listening to it for months. Seeing them open up for My Morning Jacket at the Greek was one of my favorite shows of the year. I was first drawn to them because they were from my hometown of Long Beach, but I fell in love with the album as soon as I heard it. It is addictive. This album will stay with me forever and forever connect me to my great year that was 2010.

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Even here in Indian summer-happy San Francisco, the sun has finally faded and we are unmistakably headed into fall. For a tiny taste of that heat again, check out this new video from one of the most indisputably sunny bands out there, Best Coast. Here's "Boyfriend":

I have been a TV addict for most of my life. It is not really something that I am embarrassed or ashamed about -- it is just the way things are. I try to balance out my life with other activities, and I make sure that I still devote some good time to outdoor activities like hiking and exploring. I also make sure I actually read a real book every couple months or so. But TV is really something that I love very much and I proudly admit it! I can't really imagine my life without it! These days I actually spend most of my TV hours watching movies on TV or TV on DVD but I did spend many hours in the 80's and early 90's watching a lot of actual television. I didn't have cable growing up so I spent most of my time watching the regular network shows and I was also fascinated by infomercials and weird talk shows. These were often the only things on late at night. I could easily watch an hour of a weird religious televangelist show. I had no problem watching an hour-long show about a food dehydrator or steam cleaner. I also loved watching public access shows that you could only get locally, and then there were always some amazing moments on local news stations -- those moments that you could not believe just happened. I always worried these moments would be forgotten forever. How could I ever catch these amazing bits of late night talk shows and public access shows again? Luckily the amazingly brilliant Pinky Carnage has put these moments on some great DVD collections. He has answered my prayers! TV Carnage has been putting out DVDs for a couple of years now. This is one of those times where I feel like something was put out on DVD just for me! I really could not have wished for anything better. I have collected them all and really could not wait to get a hold of this newest collection. Volume 6 has just been released and it is devoted to work out videos. It is called "Let's Work It Out!!!