Listening to the recent SpinArt compilation LP, ...The Audible Spectrum, which features the fantastic and obscure Marbles track "Jetstreams," turned my mind back wistfully to the days--primarily 1999-2001--when an Elephant 6 band seemed to be appearing on a small-label various artists compilation every month. It's rare to find so much quality, not just from Elephant 6 bands but from their like-minded peers, to come spilling out at once. So I decided to form a list of the top 15 compilation albums to feature Elephant 6 artists.

If you're just starting out collecting tracks by Elephant 6, and you've been browsing eBay for old records, you can consider these strong recommendations. Not only do they feature outstanding and rare tracks by Elephant 6 bands, but they also stand tall as cohesive, thoroughly enjoyable listens.

1) Kindercore Fifty: We Thank You (2000, Kindercore Records)
A few decades from now, aging indie pop fans will begin to tear up with bittersweet nostalgia at the mention of Kindercore Records. For a few years, beginning in 1996, it was the representative label for a certain kind of indie pop music, and being headquartered in Athens, it always had strong ties to Elephant 6 (its third release, Treble Revolution Vol. 2, featured tracks by The Olivia Tremor Control and Elf Power). In 2003 the label collapsed in a tragedy too complicated to recount here, but suffice it to say a lawsuit was involved. Kindercore Fifty--the fiftieth release by the label--was a celebratory affair and the apex of the label's output, a three-disc compilation that was even positively reviewed in Entertainment Weekly, mainstream recognition that was surprising in those days. The first disc, "The New," featured exclusive tracks from not just the Kindercore roster but outside artists who admired the label; the second disc featured rarities from Kindercore's history; the third, remixes you could dance to. The Masters of the Hemisphere are a strong presence on this collection, and that's appropriate, as the bright summer-pop sound of the Masters seems to summarize the Kindercore sound. Of Montreal's "An Ill-Treated Hiccup's View of the World" later turned up on their Big Oil album, and Dressy Bessy's superior "Instead" was collected on their record Little Music. But the Apples in Stereo song, a wry track entitled "The Oasis," in addition to tracks by The Essex Green, Sunshine Fix, and Marshmallow Coast, appear nowhere else. The second disc's rarities include an early Summer Hymns track and the notorious Major Organ and the Adding Machine cover of "What a Wonderful World." It seems odd, in this age of Satanic Twins, to think there was a time when it was a genuine novelty to remix Of Montreal, but I am the World Trade Center did it here first. There are also remixes of Olivia Tremor Control and The Ladybug Transistor, and a track by Kincaid remixed by Will Cullen Hart! This album was a joy to spin, and it still is, which is why it gets our #1 slot.

2) The Invention to Be Nobody and Nowhere: U.S. Pop Life Vol. 5 - Athens (2000, Contact Records)
The Japanese label Contact Records could be considered Japan's equivalent to Kindercore, keeping interest in the new indie-pop high overseas. Compiled by a devotee of the Athens scene, Yoko Sawai, this record could be considered her defining statement, or just a devout love letter to Elephant 6 and their friends. The Sunshine Fix is here, as well as the Summer Hymns, My First Keyboard (Of Montreal fronted by Dottie Alexander), Calvin, Don't Jump!, and Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't. Of Montreal even contributes one of their demos from Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies ("It's a Very Starry Night"). But you also get standout tracks like The Gwens' "Dear Florence," Triangle Park's "Chicopee Complex," and the Wee Turtles' "I Built a Radio...and Fueled a Teenage Riot!", and in this critic's opinion, the version featured here of "Dream #4" by The Good Ship is better than the remake on their Orange Twin debut.

3) Rabid Chords 002: VU Tribute (Victor Entertainment, 2000)
This is the Velvet Underground tribute album that Elephant 6 fans tend to speak about in hushed awe. Over two discs, the lineup is divided between Japanese and American bands covering Lou Reed and Nico, and occasionally dialogue by Gerard Malanga interrupts the listening experience to describe random moments from the Andy Warhol years. It's an interesting, high-concept affair. But what places it so high on this list is that the Elephant 6 tracks are really, really good. Gary Olson's voice always reminded me a bit of Lou Reed's, so it was no surprise to hear him take so naturally to the Velvets...but it was a shock to discover that his cover of "I Found a Reason" is better than the original, and one of the finest tracks the Ladybug Transistor ever recorded. Of Montreal also makes their choice, "She's My Best Friend," into one of their own (it also appears on their Big Oil album). Disc Two sees an experimental approach to the material, with Julian Koster's The Music Tapes taking the singing saw to "All Tomorrow's Parties"--oddly, a natural fit--and The Olivia Tremor Control completely distorting and stretching "European Son" into a collage of noise and squealing guitars, while deliberately compressing the lyrics into incoherency. Of the other tracks here, I really like Swarm's Arm's treatment of "I'll Be Your Mirror" and Jim O'Rourke's "Venus in Furs."

4) Christmas in Stereo/Kindercore Christmas Two (1997/1999, Kindercore Records)
When Kindercore decided to release a compilation of their artists covering Christmas standards (and writing some original songs, as well), they must have known they were risking losing any traces of "cool" that hadn't already been eroded by accusations of being twee-harboring gaywads. To hell with it, they said, and to compare 1997's Christmas in Stereo with the previous year's widely-varied Treble Revolution Vol. 2 is to see the label tighten its focus and deliberately define the kind of music they wanted to release. Christmas in Stereo featured holiday songs by Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, My First Keyboard, Summer Hymns, and Major Organ and the Adding Machine, not to mention The Mendoza Line, Masters of the Hemisphere, and Bunnygrunt. The second and last Christmas album really does feel like "part two," and adds to the roster Dressy Bessy, The Sixth Great Lake, The Ladybug Transistor, and The Essex Green, alongside I am the World Trade Center, Vermont, Kings of Convenience, and The Four Corners, among many others. This is the music I play every Christmas Eve on the long drive to see my family.

5) Heroes & Villains: Music Inspired by the Powerpuff Girls (2000, Kid Rhino)
Reportedly Craig McCracken, the creator of the Cartoon Network hit The Powerpuff Girls (as well as the Spike & Mike's Twisted Animation shorts "No-Neck Joe"), was a big fan of Elephant 6, and when he was asked to compile a soundtrack to the series, he wanted to do something different: make a hip kid's album that actually had music that wasn't annoying or condescending. So alongside Devo, Frank Black, and Komeda, you get "The Bill Doss" (aka The Sunshine Fix), Dressy Bessy, and The Apples in Stereo, whose sugary "Signal in the Sky" garnered a video produced by Portland's Will Vinton Studios (Vinton being the creator of the California Raisins and 80's Claymation specials), in which members of the band run in terror from a giant multi-eyed behemoth. The video got lots of airplay on the Cartoon Network, and McCracken even paid further tribute to the Apples by devoting an episode of the show (entitled "Superfriends") to the band, who appear briefly in an animated incarnation. Who knows how many young kids got tuned into Elephant 6 via the Powerpuff Girls. It's a fun, clever show, and it's a good record, too.

6) Happy Happy Birthday to Me Volume 1 (1999, Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records)
Happy Happy Birthday to Me is a pretty significant name in the Athens music scene now, but it began life modestly as a handmade zine called The Bee's Knees, edited by Mike Turner. The outfit's first record release came bundled with an issue of the zine, and the lineup was impressive: Of Montreal, Elf Power, The Minders, Great Lakes, Marshmallow Coast, Vince Mole and His Calcium Orchestra, and Kingsauce all appear on the CD, making it sort of an Elephant 6 extravaganza. There's also The Mendoza Line and Masters of the Hemisphere, whose "Coat of Arms" is one of the very best songs they ever produced. The track by The Minders, "40 Ferndale Road," still hasn't seen an official release, and although it's just another of the Coquelicot demos, neither has Of Montreal's. Elf Power's worthy and rocking "Historical Ant Wars" finally surfaced on their new tour-only CD, Treasures from the Trash Heap. This CD was a worthy beginning to an amazing record label.

7) Happy Happy Birthday to Me Volume 2 (2001, Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records)
A couple of years and a singles club later, HHBTM had established an eager audience and a roster of impressive pop bands. Their follow-up compilation manages to squeeze 25 tracks onto a CD, with hardly a stinker in the bunch. The Late B.P. Helium debuts his new song "They Broke the Speed of Light," which, rejiggered, becomes one of the highlights of his debut album a few years later. Old Neutral Milk Hotel buddy Ross Beach makes an appearance, as does Scott Spillane, in a rare solo appearance away from the Gerbils; Spillane's track, "Angel Wings Will Carry Me," is surprisingly delicate coming from the go-to one-man brass band of Elephant 6, but mirrors the wounded-ego tone of the Gerbils' songs. Calvin, Don't Jump! is here, as well as the seldom-heard Dixie Blood Mustache, the experimental project of Laura Carter of Elf Power and Roxanne Martin of Fablefactory. And Martin's band is here too, presenting one of their best songs ever, "Broken Arms."

8) Songs for a Crimson Eggtree (2000, Earworm)
This vinyl-only compilation comes from the U.K.'s equivalent of Kindercore and Contact Records, and, like Kindercore, it fell apart after a few years, to be replaced, in a way, by Track and Field Records. For a while, if you lived in the U.K. and you were a fan of Elephant 6, Earworm was your friend. Bright Eyes is here with a 4-track recording, "If Winter Ends," but we're here to talk about Elephant 6, and E6 bands comprise most of the record. The Essex Green provides "Victor," a short, charmingly crude little number, while their friends Dressy Bessy show up with "Gloria Days," copyrighted to "Little Music," also the name of the album where this pleasant track appeared next. Elf Power covers T-Rex, not for the last time, with "Dandy in the Underworld." Midget and Hairs have two short tracks, and the last word on the album goes to Of Montreal with "The Problem with April" (shortly reappearing on The Horse and Elephant Eatery).

9) Border Music...Flicker of a Smile: U.S. Pop Life Vol. 10 - Athens Experimental (2001, Contact Records)
Yoko Sawai's second tribute to Athens is interesting for all sorts of reasons. It features one of the first recordings by The Late B.P. Helium, The Visitations, and Marta Tennae (Jeremy Barnes of Neutral Milk Hotel, who would produce one album under the Marta Tennae moniker before forming A Hawk and a Hacksaw). Dixie Blood Mustache and the 8-Track Gorilla make rare appearances as well. The real oddity of this collection of avant-garde music, however, is Mysterious Band, a live recording made at the Kindercore Athens Expo and featuring an impromptu collaboration of Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse, Julian Koster and Robbie Cucchario (The Music Tapes), Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal), Bill Doss (Sunshine Fix), and members of Macha and Marble Index. At least, that's as much as I can make out from the liner notes, which are in Japanese. The cover painting is by Hannah Jones of Circulatory System and The New Sound of Numbers.

10) Oh, Merge (1999, Merge Records)
Merge Records celebrated its tenth anniversary with a compilation of rare tracks from their catalog, including one of my favorite Neutral Milk Hotel tracks, "Engine," recorded in the tunnels of the London Underground. This is the B-side of the band's "Holland, 1945" single. The Ladybug Transistor cover the Bee Gees 60's song "Massachusetts," a song so well suited that it quickly became a regular part of their live act. The rest of the album is not to be dismissed: The Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, East River Pipe, Superchunk, and Portastic are among the Merge stars appearing here.

11) Pop Romantique (1999, Emperor Norton)
The assignment here was to cover a French pop standard, preferably from the 60's, so this was a nostalgia project from the start. Air collaborated with Francoise Hardy on Hardy's own "Jeanne," but Serge Gainsbourg's songs have a more dominating presence, as covered by Ivy, Heavenly, Godzuki, and John Wesley Harding. The Ladybug Transistor worked with their idol, Kevin Ayers, on an Ayers song, "Puis-Je?" Ayers sings, and Gary Olson is on trumpet, of course. Robert Schneider decided to take a new approach when The Apples in Stereo were invited: he composed a brand new song in French, "Avril en Mai," that's actually up to his catalog's high standards, in melody if not in pronunciation. My guilty pleasure of the album is Godzuki's "Contact," a science fiction song Gainsbourg dedicated to Brigitte Bardot--talk about a 60's paradise.

12) AUX (2006, Ideas for Creative Exploration)
This collection was initiated by Heather McIntosh (The Instruments, Circulatory System), JoE Silva, and Steven Trimmer, members of "an interdisciplinary initiative for advanced research in the arts at the University of Georgia." Which might make you think that this CD isn't any fun to listen to, but you'd be wrong--unless, of course, you despise experimental music. Like Border Music...Flicker of a Smile, this is a compilation limited to experimental music from Athens, so you should have an idea immediately as to whether or not this is your cup of tea. Yes, Jeff Mangum briefly resurfaces here, under the name Korena Pang, with the utterly anarchic (in a good way) "excerpt from Dogbirthed Brother in Eggsack Delicious," which sounds akin to the noise collages he played on his old radio show. Will Cullen Hart, of Circulatory System, provides the intriguing "Dimensional Snail and Friend." Hannah Jones of The New Sound of Numbers has "Bells for Electronic Owl," and it would fit right in on her new album, Liberty Seeds. Heather McIntosh might be in a soft-rock band called The Instruments, and despite her superb work there, one senses that her heart will always be devoted to experimental music; her track here, "Next It Becomes Winter," for example, or the gathering of like-minded musicians for a small festival she's putting together in Athens this August. Special editions of this album come in numbered, handmade sleeves of cardboard with octagonal liner notes that fold out in all directions; visually and aurally, this record is an experience.

13) Old Enough 2 Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records (2004, Merge Records)
This 3-disc compilation is another anniversary celebration, but with a wider array of artists and styles. The first two discs are 42 tracks from past Merge releases, beginning with Neutral Milk Hotel's "Song Against Sex," appropriately enough. It shows how far the band has risen in esteem since they were actually together and recording. Disc 2 features The Ladybug Transistor, The Essex Green, and The Music Tapes, the latter with the bizarre selection "An Orchistration's Overture." (What, no "Television Tells Us?" No "Aliens?" Do they not want the band to earn new fans?) The third disc has the new material, and The Essex Green cover the Sir Douglas Quintent's classic "Mendocino" (with Sasha Bell singing), while The Ladybug Transistor provide the subdued, moody "Jersey Streets." That's it for Elephant 6 material, but stick around for new songs by The Clientele, Camera Obscura, M. Ward, and Lambchop. The cover art, by David Horvath, brings to mind David Barnes.

14) Sounds to Soothe a Nervous Robot (1998, Festival of Failure)
Produced by Davey Wrathgabar (The Visitations) and Brian Horst out of the Athens experimental label Festival of Failure, this mildly landmarkish compilation gathers all sorts of bleeps, buzzes, screams, and found dialogue that really, really just might soothe a nervous robot. The Black Swan Network, the alter ego of The Olivia Tremor Control, presents "Excerpts from Late Music Vol. 2," a continuation of their more jarring experimental sounds (their first record was entitled The Late Music). Dixie Blood Mustache makes their debut recording here, with "Mother and the Bird Machine." The Noisettes, Nipples for Days, Medaglia D'oro Orchestra, and Melted Men are all major Athens experimental projects, and it's not surprising to see them included; it is a little surprising to see Japancakes, however--about to begin their Icarus-like gesture toward brief indie pop fame.

15) Hydroponic Mascara Volume Two (1999, Mr. Whiggs Records)
I have no idea what was on volume one, but the supposed second installment of this Mr. Whiggs series seems to exist just to fill the gap until Happy Happy Birthday to Me turns its attention toward these pop bands. Elf Power, Marbles, The Minders, Gwens, Kingsauce, and Fablefactory all have rare tracks on this CD. So do Tobin Sprout and Impossible Shapes. While Kingsauce's "Lollipops in My Mind" is as pleasant as Pez, and the Marbles' McCartneyesque "Baby It's Your Birthday" is just as lightweight, I prefer Elf Power's mysterious, dreamy "Spiders" and Fablefactory's nigh-incoherent "Tobacci Heaven," about which band member Hank Wren wrote, "Sounds like it was recorded on a boom box from hell. Cool!"