Friday, November 28, 2008

A TVD Ticket Giveaway | Rosie Thomas' Very Rosie Christmas! | Monday (12/1) at Jammin Java

Not feeling the holiday spirit just yet? TVD's got a cure (and tickets!) to snap you right into the season! Indie popster Rosie Thomas brings her brand of seasonal mirth to Jammin Java this Monday night (12/1) to herald the holiday happiness and to celebrate the release of her new Christmas-themed CD 'A Very Rosie Christmas'!

Per Rosie's website, "'A Very Rosie Christmas' is Rosie's Christmas Wish to you! Chock full of eggnog and grand spirits, Rosie, alongside her husband Jeff Shoop and longtime producer Josh Myers, called upon friends (Damien Jurado), family (Rosie’s brother Brian Thomas, affectionately known to his friends as BT) and alter egos (the simply hilarious Sheila Saputo) to capture all the warmth and exuberance of the holiday season for everyone to share.

You’ll find all their holiday favorites such as "Christmastime Is Here", "O Come Emmanuel", and "Winter Wonderland", cozy up next to the playful original "Why Can’t It Be Christmastime All Year?" and the Prairie Home Companion style radio sketch “Sheila’s Christmas Miracle”. So light the fire and mosey over to cuddle in front of the tree and experience 'A Very Rosie Christmas' and we hope it will give you that special Christmas glow throughout the holiday season!"

TVD's got a pair of tickets for this Monday's show, a copy of the new 'A Very Rosie Christmas,' AND Rosie's last record 'These Friends of Mine' (recorded with Sufjan Stevens and Denison Witmer) to bestow upon one Christmas-y commenter! Make it festive and holiday themed in the spirit o' the season and we'll choose one winner by noon on Monday for the stocking filled with stuff. Remember to leave us some contact info too. "Santa @ North Pole" just won't cut it...


Rosie Thomas - Why Can't It Be Christmastime All Year? (Mp3)


A TVD-Som Records Ticket Giveaway | Peasant | Saturday (11/29) at the Velvet Lounge

Som Records and TVD have conspired to shake you from your post-Thanksgiving tryptofanatical malaise with a contest sure to get you off of your couch Saturday night.

Som and TVD welcome Peasant to the Velvet Lounge for the third date on his 3-week journey across the Northeast which heralds the release of his debut “On The Ground” which arrives with some help from Team Love (yes, Conor Oberst’s label). He's played shows with Delta Spirit, Takka Takka, Bodies Of Water and most recently at the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ party (The Muslims, Friendly Fires, Crystal Antlers, Sebastian Grainger, Japanese Motors).

Peasant has been the recipient of 6 posts on Brooklyn Vegan within 2 months, a feature in Magnet Magazine, a Food Network video feature, a Spin.com video feature, and a featured slot at WXPN's World Cafe Live, not to mention he also just finished up a session at Daytrotter and is on his way over to Cincinnati shortly for a WOXY session and a LaundroMatinee (My Old Kentucky Blog) Session. In addition, he was recently featured on the season premier of Fox's "Bones" television show.

“DeRose’s vocals float above acoustic guitar melodies, evoking the lyrical eloquence and delicate arrangements of Rogue Wave and the late Elliott Smith.” - Magnet Magazine

“It's a good feeling to come across an artist you instantly like, sort of by accident. That happened to me with Peasant a few weeks ago when I randomly selected his CD 'On The Ground'…” - Brooklyn Vegan

"...we actually enjoy this album more than most of the stuff we've heard by [Elliot] Smith. Every one of the thirteen tracks is lovely, melodic, catchy, and deeply felt." - Phillyist

But enough of the glowing quotes you're saying, TVD whatcha' got in this Ticket Giveaway? Well, in addition to a pair of tickets, the one winner will receive an autographed CD. (Wha, need more?) Neal's kicked in $30.00 of store credit over at Som Records to make this deal really special.

Let's hear from you in the comments and the whole post-turkey shebang is yours! We'll accept your well-phrased pleas for tickets until Friday (11/28) and kindly remember to leave us some contact info.


Peasant - The Wind (mp3)





Thursday, November 27, 2008

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

TVD First Date | Emily Easterly

TVD readers might recall Emily Easterly from her first 'First Date' appearance alongside J Seger last month. The Brooklyn based songwriters teamed up to release the first in a series of 45rpm split singles with “Please, Please Say Goodnight”/ “City Love Is Strange.” Emily returns by her lonesome this week with a glimpse into her creative process:

"When I moved up to New York from Richmond, VA I knew that I wanted to do a new recording but I didn’t know where or with who. After gigging around the city for a couple months I met Chris Cubeta who has a band, Chris Cubeta and the Liars Club as well as a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn called Galuminum Foil. We worked out a deal to go into his studio and do one song together to see how well we worked together and then go from there. In that day we finished, “Shadows (Oh Honey)”. I felt such a renewed sense of excitement and energy in what I was doing after recording this one track with Chris. I knew that this would be the place to do the whole record. I have never been happier with the way a recording turned out as I was with “Heart Comma Heart”. “Shadows (Oh Honey) is still one of my favorite tracks on the record. I am most proud of “Heart Comma Heart” out of the four releases that I have done".

Emily Easterly - Heart,Heart (Mp3)
Emily Easterly - Neil Young Knows What I'm Talking About (Mp3)
Emily Easterly - Shotgun Wedding (Mp3)



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

TVD's Daily Wax | The Joy Formidable

Last February or thereabouts, I assembled a folder that contained Mp3's sent to me by bands hoping for some coverage on TVD. My plan was to do a theme week to coincide with the SXSW music festival held in Austin, Texas each year and this folder would ONLY contain acts I felt had great things ahead of them. From the literally hundreds of notes received, my folder contained--FIVE bands. That's it--five. (Which I actually think IS pretty decent, all things considered...)

London's The Joy Formidable was one of those five acts. 'Austere' got me right away. Punky, hooky, well-played, and teeming with an energy and a sound that I hadn't realized I'd been missing 'til then. And thus, TJF joined the SXSW TVD theme week.

A week or two later I was over at my favorite watering hole, The Fox and Hounds and Chris the bartender who's a bit of a vinyl fan himself I come to find out, says "Hey Jon, that band in your SXSW line-up, The Joy Formidable, they used to be in here all the time talking about starting a band..." Apparently, good taste knows no bounds AND frequents the same venue for a pint (or six).

Later on I emailed Ritzy from TJF about our shared venue of choice in DC and soon we were sharing stories about the place and catching up on the goings-on of some of the regulars. As if it even needs to be said, music does indeed bring people together--and a cocktail among them doesn't hurt, right?

So, with the release of their new single, 'Cradle' (on VINYL, I might add) I thought it was a good time to check in with the band. Take 'er away Ms. R:


"Greetings from The Joy Formidable! Our next single 'Cradle' is released on January 12th through Try Harder Records. We're delighted to unveil that it's on double 7" with new track 'The Last Drop' and remixes by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kyte. It's available now to pre-order from our myspace page and if you do, you'll get a CD of the tracks, a signed 7" vinyl AND signed artwork. You'll also be entered into a competition to win one of 5 copies of our exclusively Japanese album 'A Balloon Called Moaning'".
Love to all at the F&H! XXX


The Joy Formidable - Austere (Mp3)
The Joy Formidable - The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade (Mp3)



Monday, November 24, 2008

TVD's Daily Wax | Magnet "The Tourniquet"

I heard a term over the weekend which was a new one on me: "rumspringa".

Via Wiki, "Rumspringa generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish community. . . Amish adolescents may engage in rebellious behavior, resisting or defying parental norms. In many cultures, enforcement may be relaxed, and misbehavior tolerated or overlooked to a degree. . . A view of rumspringa has emerged in popular culture that this divergence from custom is an accepted part of adolescence or a rite of passage for Amish youth. During that time a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising and is not so severely condemned."

"A minority of Amish youth do diverge from established customs. Some may be found: wearing non-traditional clothing and hair styles, driving vehicles instead of horse drawn buggies (for communities that eschew vehicles), not attending home prayer, drinking, smoking, and/or drug use."

Now, forgive me...isn't that called a four-year college degree? (Also, I find it odd how 'starting a band' didn't make that list up there...)

So, five from the weekend of rumspringa just concluded:


Magnet - Hold On (Mp3)
Magnet - The Pacemaker (Mp3)
Magnet - Little Miss More Or Less (Mp3)
Magnet - Jaws (Mp3)
Magnet - This Bird Can Never Fly (Mp3)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

TVD Remembers | Guy Peellaert

Guy Peellaert, 74, a Belgian painter-collagist whose fervid imagination produced surreal album covers for John Lennon, David Bowie and Mick Jagger, as well as images for a seminal book about rock mythology, "Rock Dreams," died of kidney cancer Nov. 17 at a hospital in Paris.

The book was a collaboration with the prominent British rock journalist Nik Cohn, who wrote how they intended to convey a "cinematic approach" to pop history and "approached the project, not as commentators or fine artists, but primarily as fans. Even more than the actual music, we were both obsessed with pop mythology."

"Rock Dreams" was published in the early 1970s and reportedly sold more than a million copies. It featured a bloated Jerry Lee Lewis clutching a bottle to his chest and stumbling along a neon-lit street; the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, drug-dazed and muse-abandoned, sitting alone in a garbage-strewn practice room; Ray Charles, his arm cradling a woman, cruising behind the wheel of a convertible.

A reviewer for the London Independent described Mr. Peellaert's images as rock iconography -- "almost as thrilling as the music itself, but obviously not the same thing. It was the pornography of rock. It was also its stained-glass window."

Read the rest here. (Via The Washington Post)

A TVD Orpheus Records Update: see ya' in December!

Direct from the Orpheus website as posted very early this morning: "I'm taking the leap of faith that if you are watching this site, this will be good news.... WE WILL BE OPEN IN DECEMBER..WISHING YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS.!!!!..We will be Open this WEEKEND. Friday Nov 21 & Saturday Nov 22 Noon til 10PM & Sunday the 23rd Noon til 6PM..We will also be open next weekend November 28, 29 & 30..stay tuned for specific hours & days in December. The new release & re-issue lps that have never been part of the sale are back out, still FULL PRICE. MOST OTHER LPS IN THE STORE ARE ONE DOLLAR. THAT MEANS: if the sticker says it's 99 cents it's a dollar, if the sticker says it's $9.99, it's a dollar, if the sticker says it's $29.99 or even more (not likely) it's still one dollar. ,Come on in, stack 'em up and buy as much as you can afford, or more, for ONE DOLLAR EACH. Please bring boxes if you need them, we're out..."

"Stay tuned for the Second Annual Going Out of Business Sale in January," Rick remarked to me this afternoon...only HALF joking.

Friday, November 21, 2008

TVD's Parting Shots

Mega-talented Minnie Murphy returns to TVD after her 'First Date' appearance a few weeks back with a list of some favorites to kick start your weekend. Take 'er away Minnie:

The Steeldrivers – If It Hadn't Been for Love (Mp3)
The Steeldrivers are the best thing going on in Nashville right now! The lead singer Chris Stapleton is an incredible singer and the songs are really powerful. This one is one of my favorites but all of their work is great!

Amy Winehouse – Wake Up Alone (Mp3)
It takes a lot for me to buy an album these days but as soon as I heard Amy I felt a depth from her music that made me want more. I love the line, "This face in my dreams seizes my guts, he floods me with dread."

Aerosmith – Jaded (Mp3)
Steven Tyler is another astounding vocalist. This song just makes you feel good. It's like speeding down a highway in the summertime with the windows down. I love him!

Bjork – Venus As a Boy (Mp3)
Bjork is truly my idol. I think there's a lot of people that don't get her because she is so different but I absolutely love her. This song is so cool because it's almost got a reggae twist and her voice is just amazing!

James Brown – I Got the Feelin (Mp3)
James Brown is such a musical giant. Even if you can't dance you can't help but want to move when you hear this song!

Alison Krauss – Could You Lie (Mp3)
"Could you lie and say you love me just a little?" What a heartbreak. Alison is the best and her arrangements are always gorgeous.

Vince Gill – Pretty Little Adriana (Mp3)
Vince Gill is a living legend in country music. I feel so blessed that he is singing harmony on my first single "Take Me To Texas Tonight." He is such a humble artist who's only motive is blessing people with his music. This song was inspired by the tragic killing of a young innocent girl.

Todd Rundgren – Johnee Jingo (Mp3)
"Johnee Jingo" comes from the "A Cappella" album Todd Rundgren released in 1985. I literally grew up dancing and playing with my brother to this album. Thankfully, my mom was bit of a hippie in her day and had great taste in music. I also love this song because it's about a soldier.

Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away (Mp3)
Bob Dylan is an awe-inspiring songwriter. This is my favorite song from his country album, "Nashville Skyline."

Jeff Buckley – Grace (Mp3)
Jeff is one of my all time favorite artists and even though his body of work is small due to his unfortunate young death, his work is incredible and seems to make up for that in a way. I still listen to the album and song "Grace" all the time. He was an incredible artist with a beautiful and innovative style.

TVD | Friday @ Random

I was thrilled to be asked by TVD alum Leerone to contribute to her blog after her two previous appearances here at TVD. If you recall, Leerone was our very first 'First Date' and DJ'd the start of your weekend two weeks ago.

I have to confess that for a moment though, both topically and thematically, I was at a bit of a loss regarding what to post on another blog besides my own. Hell, sometimes I'm at a loss as to what to post HERE, so I found myself taking a bit longer than normal to put together my thoughts.

Frankly, I needed to clear my head. I poured a glass of wine and meandered around TVD HQ the other evening, ...then it hit me.

But you need to head on over to Ms. L's blog to find out just what it was indeed that freed me from the fevered confines of my own cranium. (If you're guessing it was the wine, well - you're half right.)

I anticipate my post over at Leerone's place will be up shortly, but in the meantime, here's a bit of what to expect when blogs collide:


The Clientele - Isn't Life Strange (Mp3)
I Am Kloot - Over My Shoulder (Mp3)
Bedroom Walls - In Anticipation Of Your Suicide (Mp3)
Danny Wilson - Pleasure To Pleasure (Mp3)
The Blue Nile - She Saw The World (Mp3)

New Order reissues plagued with sound problems

A music label renowned for its elaborate reissues of vintage albums has annoyed British rock group New Order and its fans with a flawed package of the group's classics discs.

Rhino Records reissued "collector's editions" of New Order's first five albums, which all originally came out in the 1980s. Each one features a bonus disc, with 7- and 12-inch versions, instrumentals and remixes.

But alert fans quickly complained of about 300 errors, mostly relating to poor sound quality on the bonus discs. The pops and crackles on many of the tracks suggest they were transferred directly from commercially available vinyl recordings rather than from the original master tapes.

The discs were released in Britain last month, and music magazines there, such as Q and Mojo, did not mention any of the technical shortcomings in their rave reviews.

But Peter Hook, the bass player with the defunct group, said in his MySpace page that the reissue project was a "mess." He blamed the label for not sending out advance copies so that he and his former bandmates could do some quality control.

Despite the discontent, Rhino released the discs in the United States last Tuesday, and U.S. fans noticed the same problems. Rhino, an affiliate of Warner Bros. Records, plans to reissue the reissues, and will allow fans to exchange their dud CDs.

Read the rest here. (Via Reuters)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

TVD's 'You Dig!' | ...with Neal Becton of DC's Som Records

There are many ways record stores find records. In this space, in monthly installments, I will try and go into all of the ways my store, Som Records, in particular finds new (mostly used) stock. This month I want to talk about the "house call."

Once a used record store has been open for a little while and is findable in the phone book and on-line the calls will start coming in. "Do you buy records?" "Yes, of course, we need records to sell, what do you have?" From here the store will ask further questions to try and figure out what the seller is sitting on.

"What style of music are the records? "What format are they?" (singles, LP's or 78's?) "What kind of shape are they in?" "Whose records are/were they?" "Why are you selling them?" (not always asked) "Do you want bring them by the shop or should I come to you?" If the answer is yes to the last question you get an address and set up a time to go see the collection.

As you drive to the scheduled appointment your mind races as you think about what records await. You replay the conversation you had with the seller on the phone to try and find clues. Are the "jazz records" she mentioned actually lame easy listening LP's with some horns on them? Or are they all big band LP's? Or are they in fact rows of mint Blue Note, Impulse and Prestige LP's carefully stored over the years and rarely played? You hope for the last option but most times the records you find are nowhere near as good as the ones you envisioned beforehand.

Over the years I've made house calls in the projects, mansions, garages, townhouses, places of work, the side of the road, barns, storage units, you name it. Everyone has a different reason for selling "their" records. The common ones include moving, a deceased relative who left a collection, house downsizing, or just a general need for cash.

As a buyer you try to feel out the seller. Do they have a personal attachment (or an investment) in the collection? What are they expecting to get for these LP's? Have other stores/dealers been through the collection already? Sometimes everything clicks and there are great records at cheap sales prices or even for free. Most of the time however the records are bad and the seller expects to retire from his little pile of beat up Herb Alpert albums and is upset when you offer what he thinks is an insulting amount. This is where your negotiating skills come in. "Yes it is an Elvis record but this one sold five million copies and this particular copy looks like someone put out cigarettes on it for the last 50 years so it is not worth $100."

One thing you want to is to make sure the seller doesn't feel slighted. If you're a one time buyer it wouldn't matter so much but as a brick and mortar store you like to have a good reputation. There's also a chance they might have friends with even more records to sell you. The buyer is usually at an advantage knowledge-wise but too often record stores have a bad rep (fairly or unfairly) about abusing this. Be fair yes, but don't overpay or overbuy. If you can't sell what you bought in a reasonable amount of time then your store won't be around too long.

There's no set rule as far as to what to pay for records. It all depends on your overhead, your need for new stock, your fairness, the condition of the albums, the genres in the collection (some genres sell quickly, some sit for a while), etc. Explaining this to a seller can be tough. "Yes that record sold on e-bay for thirty dollars last month but your copy is not as good as that one and that's not the price I'm going to give you for it." (More on eBay's affects on the record selling business in coming posts.)

When the records are good its easy to come up with a strong offer. It gets tricky when it's a personal collection (as opposed to a found or inherited one) where ALL of the records are terrible. What do you say? "You have no taste?" "I can't believe you bought this crap?" I try and be diplomatic - "these are all great records but they're not quite right for my shop" or something along those lines. Never buy out of guilt though.

One thing that's fairly common is that everyone thinks their records are all in "great shape." Not true unfortunately. Definitely try and find good light for inspecting the records before you buy. There's nothing worse than getting back to your shop and finding out that all those records you just bought are unsellable because you looked at them in a basement.

Here's a typical house call and one of the last ones I made: About two weeks ago I got a call at the shop from a woman in Bethesda named Selma who had some records she wanted to sell. Some were her personal folk and classical records and the others were rock records her grown up children had left behind over the years. We set up a weekday morning time for me to come out. I Mapquested her address and arrived in her suburban ranch house at 10AM on the appointed morning.

Selma is about 80 years old but is very spry and she appeared to be living alone. From the stickers on her fridge I could tell she was a passionate Democrat and an active supporter of Israel. These we're all good signs as far as I was concerned (well-travelled and liberal usually means more interesting records).

After offering me something to drink I was led into her living room where there was a cabinet with approximately 250 records. About half were classical which I don't really mess with (I like classical, it just doesn't sell in my shop). The other half were US folk and Israeli LP's from the 60's. The folk stuff was pretty standard but still good: Pete Seeger, Buffy Saint-Marie, Odetta, a few Folkways LP's, Josh White, etc. I was hoping for more blues LP's but you can't have everything.

The Israeli stuff had a few good titles and a few I'd never seen before. Out of this group I pulled out about twenty five LP's which I was interested in. Selma then showed me upstairs where there was another 100 records from her kids. These were the 60's rock records and they were pretty decent - Neil Young, Moby Grape, Gram Parsons, The Youngbloods, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and some Beatles and Stones. Nothing really rare but all good solid store stock. Most importantly they were all in great shape (rare for 60's LP's). From this box I grabbed another twenty to bring my total up to forty five. I thought I was done when I spotted two 7"s at the bottom of the box. They were both picture sleeve 60's pop EP's from Mexico in beautiful shape (one still in shrink wrap!).

The first was a four song EP by Alberto Vazquez on the Musart label. Vazquez is a well known Mexican corrido and ranchera singer with a deep resonant voice. On this 1966 release he does a great cover of "16 Tons" which is sung in English although the title has been translated to Spanish on the sleeve jacket. Two of the other tracks are pretty swinging mid-60's pop groovers. One ballad closes out the release.


The other find was a four song EP from "Los Rockin Devils" on Orfeon. Los Rockin Devils were a popular Mexican garage/pop/rock band who had/still have a long career. On this four track EP the highlight by far is the slightly fuzzed out cover of "Hanky Panky." Really groovy stuff. The only other time I've ever found a record by these guys was at the San Diego swap meet five years ago. I'm really not sure how these records ended up in Bethesda and I neglected to ask my hostess. My guess is that they were picked up on a trip to Mexico as souvenirs and from the looks of things never played afterwards. Neither is super valuable (about $20-25 each) but they're definitely not records you see much of around DC.

Some times when I'm looking at people's collections they'll hover behind me and tell me stories. I love hearing about how people got (and played) their records. Selma told me how she got Pete Seeger to sign one of her albums after a show in DC back in the 70's. At one house call in Middleburg the seller laid on his bed while I looked at his records on the floor. Pretty creepy if you ask me.

After inspecting my pile for condition, I gathered up all my finds. After two minutes of friendly negotiating I wrote Selma a check for an amount which made both of us happy. We then talked about her kids (all three are academics in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) and the election. Finally I headed back to the shop so I could open up and price the records I'd just bought. Two of the Dylan LP's sold within an hour of being put out.

My next house call is this Saturday. "60's rock" the guy said. Who knows...
_____________

Thanks go out to Stefan Glerum for use of his illustration at the top of this post which will adorn Neal's monthly crate dispatches. Check out the rest of Stefan's amazing work here - and he's even got prints for sale!

TVD's Daily Wax | The Blue Nile "A Walk Across The Rooftops"

To be fair, this first Blue Nile release isn't a repost at all, but we still receive plenty of requests for its posting - so consider your voices heard.

"A Walk Across The Rooftops is one of the most exquisitely orchestrated pop albums ever made, a timeless, finely detailed arrangement of funky bass, delicate strings and synth flourishes, not least on the title track. "Tinseltown In The Rain's dark-hued musical watercolours and flashes of light and shade paint a vivid picture of the city at night--coupled with Paul Buchanan's wistfully romantic lyrics, this album captures with almost cinematic resonance late evening walks along deserted, neon-lit puddled streets turning over thoughts in your mind of a loved one. Broody, bittersweet and wonderful."

How true, huh?


The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops (Mp3)
The Blue Nile - Tinseltown In The Rain (Mp3)
The Blue Nile - Stay (Mp3)
The Blue Nile - Easter Parade (Mp3)
The Blue Nile - Heatwave (Mp3)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

TVD First Date | ...with The Moderate

TVD sat down with Drew Marks, drummer for DC's The Moderate, to get his take on all things vinyl:

"I was reintroduced to vinyl records by my friend Dan, a roommate at the time. It had been years since I had listened to my parent's albums growing up. I had almost forgotten how crisp the sound of a record is and that crackle when the needle is finding the groove. I immediately fell for that sound and started to build my own collection.

There are so many things to love about records. The thrill of finding a great record shop and taking your time flipping through albums to find your personal needle in a haystack. Every collector has a few albums in their collection that they treasure. My beloved album was a birthday present from a loved one, Luna's classic 'Penthouse'. I also love listening to albums the way they were intended to be heard; hearing the notes and subtleties that highly compressed digital formats miss. Records are now pressed for music lovers and audiophiles that are willing to spend as much time as it takes to find the music they love the way they want to hear it; clean and clear and as pure you can get it. Collecting and listening to records is something I will always enjoy doing. There's nothing like coming home to a couple great records to spend your evening with."


The Moderate is a DC three-piece that has found its niche as a self-styled alt-country power trio. They will headline Velvet Lounge on Thursday, November 20. The show starts at 9:15pm with John Bustine opening.

The Moderate - Rock and Roll (Mp3)
The Moderate - Blue Eyes and Barflies (Mp3)
The Moderate - Lost, Boy (Mp3)

TVD Recommends | Old Rare New - The Independent Record Shop

There is nothing quite like the feeling of thumbing through LP after LP in a dusty old record shop, only to stumble upon some hidden treasure, new obsession or forgotten love. Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is a homage to the holy places of music collecting, complete with their particular anecdotes, peculiar characters, and unique environments.

Emma Pettit, formerly of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, has travelled across the UK and America into these eclectic spaces of musical exchange, interviewing record shop owners, collectors and musicians to provide a rich account of the increasingly rare independent record shop. Featured shops include Rough Trade East (London), Sister Ray (London), Vinyl Exchange (Manchester), Other Music (New York), Aquarius Records (San Francisco), Amoeba Records (California) and Jazz Record Mart (Chicago). The first comprehensive look at these important institutions, Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is an essential read for the musically inclined.

Featuring contributions by James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers), Simon Reynolds, Devendra Banhart, Billy Childish, Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne), Sean Bidder (Vinyl Factory), Byron Coley (Ecstatic Yod), Rob Da Bank (Bestival) and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

For more info and to order, visit Black Dog Publishing.

TVD's Daily Wax | The Reposts | The Bathers "Pandemonia"

If I was a little surprised as to the number of requests for yesterday's reposting of the Fossil release, I'm not so taken aback by the frequent emails received requesting a reappearance of the The Bathers' 'Pandemonia'. The Scottish band led by former Friends Again front man Chris Thomson invites comparisons to David Bowie, Tom Waits, The Blue Nile, or Tindersticks.

Lower the lights, pour yourself a glass of wine, and indulge your melancholic moodswings...


The Bathers - Twenty-Two (Mp3)

The Bathers - Dreamless (Mp3)
The Bathers - The Belle Sisters (Mp3)
The Bathers - Sundown And Longing (Mp3)
The Bathers - Trocadero Girls (Mp3)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

TVD's Daily Wax | The Reposts | Fossil "Fossil"

While we're going about the business of accepting requests for reposts, I began to think that the time might be right for some TVD reader feedback. As I contemplate the final months of this year and begin making plans for TVD for the next, I'd be interested in hearing from the many of you who visit us each day, week, or month. What would you like to see more or less of? More news? More ticket or vinyl giveaways? Live gig reviews? Vinyl reviews? Or LESS of some of the aforementioned?

It should also bear repeating that we're always looking for contributors who can be involved with some regularity here. Unique perspectives encouraged...

On to the business at hand for the day--oddly, one of THE most requested for reposting is this release from New Jersey's Fossil. And to a degree I understand. "Moon," the first track below, is really a quite the power pop gem, isn't it?


Fossil - Moon (Mp3)
Fossil - Ocean (Mp3)
Fossil - Fall (Mp3)
Fossil - Tethered (Mp3)
Fossil - Rebellion (Mp3)

TVD Recommends | Pirate Radio USA

Join some of the nation's leading Community Powered Radio Project activists for a screening of: Pirate Radio USA, "a post-objective documentary" this Monday, November 24th at 8:00pm at the Black Cat Backstage. Admission is $5.

Following the screening, join a panel discussion with some of DC and the nation's premier LP-FM advocates: Andy Gunn, Technical and Training Organizer, Prometheus Radio Project | Casey Rae-Hunter, Communications Director, Future of Music Coalition | Jared Ball, Assistant Professor of Communications Studies at Morgan State University and Creator of "FreeMix Radio: The People's Mixtape" | Ryme Katkhouda, Founder, People's MEDIA Cafe and Co-founder, DC Radio Coop

Pirate Radio USA is a feature length digital documentary about the underground world of illegal radio in America, where people play what they want and say what they want–unless the FCC catches them…

DJ’s Him and Her, from their live Pirate Radio USA Studio, take you on a rock -n-roll journey inside rogue radio stations across the country to see why Americans defy Federal Law to free the radio airwaves. On the way see the rise of Big Media, the growth of Citizen Media to encounter it, and witness their showdown over the truth during the 1999 World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle.

Pirate Radio USA was broadcast–or really microcast–with a 4 watt transmitter live, as an uninterrupted radio program. The effect will be to ’see’ a live pirate radio microcast about pirate radio: a first.See the battle to free the airwaves live–and find out the real price of freedom. It’s not about Left vs. Right, it’s about Big vs. Small.


Monday, November 17, 2008

TVD's Daily Wax | The Reposts | Del Amitri "Del Amitri"

I was tooling around some of the other blogs over the weekend that I consider to be in TVD's extended family of blogs and was surprised at the number of comments each post tends to receive. TVD gets its fair share of feedback from the readership, so I'm not griping. But we also get our fair share of direct correspondence from all corners of the globe and they tend to read, "Hey, can you repost such-and-such?" or sometimes just flat out, "Hey, please send me the Mp3 of such-and-such". Really--people write to request I just send them things no questions asked. Weird, huh?

So--new TVD Policy: we WILL from time to time repost things...just leave a comment at the pertinent post with the expired links and we'll designate a theme week where we'll get to all of 'em at once. Like THIS week where we'll get to the backlog of requests and spend some time revisiting the records most often requested for reposting...

...like this one from last Fall--Del Amitri's winning debut before they went all obvious on us and where their wordiness was indeed a charm:

Deceive Yourself (In Ignorant Heaven)
The world
And the surrounding stars
Might change completely in the space of an hour
But not an eclipse of the sky nor a colliding car
Will turn me back now that I've come this far.
Not a shotgun blast nor a shooting star
Will bring her down from her stubborn tower.

Its a kind of madness, its a kind of sin
To live in the state of mind I've been living in
Her face imprinted on my sight
Her voice resounding in my skull at night.
If there is a living goddess on earth
It must be her from the heaven highlife
It takes this girl to realise what you're worth
And I'm worth nothing if she's worth more than my life.

But there's more to me than simple devotion
I wont just crawl at her feet and utter a plea
And if she refused I wouldn't walk into the ocean
Just because my world was left all out at sea.

So it was in this cafe when we eventually met
And I wished I had sunglasses and smoked cigarettes

The world
And the surrounding stars
They change completely in the space of an hour
When over the table and two cups of tea
She told me she felt the same way about me.
And not an eclipse of the sky nor a colliding car
Could have shaken our attention from each others face
As we both stepped down from our stubborn towers
We jump into the ignorant heaven that is the lovers place.


Del Amitri - Heard Through A Wall (Mp3)
Del Amitri - Hammering Heart (Mp3)
Del Amitri - Former Owner (Mp3)
Del Amitri - Deceive Yourself (In Ignorant Heaven) (Mp3)
Del Amitri - Breaking Bread (Mp3)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A TVD Orpheus Records Update

As you may already know (thanks to our flucuating residency situation) Orpheus Records is the REAL AGENT OF CHANGE in D.C. (we've been changing our final opening date for 11 months now :).

To celebrate the final days, Orpheus continues to present live local music on Saturday nights. This Saturday is no exception - Performing this Saturday (11/15) at 9:00PM will be Dizzy Dizzy (named after the "CAN" song) featuring Sean Epstein. And on 11/29, legendary DC noise makers, New Carrollton grace our space for their first live performance since 1991, along with their special guest Blue Sausage Infant (aka Chester Hawkins) fresh off recent gigs at the Velvet Lounge and at this year's Sonic Circuits fest! That set starts at 7PM on the the 29th. So come on down and watch great live music and cash in some great LP bargains!

Our $1 sale has been a resounding success, but customer demand has forced us to put out our full price stock again. Thus, MOST of the LPs are still $1, with the exception of sealed/recent reissues and new releases kept up front, as well as selected used legacy stock from the legendary Vinyl Ink store that we have neatly isolated into one section of the store. All Compact Discs remain at $5 each (excluding a few select titles).

Our Current Schedule is now:
This Week: Friday/Saturday-11/14-15 Open 12-10PM (or later). Sunday 11/16 Open 12PM-8PM
Next Week: Friday/Saturday-11/21-22 Open 12-10PM (or later). Sunday 11/23 Open 12PM-8PM
Turkey Week: Friday/Saturday-11/28-29 Open 12-10PM (or later). Sunday 11/30 Open 12PM-8PM

Beyond that...the new tenant (the Irish Pub) has offered us a chance to stay a bit longer, but we will need much of that time to pack and close up shop. As soon as we know what our extended retail schedule will be (if any), we will post it here and at our web site: www.oprheusrecords.com

After the final closing for retail sales, we will still accept appointments for large volume LP and CD sales and sales of store fixtures right up until the bitter end.For more information visit: www.orpheusrecords.com. OR, call us at 703-294-6774. We are located at 3173 Wilson Blvd in Arlington, VA. One-and-a-half blocks west of the Clarendon Metro station. See You There!!