Here at THE VINYL DISTRICTwe're good consumers. All Mp3's are posted to promote and give exposure to the music and are linked for a limited time. Please download to preview, then head promptly to your local vinyl vendor (or - OK, CD store too) and fork over your hard earned cash. You'll appreciate the piece of mind.
Got something you think we should be listening to or reading? thevinyldistrict (at) gmail.com
Alright, alright - keep your shirts on. It's true. The vinyl isn't out yet but we're in love with the new Bryan Ferry release Olympia here at TVD HQ. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving 'n all and playing it forward, we've got the brand new one to award to one of you guys.
Oh—and another thing—we got a 16" x 16" litho of the above cover featuring the age/coke defying Kate Moss signed by Mr. Ferry himself. It's one of only 200.
First however, some background:
The legendary Bryan Ferry returns with his brand new studio album Olympia, his debut for EMI’s Astralwerks Records. This will follow the release of the brand new single “You Can Dance” on August 10th.
The album features musical contributions from Nile Rodgers, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Groove Armada, Scissor Sisters, Marcus Miller, Flea, ex Stone Roses Mani (Primal Scream) and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. It also sees Bryan Ferry reunite on record with members of Roxy Music, including Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy Mackay.
The album features eight new songs, and Ferry’s moving adaptation of Tim Buckley’s “Song To the Siren”; an amazing version of Traffic’s “No Face, No Name, No Number” as well as collaborations with Scissor Sisters (“Heartache By Numbers”) and Groove Armada (“Shameless”).
Enter to with the autographed litho and a copy of 'Olympia' by leaving a note in the comments to this post. Chime in with your own enthusiasm for Mr. Ferry and/or Roxy Music, and the most convincing and exuberant of the lot will win the giveaway.
We'll give you a week and close this one on Monday, November 22. Remember to leave us a contact email address so we can let you know you've won!
Allow me to date myself (...which for years, I actually did.)
My very early education into alternate music was via Trouser Press, the ultimate indie publication when the term 'indie' was important, unlike its usage today (ie: unimportant.) I loved Creem and Circus too, but Trouser Press embraced everything radio—then and now—did not.
Intrinsic to that era was NYC's ROIR Records who actually released everything back then - on cassettes. Odd perhaps, but they exhibited taste for miles with early releases from Suicide, The Beastie Boys, Glenn Branca, Bad Brains, New York Dolls, The Skatalites, Television, and Lydia Lunch among their stellar roster.
ROIR and TVD are partnering over the next seven days to offer you guys vinyl from that revered catalog both old and new. Underscoring this season of giving thanks, we've got a ROIR vinyl contest each and every day into next week before we take our traditional Thanksgiving break.
We've got vinyl - and some thoughts from the artists behind those records when possible.
First up is the brand new release, "In Search of a Black Judas" from Bad Brain's bassist Darryl Jenifer.And a few words with the local legend:
"I love records. I wish I still had my old school Hi-Fi from back in the day. I can still hear the needle riding on the vinyl before the song would start. When I play vinyl I feel like I am really listening to music—Isley Brothers, Roy Ayers, the Ramones, Eater, the Damned, Earth Wind and Fire, shit—BAD BRAINS!
Vinyl rules the sonic spectrum of life. My kids have no idea what a album is. I hate CDs. I never respected them. Folks used to bitch at me all the time about fucking up their CDs. At first I thought they couldn't scratch , I'd throw in the back of car like garbage. I never learned.
Tapes sound dope but too problematic to store - vinyl is the answer. I recently saw a album that I wrote my name on like how we used to do - old school. Naw, just school." -dj
The rules for our next seven days of ROIR giveaways are simple—tell us your ROIR story or sell us on why a particular LP should be yours in the comments to this post and the most compelling to any degree will find the record in his or her mailbox in time for the holidays.(Please note - we can only ship within the US.)
We'll close all seven contests on Monday, November 29 and remember to leave us your email/contact info—important!—so we can notify winners!
Peggy Sue return to the States tonight as openers for Kate Nash at the 9:30. While our ticket contest to see them both (on us!) has closed, we thought it an opportune time for a little impromptu 'First Date' with the charming trio.
Do you listen to vinyl? What about its sound appeals to you? What was the last record you bought on vinyl?
Olly: Yes, vinyl is my preferred listening experience. Sonically the sound is much greater than that of CDs and especially MP3s. MP3s have to be so greatly compressed to fit all the data into a file. Someone in a lab somewhere decided what is audibly out of a human's listening range and removed it from the files. For a demonstration of this just turn up your speakers at the end of "Sargent Pepper's..." and your speakers will vibrate with the sound of a dog whistle. You can't hear it but its there. Nowhere to be found on an MP3. Therefore vinyl has far more scope, depth, and warmth than anything digital.
Being on tour in America is great for record shopping because there are so many shops in funny places you would never expect. I have been spending most of my PD's on this eroticism. The last record I bought was Korner Ray and Glover "The Return of Korner Ray and Glover." It was $3.
Where are you drawing your musical inspiration from these days?
Rosa: I've always liked the Breeders but I didn't get into the last album [Mountain Battles] when it came out because a like-minded friend told me it was a real departure for the worse from there previous records, and I hate being disappointed by bands you love, especially bands who release things so infrequently.
However, I bought it the other day on a whim and I really love it, so it's probably proof you should never go on someone else's musical opinion alone. Sonic Youth are one of my two favourite bands, and I think one of the best things about them is that they're so prolific that I'm still buying albums I haven't heard all the songs from. I'm also listening to the Velvet Underground and Nico a lot at the moment because I really want to rip off the durgy sound of "Venus In Furs" on a new song we're writing for our second album.
It's interesting when you're writing songs because you just seem to devour new music looking for inspiration but writing the second album I seem to be doing a lot of looking backwards at music that really inspired me to want to be in a band in the first place.
Any funny stories to share from this Kate Nash tour?
Olly: I vomited and all the crew members stepped in it. Now they call us Peggy Spew. Katy and Rosa drank the bottle of whiskey that turned out to be the tour manager's dad's Christmas present. Much offense was taken to the fact that Rosa had mixed it with concentrated orange juice.
It's our weekly Twitter #MusicMonday recap of the tracks from last week that the folks in the press offices and PR agencies want you to be hearing. We post—you decide.
