It'd be a mistake to think that we here at TVD are pining away for the day when vinyl makes a glorious return as the format of choice for recorded music by the music industry at large. We're realistic - it ain't gonna happen. And you know what? We're FINE with it and here's why...as I wrote a a while back, these days vinyl is being lovingly pressed and manufactured for an audience that APPRECIATES it, not for mass(es) consumption, but for the few blankety-blanks like me (and perhaps you) who know a bit better. Or appreciate the warmth and care. Or who just don't mind getting up from the couch to turn the thing over. It's a joy.
So, imagine my joy when the Concord Music Group came calling--would TVD like to listen to and preview their new and ever-expanding collection of vinyl that they're making available for the blankety-blanks who are the card-carrying and attend-all-the-meetings vinyl fans? How could we say no?
I have a confession however, despite my years of jazz drum lessons with Drum Master Don (whooo, do I have stories...) I always found jazz recordings to be somewhat dense and muddy--somewhat unfulfilling to my ears. Nothing seemed to better the live jazz club experience for me. But to be fair, I'd never pulled the shrink wrap off of a new jazz LP. They were always the well-worn (or is that well loved?) LPs from my dad's library or heard elsewhere. But hoping I'd do a review, Concord sent me a box of five...and honestly, what a revelation. Clarity and warmth without pop or hiss. Dynamic highs and subtle lows. Did I say a revelation? I typed my Concord contact back, "Say, I have an idea..."
This year as with every year, Vinyl Record Day falls on August 12, and in conjunction with that day The Concord Music Group and TVD are giving away the five LPs sent to TVD HQ. They are: Sonny Rollins - "Saxophone Colossus", Bill Evans - "Waltz For Debby", Yusef Lateef - "Eastern Sounds", John Coltrane - "Soultrane" and Theolonius Monk with John Coltrane--all brand new, sealed, heavy weight vinyl mailed right to your door.
Now, here's what we need you to do to win this glorious 5-pack--in the comments section we invite you to sing the praises of all things vinyl, be they your memories, Vinyl Record Day-related, the vinyl marketplace as it stands today...or, simply whatever you're inspired to write. We want to hear it. We'll choose one winner for the 5 LPs ON Vinyl Record Day, August 12th, so there's plenty of time for a thoughtful comment or thirteen. Also, as an added bonus, the winner needn't be in the continental US, so all of you no matter where you plug into TVD have a shot a winning. So, get to pontificating! (And remember to leave us some contact info too!)
Many thanks to the Concord Music Group for sponsoring this TVD giveaway. Go check 'em out too...you'll find plenty to read at their site and plenty to pine away for.
I had a whole week of TVD goodness in the queue until last night when over dinner at the HQ, a documentary on UK Indie was airing in the background and I thought to myself, "Man, that seems like it happened AGES ago." See, I was a pretty rabid Manchester/Indie fan back in the day. It was all Melody Maker/NME/Q for me over anything US-centric and expenditures on music skyrocketed as I fell hard and fast for all things baggy. But like all good musical trends, I beat it to death to the point where if I never heard two-thirds of those bands ever again, I'd be fine with it.
But I surprised myself last night in thinking I haven't listed to say, The Stone Roses for years and years. And another insight which follows on the heels of the last two weeks of posts, the first Roses LP came out in--'89! Why, The Stone Roses are an '80's band. For the life of me, I've never thought of them as such. Hm.
I purchased this record on the strength of the reviews alone never having heard a note. But as the opening of "I Wanna be Adored" swells up and the drums and that guitar line kick in, I fell right down the rabbit hole. The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (Mp3)The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums (Mp3)The Stone Roses - Waterfall (Mp3)The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection (Mp3)The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (Mp3)
I dreamed of space aliens last night. Androgynous ones. With operatic tenors. And new wave leanings.
Trouser Press: One of the 1980s' most profoundly bizarre characters to emerge through rock music, the late Klaus Nomi specialized in unexpected mixes of vocal styles in anomalous settings. The Bavarian-born singer's awesome falsetto and dramatic tenor were equally applied to classical music and rock'n'roll, producing startling records that ramble wildly from high-pitched operatic vocals accompanied by a synthesized orchestra to ultra-stylized pop and warped interpretations of rock oldies. Nomi's records stretch from hauntingly beautiful (Purcell's stunning "Cold Song") to hysterically funny (a somber reading of "Can't Help Falling in Love," a languid dissection of "The Twist") to straightforward Sparks-like big band rock ("Simple Man"). His final album, a compilation that also includes a live performance, is the one to get, an utterly unique creation that defies you not to fall under its wonderful spell.
TVD screened The Nomi Song last night and obviously it's still on my mind. A story of pure self-invention on a scale I've never encountered. KISS comes off the stage, removes the make up, and they're a bunch of guys from New York. Nomi was something ...else ...entirely. And that voice--simultaneously angelic, ethereal, otherworldly...yet, camp.
Friday @ Random has never been more so.
Klaus Nomi - Nomi Song (Mp3)Klaus Nomi - The Cold Song (Mp3)Klaus Nomi - I Feel Love (Mp3)Klaus Nomi - Keys Of Life (Mp3)Klaus Nomi - Samson And Delilah Aria (Mp3)
The mutual admiration society that was formed between and The Beatles and Harry Nilsson was one that underscores what I fear will be, in time, another botched experiment this week -- the pursuit of a unique sense of musical timelessness. But I'll persevere...
At the time I'd argue, Harry was right to see The Beatles as traversing this unique bridge from contemporary style and taste-makers to composers of our contemporary standards in the Cole Porter or George Gershwin vein. Yet, how could Harry know that The Beatles were to forever loom AS large in our collective consciousness as they have--marrying them inextricably to the 1960's, for example? So, it was to be Harry who didn't achieve this overarching fame who, in my opinion, penned the originals that crack the window and let the air of timelessness in. I hear the 1920's, the '30's, the '40's and so on...Harry Nilsson - I Will Take You There [Alternate Mix] (Mp3)Harry Nilsson - Maybe (Mp3)Harry Nilsson - Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore (Mp3)Harry Nilsson - Open Your Window (Mp3)Harry Nilsson - Wasting My Time (Mp3)
Very often it's said The Beatles or The Beach Boys (or whomever...) have penned a "timeless classic" -- a tune that will live on for the ages. And while that very well may be true, I hardly think of their music as "timeless." And how can it be? Like all fine music it's imbued with the era of its creation, molded by the prevailing recording methods, and nuanced by the very first time it made its presence known to fresh ears. I may very well be humming "She Loves You" long into my geriatric years, but forever it'll evoke --both sonically and historically-- that very first British Invasion.
So, couple this notion that's been running through my head recently with the experiment from last week, to literally and specifically wed "New Wave" to certain years over others, I've been asking myself, is anything truly timeless? Can something from our "modern" era ever be thought of as perhaps, somehow in some construct, existing in say, 1910? Can I envision some Depression Era hobo hopping aboard a southbound train humming something that I might be humming today? And if so - what would construe such timelessness?
My inclination is to think that this salad would consist of some fine melodic and evocative songwriting for one, a lack of wicked popularity such as The Beatles attained to divorce it from any era, and the absence of a sonic fingerprint that would wed the recording's sound to a particular time. No Hendrix, for example. No Bee Gees. No Nirvana. Maybe nothing electric for that matter - or the taint of modernity. Just a slim, sexy skeleton without any meat or matter on the bones.
So, forgive me once more, I'm conducting an experiment.
One time I caught Elliott Smith at the Black Cat's first spot a few doors down on the left. While my date that evening napped (?) there was a quiet lull between songs and some other young lass yelled out "Elliott Smith - you break my heart!" And she had no idea just how right she was.
Timeless?Elliott Smith - Alameda (Mp3)Elliott Smith - Between The Bars (Mp3)Elliott Smith - Angeles (Mp3)Elliott Smith - 2:45 A.M. (Mp3)Elliott Smith - Say Yes (Mp3)
It's all gone horribly awry, this experiment of mine this week. If there's one release that single-handedly absolves the latter half of the '80's, it's 'Hats'.
Trouser Press gushes, "'Hats' was five years in the making, but the band's relentless perfectionism paid off: the seven songs are as dense and moving as a midnight sky. With sweeping synths and the pristine click of electronic percussion, "The Downtown Lights" and "Over the Hillside" are moody like film music, while "From a Late Night Train" and "Saturday Night" are impressionistic vignettes that creep along in slow motion. There's hardly a guitar or live drum to be heard, but seldom has studio technology been used to such warm and personal results."
On Saturday, July 14th, 1990 I was third in the General Admission line at Georgetown University to see The Blue Nile on tour for 'Hats'. The heavy wooden doors swung open to what seemed like a chapel at the time--the smell of old books mixed with the light streaming through the stained glass windows as I took my seat...front row and center. Even in this context, Trouser Press was correct--seldom in a live setting have I been witness to a show with such warm and personal results. They performed the entirety of 'A Walk Across The Rooftops' and 'Hats' but the audience was relentless in applauding for MORE. Buchanan stepped to the mike and shrugged, "that's all we know...!"
Yes, it's all gone horribly awry, this experiment of mine. The Blue Nile - Over The Hillside (Mp3)The Blue Nile - The Downtown Lights (Mp3)The Blue Nile - From A Late Night Train (Mp3)The Blue Nile - Let's Go Out Tonight (Mp3)The Blue Nile - Saturday Night (Mp3)
Oftentimes I liken the iPod to a mood ring (remember those?) to reveal just how my inner synapses are firing. OK, so let's see, on shuffle play for the first time in a little while it seems today I'm feeling a bit...mainstream, ...uncomplicated, ...kinda retro, ...and finishing under three and a half minutes. (Dude. This is so NOT good.)
