TVD Weekly Wax | Thin Lizzy

We're still a bit bleary-eyed from the events of the past 24 hours, but Lizzy history and Mp3's await in th' queue. Our correspondent on the internets, Wiki, fills us with facts: (...is adding that 's' there at the end of 'internet' passe at this point? Hm.)

"Around March 1971, the band permanently relocated to London, before the release of the unsuccessful "New Day" EP in August. Despite poor sales, Decca agreed to finance the band's second album Shades of a Blue Orphanage, released in March 1972. Like the previous LP, the songs were filled with Lynott's personal anecdotes and references to his life in Dublin and the people he knew there. Musically the style was Celtic, with little warning of the hard rock direction that the band were to take in the future. Again, the album did not chart in the UK.

In mid-1972, Thin Lizzy were asked to record an album of Deep Purple covers, which was released under the title Funky Junction Play a Tribute to Deep Purple. No mention was made of Thin Lizzy on the record. Vocals and keyboards were handled by members of another band, Elmer Fudd, and a few instrumental tracks composed by the band were also included on the album. The album was released in January 1973.

In late 1972, the band embarked upon a high-profile tour of the UK with Slade, who were enjoying a string of hit singles at the time, and Suzi Quatro. Around the same time, Decca decided to release Thin Lizzy's version of a traditional Irish ballad, "Whiskey in the Jar" as a single. The band were angry at the release, feeling that the song did not represent their sound or their image, but the single topped the Irish chart, and reached No.6 in the UK in February 1973, resulting in an appearance on Top of the Pops. It also charted in many countries across Europe. However, the follow-up single, "Randolph's Tango", was a return to Lynott's more obscure work, and it only charted in Ireland.

The band's next album, Vagabonds of the Western World was released in September 1973 to positive reviews, but again failed to chart. The accompanying single "The Rocker" again only charted in Ireland, and the momentum gained from their hit single was lost.

Eric Bell suddenly left the band on New Year's Eve 1973 after a gig at Queen's University Belfast, due to increasing ill-health and disillusionment with the music industry, and young ex-Skid Row guitarist Gary Moore was recruited to help finish the tour. Moore only lasted until April 1974, but the band recorded three songs with him, including the version of "Still in Love With You" that was included on the fourth album Nightlife."

Thin Lizzy - The Rocker (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Vagabond Of The Western World (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Little Girl In Bloom (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Gonna Creep Up On You (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar [Full Length Version] (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | Thin Lizzy

"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them--that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works--whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account--to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day--because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government."

Thin Lizzy - Chatting Today (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Sarah (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Brought Down (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Baby Face (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Shades of a Blue Orphanage (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | Thin Lizzy

In a week when we're adding some much needed color to the swath of pale faces in the Presidential lineup, I thought it a fine time to recall Dublin's Thin Lizzy and in particular, Phil Lynott who crashed the proverbial party in a similar vein and left an indelible mark of change in his own right along the way.

Some backgroud via Wiki: "Thin Lizzy were founded one night in December 1969 in Dublin, Ireland, when Belfast guitarist Eric Bell met up with organist Eric Wrixon in a pub and found that they shared an ambition to form a group. Both musicians had previously played with Them, fronted by Van Morrison. The same night, they went to see the band Orphanage, which featured vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey. Bell and Wrixon introduced themselves after the gig and suggested the four of them form a band together. Lynott and Downey were aware of Bell's good musical reputation, and agreed with the condition that Lynott play bass guitar as well as sing, and that they perform some of his own compositions.

In the summer of 1970, Thin Lizzy released a single, "The Farmer" / "I Need You", on EMI with the B-side written by John D'ardis, who owned Trend Studios where the single was recorded. The single only sold 283 copies and is now a collectors' item. Wrixon left the band before the single's release, meaning there was a greater share of income for the three remaining members. He moved to Europe before returning to Belfast, rejoining his old band, Them.

By the end of 1970, Thin Lizzy were signed to Decca Records, and they travelled to London in January 1971 to record their debut album, Thin Lizzy. The album sold moderately well but did not chart in the UK despite airplay and support from influential DJs John Peel and Kid Jensen."

This week we're going to delve the early incarnation of Thin Lizzy--the days of the group as a trio whose material was immersed in the country and culture of Ireland-- long before the superheroics exhibited in the latter years. And if you're just familiar with Lizzy's latter years and the success borne by 'The Boys Are Back In Town' and 'Jailbreak' and you'll be for a few surprises from what was a very different band indeed at its inception:

Thin Lizzy - Honesty Is No Excuse (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Diddy Levine (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Eire (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Dublin (Mp3)
Thin Lizzy - Remembering Part 2 (New Day) (Mp3)

TVD Plugs | For the Week of January 19, 2009

What to do with all of those email alerts we get that we simply can't do justice throughout the week? Why, it's condense them right here in our new weekly bulletin board, 'plugs.'

We don't care where you are or what city you're in--if you've got something you wanna promote or think we should be listening to or seeing or reading, this is the place to put it. Got a band? A photo exhibit? DJing some place? A good cause worth promoting? This is the spot for it. (And if you've checked that little widget waaay down there bottom left, this is a global forum, indeed.)

We'll be posting what lands in our in-box right here daily as well as welcoming your tips, and we'll be refreshing it once a week to stay on top of what we're both up to.

So, clue us in right here in the comments section to these posts. Weekly.

TVD's Parting Shots

There's some consensus that the last two Replacements releases, 1989's 'Don't Tell a Soul' and 1990's 'All Shook Down' are, well...pretty weak.

"Whether 'Don't Tell a Soul' is a strong album with a few clunkers or a weak album with some great songs, the Mats' previous glories tinge the record with disappointment," Trouser Press noted, and summarily followed up with, "...compared to the stultifying 'All Shook Down,' however, 'Don't Tell a Soul' is positively blistering."

No faint praise there, huh?

But actually after a week of delving into The Mats' back catalog, I think time has been somewhat kind to these two records and if one say, over a bottle of wine or something (*cough-last night-cough*) were to choose five tracks from both releases, you'd have a mighty fine Replacements record indeed, I'm thinking. AND you'd also have your Weekend's Ten:

The Replacements - Talent Show (Mp3)
The Replacements - One Wink At A Time (Mp3)
The Replacements - Achin' To Be (Mp3)
The Replacements - Sadly Beautiful (Mp3)
The Replacements - They're Blind (Mp3)
The Replacements - When It Began (Mp3)
The Replacements - Attitude (Mp3)
The Replacements - Rock 'N' Roll Ghost (Mp3)
The Replacements - Darlin' One (Mp3)
The Replacements - My Little Problem (Mp3)

"When you open that bottle of wine/you open a can of worms every time..."

TVD Weekly Wax | The Replacements

There's a weird confluence of events here I notice as I'm posting tracks from 'Pleased To Meet Me' to this vinyl-based blog.

Back in 1987, all of 20, I was pulling the vinyl out of the racks to make way for those CD things as this record blasted over the in-store speakers at the Record World in Georgetown Park Mall where I was employed. The CDs were packaged in long boxes then, perhaps as a bridge of tangibility and physical substance for the still large group of vinyl buyers out there.

But you could tell something wasn't right from the get-go. You'd open up the top of the long box and literally gaze into abyss to where, waaay down below was the CD is the jewel case. Something akin to buying a brand of cereal for the toy surprise inside and when it's fished free, it's a mere fraction of the size as promised by the box. Distressing.

But this was the 'new thing,' man. Out with the old, in with the new while Paul's singing "... Hurry now the sun is goin' down..."

The Replacements - I.O.U. (Mp3)
The Replacements - Alex Chilton (Mp3)
The Replacements - The Ledge (Mp3)
The Replacements - Skyway (Mp3)
The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | The Replacements

I might need to reconsider a facet of my less than glowing remarks in regard to Animal Collective's 'Merriwether Post Pavilion' earlier in the week. I think it fails in another regard which I initially thought might be one of the release's few positives: the production.

Uploading today's Replacements tracks from the seminal LP 'Tim', I was thinking, "Man, these tracks are CLASSIC." Pushing that thought further down the road, I was also struck by the casualness of the proceedings and production. I have no idea how many times the band ran through these numbers before landing on the performances that would be deemed worthy of the release, but the vibe is loose, nothing's compressed, mistakes are retained and not edited, there's no 'loudness' dilemma...just a band blasting through actual SONGS. Refreshing, right?

Now, there may be a song or even a melody under all of the AC klap-trap, but the production's served up with one seriously heavy hand. There's no place to breathe in these tracks which is ...odd. It's overly fussy and claustrophobic which removes the proverbial 'soul' from the release. The thing just don't swing...and oddly, 'Tim' does...even in the raucous tracks.

The beauty of meticulous production is providing a clear sonic platform for the SONGS and their individual components. (See the Trevor Horn entry from last year's Top Five Producers Ever List, for edification.) Oddly, AC's MPP cover NAILS its production aesthetic. (Ow. My eyes.)

So, what are we looking at now for 'Merriwether Post Pavilion'...a 5.0?

The Replacements - Bastards of Young (Mp3)
The Replacements - Kiss Me on the Bus (Mp3)
The Replacements - Left of the Dial (Mp3)
The Replacements - Swingin' Party (Mp3)
The Replacements - Waitress in the Sky (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | The Replacements

Look me in the eye/Then, tell me that I’m satisfied/Was you satisfied?/Look me in the eye/Then, tell me that I’m satisfied/Hey, are you satisfied?/And it goes so slowly on/Everything I’ve ever wanted/Tell me what’s wrong/Look me in the eye/And tell me that I’m satisfied/Were you satisfied?/Look me in the eye/Then, tell me I’m satisfied/And now are you satisfied?/Everything goes/Well, anything goes all of the time/Everything you dream of/Is right in front of you/And everything is a lie/Look me in the eye/And tell me that I’m satisfied/Look me in the eye/Unsatisfied/I’m so, I’m so unsatisfied/I’m so dissatisfied/I’m so, I’m so unsatisfied/I’m so unsatisfied/Well, I’m-a/I’m so, I’m so unsatisfied/I’m so dissatis,dissattis...I’m so.

The Replacements - I Will Dare (Mp3)
The Replacements - Black Diamond (Mp3)
The Replacements - Unsatisfied (Mp3)
The Replacements - Answering Machine (Mp3)
The Replacements - 20th Century Boy (Mp3)

TVD First Date with | Perhapst

Some things about today's 'First Date' Perhapst that perhaps you didn't know:

John Moen, aka Perhapst, is the former drummer for Elliott Smith and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.

John is the current drummer for The Decemberists.

John plays the majority of instruments on the record (and Stephen Malkmus assisted Moen, too.)

The live band consists of: John Moen, Chris Funk (also a current member of The Decemberists), Jonathan Drews (Sunset Valley), and Eric Lovre (Dharma Bums).

"Perhapst" is filled with quirky, catchy, hook-laden indie-pop, experimental folk-rock, and even some twang for flavor, all delivered with a smirk and a smile.

That you'll be a fan in 1,...2,...3:
Perhapst - Quote (Mp3)
Perhapst - Incense Cone (Mp3)
Perhapst - Aren't You Glowing (Mp3)

"I am 40. I prefer vinyl records. I assume it is because I grew up with this format, and the fact that it never failed me, that I will still always purchase my music in this way, given a choice. When recording-it is just part of my vernacular to say that "I am making a new record", or "I am making a new album." I never say "I am making a new CD" or "I am creating an assemblage of songs for download." I salivate when faced with a cruddy old box of LPs and have to be forcibly pulled out of moldy old record stores. The idea that there might be a treasure hidden in a stack of records is more than I can stand. Looking for gems amongst the scratched up Montovani Christmas albums is my favorite hobby.

This passion is not so much about 'analog versus digital' for me, as a matter of fact my stereo is such that practically everything sounds a little crummy. The whole deal is centered more on what I'd call tangibility. When I own a record of music that I love, I can't help but feel that I am more connected to that music. It feels less invisible and in fact, I can read the liner notes without resorting to a magnifying glass. I could probably use new glasses... Whatever the format--I bid you, Happy Listening."

TVD Weekly Wax | The Replacements

To be fair, I've been asking myself if I'd have been able to recognize the potential that The Replacements eventually exhibited on latter releases from these earlier tracks today (which harbor some live surprises, so download liberally.)

I'd have enjoyed their live sets, as ramshackled as they were, but could I have foreseen some of the brilliance realized on 'Let It Be' and 'Tim' as we'll get to in the coming days?

Trouser Press again: "When Hootenanny combined blues, power pop, folk, country, straight-ahead rock, surf (or, more accurately, ski) and punk in a way few hardcore bands could even imagine, people started taking notice. Stink's "Fuck School" gave way to "Color Me Impressed," a wise and soaring rock number about getting drunk and being bored by trendinistas that sounded pretty incongruous next to "Run It," a paean to beating red lights. Amid the roaring emergency of "Take Me Down to the Hospital" and the wacky Beatlesque collage of "Mr. Whirly," Westerberg reached into his bag of solo heartstoppers for a naked (yet never sappy) confession of loneliness, "Within Your Reach." A great album that hints at a broad and deep future for a band once thought to be just a bunch of crazy kids."

The Replacements - Take Me Down To The Hospital (Mp3)
The Replacements - Mr. Whirly (Mp3)
The Replacements - Color Me Impressed (Mp3)
The Replacements - Run It (Mp3)
The Replacements - Hayday (Mp3)
The Replacements - Within Your Reach (Mp3)

LP Cover Lover and The Vinyl District team to give you the shirt right off our backs!

It's certainly no mystery to us that the readership here at TVD is one creative bunch, and as such we've teamed up with our good pals over at LP Cover Lover, the web's premier site for the appreciation of the diverse and often quite bizarre world of album cover art, to give you the shirt right off our collective backs.

We're inviting readers of both blogs to supply the best caption to the album cover below - “Jungla” by Leo Soto on Musart. The brightest, wittiest commenter will win a men’s or woman’s LP Cover Lover T-shirt as shown above, courtesy of LP Cover Lover and The Vinyl District.

Head on over to LP Cover Lover to leave your winning caption in the comments section to the TVD/LPCL contest and we'll choose a winner this coming Friday, 1/16.

Now, who's got your back?

Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl Of My Dreams (Mp3)

Radiohead singles to be reissued on vinyl

The band's hits and an obscure EP are set for release
Twelve Radiohead singles are reportedly set to be reissued on limited-edition vinyl.

After reissuing several of Radiohead's albums on vinyl last year, Capitol Records intends to release a handful of the band's singles on 180-gram vinyl, reports Atease.

The vinyl covers will feature the original 5" CD artwork printed as a sticker on the record jackets. They singles are due out on April 21 in the US, but can be pre-ordered now via Insound.

The titles to be reissued are 'The Drill EP', 'Creep', 'My Iron Lung', 'Just', 'Fake Plastic Trees', 'High And Dry', 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)', 'Paranoid Android', 'Karma Police', 'No Surprises', 'Pyramid Song', 'There There' and '2+2=5'.
(Via NME)

Radiohead - No Surprises (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | The Replacements

I get choked up watching award ceremonies, I confess. Seeing surprised award winners wending their way to the podium, gathering their composure, mashing a few coherent words together, struggling with syntax, and wrangling with recalling just who made their singular achievements possible moves me for some reason. I'm not sure why this is, but it is.

The actress from 'Happy Go Lucky' just won her Golden Globe trophy. I've not seen this movie nor heard of this actress prior, but I'm welling up in a weird, wine-infused way.

To the contrary, I was appalled at the reviews for Animal Collective's 'Merriwether Post Pavilion' last week. I mean, Pitchfork gave it a 9.6. (Cue Seth and Amy: "Really? ..REALLY...!?") As attributed to John Lennon or Elvis Costello, it's on par with "dancing about architecture."

On the positive side, I dig the production and the use of natural, found sounds. Conversely you can neither hum along, sing along, nor dance to any of this. It's neither evocative nor provocative and bereft of any SOUL, man. Sure, it's a fine producer's exercise and one needn't HAVE to sing along with art, but you should be left with something--ANYthing.

If Pitchfork didn't have a need to suck the cock of, and create indie 'stars' to feather their nests, perhaps they'd give this release what it really deserves, ohh saaay: a 5.6? (6.6?)

Back when I first heard the tracks from newish bands such as Yaz(oo), Soft Cell, or Depeche Mode, somehow innately I seemed to 'get' that these were tiny lil' symphonies composed with the tools at hand, modest as they may be. The arrangements and instrumentation may have been spare, but the SONG was right there. Up front and intoxicating. That an Alison Moyet, or a Marc Almond, or even a Dave Gahan (or Martin Gore) would lend their singular brand of soulfulness to the vocal proceedings infused the cold and spare with LIFE. This stuff breathed despite their seemingly simple origins.

Yet, just like actual Merriwether Post Pavilion, the bland out of the way amphitheatre in the suburbs of Maryland, 'Merriwether Post Pavilion' is remote, difficult to find parking, and even harder to fathom once the proceedings are over--despite the OVER abundance of modern machinery and computerized catch-all conveniences. (See last week's rant.)

As the Manics sing, 'If you tolerate this/then your children will be next..."

Think I'm nuts? 99% of hip hop is predicated on those thin, tinny beats and along the likes of Yaz, Soft Cell, and Depeche Mode that were decried by 'purists' as you might accuse me of being after this bit 'o ranting. For me, it's laughable to see those thin, new-wavey beats become the backbone of an entire thugged-up genre. ("Really? ..REALLY...?")

Which brings me to The Replacements. "We are an audience of individuals," Steven Spielberg just said in his acceptance speech tonight at the Globes ceremony, and despite being young, punk, and drunk The 'Mats, and primarily Paul Westerberg, got that intrinsically. And we're individuals who don't want to dance to architecture but find love, solace, and compassion in a SONG to which we can sing along, dance along, drink along.

Trouser Press takes stock: "For a time the world's best rock'n'roll band ... Minneapolis' Replacements began as juvenile punks whose give-a-shit attitude masked the seeds of singer/guitarist/songwriter Paul Westerberg's self-destructive genius for injecting sensitivity into flat-out chaos. When it all clicked — volume, rawness, speed (velocity and ingested substances), energy and passion — the Mats (short for Placemats) teetered drunkenly at the brink of the abyss and recklessly cracked jokes about it. Onstage and on vinyl, nothing could compare with their unpredictable excitement."

In their simplicity and their recklessness there were real, honest, SONGS right from the get-go on their very first 7". Novel, huh?

The Replacements - If Only You Were Lonely (Mp3)
The Replacements - Customer (Mp3)
The Replacements - Somethin To Du (Mp3)
The Replacements - Kids Don't Follow (Mp3)
The Replacements - Go (Mp3)

TVD Call for Contributors

I confess that over the long break I worried that this whole endeavor was losing its focus. I mean, just what the hell is all this about...all this blogging? We're not taking photos of our meals for example, or of ourselves (over, and over, and over again...) nor are we following the news, trailing trends, or attempting to be the first on the scene.

Add oddly, it's not for the love of music alone...perhaps it's more about how it weaves itself around our heads and throats and takes hold. Old stuff. Spanking new and shiny. What it reveals, conceals, liberates, and enslaves. That's it.

If you're reading, you get it. If you're rolling your eyes, then move on. Nothing to see nor hear here.

But the truth is we're growing. In readership and scope. And we need you, the members of the silent majority, to come along in concert with us. To write, photograph, interview, review...whatever it is you do best, put it on display here.

Just like the KISS Army, but this time it's just about the records. Or something.

Feel free to write directly or comment in the bog below.

TVD Plugs | For the Week of January 12, 2009

What to do with all of those email alerts we get that we simply can't do justice throughout the week? Why, it's condense them right here in our new weekly bulletin board, 'plugs.'

We don't care where you are or what city you're in--if you've got something you wanna promote or think we should be listening to or seeing or reading, this is the place to put it. Got a band? A photo exhibit? DJing some place? A good cause worth promoting? This is the spot for it. (And if you've checked that little widget waaay down there bottom left, this is a global forum, indeed.)

We'll be posting what lands in our in-box right here daily as well as welcoming your tips, and we'll be refreshing it once a week to stay on top of what we're both up to.

So, clue us in right here in the comments section to these posts. Weekly.

TVD's Parting Shots

Blogger-in-Arms, Intangible Arts returns to TVD to pony up the first round of shots for the New Year and bids a fond farewell to a mutual friend at the same time:

I Want Friday (it's so heavy)
In preparing for tomorrow's gig at Orpheus with New Carrollton, it became clear that this show was going to be a totally self-indulgent orgy of escapist weirdness. Even more so than usual.

I toss around the term "psychedelic music" pretty easily, but for me it's more about escapism than mind-altering chemicals. With or without "helpers," if a tune puts movies inside your eyelids, it's bona fide psychedelic. And this definition would include aspects of heavy krautrock, free jazz, folk, classical, indigenous "world" music, dub, electronica, and certainly "experimental" music, whatever THAT is. Psychedelia can be head music or body music. Ideally, it's both.

So with the anticipation of putting that last nail in Orpheus' coffin (with love), I offer this small celebration of what makes record-collecting such a joy for me: A mix of ten tracks which put cartoons inside the eyelids. This includes the rare gems (early 1970s krautrock by Guru Guru and Gomorrha) and the not-so-rare (I swear to GOD, the Beatles could've kept that riff going for an hour, it's a self-indulgent masterpiece).

These are tunes that abandon predictable pop song-writing structures in favor of an organic flow that gives the music a sense of adventure...All the more reason to mourn the passing of Orpheus, and to support those shops that are still with us. For now, enjoy those cartoons.

Circulatory System - The Lovely Universe (Mp3)
Chrome - In A Dream (Mp3)
The Pretty Things - Bracelets of Fingers (Mp3)
Kinski - The Party Which You Know Will Be Heavy (Mp3)
Six Organs Of Admittance - Spirits Abandoned (Mp3)
OM - Rays Of The Sun/To The Shrinebuilder (Mp3)
Stereolab - Revox (Mp3)
Guru Guru - Bo Diddley (Mp3)
Gomorrha - Dead Life (Mp3)
The Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | Adrian Borland/The Sound

With a torch in your pocket/And the wind at your heels/You climbed on the ladder/And you know how it feels/To reach too high/Too far/Too soon/You saw the whole of the moon/The whole of the moon...

Adrian Borland - Silent Air (Mp3)
Adrian Borland - Sea Of Noise (Mp3)
Adrian Borland - Winning (Mp3)
Adrian Borland - Lonely Late Nighter (Mp3)
Adrian Borland - Simple Little Love (Mp3)

TVD Weekly Wax | Adrian Borland/The Sound

I heard a report on the news this morning where scientists and researchers have been able to determine the exact point at which the romantic sizzle departs a marriage--when wedded bliss moves from lust into complacency (or something similar).

Two and a half years. That's all we get, the number crunchers have determined.

Yet, a part of me feels wed to each and every LP among the hundreds and hundreds on my shelves. Sooo, lemme see here...just quickly crunching some numbers here myself...carry the one...

Huh. So, if my numbers here are accurate, I should still be feeling butterflies for the next 2,000 years.

So, I got that going for me.

And you've got more of The Sound. In love just yet?
The Sound - I Can't Escape Myself (Mp3)
The Sound - Unwritten Law (Mp3)
The Sound - Skeletons (Mp3)
The Sound - Fatal Flaw (Mp3)
The Sound - Sense Of Purpose (Mp3)