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
A week ago I moved from Eastern Market to Petworth.It was, by far, the best decision I've made since moving to DC almost three years ago. I live with two really awesome guys and one kickass cat. On my first night there, one of my roommates and I had a lengthy discussion about the Smiths. Wednesday afternoon I drove a friend to BWI and the CD that was playing when I turned on my car was a Smith's CD. Then, Thursday morning, I awoke to the sounds of Morrissey's voice permeating into my bedroom from across the hall, where my other roommate lives. I'm always reluctant to discuss my love of the Smiths because everyone has a different story and who feels like reading *another* story about how much someone loves the Smiths?
Instead, since the Smiths seem to be everywhere in my life this week, I've decided to offer you some tasty rare (though I know that if you're a big Smiths fan I'm sure you already have them and are yawning right now) tracks - the songs themselves may not be rare, but the recordings are relatively so. I tried to be selective about which ones I've given you - for instance, How Soon Is Now is one you are most likely to hear on the radio, so I left that one out. Panic is probably the most "well-known" of the 6 here, but the kid on the chorus is too cute (there's video out there of this performance as well) and that song makes even a rainy afternoon like today seem less, well, London-esque. The recording is from a Eurotube session in 1986. Vicar in a Tutu is from the same year, from a performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Sheila Take a Bow is from the Smiths last performance on the Tube in 1987. Miserable Lie is from a John Peel session for BBC Radio in 1983. The version of Jeanne here is from 1984 and actually has Sandy Shaw on lead vocals for Radio One's Saturday Live. The only time Asleep was ever performed live was in 1985 at Eden Court in Scotland - I've put up the soundcheck for that song which is awfully and amazingly haunting.
Enjoy, kids. I'll be back later in the week with one of my delicious finds from Record Store Day.
...We've selected a winner for The Stanton T.90 USB turntable! If it wasn't you this time around, stay tuned--we've got plenty more planned for the coming months. Thanks to all who entered!
It's true indeed--the blog runneth over.
We're pleased to announce that Stanton Magnetics, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of professional audio products for club and mobile DJs and turntablists has added to our already amazing Eleven Weeks of Record Store Day '09 Vinyl Giveaways--something to play that vinyl ON, The Stanton T.90.
The Stanton T.90 USB is a professional quality turntable with high-torque direct drive motor and a USB output, combining the latest digital technology with unique style. With Key Lock built-in, DJs can adjust the tempo of a record without affecting pitch, while USB and S/PDIF digital outputs make the T.90USB great for archiving vinyl.Here's how the giveaway will work: every entry into our Record Store Day '09 Vinyl Contests over the course of the eleven weeks is automatically entered to with the Stanton turntable--even if you entered last week and and even if you've won or will win one of the vinyl packages we'll feature.
On Record Store Day, April 18, 2009 we'll randomly draw the email address from all of those who've entered over the course of the eleven weeks and ship that lucky individual The Stanton T.90.
And for the record, whose turntable do we have in TVD HQ? Why, that'd be a Stanton--purchased at DJ Hut, the guys behind the green ad over there to the left...
Back in December when I spoke with Michael Kurtz of Music Monitor Network, and organizer of Record Store Day to discuss this blog’s designation as the ‘Blog of Record’ for Record Store Day, we had quite a number of plans going forward.
And about a HALF of ‘em came to pass over the ensuing months.
Which is FANTASTIC.
The response to Record Store Day has been wonderfully positive--and certainly overwhelming. Neither he nor I knew just how big this endeavor would become or how unwieldy the process of information gathering and tracking would evolve. I mean, he knew it'd be big, just not HOW big.
The bands, the labels, the stores, the sponsors, and the promoters are all owed a huge thank you for participating in what is truly a labor of love.
Personally, I’d like to thank all of you who’ve been enthusiastic supporters of this blog’s mission and those of you who’ve taken part in the contests and have written to show your support. Brad McCormick at WMG is owed a special thanks for putting together our Eleven Weeks of Vinyl Giveaways. Stanton Magnetics and Worn Free are due some warm thanks as well.
If you’re in DC, Jason Cherkis has provided a fine overview of local events in the area at WCP’s Black Plastic Bag. The Record Store Day website has the most up to date listing of national and international going’s on right here. But the rest is up to you folks—get out there tomorrow and show the love.
Mr. H put his finger right on an underlying point in the comments to yesterday's rant...bands like The Clash and even INXS are now lumped into the ‘classic rock’ category on the radio dial. You’ll see their videos NOT on MTV or VH1, but on VH1 Classic.
Record stores haven’t bought into this yet—you’ll still see The Clash and The Ramones and The Pistols in the Punk section and INXS in the ‘80’s section, but radio sees things differently these days in an effort to widen the scope and broaden the appeal of its sonic spot on the airwaves. If I’m a program director, carving a new niche from three makes fine sense in these fragmented times.
So, if I cast off ‘indie’ as did oh so casually yesterday—what am I now, a classic rock fan? JUST a rock fan? And what of the gray areas in between?
See, I’m certainly not an ‘alt rock’ listener. Or a ‘modern rock’ clod. Or a ‘prog rock’ p--...er, you get the point.
Is THAT to be my lot then...just...'rawk?’
And what of these tracks? What 'category' do these artists fall under? (Think class project...)
(Another thing while I’m at it—to some of my friends on Facebook—bad call to out yourself as a Nickelback fan or a Creed fan. I mean, what I wouldn’t give for a ‘f-ing DOESN’T LIKE’ feature option.
The ‘grumpy old man’ that I’ve become, I WAS going to write this morning about being charmed by a tune right off the bat (and where’d that go?)—but went off on an ‘I loathe indie’ tangent that’s been brewing for what seems like eons now.
But that’s not to say you can’t get knocked out once or twice and right away these days. Love at first note, if you will.
We get emails from bands here with frequency but it’s rare that something just feels right and right away—as was the case with Action Painter’s ‘456’ video all cut and pasted below for you to take in. They’re younger than me, but channel the real thrill of 80’s new wave without sounding Stereogummy. Or Pitchforky. Or like Gang of Four. (Think Snowden meets Foreign Born...)
They say this is live in the studio, but the recording alone kills--the organic way they keys come in, the echoes on the chorus, and the twisty guitar parts...just refreshing, frankly.
Oddly, my favorite part of the clip is right at the front when Allsion blows the hair from out of her face. (Ah, the little things...)
Frontman Tom Haslow sat down with us on this last First Date before Record Store Day to talk vinyl and well, record stores:
"Vinyl is beautiful and tragic. It is big and fragile, hopelessly dated but iconic of times past. It's a lot like the people on the covers of my records. We Action Painters are too young to have grown up with vinyl, but I've gotten into buying cheap records at flea markets. Other people's junk has become my treasure. I like listening to new wave and punk and jazz on my record player. I like the way Stop Making Sense sounds on a record through a stereo: the crackle of the vinyl fading into the ambient room noise before the beat box kicks in on Psycho Killer. You pay attention. It transports you.
I remember tapes. The meditation that came from listening to an album linearly, being limited to the track list that the band decided you would listen to, not scanning the first 20 seconds of a song and deciding if it was good or not. It gave a band a chance to build a song up and showed faith in a listener's patience. There was something fetishistic about making a mix tape. Whether it was about the girl you were making it for or trying to express yourself through someone else's music, you could spend far too much time on it.
I miss the record store, that PHYSICAL space where you would go and look at shelves and posters and displays that people had spent time thinking about, curating. There was one independent music store where I grew up in upstate NY called Peacock Music. My high school days were about saving up to buy CD's there. It closed a couple of years ago.
A lot has been gained by making music instantly and infinitely accessible. It's easier for people to make and distribute and find an audience. Also, styles and genres have really cross bread over the last decade in a way that's been beautiful and progressive. But the sheer ubiquity of music has turned it into a commodity, like tap water instead of wine. One does not focus on the album, it's now a sea of songs that endlessly flows free and easily across your screen. I miss taking an album home, the feeling of anticipation of being a kid with this new album burning a hole in your coat, begging to be listened to. I remember buying bargain bin tapes in my horrible suburban mall of blues singers like Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker and Lightning Hopkins. I remember marveling at how cheap they were because they were so good. But it was my secret... underneath the rubble of forgotten losers and one hit wonders, there was this breathtaking bedrock that was the foundation of rock and roll.
The world's conversation about music has changed: music sites proclaim to know far too much with so much certainty about something that is intensely personal and fluid depending on the time of day, the mood, the year you're listening to it. Things are pronounced IMPORTANT one day and forgotten the next. Most of the time, the important thing in a review is the journalistic act itself; having a contrary opinion is the only way for the mediocre to distinguish themselves. The anonymity of online criticism has fractionalized it, broken up music taste into fantastically snobbish camps. People can afford to dig in to their narrow trenches.
Something is lost when you don't talk about music in person, when you don't hold the thing in your hands, look at the artwork, the track list, and pay money for it. Record companies have always exploited artists and ripped them off, but there was certainly a different appreciation for music when you had to pay for it, and there was a vague notion that it was a fair exchange going on: your money for someone else's songs. When people miss vinyl and complain about the passing of a physical medium, what they really miss is community and the glory of the physical object itself."
Y’know, I hardly listened to what’s called ‘classic rock' growing up. Even in New Jersey where one couldn’t escape Bruce Springsteen and that pervasive horn and sand-drenched sound. I was all about anything BUT that playlist.
Aerosmith, Van Halen, Zeppelin...didn’t care. That was stuff for EVERYone. Gimme the outcasts and the weirdos and THEIR noise. That I understood.
So it pains me to no end to make this admission...I’m starting to f’n loath indie. So affected, so coy, timid, under-rehearsed and under-developed, it takes nothing on the chin. And the genre’s so beholden to what came before as to literally induce comparison and mockery.
Gone is anything brazen or brash. ‘Indie’ subsists upon coterie of over-intellectualized bedsitters penning fey ditties--harnessed to standard Gang of Four-isms--for over-intellectualized blog critics. (...wink!)
The DIY aesthetic has been so over abused as of late as well. I almost miss the old model—wait for it--before THIS pixelated medium, back when the labels provided some semblance of a filtration device for wanna be music stars. Gone too, are stars.
At a time when the passing of any under-developed Pitchfork or Stereogum craze de jour artist would merit blogger tears and hyperlinks galore, it BLOWS MY MIND UP to think that I haven’t seen a mention in the US media of the passing of The Delfonics founding member Randy Cain last week at the age of 63.
Really, WTF?
ONE music media outlet picked up on Cain’s passing and that was NME.
Embarrassing.
I’m really starting to think that being somewhat older isn’t the liability it’s made out to be and is FAR more of an attribute.
Indeed, the cavalcade of crankiness and foul language begins anew...
So, last week while getting dressed for work, I had the ‘Today’ show on in the background. (For you readers abroad: morning television chat show.) Co-hosts Matt and Meredith were consulting with a home electronics guru in regard to all variations of home appliances to determine when and if it’s a good idea to have something repaired or replaced.
...then they get to the DVD player. Mr. Electronics Whiz says something to the effect of, unless you’re using your DVD player almost daily, there’s no need to repair or replace because very shortly we’re JUST GOING TO BE DOWNLOADING OUR MOVIES ANYWAY -- so why even bother?
Lemme get this straight--all of those collector’s DVD sets I’ve purchased over the past few years are now just relics? And the entertainment industry as whole hasn’t gotten wind of the groundswell back toward, not just vinyl, but physical product?
You can make the argument for convenience, etc—but don’t.
In honor of Record Store Day this very Saturday, April 18th allow me to be clear—give us something we can put in our:
Our friend, Leerone will be performing on a live streaming web show called Raw Rhythms, produced and hosted by Katie Scanlon and Megan Marlow, and executive produced by Brian Gramo (owner of The Stream).
Monday night, April 13th from 8:00 - 9:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (Los Angeles, CA) 11 pm Eastern Standard Time
Raw Rhythms can be found at: www.thestream.tv/rawrhythms or click here.
Raw Rhythms provides a place for fans to interact with the guest artist/band through questions and comments that are fielded through a live chatroom feed and instant messages so please do send a message! The show will be available on demand the following morning on thestream.tv.
Viewers can send instant messages to us during the show at: thestreamdottv (This works for AOL/MSN/Yahoo/ICQ)
Where DOES the time go? Eleven weeks ago we began our ‘Eleven Weeks of Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaways,’ and today kicks into gear the very last contest in celebration of Record Store Day 2009 (which is a mere 11 days off at this point...)
To send us out on a high note, we’ve got Jenny Lewis’ 2008 release ‘Acid Tongue’ in a double-gatefold, 2-LP set. The package contains three sides of audio with a special etching on the fourth side. The set also comes with a CD of the full release for use as a coaster or something. (What’s a CD?)
For the last time, the drill is still the same. Grab our attention in the comments (WITH your email address--important!) gushing over TVD's final Record Store Day Vinyl Giveaway. (Or, you can comment and forward your email address in an email to us. We're not picky.) And remember - each entry into our vinyl contest is an automatic entry to win the Stanton T.90 USB turntable on Record Store Day 2009!
Just make it funny. Or make it smart. About record stores. Or Record Store Day. Or vinyl. About us or you. Or something else all together. Just make it before next Monday (4/13) when we'll choose our winner and begin the count down to awarding the Stanton T.90 to one lucky reader...
For a while there I had a front row seat for Fire’s unique brand of transcendence. Or perhaps I should say ‘back seat,’ behind the drum kit for a number of months with Fire as he prepped new material at the Donkey Palace years back.
From that vantage point alone I can tell you--Fire Dean is one hell of a songwriter, performer, and story teller, and as TVD was growing I kept saying to him, “We gotta’ do a feature...we gotta’ do a feature...” ...until I think I caught him at the right time recently when boom...in-box: full of stuff.
Make certain you check that vid too.
"Elton John...Madman Across The Water. Jimmy Arlis, the coolest kid on my dead end street had played it for me. I was 10 or 11 yrs old. The back cover was the ass end of a pair of blue jeans with the song titles embroidered over....'Rotten Peaches' .... 'Levon' ... 'Indian Sunset'... Clearly this guy Elton was the Grizzly Adams sort I could hang around with. He'd come down from the Black Mountains after his tribe had been slaughtered and sat down at the piano, just really pissed off "...I heard from passing Renegades..." Holy Shit! My sister understood. She gave me a pair of jeans for Xmas with the embroidery done just like the cover. But my older brother was a problem. He saw me lying in front of the turntable mesmerized with Elton Madman John, and sneered. I was distressed. What did he mean by this? What did he know that I didn't? He'd been listening to Renaissance, Ashes Are Burning ALOT..I liked the girl's voice from the pic of her on the inside sleeve, she was nearly hot as Farah Fawcett only she seemed accessible. My bro told me live he'd almost seen her breasts at a concert in Red Bank, NJ. Woah, I was right. Access unlimited. Still, I knew in order to do this correctly I needed to make a bold, independent decision. Annie Haslam was out and Bowie had his chance. 'Diamond Dogs' was a shot in the dark based on some magnificent pre-Photoshop imagery, I had never heard the music, any of it. I bought it at Jacks' Records, also in Red Bank. At home I pretended I knew all about this record I'd just bought and after I'd listened once invited my brother to check it out. This time his sneer became more like a muted smirk. He hurriedly explained his condescension. "David Bowie has a better record...you got the wrong one," he said. "Really?" I said and needled up 'Rebel Rebel.' "Better than this?" "Oh yeah." He tried again. But I could tell he was lying."
Fire Dean - Up at Ericas/Motorcycle Sled-Pull (Mp3) Wrote this last month. Title is a reference to a game I played as a kid. Gravity wasn't enough apparently. We tied our sleds to dirt bikes and then raced around a horse field out in the woods. The idea was to pull next to the other guy and knock him off, a la Ben Hur.
Fire Dean - Irrational Exhuberance1 (Mp3) Also new. Inspired by an imposing old Hungarian from Queens. He had dream, my job was to build it. A half million dollars and anything I needed.
Fire Dean - In A Way (Mp3) One beat fits all. My friend Roger wrote this beat to a guitar riff I came up with 5 years ago. Its since been repackaged into 3 songs. This is the latest.
Fire Dean/Big Black Nun - Burnin' Lucy...(followed by 'Honeymoon In Niagra') (Mp3) A two-fer. Recorded to 45 vinyl in '94 as a single released by my old band, Big Black Nun. First up is 'Burnin' Lucy' with Riley McMahon on big slide gtar. That's me of course contemplating the pros and cons of honor killing. Of course 'Honeymoon...' is the sentimental flip to my metallic slaying.
I can’t JUST be me who misses the free-wheeling radio days of yore, now can it? We’d like to publish YOUR radio recollections right here, next week, TVD reader. No matter where you turned it on, or when you tuned it in, we’d like to hear what or who informed your tastes for better or for worse.
Shoot TVD a note (email address lower left) and with any luck we’ll post ‘em throughout the week to come.
"...With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!"
ANNOUNCER: Cramel Hair Tonic and Cramel Shampoo present the new adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson, and Tom Conway as Sherlock Holmes.
(MUSIC UP AND UNDER)
ANNOUNCER: Now once again it's time to keep that weekly appointment with our good friend and host, Dr. Watson. Good evening, Dr. Watson.
WATSON: Good evening, Mr. Bell. As usual you're punctual to the minute. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable.
BELL: Thank you.
WATSON: That's it.
BELL: I see that you have the old black, tin dispatch box out again, Dr. Watson. I deduce that you were going over your notes on tonight's case.
WATSON: Elementary my, dear boy. Among the records I came across some notes of some cases that I'd almost forgotten. The shocking death of Crosby the banker, the Adeltine tragedy, and some darter on the unusual contents of the ancient British pharaoh.
BELL: Those stories sound pretty intriguing, Dr. Watson.
WATSON: I shall tell them to you some other evening, Mr. Bell. Tonight, I'm going to recount an adventure that took place in the heart of the beautiful English countryside. I call it, "The Adventure of the Tolling Bell." (NARRATING) Well that story began in a small country village of Conforth. Holmes had recently brought to a successful conclusion the affair of the Barrow and Furnace Wheelchair Murders. And we decided a few days rest in nearby Conforth would do us good before returning to our arduous life on Baker Street. We were staying in a small, but comfortable Inn. Only on the morning of the third day, I remember, Holmes and I were in our bedroom waiting for those two essentials without which an English country gentleman could not start his day -- an early morning cup of tea and a jug of hot water for shaving. As we sat there at the open window a nearby church bell was tolling a funeral nell.
It’s easy to forget that prior to television, radio was not just a music and information source. Radio was an all encompassing entertainment medium--one which, like vinyl, demands listener participation to be enjoyed to its fullest.
So, this week we’ll remember a hey-day long before our days. (...and bonus! Verrry SFW...)
A week ago I moved from Eastern Market to Petworth.It was, by far, the best decision I've made since moving to DC almost three years ago. I live with two really awesome guys and one kickass cat. On my first night there, one of my roommates and I had a lengthy discussion about the Smiths. Wednesday afternoon I drove a friend to BWI and the CD that was playing when I turned on my car was a Smith's CD. Then, Thursday morning, I awoke to the sounds of Morrissey's voice permeating into my bedroom from across the hall, where my other roommate lives. I'm always reluctant to discuss my love of the Smiths because everyone has a different story and who feels like reading *another* story about how much someone loves the Smiths?
