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
I mean, I dig Dee and the boys, but c'mon. We're not gonna take it is right.
Anyway, I was emailing with Ross from yesterday's 'First Date' and he tells me he's enjoying the 'Bullshit' feature (which really should be a weekly thing, right?) So, he shoots me this:
"I am actually a big fan of Aimee Mann's Christmas show she usually does at Birchmere around Christmas, and her Christmas album. She is my favorite singer/songwriter of all time, and I own all of her albums. But it's the fact that my dad not only owns EVERY Mannheim Steamroller cassette, but he'd dust them off and he would play it in the morning to wake everyone up, play it throughout the morning as we did gift exchanges & stockings, play it over family brunch, play it over dinner, and then turns it up as guests show up and we all got more and more drunk as the night would go on.
That's my only real problem with Christmas... it's almost to the point where drinking eggnog and hearing that shit had the same effect on me that sex, violence, and Beethoven's 9th had on Alex after treatment in a Clockwork Orange. So now I just aim to be slurry with a chance of blackout by the time I get my second plate of Belgium waffles.
Fortunately there is my Aimee Mann Christmas record: "One More Drifter In the Snow" the 24 hour "Christmas Story" marathon, and the fact that I watch "Die Hard" (best holiday film to date) at least twice within the 24 hours of Christmas... those usually keep my head just over drowning in typical holiday bullshit."
I said hey Ross, can I post that? He said fuck no.
"Slurry with a chance of blackout." Now, there's my new mantra.
Just because I’m not in the holiday spirit (...just yet, anyway) doesn’t mean others aren’t rockin’ the halls with Christmas cheer. On Sunday night (12/20), Galaxy Hut presents “An Ed and Donna Christmas” and we asked ‘Donna’...er, Olivia Mancini, for the low down on what we can expect and some background on that name.
So, uh, Donna?
"Last fall, old music buddies Ed Donohue (Donny Hue & the Colors) and Olivia Mancini (Olivia Mancini & the Mates) packed themselves, two acoustic guitars, and some of their favorite originals and oldies covers into a Volvo station wagon for their first ever tour as an acoustic duo. At a particularly memorable show in Charlottesville, a well-meaning but confused MC introduced them first as "Ed and Donny." And then as "Eddie and Don." And then, finally, serendipitously, as "Ed and Donna." Ed and Donna were born!
Ed and Donna specialize in the kind of harmony-heavy oldies songs they love to listen to, and they've crafted some of their own songs to reflect their appreciation for groups like the Everly Brothers, the Association, and the early Beatles.
For this Christmas-themed show, Ed and Donna invited some of their musical friends from around town to play some of their favorite holiday tunes. Meredith Bragg will appear, as will May Tabol of Pree. Comedic rapper The Randipulator will dazzle audiences, as well as reggae princess Lady Hatchett. Good times groups the Staccattos and the Fond Regards are also set to appear, in addition to Maureen Andary of DC's The Sweater Set. We'll have percussion instruments for those who want to join in and we'll encourage everyone to sing along with popular holiday tunes like, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."
Tickets are $4 and the show will start at 9."
Yes, the tickets are just $4.00 but we’ve got a pair to give away along with a copy of Olivia Mancini & the Mates’ latest ‘You Can See Mountains From Here.’ Hit is with your seasonal anecdote in the comments to this post (with contact info—important!) and the cheeriest of the lot will get one extra gift this year courtesy of Ed and Donna. We’ll choose our winner by Thursday (12/17) at noon!
They're heavy, ...dense, ...crushing, ...then melodic. In addition, DC's Caverns also have a huge fan of vinyl in drummer Ross Hurt:
"The idea of going to a record store in general is very exciting to me... Whether it is a local shop I stop at when playing a show out of town, winning a bidding war on a tough to find record on ebay, or making a day of it in Adams Morgan and the U Street area shops.
When I was in Jr. High, I really began taking my music seriously... I really started studying the theory side of music, and particularly fell in love with the blues. My dad has an massive catalogue of some incredible blues LP's, and I would spend hours flipping through them and listening to Jon Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, and of course some early Zep records. I fell in love with the music, but more over the tone and emotions captured on the guitar... That sound and tone can only be captured on wax!
I collected a couple 7"s and records in high school, mainly ska, punk, and some hard rock stuff... but cd's were all I cared about. Going to places like Tower and Sam Goody were adventures... Going through the shelves and finding music that I NEEDED to hear; and this was all done not having the ability to preview it or listen to it in the car on the way home. This forced me to rush home, sit down and truly listen to the album start to finish.
That really made me appreciate the idea of "an album" a lot more. I missed out on that in more recent years with ipods and in-car cd players, making it easier to hear music at anytime. But it all came back to me when the band The Bronzed Chorus came touring through needed a place to play and a place to crash; my basement provided both, and they were kind enough to give me their latest record on vinyl as a sign of thanks.
Hearing them talk about it with such pride and excitement made me remember those times when I really appreciated actively listening to a record, listening to the work put into an album as a whole... after that I was on musicstack.com for hours, hitting up Crooked Beat, Smash and so on... but for me, Joe's Record Paradise in Rockville is the store that really brings me back to those days in middle school and high school where I would go through shelf after shelf of whatever the store has, buy a shitload of stuff and then sit in front of the stereo going through box after box of my cds or dad's LPs for hours.
That tone is still there on all those records, just listening to any Terry Reid record on vinyl gives me chills... And odds are Joe's is going to have all that and more buried somewhere in their shelves. Plus EVERY member of Solar Powered Sun Destroyer is obsessed with finding good records on vinyl, so I am comfortably surrounded by it all the time."
Did you know you can walk to four of Washington, DC’s finest record stores in a span of maybe 15-20 minutes? It’s no joke. I do it often.
The folks who wake up each morning, head downtown, and turn on the lights at Crooked Beat Records,Red Onion Records,Smash! Records, and Som Records would like to remind you this holiday season that vinyl makes THE perfect gift for yourself or some other crate digger on your shopping list.
As a reminder, all four shops are dangling a carrot in the form of $25.00 in store credit for ONE winner to extend the season of giving—right to your turntable. That’s $100.00 to wander from store to store in TVD’s very first DC Record Store Shopping Spree.
Here’s how it’ll work: we invite you to sing the praises of your local scene in the comments to this post with contact info (very important!) and the one that warms our collective spirits will be awarded the shopping spree. You don’t have to be a DC resident to enter and win, but you have to redeem your store credit in person at each of the four shops.
We’re choosing the winner for the DC Record Store Shopping Spree on Wednesday, 12/16, to give you the last weekend before the Christmas holiday to make the 20 minute trek from store to store.
(...best after a Bloody Mary or 5. Trust me on this.)
IN PASSING (A.Borland) These yellow lights are not enough / To illuminate this night / These streets all have a hollow ring / Sounding down inside / This town got our wild years / Now it's quiet here, and still / What good is life without the few / Who lived it to the full? / This yellow glow / Is gonna show me home / Down rivers made of stone / But if you miss old friends tonight / Then you are not alone
We've always had some doubts about our correspondent from the '70s. We hadn't heard from him in a while, not since Rocktober.
Then we started to wonder. Have all those good times way back when started to affect him? The '70s were a long time ago. Was he ...
But then, to our great relief, he checked in from the sweet blue haze of time."Sorry, man," he said. "Busy."Then he dropped this on TVD. All the way from 1972. "Brother, Brother, Brother" by the Isley Brothers. Mercy.
The Isleys start with a Carole King cover (no surprise there — they liked putting up the covers back then) and things get progressively funkier from there. By the time you're done with these, you won't associate "lay away" with Christmas shopping any more.
There’s an old George Carlin bit where he rails on people who tell him to “have a nice day.” “It places the burden on ME to go have a nice day...” he’d joke.
Which pretty much sums up the holiday season for me at present. Sure, sure...the tree's up and Pete the dog has a jaunty new winter coat to sniff around in. But me? I’m not feeling it.
I think back to the past 20 years when at this time, I’d be on a train or in a car going up to see my folks in NJ. The holidays weren’t for kicking back in comfort...they were packing a bag, sitting in traffic, dealing with headaches, touching base to be ‘present and accounted for’, and then doing it again on a return trip. Rest stops, fast food, weight gain. Years checked off from your life span.
I began to resent it frankly—the dog and pony show as ritual. Performing like the trained bear in the graphic above...peddling this way and that and losing yourself in the process.
I resent that I resented it and muddled through these visits with my folks because they’re no longer here. I’m angry that I poured through so much wine at dinners which would have my folks wondering if I had a drinking problem. “I only have a drinking problem during the holidays!” I’d say.
But now they are gone and it’s a hollow victory to not face Amtrak delays or schedule changes. But the dog and pony shows remain. Office parties, awkward gifts, the visits, the absolute burden of holiday cheer. The bullshit.
I mean, I want to feel this rarified holiday ‘spirit’...yet, I’m spiritless.
So, as our friend Ed Hamell sings, “...I’m all alone but I’ve got my [records]/let’s think of some stuff we can smash...”
More bullshit:40 years after John & Yoko’s X-mas single, we’re fighting two wars. 25 years after Band Aid, people are still struggling with hunger.
(Sheez. Should I be expecting a visit from three ghosts?)
I’ve missed several callings in life. There’s been no career at Marvel Comics drawing Spider-Man despite my facility with a pencil. My drum teacher “Don the Drum Master” thought I had some of the best hands he’d ever seen, but there’s been no career behind the kit. (And frankly, I think Don was just blowing smoke to keep me coming around for lessons...)
Thankfully, there’s one that doesn’t need a career goal to achieve: I can spot a star in the making. I can tell at note one or two who’s got it and who doesn’t. Who will forever be middling and just hover over the ground versus the ones destined for stratospheric trajectories. No shit. It’s a gift.
A number of months back, a friend of this blog Dave Mann put together a stellar evening of music over at The Black Cat that we hyped all week long—and the evening more than delivered. Beyond the band collectives however, I was struck by Jess, then of Vox Pop. I kept thinking to myself, “Why isn’t she singing EVERYthing?” She’s just that good.
Jess’ new project Lightfoot made is debut last month over at the Hotel and she joins LIGHTS and We Were Pirates this Saturday night (12/12) at DC9—where we encourage you to be.
Because stratospheric trajectories do, for a time, have launching pads.
They say there are rarely any ‘re-do’s in life. You live with your decisions and deal with the consequences. Count the losses, grim up, and move on. Fake a smile ‘til you’re not faking any longer.
That is, until ebay.
Back in ‘84 I sold my entire comic collection. Hundreds and hundreds of well worn compatriots were dashed off for what I recall to be a mere $85. Muscle men in colored spandex making way for the fairer sex, I’m guessing. I needed to look sharp, man.
Yet, like the flicking of your tongue over a tooth that’s been extracted, their absence was quite tangible over the years. Absences have shapes, y’see and the chasm was growing deeper and wider.
Fast forward to a glorious ebay rating of 824—chunks of my collection often replaced in one sweet, sweet auction win. (“You’ve been outbid by repressedchildhood751...”)
Actually, I have more comics—thousands more, than I do records. And I have a shit-TON of records.
TVD’s simple aesthetic #3: The scent of ink on paper.
This summer I received a decorated envelope that gave me that picked for the team feeling. Inside was the latest album, Tarpits in Canyonlands, from a North Carolina-based band called Bombadil. My first listen through the album felt like a hearty four-season long jaunt through a foreign land where men wear fedoras and drive wagons and women spend the days tending fields with their children tied firmly to their backs. Funnily enough, the band claims one of its inspirations came from a trip taken along "the so-called World's Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia." TVD caught up with Bombadil member Bryan recently to get the low down on the band (comprised of members Daniel (bass/piano/saxophone/vocals/songwriter), James (drums/vocals/songwriter), Stuart (piano/trumpet/vocals/songwriter) and Bryan (guitar/vocals/songwriter) and what they're currently up to.
TVD: So first off- how did you get started? Bryan: Though we didn't realize the irony at the time, one starting point for the band was on a trip down the so-called World's Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia. Daniel and I were debating whether the Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd was a better live band. We decided to start making recordings and one thing led to another. Our first show as 'Bombadil' happened in March 2005 in our university's dining hall.
TVD: How would you describe your sound? A friend once called it arena folk, and that's probably not too far off. I'd say all of our songs are rooted in folk music, or at least the concept behind folk music -- we start by trying to tell stories about the unusual circumstances we find ourselves in as human beings...about how we relate to each other, about our expectations, about the eccentricities that we all have, about what happens next. At the end of the day, we're just trying to make music we would like to hear.
TVD: Your band is based in North Carolina—what, if any, influence does the Tarheel State have on the music you create and how you perform? One of the great parts about living in the Triangle [the region of North Carolina that is anchored by the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill] is that there's a quality local show playing just about every night. There's always someone with good ideas, good songs, good chops, or just good old-fashioned charisma playing practically in your backyard. It's a great place to learn, to get inspired, and to have a good time.
TVD: Your first LP, A Buzz A Buzz, came out two years ago, and your most recent LP, Tarpits in Canyonlands, was released this past summer. I've noticed a more refined and polished sound on Tarpits but you have managed to maintain the dichotomous sounds of playfulness and solemness heard on the first album- do you feel with this new album a need to evolve a little or are you just exploring and expanding on the sounds your fans associate you with? One big change we were able to make with Tarpits was setting aside a nice chunk of time to work on the thing. When we recorded Buzz we were all juggling day jobs, plus touring on most weekends. When we went into record Tarpits, we had left the dayjobs behind. We carved out a solid month to hone all the arrangements and practice beforehand, and then we had three straight weeks in the studio really focus on making a record.
The extra shows and endless hours in the car since recording the first disc also meant we'd gotten a little better at our instruments and knew better how to communicate with each other. It also helped that Scott Solter is a completely brilliant engineer. I think the playful solemnness you mention will probably always be part of who we are as a band, but musically, we'll always be looking for new alleys or passageways to wander upon.
TVD: I know that Daniel was diagnosed with tendinitis which halted tour plans for a while—any updates? Back in 2007, Daniel started feeling pain in his wrists after playing. Over the next year and a half, it progressed and became a bigger and bigger problem until he realized in May of this year that he would have to completely stop playing — indefinitely. He's made some progress since then, but it looks like he still has a ways to go before be able to perform. So as of yet, no shows are scheduled. But we're still writing new tunes and plotting out how and when to make the next release.
Although there is no tour in the works yet, the band just recently released a new video for its song So Many Ways To Die , and their albums are all available online to keep your pallate wet until such time when they are able to roll through your town.
We're back again with another guest blog from our buddies at ThinkIndie.com. This week we're gonna get a little more involved in how ThinkIndie works with the great stores around the US and how we're trying to help bridge the gap between vinyl and digital with a new "format" that we have on the site.
Currently, the digital side of ThinkIndie has 48 stores represented by two store coalitions, CIMS and AIMS. We will be expanding to represent more and more stores as we move into 2010. We wanted to start it off with a tight group of stores until we worked out any kinks, since downloads were uncharted waters for brick and mortar stores. We couldn't just jump in head first without knowing how deep the water really is. We give each store its own page on the site, with a description and photo, as well as letting each store pick albums to feature.
The great part of this is that each store is an "affiliate" of the site so anyone that comes to the ThinkIndie digital site from a link on a store's website or social sites gets locked into that store and a percentage of every purchase they make goes right back to that store. That means buying digital files online now directly benefits your favorite record store. It's something we've been working on for almost 5 years now because we wanted something the customers of the stores would enjoy and make sure the stores were taken care of. Like Tony said in last week's blog, we come from record stores and want to make this digital site just that, a record store. It's how REAL record stores do digital.
Now about that "format" I was talking about earlier. It's something we like to call the Mp33.3 as it's just that, an Mp3 made directly from an LP. Yeah, they have players out there that will plug into your computer via USB, but those players don't cost 70k. You read that right, the turntable we use to make our files cost 70k, the drive alone is 10k. We don't mess around when it comes to quality for our customers—we went with the highest quality Mp3 we could right off the bat. We've only done a few so far (Cheyenne Mize & Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Rachel Grimes, Phantom Family Halo). Each one of these titles were released on limited run vinyl.
Our goal is to get those type of releases that have only been released as vinyl pieces to be done up as Mp33.3 files. Now you may be saying to yourself, "Why not just make Mp3 files from the original masters rather than rip them from vinyl?" Good question, but we feel it's best to keep with the "vinyl only" concept of the release to keep those pops and crackles in the audio of the Mp3. The files just sound warmer when they are recorded off an LP and converted to digital rather than trying to add that warmth in a studio with an audio program. On top of that, the way in which audio is mastered is different for CD/Mp3 than it is for vinyl so the band/producers would have to go back and master a copy for digital. Give one of 'em a listen and see how nice these recordings sound, lughole stimulation is always guaranteed.
So there ya go, a little more info about how ThinkIndie.com and your favorite local indie record stores are working together to not only keep record stores alive and well, but to bring in a new way of shopping for those who do enjoy the digital side of life.
Shrinebuilder - S/T This band has been talked about for a few years now, but they just released their first album. Band features Wino (Hidden Hand/Saint Vitus/Spirit Caravan/The Obsessed), Al Cisneros (Sleep/Om), Scott Kelly (Neurosis/Tribes Of Neurot) and Dale Crover (Melvins). With a lineup like this, you know it's going to be brutal. Another one of my favorite albums to have come out this year.
Reverend Horton Heat - Laughin & Cryin With The Reverend Horton Heat It has been five years since the good ol' Reverend graced us with any new music and the wait was well worth it. Laughin & Cryin is a little more country than rock n roll but it's still got the wild feel that ever RHH album has. Song like "Ain't No Saguaro In Texas," "Please Don't Take The Baby To The Liquor Store" and "Just Let Me Hold My Paycheck" are obvious that the Rev and company are still having lots of fun playing music. This is the first album with with "new" drummer Paul Simmons who has played on almost every Legendary Shack Shakers albums. I call em "new" cause he's been playing with the band since around 2006 so he's not so new anymore.
Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything To Nothing We have a very special exclusive release that just came out this week. It's the newest Manchester Orchestra album, but it also comes with seven bonus tracks that was recorded at Park Ave in Orlando, FL on June 4th, 2009. This is another example of how Think Indie is working with all the stores out there to provide cool items for fans. If you're not a fan of digital downloads you can always go to one of the stores featured on the digital site and buy the album to get a download card for the bonus tracks.
Various Artists - Warp20 (Chosen) & Warp20 (Recreated) Warp Records out of the UK just celebrated it's 20th anniversary. One of the ways they celebrated was with 2 compilations from different artists on the label. The first was Warp20 (Chosen) which features 10 songs that were chosen by fans on the Warp website. The next 14 tracks on the release were chosen by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett as his favorite tracks to have been released by Warp Artists. The other comp that was released was Warp20 (Recreated) which features current and past artist from the Warp roster remixing and covering other Warp artists. It's a really cool release and it's quite nice to hear these songs you've know for a while in a completely different way.
I thought it pretty funny for a while that it seemed everywhere I looked, people of a certain age were dressing like Bobby Brady was a legitimate style and fashion icon. I dig the 70’s like the next person (I think?) but the peg-legged Toughskins look with the Chucks just seemed a little...silly to me.
Fast forward an hour or so later and the 80’s have been back (and probably morphing into something else literally as I type this...) which cracks me up too because it’s not the ‘best’ of the ‘80’s look, but the look sported by every douchebag I loathed in high school. (Right – lingering issues.) The Members Only jackets...and the boat shoes...BOAT shoes. I swear if I see lacing on the SIDES of shoes, it’s all I can do to not haul off on someone.
(And while I’m at it, if we’re not at the beach or the pool, gentlemen...I should not be seeing feet. Warm weather does not = f’n feet season.)
TVD’s simple aesthetic #2: Footwear of distinction.
You've really got to hand it to Hugh Hefner. I mean, he's turned some men's singular pursuit—naked ladies—into a sophisticated, urbane endeavor replete with dapper attire, a haughty worldliness, an appreciation for the finer arts, with a taste for the unique and refined. Wiiiith naked ladies.
Take a look at these genre-bending exercises for a taste of that hip sophistication:
As TVD ages gracefully and evolves, I find myself telling people in conversation that The Vinyl District and its sensibilities, while all about vinyl and record stores, allows for a bit of an aesthetic that I like to apply to certain things beyond the initial goal posts.
I'm sure Hef said to himself at some point, "Well, what do I do AFTER I bed that millionth blonde? And brunette. Perhaps I head out for a drink? Or maybe I should read a book? I DO need a new pair of pajamas...hm..."
Because I, we, all dig vinyl and record stores and going to shows but there's more ink in the well, more depth on the bench, and to be relegated to that one note is frankly a bit un-Hef-like.
Over the course of the week, our daily 5 will be a bit of an homage to all things outside of the vinyl pursuits which in some collective manner shall evolve into some TVD-type aesthetic.
So, when I'm not here in the masturbatorium, er..."TVD HQ" ...you'll find me at the first on our aesthetic list:
By now we're thinking you know the drill: be the first to choose the show you want to see at Comet by calling it out in the comments to this post—and a pair of tickets is yours. One winner per show too. Easy, right?
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 ArmChairs / Exit Clov / Circadian Rhythms Armchairs The Armchairs stand up for the hungry kids. Playing together since February 2008, this unlikely quartet puts on intense live shows that feature (but are not limited to) readings from the communist manifesto, hot dog costumes, light-up helmets, abrupt tempo changes, and audience participation. Drawing influence from bands such as The Kinks, The Zombies, Deerhoof, and Ween, The Armchairs have only just begun to unleash their fury on the unsuspecting public. Two DIY tours of the eastern seaboard, countless regional & NYC gigs (Pianos, Lit Lounge, Union Pool, Death by Audio, official CMJ 2009 showcase at Local 269) and a 10 song demo later, they are hard at work finishing their debut LP, "Science & Advice."
Exit Clov Exit Clov is a band from Washington, D.C. We write songs inspired by the madness of our city. Tunes of resistance, ennui and societal idiocy—music for 21st century kids. Our name, a tribute to Samuel's Beckett's "Endgame," is both a call to arms and a personal manifesto. We share a wide range of influences from Blondie to Bartok but most of all we love a good hook. Consider our choruses a respite from the soundbite society we live in. Someone once called us "kaleidoscopic pop noir," we think that sounds pretty cool.
Circadian Rhythms Circadian Rhythms LP are in the midst of putting out an untitled EP with an independent philly label called EARSNAKE. The Circadian Rhythms work to blend all of their different influences into one body cohesively and this has been said about them, "From dark delta steez to kaleidoscopic soul, The Circadian Rhythms are a wholly unique if not slightly schizophrenic musical organism."—John "wrath of the math" Morrison.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12 State Department / Imperial China / Deutschmarks State Department State Department are a super group that is newly formed and has members of heavy hitters Ra Ra Rasputin, Spiritual Machine, and Black and White Jacksons. Patrick Kigongo, is either a wind-talker of guitar technology, or the Haley Joel Osment of indie-pop–he talks to ghosts of Echo and the Bunnymen and Felt with noisy, surfy riffs that glide along the steady, insistent drums parts. Michael Medlock keeps his vocals angry and personal, which is a lot better than sassy and sarcastic. With sparklers ignited, the group even takes it way back to the Velvet Underground’s iconic song Waiting for the Man, a number that turned into an orgiastic crowd-participation sort of thing when just about anybody was allowed onstage, and just about anybody was allowed to have a microphone.
Imperial China "It would [be a mistake to think] that Imperial China is a straight-up rehash of its musical forebears... From a dynamics perspective, the three instruments constantly change allegiances, occasionally veering off in three different directions at once. But the end result is always cohesive—and, more importantly, contemporary." - Washington City Paper, July 2008.
"Imperial China, a trio from DC, carry on the city's long and proud legacy of slashing, experimental post-punk that's equally brainy and ballsy. They create fierce grooves, turn on a dime, throw some weird electronic flourishes in for good measure, and shimmy about on stage like they took dancing lessons from Guy Picciotto." - Philadelphia Weekly, January 7, 2009.
Deutschmarks Deutschmarks is Chris DeWitt's solo music project. The live group includes members of DC bands Pree, Frau Eva and Wild Fictions. Deutschmarks sits on a pier of pulsing rhythms and and freewheeling melodies and throws little pebbles of misplaced nostalgia and Catholic mysticism into a big ol salty sea. Owing as much to early Who and CCR as he does to Les Savy Fav and Jens Lekman, helmsman Chris DeWitt barks and hollers and croons his way through a lively and energetic set of barn-burners
One of our favorite DJ nights, Rick and Brandon’s We Fought The Big One returns this evening AND with a special live event tomorrow night. Some details from Rick’s press release:
The stew has been brewing for awhile now, but this weekend makes it official: “We Fought the Big One” is expanding beyond the monthly confines of the Marx Cafe to include special live shows that will take place at DC-area venues!
Needless to say, we couldn't be more excited. To tie in with this Friday's dj night at the Marx, Brandon and I have curated a unique live event at the Velvet Lounge which will take place Saturday evening.
Brooklyn's Outpost, a relatively new band that features Stuart Argabright from Factory Records' act Ike Yard, Mark C from Live Skull and Kent Heine from Holy Ghost, will be our guest djs Friday evening at the Marx and performing Saturday at the Velvet.
All three members of Outpost have an unabashed obsession with J.G. Ballard. The group's eerie sounds, which teeter between song and ambience, structure and formlessness, confirm that the collective agenda here is to make music as evocative and atmospheric as Ballard's unimitable prose. We encourage you to hear for yourself.
Also on Saturday night’s bill areDC’s Screen Vinyl Image, The Plums, and our pal Blue Sausage Infant!
Brandon, who also writes TVD’s Musique Non Pop, has assembled ten tracks for us this weekend to set the mood:
Ike Yard - Loss (Mp3) For a synth band set down in the middle of trendy 1982, these guys didn’t groove along with much of their native NYC club scene. Neither did they march along with all the dispossessed children of the European New Wave musical Cold War. Instead Ike Yard oozed with a sort of funky menace. Something that bands wouldn’t relearn how to do until the 90’s. From their “1980-82 Collected” CD available on Acute Records.
Live Skull - Corpse (Mp3) Unfortunately mostly overlooked when the New York No-Wave scene is discussed, Live Skull is in desperate need of a good reissue program. Perhaps people misunderstood them because of their later (excellent) work with Thalia Zedek, which would be a shame. This song is from a classic Tellus compilation cassette released in 1983.
Skat - Just a Word (Mp3) Shifting gears, Skat were a short-lived later incarnation of Brighton, UK’s The Chefs (themselves short lived.) Fronted by the wonderful (and wonderfully named) Helen McCookerybook, this is an unreleased song taken from a Peel Session circa 1983.
Furious Apples - Belladonna (Mp3) This band was from Coventry, UK and released only a few singles and a couple of songs on a compilation before disappearing. Reminds me for all the world of Creation band, Felt or a little bit of The Church. From a 1983 single.
49 Americans - Don’t Sing The Blues (Mp3) 49 Americans went from the worst of the best late 70’s East London DIY, amateur, charming scruffy and funny as hell bands to a band suddenly playing with serious avant-garde types like David Toop and Steve Beresford. This is what they decided to do with their new situation. From their 1981 E Pluribus Unum LP.
Occult Chemistry - Water (Flexi Version) (Mp3) A one off band made up of members of Twilight Zoners from Cardiff, Wales and Martha Tilson who would later end up in A Certain Ratio for a short while as their singer. This is taken from the latest Messthetics compilation put out by Chuck Warner and his wonderful Hyped2Death Label. To say that the Messthetics compilations have changed We Fought The Big One’s musical lives is an understatement.
Strike Under - Sunday Night Disorientation (Mp3) Chicago’s Strike Under only lasted for this one 12” single before disintegrating in to Breaking Circus, Naked Raygun and later Pegboy. This is considered important in some circles as far as the evolution of Chicago Punk is concerned. It is also the first record on Wax Trax! Records. 1981. Sorry for the crappy transfer and minor skipping. It's vinyl and this is why we love it.
B-People - Give Up (Mp3) Another criminally forgotten band (of course they are,) Alex Gibson’s B-People from LA only lasted a few years in the early 80’s. They traded in music that was artfully jaded, distant but not foreboding and sometimes even moving. Take for example Mr. Gibson’s delivery of the line “My heart’s not in it anymore.” Simple, but it gets me every time. Circa 1981 or about there and originally on a cassette compilation.
Snatch - Hey Joey (Mp3) Snatch were two ladies from New York, Patti Palladin and Judy Nylon whom left and moved to the UK in the early 70’s. They started off as rather thrashy punkettes, but gradually started to develop their sound. This song was recorded in 1977(!!!!) and released on a single. I swear this has everything to do with Brian Eno as they were working with him at the time, but can’t find any confirmation of such. Desperately needs a re-release.
Conrad Schnitzler - Gelb 1 (Mp3) German avant-garde composer type started musical life in the early 70’s in a band called Eruption before moving on to his own solo work. This track was recorded in 1974 (again !!!!!!) and was only on cassette originally before being re-released a few times since.
