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So, it's our first 'First Date' for 2010 and appropriately enough, with ...The Hussy. (Here's to poetic justice.)
The Madison, WI band will see their split 7" (with The Zygoteens) released tomorrow, January 14th, on Big Action Records and will be doing four release shows in Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Appleton.
...and they'll send you one if you impress us sufficiently in the comments to this post. No foolin'. Whatcha got?
We chatted with guitarist Robert Wegner in advance of the 7" release:
We at the Hussy dig vinyl for a number of reasons, most notably the fact that it’s the perfect format for a simple band like the Hussy. We’re into short burst of punk energy, and what better format than the 7 inch? It’s the perfect length for us. A CD is way too long. We need the warmth and the crackles of the vinyl to fill in the missing bass frequencies, and we need the grit of a blasting stylus to fill out the sound even more.
But we also don’t bow down at the throne of a piece of vinyl or it’s perceived perfection of audio reproduction; we just think it’s a format that works for this band, much in the same way the CD is a perfect format for the countless pop-tart singers that clog the modern day radio waves. They sound clean and pristine on CD just like at their arena concerts - and we sound dirty and raw, just like at our hole-in-the-wall dive shows. Vinyl offers us that opportunity: to get the sound to the listener as if they’re in the middle of an overblown Hussy set.
Think you deserve to be front and center Thursday night? Olivia's given TVD a pair of tickets to offer the individual who pleads their case and hits the right note in the comments to this post. Give us something we can sing along with, ok?
You've got 'til Thursday morning so get at us with some contact info!
It's Day #2 of The Submarines' Vinyl District Takeover and Blake's rifling through her record collection with ya:
As I write, lines from our work-in-progress third album drift into the house through the open windows. John is messing around with some new software in the studio/garage, and something I sang the other day about lying and surprising each other is playing over and over.
We've been working on the album in bits and pieces through the Fall and now the Winter. I'm filling notebooks with lyrics, but haven't yet fit most of them to particular songs. John's been creating instrumental tracks, beats, anything he finds interesting and new for us, and we've sung melodies in "la's" over them. It sounds really exciting. (I suppose saying it sounds 'exciting,' is sort of like a menu which describes a sauce as 'delicious,' with no other distinguishing characteristics...but, you know what I mean.).
I just came inside from making this little mp3 with John from an old 78 of Billie Holiday's, "The Very Thought of You." John gave me a beautiful old phonograph, a Columbia Graphophone, for my birthday a couple of years ago. This is one of the nicest 78s we've collected.
Most of the others are cheapies from the flea markets—Tahitian recordings, Hawaiian guitar music, strange old jazz tunes with naughty lyrics. It's a little rough actually listening to them because they're quite harsh. The phrase 'put a sock in it,' comes from muffling the cone of the phonograph, which we usually do. But, it's fascinating to think you're hearing these recordings just as people did back when the records were pressed—there's a real connection to that time period, in the decades before the technology evolved to give the players a richer sound.
While we were mic'ing it up, Johnny got the idea to record us trying to play one of his old scratched-up 45's (The Beatles' "Rain") on the phonograph. Doing this is totally not recommended: it'll blow your eardrums and ruin your record - and possibly your phonograph - all at once. But it's kind of a funny experiment:
As it turns out, I've been wrecking vinyl for quite a long time. I grew up in an all-vinyl no-tv household, and dancing around to records was one of our favorite past-times—the needle skipped across the vinyl as we jumped, and there was no time to put the things back in the proper sleeves between song inspirations.
But, somehow my parent's collection survived this poor treatment, and I grew up listening to some amazing albums. Nearly all of the records were from the time before me and my brothers were born—great 60s and 70s classics. There was Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stan Getz with Astrud Gilberto, Rickie Lee Jones, Joni Mitchell, Zeppelin, Bob Marley—and some great musicals, like West Side Story (lots of needle-hopping jumping-around to that one). Among those classics was a particular favorite of both mine and my mom's, "Les Eaux de Mars," by Georges Moustaki. It's a cover of a beautiful Jobim song, translated into French by the French-Greek Moustaki. I played it over and over in my mom's painting studio, singing along in Franglais. I find it slightly shmaltzy now, but it's still genius.
This version of "Aguas de Marco," with Elis Regina and Tom Jobim, is so sweet and awesomely 70's:
I just stumbled upon a clip of Moustaki playing for a rapt Edith Piaf (who did a version of his 'Milord'). It's fascinating to watch one musician listening to another. She's sort of squirming, but into it:
As an unabashed Francophile, this French music discovery easily led me down the internet rabbit-hole to some interviews with one of my absolute favorite bands, Phoenix. They are very French, indeed, and I find them endlessly charming. What this last fact has to do with vinyl, I'm not entirely sure. But, I think they're brilliant, and their latest album looks very pretty in it's proper dimensions: a vinyl sleeve! Over and out.
The Submarines’ ‘Honeysuckle Weeks’ pulled off one of those rare feats here at TVD HQ back in ‘08. A CD copy (egad!) was mailed to us by the label and quietly found its way wending though our collective psyche with its sunny, bubbly tunesmithery...and stayed there for quite a while as we basked in its glow.
While we await its follow-up, Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti, the duo that is The Subs, will be hanging around our office all week delving into their back pages and cuddling up with our turntable as we turn TVD over to them.
It’s The Submarines’ Vinyl District this week. We just work here.
John’s up first today:
I know this blog is about vinyl, but.... As a kid growing up in Dubai in the 70's and 80's, there weren't many options for buying records in the early days. Some of the older kids would bring back vinyl from the States, but I hadn't quite reached the age where it really mattered to me.
However, there was no shortage of cassettes, mostly pirated in places like the Phillipines or Lebanon. You could walk in to a "tape shop", spend 100 dirhams (about 30 bucks) and leave with twenty-five albums. And it didn't matter if ten of them sucked. The tapes were stacked floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall and the selection was mostly tacky British and American chart pop. But, there was a surprising assortment of punk, new wave, reggae and—funny enough—Southern rock from the States. Tons of Bollywood soundtracks, too. It really was a candy store. Of plastic.
One band that was huge in Dubai—and superstars in almost every part of the world except the America—was Boney M. I think I must have been in fourth or fifth grade. Suffice it to say, I fucking LOVED the song, "Daddy Cool."
This video is awesome, too. Pretty saucey stuff for a kid....but a radical disco track.
Then... everything changed when I saw this:
It was all about the blood. Which then led to this:
Bon Scott's voice freaked me out, but, with a cover like that it didn't matter. They were my no. 2 for at least a year.
My obsession with KISS led to my first purchase of vinyl. I had no idea who they were. Didn't know how many records they had released, or if they were even still together. (We usually got our pop culture several years after the fact, and Kojak re-runs dubbed in Arabic were a personal favorite.) In any case, my dad had to go to Hong Kong for business at that time, and I made him promise that he would buy me a KISS record.
Matt Morris sent TVD a video he filmed for us while dropping off his debut release 'When Everything Breaks Open' at the local record shop he likes to call home. Matt's signed to Justin Timberlake's label Tennman Records and Justin produced the album with Charlie Sexton, the legendary Austin, TX native and Bob Dylan axe man.
"This is a short video I made for my favorite independent record store, Twist n' Shout (based in Denver, CO). They carry a ton of hard to find albums and truly support local artists. So support your local indie record store everyone!"
Allow me to date myself (...which I ..uh, did for years, frankly.)
Back in '85 when I came to Washington the drinking age was a Wild West 18. This was long before many of the clubs we think of as DC staples. Before The Black Cat, or Velvet Lounge, or any of the bars on U Street and way before anything but a hold up was going down on H Street.
There was the 9:30 in its original spot on F Street, NW, DC Space nearby, and Poseurs in Georgetown on M Street right before the Key Bridge. And if you were like me and loathe to embrace much of the ridiculousness found on college campuses (AU for me) you might just find yourself working at the college radio station with more kindred spirits. Then DJing 'college nights' at the aforementioned Poseurs, which then morphs into a steady DJ gig at Poseurs.
And you'd never get paid for these Poseurs sets either, just free drinks. So needless to say, sets would start out real strong and descend into chaos as the night progressed. I did love me some Bartles & Jaymes.
And if you, like me, have the mold and mildew on you and can recall the mold and mildew of Poseurs in all of its punky new wave goth glory, many of the records you owned, the records I was playing, have fared less well over the years. I cannot tell you how many copies of this or that Cure or Souixsie record I've repurchased and repurchased over the years. Some literally became coasters on more memorable evenings.
Which, by the way of a sweet, sweet segway, gives me great pleasure to introduce TVD readers to Vinyl 180 who are outdoing themselves in refreshing those 'well loved' LPs in your record collection.
Allow me to quote the informative press release: "The Vinyl 180 label produces new vinyl editions of classic 80’s post-punk albums, remastered from original analogue tapes and pressed onto 180g heavyweight vinyl to capture the warmth and depth of sound that currently only vinyl can offer... just as they were meant to be heard. All releases are packaged in deluxe gatefold sleeves on heavyweight cardboard stock...
In 2009, Vinyl 180 has been working with 4AD and Beggars Banquet labels, producing new super high quality versions of albums from Cocteau Twins, The Cult and Dead Can Dance. Upcoming exclusive releases for Vinyl 180 feature titles from Bauhaus and Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard.
There’s a new addition to the Bauhaus catalogue, This Is For When, a live document of the band's concert at Hammersmith Palais - 9th November 1981. This is a brand new release and is available initially as a limited edition of 2,000 copies pressed onto two 180g vinyl LPs and housed in two heavyweight card sleeves wrapped in a printed transparent PVC wallet. Remastered and remixed from the original analogue tapes, this unique pressing features the whole live show, capturing the band at their incendiary best..."
And because we like you all so very much, Vinyl 180 has given TVD a beautiful, pristine copy of Dead Can Dance's self titled debut to give away. It comes in an expanded form which also includes the follow up EP 'Garden of the Arcane Delights' in a 2-LP, 180 gram edition that dutifully and lovingly reproduces the original packaging on heavyweight stock.
We'd love to put it into the hands of anyone who can recall Poseurs or a venue of similar stature...but I'm realistic. Tell us tales from the garden of your youthful delights in the comments section to this post and the one that reeks most of clove cigarettes and incense will take home the Dead Can Dance reissue.
We'll close this one out a week from today (1/14) by noon. Get at us before then — with contact info!
We're closing out this Fresh Pick introductory week with yes, a track off Eels' brand new 'End Times' (out 1/19) and a copy of the release on vinyl for one of you guys out there.
See, we're all about sharing the music but we're all about the vinyl too which means heading out to the shops and plunking down our hard earned cash for—wait for it—physical product. Trust me, it feels damn good.
The person who win's the Eels LP is the person who draws this distinction even better than my coffee-challenged brain can conjure this morning. Get at us in the comments to this post (with contact info!) in regard to your own download/physical product purchasing pursuits and one of you will find the Eels LP right there on your doorstep.
Thrift Store Gems are records you should pull the trigger on next Saturday flipping through the used crates at the shop. I hid a copy for you...flip between Linda Ronstadt and Dan Fogelberg, or was it Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass? You've probably heard these somewhere along the line, or spotted them at the local Goodwill, but give 'em a second chance and they might fit like a cheap used leather jacket. No decade is spared in this series, so let's get searching.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà vu (1970) Déjà vu is a 6th St. prostitute doused in slick perfume. Nothing more than loose demos cut up and pasted together with cocaine and weak bravado. A big-budget production that ushered in the era of corporate rock and pissed off ‘60s hippie dreamers still pissing in the woods at Woodstock. But even the occasional call girl is a nice looking woman.
Crosby, Stills & Nash would bring in a hired gun after the large success of their self-titled debut. Neil Young, the elusive rocker of Buffalo Springfield fame, left his ranch and dodged his epilepsy long enough to lend a hand. Joined by talented druggies Greg Reeves and Dallas Taylor, and the then-and-still obtuse Young, CSN managed to fuck up beautifully. The beautiful mess is even packaged in a fake leather gatefold that seems fitting.
The opening cut on Side 1 – radio friendly “Carry On” - is a put together effort probably tracked before Johnny the dealer showed up. I like throwing Crosby’s “Almost Cut My Hair” on when I'm alone, he wrote it after losing his then girlfriend in a car accident and you can hear it. Skip over “Woodstock”, unless you’d enjoy Joni Mitchell’s heartfelt poem of cliche clichés lathered in production and sped up too fast. “Déjà vu” is another Crosby cut that’s oozes a nice lack of cohesiveness, but the closing solo by Stills is a nice trip.
While I might have been around in the late 60’s and early 70’s, I wasn’t what one might call, a good hang. I was way too into cartoons and sugary cereals and Legos and not so much with the smoking and drinking and carousing til all hours.
I missed those late night, bong laden, soul searching conversations with suburban pseudo hippies on sabbatical destined for corporate gigs and neglected housewives all the while seeking salvation within Yes lyrics or reading double meanings into Moody Blues bluster. I missed it and that was: justfinethankyou.
My contemporaries were Flock of Seagulls and Haircut 100 and that ilk, not known certainly for any depth on the bench or in books.
But David Sylvian got me reading Kundera for chrissakes.
Taa daa! I could end it there, really. That’s a victory unto itself. I mean, when was the last time someone whose music you listened to on the regular inspired you to go beyond yourself and within yourself just as the artist himself was taking the same spiritual journey? When was the last time you were intellectually challenged by music or musicians?
I took some heat for slagging The Velvet Underground yesterday but I stand by it. John Cale’s brilliant and Lou’s certainly impressed me over the years, and while they inspired countless bands...what did they inspire in you as the listener? It’s actually not their job to do anything but create and reflect, so fine.
But there’s been something, an added bonus if you will, for those who’ve followed Sylvian from pasty face pin-up to thoughtful, articulate, esoteric artist. If I knew what that was – what word to call it – I’d take a crack at it. An intangible tangibility of sonic texture and spirituality, perhaps.
I’m not sure. I’m failing here.
But David Sylvian got me reading Kundera for chrissakes.
A solid 97% of the time, I loathe ‘power-pop.’ The meticulousness that it takes to ape the Beatles or Beach Boys or Raspberries or Badfinger paradigm by sheer mathematics is laughable. Even when it’s done well I still think “Why f’n bother?”
Which is why we should all look up Alex Chilton and and say c’mon down to the pub, drinks are on us. And Alex, if you’re reading, you can crash at my place too. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.
The new Big Star box set ‘Keep an Eye on the Sky’ is a revelation in sheer effortlessness of creation. Or seemingly such. However enamored the band was with the previous list of pristine pop purveyors, one might not notice. Sure, there’s a blueprint of sorts and the influences are apparent, but there’s a wholly new artifact being created that’s ingested what came prior, yet exhales angelic new hues.
The best example is to highlight the demos from the new set. Chilton even takes the Velvets moribund ‘Femme Fatale’ and actually finds beauty in the thing. (And don’t write me letters...however cool VU is/was...they often border on unlistenable. Without smack, anyway.)
Here’s to you Alex Chilton... (and Andy and Jody and of course, Chris.) Drinks and dinner? A cuddle afterward?
I'm almost regretting the wording up there in the graphic.
Fresh tracks? Sure. Quality? Perhaps. You make the call...similar to lingering at the fruit stand and looking through the bin for the perfect orange or apple. This one, maybe. This one, yes.
To be clear, we think DC's Casper Bangs is f'n great. We think you'll feel the same way.
A few weeks back we posted the trailer for the new Runaways movie which had me thinking about Joan Jett ultimately. Odd that she's become a hero of sorts - although she's eminently worthy. She just seems to be a bit of a contemporary in a sense which took me back for a sec.
I started to extrapolate a bit. Why, if this was the case...who would my musical 'heroes' be? Although I'm not prone to hero worship...the mental trail I went down was a bit enlightening and dispiriting all at once. They were all dead.
Lennon, Marley, Bolan, Lynott, Nilsson, Hendrix, Bonham, Moon, Borland, Mercury... "All dead/all dead..."
Huh.
So, I thought this week to kick off the new year and the new decade, we'd begin with a reminder that there are more than a few hero-worthy types out there one could grab a beer with. If you could get so lucky.
So...Ringo.
Right - he was a Beatle so he's garnered a bust in the Hall of All Time Greats. But hell, we'd have so much to talk about (Or, I would...) and not just the obvious stuff either.
The sessions beyond the Beatles he played on. LA in the 70's with the aforementioned Lennon, Nilsson, Alice Cooper, Mickey Dolenz. Hanging with Bolan. His 70's singles which I think were damn great with great acknowledgement of George's contributions.
He was just there, man. Through it all.
So Ringo - get in touch please? I'm buying. Ok, thanks.
Holy cow! It’s a whole new DECADE! 2010… where the hell is my transporter? Shouldn’t we be vacationing on the moon by now?!
Anyways, although I haven’t gone to any shows recently (sad face..), I did recently snatch this FLAMING LIPS cover of Pink Floyd’s DARK SIDE OF THE MOON that I highly recommend you check out. Yes, Wayne Coyne and all his eccentricity have teamed up with Henry Rollins of BLACK FLAG and PEACHES (weird combo, eh?) to cover the entire, mind-blowing album that is Dark Side.
Although the original is epic, I think Wayne does an excellent job reintroducing this album with his distinct, quivering voice and obscure yet minimalist instrumentation. Whether or not you’re a huge Dark Side fan or not, this album will either a) remind you of the albums existentialistic greatness and have you pulling out your old 12” (I’m talking vinyl here, get your mind outta the gutter…) or b) make you wonder why you never actually fell in love with this album in the first place.
The Dark Side album is truly mind-blowing and if you pay attention the lyrics will have you staring at the ceiling, pondering life’s big questions (sparkin the old pipe may not hurt either). Get it on iTunes! I’ve dropped a few tracks for you to download (Speak to Me/Breathe and Great Gig in the Sky), let me know what you think!!
“Long you’ll live and high you’ll fly but only if you ride the tide”
Keep these lyrics handy and if you like what you hear check out the Lips’ most recent album, Embyonic for a healthy dose of obscurity.
On another note… What shows is everyone hyped to see in 2010?? Hot Chip, the XX, Miike Snow, Yeasayer, Air, St Vincent, AL GREEN?!??
(1/4/10 Update - worst stomach flu ever. We'll return when the stomach does.)
(Yea...we're back. On a Sunday. Go figure.) Recall the 'Rate That Record' feature we started a while back? Of course you don't. You guys are a quiet bunch indeed.
Well, we're still inundated with new music and we've got a way to put it in your ears and ipods in 2010 which we're certain will have you running out for a copy on vinyl. (Right?)
Fresh Picks: keep your eyes peeled for the oranges for the latest into TVD HQ.
Now, we won't guarantee quality each and every time - except for this first time out.
The lovely and talented Watson Twins return in February with ' Talking To You, Talking To Me,' their latest on Vanguard and we've got the first single and the very first track posted to the blog in 2010.
I'm not too surprised that yesterday's Regifting Giveaway was met with a resounding chorus of crickets, but today I've got a good one for you.
I'm not sure how many year-end montages I've sat through featuring the big name celebrities who passed away in 2009, but the one that hit home the most for me was the loss of Orpheus Records in Clarendon this past year. A weekend doesn't go by when I'm longing to be rifling through Rick's well stocked bins with old gems and new arrivals.
But as the store was fading and everything had to go, often times for a mere dollar, I found that I often purchased two—sometimes three—copies of the same record in a flurry of mad, mad purchasing.
So, our final Regifting Giveaway...I'll randomly pick three LPs from this stack of doubles or triples and hell, I'll even mail them to the winner who catches our attention in the comments to this post. You'll have to trust my judgment with the selections, but I'm thinking if you're visiting us with any frequency, you'll be OK with what lands on your doorstep.
You've got 24 hours...make 'em good and be sure to leave us some contact info.
Hello music-savvy friends. Right, so I’ve been M.I.A. for a while ‘cause I haven’t been attending too many shows recently…. Not because I don’t WANT to, but b/c the federal govt pays me like shit and I’m too damn broke. There were some good shows recently that unfortunately I did miss…. Anyone make it to Lee “Scratch” Perry/See-i? Totally bummed I had to miss it……..
Anywhooo…. I know you were all massively worried you hadn’t heard from me so I’ve decided that from now on I shall grace you with a WEEKLY dose of my mind-numbing DC/music accounts every Monday morning, in what I like to call, “The Sunday Hangover.” Please bear in mind my brain is generally functioning at a third of the capacity on Monday’s so you’ll be sure to get the most honest and possibly semi-incoherent recap of the past weekend's events. Sounds tremendous, I know…. but entertaining, none-the-less.
On another note…. Out of the kindness of my heart, as a holiday gift to you, I’ve decided to burn all of the loyal Vinyl District readers a ‘digital cd’. It’s chalk full of new indie tunes such as BEACH HOUSE who are blowing up recently (new album drops Jan 26th and if you like My Morning Jacket then you should check that out!) and the new SPOON song, ‘Written in Reverse’ which is sorta darker than you would imagine, yet incredible. Not to mention a HOT CHIP cover of JOY DIVISION (Transmission), an ARCADE FIRE cover of TALKING HEADS (Naïve Melody), and THE XX/FLORENCE and the MACHINE. I’ve also put some of my fave electro/disco jams in there to spice up your new years. Enjoy… and if you don’t…. at least pretend you do!
So, it's our first 'First Date' for 2010 and appropriately enough, with ...The Hussy. (Here's to poetic justice.)
