TVD's Twitter Music Monday for 6/14/10

Oh fine. I’ve had a #musicmonday column for all of one week, and already it’s time to write about Amanda Palmer. Because of this:

@amandapalmer RT! @amandapalmer unveils "idioteque" from her upcoming radiohead ukulele covers album http://bit.ly/AFPidio #MusicMonday

Twitter stops counting at 100 retweets. More than 100 people retweeted this on Monday, trust.

If you don’t already know who Amanda Palmer is, I’m not going to tell you because I’m bound to get something wrong and her rabid fanbase will obliterate me, burlesque-style, and possibly by beating me about the head with ukuleles. That actually sounds hilarious and I’d like to know more, but I bruise easily, so just look her up yourself, why dontcha? You can start with the Dresden Dolls, and Evelyn and Evelyn, and look into some of the more contentious moments of her solo career, like when she got into a fight with her record label or walked the Oscar red carpet practically naked.

Here are some things I have to say about Amanda Palmer:
- Whenever I hear her name, I get thirsty for some refreshing lemonade mixed with iced tea. Then I decide that, if my name were so similar to that of an iconic professional golfer with a signature non-alcoholic drink, I would at least change it to sound more fizzy. And then I realize that she’s also called Amanda Fucking Palmer, which I guess makes everything ok. (That is entirely too many thoughts for just one bullet point.)
- She’s engaged to Neil Gaiman. Even more than her fanbase, I don’t want to make him mad. He could come after me with beautifully whimsical stories—one never knows.
- I like (liked?) the Dresden Dolls. For a few years in college, her angsty vocals really spoke to me. It’s been a while, though. (I know, yawn, sorry.)
- Ukuleles? Really?

I guess I should say something about the song, huh? Eh. Let me direct you to my last bullet point. I really like the piano part of this cover. The ukulele sounds plingy and oddly metallic, and on first listen I thought that, other than the plings, it sounded too much like the original. Then I listened to the original and, yeah, it doesn’t. But I still don’t like the way the uke sounds. STAND DOWN, AFP FANS.

I’m not a music critic. “Plingy” is not a technical term. Amanda Palmer is enough of an Internet force that her appearance on #musicmonday dominated the Twitterverse, and she’s a fascinating person to write silly things about. The end.

Role #mmodel: This is the second-best tweet I’ve seen all day. It’s the first-best that does not involve vuvezelas. And it somehow got into the #musicmonday transcript without having the actual #musicmonday hashtag. Hearts! “LeatherNight: RT @TW1TT3Rart: @KarlDetkenProDJ #DJ #MUSIC #TwitterArt ??????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????”

My #musicmonday pick: Cover music edition! The Detroit Cobras are forever great to wake up to on a Monday (or Tuesday) morning. Check out Hey Sailor.

TVD's Four Way | Malin Nilsson

I often think DC’s Dave Mann might be the hardest working guy in the District. (Well, aside from that fellow in the White House, I guess.) From his myriad of gigging projects, The Spelling for Bees Collective to Twins of a Gazelle to Mittenfields, he’s filling up our email in-box with invite upon invite, to show upon show, for this or that project, at such and such venue. We’d be impressed if we weren’t worried that he’d collapse from exhaustion.

But still standing he is, and as such, Mittenfields plays the Velvet Lounge this coming Friday night (6/18) with a rather solid and impressive line up which includes Swedish songstress Malin Nilsson, Pittsburgh PA’s Mariage Blanc, DC’s Bellflur, with Mittenfields at the top of the roster.

So impressed with Dave’s fortitude and the line-up he’s assembled, we’ve decided to spend the week with all four acts, shooting the breeze about our favorite topics and of course, giving you guys a chance to win some tickets for the evening on us.

We’re calling it a ‘Four Way’ because we embrace sexual innuendo. And all four bands. —Ed.


When I was younger, growing up in Uppsala, Sweden, there were two different record stores where I used to go all the time. One was for window shopping, learning about what was new and longing for expensive CD's. The other one was the cheap "buy and sell" store where I'd find all the indie albums I loved so much, pretend that I knew every word Morrissey ever wrote just because it felt like that was their "test of approval" and secretly cast glances at the cute, tall and very thin rocker with skunk styled hair who worked behind the counter.

This was the time when CD's were still the shit, what I spent all my money on, obviously before I knew about things such as MP3's, illegal downloading and torrent files. I'd go to the record store to escape the everyday hassle and dream about the day when I`d find my very own CD right there, next to the artists I looked up to so much.

I remember the day I found my first Elliot Smith album, right before Christmas and snow was falling outside the window where the rocker stood smoking his fifth cigarette for the day and I thought to myself that this Christmas wasn't gonna turn out too bad after all. Or when I bought my third Sigur Ròs album, I couldn't stop telling the seller how much I loved this band and that they knew how to truly take advantage of the format of a CD, giving the listener a great experience.

I often miss those moments at the record store; one of them is closed today and the other one had to move away form downtown because people stopped buying CD's; it was there my love for music could thrive and I discovered many of my favorite artists at the time, some still with me to this day. I'll be forever grateful for all that time spent at my two favorite record stores, because there is nothing that beats flipping through the stands with CD's arranged after genre, get a glimpse of a cool cover and decide on the spot that this, this is the album I wanna take with me home today.

Malin Nilsson - Ode to Grandpa (Mp3)
Authorized for download!

TVD Class of '74 | J. Geils Band, "Nightmares"

One of the unfortunate legacies of MTV is casting the J. Geils Band as an '80s band, thanks to the memorable videos for "Freeze Frame" and "Centerfold" in the early part of that decade.

Truth be told, there are few bands that define the '70s like J. Geils. Once called the J. Geils Blues Band, it stormed out of the Boston bar scene as that decade began, an Atlantic Records contract in hand.

The J. Geils records of the early and mid-'70s are full of furious, faithfully rendered covers of old R&B and blues tunes, sizzling originals inspired by those old R&B and blues tunes ... and the occasional Top 40 single.

Most of those early records are instant party starters, particularly the live albums, 1972's "Live: Full House" and 1976's "Blow Your Face Out."


Another party starter is "Nightmares ... And Other Tales From the Vinyl Jungle," a 1974 studio album on which J. Geils regained its mojo after two disappointing studio LPs that followed "Full House."

"Nightmares" was J. Geils' sixth album for Atlantic. The group was trying to forge its own identity, trying to go beyond being a cover band. Its previous release, 1973's "Ladies Invited," was the first with no covers. It had a batch of sensitive originals that probably baffled hardcore, party hound J. Geils fans.

The band got its groove back on "Nightmares," channeling vintage R&B on most of the eight scorching originals by lead singer Peter Wolf and keyboard player Seth Justman. The only cover is "Funky Judge," the old Bull and the Matadors tune, pitting a jive-speaking Wolf against veteran actor George Jessel as the judge.

Each of these tunes showcases the band's remarkable musicianship. They were tight, anchored by bass player Daniel Klein, who put down the groove but rarely soloed. Magic Dick Salwitz's harmonica sets up "Stoop Down #39." J. Geils' mandolin and Justman's slinky organ drive the Latin-tinged "I'll Be Coming Home." Justman's keyboards and Stephen Jo Bladd's drums put the urgency into "Gettin' Out."

J. Geils Band - Stoop Down #39 (Mp3)
J. Geils Band - I'll Be Coming Home (Mp3)
J. Geils Band - Gettin' Out (Mp3)

"Nightmares" is out of print but is available digitally.

TVD Recommends | #DCWEEK

Washington, DC’s greatly anticipated Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) will be supporting the local music scene with a host of events encouraging collaboration and creativity in the nation’s capital. DCWEEK is a 10 day festival focusing on technology, innovation and all things digital.

Three key music events are dominating the DCWEEK schedule. Firstly, the Metro Music Source music industry networking party on June 15th co-hosted by Dave Mallen (owner/producer of Innovation Station Music) and Jem Bahaijoub (owner of imaginePR.)

The Metro Music Source aims to provide a focal point for the thriving and diverse DC area music scene. The June 15th event will feature several special guests from across the industry, including Brad McCormick from WEA (Warner Elektra Atlantic) and ADA Distribution, and Derrick Ewan, aka DJ Furious Styles. Derrick is a former XM Radio DJ and mix show host known for putting the spotlight on unsigned artists. The event will be covered by DC Life magazine and will feature a free raffle to win a box of 30 new CDs from artists such as The Gaslight Anthem, Blitzen Trapper, Against Me!, All Time Low, The Black Keys, and the new Twilight Eclipse Soundtrack. Register for the event here.


Another key event is in the #DCWEEK calendar is the Performing Artists Clinic - How To Use The Web To Your Advantage on June 19th from 3:30pm - 4:30pm. This panel presentation and Q&A discussion will feature key industry speakers such as Sean Glover, Manager of Artist Relations at SoundExchange, Dave Sherbow, author of "One Fan At A Time" and Keith Center, frontman of DC folk-rock group The Dreamscapes Project.

The event will be hosted by Jem Bahaijoub, owner of imaginePR, a DC based music PR and marketing company. The panel discussion will focus on how performing artists can maximize their online experience. Register here for this event.

#DCWEEK will end in spectacular style with techARTS closing party at the 9:30 Club on the evening of June 19th. In just three weeks 34,000 votes were cast by 10,000+ people across the city for their favorite bands to perform at the legendary venue. techARTS are happy to announce that Amber Dutton, The Very Small, McWorm, 16 Large, Vedet, Stout Cortez, Blankus Larry, Little Big Heart, and East Coast Caravan have all been invited to play.

For further information about #DCWEEK’s schedule visit www.digitalcapitalweek.org.

TVD Ticket and Vinyl Giveaway! Trashcan Sinatras, Monday (6/14) at the Rock and Roll Hotel

Time was when alongside, say...Prefab Sprout, The Blue Nile, Danny Wilson, even Aztec Camera, the Trashcan Sinatras formed part of a blissful playlist with their debut 'Cake' whose cassette copy was worn down to a wobbly, stringy mess with constant overplaying.

The difference between the Sinatras and the other aforementioned bands is that they're quite happily still at it...both recording and touring with a tour stop this coming Monday, June 14th at the Rock and Roll Hotel right here in our backyard in support of their latest release, the wonderful "In The Music."

And yes, we have a pair of tickets to join us front and center on Monday night—but that ain't all as they say. In a nod to our over-the-top vinyl leanings, the band's pulled two mega-rare 7"s from their own archives to offer on the blog in tandem with the ticket giveaway. (And they sent scans!)

They are:


...a three-track acoustic sessions 7" from 2001,



...and a promo copy of their 7" single, "Snow."



And of course we're tossing in a copy of the latest release (which has yet to see a vinyl pressing, but we're really hoping it happens over here.)

One winner will receive all of the above mega-rare swag and the pair of tickets to the show and we'll have three runners up for copies of the new release on CD.

How do you win? Plead your case in the comments to this post and the most compelling of you wins the grand prize. We're choosing our winners by noon on Monday—and remember to leave us contact info!



Trashcan Sinatras - People (Mp3)
Authorized for download!

TVD's The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

Idelic “Free-Fest” | Greetings from Laurel Canyon... I woke this morning feeling this weekend’s festivities in the air. I turned on the TV and watched South Africa play the 1st game of The World Cup. I’m comforted by waking to the fact that somewhere in the world there are people having a great time together. Whether it’s under the pretext of sport or music, I’m in, let’s party!

OK, come on—just give me a fucking world wide “group hug”!! I need it! Well, don’t we all?

This week’s Idelic Hour salutes all of you who are packing your knapsack and making it to one of 2010’s summer rock festivals. As I write many of you are at Bonnaroo reaching for your sun block and rolling papers. This week’s Idelic Hour Playlist features songs by four killer live acts that hit Bonnaroo stages today: The Black Keys, Dr. Dog, The Gossip, and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros will all “blow minds.”

Also weighing in heavy on this week’s mix, Glastonbury, the festival with the most outrageous variety of sound. Vintage Os Mutantes, Candi Station, and Ray Davies mix with new favorites Ariel Pink, Tung, and Blitzen Trapper.

Push play, hug your neighbor, have a blast!

xosidealer
idelicsounds.com | @sidelic

The Idelic Hour [6/11/2010] (Mp3, 86Mg)

It's The Dig's Vinyl Dstrict!

In February of this year we were on the road with two great bands, Editors and The Antlers. I thought it would be a cool idea to buy at least one record in every city that we played in.

Our first show was at the Warfield in San Fransisco. We all decided to check out the famous Ameoba Records on Haight St. I picked up The Velvet Underground (self titled), CCR Chronicles Vol. 2, and a Duane Eddy album. I was inspired to get the Duane Eddy album from my uncle who I met on tour for the first time in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

After a long morning of playin old tapes in the garage and singin songs, he scared us all away after he busted through the door with his revolver and said "If you really wanna get serious, this will bust a hole in an engine block!"

Some of the other great records I picked up along the way are 'Tattoo You' by the Stones and 'Hospice' by The Antlers.
—Erick Eiser, Keyboards, Guitar


The Dig's Top 20 Tracks Right ...Now:

1. Ebony Eyes - Stevie Wonder
2. Don't Fence Me In - Bing Crosby
3. Shop Around - Smokey Robinson
4. Poison Cup - M. Ward
5. She's Not There - The Zombies
6. Tomorrow In Her Eyes - Ron Sexsmith
7. Yer Blues - The Beatles
8. So Far Away - Dire Straits
9. Going Home - Dan Auerbach
10. Can't Control Myself - The Troggs
11. For Your Precious Love - Otis Redding
12. Hell is Chrome - Wilco
13. Drain You - Nirvana
14. All I've Gotta Do - The Beatles
15. No Particular Place To Go - Chuck Berry
16. No Fun - The Stooges
17. Ape Man - The Kinks
18. Miss Maybelle - R L Burnside
19. Come On In My Kitchen - Robert Johnson
20. Make You Feel My Love - Bob Dylan

Dire Straits - So Far Away (Mp3)
The Beatles - Yer Blues (Mp3)
Nirvana - Drain You (Mp3)

TVD's The Ardent Sessions Presents: Oh No Oh My

There really is something about Memphis and Ardent Studios. Driving east on Madison from downtown, the same street Ardent Studios is located on, I pass some of my favorite places in the world: The P and H Café, Murphy’s, the old Antenna, Minglewood Hall, the BBQ Shop, Pho Hoa Bin, Zinny’s, The Lamplighter, Fino’s, Boscos (mmmmmm stock Ale…..), The Blue Monkey, and Kwik Check. I have been lucky enough, many times in fact, to enjoy my “Turk that was Greek” sandwich at Kwik Check, then walk across the street to the world famous Ardent Studios.

I have had the pleasure to work in Studios A, B and C with many different bands and with many amazing producers and engineers. Back in 2001, my band Snowglobe mastered our first full length record with Larry and Kevin Nix. Over the years I have recorded piano, guitar, vocals, and crazy noises both on my own and other folk’s records at Ardent. Back in 2007, Ardent started doing something known as the Ardent Sessions. My bands Oh No Oh My and Antenna Shoes have both been invited to record episodes.


The Ardent Sessions is awesome. It allows a band to play a show in front of their fans, and have that show be recorded with incredible microphones and the best new and old recording gear. With Alan Burcham behind the desk, placing guitars through the Neve preamps, and Fairchild compressors, sometimes I just want to cry. It’s so beautiful. As musicians you have pressure to perform the material live for the audience, with an extra pressure that the performance is being recorded. I think that with the right mix of pressure, magic is made. I am very happy to have been a part of the magic that has been made at Ardent Studios throughout the years. This episode was extra special because we shared the episode with our good friends from Knoxville, Royal Bangs. Nice.

BTW, our new 7 inch contains two songs off of our upcoming full length record 'People Problems.' The songs are "Brains" and "Walking Into Me:". They were recorded at Jim Eno's Studio Public HiFi in Austin Tx. We like them a lot. We hope you do too!
—Tim Regan

Pick up the new 7" and other great merch from Oh No Oh My here.



The Ardent Sessions Presents: Oh No Oh My | The Vinyl District Podcast [105Mgs]

Enter to win Oh No Oh My's 7" above by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but hey, who's counting?)

To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.

It's The Dig's Vinyl District!

A vinyl piece that we picked up recently worth mentioning is "Vitoria" by The Lords. This is a 45 that our drummer Jamie's father and uncle released in 1974. The Lords are a Portuguese pop band from the '70s and '80s from Cambridge, Ontario (a stones throw away from Stratford Ontario, hometown of legend Justin Bieber.)

While playing in Toronto with The Joy Formidable last month, we all stayed with Jamie's family and they played us old Lords LPs and 7"s. We each took home a copy of "Vitoria" and have been spinning it ever since.


None of us have spacers on our turntables to accomodate the larger hole in 45s so we have to place the record perfectly in the center and it can get a little pitchy but sounds amazing nonetheless.

To pick up your very own copy of The Lords "Vitoria" all you have to do is drive to Cambridge Ontario and go to a Portuguese bar called Cabana Bar and ask Carlos Alegre for the midnight special. While your there, try the Bifana sandwich, and if you've got time check out the recording studio across the street called Alegre Brothers Recording. We recorded this legendary version of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" with The Joy Formidable there.
—Emile Mosseri - Bass, Vocals



The Dig Top Twelve Records of the Moment

1. Velvet Underground - Self Titled
2. Betty Harris - Lost Soul Queen
3. The Cars - Greatest Hits
4. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
5. The Ventures - Greatest Hits
6. Emitt Rhodes - Self Titled
7. Paul Simon - One Trick Pony
8. Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You
9. ZZ Top - Fandango!
10. Eagles of Death Metal - Peace, Love and Death Metal
11. Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway - Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
12. T. Rex - Electric Warrior

The Velvet Underground - All Tomorrow's Parties [Single Version] (Mp3)
The Cars - Moving In Stereo (Mp3)
T. Rex - Cosmic Dancer (Mp3)

TVD First Date (...and a Giveaway!) | Alex Kemp

Rhode Island native and Simple Machines alumnus, Alex Kemp underscores a notion we underscore often ourselves: music distribution is best served via a tangible, physical, and personal medium, whether it's on vinyl or (gasp!) ...CD.

"When I first started putting out music, bands were doing a lot of 7" singles. I think we did about 5 of them, and I loved that format—big enough for some artwork, small enough to fit in a back pack, cheap-ish to make and the turn-around was relatively quick: you could have your song on a single in about 6 weeks.

With the new RAT D'HOTEL CD/EP series, we're trying to get the same emotional quality of handing someone a 7"—that "hey, we just made this, check it out" feeling that's so awesome. But also, we wanted to continue the spirit of the democratic nature of the 7": that everyone could afford it and enjoy it. Now that vinyl has started to take on a premium, high end connotation, and not everyone has a record player, it simply doesn't have quite the same "medium-for-the-people" presence that it used to.


So, that's the thinking behind the series of hand numbered, hand screened, individually treated CD/EP series. The second one (called 'Rat Hears Love Through Thin Walls') is coming out in the next few weeks. I hope I get to hand you one personally, because that's the way they were meant to be delivered!"

And we have one to deliver to you. Personally. Enter to win a hand numbered, hand screened, individually treated RAT D'HOTEL CD/EP by leaving a comment to this post. The most effusive and well, personal one will find the CD in his or her mailbox. Remember to leave us some contact info (important!) and we'll choose a winner one week from today, 6/17!

Alex Kemp - On Your Side (Mp3)
Approved for download!

TVD Ticket & 7" Giveaway | The Cheniers, Saturday at the Black Cat

If there's another band out there with a smarter or stronger set of influences, they haven't crossed my path lately. And we've got an opportunity for you to take home said band's debut 7" and catch them live this coming Saturday night (6/12) at the Black Cat.

"The Cheniers are an Arlington-based trio that plays simple songs. There aren't too many parts. There's a lot of repetition, a fair amount of distortion. It's definitely indie rock. It might be lo-fi, but not really intentionally so. But not unintentionally, either. Does that even make sense?

Main inspiration comes from old New Zealand bands from 30 years ago - The Clean, The Doublehappys, Toy Love. The B-side of the The Cheniers' debut 7" is basically a straight rip-off of a song by the Doublehappys, in fact. Don't tell Shayne Carter. Or, tell him and see if he wants to fly us down to New Zealand to play with Dimmer. That 7" is out right now in Windian Records, the fantastic D.C. punk label, and will be available at the Black Cat on June 12.


Oh, and The Fall is another very major reference point. The first song on the A-side of the single, "45 Days," is very much indebted to "Grotesque"-era Fall. (Probably the best Fall era, FWIW.) The other song on the A-side, "Here Comes Trouble," is most people's favorite. Probably because it's about drugs and has a saxophone on it. It's hard to argue with that combination, admittedly.

Another fun fact about this record - all of the art was done by David Berman. He was in Silver Jews, kind of the greatest band of all time. He also does neat drawings."


And yes, we've got the aforementioned Windian 7" and a pair of tickets for one winner for Saturday's show in exchange for your well-referenced pleas in the comments to this post.

Plead your case. Drop some salient names. Reference a thesaurus. We don't care. Just make it good and make it before 5PM this Friday (6/11) and we'll put it together for you. Just like you expect—and remember to leave us some contact info!

The Cheniers - Here Comes Trouble (Mp3)
Authorized for download!

It's The Dig's Vinyl District!

“When I walk into a record store my instinct is usually to head straight for either the Beatles or the Bob Dylan section and buy 'Blonde on Blonde' or 'Rubber Soul' for the 16th time. By now I own enough copies of those albums and have started to look for other records to add to my collection.

Recently I was thumbing through the blues section at Bleeker Street Records and came across the album 'That’s My Story: John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues.' The cover caught my attention right away, so I took a chance, bought the album and went home to listen to it. What struck me immediately was the sound of his voice. There is warmth and eeriness to it that I’ve never heard in any other singer.


The vibrato that he drops into every song has a dark and ominous quality that shakes the speakers and makes you feel afraid when he sings lines like, “Next time I tell you, I’m gonna use my rod.”

I keep all my records together in a box, except for this one, which I keep on my coffee table so I never have to look for it."
—David Baldwin, Guitars, Vocals

The Dig - You're Already Gone (Mp3)
The Dig - Two Sisters in Love (Mp3)
Approved for download!

It's The Dig's Vinyl District Giveaway!

As we mentioned this morning, The Dig's 'Electric Toys' hits your local record store shelves today and the band has come up with a pretty unique way to give a few away and to see them live.

On them. And on us. In your town and venue of choice.

Fresh off a string of dates with The Joy Formidable, The Dig are gearing up for a tour with Thrice, Bad Veins and Kevin Devine this summer with 28 dates in 28 different cities.

Typically we offer tickets for the DC-area date alone, but we're opening up the entire itinerary for you to chose the city in which you want to see the band.

Reading TVD in Philly? Enter to win tickets for the Trocadero show. Maybe you're in Orlando? Enter to win tickets for the House of Blues show. Anywhere the band is playing, you can enter to see them live in your city of choice.

The full list of tour dates to choose from are:

June 11 - St. Paul, MN - Station 4
June 15 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 16 - Montreal, QC - Le National
June 17 - Boston, MA - House Of Blues
June 18 - New Haven, CT - Toad’s Place
June 19 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon
June 21 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights
June 22 - Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock Café
June 23 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
June 24 - New York, NY - Fillmore At Irving Plaza
June 25 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
June 26 - Towson, MD - The Recher Theatre
June 28 - Norfolk, VA - The Norva
June 29 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
June 30 - Charleston, SC - The Music Farm
July 1 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues
July 2 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution
July 3 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre
July 6 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
July 7 - Austin, TX - Emo’s
July 8 - Dallas, TX - The Palladium Ballroom
July 9 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom
July 10 - Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
July 11 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
July 13 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
July 15 - Tempe, AZ - The Marquee
July 16 - San Diego, CA - House Of Blues
July 17 - Pomona, CA - Fox Theater



So, how do you win the tickets and the new 'Electric Toys' you're asking? It's simple.

In the comments to this post, tell us the city and venue you'd like to see the band in and why we should select you and your city of choice. The one person with the most convincing entry will see the band in the venue and town they've selected and will be sent the new 'Electric Toys' on vinyl.

Three runners up will receive a CD copy of 'Electric Toys' into the bargain!

We'll choose the winners on Monday (6/14) by noon and I can't stress this enough—leave us a contact email address! Good luck!

TVD Fresh Track | New from Tom Petty

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers return with two new videos for the driving "Jefferson Jericho Blues" and the gorgeous "Something Good Coming," both on the new album Mojo out June 15.

The band play the oddly named Jiffy Lube Live on August, 15.

TVD's Twitter Music Monday for 6/7/10

New column! Our friend Allyson delves into the miasma of Twitter's #musicmonday (on Tuesdays) because nothing says "listen to my music" like a trending topic.

Be afraid Justin Bieber. Be very afraid. —Ed.


Sunday was the MTV Music Awards, yesterday was Prince’s birthday, the new Twilight soundtrack just debuted, Lady Gaga is pushing a new video…and people on Twitter are broadcasting crappy alt-rock from the ‘90s.

Not just alt-rock. Nu-metal. Is there a revival? Am I missing it? (Please let me be missing it.) Nickelback, Incubus, and Linkin Park are popping up all over #musicmonday.

None of these bands has a new album out—in fact, Wikipedia thinks the members of Incubus have been threatening each other and taking out restraining orders. Nickelback is touring but their last album came out in 2008, according to their official site. Linkin Park seems to have been busy getting an awesome logo and putting out charity albums. I suppose I underestimate the endurance of people’s love for (and willingness to publicly proclaim their love for) these bands.

It’s just civilians doing all this nu-metal tweeting—not promoters or band members, near as I can tell. @giasee and @brownoso seem like normal folk, and are both listening to tons of Nickelback. This is kind of cute actually—they both tweeted all their songs at about the same time of day. In my mind, each is a gender that the other is attracted to, and they are otherwise compatible in important ways, and they’re soul mates and will someday discover that they’ve been simultaneously broadcasting their love of awful nu-metal and run away together.

Similarly @_Maryta_ and @jhoncubus are both #musicmonday-ing the heck out of some Incubus and are probably going to be ‘90s alt-rock married soon. (I checked, @jhoncubus doesn’t appear to be affiliated with the band, despite having part of their name in his name. I have part of Weird Al’s name in my name, so I should know that this doesn’t have to mean anything.) The Incubus romance might get a little kinky, actually: @ignachoenpiedra was also listening. Hot.

Full disclosure: I owned and listened to the Make Yourself album in high school. But unless Incubus suddenly begins making female-fronted garage-revival rock (which is basically all I listen to at the moment, because…I don’t know why, actually) you will never ever see me telling my entire Twitter feed that I’m currently listening to them.

@mrnicehandle, whose username I like enough to consider asking him to be my Twitter friend, is listening to Butterfly, by Crazy Town, otherwise known as “the song I declared the worst song in the world when it came out in 2000 and might still think is the worst song in the world now that @mrnicehandle has gone and gotten it stuck in my head.” Thanks @mrnicehandle. We’re not imaginary friends any more.

Role#mmodel: @Duarys told the world that he was listening to Kiss From A Rose (acoustic) by Seal. That takes moxy. I’m glad to know there are people in the world who don’t care what jerks like me think about them.

My #musicmonday pick: If I’m going to make fun of other people, I have to open myself up to mockery. This should be good fodder: I’ve been listening to the new Gaslight Anthem album streaming on NPR all day. No, really. All day. Fire away.

It's The Dig's Vinyl District!

...annnd we're back from a brief birthday hiatus on the very day The Dig release the brand new, highly recommended, 'Electric Toys.'

To herald the release we've got the boys hanging out and blogging with us all week—talking vinyl, record stores, and everything in between. And of course we've got some opportunities to win copies of 'Electric Toys' and tickets to see the band live later today.

For now, sit back and relax—the band's in the driver seat. It's The Dig's Vinyl District—we just work here.
—Ed.


“I started a record collection not too long ago. I remember buying CD's growing up. I would go to the Punk Rock section of my favorite record store (The Record Alley, in Palm Desert California) and pick out a band that I'd never heard of; try to find something that jumped out at me.

Usually the band was awful, but because I spent at least $10 on the CD, I'd convince myself I liked it. CD's have a sentimental value to them. You can explore the lyrics and artwork and it affects the way you hear the music.

Vinyl is even more powerful in this way. One of my favorite records that I've been listening to non-stop is a Best Of record by the Ventures. I love listening to their songs on vinyl because it brings out a rawness in their music. I'd really like to come across a live Ventures record....know of any I should check out?"
—Erick Eiser, Keyboards, Guitar



"I was really young (maybe 5 or 6) and found a bunch of my dad's 45s in an old coffee table drawer. I quickly ran to the record player to play them and I remember the one that stuck out to me the most was a Hall & Oates record which had the song "Private Eyes" on it. Great song.

I remember the sound, the music and the rhythm of that track always grabbed my attention. Lots of great hooks, killer guitar solo that I still remember. Didn't really understand what the lyrics meant but they were simple and catchy and easy to sing along to. I'll never forget that experience."
—Jamie Alegre, Drums



The Dig - You're Already Gone (Mp3)
The Dig - Two Sisters in Love (Mp3)
Approved for download!

TVD Class of '75 | Elton John "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy"

Our pal Jeff from AM, Then FM returns this morning with another dip into our favorite bag o' nostalgia. —Ed.

Elton John has, of late, been enjoying a small renaissance of sorts at certain lightly traveled corners of the Internet.

Our friend JB at The Hits Just Keep On Comin', recently wrote about the memorable last cut from John's 1975 album, "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy."

That came about the same time I saw John play live. After that show, in which he played nothing from "Captain Fantastic," I weighed in at The Midnight Tracker, serving up Side 2 of that album.

"Captain Fantastic" came out just as I graduated from high school in 1975. It’s all about writing, telling the story of how John and lyricist Bernie Taupin struggled as they got started in London in the '60s. That was pretty appealing to a kid who wanted to be a writer.

Last week, our friends at Popdose put some of John's overlooked gems in their "Greatest Bits" feature. I thought sure there would be something from "Captain Fantastic," but no.


So have you heard it? No? Perhaps that's because "Captain Fantastic," released at the peak of John's early fame in late May 1975—a record that debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. charts—yielded just one single: "Someone Saved My Life Tonight."

It's time you listen to some of what is widely considered to be one of Elton John's best albums.

To "Bitter Fingers," about young guys trying to break free from dead-end gigs. To "Better Off Dead," which snaps off one vivid image after another (and which I still haven't fully figured out after 35 years). To "Curtains," that memorable last cut, one a young JB feared was John saying goodbye to the music business.

Elton John - Bitter Fingers (Mp3)
Elton John - Better Off Dead (Mp3)
Elton John - Curtains (Mp3)

Buy Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy here. The link is to a 1996 CD release that is remastered and contains three extra tracks. Two of the extra tracks — “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “Philadelphia Freedom” — were released as singles in 1974 and 1975, respectively. A 2005 release also remastered, has two CDs with six extra tracks and a live performance of the original album at Wembley Stadium in London in 1975.