OK, that's it. I'm pitching the Nano. Too many recurring themes among the randomness...but here you have it:
It just gets worse and worse, doesn't it? I'm sure a third of you are wondering to what level of depravity TVD will sink this week, another third saw this round-house punch coming since Monday when this sick salad began to be tossed--and the rest of you are making that infamous Lee Harvey Oswald face as TVD loads this morning...But fight it, I can't--these songs kill in their 1970's FM radio, AOR way. (That is, permanently downloaded and cached.) 
(Yea, that's the face.)
Despite the volume of whiskey and other things ingested at the prompting of my high school pal Noel to better "get" Yes -- it just never happened. He became a Yes-aholic, and me? Well, I preferred tunes that weren't 8 minutes long -- or a whole album side long. Sheezus. What torture. Make mine punk or new wave. But a funny thing happened -- Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left Yes and the Buggles - the f'n BUGGLES - joined! What th'? I was in clover and Noel was in--censed. And you guys get guilty pleasure/embarrassing post #3!
Maybe it's because I miss Queen so much. Or the quality of the Roy Thomas Baker production with those sonic flourishes that have been marinating in my brain since childhood. Or maybe it's the cool--albeit corny--cover art. Or maybe it's because, while waiting with Big Andy for The Darkness to hit the stage at the 9:30, they played nothing but Thin Lizzy to warm up the crowd. Then Dan Hawkins comes out wearing a classic Thin Lizzy t-shirt. That could be it. But I tell you one thing, it's not the falsetto. Certainly not the falsetto.
It's a tough life over here at TVD, what with having to conjure up some fine, fine music each week--rummaging through the archives to find the killer overlooked tracks and the hidden gems amidst the vinyl stacks. Yet, there's a deep, dark underbelly to this pursuit: the guilty pleasure. They're LP's or bands you might not admit to liking in public conversation, but at home, squirreled away, you're tapping your toe and singing along to some seriously suspect selections. So, in the name of transparency and candor, we'll pull back the curtain a bit and reveal a few dark, dark secrets this week...and we hope you'll forgive us.
Marissa over at The Anti DC has been responsible for more morning coffee through the nose than I can count--and this Friday, she's been turned loose here at TVD to DJ your Weekend Shots:
...for my pop. In a "hey you got your rock in my classical/no you got your classical in my rock" way, dad and I always found common ground with ELO and this LP in particular when it was new...blasting 'Mr. Blue Sky' on the car radio, tooling around the town while coming up with weirder and funnier band names than Electric Light Orchestra. 
Elvis Costello's next solo studio album, curiously dubbed "Momofuku," will arrive April 22 via Lost Highway. For the time being, the set will be released only on vinyl, with a digital download code included in the package.
...reminds me that the smallest, most innocuous of events--in this case, a rainy afternoon, mid-Fall trip to another record store (Record World in Seaview Square Mall--where yours truly would ultimately find employment)...could pay the largest dividends many years on. So, you parents out there, pull your kids away from Guitar Hero for one afternoon and take them to an honest-to-goodness, brick-and-mortar record store. Many years down the line they might find themselves eternally grateful--and who knows--they may even blog about it some day...
Talking with Ms. TVD last night, I was reminded that my dad once toured with the Ringling Brothers Circus -- not as a performer but as someone hired to film the goings-on from the performances to the backstage stuff. She was kinda surprised to hear that and I guess I hadn't thought about it in quite a while. But often when I was a kid, the rough, uncut footage would come out and dad would narrate through the soundless portions. I had seen the footage pretty darn often and became pretty disinterested when he'd roll through the nostalgia AGAIN after setting up the projector and the slide screen for the umpteenth time.
Metal giants announce intimate signing session
I was 11 and obsessed with "Let's Go." Played it over and over again. Finally, I get my hands on the LP and I'm standing in the kitchen with my dad after dinner, just having returned from Two Guys with the record. My mom's looking at the cover like, "Reallly?" with one eyebrow raised. My dad says, "Honey, it's a VARGAS." Nothing ever mentioned again.
Any comics geek over say 30, will tell you there's something to the smell of the comic's pages themselves--the ink on the paper that takes you right back to the proverbial simpler time and place. We all do it--crack open a comic and with one whiff you're twelve and it's 7am some Saturday morning and before there's any stirring in the house, you've already been to the Negative Zone with the Fantastic Four or fighting the Hellfire Club alongside the X-Men. It's pretty amazing stuff the memory bookmarks in seemingly innocuous ways. 
Long-time friend Shamus DJ's your Weekend Shots all the way from:
......hello? Is this thing on...? *check...check* Ok....wow - well, I'm not used to having to actually WRITE this blog any longer after the atypical week just passed here at TVD. There've been new artists, news, and even some SXSW coverage from Kieran of Delorentos - who I'd like to thank immensely for reporting from Austin. Between pints, broken guitars, and getting tossed from Coyote Ugly, it's been quite a ride and I'm indebted to them for having taken us along. (Pints on me boys if you ever get to DC!) I'd also like to thank all of the artists who were featured last week for just saying hello and sending their stuff along. It's been a pleasure and I'm sorry we couldn't get to everybody. And for those of you who have missed the normal goings-on here at TVD--don't worry--next week things get back to normal and get back to the personal. (Very personal.) 'Til then your Friday randomness awaits: 
After a few beers in Stubbs, where we bumped into our driver Cathal, we headed back to the venue and watched the band before us play and set up the gear. I scanned the crowd trying to work out who was here from who. When AM Syndicate finished their punky set Cathal gave us a hand moving Nashville band November's gear onto the stage. They'd very kindly leant us their gear for the gig, and we manouvered the massive Marshall stacks onstage and set up our pedals. We had 15 mins change-over and a 35 minute set. With 5 minutes to go, I realised the guitar amp wasn't working. The guitarist from November came over to help out, and it became apparent that the amp was broken. Of course! Come midnight, the rest of the band were scratching their heads and I was down the street begging AM Syndicate to unpack their guitar amp and allow me to use it. They relented, and very kindly allowed me to use it. I plugged it in, made sure it worked and the sound was fine, and ran backstage to change my clothes and get myself ready. If I was nervous before, it was twice as much now. 
I hear The Shins...others have said Cat Power or Decemberists. Whatever. DC's Thao with The Get Down Stay Down are making some fine, fine music.
We've long felt that preserving the vinyl medium depends on a strong marriage of the traditional format with new media, so we were happy to see this press release from DC's DJ Hut in our mailbox this morning with the header “Preserving While Progressing". (And after two fires that forced the brick-and-mortar store to close for periods of time, this move makes clear sense.) TVD wishes Sina and the rest of the crew at DJ Hut (where we bought our Stanton turntable!) all the best as they promote the sale of fresh vinyl along with their new on-line media presence. 
