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
Brian Coates of The Great Northwest sits down with us for this week's First Date:
"I sat down to write a couple of paragraphs, and it was coming out all formal and technical-like. There were things that went-
"The Great Northwest records in a variety of places to force a feeling of newness with the stimulation of change. Each song is influenced by the feelings experienced in the new space, and when all are assembled as a collection it affects one who listens to travel in a cohesive trip."
It felt rudimentary and lacking in style, though it was describing the actual sentiments properly.
It was an hour before I was to submit it, so I was rushed by the desire to really get a point across the way I'd wish for one to understand it, though more elegantly.
I had a smoke and relaxed.
I realized that simply saying that the Great Northwest records to play, plays to travel, and travels to record sums it up.
Ironically, the execution of the task of writing this is EXACTLY the way we record."
I could think of three DC-based reasons why Bones and TVD would be a good fit when the Bones/TVD Prize Package was first proposed: 1. Once when I was indeed watching Bones, Agent Booth and Dr. "Bones" Brennan were actually dodging bullets in Adams Morgan which, as we know if you're a local, isn't a stretch. 2. DC's own Thievery Corporation are behind a remix of Sarah Mclachlan's 'Dirty Little Secret' on the Soundtrack and 3. ...well, they said they'd toss in a pair of Stereophonics tickets for Thursday night at the 9:30 for the grand prize winner. (That's right, TVD: looking out for your good time.)
So, we proudly present the Bones/TVD Prize Package for which there will be two, count 'em, two winners. The grand prize winner gets the Stereophonics tickets for this Thursday night (9/11), the Bones Soundtrack CD, a Bones T-Shirt, and a bunch of other, random Bones swag, rumored to contain Bones Pens and/or Bones Computer Cleaner. (Really.) The runner-up will get all the same stuff, minus the tickets. And it happens to be a pretty cool soundtrack they've assembled...So, pull yourself away from the TV a moment and leave a comment in the lil' comments box as to why you should be front and center when Kelly and the boys hit DC, OR just how much you're in love with Bones--and we'll choose a winner by Noon on Thursday.
Does anyone think for one moment that after his success with his previous combo (...name escapes me?) that Lennon would rest on his MBE-returning laurels, knock out a few radio friendly singles, and fill the rest of his first proper solo outing with well, crap? Indeed, no. In fact, just the opposite:
I had a whole post written up about the glories of 'Grace' ...but ...suffice it to say it was the proverbial game changer. Go ask Thom Yorke. Or Chris Martin, or...y'know - hell with that. Just listen (to everything BUT the singles...)
I was over at Orpheus Records the weekend before last and the inevitable was occurring since their announced closing a number of months back--the bins themselves were being broken down to be removed and sold. A coupla' kids from Richmond were up to cart the things down south for a store they're opening.
There's still plenty of vinyl in the store however and one of the guys up north for the bins who had never been to Orpheus before was flipping through the vinyl like a punker in a candy store and enthused "wow - there's so much vinyl in this place!" And Rick, Orpheus proprietor for 31 years now, replied that he should have been by 8 weeks ago if he really wanted to see vinyl in volume. And for the first time in all my visits since the going-out-of-business months, I heard a genuine sadness and resignation in Rick's tone.
In a fit of irony, I've often laughed that I chose the wrong time to be behind a music blog because my opinion of the music industry and 90% of its denizens is well, rather low. I mean, the cream should rise to the top, right? And if that's the case, scanning the Billboard Hot 100, or viewing just a half hour of the MTV Music Awards as I did last evening is enough to think that the cream ain't coming at ALL these days. Zee-ro.
The days of the career artist are entirely, completely over, although the writing has been on the wall for some time now. It's currently a singles-dominated business where personalities loom far larger than the substance of one or two measly downloaded singles. Sure, Katy Perry had the single of the summer, but does anyone want to hear a full album from Ms. Cherry Chapstick? Yep, The Ting Tings nicked a tasty Blondie riff for their straight to iPod TV commercial, but have you HEARD their full release? Of course not, it's awful. Even one time 'career artists' such as Aerosmith and The Smashing Pumpkins are themselves debuting new material on Rock Band for the Xbox360 eschewing the whole notion that they just MIGHT still have a full LP up their sleeves. Embarrassing.
Putting the needle down on the first tack and listening to the very end used to be so commonplace it hardly bears mentioning. So, this week, TVD's going to give the finger to the single and delve into what FM/Album Oriented Rock stations used to call 'deep cuts' cuz, well, they used to just as worthwhile as the 45 that heralded a new release. And they were purchased in stores, such as Rick's, that fostered creativity and community. (And we're tossing this in the name of downloaded convenience?)
I played 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and 'Bicycle Race' to death, but the rest of the record got just as much of a workout if not more, really. (Don't get me started on the poster.)
I think it bears repeating that this Friday feature, the newly re-christened 'Parting Shots' is YOUR forum, TVD reader. It's the spot where you get to talk back to us and to the world at large via ye olde internets. A mere mention of this to Ms. Urban Gypsy--she of the almost brand new Retro Kino--had my in-box almost immediately abuzz with Mp3's and:
"This has been an amazing week. Two of my biggest dreams have come true. One is making a guest appearance on TVD (thanks, Jon!) and the other is finally finishing my novel. After ten months of agony, I got my first draft printed up yesterday. Jon said I could write about what I'm into these days, and what I've got on my mind is the intersection between music and literature. At first glance, there may not seem to be much. Music requires instruments, a playback device, a venue, or a live audience. Literature requires a pen or word processor and lots of solitude. But there is more cross-pollination going on between the art forms than first meets the eye.
For myself, I can say that when I'm writing, I rely on my music collection far more than on my thesaurus. The right song at the right moment is the greatest form of inspiration a writer could hope for. It tickles the cerebrum and opens up the soul. Putting my mp3 player on shuffle and waiting to see what comes up could yield a long-buried memory, the perfect word to describe an image, an interesting name for a character, or just the right title. Music literally transports you out of your surroundings and deposits you in a different place and time, an invaluable help when constructing fictional worlds. Best of all, my headphones keep me company when I'm typing at four o'clock in the morning and my house starts making creepy noises.
Here is a mix of ten songs which run the gamut of my writing experience, from faltering beginnings to the glorious finish. Without further ado, please join me in saying goodbye to my summer of typing and welcoming me back to the real world."
My mp3 collection totals around 12,000 songs. I acknowledge the ridiculousness of having that many songs and no time to listen to them but it's nice to put them on shuffle and hear songs I haven't heard since I was 18. And some songs come around in the shuffle that I love, and, occasionally, some songs that I hate (but juuuust can't delete). Normally in a shuffle I'll listen to one or two songs and then another will come along and I'll skip over it. Today, however, all 5 were songs that I would listen to in a row.
It's a shame how the rise in popularity of the ipod has caused music for many to become impersonal, leaving the fun of things like mix tapes (and, if you're of my generation, CDs) in the technological dust. I remember being a sophomore in high school and this senior, Travis who was quirky and smart in that nerd-in-a-movie way in which none of the girls really noticed him, but regretted it years later after he became a successful writer/artist/musician/earthworm wrangler, recorded a mix tape (that I was to supply) for me. Side note: The cassette, "borrowed" from my younger brother, was originally the story of Paul Bunyan as read by Jonathan Winters. I had to choose between that or one of my dad's Hall and Oates cassettes. I think I went with Paul Bunyan because it seemed there would be less chance of getting made fun of for a book on tape than toting around a tape of some mustachioed male 80s duo in my backpack. Upon returning it, Travis had written things like "Babe the Blue Ox hearts Pavement," which I thought was oh so rad.
I cherished that tape and played it a million times partially because I thought Travis was totally cute and knowledgeable about all things cool, but also because it was the first time anyone had given me a mix tape (unless you count the Vanilla Ice and NKOTB tapes my friends and I bootlegged for each other when I was 8) and I loved all of the music it exposed me to. I then spent the rest of my time in high school, on into college, perfecting my very own mix tape formula. Now, it seems, possibly due to busyness and/or laziness, I settle for the occasional iMix or just setting my tunes on shuffle. Modern technology may have the ability to put thousands and thousands of songs in one place, but it never gives me that rush of joy like when I popped that first mix tape into the player.
A number of years ago I was in the audience at a Finn Brothers gig over at the 9:30. A superb, albeit proper show was frequently interrupted by a much younger Liam and his brother, high up on the dressing room balcony overlooking the stage, sailing paper airplanes down over the band in mid-performance. So, if it's to be that fine, nuanced, and melodic songwriting and performance is a Finn Family hallmark, much like the paper airplanes sent sailing down from the rafters, Liam tosses in his own air of unpredictability in a live setting--fidgeting with often abused notion of 'one guy and a guitar'.
From Liam's press bio: During his raucous yet intimate performances Liam utilizes effects pedals to create, sample and loop bass, guitar, drums and vocals to layer with his live vocals and guitar. Pre-programmed flourishes, also keyed live by Finn, gurgle under his sharp, addictive melodies to produce experimental pop music that is simultaneously ghostly and direct in its atmospherics and emotionalism. Being responsible for all the sound flowing from the stage is inevitably risky, but it's a risk in which the youngster relishes. "I think the fact of doing this looping, one-man-band sort of thing really keeps you on your toes and keeps it fresh. The more you mess up, the more you're forced to turn it into a good mess and people seem to respond more. I find it really stimulating. I just love the danger of it, really." As one might assume, a Liam Finn show is by no means the seated, shh-inducing coffee house affair many solo singer-songwriter performances can be. It's actually the antithesis. Finn drops fuzzed out guitar riffs, bellows bass lines and thunders on his drum kit like a punk rock caveman. When asked the philosophy behind this approach Liam remarks, "Whenever I walk in and see just a guy and a guitar, I think 'Here we go again.' I want to give people something different."
So, I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet that the show the night before in Philly will bear just a tiny resemblance to the show the following night right here in DC--for which Liam and TVD are offering a pair of tickets and a copy of Liam's debut CD (they're out of the vinyl, I asked...) "I'll Be Lightning" to one lucky winner.
The aforementioned winner will be the lucky commenter who can touch on something truly wondrous and utterly unpredictable that has occurred to him or her at a live show--and we won't look the other way if it happens to be sordid and/or scandalous. (That's a good night out, right?) And if you can work in some Liam love too along the way, we won't call it predictable at all.
Unfog those memories and let us have 'em. We'll choose a winner next Friday--9/5!
I'd like to thank all of the commenters who responded to my inquiry regarding the downloads from TVD. For now, given the feedback, I imagine things will stay pretty much as is. The one exception might be posting three instead of five Mp3s for newer releases that are readily available. I'm also heartened to know that TVD is indeed a promotional resource and is being used as such, more or less...
And lastly...the Liam Finn contest ends in 24 hours and we've still got tickets and a CD to give away...say hello to us and snap 'em up! Now, on to some more iPod randomness...
FADE IN: INT:Fancy Bar in Downtown, D.C. THE VINYL DISTRICT sits alone at a table, anxiously checking his hair in the silverware. MEREDITH enters through the front door, looks around before heading to the table.
MEREDITH: Damn traffic…
TVD: (confused) Sorry, I’m waiting for someone.
MEREDITH: I know… First Date, right?
TVD: Meredith?
MEREDITH: Yeah.
(Awkward pause)
MEREDITH (CONT’D): I’m a guy.
TVD: I just assumed…
MEREDITH: Easy mistake.
TVD: Yeah.
MEREDITH: You’re disappointed.
TVD: No, no, no.
(THE VINYL DISTRICT pushes a bouquet of flowers under his chair with his foot.)
MEREDITH: I brought you something.
(Reaching in his jacket pocket, MEREDITH pulls out two mp3s.)
MEREDITH (CONT’D): I made them myself… with help from Chad Clark and TJ Lipple from Silver Sonya.
TVD: Oh, great.
MEREDITH: It’s nothing really. They come from my newest record Silver Sonya. All the sounds on it were made from either an acoustic guitar or my voice, but Chad and TJ manipulated them in the studio to see what sort of sounds we could create. People seem to like it.
TVD: Well, I love songs.
MEREDITH: (blushing) I bet you say that to all the D.C. area indie-acoustic singer-songwriters.
TVD: Pretty much. What are they about?
MEREDITH: That one is called “Ballad of an Opportunist” -- which is pretty self-explanatory -- and “My Absent Will” is about dream ethics. The title is taken from a French contemporary of Freud.
TVD: Oh, you speak French?
MEREDITH: No… I just spend a lot of time on the Internet.
TVD: Huh. Well, look at the time. I guess I’ll see you around.
MEREDITH: I’m playing the Black Cat on the 16th of this month with Miracle Fortress and Title Tracks. Maybe we can see each other again?
TVD: Sure.
(THE VINYL DISTRICT quickly walks out of the bar.)
If you've ever said to yourself, "I dig The Vinyl District and all...but WTF is up with all this crap about VINYL?" ...I'll direct you to the video below that landed in my inbox this morning--which just so happened to coincide with a rather neat purchase made last weekend at the STILL hanging on Orpheus Records. CD's and Mp3's don't hold a candle to all of that artistry and craftsmanship on display. Made me start a blog, it did.
So, you give me an extra day over the weekend and the gears in my brain start grinding away. And not in a particularly good way either. See, I'm having some mixed feelings suddenly about all the Mp3 posting going on here. I mean, ostensibly 99% of the readership checks in to see what's being posted and to download to make life bearable in what can be construed as the all consuming 9-5 work cubicle, I'm assuming. (Then there's the 1% that's here to proof spelling and proper syntax. Really, I get letters...)
The other day I read that The Blow Monkeys, a band who I kinda dug in the '80's, had a new CD out - something like 17 years after their last one was released. I was intrigued and happened upon the track 'The Bullet Train' that's being circulated with the band's consent posted by Mr. 17 Seconds...and y' know what - it kinda' killed. I thought the TVD readers would like to give it a preview too and as I'm searching for the LP art to post along with the track, one Google search page in - BOOM! - there's the ENTIRE release downloaded to my desktop before the thing has hit stores or even made land on iTunes. And guess what - I felt like crap. See, me--I WILL buy the thing if I like it and I can see ponying up to purchase this release--but really, how many others will?
Then there was the comment left a number of weeks back when TVD was doing it's 'Britpop 101' theme in regard to the Stone Roses post--an anonymous poster wondered aloud, "Is it entirely ethical however to post the 5 biggest tracks off the album?" I replied, " Yes, indeed. I trust the TVD readers--all excellent consumers--to preview here and then purchase. We're cheerleaders, not pirates." ...which I stand by. But really, how many others will go about buying the thing?
As a result, I'm thinking of reducing the number of tunes posted from ONE singular release from five to three and perhaps cutting in half their availability to one week as opposed to the two weeks as exists now in an effort to be even more promotional and less of a source for simply free tunes.
SO, am I onto something here with this or is this simply heresy? I'd truly be interested in hearing the thoughts from the many of you who visit daily and download yet refrain from commenting as well as the frequent commenters. Keep things AS IS...or?
While you're pondering this, all week we'll be giving it to you randomly off the iPod. (Yes, that IS Leo Sayer down there. SIGH.)
New name but same old 10-pack to play on 10 while you fix your hair for the weekend revelry. This Friday however, it's the first 10 random tracks on the iPod--and we'll be back on Tuesday with more of the same: iPod's set to stun...
However un-randomly, the Jellyfish arc comes full circle and to a close this week with Imperial Drag--a band borne from the ashes of the band itself. Jellyfish keyboardist/songwriter Roger Manning's subsequent outfit pairs him with Eric Dover, the guitarist brought aboard for Jellyfish's live dates in support of 'Spilt Milk.' Although quite OK, listeners looking for that unique something (me...ahem) that Jellyfish possessed might be left scratching their heads--which is unfair, but there you have it. Imperial Drag lasted for just this release and a tour.
MORE interesting for me is the band Andy Sturmer contributes to these days. I think they bear a strong resemblance to one band in particular, but I just can't put my finger on it. Hmm.
I like to think if we've converted just one person via a post or a download on any given day of the week, we here at TVD have done our job. So, methinks judging by the dearth of overall comments this week, Uncle E--this was YOUR week. Thanks for stopping by.
So, one more rummage through the Jellyfish archives then, will bring this wee homage to a close. That last track there has been referred to as 'Jelly's Last Jam'--a track recorded for the Harry Nilsson tribute LP "For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson" which proved to be the last recording Jellyfish created as the aforementioned unit. Stick around past the 11 minute mark or so...there's a surprise there that even I didn't know about 'til yesterday...
By the way, the teary cover girl from the 'Spilt Milk' cover grew up to be rather lovely indeed, yes?
In a serependipitous moment of power-pop karmic connectivity, TVD welcomes Jim Basnight to our 'First Dates' feature today. Jim, as you'll read below, has had a pretty extensive career already, some of which happens to be available once again from the fine folks who brought us the Jellyfish box set referenced below--the certainly not, Not Lame family. Plus, you fans of Little Steven's Underground Garage, we think you'll find plenty to dig here.
So Jim, where have you been all our lives?
"Jim Basnight is a versatile artist. He leads the Jim Basnight Band, performing around 200 dates a year in the NW US. Jim has released two CD's "The Jim Basnight Thing" in 1998 and "Recovery Room" in 2004, both on his Precedent label, which he established in the late '70's and early 80's with the release of vinyl releases like "The Moberlys" LP and a few now very collectable 45's. He also released a full length LP titled "Sexteen" on Lolita Records (France) in 1985 which to this day has endeared him to hard core fans of power-pop and garage music around the world. Previous to the current band Jim led the Rockinghams, who played up and down the west coast from 1993-1998. The Rockinghams released a full length CD, "Makin' Bacon" posthumously in 1999 on Not Lame (USA). Jim is probably best known internationally for his work as leader and front man of the Moberlys with whom he performed and recorded with from 1979-1989. Two CD's have been issued by European labels from his years with the Moberlys. Those are "Sexteen" by the Moberlys on the Bear Family/ATM (German) label in 1996 and "Seattle-NY-LA" on the Pop the Balloon (France) label in 2001.
There have also been released a CD comprised of the best of both of those releases titled "Jim Basnight and the Moberlys Return" on the Wizzard-in-Vinyl (Japan) label in 2006 and an LP also drawn from his early work titled "Pop Pleasure" by Jim Basnight and the Moberlys on the Rave Up (Italy). Between his work with the Rockinghams and the Moberlys, Jim performed solo and recorded his first CD "Pop Top", which was released on his Precedent label in 1993. The Jim Basnight Band puts on a very impressive show, which includes selections from all his CD's and is possibly one of the best shows out there not known to most of the world. As of now they have only performed, albeit quite successfully in the NW US, but with the upcoming release of "We Rocked and Rolled: The First 25 Years with Jim Basnight, the Moberlys and beyond", Jim's intentions are to take the band out beyond his home region and to points around the US, Europe and the Far East."
We're casting about for submissions from readers at large who are in a band, work for a band (or even sleep with a band) for Wednesday's 'First Date' feature. Send us your Mp3's, photos, and we'll even let you write your own intro for your band's coming out party. Dream date, right? So, hit us up - we're ready to kiss and tell.
We're gonna get a little 'CD District' on you this morning. (I know - breathe deep.) Back in 2002, Bruce and the fine folks over at Not Lame released this 4-CD career spanning set from Jellyfish. Three hours of live tracks, demos, and rare and unreleased gems, all housed in a hardback case with a 16-page four color booklet with song-by-song histories from the band themselves. The one pressing sold out in no time flat. Copies are going for literally hundreds of dollars on ebay as I type this.
So, if you've been playing at home all this week, to thank you for indulging me in the lil Jellyfish retrospection, some more live tracks from the aforementioned "Fan Club" set culled from the "Bellybuttion" tour -- apparently also known as the "Innie Through The Outie Tour" on which they actually played, and filled, Wembley.
If Jellyfish's appropriation of their influences on "Bellybutton" was more visual over sonic, "Spilt Milk" was the answer to my nagging question back then--are these guys for real?
"Completely wiping away any lingering whiff of psych hype, Spilt Milk is sharper and far more vibrant than its predecessor, with clever hooks galore. Masterfully recorded, arranged and sequenced (Jellyfish's Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning joined Jack Joseph Puig and Albhy Galuten for a four-man production committee), the disc is sophisticated enough to engender Queen comparisons. Cushioned by creamy harmonies, "New Mistake" brilliantly swirls and soars like aural tiramisu. "Joining a Fan Club" and "The Ghost at Number One" have as much spinning melodic punch as any Raspberries or Cheap Trick gem; the crisply edited "All Is Forgiven" is built around a thunderous rhythm track, while "Russian Hill" spins a more pensive, acoustic web," Trouser Press, my legitimate go-to, has noted.
"Aural tiramisu"...is that short-hand for "best release of the '90's"?
Brian Coates of The Great Northwest sits down with us for this week's First Date:
