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.
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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"?
The beauty of having one's own blog is that you're not beholden to one singular mission--which is frequently regurgitating news items or on the perpetual hunt for the 'next big thing'. It's liberating to continue a conversation such as the one started on Friday involving Jellyfish--a band whose "pastiche of pop icons from the Beatles to Squeeze via 10cc, the Beach Boys and Badfinger" noted trusty Trouser Press, gets more and more inventive each time the needle drops on these well worn records.
I'd also add to TP's formula of "Beatles to Squeeze via 10cc, the Beach Boys and Badfinger" a healthy dose of 70's-era Saturday morning cartoons over a bowl of some super-sweet cereal. And while this mix sounds like it can get more than a bit overpowering, in fact navel gazing has never proven more enjoyable than with Jellyfish's first release "Bellybutton":
We'll be delving into the Jellyfish releases over the next few days, and while a few of you just might have both LP's already, TVD has a slew of rarities in the archives, so come back 'round.
As hard as it is to believe, one look at the calendar reveals that this weekend is the last weekend before Labor Day here in the States. Now for me on an emotional level, Labor Day Weekend has always been the last 'official' weekend of the summer. Yes, yes...summer officially ends in September and warm weather certainly stays with us well into October here in DC...but Labor Day, well - that's kinda' it.
And this time of year always carries with it an implicit level of sadness I can detect...in myself and even in the trees too, arching and aching a bit more under the weight of the leaves they've been supporting all summer. I used to think it was merely the 'return to school blues' that used to kick in at this point in the season, but now as an adult and certainly out of school, they're still there.
I thought for a while that my body and mind was so USED to this seasonal blues over the years that like clockwork the neurotransmitters fire and well, here it is September again. Until my dad's protracted one-month hospital plight from which he didn't recover--this very time of the year, two years ago. And I guess, the toll that event continues to take, albeit in different forms now.
Alan Moore, the comic book writer and author of the amazing Watchman series, is hard at work I read on an ambitious, lengthy tome that portends to reveal what happens to us when we pass away - or if I understand correctly from the abstract revelations in an interview I'm recalling -- it's that we all don't pass away, but continue reliving the same life over and over. (I'm sure they're complexities and nuances I'm not recalling specifically, but that's the gist.)
So, if Moore happens to actually be onto something, perhaps Labor Day should be renamed to Belabored Day -- because I'm getting pretty weary of these seasonal misgivings. And that the blues I've been saddled with that arrive this time of year since childhood has rendered me rather prescient, I think...but instead of the comings of what have you at this time of the year, it's actually been the departures.
So, one last weekend for the staycation, then. Enjoy responsibly.
I was scanning the magazine aisle last weekend and spotted 'Jellyfish' on the cover of some slick glossy whose name now escapes me. Amazed, I reached for it thinking --no, HOPING -- Jellyfish had somehow, once again, become an ongoing concern. But alas, I was wrong. Oh sure, the article was indeed about Jellyfish the band, but it was about how great Jellyfish once WERE and how the odds are one in a million of them ever reforming. Crap.
As evinced by these Five Friday Nuggets, Jellyfish wasn't just an amazing studio band, but a fearsome live force readily absorbing their own influences and morphing them into their own candy coated carnival. Sometimes at the SAME time. (Try to not whistle along in your cube this morning...)
Trouser Press opines, "Striking a sublime balance between sick invention and weirdly credible presentation, Ween unloads more cool and characteristic material here than on all three previous albums together. In fact, while there are certainly points contiguous to the earlier records, the duo sounds reborn, and this album is consistently brilliant. The super-creepy "Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down)" and "Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?" are as disturbing as anything in the Residents gallery; the creamy masterwork "Freedom of '76" could seriously pass for that era's Philly soul (in fact, the falsetto song is a literal tribute to the city). Elsewhere, "Baby Bitch" Weensterizes the folk-rock sound of Gordon Lightfoot or Crosby, Stills and Nash; "Drifter in the Dark" is a harmony cowboy classic; "Voodoo Lady" deconstructs disco; "I Can't Put My Finger on It," sung, like the tragic ballad "Buenas Tardes Amigo," in a Mexican accent, loads on the distortion and squiggly bits and contains what has come to be a Ween catchphrase: "Are you surprised when I touch the dwarf inside?""
But c'mon. Really? It's all about the cover, right?
I have to confess that it was Leerone herself who was the inspiration for this new TVD feature "First Dates". She was kind enough to send a note saying how much she digs TVD and would I give her CD a listen? "Thanks - and sure!" I replied but really wasn't prepared for what Leerone's been up to for a while now. I immediately thought I need to get her on the blog, but until now, there hasn't been a forum per se for introductions to new, new artists.
So, welcome to TVD's new "First Date" feature and our first, FIRST date, LA's Leerone! As will be the rule with this Wednesday addition, the artist themselves will write the intro to their music and faced with this task, Leerone put pen to pixel for not one, but two intros and asked me to choose one--which I said I would...but I actually think BOTH together tell us a bit more about this singular talent than one might alone. So, with her blessing, below are both. Take it away, Ms. L:
"Over the course of a bright-burning career, Leerone has consummated a singular musical style in which Eurocentric melodies mingle with post-contemporary rock rhythms and ruminative solo piano forays. Now comes Imaginary Biographies, the new CD wherein the LA singer-songwriter employs her formidable composing, performing, arranging and producing skills to further advance a fiercely independent artistic vision. Leerone's first full-length album, Imaginary Biographies takes its place alongside the debut EPs In This Life, On This Road (2003) and Hail to the Queen (2005), which earned fan raves for their inward-looking original songs, expressive performances and powerful appropriations of influences ranging from Bessie Smith, the Beatles and Carole King, to Nina Simone, Tom Waits and Kate Bush."
Or: "Leerone is a wayward Muse, willed into flesh several millennia ago. In previous lives, Leerone was a Middle Eastern sage, a 13th century discoverer and a rump-shaking Delta blues singer. The Bolsheviks tried to kill her, but she holds no grudges. Leerone returns to Earth for the food (she swears there are no good boulangeries on the outskirts of infinity). Leerone will regale you with song-stories in exchange for permission to snap your picture. Leerone is 100% woman, but understands that girls are more fun (she comports herself accordingly). Leerone disarms the cattiest of individuals and inspires puppy dog lovesickness. She is good friends with Comfort, Mirth and Happiness, but always saves a seat for Melancholy. Leerone believes in change. Leerone believes in soul. Leerone believes in love."
For a FREE 3-song sampler of Leerone's debut album, Imaginary Biographies, email samplers@leerone.com and include your full name, mailing and email address. Leerone will send you the snail mail love asap!
OK, so - put your fingers realll close together without them touching. Alright, now closer. Closerrr. Now, see that space right there that remains between your fingers? In THERE exists my taste in music amid the entire universe of what's out there. (I like to think there's still a universe within that space, but still.) So, imagine my surprise when a tune on the RADIO no less, stops me in my tracks for a swoon, all 1979 New Wave-like. "Walking With A Ghost". I walked around like a zombie (and a ghost) singing this to myself for WEEKS. And the whole record's damn good too. Those Quinn sisters got it.
It's hard to imagine that I wasn't really a Cure fan at one point (the more I think about it). Siouxsie & the Banshees - always. However, I actually thought that the Cure were mostly overrated not only in the gothic sense and the beginnings of their goth phase, but in general pop music. I mean --- I stuck to Bauhaus immediately when I first heard their material. Same with Tones on Tail. Joy Division. Public Image Limited. Cocteau Twins. I can go down the line pretty far with stuff from that era because so many of them blur the post-punk/gothic genre lines and ties with 4AD, etc. I guess this was b/c I was used to matching the Cure with "Friday I'm in Love" and got into them well after so many similar bands. However, after taking more time over the years breaking down their work --- especially 'Pornography' and 'Disintegration' --- I realized that I made a critical mistake in judgment. An ultra critical one. Robert Smith. I'm seriously sorry about overlooking your songwriting, composition and production gifts (:/). Siouxsie & the Banshees amazed me in the same way. Steve Severin's production work and approaches to their sound struck a chord with me instantly. Menacing, yet melodic. Minimal, yet heavily weighted. I think that I played 'The Scream' ten times in a row - top to bottom - when I first got that record. Seriously.
So imagine what happened when I first ran into the Blue Sunshine album. I was seriously blown away. It felt like someone reached into my dreams and put together exactly everything that was beautiful about that niche and that time. 1983. Distortion, filters, echoes, tape loops, drum machines, dark imagery, depressive elements, unique mixing/blend of contrasting elements. Every vocal sounded like it was filled with a dark sense of despair and urgency (Jeanette Landray's style especially - great fit because she mirrored Siouxsie's style in so many ways, but with a Nico-like delivery). Maybe I'm painting the album up too much or something, but "don't take my word for it...". heh.
Hello Vinyl District. My name is Sean Dunne and I used to think I was record collector. During college I worked at a deli and spent every penny I earned slicing Genoa salami on my pursuit of the punk rock classics on vinyl. When I tracked down and paid $40 for a first pressing of the Angry Samoans outstanding sophomore effort Back From Samoa, I began to realize my collecting had reached crisis level. My small room in my parent’s basement was getting increasingly cramped with my 400+ LP’s and EP’s. If it weren’t for the fact that I had a girlfriend and a bitchin’ Mustang some may have qualified me as a dweeb, I can admit this now. This never deterred me though. I loved the music, I loved the records and I loved the pursuit. Like I said, I used to think I was a record collector. That was until I met Paul Mawhinney.
Paul Mawhinney puts people like me to shame. In his presence I find myself embarrassed to even mention my puny little “collection”. It would be the equivalent of meeting Wayne Gretzky and bragging about your 4-goal game in peewee hockey, embarrassing for both parties associated. Paul has the world’s largest record collection. He has well over 3 million records. He has spent the past 40 years acquiring and meticulously cataloging everything the pop music landscape had to offer and in the process he cemented his legacy amongst the great obsessive collectors.
In June I visited Paul and made this little film about him. He is a pretty interesting specimen. He had lots of stories, most of which I couldn’t fit into the film because everyone has ADD and I wanted to keep it around 7 minutes. But if you guys like this maybe I can make a longer director’s cut that includes his rant about how he hates Tom Hanks and how he is unacknowledged for launching the career of David Bowie. But until then fellow Vinyl District readers, I give you…The Archive. Update:
While visiting family and friends in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia this weekend I got a call from my best friend asking me if I wanted to see Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey on Tuesday night. Now, being a "baby of the eighties" I was never able to see any of these bands at the height of their fame, unlike my father who saw Heart and the Cars (among others) play at Denver's Mile High Stadium almost 30 years ago, so of course I quickly responded "YES!!!!!". Although Cheap Trick and Journey played a good set, I was absolutely amazed by Heart.Those Wilson sisters still have whatever caused them to sell millions of albums in the 70s and 80s. I think this was the first time I've ever seen a non-headliner come out for an encore (consisting of an excellent rendition of Zeppelin's Going to California). I have a few Heart albums and was debating which to put up here, but I think "Dreamboat Annie" is perfect because it showcases Nancy Wilson's fantastic acoustic guitar skills and Ann's ability to rock the socks off anyone- including Robert Plant who she is oft compared to.
True story...I'm backstage with Ed and Big Andy. The two have known each other for years and years, going back to their early days up in Syracuse together when Ed fronted the The Works and Andy was an underage hanger-on. Somehow it slips out that Andy brought his mom to the show. (Could've been me on beer #20. I dunno.) But anyway, that didn't sit so well with Ed. "Sheez, Andy, "he's wincing and rubbing his bald head, "did you tell her about my show...I mean the language, alone...who brings their MOM to a Hamell show?" "No, no, no," Andy's going on, cig hanging from the corner of his mouth. "You just do your show--keep it out of your mind."
What followed was a improvised, blistering evening of soul searing, over the top, foul-mouthed genius BECAUSE Andy's mom was in the audience...y'know, AFTER he introduced Andy's mom TO the audience. I laughed so hard I told my chiropractor to pencil me in for an additional hour the next day. (Lil tip: think twice before bringing small children and 'the greatest generation' to a Hamell show. Really.)
Ed himself will tell you he's a tough sell. One guy alone on stage making like he's Keith Moon-era Who with this beat up, eighty year-old acoustic guitar he's pummeling like a punk rock Otto Preminger. Then there's the comedy bits ala Bill Hicks and the off the cuff insights. What to make of this salad? I admit that at the time, after much Andy urging, I was a bit of a skeptic. Twenty minutes in however, I was SOLD. But don't take it just from me - in August '07, Hamell received a slew of outstanding reviews and a coveted Herald Award for the production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. Three Weeks raved, “The man may very well be a genius. Obscene, outrageous and brilliant.”
So friends, in an effort to cut that first twenty minutes down to a mere three or four for future generations, Hamell himself, in concert with the super swell folks at Righteous Babe Records, bring you another TVD Giveaway--the Hamell On Trial Bag 'O Swag! Said swag bag consists of Ed's three RBR releases, "Tough Love", "Songs For Parents Who Enjoy Drugs", and an autographed copy of the brand new DVD/CD combo "Rant & Roll" which includes the DVD of Ed's one-man theatrical production “The Terrorism Of Everyday Life”. Oh, yea - there's a Hamell tee shirt in the Bag 'O Swag too. And some Righteous Babe stickers you can affix to your forehead. Cool huh?
How do you score this bag, you say? 'Tis simple. Have you seen Hamell live by chance? We want to hear about it. Have you seen Ed run a traffic light or did he flip you off on the Jersey Turnpike? Fill us in. Do you have a similar experience seeing an act for the first time and becoming ye olde convert for life? Pull up a chair - we'll hear your confession. Just leave 'em in the comment section (with some contact info!) and we'll choose the most compelling comment from the lot and announce the Bag 'O Swag winner this time next week--8/20.
And for all you readers in the UK - Ed's in your backyard as you read this very post. Check him out live--just leave the folks at home, K? Dates that include a week of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival can be found right hea'.
All week we'll be going through Ed's Righteous Babe Records back catalog...collect 'em all.
The risk you run with a blog that's primarily vinyl-centric is appearing to be a bit ...well, out-dated. Musty. Mothball era. (OK, there--I said it.) But it doesn't mean that we're not listening to new, new music--in fact, just the opposite. Happily, we're inundated with it from every corner of the globe, but until now, there really hasn't been a forum at TVD to feature new acts who are struggling to get known and/or have yet to become indie-household names.
Until now, that is. As the header suggests, we here at TVD want to be your band's First Date. We're casting about for submissions from readers at large who are in a band, work for a band, or sleep with a band, or who've yet to be bounced on the knee by baby's first blogger--to be featured here at TVD each Wednesday. (Even if you've been around the block once or twice, of course we'll still take you in.) Send us your Mp3's, photos, and we'll even let you write your own intro for your band. Dream date, right?
Oftentimes I liken the iPod to a mood ring (remember those?) to reveal just how my inner synapses are firing. OK, so let's see, on shuffle play for the first time in a little while it seems today I'm feeling a bit...mainstream, ...uncomplicated, ...kinda retro, ...and finishing under three and a half minutes. (Dude. This is so NOT good.)
Next week! Our new TVD recruits return from some summertime R&R and start delving into their record collections. See ya back here then!
I love the fact that the title of their first EP is, "Llanfairpwllgwngyllgogerychyndrobwllantysiliogogogochynyg ofod (in space)". Y' know, strictly for marketing reasons.
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...
